The Source in You and Me

By Larus Thorhallsson

Copyright © 2015, 2020, 2024 by Larus Thorhallsson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN 978-9935-9542-1-3

First edition published 2015. Second edition 2020. Third edition 2024

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

1.1: The Beginning

1.2:  A Metaphor for the Sources

1.3: Truth and Goodness

INNER CHANGE

2.1: When Helping Oneself

2.2: Expectations of Recovery

2.3: Identifying the Threat

CHARITY

3.1: Human Relations

3.2: The Human Frailty

3.3: Of Children

FREEDOM

4.1: The Original Value

4.2: The Internal Control

4.3: Time in General

REASON

5.1: Faith in the Intuition

5.2: Answers to Problems

5.3: Human Intellects

NOBILITY OF SOUL

6.1: Self-control

6.2: Contentment of the Soul

6.3: Overcoming the Fear

6.4: External Adversity

THE SCRIPTURE

7.1: Faith

7.2: Peace Within

7.3: Being a Believer

7.4: Controversial Issues

THE WORLD

8.1: Various Issues

INTRODUCTION

1.1: The Beginning

The laws and regulations of the society are external. They reach to the behaviour, what the man chooses to say and do with his body. But under what influence is the man when he chooses to do things in one way over the other? The behaviour does not spring forth on its own. It is depended on that what the man has in himself. It is namely that what passes through his soul, heart, spirit, mind, and/or body, or the seeming lack thereof. First the man experiences specific internal activity, and next he chooses to make use of his body to that end. The external behaviour does merely reflect/confirm the man’s current understanding and attitude. The internal activity is the cause, while the external activity is the consequence. The man can mention truth and moral values as something to be cherished, while he fails to define from what pure source it is originated. It is not only about that in knowing the right answer and possessing the inner strength to act upon it. But the man must also abstain from a bad influence which seeks to contradict it, since it will otherwise corrupt the man’s understanding and make him neglectful of the proper path. Hence it is imperative to discern the internal activity, what kinds of two conflicting natures are involved, what belongs to the sphere of either one, and which one is to be pursued for and which one is to be avoided. The man must first know himself if he is going to overcome himself. And if the man manages to overcome himself then he will be in full control of himself. A self-knowing man ceases to allow bad internal activity (desires, thoughts, impulses) to make impression upon him. He waits patiently for the bad influence to pass, without him being swayed by it, and while holding himself in check. What the man carries in himself does affect his personal experience of all things. What is come across out in the world does appeal to existing qualities in the man. False and bad opinions of other people fail to get reception if bad qualities are absent in the man, while truthful and good opinions of other people succeed in getting reception if good qualities are present in him. The man’s siding in circumstances and human relations must be put into context of that what has already happened within him.

As the human people become more corrupt then they will decree more and more laws, in which is supposed to lessen their selfishness or contain it. It is come up with different penalties for different crimes, which can be executed in different way and through different intentions, even that it involves corresponding corruption from within. It is neglected to come up with simple definition of the evil nature, what kind of desires and delusions and impulses belong to it, which will later manifest itself in vices and improper conduct. It is important to know what is deemed to be a wrong conduct in general (like murder, theft, false witness) and by what driving force, rather than by dwelling on the many forms which such conduct can manifest itself in (how it can be done, the scenery). All these things might seem different to each other, and not involving precisely the same details, and yet it involves the same start driving the same means. A selfish man can seek to change his thoughts and words in the meantime, like by having different expectations or reasons for doing things. And yet that man keeps doing exactly the same selfish things, and all this time he has been motivated by the same selfish desires.  The circumstances may be different, what kind of people are involved and what they have done, but we should still not allow all the minor details to confuse us. It should rather be kept ourselves to the definition of virtues and vices, what kind of attitude and manner does correspond to its general description, regardless of the outward appearance. This work deals with the spiritual activity, when it comes to discern the inner voice and what kind of values belong to it. It is about the intentions of the human heart, what kind of premises motivate the subsequent behaviour. It can be called principles, moral values, spiritual values, virtues, or good qualities. This work does also analyze the inner voice behind all temptations, what kind of temptations belong to it, and what wrong things should be avoided. But the problem remains what should be done after it has been known this fact (the reaction), ‘how’ it can actually be acted upon it, concerning the man’s determination and ability. It can apply that the man can at most avoid the wrong things, by being passive and on the defensive, while the right things are beyond his reach, something he is unable to grasp or obtain. The author confesses his own lack of understanding and ability.

Where to begin? What is the first thing which the man needs to know? What is it right now which can apply to the man in his position? It must be something which all men have in common and can relate to. It must be something which the man always has in himself and which follows him. It must be kept to the source, the essence of things, the core, that which can apply to anyone in anything, at any time, anywhere. That is namely the internal activity. It is about that what is happening inside the man while he is experiencing things outside him. It is about that how the internal activity affects the man, his personal experience and involvement. The internal activity includes the soul, heart, spirit, mind, body. It includes the man’s attention, interest, understanding, discernment, initiative, responsiveness, restraint, stability, fellow-feeling, bonding. These are the things which the man makes use of by simply existing. Success and failure is determined by that whether these factors are functioning as they should. There is a need for system which can apply both to high and low, rich and poor, strong and weak. There is a man who owns everything and then there is a man who owns nothing. There is a man who possesses something in himself and then there is a man who does not possess something in himself. But both these men have it in common to be bound to their internal activity. They both need to live with that what is happening within them. They both need to carry their own lives wherever they go. They cannot prevent that what keeps appearing within and how it manages to ‘touch’ them. What one man owns and makes use of, another man owns not and does not make use of. The man at the top does not know how the man at the bottom has it. Hence it cannot be made a system which only applies to some and not to others. It must be taken everyone into account. And it can only be taken everyone into account by discovering that what everyone have still left. It should be made a system which is centred upon the man himself. It can be separated all the external things which the man owns and which he has put around himself. It should not be healed the clothes. It should not be included the clothes when examining the human body. It should be kept things simple and essential by having the man alone, naked, and exposed. How will the man handle solitude? How will the man handle the silence? How will the man handle that what when he is all alone with his thoughts? How will the man handle that when being pressed and narrowed? Will the man grow restless and begin to seek shelter in external things? Or will the man remain steadfast and endure this experience for as long as it lasts? What does the man need to know for himself if he is going to live with himself? What is helpful when it comes to deal with the internal activity? As it has been said then it should be kept things simple. If there is a doubt about something then the man needs to confess the truth with himself and abide by the same. If the man is growing restless then he needs to stay calm and silent. If the man is beginning to lose himself in thoughts then he needs to shift his attention and maintain his distance. If the man lacks something in himself then he needs to pray for the same thing. If something is beyond the man’s control then he needs to be humble and patient about it. These are the simple things which work. It can be repeated the same simple things in countless situations, regardless of differences in outward appearance. The primary goal is not to own everything. It is rather to be well and make the best out of the situation. Even that the circumstances are not ideal and perfect then they are still being adequate, acceptable, and bearable. The man did at least manage to maintain inner stability and continue to do that which he believes in. Sometimes that is enough. The man lasted throughout the day. The man fulfilled that which helps him live with himself.

The man does not need to know about all the wrong paths that should ‘not’ be taken, but he only needs to know about the one right path which should be taken instead. If the man keeps himself on the right path then he will of course not get lost at the same time. But even that the man knows about all the wrong paths then it does still not make him any closer to the right path, whereto he should look for it and how to tread that path to the very end. It should first be understood the basic formulas, and how all of them are built upon the same foundation, and then it can be solved any challenges which can emerge in any circumstances. But one does not need to remember every possible option, how something is already being solved as correct or already disproved as wrong, like when mathematics is involved. That to possess understanding in calculating right answers to new and unexpected questions/tests, that is superior to that in relying upon mere memory in imitating answers to the same old and expected questions/tests. It should be looked upon this in context with the spiritual aspect, where the basic formulas are namely charity and freedom and reason and nobility of soul. It also concerns the question how one can discern the voice of the intuition, and cultivate it further, so the intuition will reveal itself more clearly in upcoming circumstances. It is not necessary that one should be aware of all the wrong possibilities, as if it would first be reminded oneself of evil option and next rejected it. It is either way not part of the right path, where one is actually better off not knowing it, without implicating it to oneself. The human body has different organs and limbs which need to work together, so the man can continue to live, operate with success, and perform complex moves. A similar thing applies to the spiritual body, or the man’s soul, where it does of course need to stay healthy, strong, sane, sober, stable, temperate, and able to heal from any wounds or sickness. The benefits in question are not something which we can produce directly into our soul, but it is merely the consequence or the effects, which is determined by other factors. The spiritual body is upheld by moral values, which all belong to the truth and the goodness. The fundamental values are namely charity, freedom, reason, and altruism. The spiritual values must function alongside each other, in a perfect balance and harmony, and work for the same goal in sight. Then can the man become spiritually complete, and fit for any challenges, even as when the physical body exerts itself and endures harsh surroundings. It is not possible to have success by relying upon freedom alone, while it is neglected reason and altruism. And it is not possible to rely upon reason alone, while it is neglected charity and freedom. For that one  cannot become free if one is not being concerned for the wellbeing of others. One cannot become wise if one is unwilling to pursue/follow through needed changes in one‘s stance. And one cannot become altruistic if it is failed to act upon wise counsel, when a corresponding situation calls for the same unchanged resolve. It is not like one can become free and wise if it is contrary to one’s personal beliefs and willingness, so it has not even been bothered to consider its possibility and reach out for it.

What defines the fundamental values, what do they stand for, and in what lies the difference between them and their opposites? For example, it is through freedom that we can continue the flow in our heart and spirit, when it comes to pursue and choose that which appeals most to that who we are and what we can do most effectively, what we were all this time meant for fulfilling such role and contribute our part to the whole. It must of course first be understood freedom before we can understand why slavery is an unnatural and distorted form of freedom, and thereby become even more determined in rejecting that opposite. If we were originally free within but have now become enslaved by self-constraint; then we will surely miss all the benefits of a free spirit which is now lost to us. Something similar can be said about charity, reason, and altruism, in what way these values benefit our life, while it is rejected every contradiction which leads to disruption of them. It must first be understood the basic teachings before one is ready to learn the advanced ones. It is not possible to discover advanced knowledge if the basics remain neglected, even as how a consequence cannot exist without cause, or an end without a beginning. It is all about right prioritization, what can be turned to and thereby away from something else, what can spotted/recognized and sought to know further, what can be focused upon narrowing down to one conclusive truth. Such thing can never happen at random or by some chance. If one is faithful in the small matters then one will also be so in the greater matters, because both of them are identical to each other, involving similar principles and approach. It is not spoken the truth as a lonesome or separate thing, but it is spoken the truth for that which is good. A truthful man is able to discover further truth while he cares about that which is true and good. A false man is never able to discover such further truth while he does not care about that which is true and good. A truthful knowledge is being principled in good things, where through principles there are benefits, and it is aimed for such benefits to accompany the result. The condition of the earth can change for better or worse, and yet the physical laws still continue to be equally valid. Even so many things can happen to the human soul and affect it in various ways, and yet moral principles continue to apply just as much to it. It should be continued to strip things or narrow things down until there is a little thing left which can apply in general, instead of something being so encumbered by additional words that it only has a limited application. It should be kept oneself to the few and simple words which define the essence, while it is not as important to know every detail about the surface. It must be separated all superfluous issues,  minor issues, superficial issues, digressions, long-winded descriptions, pointless contemplations, impractical knowledge. It must be separated that which only came later, but was not there in the beginning and has not stayed all the time. It must involve an universal truth, general knowledge, fundamental lessons, timeless principles, core ethical values.

1.2:  A Metaphor for the Sources

It can be mentioned tree as a metaphor, when it comes to describe how the inner source does function. The roots of a tree are the most important aspect of it, where if it is irrigated near the roots then there will go nourishment to all other parts of the tree, so in consequence can the branches grow and bring forth ripened fruits. It should not be irrigated the fruits above the roots themselves, the mere consequence above the cause itself in which leads to it, since the nourishment will otherwise be wasted. There is not received more fruits by gazing upon them, or by straining after a single fruit above everything else, the minor issues above the important ones. But the foundation must be directly cultivated so that everything else will happen indirectly by itself. The ripened fruits will fall down by themselves in the fullness of time, and one only needs to receive them. No shortage will come by taking off the fruits, while the tree itself will produce and bear new ones instead. So the roots themselves are the only priority and no fruits have priority above them. There must first be roots available in a tree before branches can grow. But if one neglects the roots then it cannot be expected that branches or fruits will appear later on, since that all consequences must have a cause prior to it. Therefore must a foundation be established, involving charity and freedom and reason and nobility of soul, so that through that basis can all other virtues grow and bring forth good choices. It is not like one can neglect one of these aspects and focus rather upon selfish things upon a selfish basis, as if one could be greedy between/among selfless qualities or that one could be greedy in some matters and moderate in other matters. Prudent counsel and good choices is not something that happens by some chance. For the selfish man is unable to look outside the box, while he proves to be so self-centred, self-absorbed, greedy for gain, and indifferent to the wellbeing of others. The man must first maintain his intentions pure before he can bring forth pure knowledge and pure choices, but if the attitude proves to be selfish then the offering will become selfish as well. If the man establishes virtues in his life then it will begin to spread to other factors, and influence them for the better. The strength of one virtue will prepare the way for new virtues in the man’s soul, so that he begins to have a different look upon the same things in his life. Every virtue contributes to an indirect victory over the vice which is the opposite of it. The virtues work together for the same goal, and derive strength from each other, so there is always a perfect harmony between the sense of the truth and its moral values. All virtues are kindred to each other, children of the same inner source, and subject to the same truth, so that where there is reason there is also modesty and humility. The man who speaks the truth is also being modest and humble, while a man who speaks presumptuous things is also being proud and arrogant, since these many qualities are siding/chaining one another upon the same basis which they are situated. If the man allows his vision to become corrupted by selfishness and partiality then he is in no position to preach to other people, how they can have perfect lives according to his message, since that same message is made imperfect through an imperfect teacher. The man’s words and human effort can only reach as far as what he has already become, where it does merely reflect that what he has already chosen and yielded to in his heart.

It can be mentioned another kind of tree that is being bad, the exact opposite of the goodness, constantly seeking to contradict it in everything. The bad tree attempts to force itself into the man’s spiritual life, and entangle him with its branches. If the man chooses to receive the bad fruits then the good fruits will be overshadowed and neglected at the same time. The bad fruits do not give any nourishment to the man, but they do on the contrary drain energy out from him and feed upon his soul. If the man is going to reject the bad fruits then he must also reject the branches of the bad tree. And if he is going to reject the branches then he must also reject the roots of the bad tree. It is about discovering the source behind all temptations and problems, what kind of delusions and vices causes the man to become receptive toward it, so the man can thereby confront and overcome it, to prevent identical problems and faults. But the man should not seek to justify the existence of the bad tree, its roots and branches, while the man does only gaze upon that in getting rid of these or those fruits (selfish problems/illusions in his mind). For even that one bad fruit is tossed away then there will always grow new fruits instead, since that while the branches do exist then other fruits will continue to appear. But even that the branches are hewn off then other branches will emerge with the time, since that while the roots continue to exist then everything else will grow in the bad tree. It can be mentioned a contradiction and hypocrisy that exists in our society at these times. Metaphorically, there is a wholly bad tree where all its fruits are being bad. And yet people are being taught that it is all right to eat one of the bad fruit on a wholly bad tree while they are not supposed to eat a bad fruit that is located somewhere near on that wholly bad tree. People are being taught that it is all right to commit faults based on covetousness in some matters while they are not supposed to commit faults based on covetousness in other matters. It is like it would be encouraged a person to become greedy or sexually immoral in some matters while expecting the same person to become moderate and spiritually pure in other matters. But because such greed and sexual immorality is founded upon absence of charity then it should not come as a surprise when a person takes things further and becomes totally inconsiderate to other people. Hence the contradiction of encouraging one thing while expecting fundamentally different thing to happen. It is like it would be told a person that it is all right to heed the devil in some matters while that person should not heed the devil in other matters. But that to tolerate the presence of the devil in some matters is to tolerate his presence when he is suggesting the other matters.

The evil foundation is driven forth by two extremes, namely selfishness and self-righteousness, which enslaves the man to obsession for irrelevant things, working against his spiritual welfare. It does corrupt the man’s understanding, into believing that lies are supposed to be truth and that the truth is supposed to be a lie, and where the wrong path is supposed to be the right one and the right path is supposed to be the wrong one. It does then finally lead to improper and immoral behaviour, which is subversive to the environment and other people. The bad tree seeks to entice the man into making use of its bad branches and bad fruits, while he is seeking to resist the bad roots or the bad tree in whole. This means that the evil source offers bad advises against itself, so the man will neglect to notice the good tree and fail to rely upon it as his true deliverance. It does thereby involve an improper struggle against temptations (selfish problems), where the man digresses to irrelevant means in order to obtain victory. It will only make the man even more self-absorbed and alienated from the reality. It is namely fought upon a wrong basis, like when it is sought to do good things for selfish reasons, or relied upon selfish means in order to achieve good outcome. As the man does digest more bad fruits then he will become even more hungered in his soul, where it does only leave emptiness and increases the problem even further. For that selfish desires are insatiable in their nature, always craving more and more, and replacing more and more. It is like a cup/vessel that has a hole at the bottom and can thereby never be filled. The remaining good things are wasted every time the man attempts to appease his craving.

It can never be made a successful compromise between the good tree and the bad tree. It cannot be attached branches of the good tree to the bad tree, or attached branches of the bad tree to the good tree. This means that it does never work out to make virtues in small matters serve selfishness in the greater matters, by abusing/misusing virtues for selfish ends, or building some kind of moral code upon a foundation which is evil in its nature. And a similar thing applies how deception and craftiness can never serve the goodness, when it is made use of lies and selfish methods in order to obtain success for a good cause. All such compromises are originated from the evil source. It taints the man's understanding of the truth and its moral principle, so it does no longer involve any goodness at all. The goodness must always remain pure and belong to the good source. The good source does never resort to any lies, deception, selfishness, and corruption, but all such influence must surely come from the evil source, no matter how small and insignificant it might seem. It is in the nature of the selfishness to be always wrong about everything, where it has no merit and justification in itself, where it only creates a problem and increases it even further. It is in the nature of the goodness to be always right about everything, where it is merited and justified in all aspects, able to promote any benefit and solve any problem. The pure goodness and the pure evilness are always separate. The inner voice of the good source does always encourage pure goodness, while the inner voice of the evil source does both encourage pure evilness and selfish compromises. For example, the man can attempt to do both right and wrong at the same time, because he agrees with both sources but he is being conflicted about it, so he tries to ‘do the selfish thing in a more decent way’. But these two sources do never encourage the same thing, so the man does either turn to the good source or to the evil source, rather than that they would be united or both offering the same compromises. It is not like the man can successfully mix together these contradictory natures, as if a criminal act would not be blameworthy if the criminal would show a little degree of decency on his behalf, or that it could be justified the bad qualities because the man does also possess good qualities. For example, let’s say that a man would own a slave. It would be beside the point whether that man treats the slave less severely or more humanely in comparison to other slave owners, as if such a good treatment would seem to justify slavery in general. It should still the same never be enslaved a human being to begin with, regardless of the circumstances. A similar thing applies how it should never be attempted to build some kind of moral code upon a basis which proves to be corrupt from the outset. It can happen that criminals seek to create rules that attempt to limit the wickedness of crimes to a certain degree, rather than by avoiding all crimes to begin with and in having honest profession that does something constructive.

The good source is already perfect in all its glory, where it is able to know anything and conquer anything, without ever needing any advices or support from the evil source. The sole purpose of corruption is to contradict the truth and its virtues. If the man allows himself to become corrupted then he will begin to neglect the good source and its values, until the corruption has spread to all factors in his life and deprived him of spiritual health. The good tree and the bad tree can never be united, in carrying forth common branches or fruits, for their nature does completely contradict each other. All compromises are to the only effect in distancing the man from the pure goodness and its altruism, since even that the grey colour is not black then it is still the same not white. While the man keeps being swayed by selfish compromises then he keeps digressing from the good source in all its glory. The man should rather remain steadfast with the good tree and eat its fruits, where the attention should only be maintained on the right things that need to be done. But the man should not look back to the bad tree, nor have attention on the wrong things which should not be done. The bad tree must be plucked up by the roots, and the roots of the good tree must then replace the soil (the human heart and soul). It is not possible through our human effort alone, what we have struggled to do in our self-will, but it is only the good source which can bring us true and lasting change. The nourishment of the good tree is manifested in a higher truth, which makes us self-aware and enlightened, in knowing what is right or wrong with our life. The good source endows us with the power to overcome any roots, branches, and fruits that belong to the evil source. It does not matter in what form it can appear to us, how loud the temptations might seem to be, or how strong grip they have upon our soul. And the same goes if the bad tree attempts to spread its seeds to the good tree, or seek to entangle the good tree with its branches. For the good tree will never budge, since the good tree is the greater one and every part of the bad tree will break down by itself.

The man is constantly faced with the choice which source he will adhere to and base his life upon. All virtues are originated from charity, while all vices are originated from self-centred desires, so it does determine where all subsequent effort will be directed to. It is not necessary that the man should give the bad tree further attention, like when the man chooses to struggle against selfish problems on his own and he does not seem to notice anything else, since it will otherwise only lead to his negligence of the good tree and what it has to offer. It is only sufficient for the man to keep himself to the good tree, that side of the area where it is located, and then allow its good roots to replace all the bad roots that exist in his life. Therefore can new and good branches replace the old and bad ones, and bear forth fruit accordingly, until the bad tree will collapse by itself and be entirely replaced. The man will no longer consider the evil source, its evil possibilities and selfish problems, but will only focus his attention upon that in which belongs to the good source. It is like the man will ascend higher and higher upon the good tree, in which gives him a higher vantage point of all things upon the ground, when it comes to discern its true value. The man must sacrifice his loose habits and weaknesses in order to make room for virtues, since the old and decayed things would otherwise block all further growth. It must be prepared a new and pure foundation, rather than by seeking to fix that in which is already corrupt and irredeemable, since that no life will ever come of lifeless things. It is through faith and patience that the man is able to withstand temptations in the long run, even that he does not know any definite answers to his problems, since he did so through determination alone. Then after the man has overcome these temptations then he will notice things with purer eyes, and acquire deeper understanding about its value, since his heart has been freed from the evil influence that had existed prior to it. But such enlightenment cannot take place if the man has already yielded to temptations and become corrupted, since this evil influence has changed the way in which the man sees himself and all other things. The growth of the good tree must be allowed to happen on its own accord, and in its own time, rather than the man should get ahead of himself and attempt to force it to happen too soon. The man’s own eagerness does only get in the way, like when it involves a wishful thinking or when he strains to control when the growth will happen. It can rather be said that it is sufficient to believe that the good source can make it happen on its behalf, all in its due time, when a necessity calls for it in circumstances, or when we are deemed faithful and ready enough to receive it. The blissful and peaceful place is insubstantial, not something to be travelled to in this world, but it is rather to be discovered and upheld in our soul. The map to that blissful place does consist in moral principles, where our adherence to the good source will get us closer, and unlock more benefits in our life.

1.3: Truth and Goodness

To begin with then it is a truth that men have spoken something about someone or something, and yet it must still be made a discernment whether such words prove to be correct and confirming facts, or incorrect and contradicting facts. It is also a truth that men have behaved in a specific way, and yet it must still be made discernment whether such behaviour proves to be proper and adaptable to the circumstance, or improper and disregarding it. It is thereby one thing what has been said and done in this world, while its actual content and context is a different matter. It is through the truth that one is able to discern the true nature and value of all things. The truth does both bear testimony to that what proves to be true and what proves to be false, what proves to be right and what proves to be of wrong, what proves to be proper and what proves to be improper. The truth makes us able to know why a specific choice is being considered, and to what consequences it will lead to. But it is not like a specific choice is supposed to be ultimate, at the expense of all the other options, since the truth does bear testimony to the value of each opinion and choice. It is a truth that all virtues are based upon the truth, while all vices are based upon lies. It is a truth that a reasonable counsel leads to beneficial consequences, while a short-sighted counsel lead to harmful consequences. It is a truth that a right opinion is based on facts, while wrong opinions are not based on facts. So there are not many versions of the truths taking place at the same time which get in the way of each other and lead to contradiction, for the truth bears testimony to the lasting value of every factor. The truth is not only bound to external matters, like what people have said and done openly in this world, or what kind of facts and physical laws are known about the universe. For the truth does also reach to the human soul, heart, spirit, mind, and body, what kind of activity has been taking place from within, what nature it belongs to, what is its true value and effects, both in the short term and in the long one. It is true that the man can feel and think about something in a certain way, or that he has went through specific feelings and thoughts, so it cannot be denied that such personal experience took place. The truth can both accept the existence of something (that it is there) and discern whether the same thing is being founded or unfounded (what it is made out of). The truth makes us able to discern whether this activity in us is being a noble aspiration or selfish desire, whether something is really calling for it or that it is being whimsical, and whether it being done for genuine reasons or not. The individual can experience circumstances in his own unique way, according to his vantage point. People can notice the same facts and experience the same events, but the reception and interpretation and the response does vary between individuals. But many men tend to intermingle the fact with their own assumption, as if could not be noticed one fact without implicating it to an assertion, a personal bias or prejudice, which proves to be wrong in whole. For example, it is a truth that we can notice something wrong in the bearing of other people, but the following assumption or reaction toward such issue should be looked upon as a separate thing. It can namely happen that the man does receive other people’s weaknesses too much into his temper, so that he will tend to judge them in a harsh way and treat them with contempt. It was thereby a fact that such people revealed their flaws, but that man chose to interpret it in a wrong way. For he did no longer look upon these facts by themselves, what had originally happened in the situation, but he did immediately implicate the facts to another meaning, namely that superficial assertion in his mind.

It can be mentioned the concept of listening to one’s heart, by speaking from the heart, by writing from the heart, and by having the heart in the right place. Then there is the expression of having the right spirit, when it comes to have a good attitude in confronting something, in making one’s best possible effort when competing for a specific goal, and in letting the deeds speak for themselves. It is as if the achievement would be done for the sake of itself or as its own reward, so that during the attempt it is not cared about any implications to one’s self/ego. That to possess the right spirit is something which can only be sensed and felt from within, but it is not something in which can produced through mere thoughts and words. It is namely the human spirit that endows us with an inner spark, in which revives our spirit and inspires us forth, so that afterwards are noble sayings and deeds made. It has nothing to do with that what the mind says at the same time, as if the mind could claim all the credit and boast about it. We would still the same have received such inspiration from the human spirit, while experiencing total silence in the mind. It might at first seem like that our heart is talking to us, when it is sensed or perceived a silent meaning, which encourages us to be plainspoken with ourselves. It is not really the human heart which is some kind of intellectual organ. It can rather be said that the heart does contain the human spirit, the very source in which endows the man with a meaningful purpose, and drives him forth to noble undertakings. Where the human spirit is there is also spiritual health and stability. If the man is going to become healthier in his soul then he must adhere to that which belongs to the spirit. It does not consist in that of pretending to agree with the human spirit or by seeking to flatter it, but it must rather be understood its moral principles and applied them in practice. The man can sense it silently in his heart what is the right thing to do. And before the man knows it there comes over him an internal stabilizing, equanimity, and sobriety. It was not like the man did first need to stop and think about it, by reminding himself about these or those issues, by trying to re-evaluate memories or foresee things in his imaginations. The proper knowledge did arrive timely on its own accord, when it was really needed in the situation, when the man had become ready to receive it and make good use of it. It can be mentioned an example about education, when it is undertaken a specific test/exam. For that we can solve the exam in a silent way, where it is often experienced a spontaneous inspiration while we are writing down our answer, and being active with our hands, even that we have not stopped and begun to think about that what should be done next. It is something that was never planned in advance, nor thought about in the meantime. But such spontaneous inspiration happened after we had arrived on the scene, making us get the right feeling in our body.

There is a silent and hidden meaning located deeper in our heart, waiting to be unlocked and loosened, according to our conviction and experience and integrity. It could be likened to that when a sponge does absorb water into itself, but the water cannot be seen on the surface, unless the sponge is squeezed/pressed by something. The knowledge does exist in our heart, although it can remain unconscious or inactive for a time, until a specific circumstances will emerge that call for its involvement and proper use. Therefore must first appear a proper material, content, or a context, which can arouse that knowledge in us and draw it out. It would otherwise never have been discovered while we remained idle, or during our loose habits, or when seeking directly for a knowledge in a whimsical and self-centred way. It is like the knowledge does come naturally by itself, when we have to make an actual choice, be consistent with our conviction, and withstand temptations. It can happen that we sense a specific meaning, like something heading in the right direction, although it is somewhat ambiguous, difficult for us to put it into proper words and make ourselves fully comprehensible. It is like that conviction does need more material to call it forth, like further resolve in rejecting temptations within or further active participation in circumstances and human relations. We need to act upon current conviction before it can become a clearer message. Our personal conviction is often not explained in any definite words. But our conviction will obtain more growth through successful moral choices, what has been inclined to in our heart and practiced in the long run, reflecting our real stance. As the man spends more time upon idleness then it will deprive him of further necessary experience, which would otherwise have dispelled all his unfounded worries and presumptions. That man is contemplating further about things that are beyond his personal experience, where he relies upon imaginations of the mind as some kind of substitute for the reality outside. Such fantasies do lack all substance, where they do not make things any easier for the man, but these fantasies do needlessly overcomplicate things. While the man is trying to find the imaginary things that he foresees then he neglects to notice the very real things in front of him. Also, as the man spends more time upon contemplations then it makes him more idle and self-absorbed, where it is neglected participation in constructive goals with its following lessons. It must be acknowledged the reality as it is and adapted to its demands, rather than by preferring the mind’s version of the reality over the reality itself, its wishful thinking how the reality is ‘rather supposed to be’. As the man does contemplate the more about the matters ahead then he will experience less sense and inspiration, in which would otherwise have accompanied the human spirit, since the man is spending all his time upon the mind and relying upon its bad advices. The old saying applies that the deepest waters have the least noise, which means that the men whom possess wisdom are also being discreet and modest about it. But short-sighted men are loud and boastful in their bearing, deriving false confidence from the presumptions that they rely upon, and being delusional about their own importance and capability.

In our times people tend to speak of ‘good’ things, without mentioning altruism and virtues in which define the goodness. It is also spoken about ‘bad’ things, without mentioning selfishness and vices in which define the evilness. It is instead spoken of ‘positivity’ and ‘negativity’, as if mere thoughts and words would only matter, while it is not confirmed one’s stance in actual choices. ‘Positivity’ involves that which is seemingly good or to make something seem good, while it is overlooked the morality of that which is being said and what made the person say it in the first place. People speak of things which are supposed to be good or bad, while they lack understanding of the original source, its essence and lasting value. It is failed to define each nature, what separates them, and marks the boundary between them. It can apply that a man does praise good things which he himself has been unwilling to reach out for, and he does condemn bad things which he himself has already yielded to in his life. The man’s conduct does contradict his words, so that he is not in any position to pass verdicts in such matters. The matter is not about that whether specific words seem to be ‘positive’ or 'beautiful' to the audience, but rather whether the man is actually being consistent with his own speech. It should be looked upon the speech in context with his life, what the man has hitherto done, what has taken place before he made that speech and what will happen afterwards. Any man can speak in a ‘positive’ way, while it remains totally irrelevant to the foundation of his life and conduct at all times. That to think and speak is not the same thing as conviction and choices, so that any selfish man can speak about doing some lofty and great things in the future while it is not within his power to achieve them. But the scrupulous man can just as well think of nothing and say nothing out loud, while he goes straight for that which the conviction of his heart reaches to and silently performs a noble deed. The purpose of the speech is to make ourselves comprehensible to another person, so it will involve mutual understanding, what kind of context is wanted to share and promote. But it is not like we do think and speak as an end in itself, without any tangible response or action, since we need to make it come true what we have been intending for. If the man would always be thinking and speaking then there would be no time left for behaviour, since that empty words are unable to achieve anything on their own accord. It does not involve a good quality if the man is being inconsistent with that what he tells himself and that what he tells other people and that what he practices. It involves a good quality if the man confesses the truth with himself, and he stays true to that when he speaks to other people and when there is need for involvement/participation. It does involve empty words if the man is only pretending to be perfect and saying that what he thinks other people expect him to say. It is come up with ‘beautiful’ words which he does not mean and has no intention of doing, when he will either way continue to neglect good things and prefer bad things. The words do reflect and confirm a good quality if the man only says as much as he understands and is willing to do, when he is willing to hold himself in check and abstain from bad things, when he remains silent and discreet in the midst of bad influence, when he stays open-hearted for that in doing good things and treating people in a good way, when he recognizes the good things in other people and judges them fairly/evenly. The man is being defined by his moral choices, what kind of person he is, what he has chosen to become, and what he is capable of, so the conduct reflects what kind of qualities he possesses. But the man can’t actually decide to have these or those qualities merely by thinking and speaking about them, as if the qualities could be taken or removed at his convenience.

A pure goodness is manifested in altruism. It describes itself in an unconditional goodwill, where it is pursued and practiced goodness for its own sake, without any expectation of getting something in return. The noble man is only concerned about the welfare of another person, even that it would be at the expense of his own self-interest or image among other people. The goodness is originated from the human spirit, and the goodness is a gift shared to the human people. The man can at most receive the goodness, and follow the goodness, and become a practitioner of the goodness. The goodness did not come to exist through the man’s self-will or wishful thinking. It is not like the man can claim to have invented the goodness or to have discovered the goodness first of everyone. One should beware of implicating the goodness personally to oneself, as if one could be justified as a ‘good man', in having something to prove and something to boast of and something to demand, which is supposed to make one obtain some kind of self-gratification. If one is truly following the goodness with one’s whole heart and soul; then one is being equally selfless before making a good choice and during the good choice and after having made a good choice. The goodness is about personal conviction and moral choices each day, by taking one day at a time, but it is not something which can be achieved once and for all. There will always be another day after this day, which will test our resolve in following the goodness, so that we can continue to build upon the recent progress. It must be explained the nature of the goodness, what is the purpose with all of this, and its relevance to our own life, why we should believe in the goodness and seek to practice it. It should not be neglected such an important question, because we would otherwise be speaking and doing things for that which we do not understand. It can be mentioned that when people are very eager to follow the divinity, and yet it is being done with so little sense. It is not even bothered to understand its true nature, what the divinity is really looking for, or what the divinity feels about their service. The people will thereby dedicate their whole life to something that they are ignorant of, as if piety would only be implicated to manual labour, but not to spiritual freedom and understanding. It should have been consulted with the divinity at the very beginning, before presuming to do anything on its behalf. We should be mindful of that when it is had faith in the goodness. For we must approach it through the fundamental values, and then we can become sensible and able enough, when it comes to undertake something which bestows benefits and is of lasting value.

Every individual should recognize his spiritual gifts and cultivate them further, what makes him special and different from other men. All blessings are bestowed by the divinity, but no man is able to contain them all at the same time. Which man is there who is best in everything and surpassing everyone? It is like the divinity has distributed blessings between the human people in different quantity and quality, what things the person is more interested in than others and able to become efficient in its practice. The individual can become an expert in a specific field, where he spends more time upon it than other people, so he is finally able to make great discoveries and inventions. That individual does then share that knowledge to other people, where he can help those that are either ignorant of that field or unable to progress in it on their own. That individual can in turn be helped by experts in other fields, and so forth, so the human people are meant to support each other. This is why it has been achieved so much progress in recent centuries, because we do not need to do so many things at the same time, or try to do everything from the scratch. It is not like the old times, where most of the time was spent upon that in searching for and providing food, finding shelter, and in building objects for own use and maintenance. Back then it was like all was being centred on the same primitive needs, and every man was doing the same manual labour, so that no time was left to be invested in education and expertise. But in our times then we can turn to the expert in such matters and receive help in no time, rather than that we would always be stuck at the same problem and have no clue about it. Many small things make one great result, which in this case applies to the contribution of every individual, so the society will benefit in whole and become highly sophisticated.

When a totalitarian state is involved then it is attempted to mould all men into the same shape, into thinking and behaving in the same way. The human restrictions of the dictator will be reflected to every aspect in the society, where the selfish desires and incompetence of one man will be at the expense of everyone else. If the society remains repressed and stagnant then it is because it has already happened from within the ruler, what kind of delusions and impulses have been domineering his soul. It is a hypocritical notion when a totalitarian state encourages the citizens to be only concerned about the whole, the welfare of the state and all the people. For that every individual is being neglected at the same time, where no man is being free and happy while he is only concerned about the concept of majority (greater numbers). Each man lives in constant fear and constraint, and he thinks that he needs to live like this for the sake of someone else. But that someone else is also living in constant fear and constraint, and thinking that he needs to live like this for the sake of someone else. All these bad things are being near and ever experienced; for the sake of something ‘good’ that is being distant and never experienced by those which it is supposed to benefit. Hence the totalitarian state‘s version of the wellbeing of the whole is one big illusion, because no one is being benefited by the spiritual slavery and misery of everyone. It is the individuals that make the whole, but it is not the whole that makes the individuals. So it is only individual freedom which can make everyone free in the process, where many small things lead to one great result. If the individual neglects his spiritual side then he is in no position to preach to and improve other persons, and the same goes for the society in whole and its dealings with foreign societies. It can be mentioned the contradiction when a ruler is not contented with his own kingdom and neglects its internal affairs, while he gazes upon foreign wars and conquests. But it does not matter whether new lands and new people can be obtained, for the ruler will also not be contented with it and neglect its affairs, since he does already own it. That ruler will instead gaze upon other territories which he does not still possess, as if the same problem is merely delayed or transferred between locations. There must first be an internal change and next it will lead to an external change. For the inner change will prepare the soil, make the men willing and outspoken enough for an external change, in welcoming such change when the opportunity presents itself and responsibly maintain it. A broad-minded ruler seeks to expand the spaciousness of the citizens’ souls, that they might become more enlightened and civilized, that there might be more of fair reforms and humane progress in the society. But a narrow-minded ruler is only concerned about expanding the boundaries of his country/land, while narrowing/repressing the souls of all the citizens within. Because it can no longer be done simple and fundamental things (like by confessing the humble truth and that things need to improve); then the society becomes utterly incapable of reforms and progress.

The man must know the purpose of the goodness, so it can determine his overall attitude. Why should the man practice the goodness in the first place, what kind of benefits is wanted to promote, or what end is had in sight? The goodness seeks to promote the wellbeing of the person involved and help it have a virtuous life. That same purpose will always continue to apply, regardless of time and place. This explains why we should continue to practice goodness in the long run, by being willing enough to do it, in understanding the reasons behind it, and being bold enough to confront and endure opposition, as if we were only content with the good act. The man should seek to accustom himself to virtue, until it becomes a habit to him or like a second nature, so he will continue to do good act instantly, without reminding himself too much about it. This means that the man will always stay on the path, without making exceptions or being deliberately lax in between. It is not like the man can decide to take a break/pause from the goodness, or keep some factors to himself. Can the man really tell himself that he can retire from the goodness and become selfish for some time, and then expect to return some time later uncorrupted and again manage to fully follow the goodness? If the goodness deems it possible then it will welcome the man again and make him again capable of fully following the goodness. And yet there is nothing certain about the man himself and what he can now presume about the future, because once he has been corrupted then that very same corruption can make him unwilling to return to the goodness in the first place. The goodness should be done for its own sake, and as its own reward. The man should no longer try to rationalize why he should do a good act, but rather how he can accomplish it. When a faithful soldier is issued orders to undertake a mission then he does so straight away and unconditionally. He does not first try to rationalize with himself which side he should choose, or whether to stand his ground or abandon his comrades, since it is a treachery in itself to consider such things in the first place. This is why we don’t need to enumerate/invent these or those reasons (additional, alternate) in order to rationalize whether we should follow the goodness or not, by weighing up the selfish advantage to be gained or lost by doing so. For the matter is not about that whether the goodness has a rightful claim, but rather whether we are willing to acknowledge the obvious truth (originally known) and apply its human decency to our life. But a selfish man is constantly re-evaluating a good act and it only involves a temporary behaviour, having no foundation and being unable to last for long. The selfish man presumes it is too difficult to do a good act, and even that he manages to accomplish it then he will instantly boast about it. So he is indirectly admitting that such good act is the mere exception of the day, contrary to his general attitude and conduct.

The goodness always continues to be just as valid and functioning in full force, why one should be drawn to it and draw from it, why one should make use of its force and be used by it for good. But the means are not always the same. What works in one situation does not necessarily work in another, since the circumstances and the people involved can differ from one another. It should first be discerned why there is a need for intervention, and next how it should be executed and at what timing. For example, people do first decide what justifies their involvement in a war, and then that reason will drive forth everything else, where the subsequent effort is in the name of that reason. But it is a different matter in what way the war is conducted in order to obtain victory. The participants can come up with different military goals and locations, like why it should be attacked a certain target, how it should be approached and planned and executed. It is all about a right prioritization, where a proper motive leads to proper execution, at a proper timing, and then finally to proper results or consequences. But if one factor is neglected and found lacking then it will ruin the undertaking in whole. If the motive is wrong then the execution will be neglected as well, or the success of the execution will surely be misused in the end. A servant can come up with a right execution for his master, but since that master/leader proves to be selfish and foolish then the success of the operation will turn out short-lived. Further success is being undermined while the selfish and foolish notions of the leader keep getting in the way. The motive can be right but it is come up with a sloppy execution, or a proper execution at a sloppy timing, so it is failed to achieve proper results. A right motive is more likely to prepare the way for a right execution than a wrong motive, while a right motive on its own does not guarantee right results. Only proper means can lead to proper results, and proper means are being properly aligned and narrowed down by a proper motive. A wrong motive tends to turn into a completely different direction, where it is digressed to something irrelevant and needless, so even that the means can succeed then the very outcome is of no success in regard to the bigger picture. If the man is going promote good consequences then he must consistently heed and obey the good source in the long run, from the beginning to the very end. The man should heed the voice of the goodness when it encourages good motive and intention in his heart, and also heed its voice when it encourages good execution and good timing in circumstances, and also heed its voice when it encourages good use of the success/consequences (responsibility, pursuit of further good things, that in helping other people). All of this must be true and pure from the first one to the last one. There will be failure if the man also chooses to heed and obey the evil source in these matters, when it is tried to mix evil things with good things (in between, alongside), when it is tried to do good things for the sake of evil things or tried to do evil things for the sake of good things. It disrupts the chain/row of the good things in whole. Hence it should be loved and followed the divinity with one‘s whole heart and soul.

It is not like one can contemplate everything in advance and standardize every response, before one has ever attended to the circumstances and experienced its demands. Such improper measures can be likened to a lifeless and stiff statue/sculpture, where beyond the first impression had of it the statue is unable to move or respond to any changes. But proper means must be fluid and flexible, where it is first attended to the circumstances and next adapted to it, rather than by seeking to make the circumstances adapt to one‘s presumptions. It is not enough to wish for good things during isolation/idleness, and come up with one-sided measures to help other people, before one has actually inquired into their affairs and their true stance/attitude. The goodness must always work in harmony with the human recipient, what he does feel about one’s intended intervention and whether he will approve of it. What is that man’s current stance? Is he really ready to receive help when someone offers to help him? Does he really want to be helped by helpful things? One could give a valuable object to a person, and yet it will not conclude the matter, because that person can either use this object for a decent or selfish end. For example, it can be come across a homeless person which has no money, because that person is a drug-addict and it has wasted all its money on drugs. If one chooses to give money to the drug-addict then it will not help that person to rebuild its life, because that person will also waste that money on drugs. It would be more prudent to use that money to buy food for the homeless person, or support an organization which can help all drug-addicts in general. The goodness does not involve a mechanical process, as if one would be too aware about the intended good effects, while it is neglected to care about the intended recipient during human relations. For example, we do not need to think directly about good qualities and their description, as if we would only be verbally mentioning ‘courage’ during adversity while failing to believe in the courage of confronting it. It is only sufficient to focus upon the person, the circumstances, and the moment, what kind of topics and intervention can appeal to the qualities and draw them out. The man does first need to move on with his life, and then afterwards will he experience all kinds of new circumstances, which can happen unexpectedly and without any preparation on his behalf. Then will the man need to make an important choice, where it is chosen one thing and rejected another thing at the same time, instead of it being possible of choosing two contrary options. It is not like the man can chase after that kind of circumstances, attempt to force good deeds to happen, and meddle with the choices of other people. A good act must work in harmony with the human spirit, the sense of decency had at that moment, but the man is never able to achieve a good act contrary to that which is of the human spirit.

INNER CHANGE

2.1: When Helping Oneself

The value of self-awareness consists in that of knowing oneself before being able to conquer oneself. We must be aware of our good qualities and their potential, and what kind of weaknesses are restricting our life, preventing us from obtaining more spiritual growth. It is about an endeavour in welcoming an inner change in that direction, in reaching the point of being ready enough for it and able to abide by it. It is not sought to justify specific virtues or vices once and for all, as if our human qualities or restrictions would be permanent, and that nothing more was to be done about it. The human spirit makes us capable of overcoming vices that do already exist in our life, and in accustoming ourselves to virtues which have hitherto been out of our reach. The man’s spiritual condition is merely the consequence, caused by the opposing sources, even as how the earth has been reshaped and changed intentionally by the human race. There can exist all kinds of problems in the world, where there is something wrong with the environment and in the bearing of the masses. And yet all these problems in great matters can be traced to the problems afflicting the individual in small matters. It is merely a parallel to the human nature, what kind of activity has already taken place from within the man, what kind of influence he has yielded to or resisted. The goodness is able to shape and reshape everything else for the better, whether that people are being influenced by the circumstances for the better or that the circumstances are being influenced by the people for the better. If the man can be changed then he will approach the circumstances in a different way, and it will then lead to different results. It is not the circumstances that should first change before the man can be changed as well, but it is rather a changed man that manages to change the circumstances for the better.

It is the role and responsibility of each individual to change himself for the better, since he is the only one possessing real control over his own life and what decisions are being made in free will. No man has ever changed other people by his single/one-sided effort, because it is always depended upon the recipient himself, how he chooses to understand and respond to the intervention on his behalf. The person that got changed allowed itself to be convinced to change. The man has no control over that what happens from within other people, in what way they will respond to the human spirit or the mind, and allow themselves to be convinced. A spiritual progress is depended upon oneself alone, but other people can never make such decisions on one’s behalf, since every person has only one soul in one body. It cannot be helped a man whom does not want to receive help, and will either way not appreciate it. For that man has already given up on himself, where first did he not allow the human spirit to help him from within, and then afterwards he allowed nobody else to do it. And even that one could help that man then it would still only last temporarily, while one is being present with him. He will remain just as faithless and helpless after one has left the scene. For that man does never listen to the human spirit while he is all alone, but only heeds the selfish influence of the mind, so he remains stuck in the same old habit. It can be said that one’s helpfulness has delayed that same man from helping himself, as if the problem would only be delayed or overlooked, but is still ever present. If the man does not heed the truthful voice of the divinity then he will also not heed the truthful remark of other people, which is also originated from the divinity in their lives.

What would happen if everyone was always meddling with the lives of other people, and attempting to change them? Then every individual would be neglecting his own life and fail to change. And what would happen if everyone was preaching to other people to become perfect? Then no man would have any time left to convince himself, when it comes to practice that same message, and show a good example in deeds. And what would happen if all the citizens would be gazing upon foreign news and problems elsewhere? Then there would be no time left to analyze own internal affairs and improve the society. What would happen if everyone was gazing upon the flaws and mistakes of other people?  Then no man would have any time left to cultivate his own good qualities and potential. It does not make any sense that the man should look so far, and try to change the world directly, while it is neglected all the important matters that are right in front of him. It is a complete self-deception to expect everyone else to become perfect, and demand too much from them, while it is failed to apply the same standard to one’s own life. The man can speak about that what other people should do to improve the society and make the world a better place. But when that man is questioned why he himself does not have the initiative to do such things then he tries to excuse himself from it, like by claiming that it does not matter what one person will do while the majority is acting differently. The man consider his own opinions to be special and better than the opinions of other people. But since the man thinks that everyone else are too apathetic and unwilling to make any difference; then he himself becomes unwilling to abide by his own opinions. The man tends to overrate the concept of the majority, where he does not want to be the first one to make the necessary sacrifices, like by reducing his comforts or abstaining from debauchery. For that same man does not want to miss out on the pleasures which everyone else seems to be enjoying, and he does thereby continue to be like them. Each man is waiting for someone else to have the initiative, and he fails to understand that other people think exactly the same thing of him, as a part of the majority.

Happy is the man that can discover solutions all by himself, but not through the advices of other people. For that we are unable to know what other people are actually thinking, and what their true motive is, during the moment their opinion is given to us. Are such people being sincere or false, reliable or treacherous, scrupulous or selfish? Is the person speaking through conviction, personal experience, inspiration, and concern for our welfare? Or is the person involved rather being controlled by covetousness, short-sightedness, impulsiveness, bias, and contempt? This is why it is much better to listen to our own conviction, inspiration, and sense, originated from the voice of the divinity in our heart and spirit. For we should be most aware/conscious about our own premises and expectations, why we are doing this, for what and whom, what we are actually seeking for or trying to promote. We should know it with ourselves whether we are being straight-spoken or quibbling, really concerned about the welfare of other persons or not, controlled by moral principle or covetousness for dishonest gain. This is why it is much better to choose and reject from within ourselves, rather than by living in uncertainty about the advices of other people. We should never attempt to imitate the opinions and behaviour of other people, because so many opinions from so many people will only contradict one another. It does not involve the same heart or mindset in each person, and we do not even know which is what, so it is severed the context between the intention and the choice. For example, the opinion and the behaviour can be right, but our own intention is being selfish. Or the opinion and the behaviour are wrong, but our own intention is being optimistic. It would have been better if both the intention and the choice belonged solely to oneself, being consistent with the same conviction.

If the man is going to obtain spiritual progress then he must do that which is right in general, rather than by implicating everything to his self-image, self-interest, and self-preservation. Let’s say that a stupid man would offer advices against his own stupidity. Then it would mean that the advices themselves do also prove to be stupid. For that a stupid man can never offer wise advices, as if he could accomplish something totally out of character and that the creation was being superior to the creator, but all the undertakings will suffer for his stupidity. It is exactly the same thing when a selfish man seeks to overcome his selfish problems, by coming up with selfish answers and remedies. The man cannot expect that he can defeat temptations by relying upon another kind of temptations, but a true victory can only come through the pure goodness. This is why the man must ask himself upon what basis his effort is founded upon, and how it will affect him. It is a selfish thing when the man is too occupied with subjective problems, and trying to get rid of them directly, only so he can save himself from its uncomfortable experience. Such a struggle does not need to be waged, by gazing upon the problems above everything else. It is not like the man can have the final word, or get rid of the subjective problem once and for all, because selfishness will only breed further selfishness. The man keeps the subjective problem alive by giving it further attention, so that his own improper struggle is prolonging the problem and delaying himself from the solution. The man should not stop and then chase after the illusions of the mind, but it should instead be moved on and thereby forced the illusions to chase after him. The mind should follow our initiative and come over to us, but it should not work the other way around.

When a selfish man struggles against problems in his mind then it is not through any genuine repentance, but he is only trying to get rid of the maladies or mental symptoms that are afflicting him. That man does not actually understand the cause behind all of this, and what kind of moral choices are involved, since he is too self-centred and biased to know otherwise. For example, the man can be angry with a specific person because of the past. When it has been dwelt on it for long then the escalated anger begins to make the man too distracted and unstable to maintain focus, so that he is being negligent of his surroundings and accidentally dropping things. Because the anger is now disrupting the man‘s daily activity then he selfishly begins to consider the anger a problem, and tries to discover selfish answers in order to make it go away. But the man is still the same unwilling to love and forgive the person he has been angry at, so the anger will continue to exist and produce negative effects in his soul. It does not make any sense when the man tries to solve every problem that can exist in his mind, because the mind will always continue to create new illusions, which only exist in the mind but are irrelevant to the actual reality. The selfish man relies upon empty words in order to make empty words go away, where both the problem and the remedy prove to be impalpable and needless. The mind is like one big landfill site, with its filth, garbage, junk, and waste. It does not make any difference whether the man goes to that landfill and tries to arrange the objects in organized way, by moving objects between locations, or trying to clean filth with another kind of filth. For that all this time the man is still located inside the landfill site, and nothing is changed about the nature of that place, since that nothing good will ever come out from it. It would have been better if the man had never arrived at the landfill site in the first place. Or if it happens that the man wakes up and he finds himself stationed at a landfill site then he should immediately leave it. A garbage is something to be disposed of, but it should not be accompanied the garbage to the landfill site.

The man should first move on with his life, by caring for his beloved ones and have constructive goals, and then afterwards will all the subjective problems vanish by itself. It is like all personal problems will no longer matter and all be forgotten, because the man is willing to let go of it in order to be more focused in being there for his beloved ones and finishing demanding tasks. But the man should not put everything on hold in his life, and next try to solve subjective problems once and for all, before he can finally move on with everything else. The mind will always create new problems instead of those that seem to be solved, even as how a liar is always coming up with new quibbles, excuses, and scapegoats. The man should first allow the human spirit to help him from within, and then the man will be able to help himself in external matters and be in better position to help other people. But the man should not neglect the good source in his own life and go too far in trying to help other people, as if he would be reducing himself into a servant/slave centred upon their lives. Because the man‘s conviction is still being immature then he offers immature advises, and it is at most rendered a superficial and shallow service on behalf of that people. The man can presume that he is helping himself by helping other people, and trying to save himself by saving other people, like such good deeds can change or redeem his soul. But it is really the man himself which is in a need of help, and whom needs to be saved. This is why the man should turn directly to the divinity, and allow it to deliver him from within. And after the man has been saved then he will no longer be too depended upon other people, and he can draw from his spiritual recovery for those that are in a position he had once been in.

Now if the man comes across a hindrance on his path then the hindrance should not become a priority, but it has priority that the man can continue to move forward. It is not like the man should attempt to move the hindrance out of sight, or attempt to change the hindrance so that it will no longer be a hindrance. But the man should simply step over the hindrance, or move past the hindrance. Or when the man notices a hindrance to the right or to the left of his path then he is not obligated to move over there and try to do something about it. But it is only required for the man to look ahead and keep moving on the straight path. And let's say that when the man is moving forward on the straight path then someone does regularly go in front of him and drop tangled things. It is not like the man should become obsessive about having everything perfect around him and try to sort out every tangle, since the other person will always drop another tangled thing instead. But the man must let go of this every time in order to reach the destination in time.  For another example, the man encounters a puddle on the middle of the path. Then the man should not stop for a long time and be afraid of that in stepping in the puddle, or by rethinking it over and over again whether he had accidentally touched the puddle, as if it could possible lead to be bad effects for himself or make the man imperfect. But it is only sufficient for the man to have his eyes on the dry side and go alongside the puddle. It should already be obvious that the selfish problem is wrong, and something to be rejected from the outset, where it should not matter whether the man has previously been affected by it or not, by showing some sign of weakness. Or let’s say that the man would accidentally step into a puddle, so that part of his pants will have wet dirt upon them. Then the man should not stop and attempt to rub the dirt off his pants, since it will only spread the dirt even more. But the man should rather move on and allow the dirt to dehydrate during the hot day, so the dry dirt can finally peel off on its own accord and be no more a problem. This is why we should not become obsessive over our problems, and try to solve them as soon as possible, when it will only make us distracted and unstable at the same time. It should rather be had faith in the divinity, that it knows what is best for us, so we will be able to obtain solution from another location, and no longer become troubled.

The wrong thing must always be countered by the right thing and replaced by the latter.  It is a short-sighted thing to criticize something in the bearing of the person while it is failed to mention what could be improved about it. It is a vicious cycle when the man is only concerned about that in being free of flaws, because even that one flaw is taken away then the soil will remain open for another flaw to spring up. It would have been better to replace that flaw with truth and virtue, so the goodness would already inhabit the human soil, and prevent further vices and weaknesses from taking roots. For example, a thief can try to resist the urge of stealing specific objects, so that sometimes he succeeds and abstains from it, while at other times he fails and commits a crime. It is because he has still not replaced the covetousness and its craving with good qualities, like by being industrious, modest, and content with his life. A victory over the evilness is always depended upon the goodness, where every truth bestows the necessary wisdom to conquer lies, and every virtue bestows the necessary strength to overcome a vice, so the goodness in itself is basically the same thing as a victory. The individual should not be deemed a good person only because he has abstained from crimes or serious faults, while he has actually not been doing anything good and beneficial at the same time. Inactivity in evil deeds is not the same thing as activity in good deeds, because many people tend to do neither, so they are neither malignant nor altruistic in anything. It can apply that the man has not committed any direct crime against another person, but he has still the same stood back and done nothing to help a person living in distress. Back then the man possessed something good that could have been drawn from and it was within his power to do so. This is why the man is at fault for having done nothing, where his inactivity can be harmful as when a crime is committed.

That to love the goodness is to cherish everything in which the goodness stands for, what is originated from its source and what does belong to it. For it is something freely given by the goodness, shared to us, and taken back by it when it deems so, like when our prosperity in this world is only temporary while the goodness does last forever. It is hated the evilness because it does contradict the goodness, so that we reject the evilness because we are already following the goodness with all our heart. We hate the selfishness because it does contradict the love had for the person. And we hate lies because they slander the glorious and beautiful truth, and the strength which we do otherwise derive from virtues. The goodness should be done for its own sake, and as its own reward. But it should be avoided all indirect and irrelevant reasons, which have nothing to do with any sincere concern for the person and faith in the value of the goodness.  Perfectionism is not the same thing as goodness, because it is sought to avoid wrong things and pursue right things for self-centred reasons. It is always implicated good or bad qualities to the ego, where that virtues are supposed to exalt the ego and make the man feel better about himself, while vices are supposed to debase the ego and make the man feel less about himself. The man only looks upon the virtues as some kind of means/tools to make himself perfect, and he tries to remove flaws from his life because they are making him imperfect. But it is completely overlooked the lasting value of virtues, how the virtues can benefit the man from within and during human relations, in being of practical use in various circumstances. It is through virtues that it can be maintained balance during time of prosperity and time of adversity.

The man must first consider a right possibility before he can look for it, and discover its value for himself. But it will never happen if the man spends all his time upon irrelevant and digressive pursuits. How is the man going to discover his fields of interest and strong factors, if all the time is being wasted upon his weaknesses and loose habits and selfish problems? (Also when the man is constantly criticizing such things in other people and himself answering the criticism of other people, as if the person being criticized was supposed to give account of itself to completely irrelevant person located on the other side of the planet, instead of rendering account to its own conscience). But let us not digress from the matter at hand. Can the man really decide it in advance what he is being good or bad at doing? It would be best to maintain a silent and empty mind, and then participate in these or those fields, to test whether it does truly appeal to his interest and capability.  But it is not like the man can first foresee everything and then finally decide to participate in the field, since it is the personal experience that bestows knowledge and skill to him. The man must approach the unknown with a degree of faith, where he does not know it in advance what is precisely going to happen in upcoming circumstances, like what the environment will look like, what the people will do, and what he can experience from within. But the man does still the same believe that he can confront it on his arrival, by noticing the nearby environment, focusing upon the challenge, adapting to any changes, and respond in the best way possible. It can be called spontaneous inspiration, the ability to improvise according to the moment. It does not need to be perfect on his behalf, but rather acceptable and bearable and decent enough. It is even possible that the man can experience the same thing as the original inventors, how it can be improved the approach and made the method more efficient. The man did not actually know what other people had discovered and invented before his time, but the human spirit is still able to bestow similar experience and enlightenment. This is why there is nothing impossible to the man when it comes to confront the unknown, because the human spirit is able to repeat similar achievements and progress. The human people might be different and live at different periods, but the human spirit remains the same inside every one of them.

Nothing is being impossible in itself, when it involves a specific field, challenge, or a problem. It all comes down to that in what way one will approach the task at hand, ‘how’ it should be properly executed on one’s behalf. It is not only about manual labour, what could be done with one’s hands, but it is does also reach to intellectual aspect, in what way to organize things. The man’s own intellects will determine the approach, in what way will be prioritized the process, and whether the method should change, so it can deliver more efficiency. Is the same approach to be repeated which has hitherto not been working out? Or should it be looked for solution upon another basis, by making use of different things to get the same desirable outcome (that has all along been wished for)? The man must first change his attitude, and then his response will be different, rather than by continuing to be stubborn in his foolishness and stuck on the same problem. If the man has hitherto failed in his tasks then it is because of his human restrictions, what kind of presumptions and weaknesses have been affecting his capability. The attitude is like the eyes of the soul, in what kind of way is chosen to see the external things, so that pure eyes will receive pure/clear information while impure eyes will receive impure/distorted information. Will the man try to discover a right answer and solve the challenge at hand, or will he give up and only dwell upon the things which he is unable to control and change? If the man is already spiritually sober and modest then he will enjoy every moment, be at peace with himself, and be focused upon the goals at hand. It can be acknowledged that something is being hard for us to achieve, and yet we also acknowledge that it is not being too hard for the divinity to achieve. It can be acknowledged that we are undertaking something against the greater odds, and yet we also acknowledge that mere odds make no difference to the divinity. There is no shame in that in confessing our own ignorance and frailty. We are rather being at fault when implicating our own ignorance and frailty to the divinity, when we claim that the divinity cannot know it and cannot do it because we cannot know it and cannot do it.

It should be focused upon that which is within one’s reach to know and achieve, while everything else is put on hold, which is beyond one’s understanding and capability. It is first kept to the basics, and then advanced lessons will follow sometime afterwards, all in it due time. It would not have mattered if one had immediate access to the advanced knowledge, because one is either way in no position to understand it and in making a proper use of it. The advanced knowledge will not do us any good while we are still being found unready in fulfilling simple basic things. It can be mentioned that when it is sought to make a copy of a specific picture. The unskilled man does not need to trouble himself about the final destination, in what way the picture looks like when it is completed, with all these details at the same time. But it is only sufficient to draw a line between places, and in drawing one issue at a time, so that everything else is put on hold, until the moment comes that such issue become relevant. And it does not matter whether person makes a specific mistake, as if it would ruin the picture in whole, and make all subsequent effort futile in itself. For there is always time to pick up the thread where it was last left, in undoing the mistake and do better next time. Personal experience and knowledge has more value than the equipment used during the enterprise. The equipment does only have value in regard to the limited factor it is used for, while the spiritual values are able to benefit the man in many fields and factors. The equipment and technology can become obsolete with the time, but not the knowledge and human creativity behind it, in which will become the source of new inventions. It can happen that one undertakes a specific challenge for the first time, and it will lead to misunderstanding and mistakes, so that material objects can be destroyed in the process. But the effort can still the same be worth it, so long as one learned something new from it, and will be able to do better next time, and so forth, until one has finally mastered it.

The value of confidence should only involve one’s own determination, where it is believed that one will be able to confront the matter, analyze it, and respond in a proper way. It is not like one will have full certainty about the outcome and how it can affect oneself, like whether it will be gotten one’s way with everything or escaped from all harm. The value does rather consist in the certainty that one will be able to endure the harm/setback when it does finally happen, and continue to be willing enough in going through opposition to the very end. It does not matter how often the mind will haunt one with aggressive thoughts, or how unpleasant such experience can be.  For that one does still believe that it can be overcome each and every time, and that it is possible to obtain victory over the mind itself. The man does only need to concentrate upon one thing at a time, whether it does involve his eyes and ears in receiving information, or his mouth and limbs in responding to it. And a similar thing applies to the spiritual activity, where it is only sufficient to sense one thing at a time, to endure one delusion at a time, and remain faithful one more time. The man does not actually need to have his attention upon many things at the same time, the present and the future, near and distant things, or what is outside his will and ability. But it is only sufficient to focus upon the time and place where one is currently at, what is now right in front of oneself, what can actually be intervened with or made some use of. If the man is confident on this day then he will also be so tomorrow, when the future has finally become the present moment, since it can only be experienced one moment at a time. It is always the present time that applies, while the concept of the past and the future does only exist in the mind, and is imagined while the present time is taking place.

It can be mentioned warfare of old as an example to explain confidence further. At that time infantry made use of melee weapons and shields, and they fought closely together in massed formation (shield wall). The enemy could have a much bigger army and thereby deploy more soldiers on the battlefield. But each soldier did not need to have attention upon all the enemy soldiers at the same time, as if the mere appearance would be able to determine the outcome before the actual engagement. It was not like the soldier was all alone, fighting against the whole enemy army. It was only required of each soldier to concentrate upon that in overcoming the enemy soldier in front of him, in taking one enemy at a time, until the next one appeared in the line. Like if there were ten soldiers fighting against hundred enemy soldiers at a narrow location (bridge, gorge), and these ten soldiers could engage ten enemy soldiers at a time, while the majority/rest of the enemy soldiers were waiting in a line behind until their turn came. Hence every soldier only fought one enemy soldier at a time, while the enemy soldiers behind were being too distant and irrelevant. In a battle each soldier needed to be valiant and fight to the best of his ability, without needing to trouble himself about some distant enemies, or the performance of his fellow-soldiers. It did not matter what was happening elsewhere in the battle, because it was altogether irrelevant to the soldier’s capability, in obtaining victory at his location. It would never work out if every soldier was neglecting the place assigned to him, while being too distracted about things that were happening elsewhere in the battle. Each and every soldier would thereby fight poorly, while relying upon someone else to do everything, so it would only be a matter of time until the whole army would rout. Let's say that the man is being attacked by bad opinions of many people (slander, assertions about him as a person and what he is or is not capable of). The man should not allow this to change his current attitude and that what he is now doing. The man should not stop his life and go over to the people which are verbally attacking him, as if he needed to say or do something in order to prove himself in their eye or to satisfy their demands. That would be the same thing as if a single soldier would try to fight numerous enemies out in the open, where he is constantly chasing after elusive targets (air-like insubstantial opinions/lies) which do hit-and-run tactic, and where the enemies can easily surround him (attack from front, sides, and rear). The man should rather maintain his current attitude the same and keep doing the things that he has been doing. The man should allow his morally right choices to speak for himself with the time, that his choices might confirm that what he chosen to become and that it can disprove all attacks that claim otherwise. That would be the same thing if a single fighter/boxer would choose to make his stand near a doorway (the only entrance and exit) inside a building and there wait for every enemy outside to get within reach. By doing so he will be able to divide the enemy group into many isolated/single/lonesome targets, where the enemies will be forced to come over to him and engage him in the narrowing. It is best to allow the weaknesses of our enemies to prove their own undoing with the time, when they end up saying and doing the very bad things which they have been accusing us of, and when they turn out to be no better in the challenges involved (they can't accomplish good things because they lack good sense and good qualities). The man should not seek to save his own life (directly) at the expense of moral principles and integrity. When the man chooses to live and suffer for a higher purpose (greater than his own life) then the spiritual values will save/redeem him from their end. The man is being safe with them, since these spiritual values are being divine and eternal and safely kept/stored in heaven. The man is being benefited by the angels of God overseeing these virtues. When the man is being at peace with his conscience then it is the same thing as if he was being stationed in one of the good rooms in heaven.

2.2: Expectations of Recovery

When something involves pessimism and grumbling then it can be called a negative thing. A negative attitude can be be likened to that when the man gets a little stone inside his shoe, in which can be felt for each time when the man steps on the ground, regardless of the time and place. The man should not blame the place for this unpleasant experience, or try to avoid these or those spots on the ground. It is only sufficient to remove the little stone from the shoe and then one can easily travel to any place, be fully focused, and enjoy the experience. Another situation describes itself in that if the man would kick dry loose dirt up into the air, so that some particles would get stuck in his eyes and taint his vision. The man would now see dirt here or there in the environment, and on other people, but the dirt is really only in his own eyes. The dirt is not on the external things, but rather in between or in front of them. It is exactly the same thing when the man does have a negative attitude, where his negative experience is the mere reflection of his corrupt mindset. A negative man is always seeing negative things about the environment and other people, but he is really telling/enumerating delusions that belong to his own mind. A corrupt and treacherous man does ever suspect the same thing in other people, because he ascribes his own bad opinions to them, implicates his own bad qualities to them, and sees his own bad self in them.

The root of the problem does not consist in the circumstances and in other people, as if these external issues must first change before the man can finally confront and overcome it. The human mind is the original problem, because the thoughts are constantly lying about everything else, which can be seen, heard, experienced, spoken of, done, and received. The man does first listen to the delusions of the mind, and then afterwards he sees everything else as a problem, or blames everything else for his own error of judgment. The man has already restricted himself in advance and developed wrong attitude, by seeking for the wrong things, at a wrong place and time, and from the wrong people. The man will give up misleading impression, express himself in an improper way, and create some kind of misunderstanding. It is like the man does never stop to analyze the subjective influence, whether such thoughts are really being fair and unbiased, according to facts rather than his own selfish expectations. It can be mentioned an example when sport teams are competing against each other. One of them can neglect all team-play, where every team-member is only concerned about that in keeping the ball, in being the one to score and get all the credit. It will thereby not matter whether that team will get more opportunities in the future, if the game time would be prolonged, or another match planned against the same team. The real problem is to be found within the team, while it should not be blamed the external things. For that every team-member is being selfish and incompetent, lacking the right spirit for the game, neglecting every opportunity, and never adapting to any changes.

It has the most priority to withstand the selfish attitude, and then afterwards will one’s speech and deeds follow as well. But it is not like one should give up and no longer seek to withstand the selfish attitude, while it is only tried to change a part of something in one‘s outward speech and deeds. For example, the man can be afraid of the mind and the unpleasant thoughts that are haunting him, and the man will only resist for a limited time and soon yield to corruption. That very corruption changes the way the man sees himself and other people, and the corruption misleads the man into thinking that he needs to seek something or escape from something, so that man begins to say and do something outwardly which is supposed to appease these unfounded needs. When that man openly says and does something before other people then there lies an ulterior motive behind it, since he is really expecting something else from the people and trying to manipulate them into gratifying his needs. It is a hypocritical thing when the man is being slavish to the mind and agreeing with all its dishonest thoughts, while only pretending to be free and honest on the outside, by deceiving and convincing everyone else about it. If the attitude is selfish then the external behaviour cannot become good, like when a selfish man forces it upon himself to do seemingly good deeds. What the man understood to be good was not really being good, because if the goodness had been involved then it would never have forced/constrained the man into doing it. It is not like the man should try to change the environment and other people, which the negative thoughts in him have been criticizing, or try to satisfy these obsessive thoughts once and for all. The man should rather withstand the mind itself, which has hitherto been producing all these negative thoughts, as the original cause, the source of all temptations and problems. It has the most priority to free oneself from the mind’s influence, and then afterwards can one have a pure attitude, see and experience everything in a pure way, as it really is. The man must first change from within, and then can the deeds reflect his attitude, where he does truly wish to do so in sincerity but not because of some selfish reasons. The first step must always begin in one’s heart, by seeking help from the divinity that one might have the heart in the right place and have sincere intentions, by being outspoken and plainspoken about one’s position, by acknowledging the truth and being humble enough to abide by it.

A mental illness can describe itself in aggressive thoughts which haunt the man, and which can be accompanied by all kinds of misleading signs and symptoms in his body. These thoughts keep coming over to the man and they seek to distort every experience the man is having. It can happen that the man begins to yield to delusions and allows it to affect his stability. However, it is not a single battle that will determine the war in whole, but rather the man’s steadfastness the long run, by keep having the same stance while moving on, no matter how slowly it might seem. It can often seem like the man has the greater odds against himself and even that the spiritual struggle has already been lost, because the man can feel like he has already yielded and shown negligence. It is experienced unusual symptoms in the body which give the impression that the man is already experiencing bad consequences of a bad choice made within himself. But the sensations of the body prove to be just as unreliable judge as the mind itself, so it should not be consulted with the body whether something is being morally right or wrong. Something within can seem to be good and to be clung to, but then it happens all of a sudden that this seemingly good thing disappears and along with it the confidence thereof. And something bad within can seem to disappear like it has finally been defeated, and yet it happens short time after that this bad thing reappears in full force and it shatters the confidence derived from premature celebration of victory. All these changes in the mind and the body, which seem to be either good or bad, and which seem to confirm whether a specific choice considered is being good or bad; these very same thoughts and sensations all turn out to be bad, because these seemingly good things create a false confidence of something transient which is not of the human spirit. Even after all of this the man should still continue to have faith in the unseeable breath of God, that it will make him able to withstand these temptations in the long run, although he does not know how or when exactly. Spiritual wounds can heal with the time, just like when physical wounds are involved. It is of course only the good source which can revive and heal our soul, but it is not something which we can force to happen, or try to achieve solely through our human effort. It would be a foolish thing if the man had a serious wound treated with bandages and he would constantly be opening the bandages in order to see whether the wound has healed. For that by doing so the man is more likely to reopen the wound and prolong the healing process. Once it has been attended to the wound with proper matter (including that of replacing bandages with new ones at regular interval) then nothing more is required from the man than for him to rest and wait things out. The man himself does not need to do anything (further) in regard to the wound. It is simply received healing with the time. It should be put this in context of that when the man is having a spiritual struggle for his soul (which is being misguided, because it is only the divinity which can secure his soul and deliver it from evil). The man only makes things worse for himself when he is constantly trying to save himself within, when he gives too much attention to his subjective problems and he censors every move in the mind, and he is constantly trying some new quick remedy that does not work out. This constant strain on him drains him of all energy and focus. The very remedies he relies upon prevent him from resting and healing. The only thing needed is for the man to simply acknowledge that he has no power to heal himself, where it is something which only the human spirit can control and be able to achieve. The man should remain calm, and think no further about his problems, and allow the human spirit to take care of everything, all in its due time. The man should do nothing in regard to the problems and wait with patience within himself, while at the same time he can concentrate upon constructive goals which he possesses interest and conviction in.

It is not like the man can deceive and outsmart the human spirit, like by pretending to be good until the human spirit has bestowed spiritual healing and victory over the mental illness, and then the man would immediately betray the human spirit and resume his selfish way of life. For that if the man does possess such a treacherous motive then it means that he is still being selfish and unworthy, so that he will never be able to obtain blessings in the first place. That man would be deceiving himself by telling himself that he would become selfish again, because he has been selfish all along. The human spirit does bestow blessings to us if we are being faithful enough to receive it and make good use of it, so that we can become a better person and help one another. But we will never obtain any blessings if we only wish to abuse such gifts for our selfish ends and/or to harm other persons, since the human spirit will not help us to succeed in corruption. We would otherwise be tempting the human spirit, just like the mind has been tempting us, so that we only have ourselves to blame for remaining spiritually barren/empty. For example, a beauty might seem to be a good thing, but it is not being good to us if we abuse such beauty in order to become a harlot. A similar thing applies that we should not abuse our physical strength in order to bully the weak and the defenceless, or abuse our intelligence in order to deceive and cheat other people. It can thereby be said that such attributes prove to be neutral in itself, while it is depended upon the human will whether it will be used for good or evil purpose, upheld with responsibility or lost/squandered by unrestraint. The human spirit is able to discern everything at the outset, whether a person proves to be truthful or false, humble or proud, moderate or greedy, faithful or treacherous. This is why no person should ever complain about its own human lot, as if it would deserve more from the divinity, because that person is already deemed unworthy in its attitude. A truthful stance and repentance is a prerequisite for spiritual progress. Let's say that a man does constantly participate in debauchery and it later makes him sick, so the man is being too sick to resume the debauchery. But when someone does help that man to become healthy again then that man does immediately resume the debauchery. An unrepentant person does not assume responsibility of its bad choices, and it is not willing to improve its conduct. That person is only concerned about escaping the bad consequences of its bad choices, that it might do it all over again. If a person remains unrepentant of its selfish ways then it will consider every good turn to be something to be exploited in a selfish way, so that the good things which other people intend for that person will not do that person any good. But if the person is wholly devoted to the greater goodness then every spiritual progress is made possible. The divinity checks the inner-most part of the person, what it truly is which the person is seeking for and what the person considers to be most important in its life. A false and selfish person does have a mask when approaching the divinity, because that person pretends to be concerned about something and it says something beautiful about it when that person is really after a selfish advantage. It is like the person tells itself that if it will do 'this' then it will get 'this' from the divinity, and then that person can finally do 'this' selfish thing and become happy in 'this' . That person does not come forth openly and simply confess that it is after this selfish advantage. That person has still not confessed that it is having ulterior motives. This selfish advantage which is being coveted is like a wall in the heart of the person, or one of many walls coming up between that person and the divinity. This superficial 'faith' of the person does end at this wall, thereby not reaching further in. A genuine faith must reach to the inner-most part of the person, as something which is being open and bare, the last thing standing after all other things have been uncovered and removed. That when it is sought the divinity then it is sought to do things the divinity's way and what the divinity considers to be most important.

A spiritual progress can correspond to a physical progress to a certain degree. An athlete must be fully devoted to the contest at hand, and in fulfilling the physical requirements. That man needs to be determined and sober in his spirit, before he can be willing to train hard and become physically fit. Then he can finally be ready to enter the contest and have a chance of being victorious over other competitors. He must never slacken his resolve nor neglect the training, but he must be willing to sacrifice any loose habit and pleasure that might get in the way (distraction). The training is meant to have the first priority, while everything else come after it, but the man should never delay the training so that he can have a more comfortable life. It is not like the man would only train sometime, while being lazy in between for a long time, as if it could be made many exceptions or only trained the day before the contest. When an athlete becomes victorious in a contest then he does not celebrate it with unrestrained revelry. For that he must continue to be sober and disciplined, so that he can improve himself, improve the record, and obtain further victories in contests. It is thereby a way of life, something to be accustomed to each passing day, countless days in a row. It is exactly the same thing with the spiritual progress, where it is not only achieved progress but it is also established and expanded further, during the man’s entire lifetime. And even that the man could become perfect then he should still never boast about it nor become arrogant to other people, because that would make him imperfect right away.

It is not the man’s physical body which is being good or evil in itself, but it is depended upon the heart and soul underneath, as the driving force. The body remains fundamentally the same, while the heart and soul can be changed for better or worse. It is the man which decides which inner source he will heed over the other, and then afterwards will he use his physical body for good or evil ends. The human spirit makes the man able to obtain spiritual progress and make accomplishments, but the man should not take it too personally and claim all the credit. For the man was being blessed while he was heeding the human spirit (for as long time as he was doing it), but when the man ceases to do it then he will no longer grasp and achieve the same things. It is the mind which promotes spiritual regression, negligence, and failures, which will continue to happen while the man proves to be so selfish and fickle in his ways. A self-inflicted misery or humiliating incident is merely the consequence, which the long-term mindset had contributed to, making one already weak and delusional prior to it and during its experience. The selfish mindset made everything seem problematic to us and too hard to bear, since we were being afflicted by all kinds of impulses and symptoms at the same time. The man should not implicate the goodness or the evilness to himself, as if he had been the first one to invent these things and promote them to the world. But the man did merely choose to receive it from either source, and then applied it to his own life. The good things and the bad things have existed long before the man’s own time and choices, so the man can at most follow the human spirit and make use of that which belongs to it. The good qualities are a permanent part of the human spirit, while bad qualities are a permanent part of the mind. But there is nothing permanent about the man himself, since he is given a choice on each passing day, whether he will heed the goodness or the evilness. It is not like the past will always follow the man and restrict him in advance, but the man can always learn from his mistakes and do better next time, on this very day.

Now let’s say that the man would be perfect in all things except one factor, so that he neglects to do the right thing in it and reveals a sign of selfishness. Then that same weakness can lead to bad consequences, where the man can become distracted, unstable, impulsive, negligent of his surroundings, and prone to mistakes and accidents. It does not actually affect the factors which the man is being faithful and honest in, so that he is otherwise focused, stable, calm, and sober most of the time. But the bad effects do only happen while the man is coveting the selfish factor, thinking about it, and pursuing it, although it can still follow some time afterwards, as withdrawal symptoms. It is not like the man can then complain to the divinity and assert that this is being unfair (that he is experiencing all these bad effects following that single bad factor), because he has otherwise been faithful and honest in most factors. The good qualities are not supposed to justify the selfish factor, or redeem the selfish factor in some way, but the man will continue to reap according to each quality and its sphere of influence. Even that the man has hitherto been doing the right thing in all things then it does still not excuse that when he finally chooses to do the wrong thing. Like when a seemingly exemplary figure chooses to covet a woman and he approaches her in an improper way and tries to exploit her (sexual misconduct). When that woman becomes aware of his false attitude and dealings then she rejects him, so that man does not get anything from her and he only ends up making a fool of himself. He is not to be rewarded for this fault because of all the other right things he has been doing. He deserves to fail in this pursuit because of his unworthy attitude and approach. These fruitless consequences are rightfully called for when it is thrown seeds into a barren soil (the selfish side). For another example, the man can be sober and industrious in his profession, so that he will have success in his work and obtain many rewards. But that same man can have a weakness for alcohol, and he becomes intoxicated during weekends. So that while the man is being drunk then he commits mistakes through error of judgment and he is easily exploited by other people. However, it does only apply when he is drunk, but not while the man is sober at his work. Therefore should it not be rebuked the man while he is doing good work, but only while he is drinking alcohol or planning to do it again. And it should not be praised the man while he is drinking and tried to excuse his shameful dealings because of the sober achievements during his profession.

There do exist two extremes, and these extremes are namely selfishness and self-righteousness. The selfish man inclines to that in choosing something (moral or immoral) if there is an expectation of repayment, like if it involves profit, pleasure, or an avoidance of pain. He does not care about the distress of other people and he is unwilling to help anyone for free. Selfishness is otherwise rather self-explanatory, and does not require further description. The selfish man only chooses something if there is something in it for himself, while a self-righteous man can be neglecting and contradicting himself while trying to do something for the sake of others. The self-righteous man tells himself that he is trying to help other people, but his very approach/means prove to be reckless and inconsiderate, like when it involves too much force and interferences against the consent of other people. When a self-righteous man notices something lacking in other people (attitude, bearings) then he seeks to remedy it by trying to change them directly, and he does it in such a bad way that it only escalates the bad things or replaces one bad thing with another bad thing. The remedy proves to be far worse and more insane than the actual malady. The self-righteous man seeks to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons, like when he forces something upon himself through fear, or when a good act is somehow meant to prove something to himself. The pure evilness makes use of two extremes when it comes to mislead the human people, because the human people are not originally being pure evil and they are more likely to be swayed by something which is seemingly between good and bad, or seemingly having both a good part and a bad part in itself. In the beginning there is selfishness and/or self-righteousness, and when either extreme has reached its most extreme form then it becomes pure evilness. It corresponds to that in politics when a far-right ideology (fascism) and far-left ideology (communism) both end up becoming totalitarian, and thereby having more in common with each other than with the moderate/tempered ideologies in the middle. It is like the far-right ideology begins from zero degree/angle to the right while the far-left ideology begins from 180 degree/angle to the left, and they both go downward until both meet at 270 degree/angle (most extreme form). The far-right ideology proves to be selfish while the far-left ideology proves to be self-righteous. The far-right seek to exalt their own people at the expense of foreigners/outsiders, while the far-left seek to exalt foreigners/outsiders at the expense of their own people. The far-right ideology should really be called far-left while the far-left ideology should really be called far-right, because the self-righteous ideology is trying to do the right thing but it goes too far and interferes too much and ends up failing miserably in practice. Let‘s say that there would be a family of refugees seeking shelter at a specific place. A selfish man shuts the door of his house/home and he refuses to share anything with the outsiders. That man tells himself that only his own family is important, and that he will not reduce any provision and comfort meant for his family for the sake of strangers that he does not know. A self-righteous man becomes offended by this and he criticizes the selfish man for doing nothing to help the refugees. The self-righteous man claims that of course should the refugees be given shelter and food. But the self-righteous man does not invite the refugees into his own house. He does instead lead the refugees into the house of someone else, without asking that someone for permission, and he drives that someone and his family out of the house to make room for the refugees.

When selfishness and self-righteousness is involved then it is either held oneself too much back or gone ahead of oneself, where one is either being too cold or too hot, being too soft or too hard, doing too little or too much. Selfish men tend to be overly loose-mannered and self-indulgent, so they deliberately neglect the divinity and slacken to obey its principles. Fanatics do tend to be too stiff and harsh, and they ignorantly go too far in trying to serve the divinity, until it no longer involves the same knowledge and principles that belong to the divinity. In both cases it is neglected the will of the divinity, the moderate middle path which is like the earth among all the other planets, or water in liquid form in contrast to steam (hot air) and ice (hard matter). It is not like selfishness does always involve too little ratio while self-righteousness does always involve too much ratio. A selfish man tends to be reluctant in helping other people (too little), while at the same he is being overly eager in satisfying his selfish desires (too much). A self-righteous man tends to be overly eager in helping other people (too much), while at the same time he is being reluctant in following through the aspirations of his heart (too little). The selfish man does too little in external matters while doing too much in internal matters. The self-righteous man does too much in external matters while doing too little in internal matters. Fanaticism involves vices that are repressive. But when the fanatic accepts repression in his life then he can either be motivated/stimulated by fear of the divinity (too little) or overly eagerness in trying to glorify the divinity (too much). He can be stimulated by both things, by switching from one thing to the other and where one thing does not necessarily exclude the other. That to do too much can lead to too little, and that to do too little can lead to too much. That to add too many needless changes in the society can reduce aspirations and activity in people, while that to neglect to come up with reforms in the society can increase restlessness within the people. That to go too far in satisfying the indulges of the people can lead to apathy in them, while that to do too little to satisfy their needs can make them burst out in hot-headed behaviour. Hence the two extremes can point to each other, where a resentment of one extreme can sway people into going over to the other extreme. When the society has been mismanaged by the self-righteous far-left then people became resentful enough to turn to the selfish far-right. And when the society has been mismanaged by the selfish far-right then people became resentful enough to turn to the self-righteous far-left. Hence the vicious cycle continues. When you see two groups quarrelling and fighting, where one of the group is being selfish and the other group is being self-righteous; then do not take sides. Rather pass by them, and continue forth to the righteous side. The following vices apparently belong to selfishness: pride, greed, vanity, superficiality, pleasure-loving, laziness, irresponsibility, indiscipline, partiality, boastfulness, pettiness,  ingratitude, grumbling, self-pity, and cowardice. The following vices apparently belong to self-righteousness: pride, wishful thinking, stubbornness, perfectionism, being overly demanding, recklessness,  obtrusiveness, overprotectiveness, self-constraint, self-loathing, self-humiliation, asceticism, pettiness, being accusive/overcritical, revengefulness, and cruelty. And on the religious side it can be added: taking the name of God in vain, innovation of needless and superfluous customs, and overemphasis on the avoidance of trivial matters/habits. There is nothing better or more redeeming about one extreme in comparison to the other, because in both cases the man is being deceived and manipulated by the pure evil source in all its malice. It does involve the same spiritual slavery, although the ideas and vices may seem different. The beginning is not the same, but it will still lead to the same destination, since both extremes are as equally distant from the pure goodness and negligent of virtues.

It is already obvious to most people what is deemed to be selfish and immature, but it can be more difficult to become aware about the other extreme, what self-righteousness is and involves. Self-righteousness is often mistaken for goodness, or people blame the goodness for the faults and crimes belonging to self-righteousness, when fanatics have openly pretended to do so in its name. Let‘s say that there does exist a hero which has been doing many good things and helping many people. Then there is a villain which hates that hero and he tries to undermine the hero in the eyes of other people. That villain goes to those parts in the world which the hero has not yet gone to and where the people have not yet heard about that hero. The villain dresses himself like the hero and calls himself by the same name as the hero. The villain tells everyone that he is being that person (hero), and the villain does all kinds of bad things and he harms many people. And after the villain has left that part of the world then the people there believe that the actual hero is being villain. When the people hear the name of the hero mentioned by the people in those parts of the world where the hero has been doing good things; then the former people object that he is being a hero and they claim that he acted like a villain in their part of the world. It is like the pure evilness does create self-righteousness as a phoney and mocking version of the goodness, where the self-righteous persons that are supposed to be good prove to be so non-understanding and unfair toward other people; that it creates so much resentment in people that they presume that selfishness is actually being better and preferable option in comparison. Self-righteousness is deliberately created as something so obviously foolish and incompetent that it slanders people‘s belief that the goodness is actually being wise and competent. The self-righteous man lives in the self-deception that he is being good, because that man has abstained from the weaknesses that belong to the selfish people and ‘not’ committed crimes. But the self-righteous man has replaced such weaknesses with other kind of vices, where he does neither do the selfish thing nor the good thing (what is deemed noble altruistic, selfless). It is neglected and contradicted the goodness in one way or another. When that man notices the weakness of other people then he does not seek to understand it, how it can actually be helped that people to know better and improve in that factor. But the self-righteous man does rather choose to hold such people in contempt, as if the people would be condemned henceforth and deserve to suffer for their faults, since the self-righteous man neglects compassion and mercy belonging to the goodness. It can happen that the self-righteous man seeks to help other people, even that he is contemptuous from within and does not really care for them. But he is in no position to offer advises and helpful intervention, because he is already full of presumptions and impulses. This assistance will prove to be just as imperfect as what that man is, where he is merely attempting to force his delusions and weaknesses upon other people, so they will become just as restricted as him or like an egoistical reflection of himself.

The self-righteous man seeks to do the lawful thing through selfish reasons, like when it is coveted rewards, and feared to commit crime because he would otherwise be punished. But the self-righteous man does still the same covet selfish things in his heart and he envies the selfish people. That man would behave just like them an opportunity would present itself, or if it seemed like he could get away with it, if the fault would not be revealed. The self-righteous man refuses to show understanding and tolerance to other people, because he has already treated himself in the same way, when being alone with his thoughts and speaking with himself. That kind of standard is too harsh, inhumane, and superficial, where the man is quick to accuse himself for the slightest sign of weakness and like he deserves to suffer for it. The self-righteous man lives in self-constraint, where he is constantly forcing things upon himself, against his own willingness and better judgment. It is like he does only think and behave according to what others expect of him, and to maintain a certain image in the eyes of other people. The self-righteous man does never listen to his own heart, where he does not love and receive himself the way he is. He always prefers the external things above his own spiritual health and freedom, like when it is sought to please people that mean nothing to him, or to prove himself in the eyes of someone else.

It can happen that the man mistakes self-righteousness for the goodness, where he does not understand the true nature of the goodness and what kind of function does always accompany it. The man only gazes upon the wrong things that should not be done, while he neglects to establish virtues in his life, so they do not spread to other factors. Where there is self-righteousness there is also perfectionism, obsession, and self-constraint. It is sought for the goodness upon a wrong basis, because it is relied upon the mind in order to follow the goodness, while it is neglected the human spirit and its principles. The self-righteous man presumes himself to be following the goodness, when trying to satisfy his obsession and unrealistic goals, even that he is experiencing disruption and chaos at the same time. But where the goodness is there are also benefits, like sobriety, peace, stability, and light-heartedness. Self-righteousness is about overly eagerness for a brief time, where it is failed to maintain previous success and other kinds of problems will emerge instead. The man forces it upon himself to do all kinds of things in order to appease the superficial standard of the mind. The man struggles against needless problems in his mind, and he tries to abstain from insignificant habits, and he tries to please people that mean nothing to him. The man presumes that he is obtaining progress through such self-constraint, but the determination and the conduct will only last for a brief time. The man will strain himself too much, and finally give up on this self-righteous attempt. Once it has been given up on the self-righteous attempt then everything reverts to the same old selfishness. It is thereby a fact that the man did never follow the goodness from the outset, but he went from selfishness to self-righteousness, and then back from self-righteousness to selfishness. The man blames the goodness for the self-constraint during that extreme, and presumes that it is impossible to believe in the goodness and follow it. The man only had himself to blame for getting ahead of himself, where he sought to do too many things at the same time and overreached himself in the end. But the goodness is all about moderation, where it is taken one thing at a time and where many small things do steadily contribute to one great result.

2.3: Identifying the Threat

It should not be presumed that the mind in the mental patient is of some another nature than in the healthy people. It is indeed true that the human spirit is the good nature and the mind is the evil nature, but the mind itself is not divided into two different nature’s that are either good or bad. A healthy man is not as much wrong in comparison to the far-fetched and extreme opinions of a mental patient, but it can still merely involve different distance at the same wrong basis. For the foolishness of one man makes him unable to obtain success with selfish goals, while the craftiness of another man makes him able to deceive other people and exploit them. But both parties are still the same as equally distant from the higher truth and its pure goodness. A healthy man can be more aware about that what possibilities prove to be wrong, so he can thereby criticize such things in order to disprove them or deride other men. But that same man is still unable to come up with any right answers and solutions instead, and he is in no better position than other men, since even that it can be noticed the ignorance of other men then it does not make the man himself any wiser. It is a fact that delusions, hallucinations, and schizophrenic voices do exist, and they can be experienced by a mental patient. But it is not the same thing as if such things were being true in themselves, even as when it is known that a liar does lie but the lie itself is not true. Therefore when a mental patient claims that it is like thoughts are being inserted into his head then it should not be disregarded. For such delusions will continue to befall the mental patient, regardless of his current attitude and experienced circumstance. So he does not have any choice about it, and he cannot prevent such delusions from appearing forth in his mind. The healthy people can presume that the bad judgement of the mental patient does reach to all factors, and they do thereby not believe it when he claims such things happening within him. But the healthy people are receiving other kinds of delusions at the same time, where the thoughts seem to be more logical but it does still involve half-truths mixed with lies.

It can obviously be presumed that it is the human brain itself which arouses thoughts and imaginations, because of a specific function somewhere in the brain or the nervous system. However, it is not a question about the consequence, or after-effects, but rather what kind of stimulus does produce such thoughts in the first place. It is true that through science it can be noticed change of activity in the brain, but it should not be mistaken the consequence for being the cause. For example, if a man is being hit forcefully by someone then his body will respond with specific effects, but it does not mean that these body effects came first all on their own. It does seem incredibly coincidental that all thoughts prove to be lies and deceptions, involving selfish or self-righteous influence that seeks to corrupt the man’s premises, so the man will come up with wrong assumptions and reactions. All these thoughts and imaginations never involve a complete truth, and it never influences pure goodness. The brain and the nervous system is complicated, but not that complicated that it can separate itself from the man and become an independent life-form, meddling with everything and trying to force its decisions upon the man, against his consent. Or why does it happen that the 'brain' keeps mentioning bad incidents from the past, many ones in a row, as if 'brain' would only pick them over all memories and deliberately seek to drag the man down? The mind plays trick upon the man, because the mind is a trickster with a will of its own. Behind every movement within the man there is a good or evil spirit. It follows the presence of that spiritual messenger, for better or worse. A spirit breathes/transmits its thoughts into the man. It happens telepathically. It cannot be seen that spiritual being, and yet there is heard a voice or thought. So where there is a voice there must also be a speaker, as there is a cause behind a consequence. It is not like the man is struggling against himself and trying to have the final word, since all kinds of selfish opinions continue to emerge even that he is against them. Only a living being does possess a will of its own, is able to speak and make itself comprehensible, but it is not something which does come out from nothing, in the man’s mind. It is a logical tactic when the mind does come up with thoughts in between which seem to be positive, creating the false impression that thoughts are being good or bad at random, rather than by being always bad. Therefore will the man not be as steadfast in rejecting all thoughts, but he allows himself to be fooled by flattering lies and self-righteous thoughts. It does correspond to the interrogational method called ‘Good cop, Bad cop’. For that specific types of voices and negative thoughts attack the man in a personal way, while another type of voices and ‘positive’ thoughts seem friendly (flattering) toward the man. But the former has been made for the very purpose of making the latter temptations seem more convincing in comparison.

As it is delved deeper into contemplations then the conclusion will be even more distant from the truth, since it has been digressed more and more from the original sense of the human spirit. It can begin with a question about something which is not known the answer to, even that it is not necessary in the current situation and will either way be of no practical use. One contemplations lead to another, and so forth, but the distance will increase between the first contemplations and the subsequent ones. In the end there is no context between the first contemplation and the last one, but it only involves an irrelevant argument, a red herring, like a beautiful or clever answer which belongs to entirely different question. It does correspond to that when two men are arguing about something, and then one thing will lead to another in the heat of the moment, until they are beginning to quarrel about trivial and petty issues. And one of them can seem to have the final word and get the better of the opponent, but both of them have totally forgotten what this was all about. The mind can at most come up with suggestive and misleading questions, which are meant to cast doubt upon the truth, and there is really nothing more to it. It cannot be discovered a wise answer if the question is stupid, nor truthful answer if the question is false. The very need for that question proves to be unfounded, where the mind deceives the man into thinking that this is being his concern when it is not being his concern. If it is sought for something which is being too distant then it is failed to notice that which is being near and which can be done something about. Needless contemplations will only lead to needless reactions, which will in turn create false impression, misunderstanding, and selfish problems, like it had happened at random. Since there was no need for such reactions then it is a sign that one should never have contemplated to begin with, no matter how urgent it seemed to be at that time.

It can be discoursed upon that when the man experiences a good mood, where the man can feel an inner spark and rousing in his spirit, which makes him light-hearted and loose-mannered. It has nothing to do with ‘positive’ thoughts at the same time, as if such thought had caused the good mood. A good mood is rather originated in the divine good spirit and mutual love during human relations. The human spirit is the cause, and the good mood is the consequence, while the ‘positive’ thoughts are only incidental. The goodness is capable of reviving the man’s spirit, in making him lively again. It is something which has already happened from within, even before the man became aware of it. It was not because the man was thinking ‘positively’ about something and then it changed his condition, but good mood happened like a free gift in a silent/discreet way. If the human spirit is absent then the man can attempt to come up with exactly the same ‘positive’ thoughts, and try to cheer himself up, but nothing will ever happen/change in his soul. Positive thoughts prove to be self-righteous in their nature, because they lie too much optimism that will never work out in practice, and they try to see something beautiful about the ugliness within other people. Like when the man becomes overly positive toward false and hypocritical people, where he has an initiative in seeking their company and being open and friendly to them. But the false and hypocritical people keep rejecting his company and being closed and hostile to him. Nothing has changed about these people. What has hitherto been happening will continue to happen. The positive thoughts deceived the man into being concerned about the stance and opinions of those that do not care about him, so that he takes it too personally when they treat him like garbage. The positive thoughts will thereby only lead to disappointment and bitterness, so it will actually work against the good mood had in the beginning. It might at first seem that such thoughts involve a ‘positive’ voice in the mind. But the mind is actually coming up with a stupid suggestion in order to mock the man, even as when a false and treacherous person does tend to speak in a pretentious and exaggerated tone.

It can be mentioned the quibbles and doubts which follow the ego-tones of the mind, where such issues can apply to many things and according to that what vices are involved. Quibbles and doubts can be the most basic temptations which one should watch out for, since it can function as the stimulus behind vices rather than by being the vices themselves. It is always through subjective quibbles and doubts that there is sought to slander and undermine the possibilities of the goodness, so the man will soon give up on the goodness and thereby give up on himself as well. These temptations do never stop at that (the doubt), for there does always follow an assumption or encouragement, that the man should begin misusing and wasting the good things in his life. The man should not become troubled by that how clever and convincing such arguments can be, because it does always lead to the same destination, namely faithlessness and hypocrisy. For example, the faithless man will spiritually give up and try to enjoy as many selfish pleasures before he dies, as if this was a meaningless existence and nothing to be hoped for. Or the faithless man ceases to try to change for the better and there is nothing good he tries to contribute to the society, while he only tries to ruin the work of other people and to drag many people down with his fall, through his hatred and envy of their healthy/successful lives. But let‘s again consider the ego-tones of the mind mentioned in the beginning. The man does first experience a specific type of thought, and then it immediately arouses something selfish in him, or the man instantly reacts in a selfish way (by gloating and quibbling in an egoistical tone about something). The man is not actually saying something out loud, but he gloats in his face while telling himself something selfish in his mind. But both the thought and the rousing/reaction are part of the same temptation, involving an automatic process. The man would still the same have experienced such selfish rousing/reaction, even that he had been perfect on his behalf prior to the experience. This is not something which could have been prevented, or like the man could separate the two issues from each other, since the temptation would either way affect him in some way. The man experiences things in such a selfish and quibbling way, and yet he has still not made a choice about it. The man can still reject this experience afterwards and abstain from that in quibbling something out loud to other people. That this selfish thing is at least not being drawn out from his heart when the man opens his mouth and tells/judges something about other people, so that he is not being condemned by his own speech. What can be said about that when the faith in God has still not reached to the inner-most part (heart) of the person. When the person is still being selfish and ungrateful and contemptuous then such attitude can be likened to a dark face/mask which keeps coming between the message of God and that person‘s understanding. The person can hear from other people what is being true and right in the situation, but this message does stop at the person‘s gloating dark face/mask underneath, and cannot enter further into the person‘s heart. Like when it is heard the word of God then the person will instantly experience bad face in itself regarding it, by seeing something contemptible and mocking about it. This gloating dark face/mask is the same thing as an inner/spiritual wall blocking all right endeavour and progress. If one is being gripped by dark face underneath then one needs to confess the truth about it when praying to God, and ask God for help that one might become detached from such bad attitude.

It would be a pointless thing to try enumerate/describe every possible lie, doubt, quibble, and deception, because there is no end to lies and wrong possibilities which can be invented to contradict the one truth which applies (as in mathematics). Half-truths mixed with lies are still the same false in whole, and to be disregarded completely. It is always the truth which disproves lies, while it is never lies in which are able to disprove the truth, no matter what kind of doubt they attempt to cast over it.  The light does brighten the darkness away, while it is not the darkness the darkens the light away. The darkness can at most deceive the man into seeing something dark about the light, when the man has still not gone over to the light and he remains in dark place. Or the darkness can at most cover the man‘s eyes and block his eyes from seeing the light on the other side. The truth is based upon facts, reflecting that which does really exist, what is the true merit and capability of every being, what has already taken place and will surely happen. But lies are mere words, in which lack all substance and are uttered by a worthless being, which resorts to lies in order to conceal its own weakness and incompetence. Lies are eagerly welcomed and clung to by those whom are proud, whom do already presume that they know everything and become hostile when someone points out the humble truth to them (a rebuke which disproves the proud inclinations they are having). Lies do never make any impression upon the divinity, since its truth is always able to reveal everything and see any being as it is. It does thereby not matter whether lies can seem to be persuasive and tricky at first, because the lies can still the same never harm the actual truth, still being stationed firm upon its basis. It does correspond to that when presumptuous men attack their own understanding of other people, while the very same people have the right on their side and are innocent of all charges.

It does never work out to make a compromise between the goodness and the evilness, by choosing the ‘lesser’ evil. The human race can call it the grey path, or the neutral path, which is supposed to be neither good nor bad. However, even that the grey colour is not black then it is still the same not white. And even that the man makes a compromise and chooses the lesser evil then it will still never stop at that. For the man will be tempted with more compromises, on top of the previous ones, until he has become more deranged and corrupt with the time. It was originally rejected the white colour and chosen the grey colour, and then afterwards it was chosen the colour between grey and black, and again between, until it has become wholly black. All evil influence should be rejected from the outset, in an unconditional way. A lesser evil is as equally wrong as a greater evil, because it does belong to the same evil nature and contradicts the goodness. Crimes and evil deeds may seem different, but it does still involve the same unloving and uncaring attitude behind it. The man needs to renounce all the wrong things in his life, and have a fresh start. It should not be made new compromises in order to get nearer to the goodness, like if it would involve a colour between grey and white, by decreasing the selfishness further. For such compromises do still involve a weakness and corruption, absent from the pure goodness. It also means that the man is still listening to the mind and obeying it in the greater matters, so the man does only make things harder for himself in the process.

It can be mentioned when a mental patient experiences and believes far-fetched delusions. Such absurd thoughts and imaginations are not really the root of the problem, but it does merely involve incidental things, after the mind has isolated the person in the long run. The mental patient can be afraid of the uncontrollable unpleasant thoughts that are haunting him, so that he is unable to handle the pressure for long and vanishes into the mind. It is like the man is constantly trying to save himself from such delusions, but by doing so he neglects everything else at the same time and becomes too distracted to focus upon anything. The man is no longer with himself, and he has already been weakened from within. Then afterwards will appear far-fetched thoughts about something else, which the man believes and shares with other people, so he makes a fool out of himself in their eyes. The man did not become sick because of these far-fetched delusions, but he was already overcome by another problem, which thrived upon his fears and distress and guilt. It does correspond to that when a man is intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, which other people can come to notice and they are able to exploit him in such condition. The real problem did not actually consist in the people involved, what they had said or done, but it was the intoxication which made the man already weak and vulnerable in all things. If the man had remained sober then he would easily have seen through such people, so it had everything to do about his internal condition but nothing about their merit. Far-fetched delusions are like vultures, feeding upon a carcass killed by another cause. The evil spirits put their own words into the mind of the spiritually intoxicated person, and when that person repeats these foolish words they had suggested then it can seem humiliating in the eyes of other people. But these evil spirits possess the greater blame for having exploited a person which was already sick, namely too sick to know the difference between right and wrong. And when these evil spirits are at work in the minds of ordinary people then they mention again the foolish words of the mental patient and mock his humiliating incident, when these evil spirits were really being the authors of the same things. They told him to tell these things to other people, and now they accuse him of that in having told the things which they said to him.

The mind can come up with memories about one’s past faults in order to arouse guilt and forced confrontation of it, but it is thereby tempted one of the very same evil possibilities in the present time. It is not only reminded one about the misspeaking and misdeeds in the past, but it is also reminded one about the selfish attitude and corrupt mindset that had led to it. The man experiences all kinds of self-accusations from the mind, like he will always be a bad person and could just as well give up, repeating the same errors all over again. This is why memories can create a vicious cycle, where the man’s guilt will keep the same temptations alive, so he will make it harder for himself to learn from it and improve. The man should rather reject all memories from the outset, and free himself from the original cause, so that he will no longer consider evil possibilities nor implicate it too personally to himself. For the man is actually being better off having no awareness about such things at all. All temptations and corruption should be rejected in an unconditional way, regardless of that whether the man had once inclined to it or not, practiced it or not. We should of course never speak of improper and indecent things while we are having company with other people. And we should neither remind ourselves of such evil possibilities while we are all alone, since that we are supposed to love ourselves and treat ourselves with dignity. Just like we are not meant to mention people‘s past faults and accuse them for it; then we are not meant to remind ourselves of our past faults and accuse ourselves for it. Just like we are not meant to exploit the weaknesses and past humiliation of other people; then we are not meant to allow ourselves to be exploited by the mind in our matters. The man is never alone, because the divinity is always with him, so that no temptations should be spoken of. The man should not even rely upon any arguments and methods against the accusive thoughts, because it will also keep the problem alive, and tempt him in exactly the same way.

The mental patient can experience unordinary activity within himself, which can appear forth in many signs and symptoms. These signs give a misleading impression, a misleading cause and effect, which makes the man become superstitious over his choices, constantly re-evaluating everything and changing his decisions. It is presumed that if it is experienced a ‘good’ sign in the body at the same time as something is being considered; then that considered thing must be good. And if it is experienced a bad sign in the body at the same time as something is being considered; then that considered thing must be bad. The man presumes that the bad signs in his body have been caused by his intended words or actions, so he does not dare to be bold and selfless in contrasting the signs. And he is constantly waiting for a ‘good’ sign to happen in his body to confirm that something should be followed through. It is totally disregarded personal conviction and understanding and morality when making a choice. It can be mentioned fleeting sensations like something soft and lukewarm presses the head, a pressure in the head like something is moving inside it, a  strange smell, strange perceptions like it is sensed the presence of something (cold breeze), long gasps without tiredness, an uncontrollable sounds or words that come up in one‘s mouth for a brief time, and other kinds of body quirks. All such signs do spring at random because of an underlying corruption. It does not mean that the signs themselves do testify whether something is being corrupt or not. The man has dwelt upon bad things for such a long time that it has disrupted the activity within him. The man is unable to overcome such symptoms in a direct way, but he must rather overcome his weaknesses. It is not like the man can pretend to be good until these symptoms will finally vanish, but he must rather assume responsibility of his recent choices, and endure the consequences.

Psychology does emphasis what most upon the mind and its potential, where it is believed that through the mind can be controlled how it is received all factors in life, and shaped/reshaped every experience into a favourable one. The psychological systems are originated from the mind itself, what kind of terms and explanations have been invented, or negative factors categorized and rearranged. All such hindrances and solutions are invented by the mind, and do only exist in  the mind. It is undergone all these things through the mind, but if the mind would not be meddling/obtruding in our lives then we would have been spared from it. It is known about lies through the liar, but if the liar would not exist then these lies would be unknown. The mind can lie endlessly about anyone and anything, creating new problems and new excuses which afflict the self-centred people. It does not matter whether psychologists create new names for mental illnesses and arrange various symptoms together, since all such things are either way originated from the same evil source. It is only sufficient to identify the evil nature, the original tempter, the conjuror of all problems, rather than by struggling against illusions that the mind has been creating at random. It is thereby first identified the threat, and next sought to know how to overcome it. It can be said that a psychologist does first invent a problem, and next he does invent solutions to the same imagined problem, so that both of them are a mere illusions. It has more to say about the psychologist himself than the person whom he seeks to help, since he does ascribe his own thoughts and imaginations to other people. For example, the psychologist can first receive an idea and explanation from the mind, where such presumption could be experienced by the psychologist at random anywhere and at anytime. The psychologist does next seek to implicate such thoughts to other people in advance, even before he has met with such people and known their personal experience. It does not matter whether a fake-problem can be solved or not, because the real cause remains intact. It is like the psychologist can at most cut down the bad fruits or branches of the bad tree, while the roots are left untouched, making the rest of the tree able to grow back. The mind does have exactly the same nature in all men, whether a psychologist is involved or his patient. Both of them will experience selfish desires, delusions, and impulses, where there is nothing better or more redeemable about it, but it will always be as equally wrong. It does not make any sense that only the mental patient is supposed to experience improper thoughts, while the psychologist is somehow being exempted from it.

The mind does first tempt the man into yielding to wickedness in his heart and conduct, and then afterwards it is mentioned all kinds of incidents from the past in order to justify it. It was not the past which made the man become evil, or influenced him to commit a crime, because the man had already chosen to do it and then later came up with pretexts. It was the mind which tempted the man into becoming evil, and the man yielded because of his own faithlessness, but it had nothing to do with these or those reasons. The mind is to be blamed for its distorted use of the past to manipulate the man into reliving its bad experience. The bad past can likened to a sleight of hand of a pickpocket. The thief/pickpocket keeps distracting the man by speaking and pointing to a certain direction, while grasping some object on the man at the same time. Even so the mind does deliberately mention the past in the worst possible way to make the man resentful enough to be pointed into an angry course of action. It was the mind which manipulated the man through the past. It was not really the past itself which sprang forth to life on its own and made the man do something against his better judgment. All this experience  became bad because of the bad presence of the bad person. That bad person mentioned everything in a bad way, not because these things were really being bad but because the bad person reflected its badness upon them. Once the bad person leaves the scene then there is no longer bad experience. All of this begins with the arrival of the bad person and it ends at its departure.

Psychology makes use of advices from the mind against problems which the mind itself has created. The same improper advices are to the only effect in overcomplicating the man’s life, where it makes him too conscious about all the wrong things and he keeps reacting to them every time. It is like the psychological methods and delusions will sharpen each other’s existence. The mind offers bad advices against itself in order to keep the man in check through self-constraint. The man does first listen to delusions about the approach, what he is either allowed or forbidden to do, and next the man restricts himself in advance. The man will not know how to overcome the mind, because he is struggling against irrelevant issues or making use of foolish means against temptations. The man presumes that the problem consist in everything else but the mind itself. The most common error does consist in that when the man does rely upon lies against lies, and tricks against tricks, rather than by having faith in the humble truth. This means that the man will not confess the truth about his position, nor be sincere about that what he really wants. But the man does rather try to discover some kind of ultimate argument or trick, which can then be used as ‘weapon’ or ‘shield’ against temptations, to make them go away once and for all. The man will then keep repeating the same bullshit to himself, to defend himself from aggressive thoughts, even that he does not mean such words in his heart and will not act upon it. The man should not be programmed like a robot, in being always obligated in reacting to every delusion and with insincere expression each time, as if it was always expected of him. It cannot be expected that the man can become a better liar than the mind, able to outsmart the mind in craftiness and deception, when it comes to that in having the final word and silencing the opponent. It applies when the man makes use of insincere answers against subjective problems, which is the same thing as evil against evil, or temptations against temptations. The man can rely upon methodology, defensive formulas, and self-centred arguments, which is to the only effect in making him even more insincere and self-absorbed. The shadow does follow the man, but the man does not follow after his own shadow. It is not like the man’s whole life should be centred upon that in reacting to the shadow, as if the man needed to wait in a preparatory position until the shadow will first move. But it is only sufficient for the man to move on with his life, and have the initiative on his side. The man has not been given existence for the sole purpose of wasting his time upon subjective problems, by being on the defensive, chasing after illusions or trying to save himself from it. For that by doing so the man will neglect to have a meaningful existence, where even that the body is still being alive then there is no spirit to fill the heart and soul with life. It is like the man is willing to promise anything and pretend to be anything in order to escape from opposition, so that all his choices are nothing but countermeasures to delusions. It would have been better if the man had just stood his ground (same one stance), being willing to suffer for his conviction and endure any opposition from the mind.

A sick man should never apply many remedies from many physicians at the same time. For that all such remedies would only contradict one another and further disrupt the man’s health. The man would not know which remedy is being the right one, and which ones do not work out. A wrong remedy can work against the right remedy, or afterwards steal all the credit from the right remedy when the latter works. The man ignorantly believes that the wrong remedy had been the one to heal him, when that remedy only proved to be incidental. It would have been better if the man had relied upon one physician at a time, and only one remedy at a time, so that he could evaluate the effects in the long run, belonging to each one. It is exactly the same thing with mental illness, where the man should not rely upon many arguments and tricks at the same time, which do not even belong to the same person and the same source. It is not based upon mere quantity of words whether an answer will work, or how often it can be repeated, but it is rather based upon the man’s own faith/conviction, determination, and patience. It is much more efficient when the man believes in one right possibility, and then keep himself to that choice in the long run, to experience it lasting value for himself. But it does not make any sense to flee from one remedy to another, when the man is being too cowardly to face opposition and immediately tries to hide behind something else. It is not possible to invent some kind of argument and trick that can prevent delusions from happening, because it is the mind which is speaking it but not the man himself. The man should continue to be free, and convince himself about the right course in his life, rather than by seeking to change the mind or seek to convince it to cease its opposition.

It is not like the man should become desperate if he does not yet know the ‘correct’ answer to delusions, since he is either way not obligated in replying to them in the first place. A silence can be an answer in itself, and that to be indifferent can be a decision in itself, where it is simply ignored/shunned delusions or not shown any reaction at all. The man does not actually need to do anything, where he does not need to save himself from delusions, by being on the defensive and try to resist the delusions through fear of losing self-control. The man will either way not lose self-control, nor comply with such temptations when choices need to be made in circumstances (in due time), if the man will only believe in the divinity and allow it to fight his spiritual battles. It should be looked upon this in context with this work (what I have written) and the purpose of its teachings. The man is not supposed to make use of its words in order to defend himself from temptations, but rather know/understand the words silently with himself. That the man does not tell it to the mind, but rather tells himself what needs to be done. The man does only need to know the words for himself alone, what is within his control to decide and choose, what to change and approach differently, what to pursue or abstain from. The man can thereby just as well continue to do the right thing on his behalf, without relying upon the mind at all, nor by struggling against mind directly (as the other extreme). The words of this work are not supposed to control the reader by their mere form, but it is rather about understanding the spirit of the words and its meaning. It can namely happen that the mind will quote this work in some way, which may seem to be an accurate memory. But then the mind is implicating the teachings to irrelevant circumstances, where it is taken the words out of context, or spoken the words in an exaggerated tone to cast doubt upon it. It does thereby involve half-truths mixed with lies, or principles mixed with false assumptions. It is one thing to come across the original meaning of this work, but it is another thing ‘when’ such words do really apply in the current situation, over other options.

CHARITY

3.1: Human Relations

A charity is not some kind of distant concept which is difficult to foresee. It is actually a synonym for true friendship, both during a time of prosperity and a time of adversity, when its value is truly called for. It does speak most for itself when the man does have a family, because the love is already mutual and something in which can only be felt for in his heart. It is not like the man does need to prove it to himself, or try to arouse love through some clever words, because it is something which the man is supposed to know for himself. The friendship is all about unconditional love, where the love for the person has the most priority, in always coming first before everything else, and is maintained the same at all times. It is appreciated the person most of everything, and where love is the greatest thing to be offered, so it is always continued to love the person with sincere and pure heart. It was first loved the person, and then everything else was made possible in the friendship, what one is willing to do and improve in for that person’s sake. But love for the person should never come after other issues, or be depended upon them. A selfish man presumes that the person must first offer him some advantage and change something in its bearing, before that man can finally deem it worthy to be loved. But then it was never love in the first place. Many people presume that it is enough to obtain friends, while they do not bother to behave like true friends. It is the role of each man to be there for his beloved ones, in discerning their true needs and act accordingly, since if everyone would do so then no person would be neglected in the world. But it can never happen if the man does only gaze upon his enemies and the people which do not appreciate him. The man will otherwise neglect his own family and friends, who do already love the man and accept him. It is like the man would never appreciate the good things he does already possess in his life, while only gazing upon things still outside his reach. Each man would only have a superficial view of the friendship, because he does not care about his current friends while trying to ingratiate himself with new people. The best thing in the universe is to have family to love and rejoice with, so the happiness will indeed come true when it is shared with those one cares for. It can be discovered an inner treasure in the friendship, when the beloved ones are being generous in soul and light-hearted for each other, and arousing good things within each other, and helping to lighten up the mood and the atmosphere. No man is able to steal that treasure from one, but one does willingly share it each time when it is loved someone, by seeking to be lively and supportive in the person’s presence. Friendliness is about experiencing an inner spark, where one is open-minded for the person and showing interest in it, so that both parties can have something common to share.

Happiness is like a light which no man can get directly into his own heart, when he is only concerned about his selfish needs and how other people should make him happy. The man’s heart is like a mirror, which is able to participate in the light while he is reflecting the light to the heart of other people, when the man does truly care for them and only wishes them to be happy. It feels good when the man wants other people to feel good and he rejoices with their good lot. But the man is unable to contain that light for himself alone as the final destination. It cannot be stiffened up the light into a material object to be owned. If the man does not love himself then it is because he can only see other people with his eyes, while the man is unable to see himself from the outside like an independent person that is moving and interacting. But the man must see himself through the eyes of his beloved ones, and love himself through them. That to love and be loved is the only thing that matters, so that all selfish problems will pale in comparison. A heart full of love will overflow all evil desires when they attempt to infiltrate it, because it was already loved the person even before one was tempted. It will never be done something evil and degrading to oneself, because it is already loved oneself. And it will never be done something evil and degrading to the fellow man, because it is already loved him. There must always exist balance between the love had for oneself and the one had for the fellow man, according to that what is considered to be fair and dignified to our position. So it is never sought to exalt one person at the expense of another. If something is being pure good then it is of the common good.

If the individual does practice the good thing then he is thereby not practicing the evil thing. If the individual chooses the right thing then he is thereby rejecting all the wrong things. But there is no need to have attention upon both (opposite) things at the same time, that in doing the right thing and that of ‘not’ doing the wrong thing, because the latter does only get in the way. It is only sufficient to keep to the one right course, the straight path ahead, rather than by looking to the left or right, or by being troubled about things outside the path. It should be loved the fellow man as he is, and received him as he his, but it is not necessary to know about all the unethical issues at the same time, as if one were afraid of harming him. For it is through charity that one does carry sincere goodwill for the fellow man, and wishes him no evil, since that evil would contradict the love which is felt for. It does not matter what kind of burdens are carried, or what possessions can be owned, because it only matters who is there for us in life, able to visit us and help us in our hour of need. A charity consist of many virtues which are necessary to make the love complete in itself, what should be considered about the person and its position. It is not sufficient to know only about one virtue, and then presume that it alone can monopolize the human relations, as if charity would only be bound to that factor and to be repeated endlessly. It can be mentioned virtues like sincerity, honesty, understanding, discretion, tolerance, and helpfulness, where such qualities are parts of the same whole, which is charity. It is not like one can neglect sincerity and honesty, what one does really feel about the person, while it is only sought to help the person, by doing all kinds of tasks on its behalf and seeking to gratify its selfish needs.

The man should not expect that everyone are supposed to love him, and when that expectation fails to realize then he should not complain that nobody does love him. The man who loves nobody does neither appreciate the love of everyone. The only needful thing in the situation is for the man to convince himself to love another person with all his heart. If the man truly loves another person then it will also make him receptive to the love that other people are showing him. Once the man begins to love another person then he also begins to appreciate the love of other persons had for him. He is not being troubled by thoughts/worries of having given a wrong impression and that he could lose the esteem of that person, because he only cares about that what is being best for that person. His own ego and personal involvement does not matter, so long as the divinity is being good to the person and helping that person to have a good life. It is not a question of that how much words and human effort the man can come up with in order to convince other people to love him and accept him in their lives. The man must rather learn to calmly receive the love/goodwill that other people are already showing him and humbly accept the good treatment from their end. That the man is truly noticing the person that he loves and that loves him in turn, instead of him gazing solely upon that what he can say or do to impress that person from his end. The man must learn to say and do nothing in the meantime, while patiently waiting for the 'digested' understanding and response of that person, all in its due time, instead of him only noticing himself and what he can say or do in order to force things through. Otherwise the man will overreach himself and do something prematurely against the consent of the person.

It certainly applies that the man should treat other persons like he wants them to treat him, whether it is wanted good things or avoided bad things, as a mutual experience. It can be misunderstood that principle, like when the man goes too far in gratifying his friends and offering them all kinds of service, while expecting the same thing in turn. It is no longer a friendship, but more like a relationship between a master and a servant. It is not really based upon love and respect, but the man is covetous of advantage from his friends and he seeks to earn such advantage through slavish effort. The principle does still continue to apply, in treating other people like one wants to be treated by them. For that a scrupulous man does not want to control other people, nor does he want to be controlled by them. He does not want other people centred upon his life, nor to be centred upon their lives. And the scrupulous man does not want other people to trouble themselves needlessly on his behalf, nor do something undignified with their lives. For the scrupulous man is so humble and discreet that he does not covet any selfish advantage, nor does he yield to the covetousness of other people. It should thereby involve an equality, in treating one another as equals. The man must know himself before it can be known other people, because the same human nature applies in them both, what kind of premises are governing their attitude. But the man does only have himself to blame for being so covetous and self-absorbed, since he has neglected to know the person he has befriended with and its real stance. That to love thy neighbour as thyself does also apply to rebuke and correction. We would want our fellow man to correct us and warn us in time, if we were doing something wrong and about to fall into trouble. If people are being pretentious and trying to exploit us then we should shut our hearts to them and shun their advance, since we would other people to do the same thing to us if we were being pretentious and trying to exploit them. If people are tempting us then we should reject dealings with them, since we would other people to do the same thing to us if we were tempting them. We did not think in such way when we were once being false and selfish, but now when we are being sincere and decent then we understand that other people should have treated us in such way when we were false and selfish. When we do now look back then we understand that things happened as they were meant to happen, that we reaped as we had sown, and that we were all this time under the jurisdiction of the just divinity. When people are being superficial and arrogant and merciless then they subject themselves to/under the same standard. When people condemn us for faults which they themselves possess or which they are no better at; then they only end up condemning themselves. They have ended up being self-condemned hypocrites. We do not need to judge them or to treat them in the same way, because the judgment of God is already upon them and already deciding the matter for us. When we come across our accusers which have been proven to be wrong and we notice that they are cast down in their countenance; then we do not stop to gloat over it or to insult them. We simply choose to move past them and without doing anything further, since we do neither feel the need nor the longing to turn toward them. We do not ask the divinity to make our enemies suffer, nor do we want to make things worse for them in their dejected state. We are simply content that the divinity has managed to humble their pride and arrogance, and dispel their illusions about their own importance and contempt for those living in weakness, and disprove the things they derived false confidence from. It is all about overcoming the wrong attitude they had been having, instead of wanting something bad to happen to their lives or the person underneath.

It can be discoursed upon forgiveness versus revenge, and that when both of them are being obsolete in the situation. Let's say that we had an enemy in the past which said and did bad things to us, where these bad things were being great and many. During that time we never had any revenge upon that enemy and it seems like he got away with everything. When we look back then we become resentful over this in our mind. However, for a long time since that time; the former enemy has not been possessing any bad attitude toward us. Now (in the present time) he no longer possess bad attitude toward us. He does not despise us in his heart, and he does not want anything bad to happen to us, and he does never mention us in a bad way when talking with other people. Within himself he does not derive satisfaction over that how bad things had turned out for us, where he does not secretly gloat and rejoice over the misfortunes that had befallen us. Within himself he does not boast of that having gotten the better of us, as if he had managed to get away with everything and that he could continue this insolence endlessly. But that former enemy is having an empty mind and being like a 'blank page' toward us. Now even that this former enemy does not approach us to apologize for his past bad behaviour and/or he is not offering to do anything good to make things up to us; then it can still be claimed that it is being needless in the situation. Our former enemy does not need to convince us that he is being repentant and improving, since he has already convinced himself of repentance and improvement (or rather, the divinity has already convinced him within of repentance and improvement). He is no longer our enemy in his heart/attitude, and he is no longer repeating such bad things to other people, those in the same or corresponding position that we were in. That in itself is preferable to that if our former enemy would approach us with a 'sorry look' (outward show) and manage to say 'all the right things' (apology), when he is really not being sincere in his heart and his bad attitude remains unchanged. He would still be motivated by ill will and covetousness toward other people, and still seek for scapegoats/victims to unleash these things upon, and still treat people in a bad way when an opportunity present itself or his resolve is being tested. If our former enemy has already repented and improved, both in his attitude and in his conduct; then it is an obsolete thing for us to want revenge and/or to consider him being in need of our forgiveness. The goodness has already prevailed within him, and converted him to the goodness. He does not need to say or do anything to make things up to us. Our own lives do not matter. Because our former enemy is now being forgiving to those that did bad things to him and being merciful to people that live in weakness; then the divinity is being forgiving to him for the bad things he did to other people and being merciful to him in his weakness. We should only be mindful of that whether we are willing to forgive other people in our heart if we want the divinity to forgive us everything. It is not about that what someone else is supposed to deserve or not. In the past our former enemy said ugly and despicable things to us. But now that former enemy no longer believes these ugly and despicable things he had said to us. He does no longer notice us in a bad way nor implicate something bad to us. Let's say that we had another enemy in the past which did us little injury, or he never seemed to say and do anything bad to us openly while we were also on the scene. And now (in the present time) that enemy still seems to speak to us in an open and friendly way when we come across him by some chance. However, that enemy has only been pretending to be so outwardly, while in his heart/attitude he has despised us all this time, and he has ever been secretly slandering us (talking behind our back) and mentioning something humiliating from our past when he is with other people, and rejoicing over all the misfortune that has befallen us, and claiming/asserting bad things about us in advance. That kind of enemy is already being guilty in his attitude and continuing that guilt. It is preferable to have a former enemy which has the right attitude toward us and yet he never seems to give us his attention and he never seems to do anything for us; than to have a secret enemy which has a wrong attitude toward us and yet he seems to give us his attention and say something seemingly positive on our behalf. The former enemy was being sincere in not having an initiative in speaking to us when he did not feel the need or the longing to do it, while the secret enemy was being false in having an initiative in speaking to us when he never cared for us in the first place. The very beginning (attitude) determines the value of everything that comes after (speech and actions). It can be a discreet thing in itself when our former enemy chooses to keep his distance and stay out of our lives, instead of coming over to us that he might obtain forgiveness from us and/or seek to renew relations with us. His reappearance in our lives would otherwise remind us about our bad past life which has taken us so long time to recover from and forget. His presence alone reopens all the spiritual wounds, with all its resentments and regrets. It can be more prudent that the parties involved go their separate ways.

It is the ideal thing to apologize to a person which one has wronged if one feels like doing it and it is meant every word which is said. It is otherwise preferable to come up with no apology than to come up with an insincere apology. It can be mentioned that when a man's improper behaviour is openly revealed (scandal), and then he openly comes up with an apology and tells the whole world about it (social media), because the man is afraid of his image in the eyes of other people and he supposes that it is expected of him to come up with an apology when the eyes of the world are watching him. But when it is apologized to a person then it should be done privately/discreetly, between the person which had done wrong and the person which had suffered wrong, and only stay between them two, without involving anyone else (irrelevant people). It should be met with the person face to face and spoken to the person from the heart, instead of writing something from a distance and rehearse a speech prepared in advance. If the man had really repented back then then he would already have apologized to the person he wronged, if he knew who it was and/or had again come across that person and/or would somehow be able to contact that person. But if the man is apologizing to the person only after his wrongdoing has been revealed to the whole world and that he experiences pressure from the world in doing it; then it can be questioned his underlying motive in making an apology. It has more to do with fear of the public opinion and that to not want to lose the respect of other people; than from any genuine feelings of repentance and concern for the victim. Let it be duly noted that the one who is writing this has committed many bad things in the past, and it is to be expected that many people will come forward and mention these bad things after this work has been published. The man who has been writing this has not been seeking all the people that he had wronged and apologize to them, so that his own position is being just as vulnerable as of those he has previously been mentioning (failing to apologize in time). It is more important to be forgiven by the divinity than to be forgiven by the world. The divinity is inside us, while all people are outside us. Only the divinity can open our hearts for the truth, and make us realize our human frailty, and change us within for the better, and make us able to bear spiritual fruit in our lives. Only the divinity can make us spiritually grow away from the wrong things and grow toward the right things instead. Once the divinity does forgive us our sins then we do feel ourselves forgiven. We are being freed from the will to sin, and we are no longer being divided/conflicted in our stance and resolve, and we are no longer being burdened or affected by corruption, and it now comes easy and effortlessly to us in doing the right thing. That to be forgiven everything by the divinity and yet be condemned in everything by the world; that is preferable to that in being forgiven everything by the world and yet being condemned in everything by the divinity. Men look on the outward appearance, but the divinity looks on the heart. It is about coming to terms with our conscience and making peace with our conscience. It is not about convincing everyone about everything that comes up in the mind, or submit to everyone in everything in order to gratify the prejudices of their mind. The divinity is really the first and the only person we need to convince and submit to, because the divinity alone possess the power to decide/do something about it within us. Everyone else are being irrelevant, being stationed outside our heart and soul and spirit and mind.

We are being so prone to ignorance, foolishness, weaknesses, restrictions, negligence, and mistakes. And yet despite all these things we rely on the divinity to spiritually cover them. We rely on the goodwill of the divinity in treating us better than we deserve, and we rely on the goodwill of good people in treating us better than we deserve. We rely on the divinity working within us in making us open and receptive to the goodness of other people, and we allow that to outweigh all the badness of other people. If we want to be treated in a compassionate and merciful way then we should treat other people in a compassionate and merciful way. For example, someone can publicize/advertise a shameful/humiliating incident regarding another person. But we do not choose to watch that shameful incident (recording), and we do not choose to comment on it, and we do not choose to mention it to anyone at all. We do not speak lightly about the misfortune of other people (indecent prattle), because we are ever being considerate/vigilant as if the person involved was among us and listening to everything. We do not secretly speak something about someone that we would be ashamed of speaking openly in his presence. We treat that humiliating incident as something which had never happened, as something which is not to be held against the person, which is not to be implicated to it. It is like we are spiritually covering the spiritual nakedness of that person. Hence if it ever happens that someone will publicize/advertise shameful incident from our past then we will derive consolation from our merciful act. It is not like we expect that the divinity will reward us for our merciful act by preventing all shameful/humiliating incidents from our past in being publicized, nor do we expect that the divinity will make everyone compassionate and merciful toward us when it finally happens. But we do rather confirm that the divinity will reward us for our merciful act by making us internally sound and stable when confronting and enduring the humiliating incident, by making us selfless and humble enough to let everything pass over us with the time, by helping us to continue to treat ourselves with understanding and in a dignified way. Even if other people keep mentioning the humiliating incident to us then we are still not reminding ourselves of it, since we have already made peace with our conscience and we do not wish such treatment to anyone. Just like we had been compassionate and understanding and merciful to another person then we manage to see ourselves in the same way through the eyes of the divinity. It is only important to know that what the divinity feels about all of this, since the divinity is the supreme judge and its fair verdicts prevail over the verdicts of the many.

When the mind does mention bad incidents from the past then it is never done through a sense of justice. It is not like the mind is doing it in order to encourage us to repentance and personal improvement. The mind does rather make use of the past in order to belittle us in a personal way and to belittle that what we are now doing (in the present time). When people mention bad incidents from our past then it is sufficient to know that it is originated from their mind, that we might disregard it even as we disregard such things in our own mind. We only need to overcome the devil behind that people, not the people themselves. The mind is in no position to judge anyone for anything, because mind itself is the worst being to have ever existed, guilty of every temptation and wickedness there is. Hence we are not obligated to give account of ourselves before a false and hypocritical being. It is not a question of that whether we committed a fault, but why that phony person should be the one to confront and question us about it. The mind does first encourage us to do a foolish mistake, and next the mind does blame us for having listened to it and how foolish it makes us seem. But even that we dwell on this past incident then we are still yet again listening to the mind, and the mind will yet again encourage us to do foolish mistake next time. All this time the mind was at fault, both before and after the wrong things. All these wrong things were originated from the mind, and we would have been better off if we had never consulted with the mind in the first place. The mind blames us for having done wrong things unintentionally when the mind itself had all this time been intentionally suggesting wrong possibilities to us. The tempter is in no position to blame us for having received of his. It can also be mentioned 'hindsight', when the man has already made a mistake and he now knows better afterwards (what should rather have been done in past situation). Originally it did not cross the man's mind what logical precaution should have been made when dealing with the situation. The mind did know about it, and the mind did deliberately withhold such information from the man during the situation. And afterwards when the man has already made a mistake and the situation has turned out for the worse; then the mind does finally mention the logical precaution which should have been made, when such possibility is no longer true/relevant in the situation because the man is now experiencing different/changed situation with different choices. The mind did originally encourage us to have a wrong attitude toward a specific person and treat it in a wrong way. And next the mind is reminding that person of the wrongs that the mind had encouraged us in committing against it. The mind did originally encourage a specific person to have a wrong attitude toward us and treat us in a wrong way. And next the mind is reminding us of the wrongs that the mind had encouraged that person in committing against us. The mind is like a slanderer going between two persons and seeking to make them see enemies in one another, when that slanderer possesses the greater blame and he is a true enemy to both persons. If both persons had rejected to listen to that slanderer then it would have prevented all wrong things toward one another, and there would have been no cause/basis for hostility.

When one does reveal a sign of weakness then one should not panic and try to save oneself from it. It should rather be waited within until the divinity will show us mercy within, and waited within for good/decent people to show us mercy on the outside. That the divinity is able to foresee and anticipate everything, that it is able to make us drawn to good people and make good people drawn to us. Hence when we reveal a sign of weakness then there is also a right person at the right time and place. By some luck we come across someone which shows us compassion and understanding and mercy. That we do not find ourselves among false and hypocritical people when we reveal a sign of weakness and are in need of mercy, because the divinity had already drawn us away from them and drawn them away from us. The divinity has already prevented us from having sought bad company of bad people in the first place. (But let it be duly noted that the one writing this has something missing in him and he has proven to be indifferent to many people that he has come across. It was not through any fault of their own, nor because the divinity was telling him that they were being bad people. It was rather because of his lack of feeling and interest and initiative in getting to know new people. He was the one who was being unworthy.) When something is not properly functioning within oneself and one does reveal a sign of weakness; then one should not try to say and/or do something in order to heal oneself. Like when we are being physically sick then we should look for a physician for help in curing that sickness, because that physician possesses the knowledge and the ability and the tools to resolve the matter. It would be absurd if we made all kinds of guesses and tinkered with our body in all sorts of way in order to heal it, since we don‘t even know the underlying sickness of these symptoms and we don‘t have access to any necessary tool/remedies and we don’t even know how to apply/use the same things. It is exactly the same thing when we are being spiritually sick and only the divinity is capable of healing our soul. We should confirm that it is so and simply wait until the divinity will do something within us. The way of God can work/function in the opposite way to the human understanding and expectations. Let‘s say that the man reveals a sign of weakness and he gives bad impression of himself in the eyes of other people. Because of that weakness the people become quick to condemn the man and exclude him from their company. If the man is not a true believer then he will receive this in a bad way, where he will become depressed and resentful that he was not able to fit in with these people.  But if the man is a true believer then he will receive this in a good way, because his very weaknesses revealed how superficial and arrogant these people proved to be, which thereby made them unworthy of his attention and effort. Hence the man acknowledges that things were meant to happen in this way, and that these seemingly bad things in small matters turned out to be good things in the greater matters. Or when God wills it so that the man reveals a sign of weakness and he is in need of mercy from other people. Does not this very same weakness remind the man to be merciful toward other persons! When the man had been having it good (continuous prosperity) and everything had been seemingly perfect in his life then he did not consider that something was being wrong and needed to be improved. The man had hitherto been indifferent when coming across people that showed a sign of weakness in a more obvious way and something had not been functioning properly in their lives. But when the man himself reveals a sign of weakness then he does finally open his eyes and lays it to heart that he and other people are undergoing similar bad experience, that he and them are being affected by it in a similar way, and that they are inwardly of similar things. It encourages the man to treat other persons in the same way as he wants to be treated.

Modesty is about assuming neither more nor less about one’s status/position, what one has hitherto been capable of and what it has been calling for. The accomplishment was merely the consequence when one heeded the human spirit and abided by a principle. There are no personal implications to be had from that which became possible to do. One only did what was required/necessary in the situation. Even that one has been able to obtain success then it does still not change anything, in what way it is beheld oneself or in what way it is beheld and treated other people. All this rousing in our mind, which switches from that in esteeming something high or low; is derived from false confidence in our self/ego. Modesty is about submitting oneself to the humble truth, and what it testifies of in being right in general. It is the moral choice which will affect oneself for better or worse, but it is not one’s personal involvement which will affect the choice, since corresponding things will either way happen. The choice is not made right or wrong because of the person that is involved. It is not like we should only notice the person we esteem to be either good or bad, while being totally blind to the morality of the choice that person is now making. Even that a person has hitherto been doing good things then it does still not mean that this person will always do good things. And even that a person has hitherto been doing bad things then it does still not mean that this person will always do bad things. It is not like a seemingly good man can tell himself that because he has done so many good things then he can allow himself to do evil things today and get away with it. And it is not like  a bad man can tell himself that because he has done so many bad things then he is being forbidden to do a good thing today and that he will be condemned/punished for the good thing. Loyalty is all about being faithful to the human spirit and the moral values it stands for, where by doing so then one will be loyal to the good cause, to the benefit of all men. And if one is already being loyal to the goodness then one will also work in harmony with good men, because it is shared their aspirations and devotion in serving the greater good. But all men are imperfect and prone to error of judgment, even that they can be faithful in all other factors. One should not be loyal to the person by default, regardless of its opinions and choices, what that person is claiming to be and intending to do. That person is also being subjected to truth and justice. This means that we should heed the human spirit in our life, and other people should heed the human spirit in their lives. We should stay loyal to the human spirit in discerning the intended choices of other people, whether it does fulfill a moral standard or not, and thereby to be approved of or rejected. And other people should stay loyal to the human spirit in discerning our intended choices, whether it does fulfill a moral standard or not, and thereby to be approved of or rejected. It is through the value of the choice whether something is to be approved of or rejected, but not through the person making that choice. What applies to other people applies just as much to ourselves. It is true that we do not have to stay loyal to the foolishness of other people, but it does still apply that we should continue to be concerned for their wellbeing. It is continued to love the person and wish it well, even that we can disagree with it and not approve of its conduct. We are being imperfect as those people are being imperfect, but we believe that the divinity is perfect, always able to improve us as a person, our attitude and choices. It should never be distorted the value of loyalty, by implicating it to fickle and unrestrained men, like when we were once foolish and considered such men to be our friends which we should always stay loyal to. It will only make us an accomplice to their error of judgement, vices, and corruption, so it will only lead to negligence and bad luck, crimes and misfortunes. It does never work out when a decent man has friendship with wicked men, because they will only drag him down with them, while his presence will never be able to redeem them.

Sincerity applies when everything that we are saying does reflect that what we truly feel about everything, and what we really want to express ourselves about. And it is treated the fellow man according to that what we truly feel about him and what is his real position in our heart. Sometimes the matter in question is not about that what people are willing to do for each other, but rather that it should at least be loved the person with pure heart, as the ideal thing to do. It does not mean that one will be able to befriend that person, trust it, or help it, since that the person can be fickle/unreliable, an enemy, or even wicked. It should neither be done more nor less than what is necessary in the situation, where it should first be known the person and then adapted to it. We continue to convince ourselves in loving the fellow man and wishing him no evil, and by siding with the decent thing on our behalf. It can be kept to that without overreaching ourselves in needless deeds, when a seemingly good deed does not do that person any good because that person refuses to acknowledge it as good and it won‘t receive it in a good way.  We are not actually beholden to that person, as if we were obligated to have initiative in going over to it and share its company, in saying and doing something for it, or by spending more time upon that person than needed. It can rather be said that we are willing welcome  the person if it is really sincere on its behalf, and repents of its errors, so the person should be given another chance if it is really ready for it. But we do otherwise not need to do anything if the person remains false and unrepentant, since it will either way not lead to anything good for those involved. It is thereby a fact that we can love a specific person, and have the right attitude on our behalf, but we are still the same unable to do anything about it in external matters, and need to keep our distance. The charity should be unconditional, where the attitude is maintained the same at all time, regardless of the results. Therefore can we convince ourselves in being decent toward that person in our own way, without following the way of that person. Courtesy is the same thing as acknowledging the free will of the person involved, what that person is able to understand and is willing to do, at least in regard to its own life. The man’s life is his own responsibility and in what way he chooses to live, so there are some things that he can keep to himself when it only involves himself while other matters involving other people requires their consent/approval. It is thereby allowed the person to make its own choice and respected its final decision, even if it means that it is being contrary to one‘s expectations. It does not mean that we will have to agree with that person’s opinion, or that we have to comply with it, but we do at least acknowledge that the person is being entitled to its own opinion. It is thereby first acknowledged that fact, and then afterwards will we no longer seek to convince that person about the same matter, nor try to change the decision it has already made. If that person is someone close to us then we will simply change the subject, and concentrate upon something which both parties are interested in and willing to participate in. It is an impolite thing when we seek to control or manipulate the person, as if we were trying to force that person to agree with us. It is like we look upon that person as the mere extension or reflection of our ego, because we could just as well be alone and do exactly the same things without anyone. It should never be spoken and behaved like one is being alone on the scene, when it is asked the person something and then immediately heckled it, as if we were answering our own question.

Humour is best served with moderation, as one factor of many, and something to spice up human relations in between. But the humour should never monopolize everything, as if all other factors would be centred upon it or be implicated to its foolish notions. A self-made clown is never serious about anything, but constantly lying and bullshitting about wrong possibilities, so it is thereby neglected all intellectual and virtuous pursuits at the same time. It is only the human spirit which is able to make the man glad deep down in his heart, when he rejoices with the people that he loves and even feels light-hearted while he is all alone. But it is not so if the man has no faith in the goodness by becoming self-centred and self-absorbed. For that he will already feel empty in his heart and have a poor spirit, and no temporary laughter will be able to change it, since that jokes can be transient in their nature and only bound to the surface (the gloating face). The subjective humour is mostly bound to lies, sarcasm, and nonsense, where it is laughed at the misfortune of other people or their stupidity, so it is sought to exploit their weakness to make oneself feel good about it. It is also come up with mockery, where it is imitated the improper words and behaviour of other people, or ascribed good qualities to men that are obviously being bad or incompetent. The subjective humour is usually at the expense of someone else, and it is come up with fictional description which does not exist in reality, so it is nothing more than a lie. And the worst aspect about the subjective humour is that it speaks too lightly about evil possibilities, as if every temptation could be mentioned so long as it is done in jest, so the people involved will needlessly become aware of such wickedness and consider it in their lives. A proper humour is all about rejoicing with other people in an innocent way, without any contempt. But the subjective humour does appeal to the man’s ignorance, where it is laughed at things which he does not understand, and fails to consider about other people. The man does not put himself into the position of other people, but he treats them in a superficial way, and only attacks his own understanding of them. And the man laughs at the subjective humour because he is already selfish, and lacks all self-control in his life. If the man had truly been virtuous then he would never have responded in such way (uncontrollable outburst). The subjective humour does always degrade the man, one level below his current intelligence, and the same thing will repeat itself, until the man becomes utterly stupid and mad.

Each individual can speak for himself and give a silent testimony through his deeds. But it should never be generalized about the group, as if everyone was the same for better or worse. The world consists of individuals which are like islands by themselves, regarding their spiritual activity and experience, what has hitherto taken place and been done. The concept of majority or minority does not really exist, because the human people cannot unite and morph into one/single life-form, nor can similar opinions of different people unite somewhere in the air. It is not a common lot on its own which can unite the human people to the same purpose. The deciding factor does rather consist in this, in what way the man will choose to react to the very same lot. For the man can become aware that he is a spiritual slave, like other people in their hedonic way of life, whom tend to worship their own prosperity and live in error. It does not mean that he should continue to stay with his fellow-slaves, but it is more important that the man can become spiritually free and enlightened. The world has divided the human race into many groups, according to types of delusions and vices, so there is always some weakness or error behind every self-interest group. It would have been better if the man had not belonged to any group at all, but would rather have followed the divinity to salvation, by being pure of heart and sober in his dealings. If the man proves to be self-centred then he will look for people that are just like himself, that they might agree with the presumptions and whims which he has already yielded to within. That man is not actually looking for understanding, when it comes to know himself and other persons, but he does only see his own reflection in other people. It is only noticed that which has been distorted by the implications of his selfish desires. It is like the man has first decided everything in advance, how other people are supposed to be and how they should react to him, and next he tries to confirm his own prejudices. It is either overrated or underrated a person because of some superficial issues, and then it is begun to treat that person accordingly, even before that person has actually said or done anything. The man does not really know that person, but he only sees what he wants to see and hears what he wants to hear. A single quality or defect is somehow meant to be a generalization about all the other factors. The self-centred man does judge/condemn the person, not because the person has been guilty of any actual fault or misdeed. But it is rather because of that what that person does ‘not’ have/possess, or what it has ‘not’ achieved, so the man does not deem the person to be interesting/worthy enough in his eyes. It is thereby overlooked good qualities that exist for real, while the man does rather judge the person for some imaginary things, which do only exist in his own mind. It corresponds to that if a scientist would be belittled for not being an athlete, or if animals upon land would be belittled for not having the same abilities as sea-creatures. Such comparison is of course foolish, and irrelevant to the merit of each case.

When a selfish man does notice defects in other people then he will receive it into his temper. And he will be unable to contain his contempt for long, and ultimately judge/condemn them in one way or another. But that man’s own selfishness has blinded his eyes, where he is unable to notice his own defects and he does not understand virtues that are being absent from his life. For that man has not heeded the human spirit from within, nor replaced his own defects with virtues. When the man does judge other people for their defects then it is because he does possess corresponding defects, although the details are not precisely the same. Or it can apply that the man does not possess similar defects like the person he is judging, but he has still not accustomed himself to virtue, which is meant to replace that weakness. For example, the man can condemn destitute person for having stolen in order to survive, and yet that man is having his livelihood provided by other's people time and effort. Or that man does have a job which provides for his livelihood, and yet his job performance is being lazy and sluggish, thereby increasing the burden of his fellow-workers and making his paid share more than what he deserved for doing. The virtuous thing for the man would have been to be hard-working, and making his living in a completely fair and honest way, without condemning those that are having a hard time and under seemingly forcing of circumstance. Or even that the man's lot in life is not being deal and perfect (by receiving support) then it is not to be held against him so long as the man does not hold anything against those that are also in a vulnerable position and in need of help. That to receive support is not being blameworthy in itself unless the man himself chooses to become superficial about it, if the man is finding fault with persons in the same position as him while trying to justify himself being in a different position. For another example, a man does persecute homosexual people for being different. It can mean that he himself is afraid of being homosexual, because he has already experienced such desires and thoughts from within, so he tries do divert the problem to someone else. Or it can rather apply that this heterosexual man does not have any natural relationship with women, because he is covetous, unfaithful, and disrespectful, afraid of genuine love and responsibility. That man knows nothing about that what good qualities are required to form a healthy relationship with a woman and develop it further (family life). This is why that man is not in any position to judge homosexual persons, because his own life is not perfect, and utterly incapable of offering good personal example. After the man has become virtuous and free from vices then he will become more tolerant, showing other people understanding and of that what they are going through. For the man will remember the time when himself was struggling against similar weaknesses, and how frail his own position was and would still be, if the divinity had not helped him overcome it. Now there is no longer any corruption, which the man would otherwise have implicated to other people, or blamed for his own faults, which he was mostly angry at himself for. Let it be duly noted that it is not claimed that homosexuality is being a vice or corruption, but it is seemingly so in the eyes of the man who is being judgmental. This may be a flawed example, but it can be understood what it is approximately about.

It is the content of the topic which determines whether one is in position to express oneself about it or not. The topic will either appeal to oneself or not, whether it can be called one’s field of interest, strong factors, sense of decency, personal experience, or conviction. It is the same thing with human relations in general, when it is spoken with people for the first time and tried to get acquainted with them. For there must first exist a proper topic which can appeal to that person, and then that person will be able to respond accordingly. But it is not like one should first come up with a stupid and vainglorious topic, and then assume that the person turns out to be dull when it is either unable or unwilling to participate in it. It is not enough to speak about these or those topics at random, and then judge the person for not showing the same initiative, for not speaking to one in turn. For that one’s needless prattle has created needless expectation of the person, where it is blamed the person for not being receptive to one’s presumptions and whims, even that the person did not do anything wrong. Such a problem would never have existed if one had not begun to prattle in the first place, since it was mostly bound to one’s mindset. One should rather have spoken according to the available material in the situation, where it would either be adapted to the person or the common experience, which was being undergone and shared at that time. It can happen that the person reveals its ignorance or inability in a specific topic, but it does not mean that the same person is generally so, in every matter. It is rather because that person does find itself in a position which only appeals to its weak factors, but to none of its strong factors. For the other people come up with topics that only fit their manner of life, while they are never going over to the fields which that person knows most of.

A proper curiosity is about asking a right question in order to receive a right answer. A simple question will call for a simple answer, while a complicated question will call for a complicated answer. It is not like a wise question will always guarantee a wise answer, because the person we are asking the question is not being wise enough to answer it in a wise way.  And it is not like a foolish question will always guarantee foolish answer, because the person we are asking the question can consider it beneath its dignity to answer it at all. When we pray to the divinity and seek to consult with it in good conscience; then it is within the power of the divinity to give us a wise answer with the time. If we believe in the truth itself and do things through the truth; then it is within the power of the truth to lead us into all the truth. But if we come up with a foolish and impulsive claims then it is not to be expected that the divinity will answer it at all. It can never be given a proper answer if the question has been approaching the matter in a wrong way. It is important to ask in the right direction, by searching for an answer at the right place, and consult with the right person, which is actually able to offer right information. But it is a foolish thing when it is come up with a suggestive question, which has already implied the answer, and it is only looked for confirmation of one’s own presumption. It is also foolish thing when it is come up with a question that only seeks to exclude the wrong things, what should not be done and what kind of misunderstanding should be avoided. For the answer will not change anything in regard to one’s own position, where one is no nearer in discovering a solution. The man should only inquire about knowledge which he is able to do something about, what is within his reach to control and change, in putting that information to good use. The man does not need to know everything in advance, like by being expert in all fields at the same time, even that he can only spend time upon few of them to advance it further. It is only sufficient to keep to the information which is required to complete the goals at hand, what the man is currently working at, in making new accomplishment and discoveries. But the man does not need to know too many things at the same time, because it will only overcomplicate his position and make him distracted with irrelevant issues. The man will otherwise constantly think about problems which belong to someone else, whether it falls under the jurisdiction of the divinity or the choices of another person.

It is often necessary to keep one’s opinions to oneself, and the reasons behind them. Sometimes the matter is not about that in saying all the right words, but rather to which person it should be directed. When the divinity is involved then we should be willing to confess everything to it. When the devil is involved then we should be determined to say nothing whatsoever to him. When something happens within us and we are being affected by it in some way; then we should first consider whether the human spirit or the mind is involved. If the human spirit is involved then we should open our heart to it and remain attentive for that what it has to say to us. If the mind is involved then we should close our heart to it and keep shunning that which it has to say to us. It can be prudent to remain silent within the presence of hostile person, when that person is asking us improper question merely so that we can be entangled by our own answer and that very answer becomes a new material for the hostile person to attack us with. If we simply remain silent and indifferent to that hostile person then it is not revealed any information or sign of weakness which can later be used against us. That hostile person would either way have twisted everything that we could say to it, by immediately heckling and quibbling and putting its own words into our mouth. But let‘s continue to another subject. It can happen that we know the truth about something and what is the right thing to do. But we do still the same try to convince the wrong person, so that information will not obtain any reception. And even that the person might agree with us then it is still not in any position to do anything about it. That person proves to be just as powerless as we are. It should not be tried to convince distant spectators/audience, but only those persons that are ready and able to make a good use of the knowledge, in improving their lot. If the man does feel/experience a specific conviction in his heart then it is most important that he can convince himself about its value, and then act upon it, by applying it to his own life. And after the man has given a good personal example then he can teach other people to do the same thing. But it cannot really be taught anything prior to it, while the man is still being just as susceptible to temptations as other people and still participating in similar errors as them. It does not make any sense when the man is still being undecided and not consistent with anything, but he does still the same attempt to convince everyone else about it. It corresponds to that if the man would create a system and laws for other people to live after, while the man himself has never experienced it of his own accord, whether it does really work or not, whether it is being reasonable and fair or oppressive and inhumane. When discretion is involved then the man cannot expect other people to keep secrets if he is unable to do so even once. If it is revealed a secret to one irrelevant person then it will thereby be revealed to everyone. For example, the man can tell a secret to another person, and he does then ask that same person not to tell anyone else about it, as if the matter would not go any further. But that same person will then do exactly the same thing. For it will reveal the secret to the third person, and the third person to the fourth one, and so forth, until everyone knows about it.

If the man is being faithful in small matters then he will also be faithful in the greater matters. If the man is being treacherous in small matters then he will also be so in the greater matters. It should first be tested whether the man is being honest and reliable, before it can be acknowledged him as a friend and given him one’s trust. But one should never be too eager to obtain a new friend, and then only afterwards try to find out if he is being honest and reliable. For if the person has already betrayed us during critical moments then it will also do so in the future, when corresponding opportunities will present themselves, since it is still the same person and nothing has changed in the situation. For example, when we experience a time of adversity then a person we had considered our friend is the first one to abandon us and conspire with our enemies against us. And when we again experience a time of prosperity then that person is the first one to come back to us and showing us interest in renewing or continuing the friendship. It is a foolish thing to hold unto such person, as if that person could repent and become a better friend in the future. The person has not changed, but only one’s thoughts about the person. For it has been preferred wishful thinking (excusing thoughts) over the fact, and coveted some kind of advantage from that person, so it is constantly changed one’s mind and tried to hold longer unto that false friend. A friendship must always be mutual before it can lead to constructive reception and benefits. It can be mentioned when a bad friend tries to prolong the friendship by making promises of better conduct (in the future). Such confrontation does tend to be superficial, because it is spoken directly about human relations, while it does not have any bearing upon its actual practice. It does not change the fact how the human relations have hitherto been, and how it will continue to be so in the future. The human relations will remain the same after the confrontation, just like the relations had been before it, what is taking place most of the time.

It should be wished other people the best in life, and rejoiced with their prosperity, if the good things have really been had through good means of a good heart. It is acknowledged that rewards should be bestowed to those that make their best effort, and whom have been faithful with the responsibility given to them. It is acknowledged the good qualities in other men, and what good things they are being capable of. And it is even rejoiced that those involved are being a better person than one is and able to have a better life. It is never implicated such things personally to oneself, as if the good lot of other men is meant to belittle oneself, or their bad lot meant to exalt oneself. We should not seek to get all the attention to ourselves, but we should be willing to make way for the better person, whom is able to accomplish the most and bestow most benefits to those involved. But it should never be admired the hypocritical man for having obtained a good lot through dishonest means, like by being false to other people and exploiting their weaknesses, by cheating his way through challenges and stealing the credit from someone else, or when he has been exalted because of favouritism or connection with influential people. For such lot is always at the expense of someone else, a worthier person to deserve it,  who would otherwise have made a good/better use of such position and promoted benefits to other people. Envy does not make any sense, because the envious man hates people for having a good lot, when that good lot has been caused by their good choices in life.  He on the other hand has neglected to make good choices in life and that has prevented him from receiving things in a good way. The envious man hates people for being better than him, while he is doing nothing to improve his own life. It is thereby like the man hates people for their good sense and good qualities, while he neglects to reach for the same things. If the man would become virtuous then he would no longer envy other people, because he is experiencing similar things from within, and he finally knows what it is like. The envious man is not in any way exalted when better persons fall into a misfortune, because he continues to be just as restricted as before, foolish and weak as he is. Let’s say that a mediocre man does witness the foolishness of another person, or he manages to defeat a foolish person in a game. It only means that the person involved is foolish, but it does not make that man any wiser or better. It had everything to do with the incompetence of the opponent, and nothing to do with the merit of the victor. A similar thing applies when a wicked man does bully weak people, which are either unable or unwilling to stand up to him. It is not because the bully is being courageous and strong, but it is because the victim is being cowardly and weak. The wicked man relies upon the weakness of other people, and he tries to exploit it against them, but he does not have any good qualities of his own. The wicked man is full of weaknesses and vices, and can only thrive upon the weaknesses of other people, because they are more afraid than he is being afraid. The wicked man can rejoice over the misfortune of other people, even that he never caused it nor became victorious over them in any way. The person involved was already defeated by its own weaknesses, and then it could easily be overcome by anything from without, as when a carcass draws vultures.

3.2: The Human Frailty

Empathy is something which can only be experienced in the presence of other people, when it is met face to face and interacted with the person. But empathy is not bound to the meantime, when one is all alone or that person is being absent. It is not enough to only think about the person and wish it well, but compassion does call for a real choice, when it comes to be supportive of the person and in treating it in a decent way. It should be shown compassion while the human relations do last and offered help when called for. Then in the meantime it is preserved one’s attitude pure and sincere toward the person, just like what one had originally experienced during the last contact/interaction. But as the man does isolate himself the more then he will become the more distrustful of other people, and even to the point of hating them. It has everything to do with his mindset and what he is alone doing at that moment, while it has nothing to do with the person involved and what it is doing at that moment. For the man cannot even see the person nor know anything more about it, but the man has changed his attitude only because of the corruption taking place in his mind. The man has allowed the mind to become an intercessor between himself and the person, but the man does no longer turn to the person directly, as a primary source about itself. It is still like all delusions are immediately dispelled every time it is met the actual person, where it is no longer held anything against the person, but only wished it well. Charity can only exist between two living beings, and every good deed needs a recipient. It does not matter who does the good deed so long as it can be accomplished, and it does not matter who does help the person so long as it can be delivered from its distress. It should be wishes for that what is best for the person, and what can benefit it the most. For example, if the man does really love a woman then he only wants her to be happy, even that he is not the person who can make her happy, or he is not able to fulfil her needs. It would otherwise involve a selfish love, in wanting that woman to love the man and make him happy, while he is neglecting the woman and what she feels about everything. This is why the man is supposed to be willing to stand aside and allow that woman to be with the man she loves, who can make her most happy and contented with her life. A selfish man wants a woman to make him happy. A self-righteous man wants to be the one who makes the woman happy. But the virtuous man only wants the woman to be happy. It does not have to involve a man at all as a boyfriend/husband.

All men can experience similar things from within themselves, whether it does involve the spiritual body or the physical body, what kind of possibilities or restrictions are bound to it. And a similar thing applies to external matters, what can be experienced in the environment and during human relations, which can affect the man in one way or another. There exist many aspects of benefit and disruption (spiritual), and there exist many aspects of pleasure and pain (bodily). But no title or shelter is so great in itself that it can safeguard the man from everything, as if he would never need to feel or experience the same things as other people. For example,  a rich man cannot buy the privilege in never feeling any pain in his body, nor can he purchase gratification of his guilty conscience. But all of us are subject to the same human nature, and similar experience in this world. It does at least apply to the spiritual law and the physical law, although we can own and do different things in this world. All of us can experience prosperity and adversity, personal improvement and regression/decline, and being driven/carried over to accomplishments and failures. Not only can we do something but we can also know what it feels like afterwards. Not all men are given the same opportunities. But we do still the same admit that we could have experienced the lot of other men, and we would have been just as much affected by its possibilities, uncertainty, and temptations. We can be strong in some factors and weak in others, but we do still the same not judge other people for their weak factors, even that we do not share the same ones. It is only enough to be frail in one factor to invalidate all such claims, because we have yielded to corresponding driving force, like covetousness and contempt, although the bad incident was not the same. Jesus Christ said: 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone' (condemn and punish the person for its sin). A similar thing can be said, namely: 'Let him who is without covetousness be the first one to condemn that person for having committed fault through covetousness'. Or: 'Let him who has done all things through pure intentions be the first one to condemn that person for having committed fault through impure intention'. For example, a specific person did do something improper in the situation (sexual misconduct). Once it has been revealed to everyone then everyone are now condemning that person, and 'branding' it as irredeemable, and excluding it in all things for all time. But is a hypocritical thing when the same judgmental people are no better within, because they do also covet persons in their hearts, and they fantasize about persons as sexual objects, and they have sought sexual relations through dishonest means (pretending to care for the person and fool it into complying). They are in no position to condemn the person which did something improper in the situation, because they have been heeding the same devils in their lives. That person took one step further than them in heeding the next devil in the line (escalating sin), and did thereby outwardly commit an improper act of covetousness. These judgmental people may not have committed such thing in deed, and yet they are being no different in their motives and intentions. They were being more crafty/clever in concealing their covetousness from the persons they sought to entice/exploit, and/or they were not being as reckless in their approach for dishonest gain. The 'how' was being different, but the 'why' and 'what for' was being the same.

It is completely pointless to have remorse afterwards, if the person involved is already gone, because it is too late to do anything about it, what kind of choices belonged to that time. It is useless to consider what should rather have been done in the past, in evaluating one‘s past performance. One minor change would not have made any difference to the general course (mainstream) of one‘s heart. One’s expression and intervention did only have value while it was able to benefit the person, if the person could actually receive it. A similar thing applies if the person is already dead. It cannot be done a good act to a dead person, like when people speak well of the dead and honour all mention of it. It should of course be treated the deceased with respect rather than disrespect, but there is still no advantage to be gained from it, like some kind of forgiveness and redemption. It can namely apply that many people did not appreciate the person while it was still being alive, where they failed to show it understanding and support when needed. But after that person is deceased then that people do finally seem to care, when they are only doing so in order to appease their own impulses, to obtain some kind of self-gratification. It proves to be hypocritical in itself, that it is finally cared for persons that are no longer there. But at the very same time these mournful people are neglecting other persons that are still being alive, sharing similar position as the deceased person. These persons are also being outcasts, neglected and abandoned by the society, which nobody seems to care for and visit in their hour of need. So the circumstances correspond to each other, although the details are not the same.

If we are going to understand the fellow man then we must first understand the internal causes, which have influenced the man into developing specific attitude and behaviour. The man’s choices do merely reflect that what has already happened from within him, where he has either listened to the sense of the human spirit or the delusions of the mind. It can happen that the man reveals his frailty and error of judgment, but we should still the same not judge him in a personal way, like it will always be a permanent part of him. It is only sufficient to correct his premises and understanding, so the man will be able to learn from his mistakes and do better next time. It is of greater value that the man involved can understand himself, what has been influencing his attitude for better or worse, and whether he is adapting to the reality or not. So the man must find it out for himself what has hitherto been motivating him, in identifying the root of the problem, and ‘how’ it can actually be done the right thing instead of the wrong thing. It is not like one does need to understand everything about the person and its life, like by inquiring too much into its affairs and prattle about it with other people. For it will not matter whether everyone else are able to understand the person involved, while that same person is unable to understand itself. It should only be inquired as much about the person as what is within one’s ability, in doing something about it to help the person, in making a practical use of that same information. It can be continued to do the decent thing on one’s behalf, but it should not be troubled oneself about choices which belong to that person alone and are its own responsibility. The virtuous man should not only stand up for the weak, but he should also teach them to stand up for themselves. That person will then possess the will and the ability to stand up for its conviction, regardless of that what enemy could be involved, or what material could be used against it. It is not enough to separate all the bad people from the weak person, where it will only delay or transfer the same problem, since that person continues to be just as susceptible to temptations as before. It was namely that person’s weakness that was drawing all kinds of bad people to it, but if the weakness is removed then nobody will be able to notice it or do anything about it. While a person is desiring selfish things and intentionally seeking such opportunities; then it exposes that person to the manipulation of bad people (which are being worse than that person and more crafty in the ways of falsehood). The purpose of this work is to bring forth complete knowledge, firmly rooted in moral values, so the man can be instructed to help himself and do everything through right premises. It does otherwise not work to convert people through only one principle, while they prove to be selfish in all other matters, and still listening to delusions most of the time. It could be likened to that if one would pour a glass of water upon a great bonfire, which does not change anything at all. This is why there must exist many principles which can draw strength from each other, and all work for the same noble goal, until the person will no longer be selfish, but actually willing to confront opposition and suffer for doing the right thing.

Now even that one does have a friend then it is still not like one should agree with everything which he can say and do, only because of his personal involvement. And even that one does have an enemy then it is still not like one should disagree with everything which he can say and do, even before one has listened to and noticed what that actually is. It is not like the personal involvement of our enemy does invalidate the truthfulness of every opinion and morality of every choice he makes, when he is drawing from the good source within himself and being consistent with a good conscience common in us all. An enemy should still be commended for his truthfulness and virtues, regardless of that how it can seem to affect oneself, since he is following the human spirit in that regard. A sincere and honest enemy can become a sincere and honest friend. If the enemy is being faithful to his current master then he will also become faithful to the next master, after the struggle has ended and the current master is no more. But a treacherous friend remains a treacherous enemy, whether he is being so openly or in secret. If a man betrays his friends for the sake of new ones then he will also betray them later on, because he does never appreciate the current friends and never remains faithful to the one same thing. It should be cared more for the person as a living being than what can come from it, because the person does possess the same soul and body, while it words and deeds can always change with the time. If the person is able to live on then it can always repent of its errors and improve its choices, but the person will never be able to do so if it is already dead and lost. This is why we should never hate the fellow man because of some unpleasant incidents in the past, because we do not know if he has already repented and become a better person. For the cause of the hatred can be already dead and buried, when the man in question is no longer saying and doing anything to be hated for.

Forgiveness is something which can never exist if everyone is already being perfect and worthy in deserving it. Something must first be found lacking before something can be done to correct it. Something must first be found bare/exposed before something can be done to cover/shelter it. That to forgive is to be gracious and merciful for free, where it is bestowed as a gift to the transgressor. When it is done something twisted and uneven at the expense of another person; then it calls for countermeasure to straighten and even things out. The transgressor will have to experience/undergo something and render something to the one that had been transgressed. That after something has been returned/restored then it is gone back to the first/original position (zero). This does not only apply to punishment, but it can also apply to mercy, when the transgressed person is willing to forgive and allow things to return to normal (before the transgression), when those involved had the right attitude toward one another and were at peace among themselves. The transgressor is guilty of a wrongful act, and he deserves to be punished for it, but it does still not mean that it will actually happen, if the transgressed person is willing to forgive him. The transgressed person did not choose punishment to even things out, and by doing so the divinity will even things out within the transgressed person by rendering it free blessings. That the merciful person has a spiritual treasure in heaven, a much luck in store when needed, when that person does find itself exposed and in need of mercy. When we are being merciful then it is not because it is wanted something in return, but we do really believe in its value, in benefiting the person involved. It is only wished the person the best, to live in a good way, regardless of one’s personal involvement, as if one’s own life does not matter. It is thereby relinquished all claims in wanting suffering for the person, and not dwelt upon it any longer. The man can forgive his enemies everything, even that they do never repent of anything and never ask for his forgiveness. This forgiveness toward those that are being unreceptive to forgiveness does probably only affect the forgiver, in promoting good effects to his soul alone. The divinity responds to this by pardoning the forgiver of his sins toward other people. The divinity does rebuke and chasten those it loves. It is not a light thing when the believer yields to corruption and invites the enemies of God into his life. That to tolerate the presence of wicked beings is to tolerate further temptations and corruption. God is quick to chasten the believer for such fault that he might not later be condemned with the enemies of God. That to be rebuked and chastened for one‘s fault is not the same thing as if one was being rejected and abandoned by God. One can temporarily experience bad effects/consequences following a bad choice; that one might know the difference between good and bad, and become the more determined to reject the bad while sticking to the good. So the believer will learn something from small misfortune and become more responsible with his life to avoid a greater misfortune.

It is not enough to verbally ask for forgiveness, but the transgressor must first repent in his heart, understand what was wrong about that choice, and how it affected the victim for the worse. The transgressor can next confess the truth about it, assume responsibility of the act, and be willing to improve, so it will no longer be repeated the error against other people. It is thereby asked for forgiveness because the transgressor does really repent in his heart, and he is ready to love and care for other people, at least in his heart, what he feels about them. But the quest for forgiveness should not be done for selfish reasons, which includes that when the transgressor is only fearing for his life and seeking to escape from the consequences. If it is shown mercy to a repentant man then he will improve from it, and do better next time in corresponding situation. So it is like the problem is already solved, because we really hated the evil but not the person being ignorantly manipulated by evil, and that person has now separated itself from (further) evil. But when it is shown mercy to an unrepentant man then he will become even more insolent, as if he could get away with everything, so that nothing good will come from that in continuing dealings with him. It should first be inquired into the matter, what is the transgressor‘s attitude toward the one transgressed, which determined the transgression back then and can again so in the future. It is not wanted the transgressor to come up with excuses, in blaming something or someone else for it, but the transgressor is either being repentant or not, sincere or false, honest or dishonest. It cannot be forced forgiveness upon a person that does not even repent of the act itself, which the forgiveness is supposed to reach to. It is not like it can be forgiven people against their consent, even that they did never ask for forgiveness, nor are willing to receive it. It is true that one can be willing to forgive them, and yet it is not the same thing as to expect that same forgiveness to actually reach into their hearts and change them for the better. It is not enough to say with oneself that it is forgiven such people and then continued to associate with them while having different expectation (as if they had already improved in their dealings), since they are still being just as untrustworthy and hostile. However, even that false and treacherous people are not being ready for mercy then it does still not harm oneself to be merciful, as if mercy was too much of an obstacle or heavy burden to carry. At least the forgiveness intended is being stored and waiting to be received in the future if/when the person finally repents. It should never be trusted a wicked man, never sought for his company, nor entrusted a person into his care, since the wicked man would surely abuse his position for wicked ends. Mercy does otherwise only lead to benefits, something constructive for the people involved, while they still retain a sense of decency. Mercy must be put into context of the attitude of the person receiving it. We should beware of coming up with one-sided measure, as if we were already intent on doing something on the scene before arriving on the scene, or by explaining something 'positive' about that person in our mind without that person ever being present. That to understand the person is not the same thing as to justify it, as if there were some good reasons behind its misdeeds or something good to be seen about its corruption. Mercy is the virtue of the moderate middle path, but that to go too far and do something reckless digresses from virtue. An improper use of mercy does harm us if we continue to keep company with false and treacherous people, but it does otherwise work to forgive them in our heart while keeping our distance.

Now just like the man should not judge other people then he should not even judge himself, but he should rather allow the divinity to judge all men in all matters in general. The man should never give in to the self-accusations of the mind and torment himself for past faults, since that nothing good/constructive will ever come from it. It is because the man is not really helping anyone by tormenting himself, where he is not caring for and attending to any person at the same time. The self-tormented man is being too self-absorbed to know otherwise, where he only seeks self-gratification. It is rather important that the man can know himself, when it comes to understand what caused his faults, how it can be prevented, and how he can heed his better nature. The external incident was merely the consequence, and what other people felt/thought about it, while the original cause was to be found in the mind itself. And even that the man does torment himself then the same problem still remains, where the man is still at square one and likely to repeat the same faults all over again. The mind is truly a double-faced hypocrite. In the meantime the mind pretends to be the man's conscience and tries to create guilt through wrong premises, only so that the man can be tormented by it. The mind accuses the man of everything and seeks to convince man to loathe himself for his past faults. But when it is finally experienced corresponding circumstances with corresponding choices; then the mind encourages the man to repeat the same faults (as what had originally happened). When the moment arrives to make a better choice and treat people in a better way; then the mind becomes again encourager of wrong choice and that in treating people in a worse way. Hence in the meantime the man wasted all his time and effort in giving account of himself before that fake/phony conscience, which was never being genuinely concerned for that which is true and just, which was never trying to help the offender and the victim (to even things out). The self-tormented man hates/despises himself so much that he is unwilling to receive the love of others and he pushes people away. It is only sufficient that the man can love other persons and be there for them in life, even that he is unable to contact the people from the past and make everything up to them. If the man does really understand himself then he will also understand other people, and not wish them to experience self-accusations and self-torment on his behalf.

Innocence is all about that in being sincere and pure in one’s heart, even before one has actually spoken to a person and done something in relation to it. It is about unconditional goodwill, where it is only wished the person well, but never any harm or vulnerability which could be exploited against it. Innocence is about being free of contempt, for we can indeed prove to be frail and prone to mistakes, but it has never been done deliberately, nor been directed personally against anyone. It should never be attacked people while they are down on the ground (in a weak and exposed state), but everyone should be allowed to maintain their dignity and rise up from the ground. There is nothing as ugly and deformed as the ill will itself, when it is hated human beings because of petty and stupid things, and preferred transient things above a living being. The innocent person should always be light-hearted and carefree, even during tribulations and misfortunes. For it is had faith in the divinity that it wishes us all well, and that it will take care of all the difficult matters in our life, while it is only required that we continue to be spiritually free and love one another. The faith in the divinity makes us free from within, while the love for one another makes us free on the outside. The love for one another brings us spiritual relief in all these experienced circumstances out in the world. We should never become troubled or vexed in our soul, because it will otherwise distract us from loving each other, when it comes to focus upon the person and be there for it in life. It might be presumed that we love the person by being worried on its behalf, and by tormenting ourselves over its misfortune, as if it was another form of sympathy. However, it does not actually help the person, nor make the misfortune easier for it to endure, because we are being powerless in that what happens within the person. It is only the divinity which can save/deliver the person, whether it is purified and healed its spiritual body, or bestowed the person with inner strength and wisdom in overcoming troubles. This is why we can just as well have faith in the divinity, acknowledging its jurisdiction over the matter, while we hold our peace and remain patient, as the only proper thing to do. It can happen that the man is being distracted by his mind, and he can reveal a sign of weakness in the presence of other people. But the man should not fall into the trap by trying to save himself from it. It is only sufficient for the man to receive the love of good persons and allow them to treat him kindly. The man should do nothing in regard to his own life, while he waits for good persons to respond to him with understanding and tolerance. It is like the man is being saved by the goodness that he sees in other persons, when the divinity is working within them and appealing to their sense of decency. It can apply that the man has not openly spoken or done anything wrong, but he is still the same guilty in his attitude, for having yielded to evil desires and wished for evil things to happen to other persons. Within himself, when deliberately consulting with himself regarding his motivation/intention; he keeps telling himself evil things. The man is already covetous and contemptuous in his attitude, ready to commit evil deed if it would seem that he could get away with it, or if nobody would know about it. Therefore does the man possess deliberate will to commit evil, but he is too afraid to commit it in reality, since he would otherwise be punished and suffer loss. Idleness breeds delusions, while covetousness and contempt stains/corrupts the man’s heart, so he has already lost his innocence.

The one who is writing this is in no position to offer advice about intimate/romantic relationship, like 'how' it should be formed a relationship and to develop it further. It would be a contradictory and/or hypocritical thing to speak beyond one's personal experience. The healthy persons do not need a physician, but rather those that are sick. It is not the righteous which are being called to repentance, but rather the sinners. What one has been writing does apply to those that seek intimate relationship through wrong premises, that they might be restrained from doing something improper toward woman and be prevented from forming unhealthy relationship. When sexuality is involved then it should not be headed from one extreme to another. Even that the man does not covet women then it does still not mean that he does covet men instead, because that covetousness is as equally wrong in both cases. For the man can consider it to be an indecent and shameful thing to look upon women with greed, and consider them as some kind of sexual objects to be exploited. So the man does not want to pretend to show the woman interest, nor lie anything to her. That to abstain from sexual relations while maintaining good conscience is preferable to that in becoming successful in sexual relations through false attitude and dealings (which thereby makes it a dishonest gain). If the man does not experience any genuine feelings toward a specific woman, and/or is not being genuinely concerned for her wellbeing; then the man should accept that things are so within and move on with his life, without stopping on the distractions of the mind and without seeking to make that woman stop on himself as distraction. If the man is either unwilling or unable to give that woman what she is looking for and/or what she truly needs; then he should simply stand aside and allow things to resume their natural course in the life of that woman, what time can or will bring forth in her life (a mutual love of someone worthy, a spiritually fulfilling life). If the man cannot approach a specific person and have an initiative in speaking to it; without him becoming false/pretentious and saying 'something' to get its attention (without meaning it, without conviction); then it is a sign that he should maintain his distance and do nothing in that regard. The only decent thing that the man can do is to discreetly pray to the divinity that it might bless that person and help it to become happy.

The man can seek to maintain a right attitude toward a woman he has come across, although his resolve can be somewhat shaken when he experiences sexual thoughts in the meantime. (It is not being all perfect and free from all vulnerability, but the man does still keep trying to reject temptations without giving himself wholly over to them.) However, the man does still never experience any internal conflict when it is finally met the woman and during the human relations, since he does only feel equanimity and continues to do the decent thing. A sexual lust is nothing more than covetousness, but it is not love, a genuine affection for the woman. This is why it should be overcome sexual lust, while there is nothing wrong with a relationship between a man and a woman, so it is about the attitude behind the relationship. It should be shunned sexual lust in all forms, regardless of the gender and the outward appearance and the age, even that the mind is constantly tempting the man with new desires instead of those overcome. The man should not become afraid of unpleasant thoughts and assume that his resolve is the same thing as a repression, and then return back to the original lust for women. But the man should continue to shun temptations in all forms until he does no longer possess the will to sin, and there are no impulses affecting his body at the same time. What can be said about that when the man experiences sexual arousal or hot sensation in his body while thinking about a specific person? What is really happening is that an evil spirit is poking the man's body with a hot/burning stick, and trying to convince the man about an improper/unfitting course of action solely because of a misleading body sign. As if such irrelevant sign in the body would be telling the man what he should do or should not do, what person to pick or not pick. It has nothing to do with genuine love for another person, and nothing to do with any personal conviction, and nothing to do with that what is being a befitting relationship. When the man allows himself to be swayed by such signs in the body then he is acting like a animal which is being driven by the 'hit' of a human driver.

There is no covetousness in a pure and sincere love, which does both apply to men and women, in what kind of way they should see each other. It is first known the person and whether it does have a special place in one’s heart, before it can be deemed possible to have relationship with it. If a man and a woman love each other then the intimate acts are supposed to be the consequence of that. The mutual unconditional love is meant to be the basis of their childbearing. So that a child came to exist through no other reason than pure love, and the child was already loved from the very beginning. But if the man does not care for the woman then he will neither care for their child. He never wanted that child to begin with, but only cared about his own selfish needs. A sexual lust is indeed a blind thing in itself, for the man has already planned to seduce the woman even before she had actually said or done anything. The man does only consider the outward appearance (body shape, skin colour, or specific age), but it has nothing to do with the actual person underneath. All the subsequent effort is merely pretext, in what way the man does approach the woman, express himself and treat her, since he is only in love with the superficial issue. The man would have said the same impersonal thing if another person was involved, where he is really only listening to himself repeating the same planned speech instead of listening to and responding to that what the person has to say at that moment. The man should not look for beautiful women, but a good woman is the only thing that matters. A beautiful outward appearance does not equal a beautiful soul. But a beautiful soul does always equal a natural beauty, a bright and lively face with clear and soft eyes. An outward beauty is not really a blessing by default, but it is rather depended upon that in what way the beauty will be used, and what the beheld beauty will draw out from the hearts of other people. An attractive person does tend to be overrated by other people, while an unattractive person does tend to be underrated by other people. But in both cases it is judged the person solely because of its outward appearance. It is different when a person does have average looks, because it will avoid both extremes, so that other people will rather evaluate it by personal merit and choices. A beautiful woman will often be unable to have ordinary relations with men she comes across. Many men will look upon the beautiful woman with covetous eyes and always seek to flatter her, rather than by being truthful and concerned about her as a person. The very beauty of the woman keeps drawing unwanted covetous men to her. Covetous men did never care for the woman to begin with, so she should never have looked for kindness at the wrong place, from the unworthy. It is not a coincidence when a woman makes herself too depended upon men and she allows herself to be sexually exploited by many. But it was because that woman already lacked self-respect, and she was already being afflicted by personal problems, which made her needy and lonely in the process. A true man would never seek to exploit the woman in her weakened state, but he would rather seek to help that woman treat herself in a dignified way.

It can be said that those who participate in debauchery are people which seek to use/exploit one another. They try to hide behind hypocritical rules of conduct and ‘beautify’ their approach, as if their errors were justified in comparison to those they judge harshly for going too far (‘slut’). All this outward show and superficial standard does not change the fact that they are guilty of falsity and covetousness within, the very internal activity and attitude which drives forth all sexual immorality. If these people were truly being virtuous and pure in their intentions then they would not have attended to these debauched gatherings in the first place. Hence they are in no position to judge those which live in weakness, which are being slandered and put to open shame (outcasts).  A humble sinner which is being outspoken about his own faults is preferable to a hypocrite (with a seemingly spotless reputation) that seeks to justify himself. The divinity knows the heart of the person and why it did the things it did. A hypocrite condemns a person for being ‘too’ straightforward in its approach for sex, while the hypocrite pretends to be interested in a person for a short time as a ‘minimum’ excuse/waiting before committing sexual act. But all this time the hypocrite has been no different when seeking to gratify his lust, because he had already been intent on doing it before speaking to the person at all. It is only sought to ‘lessen’ or change the superficial aspect of a fundamentally same act. That to seek fornication and fail to become successful in it does not make the man innocent. That to fantasize about sinful things which the man is too afraid to act upon does not make him free of blame. Even that the man has not committed sinful deeds or the same sinful things as other people; then it does still not justify him over them. The ‘secret area’ of the man’s heart and mind does determine the value of the behaviour. If the man experiences sexual urges then it might seem to be a hard/difficult thing to resist when he is trying to do so through none-straight means. Like when the man only looks to himself and how something is supposed to affect him. When the man tries to avoid wrong things only because they would otherwise make him sinful/imperfect (perfectionism). When the man tries to do the right thing only because it is supposed to be expected of him (as if he was under much pressure in hurrying things through), without him actually understanding why it should be done and in discerning the value of the right choice. But if it is taken the love of God into consideration and asked God to found one's life upon His love; then things begin to go smoothly and easy. Because it is loved and cared about the person then it is never considered anything that might contradict it. That to bend lowly for the love of God is a little thing which yet manages to accomplish more than all the words/arguments and force/effort in the world. A little and gentle breeze blows away the storm in one's mind and body.

The one who is writing this does personally experience no bias toward or against homosexuality. It does not change that in what way is noticed the person. It is not held anything against the person. The law of Moses speaks against homosexuality, and Paul the Apostle spoke against homosexuality. And yet we should ultimately look to the personal example of Jesus Christ. A woman was taken in adultery and she was supposed to be punished according to the law of Moses. And yet Jesus Christ told her that He did not condemn her and He told her to sin no more. This means that God's grace and mercy can 'override' that what is deemed to be outside the 'norm', where it can softly absorb and cover what that person's weakness is supposed to call for. It is acknowledged that homosexuality is part of the human nature, a part of the human frailty/weakness, as what applies to those that are being heterosexual. A homosexual person knows with itself that it has a weak spot for those of the same gender, and that it cannot change that what it experiences within (affections, inclinations), and that it seems like that person has no choice in that matter. It can be treaded the moderate middle path by neither justifying nor condemning this internal activity, when a person has no control of that what is happening within and it seems like this matter has already been decided/chosen for it. It is acknowledged how things are within, or what things are had within (feelings, personal experience), and yet it is also acknowledged that the divinity can make us spiritually free and able to treat one another in a decent way. The ultimate goal is to free ourselves from the desires and thoughts of the mind (internally), and to show grace and mercy toward those that live in weakness (externally). It can be supposed that it is the ideal thing for a man and a woman to take their time to know one another and to love one another, and marry and remain faithful/chaste to one another, and to have children and raise their children, and have a 'healthy' and complete family life. That all of this might be accomplished without them divorcing. But such is the world we live in that things are far from being ideal. For example, parents decide to hand over their daughter into marriage as if she was a 'bartering/trading object', and without that woman having any say in it, and without her knowing the man she is getting married to. And a woman can find herself in marriage where the husband does not love her, and/or that is being neglectful of her and their children, and/or which is being domineering and abusive. Or a person does not control that what kind of feelings it has and what kind of feelings it has for someone, and whereto its heart is inclined and belonging to. That person cannot change that what it is experiencing within, and it cannot force it upon itself to have different feelings than it does. There is need for that in confessing and hearing the truth that the persons involved can move on. Even that things are not being 'ideal' and 'perfect' and 'according to the norm'; then it is still a matter of being human and accepting our humanity. It is ultimately a question whether two persons experience genuine love for one another (mutual), and that they are truly there for one another. It is not like it can be said that a type of sexuality is being altogether good or altogether bad. It should be evaluated according to the attitude of those involved and their circumstances and their moral choices. Debauchery and fornication (internally devoid relationship where sexual relation is the only aim, partnering with many people) is being wrong in all cases, whether those involved are being heterosexual or homosexual. A loving and faithful relationship is being right in all cases, whether those involved are being heterosexual or homosexual. Whatever our weaknesses and preferences, or whatever our mixed and tangled personal issues (good things in bad things, bad things in good things); then we rely upon God's grace and mercy to make up for everything.

Every individual needs to be honest with himself and seek to do things in good conscience, to the best of his knowledge and ability. Does the man really experience genuine love for another person and he only wishes it well? That when the man is in the presence of that person then a ‘sparking life’ is being roused in his heart and spirit, and a smooth easy-going thing is being drawn from his heart and let out to the person? That when in the presence of that person the man brightens up and gladdens, and experiences peace and stabilizing effects come over him? That is something which comes from the human spirit and belongs to it (the divinity). That is something which should be held unto and expanded further. Or does the man experience ‘cold shackling thoughts of death’, an unloving covetous attitude which does feel lifeless? Does the man experience unwanted desires and thoughts (improper affection), when it is like his mind and body is being temporarily grabbed by bad and disruptive state, involving fear and self-constraint and obsession? Does the man experience sexual thoughts about one woman, and then a couple of thoughts later he experiences sexual thoughts about another woman, and so forth? Does the man experience impulses in his body, a burning sensation that comes and goes, where the man is more being concerned in gratifying it than being concerned for the actual person? That is something which comes from the mind and belongs to it (the devil). That is something which should be let go of and allowed to pass over. Every individual should be aware of that what kind of internal activity he is having, in what way such internal activity appears to him, and what is being accompanied by it (beneficial or disruptive effects). It should not be sought to justify that when we are being tempted by the mind, in whatever form such temptations appear to us (impulses, thoughts, temporary/fleeting personal experience). It is not a question of that how near and convincing such temptation can seem to be in belonging to our self. It is something which begins with the presence of an evil spirit, and it ends when that evil spirit departs from us.

That which is being influenced by God is being good in itself, while that which is being influenced by the devil is being bad in itself. Let’s say that the man comes across a woman, and they talk together and spend some time together. During this incident the man only experienced goodwill toward the woman and peace within himself. That is what originally happened and the man should trust in that what he felt at that time. That is being influenced by God. Now let’s say that in the meantime, after this incident and before the next incident with the woman; then the man experiences sexual thoughts about that woman and he cannot stop thinking about her in that way. Because of these thoughts about the woman then the man’s attitude toward the woman changes and he is now coveting her as some kind of sexual object. That is being influenced by the devil. The man is not being with the woman he is thinking about. He is being all alone with devil. The devil is drawing such distorted image of the woman in the man’s eyes. These sexual thoughts about the woman have in real nothing to do with the woman. It is merely a pretext or tool which the devil makes use of in order to come uninvited into the man’s life. If the man does have such bad attitude (covetousness) when he does next meet the woman and he is looking for an opportunity to seduce/use her; then that ruins the experience with that woman. The man will say and do something amiss because he is no longer drawing from the human spirit. The human spirit will not help the man to deceive and exploit that woman, so it is like the man does no longer experience the right feeling and the right words to say to that woman (because these right words would otherwise have been abused/misused to obtain success in deceiving and exploiting the woman). The woman will notice that something feels off about the man. But if the man had stayed true to his original feelings in the meantime; then he would have maintained the same good attitude toward the woman and they would have continued to have good time together. Hence it is all about the attitude and the approach being good in itself. Covetousness and fornication is being wrong in itself. It does not mean that all sexual relationships are being bad or that the man should abstain from all sexual relationships. Or while the man does have a bad attitude then he is being unworthy of relationship and he should abstain from relationships until his attitude becomes a good one. It can be mentioned that when it is played a role-playing video game which is enjoyed very much and it becomes a desirable thing. But in the meantime one can experience thoughts about the video game and one cannot stop thinking about it (obsession about character development, that in finishing quests). That does ruin the feeling for the game (story, gameplay) when one plays it again. It does not mean that this video game is being a bad influence or that one should abstain from all video games. It can be blamed these thoughts in the meantime for making one digress from the original experience.

If one does heed the mind (devil) when it turns the attention to that in coveting a specific woman; then one will also later heed the mind when it turns the attention to that in despising that woman. This means that one will swing from covetousness to contempt, and from contempt to covetousness. By having needless expectation of the person then it will later lead to needless disappointment of the person. It does first involve something too much (that to overrate), and afterwards it involves something too little (that to underrate). In both cases it is not received and appreciated things as they really are (the current good attitude, the current good qualities, and the current good choices). By keep thinking about the person then it is kept changing one‘s mind/stance about the person, and preferred such illusion over the actual person when it is finally met with it. It might at first seem to involve a 'love-hate' relationship, when it did really never involve any genuine love to begin with. It can be called a selfish love, when it is expected something from that person and wanted it to make one feel better about oneself, when one is only concerned about that in making good impression to the person and that in making it take a liking to oneself. When something of this fails to come true then it is immediately held something against that person and turned against it. It corresponds to that when a wicked man attacks and disfigures a woman for having rejected his advances, which proves/confirms that he never loved her to begin with. The charity of God does involve pure and sincere love. That one only possesses goodwill toward the person and one only wants that which is for its wellbeing. That one‘s own life is not important, but it is rather important that God bless that person with happiness. To be concerned about that in keep convincing oneself in loving and caring about that person with a pure heart, that one does keep noticing the actual person when it is finally met with it and tried to make the most of the moment together, that one does keep treating the person in a decent and dignified way. This pure and sincere love is maintained the same at all times, just as it has been from the beginning. This pure and sincere love is not being changed by one‘s self/ego and how the self/ego can be affected by something. This pure and sincere love is not being changed by one‘s needless expectations/desires. Why should one‘s life have to be involved in the life of that person, if that person is able to become happy from another source (the blessings of God)? Why should it matter that one should be the one to make that person happy, if that person is able to become happy without one‘s involvement? Hence one‘s own life does not matter. Nobody does need to be depended upon one‘s life for arousal of good things. The grace and mercy of God is able to bestow free blessings to the person.

Let’s say that the mind is tempting the man with countless thoughts all day long. The mind mentions ‘this’, and if the man manages to withstand this thought/temptation then the mind does mention ‘that’ instead, and so forth. The devil is constantly taking the man to another inner place to test his resolve. The man keeps experiencing unpleasant memories, and he keeps experiencing thoughts that try to create fear about the unknown future, and he keeps experiencing thoughts that try to induce him into a needless inquiry/pursuit of trivial or fictional matter, and he keeps experiencing sexual thoughts about women that seem to fit his preference. The mind is constantly trying to distract the man from a higher calling, when he is participating in a constructive goal. Hence the mind can attack the man in a personal way and seek to undermine that what he is now doing, and the mind can make use of lures of sinful pleasures as something that seems preferable or comfortable temptation in comparison. The man must be willing to deny his self/ego every day and be willing to forsake everything bound to the self/ego. All these selfish things which the man seems to own/possess within himself, which he does still hold unto or cling to. It does not make any sense that the man would be rejecting all these temptations from the mind, which are coming from this same source, and yet decide to stop on temptations that involve fantasizing sexual relations. It is not like the mind would now finally be telling the truth, or that the mind would finally be arousing something which is being good, or that the man would finally decide to be convinced by the mind that this sexual fantasy does belong to the man and that he should justify it being part of himself. Let’s say that the mind/devil keeps tempting the man with specific types of sexual thoughts. The man keeps rejecting these sexual thoughts one hundred times, but when the mind/devil tempts the man with this one hundred and one time then the man finally decides to give up and justify that he does fall under that specific type of sexuality or sexual orientation. The man presumes that because these types of sexual thoughts do not go away or that they keep coming to him; then that must mean that it really belongs to him and that he is being like that. But what really happened was that the mind/devil tempted the man one hundred and one times with this (uncontrollable obsession), and the man finally chose to lose patience in keep withstanding these temptations. Because the evilness does not rest/pause from that in doing evil then the goodness does also not rest/pause from that in overcoming evil with good. It is not like the goodness would say: ‘Because the evilness keeps coming back then I the goodness will not choose to do good today’. Neither would it say: ‘Because the evilness keeps coming back then I the goodness will not choose to resist the evilness today’. Surely the goodness keeps doing good in all matters all the time. Even so the man must continue to withstand temptations at this very moment, on this very day. The man must keep rejecting the mind in all things all the time. Obsession is not the same thing as true love. It is not like the divinity would be constantly obtruding into the man’s mind with unwanted thoughts, and trying to force it upon the man to agree with the unwanted thoughts. That is rather something which does come from the devil and belongs to him.

If one does seek to become like any other fornicator then one will end up as any other fornicator. A person is being healthy and beautiful and of bright countenance in the beginning (youth). While the person was being sincere and innocent then it had much spiritual treasure in heaven. But if that person chooses to invest its ‘life-currency’ in debauchery and throw its lot with debauched people; then the person will lose the things which had made it special. Let’s consider all these people that had once been so healthy and beautiful and bright in their youth. How do they now look like after decades of debauchery? The body shape remains the same, but the condition and colour of their skin has changed for the worse. Their face looks tired and worn out, and their eyes look mean or dejected, which reflects their poor spirit and emptiness of heart. Hence we should look to the end of things when it comes to discern the value of the beginning. If the man is already being spiritually pure and steadfast then sexual thoughts might seem casual or harmless in the beginning, because he is only experiencing slight aspect (soft thoughts, mere words, mere images) from the perverted devil of all sexual immorality. But if that man yields to corruption and becomes spiritually impure then sexual thoughts will become accompanied by impulses in the body, involving all kinds of disgusting and unrestrained and extreme influence, because that perverted devil of all sexual immorality is revealing further aspects of himself. The darkness might at first seem interesting or mysterious while one is being stationed at the bright side and noticing the darkness far away. Because one is already at the bright side then one can mistakenly think about that distant darkness in a ‘bright way’ (see something beautiful/charming about sinful ways). But once one leaves the bright side and goes over to the dark side; then one will no longer experience anything in a bright way and everything darkens. There is only spiritual death and torment, desperation and madness, chaos and emptiness. It is a disgusting thing when the man allows covetousness to stain/corrupt his attitude/vision of every person he comes across. It is like he cannot look upon a person without implicating it to his covetousness, whether that person is deemed desirable or not, and whether he should try to seduce it or not. That same covetousness contradicts charity in all things, and prevents charity in all things, and quells charity in all things. The covetous man does nothing through charity. God is charity. The covetous man is being devoid of God in all things. It is better for that man to separate that tainted part from himself (covetousness) and go partly dulled/disabled into ‘heaven’; than to hold unto this tainted part and go with his whole body into ‘hell’. The man must separate the tainted part from himself if he is going to save the rest of the body. It is madness to sacrifice the whole body for the sake of one part. The man’s spiritual and physical wellbeing at all times is more important than a fleeting/momentary pleasure from a sexually immoral act.

3.3: Of Children

The earth was all wild in the beginning, but it has now been significantly altered by human intervention, whether it does involve human settlement upon the surface or its effects upon the nature. It does reflect the human heart, what has already happened from within the man himself. The heart and soul of a child is like a perfect earth, because the divinity has already blessed it with sincerity and innocence in all things. The adults should learn from children and grow downward by becoming humble again, instead of being so delusional about their own importance. It is the role of all parents to appeal to the best side in their child, and cultivate it further, so that all the right things will be able to prevent the wrong things from taking roots. For example, good parents are always there for their child in life, no matter what matter is involved, so it will teach the child to love itself and receive the love of others. The parents must show interest in and participate in that what the child is doing, so it will teach the child to be free in spirit and devoted to its goals. The parents must also be ready to satisfy the curiosity of the child, by coming up with simple and comprehensible explanations, so the child will know how to approach all matters in a proper way. Finally, if the parents are being virtuous then it will set a good personal example for the child, revealing what is being possible to the child, what kind of problems and adversity can be overcome in the long run. It should be avoided all negligence and extreme measures which can contradict these values. The parents should never be lax or manipulative in the upbringing of their child. The former will leave uncultivated the child‘s understanding and capability, while the latter will quell its natural flow/grow. The child will thereby either become unrestrained or repressed, but in both cases it is prevented the child from being free in spirit. A similar thing applies to material possessions, when the child does either own too little or too much. For that too few possessions will only make the child envious and bitter, while too many possessions will only make the child self-absorbed and indifferent. But if the child has moderate proportion of possessions then it will free the child from both extremes, and actually help the child grow up from possessions, since the child does no longer consider possessions to be that important. A good parent should never try to ascribe its own hobbies and restrictions to the child, by treating the child as the parent wishes it to be or what the child is ‘supposed’ to be. The child should never be moulded into an egoistical reflection of the parent, but the parent must first inquire into that what the child is interested in, and then adapt accordingly.

It does not make any sense when parents are able to provide food and clothes and shelter for their children, while they totally neglect to teach their children any lesson about the life itself. A spiritual guidance must function alongside the physical aspect, teaching good sense and moral principles to the children, so they will neither feel neglected nor insecure in their soul. It is all about preventive measures, while the children are still being healthy and strong, because they will then be more fit in confronting and solving the challenges ahead. But it should never be neglected the children and only sought to help them after they are deep in trouble, since the children have now already become afflicted and weak from within. The children will otherwise become troubled by many things outside their control, and receive everything too personally, without knowing how to respond in a proper way and adapt. It can happen that a parent does not bother to inquire deeper into the affairs of its child, when it comes to read between the lines and notice signs of personal problems. But the parent can be so self-absorbed that it presumes that everything is all right on the surface, as if no problem ever exists if nobody bothers to ask or mention the matter. It can become the prelude to greater troubles, where the child will later on become rebellious and disorderly, having low self-esteem and doing all kinds of foolish things to get attention. It is like the parent does finally act when it is too late to do anything about it, while preventive measures were needed long time ago, before the problem got worse (escalated). It is true that a parent can fail its child, at least in regard to the spiritual aspect, what kind of good interventions were neglected, even that no evil things were committed directly. It can still the same always be relied upon the divinity as the supreme parent that watches over us all, and is able to help us through any problem, regardless of our current location.

The right choice must first be understood before the child can become willing enough to act upon it, but it can never be forced willingness upon the child, prior to its understanding. It is not like the parent can forbid this or that, without explaining anything further, as if the child was stranded in foreign country and never understanding the context of anything. Nor should the parent overprotect the child, like when a child is being isolated or shielded from the environment, since the child will otherwise be unable to learn from personal experience. A personal experience can prove better teacher than any clever speeches, because the child will immediately learn from mistakes and adapt to the reality, doing things better each time. The parent‘s fear that the child could commit mistakes can make the parent resort to needless measures, where these measures quell the child‘s spirit and lead to other kinds of problems.  Covetousness for reward and fear of punishment is irrelevant to independent understanding, but it will only get in the way, and make the child insincere toward the authority. The child does put up a mask, by pretending to be obedient while the authority is watching, while the child continues to be selfish and ignorant from within. This is why parental guidance must keep to the merit of each case, and what needs to be explained within it, rather than by arousing covetousness and fear about completely different things. The parents must be trustworthy and reliable authority, which encourages the child to speak the truth, regardless of the consequences, and offering the ultimate refuge for the child. The parents must also be strong and caring authority, which loves the child in an unconditional way, and is ever willing to help the child to do the right thing. But the parents are still willing to rebuke and discipline the child, for its own sake, since the child will at least learn something from it, to its own improvement. The rules are only made coherent through the parents, if they are already coherent with their conviction and principles.

It must be drawn a clear line what is being allowed and what is being forbidden, and that always in an unconditional way. But it should never be made any compromises or exceptions of the rule, which would otherwise undermine the spirit behind all the rules. It should be warned the child and held it in check while still being stationed at the right zone. But it should not be blundered and shown indifference until finally noticing that the child has crossed the boundaries, only so that one can follow after the child to the wrong zone. For that by doing so then one is setting a bad personal example, because one is now also stationed at the wrong zone with the child, trying to forbid the child to go any further or persuade the child to return. It would have been better if one had taken proper measures at the right zone, because it would have made the child follow one‘s right initiative, rather than one to follow the wrong initiative of the child. This applies to the spiritual side, when it comes to that in confessing the truth and abiding by a moral principle. That is the right zone, which should have been clear and defined at the very start/beginning. For another example, let’s say that one‘s companion was contemplating committing a crime and always talking about it, but one would still the same never bother to speak against it and try to discourage him from it. After a long time has passed then that companion becomes determined enough in committing the crime question, and then one does finally attempt to dissuade him from it at the very scene of the crime, in the middle of the execution. It is a foolish thing to delay everything and then merely react to the transgression along with the transgressor‘s determined/stubborn attitude behind it. Preventive measures would have ended things before they even begun. Even so a child should not be left unchecked/unattended in its disturbed and weakened state, where the child will begin to harbour all kinds of delusions about itself and other people and the world, which when fully nurtured will result in improper and reckless conduct in contrast to transparent facts. But let‘s continue to other matters. If a child does something wrong then it is should be reprimanded the selfish choice and the selfish attitude behind it, while the parents maintains sobriety and equanimity at the same time. But it should not be directed personally against anyone, nor should it be looked for someone to blame. It is not only about that what is known to be right or wrong, but also in what way the parents will approach the matter, the expression behind the words and its implication to the child. The parents should never come up with assertions about the child itself, as if the child had permanent bad qualities and restrictions, as if the child would never change for the better or always repeat the same mistakes. It can happen that a child does commit a mistake by accident, where it was never made deliberately nor directed personally against anyone. This is why the child should be pardoned, because that a wrong attitude was absent during the wrong act.

There is no ultimate way when children make use of toys in order to build or create things. The children can always change it, or break it down and create something else. But the most important thing is the personal experience, the investment in their human creativity. The parent should not interfere in the natural flow of the child and force its view upon the child, like when the creation is always supposed to be logical and organized, standard and squared (thereby making it predictable and repetitive). It can apply that the artist enjoys himself what most while he is still creating his masterpiece, but upon its completion the creation is no longer of any value to him. A similar thing applies when children are creating something, where the path can be more important than the destination, what kind of lessons and personal growth was involved. The best toys are those which can be played in many different ways, like a building block set or a ball. It should be put oneself into children’s position while playing with them, when it comes to observe the environment and what kind of objects can be adapted for new games. The adults have bought various objects for various purpose within the home, but it does not necessarily mean that the objects can only be used in one way. The shape of one object can be identical to another, and become an imaginary replacement. For example, it can not only be used books in order to read the text inside, but it can also be used many books like a building material, when arranging them together. It can be arranged books on the floor in order to create a labyrinth, a tower, or domino. This applies to books that have have similar shape, and can stay firm in their place (tall and wide, hardcovered and thin). It can also be mentioned when children use chairs and blankets in order to create a tent or a vehicle, so it is all about creativity and improvisation on the scene.

No material object will ever make up for an absent parent. It is only mutual love and understanding which can make the child complete, guiding its premises in all things undertaken. Material objects do not have any merit in themselves alone, where without a human being to handle them they become useless like any other junk. It is always depended upon the human being in bestowing value to the material object, while the person is in need of it, able to make a practical use of it, and needs something to cheer itself up. Material objects should be centred on the human being, but the human being should not be centred on material objects. The material objects are lifeless, and possess no will of their own, so they are always inferior to human beings. Every toy does only have value while the child is playing with it, deriving some kind of fun and/or lesson from it. But the toy does never have any value outside it, or in the meantime when no one is making use of it. So if the child does get bored with the toy in question then the toy will immediately lose its value. It does not make any sense when parents prefer material objects over the internal condition/needs of their child, or try to preserve the toys only for the sake of memories. For example, a child can throw an object, break something, or make some noise, but the child is of course more important than any of these things in question. This is why parents should not get angry at their child, by screaming at it and shaking it, or do something which works against the child‘s welfare. For that all these material objects are nothing more than a junk, transient and petty, while the parents are supposed to love their children most of everything. Imagine how stupid it would be if the parents would be paid a few dollars for losing their temper, and neglect their child in some way, thereby making the child unhappy. It is exactly the same thing when parents get angry over cheap objects, a mere vanity.

FREEDOM

4.1: The Original Value

Each individual does always have a choice in expressing himself about anything, and in behaving in any way. It is always ‘possible’ to do a specific act, even for all kinds of pressure or opposition, what the man is experiencing from within himself or from other people. That which is being possible can be thought of as impossible, not because it is really being impossible, but because the man‘s own self/ego gets in the way. It can involve fear of the consequence, the repercussions of the specific act, since the man is afraid of that what could otherwise happen to his own life. The choice is always available, whether the man will make the attempt or not, even that he does not possess any certainty about the outcome, whether it will succeed or fail. It is not like the man will be able to discover everything and achieve everything all by himself, since it is ultimately depended upon the human spirit in unlocking his true potential. The man does have his limits, where he is not even aware that some possibilities do exist, while he lacks inner strength to act upon other possibilities that are known to him. The matter is often not about that whether the man ‘can’ do something or not, but rather whether the man ‘wants’ to do it or not. Is the man really willing to make such a hard choice for himself, by depriving himself of selfish advantage or suffer for that in doing the right thing? It is not a question about waiting for more favourable situation, or until more people will agree with the man, but it has everything to do with him being selfless. The man can just as well head straight for the necessary execution; regardless of that how it will affect his self-image, self-interest, personal safety, or esteem of other people. But the man must still the same adapt to the reality if he is ever going to succeed in anything. The man must observe the environment and other people, inquire into facts and analyze them, and then respond accordingly. There must always be a context between a fact and an assumption, when it comes to acknowledge/recognize the situation and develop reaction to the same thing. It is about discerning the reality and how it can appeal to the man’s capability, both spiritual one and physical one. It is not enough to act in a random way, as if one could say anything and behave in any way, in utter contradiction to everything in the reality. It is not like one can write down some gibberish to hard question, or assemble some garbage, and then assume that the matter is concluded, that it has been solved the problem. For that idle words are unable to alter the reality, and self-contradicting behaviour does never work out. The reality remains just as challenging as before, while one does still have limits. A free will is not about unrestrained speech and behaviour, as if one had the human right to be wrong and impulsive, or that any error could be rationalized and justified. A free will is rather about that what the individual wants to do on his behalf, what is sensed or felt like doing in his heart, what is wanted to contribute to or improve in the situation. It is about belief in the value of the act itself, as the proper means in the situation, and what kind of good consequence belongs to it, within the merit of the case.

When it comes to explain free will then it should first be discerned the original value, what the man does first experience in his heart and spirit. It does not matter what can change in the environment, or what other people can say and do, because it does only deal with the consequence, or incidental things, bound to the surface. One does not need to enumerate every possible incident in order to rationalize free will, because the spiritual value is able to apply to any circumstances at any time. For example, it is only sufficient to possess shoes, and then will every spot below be soft upon stepping it, regardless of the place involved and the condition of the ground. But it is not like every place in the world needs to contain carpet, before one can finally go there. And it is only sufficient to possess mobile phone, and then one can receive a call anywhere at any time, rather than by stationing phone booths at regular intervals all over the place. The original value is manifested in that where the man is stationed in his own person, what kind of circumstances and/or human relations are being experienced at that moment. Then the man will feel and sense it in his heart what is wanted to do, in what way he wants to express himself and respond to the external matters, during the experience. After this experience had ended then it is moved on, headed from one circumstances to another, but still kept to the original feeling and perception during every incident. This is what one should feel about the specific event and what was required at that time, so that one should be contented about everything and abide by its reliable testimony. It is a fact belonging to that time. It has nothing to do with the meantime, before the event and after it has taken place. It is never planned anything in advance, what should be said and reacted to other people, but one must first arrive at the circumstances and then adapt to the demands of that moment. It is also never reconsidered past events, what should rather have been said and reacted to. It is not sought to change its interpretation, like it had involved different experience. For example, we originally experienced equanimity and stability during a specific event, where it was enjoyed the company of other people and that without any problem. But it would be a foolish thing to become angry and bitter over that same event afterwards, when the mind is doubting and slandering the people involved, attempting to create suspicion and paranoia about it. It can be said that we should arrive at the circumstances with an empty/blank mind, and make a decisions according to the merit of the case. It should only be kept to that what belonged to the case in question, what kind of material was available at that time, and what was the stance of the people involved. The purest experience is derived from equanimity and inner silence, both during the meantime and while the events are taking place. Then the man will maintain an impartial attitude, as the required basis before he can make an impartial decision and choice. This means that the man will put all decisions on hold, until he can know the situation and other people. It is kept the attitude the same like what had originally been experienced last time. And it is then waited patiently for the next relevant experience and dealings, before it can be evaluated further and applied changed. It is focused upon the circumstances for their own sake, when it does finally happen.

But we should not carry our presumptions and impulses to the scene, nor implicate such corruption to past events. It is not the past events and the people back then that somehow managed to change, but rather our current attitude and interpretation for the worse. It should be avoided all personal bias and corruption, which would otherwise distort our experience during events, so we will neglect the facts and respond improperly. Our selfish desires should be separated from our personal experience, as something completely irrelevant to the circumstances and its demands at that moment. It is thereby not like one should behave in a selfish and impulsive way if it is felt like behaving in a selfish and impulsive way, because it has been neglected the premises, and one is already being too distracted to notice/know things. Everything about the past had its valid reasons, why the people responded and acted the way they did, and why one responded and acted the way one did. But it should not be dwelt upon the past, especially if one had already been distracted and impulsive at that time, too self-absorbed to know anything about oneself or other people. A selfish and foolish man interprets everything in a corresponding way, so there is nothing reliable about such mindset during personal experience (testimony, source to be consulted with). It should not be thought about everything in advance, nor sought to reevaluate past events, while one is really experiencing completely different circumstances at the same time. It should only be focused upon the present time, this passing moment, where one is now at. We should not stop and wait for the mind to censor everything which we have done and which we plan to do, as if we would need its approval before we can move forward. It is not like we need to invent reasons behind every choice, for we can just as well head straight for the proper execution, because we feel like doing it willingly in our heart and spirit.

It should be looked to the human spirit and what kind of activity does belong to it. It does namely manifest itself in a silent and invisible perception, something to be sensed in one’s spirit, or otherwise described as something known with oneself deep down in one‘s heart. And where there is good sense there is also calmness and stability, as part of the same source. If it is heeded the human spirit then it will affect every part in one’s soul, so it is like there is felt purity and peace throughout oneself. Our heart is now clear/cleared and light/lightened and content, free from burdens and cares. Something has happened within us which makes everything bearable and acceptable and adequate. Our mind is being silenced and held in check, so that we do not experience any unpleasant/aggressive thoughts most of the time. And there are no desires and/or impulses accompanying the delusions at the same time, so these delusions are like mere words to us. Our body is now being sober and at rest, free from luring and gripping attachments. Our face is now firm and expressionless, no longer prone to sudden changes through fickleness. The human spirit is being modest, humble, and discreet in its ways. And yet this little continuous movement/beat is more efficient than any overly eagerness, able to deliver far better results. For example, it is a fact that we care for our beloved ones, but we must still the same be sober and calm with the approach, when employing the right means to help them. Too much personal attachment will make us spiritually blind and distracted, so it is gone ahead of ourselves and attempted to help our beloved ones in an improper way. It should thereby first be kept to the compassion/affection, why we want to help our beloved ones, while we must be sober and calm when it comes to discern ‘how’ we can help them. But we should never allow the personal attachment to digress outside its original purpose, like when we are so afraid and worried about our beloved ones that we become utterly helpless. How can we be in position to help anyone if we are unable to perceive straight/clearly and we are even being paralyzed by our own fears? This is why overly eagerness or impulsiveness tends to be counterproductive in its nature.

Every external incident does belong to the place where it happened, but it should not be carried thoughts about it to other places and allowed it to distract oneself from its experience. The internal stability makes one capable of confronting and withstanding any opposition, when it comes to focus upon the nearby environment, respond and adapt to it. But we should not allow the external incidents to affect one’s internal stability for the worse, because the internal stability makes one capable of shaping that same situation for the better. Our internal stability is supposed to hold the initiative, but it should not be controlled by the initiative of distractions, what kind of matters are outside one’s reach and power. It should be constantly moved on with one’s life, and then everything else will happen on its own accord, what can be sensed or felt for during each situation at a time. But it should be avoided a needless introspection, like when it is stopped with one’s life and sought to arouse something from within, even that one is being idle and isolated at that moment. For example, the man can experience inner emptiness, or he is being afflicted by mental symptoms, so that he is trying to make it go away through all kinds of thoughts and forced emotions. The man begins to implicate his internal condition to external matters, and the external matters to his internal condition. So it is had human relations as some kind of countermeasure to the inner emptiness, but the man is not really interested in the people involved. The man should rather focus upon the external matters for their own sake. The man does not need to stop his life and censor everything in the mind with utmost care. The mind is a poor source and a poor intercessor and a poor substitute for all the facts in the reality. While the man is thinking about something then he is disregarding that which is right in front of him and what information can be obtained from it. It can namely happen that the man is worried about doing something wrong and that he will not be fit for the task ahead, so that he will try to anticipate the future in his mind. But by doing so the man loses the sense and feeling in his body, which could be called the heat of the moment, attachment to its experience, and devotion to the undertaking. The man would have been better off by moving on with his life, just like what he had been doing before it was stopped and censored things. It can correspond to competitive sports, where it is simply had silent faith/determination for the game and enjoyed it for its own sake, so the men are doing well simply by having the right feeling in their body. The mind has hitherto been blank, while the right feeling determined the efficiency in the game. But the men should not become afraid of that in losing and begin to think too much about the game, like what is supposed to be expected from them, or what is supposed to be at stake. The men will otherwise stiffen up and lose the right feeling in their body, since they are now either holding themselves too much back or going ahead of themselves. The men should rather have been contented with the game, in doing their best and finish the game with cheerful hearts, regardless of the actual result or how it could seem to affect them.

If the man is interested in something then he will enjoy himself what most during its practice, where his spirit does lighten up and become more relaxed and energetic. The man will maintain his attention focused during the time, and remain curious what is going to happen next. If the practice does not appeal to the man he will not enjoy himself in it, but his spirit will become bored and tired and restless. The man will be unable to maintain his concentration, where he will become distracted and absent, wandering in his mind and thinking about something else. The third option does describe itself when the man shows too much interest in a specific practice, so it becomes an obsession that is unable to bestow any benefits. The man will become restless and neglect important matters that need to be attended to, where he does prefer the obsession over his own wellbeing and the wellbeing of those close to him. The man does no longer derive any enjoyment and/or insight from the practice, because he emphasises too much upon micromanagement (changing minor details) over the bigger picture. The practice has thereby lost its original purpose, why the man had pursued it in the first place, because the man is doing everything for the obsessions, but not for himself. It can happen that the man does feel out of touch with that what other people are practicing, where it is like he does not belong to that place, their group, or the spirit of the times. It should still the same not be blamed the people, the environment, or their practice, because the man would either way have experienced the same apathy in his spirit. For it is like that apathy came first, and then it affected the man’s experience of the external matters, but it was not the external matters which forced the man into becoming apathetic. It would not have mattered if everything had been changed around the man, or in the bearing of other people, because the original cause still remains in him.

Now even that the man is not interested in one field then it is still not a generalization about all the fields in whole, whether it does involve education, hobbies, or profession. It must first be inquired into the available fields and then experimented with them, before it can be discovered which one appeal to oneself and which ones don’t. It is not like sports do only reach to soccer or basketball, and where it is only attempted to change things within that field or by seeking to change the attitude of the person toward the same. It should rather be sought for solution elsewhere, where a different field will rouse different thing and to a different result, so the person will experience a different attitude about it. It should be avoided all suggestive questions, when it has already been chosen a specific field and it is then asked the person ‘Why it does not have interest in it?’ It would otherwise be sought to make the person centred upon the field, or by adapting the person to it, rather than by allowing the person to do things on its own premises. This is why it should be come up with simple and straightforward approach, by asking the person ‘Which field it is interested in?’, and then adapt to its answer. The man does not need to choose between two bad possibilities, and take the ‘lesser evil’. But the man can just as well reject them both, and wait for the third possibility to reveal itself later on, when looking outside the box. So in the meantime it is not chosen anything at all, because all the possibilities are as equally wrong. But the situation can always change with the time, and the stance of other people. It will then offer new possibilities and different solutions, which will lead to the same beneficial outcome hoped for. That to choose wrong possibilities can be likened to weed which does already inhabit the soil and thereby gives no room for beneficial plants to grow there. That to deny wrong possibilities is like having the soil still open and ready for future grow of beneficial plants. That is a good choice in itself, a good preparation for the good things to come.

All men have the freedom to choose and reject during decision making, when it comes to do one thing over another. It can never be chosen everything at the same time, because one thing does ultimately contradict another thing. A freedom is about a longing in one’s heart, in making a choice because one is simply willing to do it or in wanting that choice for oneself, regardless of any outside factors or reasons. Therefore should one do things voluntarily, without presuming oneself obligated to do it, without forcing/constraining oneself into doing it, without attempting to prove oneself in the eyes of other people, without presuming that other people expect it from oneself. The human spirit does encourage us to do the right thing, while the mind does encourage us to do the wrong thing, but it is not the same thing as if we have immediately chosen it. It can happen that we find ourselves in between, when we are still being conflicted and divided about things, because both the right thing and the wrong thing can seem appealing to us. Something can manage to touch/affect us within and temporarily sway us into a certain direction, and yet that is still part of the encouragement and we have still not made a choice about it. There is still a choice available to us, and enough time to consider the issue further, and what can be narrowed for, and by being consisted with the same resolve in the long run. It can often seem that we are not being as strong as before, and that we are on the verge of losing self-control, and that things have become so unchecked and uncontrollable in our mind that it is like we have already yielded to weakness. It can happen that we experience our head being gripped and tightened down by bad thoughts, until our attention becomes so narrow that we can only notice one bad thing. Or it can happen that we experience our thoughts being so overly loose and wandering so far amiss; that it is like we cannot keep them down and contain them (or we cannot rein them in and settle them still). It might seem like these thoughts have gotten the better of us and that we have lost all inner control. It might seem that the choice has already passed, because our internal activity has already made a choice for us. And yet that is only an illusion, where this experience is still taking place before the choice and we do still possess a choice what is being  done after all this experience. And even that we reveal a sign of weakness and start to do something wrong; then we can still immediately choose to stop where that wrong course is now taking us and not allow it to escalate. We can still pick up the thread of the right course where it was last left, and continue with our original resolve, until we have finally accustomed ourselves to the right practice in an unconditional way. That which is known to be right does still apply, and the wrong thing cannot unmake that knowledge, regardless of our personal involvement and history with the wrong things. It should be kept to the original meaning of the human spirit, what kind of inspiration was experienced at that time, until it is timely for us to act in such way in the situation. A silent inspiration calls for a silent follow-up, in going straight for the choice when it applies in the situation to come, or in acting immediately upon the inspiration when an unexpected situation comes over to us. That can be done without any further words, because it is already being transparent what needs to be done. It is thereby received the knowledge as it is, and had full faith in one’s ability to accomplish it, all in its due time when it is called for. But it should not be changed the meaning afterwards, like when it is added more words to it than needed, or implicated the inspiration to a different meaning. For it will then no longer involve that inspiration, and the distortion of the inspiration will not apply in the situation. If we are being tempted by the mind then we should not seek to see something good about it, or some deeper meaning, because it was surely a temptation at that time, an evil possibility.

The man is not under obligation of flattering the divinity with his mouth and body signs, but he should rather focus upon the goodness which belongs to the divinity and comes from it, what kind of sense and moral principles are required in the situation and to be drawn out from himself. It is not important to know what is the outward appearance of the divinity, but it is important to know how the divinity does function from within ourselves, and what it is capable of in our lives. The divinity will continue to do the good thing because it is in its nature to be good. But it is not like the divinity will remain idle and powerless unless the man does directly ask for help. The divinity does of course abide by a principle by helping those that want to be helped, whom really believe that help is possible and are willing to accept help when offered. The goodwill is always there in doing good for free. The same process will continue to apply, regardless of that whether the man is actually aware of it or not, acknowledges it or not, or what human effort was added or deducted from. It was not some beautiful words or good intentions that were able to redeem the man, as if such things could float in the air and possess the power to save him. The man said this or did this, and all of this remains nothing/immobile until another being chooses to respond to the same. It was ultimately the divinity which possessed the will to help the man, and the power to redeem him, if the man was being humble enough to confess the truth and believe that he could be helped. It was not because the man’s petition was cleverly phrased or done with style, but it was only enough to ask for help, to approach the divinity in the current state that the man was in. If the man does already have silent faith in the divinity then no additional words are required, since he is either way determined to act upon the divinely inspired meaning. If the man is already courageous and strong then he will not need to rely upon any clever speeches, as if it could arouse courage in him and increase his resolve about the challenges at hand. For these very same effects are already present in his heart and spirit, where his exemplary conduct has already met with the challenge which the speech is meant to reflect.

There is a need for faith to promote faith in all other factors, as if the value would draw/derive strength from itself alone, but not from some outside factors or reasons. When facing uncertainty and the odds do not seem to be favourable; then the courageous man does derive inner strength from courage in his heart and he chooses to meet this all the same. But if everything is already being certain and that in having all the odds on his side; then the confidence which the man derives from this is not being the same thing as courage. Even so a man having faith should be driven by the one same essence that he possesses in himself, without him relying upon many different things outside him, something which comes and goes. A conviction is all about stepping in the right direction before one can know more about it, but one cannot know everything in advance before making the attempt. A similar thing applies to faith in the lasting value of a choice, where a choice must be made amidst uncertainty and temptations that it might actually involve a choice and be called a choice. Even that a choice is being difficult to make then it does still not mean that the choice itself should become something to avoid. It is not like everything has to be easy and agreeable before a choice is made, with the support of flatterers and without the opposition of accusers. It can already be felt a specific attitude and its discernment. To begin with it can be difficult to phrase its actual meaning or express oneself further about it, when it is shared that opinion to other people and tried to make oneself comprehensible to them. But once it has been headed into the right direction then it can be understood more clearly from within oneself, when it comes convince oneself about its value. It should be kept to one’s strong factors, fields of interest, and specialty, so that their combined influence will be able to dispel problems and make up for all the weak factors. But one should never be stuck upon the weak factors, by dwelling upon that which one is not being good at and/or unable to progress in, since it will otherwise be at the expense of the strong factors. If one does possess conviction about that what one is doing then it is like one is being in the light, where every movement is being harmonious and consistent toward the destination ahead. But if one does not possess conviction about that what one is doing then it is like one is trying to find one‘s way in total darkness, where all these guesses and random movements makes one no nearer in leaving that darkness, but on the contrary one goes deeper into the darkness.

Both the behaviour and the attitude behind it must remain consistent in the long run. Speech and actions can vary in circumstances, and yet the attitude behind it can be one and the same. Conviction reaches to that in intending good things, and in saying good things, and in doing good things. (It is not actually said/mentioned good things directly, but rather indirectly when one‘s communication is being smooth and discreet and easy-going in the presence of others. By simply stating the humble truth then it is sided with the goodness and appealed to the goodness in others.) And it does involve that in not intending bad things, and in not saying bad things, and in not doing bad things. That to abstain from bad things and say nothing in that regard can be a discreet thing in itself. An indifference and nonparticipation in bad things can be a good decision in itself. Our spiritual side is being reinforced/increased by it in the same way as when we are doing good things. We can be all alone, and thereby distant from circumstances and human relations which call for good works. And yet when we are all alone with our thoughts and we keep rejecting their bad influence; then we are also making morally right decisions. We are maintaining our attitude pure and sincere in the meantime, so that we will be ever ready for good works when we finally experience circumstances and meet other people. There is nothing bad within us which would otherwise distract us from it, or make us digress from it, or hinder us from it. We are ever being spiritually sober and vigilant, or spiritually awake and ready when called for. It can apply that one good work came true because we had previously been rejecting masses of thoughts which tried to steer us into a false course. When it is followed one’s conviction then it is not possessed any certainty about the outcome, whether such behaviour will be successful or not, whether it will offer the most advantage or the least loss in comparison to others. Neither is one able to come up with explanations about everything and everyone, as if it could be rationalized or criticized everything in advance. It can rather be said that it is only sufficient to begin practicing things in good faith, and then it can be experienced benefits while it does last, and also afterwards. These same benefits will confirm that such behaviour did indeed have a rightful claim, and that it should be repeated, since we felt spiritually sober and managed to help other people. It does disprove all the doubts and selfish arguments that existed prior to the practice, so that impulses and mental symptoms are being dispelled as well, which were once affecting one’s life. It must first be acted according to little conviction which does already exist, and then after it had been practiced in the long run then that conviction will become more advanced. It corresponds to that if a man would have seed in his hand, so it would be difficult to determine what type of plant it does belong to. But if it is sowed the seed in proper soil and given it a proper treatment then everything will be fully revealed later on.

It should first be convinced oneself of own personal conviction and applied it to one‘s life, and then some time afterwards it can be taught other people to do the same. That we are truly being convinced by this deep down in our heart, and that thereby are no further words required to convince us about it, since we have a silent faith in waiting calmly for the chance in doing it. It is not enough to pretend to agree with the conviction in one‘s mind and with one‘s mouth, and openly try to convince other people about it, while one does fail to believe in one‘s heart that it can reach to one‘s heart and come true in one‘s life. It should be immediately practiced the right thing, and immediately abstained from the wrong things. But it is not something which should be dwelt upon for too long, like when a needless introspection is involved or implicated it too personally to oneself. It is not enough to experience a single scrupulous opinion from the human spirit, and then already presume oneself to be its perfect practitioner, or a role model which can preach it to other people. It would otherwise involve a shallow and superficial insight, where such opinion will come and vanish as suddenly, without leaving any lasting trace. This is why a simple conviction should call for a simple behaviour, before the man can express himself further about the matter and put himself into the position of other people. It can be mentioned the 'beginner's mistake' of those that are new in the faith in God. They presume that they are under much pressure in becoming perfect as soon as possible, and to prove themselves with many good works or services out in the world, because they are being fearful that God will otherwise lose patience and give up on them within short time. These new believers are thereby being restless and trying to hurry themselves through everything, when they are still being little and immature in their conviction, and they do not really possess any self-knowledge and understanding of that what they are doing. Hence all this hurried effort is being shallow and short-sighted. When God tells us to bear fruit then it does especially apply to a spiritual fruit, what must first happen within us and be tested for and be drawn out from us, what kind of attitude we have toward everyone and everything. To begin with then we should take our time to remain calm and be at rest about everything, where we do our best to remain internally silent and cease from all our inner straining/struggling, while we allow the Spirit of God in our hearts to teach us new things little by little. We do not know how much time will pass until God has made us firmly rooted in our conviction, and made us insightful in interpretation of the Scripture (the Bible), and made us spiritually discerning (knowing the difference between right and wrong), and made us determined enough in abstaining from wrong things and pursuing right things instead, and made us aspiring for noble things and what can benefit the wellbeing of others. Just like a tree needs a long time to grow then our spiritual side needs a long time to grow. We allow our spiritual side to grow by letting the matter rest and cease to intervene further within ourselves.  And once our spiritual side has reached maturity then we can go out into the world and seek to help other people in the right way, by making use of right things in order to help them do right. We should not try to stretch the newly grown tree in order to make it longer, or pretend like this short tree is already being a big tree. Even so we should not seek to force changes within us when it suits us, nor pretend that we already know everything when we have still much to learn from God (something that dispels our previous presumptions and makes us realize our own ignorance in these matters, or something that improves our current knowledge and helps us explain it further). The one who is writing this did not first travel everywhere in order to convince everyone about everything. That man did first allow God to convince him of many things within, where its truth and moral principles has been collected in this work/book. Hence now can everyone everywhere make use of this same knowledge in order to be convinced by God within himself.

If a person does say or do something foolish then it can be afterwards confirmed that the person approached things in a foolish way, without one claiming/asserting that the person is being permanently foolish. That approach does not need to stick to the person if the person becomes vigilant enough to approach things differently next time, by taking necessary precaution against the same negligence from happening. It can happen that a person does not have interest in the topics of other people, where it is being bored and too tired to keep up the thread. Or the person is simply unable to maintain concentration for long, so it is lost the context between all the facts. It can then happen that the person does speak the first thing which comes into its mind, as if the person was merely guessing the correct answer, responding to that what the person thinks other people are talking about, or it is imitated/repeated something which had been heard before. (It is spoken through inaccurate memories, no matter how illogical it proves to be and in utter contrast to the transparent facts in the environment.) This can of course seem incredibly stupid to other people, like when it is confused names and dates, causality and consequence, which involves a simple math or deduction. But that person had missed out on all the details, even that it was present during the discussion, so the foolish reply was not really an assumption to the available facts. It was solely through the mind (random experience), looking for some kind of one-sided confirmation or to clear a needless misunderstanding. It can be experienced oneself having a dull/unsharp mind where the only thought being aroused is far off the mark, and it can involve such a convincing/hypnotising experience that this thought is being correct; that one does immediately let it out and thereby make a fool of oneself. Originally the thought seemed so logical, but once one has followed through that thought in speech then one quickly becomes aware how illogical it was. It can apply that one does not bother to inquire further into the matter, whether because of one‘s deliberate lack of initiative against one‘s better judgment or because one is already sunken into lethargy/indifference. Or it can rather apply that one fails to consider such possibility in the first place, because of one‘s mental impairment or dulled/stiffened internal activity. It is shown a lack of faith by hurryingly revealing the foolish thought being had, rather than by keeping one‘s eyes and ears open for that what is happening in contrast to the thought being had. Foolish thoughts are being experienced by all men, whether some can seem more logical or illogical than others, although still just as much bound to the self/ego. When foolish thoughts seem more bound to one man than another; then the difference between these two lies in the response. For that some men can discern these thoughts to be foolish right away before speaking out loud, while other men speak first and realize their mistake afterwards. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, whether that person is being sincere or not, decent or not, under the grace of God or not. If the mind deals shitty cards to you in life then don‘t make use of these cards when trying to win the game. Abstain from making use of these shitty cards while you wait for the human spirit to deal better cards to you. When we are being stuck with a mind of low worth (a depraved one), considering all these far-fetched and foolish and indecent thoughts we are having; then we should abstain from applying these thoughts in all things experienced. We should rather remain silent and wait patiently until the human spirit will increase our sense and inspiration and aspiration, no matter how little at a time, until we can begin effectively to apply it.

Steadfastness is about keeping oneself to the original meaning, which was being sensed and realized at that time, whether it can be called inspiration or a temporary experience of a truthful stance. For a courageous man then few words are as good as many, when it comes to encourage him to face every opposition with courage, since that man is already being courageous from within. It can be said that all encouraging speeches are being superfluous to the courageous man, because he does already experience its intended effects in his heart and spirit. Even now the courageous man is ready to face opposition, as after having been convinced by an encouraging speech of other people, because even before hearing that speech of others then the courageous man is already being convinced by that which he possesses in his heart and spirit. If the man is already being faithful then he will also be so in the future, which in this case does reach to consistency with one and the same right answer, without changing his mind about it. If the man does change his mind about one matter then he will also change his mind about many matters. If the man fails to abide by one right answer then he will also fail to abide by many right answers. That which happens in one thing keeps happening again from one thing to another one thing. The matter is not about endlessly searching for an ultimate answer, but rather to keep to the simple humble truth which one is currently able to confess. That to discover a right answer does not conclude the matter, because the man will also have to abide by that right answer in the long run, without changing its meaning or looking for an alternate answer. A coward is constantly driven from one place to another, because he fails to stand his ground every time it is met with opposition. It does not matter whether the coward will flee to another place, because he will also flee from that place as well, and so forth. This is why we should not constantly look for new answers to the same problem, and then give up every time it does not give a quick victory, like when unpleasant thoughts and impulses do not seem to go away (they keep reappearing regardless of any answer). The matter is not only about that in knowing the right answer for oneself, but it is also about an inner strength in keep siding with it, by being steadfast and loyal to the truth. We must be willing to endure opposition from the mind when it happens each and every time, so the right answer is meant to strengthen our resolve and patience. But the right answer is not meant to prevent attacks from the mind, or convince the mind to cease its opposition. So it is not the fault of the right answer that we have been making a wrong use of it. The man should continue to know the right answer for himself and follow it through on his behalf, regardless of that what can happen in his mind, and what other people can think about him through their mind. An adversity can be irrelevant, a distraction, a digression from the proper path. The man does not need to struggle directly against false accusations and try to make it cease/vanish, before he can finally move on and do that which he knows to be right. For example, the man has been taking his time to learn for an exam and he is now ready to undertake it. But during the travel to the school the man can meet with bullies, which will threaten him and even beat him up. This does not mean that the man is now being intellectually unfit for the exam. This does not make the exam itself become wrong and a thing to be avoided. This does not mean that the man should disregard the exam while wasting his time trying to convince the bullies to stop bullying. The man does still retain the knowledge and ability in himself to attend the exam and finish it. A similar thing applies when the man does continue to do the right thing on his behalf, according to his sense of decency and dignity. It does not matter whether everyone else disapprove of it, refuse to recognize it, and oppose the man. And it does not matter whether everyone else refuse to change and practice the same thing as the man. It is either way still open for the man to keep siding with the truth and develop good qualities in his own life, so that he will experience its spiritual freedom and benefits for himself.

4.2: The Internal Control

Courage is something which must exist at the scene, when one is present there in person, willing to confront the enemies or dangers there, in the heat of the moment. It can also involve courage in that of facing possible repercussions of one‘s negligence and mistakes, when one has previously been at fault and one knows it with oneself that one can possibly be held accountable for it. It has been said that courage is the same thing as contempt of pain and death, although shame could also be included, and any advantage which could be deprived from oneself. The courageous man does not care about his own self-image, self-interest, or self-preservation, but he is only concerned about the struggle for its own sake, that of keep fighting for victory or have his life ended during the attempt. This means that the courageous man considers the rightful cause to be more important than his own life, and thereby should his life suffer for it, rather than the other way around. It is not like pain by opposition does happen at random, but a human opponent must first possess the will to oppose and inflict pain with his body. If it is overcome the enemy then it is also prevented all further pain as well, so that an offence is the best defence, where a victory is the best means to be saved. A cowardly man is only concerned about that in saving his own life, and that makes him keep being on the defensive, where he is being so afraid of the pain/opposition which the opponent can inflict upon him that he totally neglects to focus upon that in overcoming the opponent himself. He only gazes upon a single movement of the opponent which is being directed against him (incoming fist), which is only one part/aspect of the whole, while completely failing to notice all the movements of opponent in whole (all the human body) and how to counter the opponent. It should be looked upon this in context of that when we experience opposition from the mind. We should not be afraid of the matter which the mind is using against us and how it can seem to affect us. We should rather become aware of the mind itself, which is making use of this as a pretext to attack and undermine us, and we should rather focus upon that in withstanding the mind itself in all things. The man who only tries to save himself will ultimately be defeated by his enemies, while the man who is willing to suffer for the right cause will withstand his enemies in life to the very end of the life. Whether there will be victory or defeat in the end, that cannot be predicted with any certainty, and yet it has still been abided by principle of keep withstanding to the very end. Courage should not be determined by odds, like when it is only fought against weaker enemies but fled from those that are considered one’s equals or superiors in power. It is rather about the principle in standing one’s ground, and in fighting to the best of one’s ability, regardless of the outcome or in what way it can affect oneself for the worse. The physical body can suffer and be defeated against one‘s will, but it has still been maintained one’s spirit free and dignified, so that it can involve a victory in defeat, in having been superior to one’s enemies in spirit.

It can happen that the man does experience opposition in an undeserved way, and which he was not prepared for, so the man failed to say or do anything during that particular incident. It might seem like the human adversary exalted himself at the man’s expense, and even got away with it, so the man can look at it as a personal affront to himself. The man will thereby think too much about that incident, dwelling upon it with resentment, so that he does either plan revenge or wish for evils to befall his adversary. Such extreme reaction does happen in the meantime, after the incident and before the next one. But it does never solve anything, and only makes things worse for the man. For that during the original incident the man did not experience any constructive thoughts and impulses, which could help him overcome his own hesitation and weaknesses. And the same process will apply when the man experiences corresponding adversity in the future. If the man is now failing/neglecting things while he is thinking about something else; then he will also fail to know what to say and do when next confronting the adversary. If the man is being overtaken by self-centred thoughts in the meantime then it will drain/dull his internal activity and make it uninspiring/unaspiring during the next encounter. It is headed from contempt (meantime) to cowardice (on the scene), from anger to sensitivity, and from revengefulness to hesitation, but in all cases the mind is at work with its extreme/swinging influence, far off the mark. If the man thinks too much about the past and the future then he neglects the present moment, and this very attachment to disruptive thoughts makes him become weak and distracted, so  that he has already lost before arriving on the scene. It is ultimately failed because the man relied upon empty words of the mind and responses to imaginations, instead of relying upon the human spirit in his heart with its silent potential. It would have been better if the man had maintained inner silence, held his peace, and shown patience, while outwardly focusing upon each task at hand until the next one, and adapting to every demand of the moment. The man should never have dwelt upon the adversity in the meantime, nor planned anything in advance, but only carried silent faith/determination amidst uncertainty.

When the two extremes are involved then it is headed from one extreme to another, where the man does either hold himself too much back or goes ahead of himself. That to dwell upon things in the meantime can lead to repression, where the man fails to be consistent with his conviction at all times. For the man does think otherwise in the meantime than what he openly speaks during encounter with other people. When the man keeps seeking the company of phony and disrespectful people then he will keep experiencing disappointment and resentment about it. The man does feel bad in his heart while he is putting up a good face and saying good things among such people. The man really dislikes these people and wishes them everything bad, while he never openly dares saying anything against them. When it is here mentioned an enemy then it does not apply to any enemy, because an enemy can be a decent person in its own right even that he does hold something against us. But when it is here mentioned an enemy then it applies to a person that is being false/phony, unrepentant, insolent/disrespectful, and hypocritical, which is ever being watchful for a weakness in us that can used against us (exploited) and openly revealed to everyone. It can involve a vicious cycle when the man is unwilling to let go of things and forgive his enemy at the outset, when the man is unwilling to abandon/forsake further dealings with the enemy and instead simply move on with his life. For that when the man keeps wishing for evil things to befall his enemy then it can later become so extreme and unrestrained that the man experiences guilt over it. Then the man starts shifting the blame to himself and think that he himself had deserved such adversity during the original incident. The man starts lying to himself beautiful and redeeming things about the enemy. The man comes up with justifications of the enemy, as if the enemy had not been disrespecting him in a deliberate way or that it was not the enemy‘s fault, or that his enemy is still being a decent person whom deserves another chance. This makes the man falsely believe that he is being somewhat beholden to his enemy and obligated to do something for him. This is why the man continues to have company with phony people whom treat him with disrespect, forcing everything upon himself, against his willingness and better judgement. It has more to say about the man’s own weakness than the merit of his enemies, because he would either way have done the same thing, regardless of the people involved. And when the man keeps wasting his time and effort upon phony people that show him disrespect; then he will again become resentful and dwell upon it in the meantime. It would have been better if the man had stood his ground during the actual encounter, revealing his true attitude/stance, and then never thought any further about it. It is about having silent faith in the human spirit, until it can be experienced inspiration when the encounter does finally happen, that one will be sober and calm enough to confront it. To sum it up then it should neither be dwelt upon the past nor planned anything about the future, and one should neither seek to condemn nor justify the enemy. For where there is one extreme there is also the other, but it cannot be separated these two from each other. That to be good to a phony person is as equally irrelevant and digressive as to be bad to a phony person. In both cases it is given undeserved attention to the phony person and nothing good comes out of it. But if it is treaded the moderate middle path in doing neither good nor bad to the phony person then it is both avoided revengefulness and guilt, so that we do not consider us obligated to keep having company with that person (whether to quarrel further with it or make something up to it). We have nothing more to say to that person. We confirm that how things already are and do not try to change that which is bad in its nature/basis. It is first let go of the false and bad things within, and then it is let go of the false and bad people on the outside (by disregarding them).

Responsibility does not only apply to that what has been said and done, but also what has not been said and done, when it comes to read between the lines during silence and inactivity. It should be discerned when it is proper to act, and when it is not proper to do so, when one is actually able to make any difference or when one‘s interference does only disrupt the natural flow/course of things. And it should be discerned whether one should consider the matter further or not, whether it should be made into one‘s concern/problem or not. It is indeed a mad thing when it is constantly repeated the same foolish approach, while hoping for different outcome each time, even that it will always fail in the same way. It is not like one can merely change the words or the expectations behind the act, while the actual act remains precisely the same as before. For example, an adultery is as equally wrong in every case, even that the man can hope/expect something good to come out of it, or tell himself that he is not doing it for bad reasons. A good means will lead to good consequences, while bad means will lead to bad consequences. But a bad execution can never lead to good consequences, regardless of that what kind of expectation or wishful thinking can be had about it in the meantime. The truth does continue to testify about the value of each choice, whether it proves to be truthful or false, reliable or treacherous, decent or selfish, modest or covetous. The facts will remain the same, and what kind of consequence will follow the practice, regardless of one’s state of mind. It should be taken responsibility of one’s act and allowed its consequences to befall oneself, for as long time as needed, until the divinity deems it time to fully cover it. One keeps waiting patiently within until something will happen that frees one from all attachment to the fault and where one does feel oneself being pardoned by the conscience. It can not only be experienced internal repercussions following an external activity, but it can also be experienced internal repercussions following an internal activity. It can be experienced bad effects within oneself following one‘s guilty attitude in having craved for evil things, so that one will have to endure impulses and symptoms for a time being while sobering up from it. It can apply that one has already turned away from the attitude behind the act and ceased from committing further acts. And yet one keeps experiencing bad/disruptive effects within oneself as if one was still being punished for it and that one‘s repentance made no difference. And yet what really matters is that one has already turned away from the attitude behind the act and ceased from committing further acts. The man can repent by changing his stance at this moment, but it does still not mean that it should be accompanied with wishful thinking, as if everything could be immediately excused and there would be escaped from all bad consequences. That to assume responsibility and be willing to endure repercussions for the time being is part of that in repenting to fruition. It is a question about that whether the man will be consistent with the repentance in the long run, and improve in corresponding circumstances in the long run, rather than by being quick to give up on his resolve and soon begin erring again against people in similar position. For even that the man has now changed his mind then there is still always a danger that he will change his mind again, where he can repent of having repented and go back to his former corruption. It can be acknowledged that one reaps what one sows. Where it is only fair that one does experience a position which one has been putting other people in, where it is understandable that one‘s activity or lack of activity has been calling for such response from other people, and that it cannot be expected a different treatment by other people if one oneself has been unwilling to treat them differently. It is only just when the divinity decides to even things out, by making good thing come before and after a bad thing, and by making bad thing come before and after a good thing, by making prosperity and adversity keep switching in the person‘s life. A person that has been experiencing undeserved adversity can later experience deserved prosperity, while a person that has been experiencing undeserved prosperity can later experience deserved adversity. If one had previously been exalted at the expense of another person then later that person can be exalted at one‘s expense, or that if one has been repeatedly neglecting and showing indifference to a specific person then the divinity can take care of that person and raise the spirit of that person so high that the person totally forgets that one is there. Hence whatever will happen and however it might affect one‘s life, let the will of God be done.

A stoical fortitude is about allowing all adversity to pass through oneself, where it is kept making the willing choice of enduring suffering, even that one is being innocent and undeserving of the same. It is being undertaken for a higher cause, when it comes to suffer for that in doing the right thing. A suffering in itself does not decide whether something should be done or not, so even that the suffering could be ended by complying with something then it is still not complied with it. It is had faith in the divinity that it can make one capable of confronting and outlasting the adversity, whether that other people are still holding something against one for one‘s past errors, or they are holding it against one for having ceased to participate in their errors. It is allowed every sign of weakness and humiliation to belong to the place where it happened in the past, while it is sought to improve one’s internal condition and make the best out of one’s lot. It is only kept to that what is within one’s control and reach, what can be chosen about or rejected, what can be pursued or avoided, what can be held unto or changed. When it happens that it is experienced adversity then it is not chosen to stop and receive it personally. Whatever the adversary says or does then one does not choose to give him power over one‘s will, and thereby not choose to be manipulated by him into choosing something bad. When it is come across an adversary and we have to experience the bad influence of his bad presence/company; then it is not being a viable option to make him go away or flee from him. But we can still immediately forsake that adversary in our heart and soul, by keep forsaking all the bad influence he is trying to make an impression upon us and let it stay within himself alone. Our spiritual freedom is being determined by our spiritual siding, and our integrity is being determined by our moral choices. No external things are able to deprive us of innocence through their merit alone. It is not like something outside our body can be able to touch our soul and corrupt it, or be able to take our spirit out from us, without us having any choice in the matter. If the man loses his innocence then the blame does ultimately lie within him, in having yielded to bad influence (corruption) by his own initiative. That man had already chosen to give up and subject himself to corruption, and then afterwards he came up with excuses, seeking to justify everything. Even after undergoing adversity then the man should turn his attention back to the matters at hand, where it is had humility and patience in enduring the bad things which he is unable to prevent or change. It is depended upon the man’s own choice in becoming happy and contented with the benefits that do already exist in his life, which can still be experienced from within and made good use of. If the man is already being virtuous then he will always be calm and stable within, so it can be experienced all things in a pure way and done things to the best of his ability. A virtuous man will make everything bearable to himself, and solvable in the long run. When we experience uncertainty about something then it is a foolish thing to come up with assertion that surely something good will happen to us or that surely something bad will not happen to us, as if we were lying to ourselves something to make ourselves self-confident and have easier time bearing the difficulty of the uncertainty. Whatever good things or bad things can happen in the future, that we cannot predict for certainty. We can only acknowledge that if the divinity wills something to happen then it happens and we ask the divinity to help us go through it when it happens. We should of course hope the best and prepare for the worst, but the good things hoped for are of the divinity to bestow and it is not of our own making.

The man must be willing to overcome his weaknesses which temptations have hitherto been appealing to and thriving upon, even as how things made of iron are drawn to a magnet. It is namely vices which make the man already weak and distracted, too exposed and receptive toward any temptation, so it would not have mattered which tempter would tempt him and in what way. But if there are no weaknesses then none of the external things will make any lasting impression upon the man. When the man is only concerned about that in saving himself then he neglects to care about those that are near, and he neglects to notice that they care about him. Also when the man is only concerned about that in saving himself then he fails to abide by a moral principle, which would otherwise have saved him from the temptation he is trying to save himself from. This moral principle could have stilled the man to the one and same purpose, thereby freeing him from all switching/shifting activity and stances. The one who is writing this does not go that far to claim that nobody should take precaution in saving himself from overhanging threat and danger. What one is writing about does apply when the man is being motivated by his ego in saving his ego from something that appeals to his ego. Hence when the man tries to save himself in a direct way then it is being selfish in its nature, regardless of the measures. It should not be sought to defend, explain, or justify oneself. Neither should it be sought for someone to blame, or by dwelling upon the past and what could/should rather have happened. A silent determination can accomplish more than clever words. It is only sufficient to endure this present moment, one moment at a time, again and again, until the bad things have run their course. One does not know how long it will take, and one does not expect things to end after a set/definite time has passed, as if one could say now it is supposed to happen or wonder why it has not already happened or tell oneself that it is about to happen after a short time. For example, even that a specific problem haunting our mind did manage to cease after two days then it does still not mean that we should expect the next problem in our mind to cease after two days. Or if it happens some time later that the same problem manages to reappear in our mind then it does still not mean that it will again cease after two days. We can never predict when exactly the divinity will visit us in our time of need and drive away the devils in our lives. We can only keep spiritual watch in the meantime and soberly wait for the return of our saviour/deliverer. One tries to have the ideal attitude in being willing to withstand each and every temptation, as if it could go on endlessly, when of course it will not go on endlessly and we need to be delivered by the divinity before our energy is all spent. At least one is now doing things to the best of one‘s knowledge and ability, regardless of the results. If the man does not care about his own life then he will also not care about his enemies and what they can do to his life. If the man can endure pain then it will not matter which enemy will inflict blow upon him, and how powerful the blow will be. Even that many enemies attack the man then it is the same thing to him as if one enemy was hitting him many times. When it is experienced a failure or harm then it does not mean the end of everything, but it can always be endured afterwards, because the life moves on and the time with it. And a similar thing applies to shame, when it is lost the esteem of other people, when they presume something false and bad about the man, even that he is being innocent on his behalf. It can happen that the man is being slandered by other people, and his motive is being misunderstood, so the man is treated with disrespect, like he is stupid and unworthy. But the man should be contented with that in knowing the truth for himself and what did really happen, so that his conscience is at peace and he does experience its benefits from within. This is why the man does not need to convince the whole world about his true motives, prove himself in the eyes of other people, or seek recognition for that what he has achieved.

A foolish man does boast about the things which he owns and what he has gotten from other people. But what about the things which that man has in himself, and what he has done, and how he has treated other people! It is taken pride in transient things which are outside the man’s will, which are irrelevant to his attitude and qualities and capability, so it does not have any lasting value or practical use. It should be respected oneself by respecting the things which one believes in and practices. It should not only be shown interest in the person, but also in what that person does. It should be pursued that what one is good/best at and able to further progress in, while it should be avoided the things which one is not good at and unable to progress in. It is not like a single weak factor is meant to be a generalization about everything else in one’s life, as if it could disprove the strong factors and all the other things one has been doing well. It should rather be evaluated one’s life in whole and let every factor belong to its sphere of influence. If it is kept to the strong factors and cultivated them further then it will make up for any weak factors, so that one will no longer feel the need to consider them as well. It should be left one’s incompetence and failings at the place where it happened, and let it stay in the weak factor it does belong to. It should not be dwelt upon something that one should either way not have pursued in the first place. It is not allowed a weak factor to spread to other factors and undermine them, since it will otherwise lead to unbelief and negligence of one’s true potential. It is like one should put all such concerns on hold, and shun its existence, because one‘s attention to it will either way not make any difference. It is acknowledged that the weak factors do not already work out in one’s life, and one will not become better at it in the future, no matter how often is repeated such approach. The shoes should conform to the feet, but the feet should not conform to the shoes. It would be a foolish thing to cut off a proportion of one’s feet just so it can fit into smaller shoes, since the body is of course much more important than any objects. Therefore should the external matters appeal to our natural talents and abilities, but we should not neglect our qualities in order to fit with transient and vainglorious things, useless to our true needs.

It should be based all decisions on that what is considered to be honourable and dignified, to oneself and to other people, what is befitting all of us as human beings. It cannot be controlled or changed in a direct way what other people can think of one, and what will be their reactions. But one does still the same possess a choice whether it will leave any impression upon oneself, whether it will be received into oneself, whether it is allowed such things to affect one’s internal condition and attitude and conduct. It can just as well be chosen to do nothing about it, where it is only kept to silence, which shuns everything else, passing by it with indifference. All words/speeches can be superfluous if one already discerns that the choice is wrong, that is actually a temptation and digression from the right path. This is why one can just as well reject it in silence, and show no reaction at all, while it is waited for other options in the situation. A wrongdoing and revenge is originated from the same weakness, from the same evil nature, whether the man is the offender or the victim, the first one to commit injury or the first one to receive it. The mind did originally tempt the offender into mistreating the victim in an undeserved way. And then afterwards does the mind remind the victim of that bad experience, so it can be oppressed the victim from within and encouraged the victim to give in to the bad side in itself. The victim did originally have a good attitude, but now the mind is trying to make the victim possess similar bad attitude as the offender and to possess the will to commit similar bad things in turn. The mind is now trying to corrupt the victim and make it also fall under the mind‘s sphere of influence. That to repay evil with evil does involve a contradiction, because it is consulted with and relied upon the very evil force which had originally caused one to experience undeserved adversity. When there is a quarrel and a fight about something then both parties involved are heeding the suggestions of the mind, where the mind is ‘helping’ both of them to harm one another. By keep heeding the mind then a corruption will spread further and expose more people to the evil influence of the mind. It should be looked upon this in context with the human race and its internal rivalry. For the mind tries to make the human people see enemies in each other, where it slanders everyone through various delusions and fears, creating paranoia about the unknown. But the mind is the true enemy, where it should be overcome the mind before any human adversary, since the latter is merely a tool being deceived and manipulated by the mind. It would otherwise be utterly mad to consult with a most wicked criminal and get his help to overcome an ordinary person, since that criminal is far worse and of much more threat to us.

It should be most of all pursued that which is recognized being true, pure, beautiful, decent, fair, discreet, and dignified, and honoured the same things recognized in other people. An injustice should always be hated and abstained from, regardless of that what person does commit it. It does apply equally much to our own lives as that of our enemies, even that they were the first ones to commit evil against us, and the blame was originally theirs. Therefore should not be repaid evil with evil, because we should not become that what we hate. We did not hate and feel aversion (dislike) to our enemies while they were being honest and doing honest things, but we hated them for becoming dishonest and doing dishonest things. This is why the matter should not be permanently directed against the person, but it should only be hated the evil choice and shunned the person while it continues to make such evil choices. It should be sought to surpass our enemies in virtue, by becoming a better person than them, and by doings things better than them, and by treating other people in a better way than them. We do not resort to the same shameful and degrading means as our enemies have. We do not resort to mere criticism of that which is being wrong in other people, and we do not openly prattle about that amongst ourselves what they could or should rather have done in the situation. But we keep being discreet about things in the meantime, and we try to do things better than them when we finally find ourselves in a similar position/situation. It is most important to maintain our spiritual purity and dignity, because such spiritual values will always follow us within and benefit us at all times. But revengefulness and its quest for self-gratification only makes things worse for our internal condition and stability, since we have become guilty of all kinds of evil intentions. The world can persecute the virtuous man, depriving him of material objects, the esteem of other people, and even the use of his physical body, resulting in permanent injuries or death. However, the world can never deprive the man of his free will, innocence, and dignity, so that a defeat in flesh can be turned into a victory in spirit, as a victory in defeat.

The man does not need to trouble himself about matters that are outside his control, which cannot be prevented or changed, which he is in no position to do anything about. The man should only carry enough ‘equipment’ that he is able to make use of in the situation. But he should avoid all unnecessary burdens, irrelevant to his current capability. This is why it is necessary that the man should not care about some matters and problems, since it would either way not have made any difference in dwelling upon it. All such cares and worries have no bearing upon the time and place which the man does find himself at, what he does now need to focus upon and accomplish, according to his capability. The man is better off by being free from such cares, having no any awareness of them, so it will no longer get in the way of the current situation and its demands. This is why it is only sufficient to keep to the merit of the case, and what is needed to know in an objective way, so it is like the circumstances furnish their own material. That to worry about one‘s own life is being counterproductive, because the very worry makes one neglect the things that give one‘s life a meaning and one fails to follow through things that are good/beneficial for one‘s life. A half-hearted measure can be just as useless as when no measure is taken, when the man is being too distracted by his worries and he is unable to maintain concentration in every matter and he keeps forsaking his half-done works/projects. When the man cares for his beloved ones then he should make the most of the moment, especially while the company does last, when both persons are present and able to do something for each other. In the meantime then it can be honoured all mention of the person and worked for its benefit, although one is unable to see the person and one does not know what it is doing at that same moment. But it is not proper to have worries on that person’s behalf during its absence, unless there is really some danger involved and someone needs to be alerted about it. It cannot be done good things toward illusions and imaginations, when it is had worries of the person solely because of that what has been taking place in one’s mind. It should be consulted with the person and allowed it to testify about its own position, or it can be seen the circumstances for oneself and discerned whether it is being acceptable. It should otherwise not be had worries on that person’s behalf, fearing that bad things could happen, since that person and the circumstances has already spoken for itself. A true friend would not wish one to worry and be unhappy for his sake, constantly distracted and neglecting one’s own life. And one would also not wish that friend to worry and be unhappy for one’s sake, constantly distracted and neglecting his own life. That to worry for one another does contradict the mutual love and goodwill had for each other. A corresponding thing applies when a death is involved, for that a true friend about to die (and even after death, when the soul lives on) would not wish any person to torment itself on his behalf. But a true friend would want that person to move on with its life, to make the best of its human lot, and to enjoy its current friends. If everyone would be worried about each other then every individual would be neglecting his own life, and the only real control had from within, in handling his own affairs with good sense. Therefore should we be considerate toward the love which we have for each other, because we do not only love our beloved ones but we are also being loved by them in turn. The man should do nothing which could harm himself, and his beloved one should do nothing which could harm itself, so that each person is being alert and sober from within, in each matter. It should only be wished the best for one‘s beloved, like good health, happiness, peace, and prosperity. And it thereby wanted one‘s beloved to pursue these same good things for itself, regardless of one‘s own involvement.

No man is able to control the choice of other people, what other people can think about him, speak to him during human relations, or about him while the man is being absent. It can also not be controlled what can happen in the reality, what kind of events can be experienced, in what way it will turn out, and unexpected changes had for better or worse. It is a foolish thing to presume that one can plan everything in advance, what has already been decided to say and respond to in the future, even before arriving on the scene. The matter is not about that of trying to prevent or control such external matters, but it all comes down to that in reacting in a proper way when it finally happens. It is at least done the right thing of one’s behalf, in contributing one’s fair share to the situation, regardless of that what will be the reception of other people. Whether other people recognize and approve of this, that is not being our concern and problem. It does not make any sense when the man attempts to please other people, by satisfying everything which they can think about him, demand from him, and dare him to do. For it does not have anything to do about the truth and what is considered to be right in general, but it only involves superficial views, something which does not have any substance. The man should not care about any thoughts and imaginations, what kind of reactions the mind attempts to arouse in him, with its personal implications and self-centred assumptions. The man should also not care about the mind in other people, what they can think about him and their misgivings about his life. For this process would have happened either way, regardless of that what the man could have said or done, before and afterwards. It cannot be focused upon everything at the same time, when it is both experienced available information and distractions about something else. But it should rather be kept to the essence of things, what is being universal and general and fundamental, what all of this corresponds to and what corresponding approach it calls for. When it is sided with the truth then it is gotten straight to the point, and when it is made morally right decision then it stills the turbulent ‘tide’ (uncertainty and restlessness)  one had been having in one‘s stance. It should be disregarded all issues that one deems to be superfluous, trivial, petty, useless, and expendable, in regard to one’s current position and capability.

It can be likened the mind to the ocean. If the man would be in the ocean and be swept by it during a storm then it is not like he could control the ocean, what would be its general course. Even so the man is unable to control the activity of the mind, what kind of delusions and impulses are being had. For the thoughts will continue appear on their own accord, regardless of that what the man has been doing prior to it, so the man would either way have experienced them. It has nothing to do with the man’s current attitude, and what kinds of circumstances are currently being experienced. It was rather depended upon the will of the mind, even as when another person does choose to speak to the man and it is outside his choice when hearing what is being said to him. The man should not live in the self-deception that he can control the mind, as if these thoughts could have been prevented, changed, or transformed into a truthful and scrupulous meaning. A similar thing applies when unpleasant thoughts manage to affect the man to some degree, for it was something which could not have been averted at that time or escaped untouched from. But it all comes down to that in what way the man will react afterwards, even that he has been affected by such unpleasant thoughts, becoming temporarily weak or unstable. If the man would be stuck in the ocean then he would be swept by the waves, even as when delusions and impulses manage to force the man‘s attention from one thing to another. The man should not foolishly presume that he can control the ocean, like by gazing upon tiny fraction in front of himself and splashing the sea-water with his hands. Even for all such effort the sea-water will return to its original form, being part of the ocean in whole, and the ocean will resume its natural course, as it has always done. It does thereby not matter whether the man will attempt to think positive thoughts against the aggressive thoughts that are haunting him, because it does not change the evil nature of the mind, and there will always appear some new delusions instead. It should thereby be shunned the mind for being an irredeemable liar, where it can never be convinced or satisfied of anything, regardless what can be done of one’s behalf. It should not be had a needless struggle against thoughts which one already discerns to be false, but it should rather be convinced oneself to cease giving the mind further attention.

The man should not attempt to change or improve things which are already wrong in their basis, like different issues within the same foolish topic, or one bad quality of many in the bearing of insolent people. It should never be moved over to that spot at the outset, and never had an (further) association with insolent people. It will otherwise make one needlessly drawn to the bad company of bad people, becoming aware about the same evil possibilities as them and appealing to the worst side in oneself. It should be renounced all the wrongs things from one’s life, where even that one is inwardly being amidst the wrong things then it is still somehow managed to take a step back (or stand aside) and look upon it impartially. That instead of instantly agreeing with selfish thoughts then one becomes aware that one is instantly agreeing with selfish thought. That at least can mark the beginning of one in being open about it and confessing it with oneself that one is not being in full control of oneself. The man should not care about the mind and its needless problems, nor what needless problems other people seek to force upon him (when they, through their mind, are only seeking self-gratification at his expense). It should be shown complete indifference toward such matters, where it is henceforth not wasted any time upon that in considering it and speaking about it and participating in it, at all. It is refused to give attention to such things and not shown any reaction at all, until one will no longer be aware about such evil possibilities, like they do not even exist. It should be continued to reject wrong things on each day, until it becomes a habit to us or like a second nature to us, so it is like the past has fallen into complete mist, and all the bad things are now forgotten. Sometimes the matter is not about that in discovering a right answer to our selfish problem, but it should rather be asked ourselves why we even bother to make it into our concern. It is not like one does need to repeat the same answer again and again, since such an effort involves needless reactions. It does digress from the original purpose, when one already feels that something is being off about a matter and one does not care about it. For it is only sufficient to know precisely that much which is required to reject the wrong things, where it is ceased to give it further attention and not participated anymore in it. But one does not need to move/travel beyond it, by speaking and reacting too much about the matter, like when it is criticized other people too much or prattled about that what is obviously being deemed wrong in the society. For example, the man can hate the vanity and gossip that some newspapers thrive upon. But it would be a foolish thing if that same man would buy such newspaper, only so that he can notice something that he dislikes and then criticize the newspaper in question. For that by doing so the man is actually sponsoring the newspaper and its selfish policy, so the newspaper will come up with more vanity and gossip in the future. It is exactly the same thing with the mind and when the man is reacting to the mind. The man should not have an initiative in thinking about selfish problems, and next begin to enumerate these or those answers against it, since it is otherwise encouraged the mind further. The man would have been better off if he had never thought about such things in the first place, since it would thereby be both avoided the problem and its reaction. The man could just as well have continued to move on with his life, by focusing upon the things which he had been practicing up till now, before he stopped and began to think.

4.3: Time in General

When it is chosen one thing then is thereby rejected other things at the same time. When it is had an attention on one thing then is thereby neglected other thing at the same time. When it is spent time upon one thing then is it is thereby not invested time upon other things. If there is attempted to choose everything at the same time then is thereby rejected everything. And if it is attempted to reject everything at the same time then is thereby not chosen anything. When the man attempts to do everything at the same time then he will be unable to concentrate upon each and every issue. While the man is thinking about so many issues at the same time then he fails to focus upon that which is right in front of him. The man should dedicate his time and effort upon few factors, the ones which he is best at, so that he will obtain complete knowledge of it and manage to master it as a specialist/expert. But the man should not distribute his time and effort upon too many factors at the same time, because it will otherwise make each one shallow and underdeveloped. It would not make any sense if everyone was being mediocre in everything, having exactly the same knowledge and by being capable of exactly the same things, since that one such person would only be enough. When something is being mediocre then it is qualified enough of not being bad and in not making obvious foolish mistakes, and yet there is really nothing about it that stands out and leaves a lasting impression. Hence if it is something which is not being special/exceptional and great and insightful; then it is being equally distant from the good things it aimed for as the bad things it managed to avoid. It is preferable that each man can be strong in some factors but weak in others, so that many people can support one another and fill in that what each one is lacking in. ((In a role-playing video game you do not create a party consisting of six ‘bards’ (jack of all trades, master of none). You do rather create a party consisting of specialized warriors and specialized spellcasters and specialized skill-performers. What the specialized warriors suck at the specialized spellcasters excel in, and what the specialized spellcasters suck at the specialized warriors excel in.)) The man should keep to that what he is interested in (over other things), where his heart does belong to, what he does find himself in, and enjoys what most. The man should not allow other people to drag him into pursuits that only appeal/belong to their interest, and which these people could just as well practice without his involvement. For the man may be present in his body, but he is being totally absent in his heart and spirit.

It should not only be looked at the beginning of a choice, what will happen during the act itself. But it should be considered the path in whole, what will happen after the act and how it will affect those involved. The latter part can involve some unforeseen consequences which one is being unready to face/confront and handle. The selfish path might seem to offer a profit and/or pleasure in the beginning, but later on the same path there will be repercussions, far worse than that selfish advantage had and leading to even greater loss. The honest path does on the contrary forgo a dishonest gain in the beginning, but later on the path it will be obtained a better reward for free, even that it was never expected or asked for. At that time it was simply had faith in the value of the choice and had goodwill while doing it. It can thereby be said that the divinity discreetly rewards those whom discreetly expect no reward, and the divinity makes lucky benefits come over to them without them needing to search directly for it. The honest path might seem to be long and hard, while the selfish path might seem to be short and easy. But the honest path is still the same reliable and it leads to the intended final destination. The selfish path does never lead anywhere (firm and lasting benefits), so the selfish man will be forced to turn back to square one. And more time can be spent/wasted upon many short paths that do never work out, rather than the time well spent upon a single reliable path, like when selfish people do not bother to have honest profession, but they are constantly coming up with short-sighted schemes for quick gain. Or it can apply that the selfish path is shorter and leads sooner to the final destination. But upon arriving there the selfish man fails to get what he wanted (what that search was meant to do for him), and he becomes instead stuck upon some tangled problem that wears him out. Even by arriving at the final destination then it will still not do him any good. That to obtain victory by dishonest means will make that victory hollow and meaningless.

If the man is being determined and competent with the challenges today then he will also be so tomorrow, because it is something which the man does already have in himself and which he immediately acts upon when the time comes for it. But if the man is being lazy and negligent with his challenges today then he will also be so tomorrow, because it is something which he does not have in himself and which nothing around him can manage to arouse in him. It is not a different circumstances and a different time which is supposed to change the man, before he can finally become industrious and devoted to the tasks ahead. For it is something which can only happen within the man himself, and then it will become a part of his heart, so that he would either way have done so, whatever that place and time might be. It is not like the man can neglect domestic tasks on this day and then promise to do it tomorrow, because that kind of excuse will also be made the next day, and so forth. It can be mentioned when the man does not bother to change himself for the better, but he does spend most of his time upon idleness, pleasures, and entertainments. It has already been wasted the entire day and not done anything constructive with his life. At the end of the day the man can experience guilt over his dissolute living and he fears the following effects it can have upon him, so the man considers himself obligated to promise something to himself in order to make that guilt and fear go away. The man only ends up lying to himself, where he temporarily pretends to agree with something right in order to appease things he knows to be wrong. It is never upheld such promises the next day, but it is made another excuse when that day is about to end, when it does no longer matter in the situation. For there is no tomorrow, but it is only this present day which truly counts. A vow should be made in the beginning of the day, before it can be participated in its challenges, but never after it has been failed to attend to them and they are already over.

The time does consist of past, present, and future. But it can still only be experienced the present time, one moment and one day at a time, until the next one will appear in the line. The past was once the present time when it did originally happen. The future will become the present time when it finally happens. The past is the prelude to the present time, while the future is the consequences of the present time. The present time is both the beginning and the means of all things, the source of all other things, making it prone to changes, deciding what can next take place. It is not like the man can focus upon both the past and the present at the same time, both the present and the future, or both the past and the future. It is because the past and the future do not really exist in the same way as the present time, as if it could function alongside each other. It does involve illusions which do only take place in the mind, because it is thought about the past and the future, but it is still not the actual past and the future. The future is being determined by the present time, but not the present time by the future. Even that the man can be so afraid of the future that he does now come up with drastic measures to anticipate the future; then it is still being bound to his fears in the present time. Hence that man really did things in the present time for the sake of things in the present time. It should be looked upon the concept of time in the same way as when it is read a story. For it is only taken one page at a time, until it has been read the whole story. If the man does already understand the main flow of the story then he does not need to turn the pages back to the beginning. The man should rather continue with the story, at the page he is now at. And the man should not turn the pages straight to the ending, while he is still in the middle of the story, since the man does first need to understand the course of events prior to it. The man would otherwise not be prepared for the ending, the context of things following up to it, why it had come down to that encounter, and why the characters acted in the way they did. Nothing did ever happen by some chance, in what way the men behaved, but everything had its prelude, beginning, execution, and consequences. It is the same thing with the reality, when it comes to explain our own motives and choices at that time.

The mind can create all kinds of memories which lure the man into neglecting the present time and its needs, while he is either struggling against mere illusions or trying to appease them. The man can experience memories of a person that he has met with during his lifetime, and yet the person in his mind is not being an accurate reflection of the real person. It is like the mind can impersonate someone one knows, or control illusions that have the same look. The mind can conjure illusions which might look very similar to the real person in outward appearance, but everything in the manner of that illusion is being different from the real person. Through that illusion the mind continues to behave like the wicked being it has always been, by constantly interrogating us, attacking and accusing us of everything, and trying to exploit our guilt and fears. This is why it should be looked beyond the outward appearance, and acknowledged that it is not the same person in principle. And even that these illusions might look like the person did in the past then it is still being a lie in whole, because that person has changed with the age and looks different in the present time. It is not like two versions of the person can exist at the same time, one in the reality and one in our mind, as if we would need to care for them both or please them both. For the living and breathing person is the real one, while the one in our mind is merely an impostor, seeking to waste our time. (Although the mind is a spirit which does exist then it is still being spiritually dead, so that to care for the mind is to waste our time and effort upon a spiritually rotting carcass.) Even that we speak well to the illusionary person then it does still not have any bearing upon the real person, where it cannot be done a good thing to something which is not of a living body and soul. We should thereby only speak well to the real person and respond to it in a good way during the actual encounter. But there does not exit anything in between, what in the meantime we consider ourselves be doing for that person in our mind. The mind is such a despicable being that it can come up with an illusion of a person that one cares about, and when one takes the bait in caring about that illusion in one‘s mind then the mind does immediately distort the illusionary course into a temptation or personal attack. And because one has no control of that what distortions are taking place in one‘s mind then one can experience guilt of that in having thought in such way about a person one cares about. And through that very guilt one considers oneself obligated to keep giving attention to that illusionary person in one‘s mind and by coming up with good reactions to it. By keep giving attention to the illusionary person it is digressed from the love which is had for the real person, because one is now trying to prove something to oneself for the sake of oneself.

Memories of the mind are not being true memories. The mind is rather restaging the past before us. It does correspond to that when a theatrical show or movie is being made (film set, film shooting). It is like our enemy would prepare an environment with people and objects that look similar to a bad incident in our past, which thereby reminds us of that bad experience in the past. When we walk past that environment by some chance then we immediately implicate it to a bad memory and it manages to affect us in a bad way. Even so applies when we come across something in our mind, or rather when something in our mind comes across us and we are being forced to experience it. Every memory and imagination is always being irrelevant to this present moment, what kind of circumstances we are now experiencing and what kind of important choices need to be given attention. Every memory is always being false in whole, even that it can involve a half-truth mixed with lie. When a memory seems real and convincing then it does correspond to special effects in film industry, when something is being skilfully tinkered and inserted and rearranged to deceive our senses (eyes and ears). The force behind the memory manages to do so impalpably in our mind, without human involvement. The mind can imitate the appearances and voices of other people, and create quick/hurrying copies of past scenery. But it is still like there is always some issue missing, like when one part of the face is exaggerated and unlike the real person, or when it does not involve an accurate body proportions. It can even be experienced memories which involve a different vantage point, like it is seen through the eyes of someone else, but not from the location where one was originally stationed at. It is absurd when one realizes this, because one is only bound to one body and one place at a time, but one cannot be at many places at the same time, or look at something through many eyes. A thought of the past does never stand alone, but there does always follow an improper assumption, which is somehow meant to affect our condition for the worse. It can involve self-accusation, self-pity, self-indulgence, fear of possible repercussions, bitterness toward other people, that to blame other people for something. Imaginations of the future can be accompanied by fear of failing and that in making mistakes, in not believing that one will be able to confront and adapt to the challenges ahead, and where one does feel helpless about it. It should thereby not only be rejected memories and imaginations, but also the assumptions and reactions that follow. A similar thing applies to dreams, visions, and hallucinations, where it should also be rejected the following interpretation, which seeks to create superstition about something. For example, a belief in predetermined fate contradicts free will, where it is made a decision solely because of signs and mental symptoms, as if one was being afraid of one‘s own shadow and every incidental thing. It does not involve any genuine conviction of that what is deemed morally right or wrong, but it is allowed everything to be determined by superficial and whimsical issues.

The mind does tend to take one passing moment out of context with the event in whole, that it might be either attacked the man and undermined his good stance or flattered him and encouraged bad stance. For example, the man can blame himself more than he deserves, and because of that he ceases to do the good things he had been doing. Or the man can blame other people more than they deserve, and because of that he allows himself to begin doing bad things which he would otherwise never have considered doing. It is not like anyone forced the man to become selfish, or controlled his selfish choices, but the man did everything in a free will, according to his attitude in the long run. It cannot be blamed outside factors for causing the man’s failure in the past, as if everything had turned out well if one factor had changed or turned out in a different way. For the man was already selfish within, full of selfish desires and selfish thoughts and selfish impulses, so that he was constantly looking for someone or something to unleash it upon. A selfish person would not have acted in a different way, even that all other people had been different, and even that everything around it in the environment had been different. For that a selfish person does only consider the selfish possibilities of the mind, what kind of selfish profit and selfish pleasure and selfish advantage has been coveted, at the expense of other people. It is thereby failed to look outside the box, in considering alternate options, in looking for answers upon another basis, in pursuing the pure goodness by pure good reasons, by the premises on the other side which is being fundamentally different from the selfish side. It should not be dwelt upon that what could or should rather have happened in the past, because the mind will always continue to tempt the man with selfish thoughts in the present time. A wrongdoing and excuse is originated from the same source, for the man does heed the mind before he commits a wrong act, and afterwards he again heeds the mind when having self-pity. First the man had selfish expectations, and next he approached other persons in an improper way when trying to exploit them, and then because he approached them in an improper way they refused to allow themselves to be exploited by him, and finally the man became angry/resentful toward the people because his selfish expectations failed to come true. The man will continue to repeat the same mistakes while he continues heeding the mind. That applies to the pretext come up with to justify to himself wrongdoing before committing it, and it applies to the excuse come up with afterwards to defend the wrongdoing before other people. But if the man avoids wrongdoing then he will also avoid excuses, and if he avoids excuses then he will also avoid wrongdoing, because he has already assumed responsibility before and after doing things.

It can be mentioned the self-conceit of the modern man, when he is being proud and boastful of all the discoveries and inventions of his time, and he looks down upon his ancestors for having supposedly been ignorant and primitive in comparison. But has that man, an ordinary consumer, been contributing any of these discoveries and inventions he knows of and makes use of? That same man is being so self-indulgent and apathetic in his own life that he has only received the things he takes pride in and boasts of. He is actually taking pride in something which other people have discovered and invented. Let‘s say that something would happen to make that man travel back in time, and he would all of a sudden find himself among his ancestors. That man could begin to describe to his ancestors the technological tools of the future, like that it can be used a phone to talk to a person from a distance or that it can be used a jet to fly between places. But since that same man is being so ignorant and spiritually primitive in his own life then he cannot describe how these things are actually being made and what kind of knowledge does lie behind it. If everyone would be as self-indulgent and apathetic as that man then everyone would still be living upon the stone age. A similar thing applies when fanatics make use of technological tools in order to fight a war against the supposed hated culture that has been making these technological tools. These fanatics want things to revert to primitive times or create a society which is being  ‘frozen’ in the same old time. But by making use of modern tools to accomplish that vision, they end up contradicting themselves. If everyone thought and acted like them then we would still be living upon stone age. None of these tools would ever exist. It can be mentioned that when a presumption seems to be supported by an education, when that presumption would either way have been experienced before the man educated himself. That presumption could have happened to any man at any time and place, by the random interference of the mind. For example, an uneducated man can come up with a foolish idea which no person considers to be credible. But if that same man would educate himself and later come up with the same foolish idea; then it might seem to be credible in the eyes of other people. It might seem like that education is supporting the foolish idea, like the man had discovered it afterwards, but that idea was originally in no connection with the education in question. It should be looked upon this in context with the mind and what belongs to it, namely selfish desires, delusions, and impulses. For the mind can tempt all men, whether they are being educated or not, so the same false and deceitful ideas would either way been experienced. Education does not change the human nature, the activity from within the man, so it is not like the educated man has obtained a new mind or that his thoughts become more likely to be correct.

A fiction is nothing more than an entertaining lie, where the characters and the course of events did never happen in the reality. And since that all fiction is a lie then it makes all memories about a fiction also a lie. All these mentions of fiction, with their suggestions and inquiries, these same things are also being a lie. All truthful knowledge and wisdom is originated from the divinity, in the heart and spirit of the people that were deemed wise in the past, and which the wise sayings are ascribed to. The mind can come up with memories about such wisdom in the minds of those that live today, but it does still not mean that the wise people back then had discovered it in their mind, by being vain about their own importance and boastful of their own supposed wisdom. It is not like these wise people back then were being puffed up and pleased with themselves, trying very hard to say something witty in everything, and by advertising their supposed wisdom to everyone. It was rather the complete opposite thing which applies to the wise people back then. They were being modest and humble and discreet about the wise truth they sensed in themselves, and they only let it out to other people when it did fit the occasion. The man can experience contemplations which encourage him to remember a specific knowledge, something which he had come to know of through the world. It can happen that the man attempts to remember such things, how it did sound again, but the man is only able to remember part of it or he fails to grasp the full context. Later it happens that another thought appears to the man, which manages to remember everything in precise details, just like what he had originally heard in the past. It might thereby seem like that memory is being correct, that it s being a truth and accurate recollection of the past. However, it should be taken into consideration the knowledge in question was originated from the mind of other people, but not from the human spirit. It is thereby a fact that this knowledge has been presented to the world, but it does still not necessarily mean that the same knowledge is being a truth, regarding its actual content. It can be known for a fact that a liar comes up with a false statement, but the lie itself is not a fact. It should be looked upon this in context with the education of the world. A scholar can present an idea to the society and attempt to justify its claims, until the society has accepted that same idea and it becomes the norm, so that all people know about it and talk about it amongst themselves. The mind can produce a memory in other people about the very same idea which the mind had originally inserted within the scholar. The human people tend to convince each other about their own delusions and receive honour from each other, even that all such things are being transient and a mere vanity. It is not like the whole human race should become mentally encumbered and restrict itself in advance, because that a single person received an idea and presented it to the world. This effortless idea in one person ended up creating needless mental strain and disruptions in other people, when trying to live up to its unrealistic demands.

REASON

5.1: Faith in the Intuition

The man must first identify the voice of the intuition before he can be able to heed its truth. The truth is always originated from the same source, within each individual. It is imperative that the man can build his life upon that foundation, which is already being pure and perfect from the outset. When the intuition speaks to the man then it does not manifest itself in any thoughts, nor does it involve some kind of supernatural voice (as if another person was speaking to one while one is being alone). But the voice of the intuition is manifested in a silent perception, which can be felt deep down in one‘s heart or sensed. It is neither seen any image nor heard any sound/voices during the silent perception, but one is still the same able to understand its meaning, somehow in one’s heart. (It can of course be experienced thoughts which do not give any sound, where it is like a soft whisper or a sentence without a voice. But it does still take place in the mind and should be rejected outright, rather than by mistaking it for a silent perception.) It is like the divinity does not express itself in the same way as the human people, which need to speak with their mouth and hear its meaning with their ears. It can rather be said that the divinity is able to speak directly to one’s heart. For that no sounds are to be heard with one’s ears, but it can still be immediately felt or sensed its meaning, while the relations do last. The human people rely upon speech as the means to make themselves comprehensible to each other, where it is first heard specific words and then it is either immediately understood its plain meaning or sought to understand its ambiguous meaning. But the divinity does not need to rely upon speech as some kind of means or intercessor, for it can promote understanding directly into one’s heart and spirit. It is thereby like it is headed directly to the effects of the speech, without needing any speech. The divinity is invisible to the human eye, and its voice is silent to the human ear. Good sense and sense of decency is something which the man has in himself. It is an in-built understanding and ability. The divinity has put it into the man’s heart. The man finds it in himself what is proper and to act thus, from the store-room of his heart. As the man abides by more moral principles with the time and withstands more temptations with the time; then his inner conviction will grow more. It will both unlock understanding in entirely new things and reinforce the old things. It comes as a free and spontaneous gift when the man is able to improve the approach of the same source material, and make a proper interpretation of things. It has not involved any long contemplation or mental strain  in discovering it. All of this has happened in a discreet and quiet way. As the time passes then there will be an invisible and unhearable movement/change within the man, which makes him able to realize something new, to notice things in a different way, to head in a specific direction with that what he is trying to say, and to put things into a new context. It is something which the man has come to know with himself. The man cannot explain 'where from' or 'how' he knows it. The man just knows it. The man’s heart and spirit can be likened to a lake/pool of a still water. Everything is being still and quiet. When God dips His finger into the lake/pool then there will be little ripples in the water. It might seems like everything is being just as still and quiet as before, and yet there is experienced a tiny change/movement, which one somehow becomes aware of and one is being drawn with it. Something ‘tiny’ happens within which manages to turn one in the right direction, which manages to draw one nearer to the truth and help one further grasp its meaning.

It can be traced oneself from the cause to the consequence, and from the consequence to the cause. It can also be traced oneself from the intention to the execution, and from the execution to the intention. Good things come from a good source, while bad things come from a bad source. By knowing which source is involved then it can be immediately known which activity to side with or not at the very outset. Where the intuition is there is also truth and goodness, a good sense and a sense of decency. If the man discerns truth and goodness then it must surely belong to the intuition, but lies and selfishness can never belong to it, since it does otherwise not involve the intuition in the first place. This means that the man can never blame the intuition for anything that goes wrong in his life, because the intuition did never encourage the man to become self-delusional and selfish. The man does only have himself to blame, because he presumed that he was following the divinity, when he was really following the impersonation of the mind. Because it was followed something contrary to true premise and moral principle; then it was not of the divinity. We know the divinity through that which the divinity stands for. That to merely mention the word ‘God’ and implicate it to something that we think of, that does not equal that in making that something into the will of God. The inspiration of the intuition must be understood, heeded, and immediately acted upon. It can happen that the man wants to follow the intuition, but he is still being hesitant to do so or he does still not understand its true and lasting value, since it can be a hard thing for him to be selfless and look beyond/outside his self. This is why the man needs to confess the truth about himself, his position and intentions. The man must be sincere and plainspoken, what he does really feel about the matter, so he should only speak as much as what he does really mean in his heart and is willing to do in the situation. The truthful answer is to be found in the man’s heart and in his mouth, namely when the man does express himself in a sincere and plainspoken way, by confessing the humble truth, regardless of that what is now affecting him and how much it can affect him. The man is not only expressing the humble truth to the divinity, but he is also in need of hearing that truthful response/answer for himself, so the man can know himself and his true needs. By knowing the truth for oneself then one can keep siding with that truth throughout the day, where one willingly passes through all distractions and cares which are contradicting the truth. Everything which is hurryingly happening in our mind and body becomes irrelevant to us, where we do not need to hurryingly side with any of this and we do not need to hurryingly do any of this. It is only sufficient to keep to the little humble truth and allow the spirit of that truth to still our heart and soul.

It is only sufficient that the truth can appear to us in a discreet way, according to the choices which stand before us from time to time, what is needed to know and do about it. The very meaning/essence/spirit of the truth takes precedence over the form it can seem to be wearing. It should not matter what is the outward appearance of the person which speaks the truth, whether that person is being a man or an angel, a man in expensive clothes or a man in poor clothes. And it should not matter how the voice sounds of the person speaking the truth, whether that voice seems powerful or charming to our ears. And it should not matter whether the truthful speech of the person is being accompanied by supernatural signs at the same time, like if it would involve theatrical special effects or fireworks booming in the sky. For such things are indeed superfluous, a mere ornament, where it  does not make the truth become more valid in confirming things or more powerful in getting things done. The humble truth remains the same as before, where it is being just as valid in confirming things and just as effective in getting things done. That to allow the truth to be bare and stand firm on its own is actually being more effective than to resort to outside help/support for it. It is not like the man does need to flatter the intuition, or verbally stretch it out how the intuition does function in complicated matters, while the man is neglecting to heed the simple truth and decency which is already functioning within him. It will not bestow any advantage to the man, or make it easier for him to follow the intuition, but every matter is being determined by its relevant principles and their sphere of influence, and what kind of human quality it is calling for. It can apply that the intuition does not seem to answer the man during his prayer, while the man is speaking about the things that are troubling him and invoking the intuition directly for aid, when he is being aware of the things that he is found lacking in and that it needs to be improved in him. And yet because the man is being aware of all these things and confessing all of them before the intuition, that confirms that the intuition is working within him and making him capable of it in the first place. If the intuition was really being absent from the man then the man would be too spiritually dull (apathetic) to be aware of the truth, and he would be too spiritually drunk (unloving) to care about the truth, and he would not even bother to approach the intuition about anything (faithlessness). Hence the intuition is already at work in preparing the man‘s heart and soul for that which is being true and right. Even that the man does not seem to notice the immediate results from it then there is a still a greater force working behind the scene and getting things done in the lives of other people. The intuition is capable of giving an answer during a prayer, and it is capable of giving an answer after a prayer, all in its own way, working beyond our human expectations. The intuition can bestow enlightenment some time afterwards, while the man is experiencing circumstances and having relations with other people. Then something will happen which touches the man in his heart, as if he realizes something about himself and his current situation. And the circumstances can suddenly change, and the man can witness some strange turn of event, which convinces him of something, so the man will no longer have doubts or be hesitant about the matters in his life. The man can thereby express himself about specific matters during a prayer, without having any expectations of immediate response from the intuition. Next the man can move on with his life, and he will receive an enlightenment from some unexpected source, caused by the divinity.

That which is true is being even/balanced between the two extremes. It is neither more nor less than what is precisely needed in the situation. We do not know too much at the expense of our ability, nor do we do too much at the expense of that what is known about it. Sometimes it is only sufficient to know the proper means, concerning ‘how’ it should be approached or executed the matter, and then the rest will take care of itself. It can be superfluous to know every detail about the purpose and what kind of consequences will later follow, because it does not bestow any additional advantage during the execution. The soldier does not need to know the same things as the general, but it is only required that he should trust his leader, that the leader know what he is doing, and faithfully obey his commands. A similar thing applies to the man’s relationship with the divinity, where the question is sometimes not about that 'what' should be known but rather 'when', if it is somewhat relevant to the man's current situation. So the man does only know as much as what he is in position to accomplish, in making a good use of that information and what can be good to those involved. It is not the man which controls when the intuition will bestow inspiration to him, but it is completely depended upon the initiative of the intuition, what it does on its own accord. The intuition could be likened to a teacher and a trainer, which explains the lessons in comprehensive speech, and encourages the student to accomplish them by his own effort. It would be a contradictory thing if the student would constantly be asking the teacher for help, while the student would never bother to listen to his replies and act upon it. It would also be a contradictory thing if the student would constantly be heckling the teacher, by immediately trying to fill in and assume the teacher‘s reply to be something already expected, instead of waiting long enough in allowing the teacher to finish his speech and understand it on its own terms. A similar thing applies when the man does invoke the divinity for aid. The man should avoid that of talking too much and only listen to himself speak. Just like when it is had conversation with another person then one needs to listen by silently receiving things told by the intuition. Hence after the man has made things known to the intuition he can remain silent and calm, waiting with patience until the intuition will bestow a silent sense to him, a spontaneous inspiration in his heart.

The intuition does help the man help himself, when it comes to turn in the right direction and do things by right premises. The intuition does understand the man and his position more than the man does so himself, and it continue to tolerate the man and give him further chances to be redeemed. The intuition does give the man a proper space and time in order to find things out with himself, where if the man speaks of something then it is because he does really mean it in his heart, is truly willing to do so, believes in that choice and understand its value. But it is not like the man is constrained into pretending to be perfect as soon as possible, in only saying that what he thinks that the intuition does want to hear, or by forcing everything upon himself, even that the man is not ready to do so and does not really understand it. The intuition does not seek to control the man, as if the man was under much pressure in hurrying himself through everything and that he would be forced to do things prior to its understanding. The intuition does take its time in preparing the man‘s heart and soul for the right things, when it comes to help him base his decisions upon love for others than fear for his own life, when it comes to appeal to his reason and willing obedience, when it comes to have things simple in the beginning. There is a perfect harmony between that what within the man is being drawn to that what is without him, and between that what without the man is being drawn to that what is within him. The intuition does evaluate every choice which the man can make, but it does not mean that it is the same thing as obtrusive and meddlesome censorship. For the intuition does lovingly and gently encourage the man to side with the right thing, and it does calmly and patiently rebuke the man for having sided with the wrong thing, even as a caring parent would treat its child. It is not like the man should be afraid of his position, stopping every time he thinks something wrong and have worries over it, as if he had given a wrong impression and needs to explain himself immediately. It would otherwise involve a relationship between a slave and a harsh master, where it is constantly feared to reveal a sign of weakness that could call for punishments. The man should rather continue to be free in spirit and receive the love which is had for him, since that is the intended end of the faith, concerning that what the man experiences from within.

The relationship between the man and the divinity is meant to be founded upon good faith and mutual trust. The man is allowed to openly speak about the matters which dwell in his heart, without him having to stand in fear of the consequences or that he could accidentally give a wrong impression. It is about the need and the longing in the man’s heart to express himself in such way, when confessing what kind of position he does find himself in and what he feels about it. It can happen that the man experiences wrong thoughts about something, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and he begins to consider selfish possibilities without becoming immediately aware of it. But it is still not the same thing as if the man has already made such choice, or that he will be consistent with it in the long run. For the man can always turn his attention away from it, and he can repent of having considered it, that he might straight away return to the proper path. The man does not only have faith in the divinity, but the divinity does also have faith in the man, that he will do the right thing in the upcoming circumstances when it is truly called for. While the man has faith in the divinity then he can faithfully receive the good things which the divinity has in store for him, and thereby draw from the good power of the goodness for a good use. The divinity can entrust this knowledge and power to the man when he is being deemed ready for it. That the man has become selfless enough in doing selfless things for a selfless end. The faith in the divinity does give the man hope and comfort in his human frailty. The divinity does continue to love us, show us understanding, and tolerate us, even for all our human frailty. First we become aware about the grace of the divinity toward us, and then we will become grateful enough to treat other people in the same way, even for all their faults and mistakes. For that our own weaknesses can serve a higher purpose, in reminding us about the grace of the divinity, because the divinity loves other people just as much as it loves us, and thereby should we love them as well. But our seeming 'perfection' can become our own undoing, at least when we presume ourselves to be perfect, free of faults and mistakes, so it is like we are not in need of any forgiveness. For that we can forget all about our previous lot, when we were once being in a vulnerable position and being disrupted/afflicted by various subjective problems, and urgently in need of forgiveness. We tend to forget what other people need to go through in their own life, especially what they can experience from within, since we have already been freed from its influence. This is why we can be in need of experiencing new adversity from time to time, and weaknesses of our own, so it will make us become humble again and tolerant of other people.

Belief and disbelief is not only bound to religions, superstition, supernatural signs, and miracles. For that belief is actually the very basis of the human existence, affecting everything else in the process. The man must first believe in one possibility over another, before he can begin to look for it and to make it happen. It is about choosing between the possibilities of the goodness and the possibilities of the evilness, where it is considered one thing over another,  and chosen one thing over another. That which is neither considered nor chosen is thereby prevented from happening at the very outset. The man does first allow himself to be convinced by a specific argument, and next does he believe in its claim, and then he continues to confirm it with his subsequent actions and reactions. That belief can have a rightful claim or a not, be truthful or false, honest or dishonest, practical or impractical, be necessary or superfluous, and so forth, according to the source. Belief in the truth and the goodness does actually deliver constructive results and benefits, while belief in lies and selfishness does only lead to failure and a waste of time. When it is believed something false and sought to make it come true then it can at most be made a false thing to happen, where it becomes a fact that it was committed a misdeed and yet that misdeed was being amiss of truth in the misdoer himself. The goodness is always superior to the evilness, where the man’s belief in the goodness does only confirm its true potential, what the goodness is capable of achieving in his life. It must be believed in the truth in advance, that the truth does reach to everything and will always have a right answer to everything. The truth is able to fix anything (or remedy the situation), solve anything, and achieve anything. (But to make it clear and avoid contradiction: the truth does not fix the evil nature, but the truth can fix or straighten things out in the life of the human being that got affected by the evil nature.) It must be believed that the truth is always being right, and that it is being stronger and wiser and more resolving than anything which sets itself against it. That the truth is able to disprove any lies and selfish arguments, and thereby dispel any doubts and fears which would otherwise have followed the former. Lies can at most cast doubt on the truth in the eyes of the human people, but lies can still the same never disprove the truth, since the truth continues to be just as valid as before and firm upon its own basis. The truth is in there and out there, and it only needs to be discovered, even that the man does not yet know the right answer, at least in his current position, and even that he might be already troubled by something. A corresponding thing applies to faith in the goodness and the principles it stands for, when it involves the subsequent order of charity, freedom, reason, and altruism. The man does not only believe in the right answer, but he does also believe that he will be able to follow it through and accomplish it, even that he can experience all kinds of uncertainty and adversity. And the man does not only believe in the divinity, but he does also believe in that what he can accomplish through the divinity, from within himself and in the external conduct. The spiritual values are part of the man’s heart and spirit, following him to any place at any time, while the external things are outside him, and only bound to limited factors. The spiritual values apply to all factors in life, and it determines the man’s approach. For example, the man’s legs are greater than some luxurious place to dwell at, because it is through healthy legs that the man can travel to any place in the world. The man’s hands are greater than some luxurious objects that can be touched and used, because it is through skilful hands that the man can handle any objects in the world. Something similar could be said about the man’s eyes, ears, and mouth, versus the external things in this world. Even so applies to the spiritual values, affecting the man’s spiritual health and awareness and capability, what kind of determination and judgment will be shown in every matter undertaken.

It can happen that the man becomes bitter over unfulfilled desires, that he has not obtained some advantage which has been coveted, competed for and preferred over other things. But spiritual victories have happened at other places, leading to improvement in other factors, so the man has been blessed in another way than he had intended and wished for. The man can live with specific problems while other problems are absent from his life, so that he is not even aware about its existence. And some qualities are beyond the man’s reach, while other qualities are accessible to him, which only wait to be recognized and be put to good use by him. It is not like the man needs to be best in everything or own everything at the same time, even that he can only invest time upon few matters and develop them further. The man will have to prioritize and spend full time upon things which can be successfully finished. The divinity does know the man more than he knows himself, and the divinity is in better position to know his true needs, what kind of things can appeal most to his interest and understanding and ability. Even if the man would have been given different qualities and possessions then he would still the same not have enjoyed them, after having experienced its involvement and practice for some time. The man would have discovered that these were not the things which he was looking for, and that it did not satisfy his needs, in doing something meaningful with his life. The faith in the goodness does help the man to make the best of his situation, in doing better next time, to the best of his conscience and knowledge and ability. The faith makes the man able to be contented with his current lot, by knowing how to live well, by having a decent and acceptable and bearable life, dignified and befitting/becoming him as a human being. The faith does help the man to constantly move on with his life, when it comes to look upon the matter ahead and do things well. Let’s say that the man would be travelling upon a certain path, and stumble upon a specific object in the middle of the journey, which might seem to be valuable in his eyes. The man should still the same not stop and return home with that object, which would thereby make him forgo the latter part of the path. For the man should rather keep moving until it is arrived to the final destination, and then it will reveal the most valuable object of the journey which he can have. And even that the man can lose a specific object then he should still not go back and search for it, as if he were going back and forth at the same spot. For that much more time can be spent upon such needless pursuit in comparison to the remaining path ahead, which would either way have recompensed everything. It would have been prudent if the man had just kept moving forward, until he would obtain new and better things later on the path. Or the journey would either way have made the man more experienced and spiritually mature, so that he would no longer covet the old things nor consider them to be of any value to himself. This is a metaphor for that when the man is meant to keep following the divinity to the very end of his life. Even that the man meets with temptations in the middle of the journey then he should still not exploit a selfish opportunity and revert to his former corruption. And even that the man misses out on selfish opportunities in the middle of the journey then he should still not resent it and dwell upon it. But if the man keeps following the divinity to the very end then he will receive all kinds of free blessings.

One of the main purpose of this work has been to prove that every activity of the mind is delusional, where it involves lies that attempt to arouse wrong assumptions and reactions. By knowing this the man will be able to discern the root of the problem and abstain from it. It can be mentioned 'soft' ideas, egoistical tones according to vices (covetous/hungry tone, envious tone, arrogant tone), memories, imaginations, false positivity, religious delusions, and direct voices. It can also be mentioned things which thoughts can accompany, like dreams, visions, impulses, mental symptoms and bodily symptoms or any sign in mind and body affecting the man’s experience. The spiritual struggle against the mind should still not degenerate into some kind of anti-faith, as if the man would overrate the mind in everything and see its evil influence in all things. It is not like the man should have constant attention on the mind, fearing what kind of thoughts could appear with the time, and fearing that he could show a wrong reaction or a sign of weakness. The man would otherwise indirectly believe in the power of the mind over the power of the human spirit, and thereby overlook and neglect the human spirit in the process. If the man believes in the goodness then he will obtain an indirect victory over the evilness, as if such victory comes for free even that it has been unlooked for. The goodness has already overcome the evilness, in the past, present, and future, so it comes down to that whether it will be repeated all over again in the man’s life. It is only sufficient that the man believe in the goodness, that it will be able to overcome the evilness on his behalf, and achieve anything in his heart and soul. This is why the man should allow the human spirit to overcome the mind from within him, so he does not need to struggle directly against the mind or remind himself about it. It is the mind which shows a sign of weakness when it craves for the man’s attention and it tries to get/steal his attention through opposition, while the man is on the other hand not giving the mind further attention and not being afraid what the mind can do to him. When we receive and experience a spiritual victory through the human spirit then it involves a lucky turn of event, where the good things seem to come over to us with the time or that the good things manage to find us with the time. These good things do so on their own initiative, without us needing to think and say and do something to make it become possible. Once God decides to send His angel to visit us in our hour of need; then before we know it we already feel better and forget all about our problems.

It can happen that we consider selfish possibilities, reveal a sign of weakness, and even yield to temptations (which makes it a corruption), at least in our heart, even that we have not openly spoken or done so among other people. Whether we are guilty of something wrong in our attitude and/or conduct then it does still not change anything in regard to the divine grace. For the divinity will continue to care for us and tolerate us in our human frailty, giving us further chances to improve and in being redeemed. The divinity will continue to teach us what is true and just, and encourage us to follow it through, which has all to do about the goodness abiding by its own goodness than what we have hitherto become and done (deservingly). The divinity alone has the ultimate authority to judge us, both for the right things and for the wrong things. But the mind does not possess any authority to judge us, even for all its interference and provocations. It is like we can experience anything from within, but it does still not change anything in regard to our position with the divinity and what it feels about us. It is like the grace of the divinity is everywhere, covering/pardoning all our frailty in advance, if we do acknowledge its leadership and truly believe that the divinity is able to redeem us. This frees us from all concerns about our own life, and what could happen to us in the end, since that our life is in the hands of the divinity and our end is not of our own making. We do first have faith in the power of the goodness, that it can achieve anything and conquer anything in our life, and next we simply hold our peace. There is first had faith amidst uncertainty and next will we become confident through the uncertainty, showing patience in waiting for the help to arrive, and remaining silent in the meantime. We remain silent because we do not need to ask the divinity again for help in the same matter, where we do not need to reconsider the matter nor dwell further upon the matter that is troubling us. When we choose to side with the divinity then we confirm that choice with inner silence and peace. We have believed in the right possibility, and now we allow it to take its time to grow in us. We are constantly moving on with our life, and allowing all thoughts to chase after us, rather than allowing ourselves to chase after them for whatever reason. We should become indifferent to delusions and shun their existence, through silence when possible or through our own undescribed will/focus. It can happen that noisy thoughts keep reappearing and getting our attention, where we have no control of this noise and we cannot make things become silent within. But at least we can do our best to be silent in our heart, by silently knowing something with ourselves deep down (without mentioning it directly to ourselves), by silently keeping to our invisible resolve underneath, amidst all this noisy activity in our mind. An inner silence is something which should have an independent existence, where we are not only attempting to be silent toward delusions in order to ignore them, but we can also be silent within at all other times, in only heeding the voice/inspiration of the divinity. It is confirmed the faith in the divine voice and waited for it with patience as a preventive measure against all temptations, rather than one being already occupied with that in only listening to oneself speak.

5.2: Answers to Problems

Patience might at first seem to be like any other virtue, but upon closer inspection it is like all other virtues are intertwined with it, depended upon patience before their establishment. For the man must first be patient before he can become courageous, strong, and wise, when it comes to invest time and effort upon the same, and maintain balance between diligent work and rest/relaxation in the meantime. Without patience the man would give up too soon and not bother to overcome his own weaknesses, each time he experiences uncertainty and meets difficulty and there is a temporary setback. This is why patience is one of the most important values, similar to faith and sincerity and charity, since it does drive forth other values and upholds them. A patience does both apply to the attitude during a practice and while it is waited for it in the meantime. The man can practice a specific thing for as long time as needed, whether to increase his skill or to progress/complete the task in question or to end something before something else can be begun. It is not like the man needs to be stationary or idle in the meantime, while it is waited for a chance to resume that practice (which is currently being unavailable or there is a distance between it and the man). The meantime in one thing can be a time actively invested in another thing instead. The man can focus upon practicing different field/task instead, until the next one appears in the line, without troubling himself about the previous field/task still outside his reach. The man can maintain a silent determination, and think no further about the matter, at least while he is unable to participate in it and nothing new is to be discovered. There can be many challenges or problems which call for the man’s attention, but he should still the same not trouble himself about everything at the same time. For the man can put some matters on hold/pause while he focus upon others, those nearest to him or which have the most priority. And after these matters have been concluded then the man can pick up the thread with the remaining ones, going from one circumstance to another. It can happen that the man does change his mind/stance about something and digresses from his original conviction, even that he is experiencing completely different circumstances at that moment. This means that the current material is irrelevant to the case in question, casting no further light upon it, so the man should never have made any further decision/change concerning it. The man should rather have kept to his original experience, conviction, and choices made at that time, until he would experience something fresh concerning the matter, as its relevant expansion.

Hope is not the same thing as unrealistic expectations, or wishful thinking, as if the man could determine the general course of future events, ‘how’ and ‘when’ and ‘where’ it will happen in every detail. A true and lasting hope does rather consists in the certainty that the divinity does exist, and that the divinity is willing and capable of helping us, and that the divinity will always prove reliable in our times of need. It is the divinity which controls in what way it will help us, according to its own preferred means, which involves ‘how’ and ‘when’ and ‘where’ and ‘by whom’. The only thing under our control is that we keep our spiritual eyes and ears open for the possibility and acknowledge the divinity‘s help/relief when it finally happens/arrives. In the meantime we wait with patience until there is a good turn of events and good opportunities will become available to us. The divinity is capable of everything, which includes the divinity being capable of working in us and through us, that the divinity can make us capable of doing the right thing when it is called for. That the good side in us helps us see things in a good way and make good use of the good opportunities that present themselves to us. That our good side appeals to the good side in other people and that the good side of other people does appeal to the good side in us. It should be lived in the certainty that the intuition will bestow us with proper inspiration in due time, whether it can be called enlightenment, moral value/context, or inner resolve. It will then be able to affect our attitude and approach for the better. It is ultimately depended upon the intuition in bestowing inspiration to us, what the intuition decides to do on its own initiative and according to its own premises. Hope is something which we must experience amidst uncertainty and weakness. First it is experienced fear of a specific matter, and next it calls for hope that we will be able to pass through the fear, and then finally will we become courageous enough to confront and overcome the matter which we had been fearful of (or the real challenge which the fear was reflecting). A corresponding thing applies to every virtue being a counterweight/countermeasure to vice. Hope is meant to be the last resort after everything else has failed. It can still be had hope in one’s heart, even that one seems to lack inner strength and does yet not know any definite answers, since that hope can be more about silent determination.

The man’s concerns for his self-preservation are irrelevant to the challenge ahead, what is required for the man to possess in himself and know and execute in order to obtain victory. It does correspond to a martial fight, where a person can become so afraid of that in receiving harm from the enemy that it neglects to focus upon the actual fight, in overcoming the enemy himself. This means that the person is already being distracted by its own fears, where the person is being so self-absorbed that it neglects to observe the surroundings and adapt to it. The fearful person is too passive and merely on the defensive, reacting to the initiative of the enemy, and that makes the enemy attack from a stronger position. The person merely on the defensive finds itself in a vicious cycle, defending from one attack and encouraging another one in turn. It is thereby always revealed some new weak spot instead, delayed or transferred the same problem, when fleeing from one place to another to the same effect. This is why concern for personal safety can prove counterproductive, causing even more harm in the long run than if the person had been willing to suffer/endure pain while fighting back. Hence the person should be willing to receive any blows while being constantly on the offensive, landing blows upon the enemy at the same time. An enemy is an enemy because he is hostile to us and he possess the will to harm us. But if that same person ceases to possess the will to set itself against our being then it is no longer an enemy. The matter is not about overcoming an enemy by the use of brute force, but rather to deprive the enemy of his ill will toward us. (Or it is about separating the bad things in the person from the person, although that person must allow it to happen and we cannot force it to happen by our one-sided measures.) Different means can lead to the same solution. It can just as well be converted an enemy through the power of the goodness, which manifests itself in virtues like kindness, temperance, longsuffering, generosity, and mercy. By loving the enemy and continuing to do good toward him then it is encouraged him to do the same, where it is made him question his reasons for hostility. It is neither selfishly defended oneself from the enemy nor contemptuously attacked the enemy. One is willing to confront and endure evil by the enemy, while oneself is not acting like an enemy to him, holding nothing against him. Hence it is revealed one’s blameless stance and kept confirming it, that it does not call for any justifiable enmity. That to hold the moral high ground is the best spiritual defence, and that to peacefully disarm the enemy is the best spiritual offence. The best defence is a good offence, and a good offence is through one‘s spirit. Good people repay good with good and evil with good. Ordinary people repay good with good and evil with evil. Evil people repay evil with evil and good with evil. A wicked man is never being convinced by the good acts of his benefactor, for even that he is denied justifiable reasons for enmity then he will invent reasons for it as a pretext.

The value of sincerity does correspond to charity, because it drives forth the man’s attitude and can automatically apply underneath during human relations, even that it is not spoken directly about sincerity during human relations. It can be likened to fighting spirit or morale during warfare, where it determines everything which is done during the war, whether the soldier will continue to move on and fight or fail to do so. But if morale is absent then it does not matter what kind of equipment can be had, because the soldier does either way not dare to use it, or he fights poorly, far below his limits. If morale is already absent then the war is already lost. Sincerity is required, both during solitude (when the man is being alone with the divinity) and human relations (when a  man is among man), because if both sides are speaking truthfully to one another then it can be worked together truthfully to a truthful end. But if one is being insincere toward the divinity then the divinity will not be fooled by all this show/pretence and it will not further one‘s false and treacherous designs. And if either or both persons are being insincere during human relations then there is no mutual willingness to make the things happen which is being spoken of. All this communication is being a waste of time, where it cannot be relied upon the person which is being driven by ulterior motives, since that person will surely abandon us or betray us later on. If we are being sincere toward the divinity then we will come to know ourselves, what are our real intentions and premises, why we are saying and behaving in such way, for what and/or whom. We confess the truth about ourselves and our position before the divinity. We find it in ourselves to come up with a proper request for the divinity, and we truly believe that the divinity is able to answer it, and we truly believe in the answer when we finally receive it (that is to say, if the divinity is really being involved, rather than us being fooled by our own thoughts). And during human relations sincerity determines whether we do truly care about the person and truly want to share company with it, in having interest in the person and what it is doing. It is not only looked upon the person and listened to that what it has to say, but we are also underneath maintaining true stance toward the person and truly trying to bear with that where the communicating is going, and we openly confess what we really feel about the topic in question. We look upon the person with pure eyes, and we approach it in a pure way, and we keep the communication pure on our behalf, and we mention the (distant) person in a pure way among other people.

It is only sufficient to open one’s heart as it is and be willing to hear out the truth, in taking one’s time to be fully convinced by the truth, rather than by immediately submitting to doubts and giving up too soon. It is not like a miracle will happen if the man is being patient and decent in one day, but it is rather depended upon firm determination in the long run whether true and lasting benefits can be reaped. Let’s say that the man would need to undergo a trial, where he is asked a simple question, what he is going to do in a certain matter. It is required that the man must tell the truth, if he is ever going to pass that test. The man might try to guess the answer, what he thinks that the other person wants to hear, or he can consider all kinds of possibilities, hoping that one of them will be right. But the trial is not really about one ‘ultimate’ answer above others, but rather whether the man does sincerely mean it, in truly believing in that possibility, and in convincing himself about the same. This is what matters in the man’s relationship with the divinity, where it is only required that he be sincere and humble, rather than by trying to hide behind flatteries and empty promises. The man does not need to promise anything about his deeds in the future. The relationship with the divinity is not demanding that the man must first become perfect and having accomplished many good works, before the man can finally approach the divinity and ask it for something. It is rather about that whether the man will confess the truth about his position at this very moment, that he is being frail and unable to overcome temptations on his own, that he is in need of help from the divinity if he is going to accomplish anything in the first place. For example, the man can know it with himself what is being right and that it should be done, and yet the man finds himself lacking within. Then the man can confess it to the divinity that he feels himself unwilling to do the right thing, that he lacks the will to do it, that he lacks a firm conviction in having faith in its value. The sincere man does not want to pretend to be perfect and come up with beautiful words which he does not mean, so he asks the divinity to help him become sincere in the matter he is being conflicted/divided about and to help him want to do the right thing. That kind of prayer prepares the man’s heart for that in doing good deeds in oncoming circumstances. So that before it can be aspired for good deeds then it must first be fixed the internal condition and activity behind it. Once the man has become internally stable then he gives himself enough space to fully understand the matter and make a sober decision, and in doing good things when he finds himself willing to do it in due time, without being under any constraint, without being hastened by any subjective problems. Sincerity is not about that in cleverly calculating the possible consequences of the choice, what kind of selfish profit or pleasure could be obtained, or what kind of pain and loss could be avoided. For that sincerity is rather about the rightful means, when it comes to approach the matter in a proper way, and make a proper execution, according to the demands of that moment. It is really had interest in the field for its own sake, what kind of competence is required to obtain victory, while greed for personal glory and power and wealth is irrelevant to its completion.

It can be come up with a following parable. Three men are being rebuked by God for doing the wrong thing, and God encourages them to do the right thing instead. These three men experience the same thing within, where they find it too hard to let go of their selfishness and they find themselves unwilling to make the necessary changes in their lives. The first man responds to this by saying that it is an impossible thing to do that what God asks from him, that he does not believe what God has said to him, that God does not know anything and that He cannot accomplish anything. The second man comes up with a poor excuse to hide the real reason for his denial, and he blames some outside factor for that which is really originated within himself (the unwillingness). But the third man simply confesses it to God that he feels/experiences it too hard to do the things that God asks from him. He confesses that he is in need of help regarding the things which are happening within him, when it comes to possess the will to reject wrong things and pursue right things instead. That man never asserts anything bad about the capability of God. He is being truthful about his own capability being lacking. That man does not mistake his own capability for the capability of God. It can be come up with another parable. Two men profess that they believe in God, and God does test their faith by making them separately come across an adversary which is stronger than them. When the first man meets the adversary then he tells himself that he is fighting for God, so that he makes use of his own human strength and effort when trying to overcome that adversary. But when that man becomes tired and fails to overcome the adversary then he tells himself that God lost the struggle/fight. He tells himself that this must mean that God is being weaker than the adversary involved. That man fails to recognize that all of this struggle only involved his own life. He never waited for God to arrive and do things His own way. That man never remained humble and patient in waiting until God had seen things through to the end. That God might resolve the matter in His own unique way, as something totally unexpected/unforeseen on our behalf. But when the second man meets the adversary then he tells himself that God does fight for him, so that man refuses to give the adversary his attention and he deliberately abstains/ceases from his own human means in trying to force the matter. And when some time has passed then that adversary is gone and no longer a problem. Because God is an all-mighty God then He is capable of answering for Himself and settling things as it pleases Him. It is God who does all the work and we cannot claim the least thing in it (additional, alongside). God does not need any help from us in doing it. We are not helping God by coming up with our own mental effort against His enemies. Our own mental effort only gets in the way and makes us indirectly deny the power of God in our lives. It can be come up with a third parable. God leads two men into the desert and they later become hungry. They both experience the same things within (suffering, lack of energy, uncertainty about their lives). The first man responds by saying that God is to be blamed for having led him into this place, and that he wishes that he had never followed God, and he threatens to return back to the place he had come from. But the second man simply confesses it to God that he is hungry. He simply tells God that he needs food. There are no suggestive questions or foolish assertions involved. Even so we should get straight to the point regarding our internal condition and activity. It can be come up with a fourth parable. Five hungry men are stuck in the desert. The first man asks God to give him candy (unhealthy food). The second man asks God to give him healthy food. The third man asks God to give him nourishment. The fourth man asks God to free him from the hunger. The fifth man asks God to keep him alive and well. These five men are being tested in the same way, while their recognition of the problem and their approach does differ from one another. It is a question of that how it can be rephrased the description of the same problem, as something which is being general and common and underlying. That it might be gotten straight to the point regarding the root of the problem and the root of the solution.

It can happen that the man is being afraid of his mental problems and superstitious of his mental symptoms, so it is like the man cannot bear to be alone and endure attacks from the mind. The man does not know how to withstand such mental problems and symptoms, and he does thereby seek to flee from it, by occupying himself in something else to forget all about it. So the man responds to such problems by looking for human relations, by travelling to another place, and by practicing new things. But it is not really through any sincerity, when it comes to focus upon and participate in something according to its own merit. For the man makes the external things centred upon his mental problems and symptoms, as if the external matters were supposed to make these things vanish or delay them to another time. It is really a selfish desire, in expecting other people and material things to bestow or remove something from his soul, to arouse inner life or lessen the inner emptiness. The man is not really noticing the actual people during the human relations, when it comes to care about them and in caring about the things they are doing at that time. And the man is not really being involved in the things that he is participating in, when it comes to understand it further and increase his skill in handling things and finishing the challenge. It is only sufficient for the man to have faith in the divinity and allow it to redeem him within, when it comes to have the heart free of selfish influence amidst selfish influence in the mind, and to make morally right choices amidst misleading signs and false alarms in his body. Once being spiritually redeemed the man is already being healthy, happy, at peace, and contented with his life, so he can thereby experience everything in a pure way and receive it as it really is. The man should learn to experience every circumstance for its own sake, and as its own reward, where he is really being interested in other people and the industry which can be participated in, so the man can focus upon and enjoy everything while it is taking place. The man will no longer feel the need to rely upon external matters as some kind of temporary bandages to his soul, since that all such transient things are irrelevant and unable to redeem his soul. It can be come up with a metaphor. The man is being all alone in the desert and the devil comes to tempt/test him. The temptation can seem so difficult to resist that the man starts to believe that it is impossible to overcome it, and he thereby becomes fearful and unstable about it. And during that moment the man is already being fearful and unstable; the devil misleads the man into thinking that he needs to go out into the world and do some good deeds, as if these good deeds were meant to save him from the temptation that the man is now being fearful and unstable about. But the only thing necessary was for the man to withstand this original temptation in the desert, by believing it to be possible and that the divinity could overcome the devil on his behalf. The man never needed to do any good deeds as its reaction or remedy. The man never needed to come up with any promises or presume that he would always need to do one more thing to finish the matter (as if that could go on endlessly, and never be satisfied). The solution is about going straight through the devil and his temptation, instead of going to the sides, instead of resorting to indirect means and being driven by ulterior motives. It is like the devil is lying to the man that the man will be able to overcome the devil by doing this or that in the future, instead of the man being willing to confront and endure the devil at this very moment.

The man should only express himself as much as he does actually mean in his heart, and is willing to do. But it is not like mere words are supposed to be the solution, when the man is idly speaking against something in the mind or speaking about doing something as a countermeasure to something in the mind, and yet after having said all this the man remains idle. The man has spent time and effort upon saying all these things, and yet nothing happens or changes afterwards. What was then the point of it, in having considered himself needing to say all these things? Such speech has nothing to do with any choices in the reality, what can be done to improve things. It does involve a waste of our time and effort, when it is come up with beautiful lies and empty promises to subjective problems, only to make these problems go away. Such speech is being dry, something lifeless and spiritless, something rehearsed in a mechanical way. It is not the mere sound of it which makes words helpful, but it is rather depended upon the spirit of its meaning, what can be understood about it and applied to one’s life. It should be spoken about things which can be abided by and confirmed, since the words are meant to reflect real facts and challenges. It is not like the man should merely try to hide behind the words, their form or quantity, as if the words themselves were a ‘weapon’ or a ‘shield’ that could float in the air and get things done on his behalf. These words do not come to life, as some kind of living being that can fight battles on the man‘s behalf, while the man himself, the one speaking these words, is being too cowardly to dare face anything. After having come up with such words nothing has changed in the situation, just like before the man came up with such words. It does not change what dwells in the man’s heart and what he is truly capable of, where that is rather being determined by actual choices in the reality based on an inner conviction. If the man can sense what is the right thing to do then he can head directly to the practice, without any further words, since it is already being transparent in the current situation. The man does not need to consider himself obligated to explain everything in advance, like by inventing these or those reasons which do either seek to justify or condemn the choice, when the choice speaks for itself. It can be a superfluous thing to dwell too much upon the reasons behind a right choice, since the actual choice remains just as valid as before, only promoting benefits. It is not like the man does first need confirmation or approval from his mind, or that from the mind of other people. But it can only be sufficient that the man feels like doing it, and he senses its value to himself.

The man does not need to remind himself of things which he does already practice, which he does already have the habit of doing on each day and he is automatically being roused for it. And the man does not need an encouragement if he does already possess an inner strength to follow things through. It should be invoked the divinity for help during critical times, if the man does already lack determination and sound judgment, if he does already have trouble withstanding temptations. But the man does otherwise not need to discover new answers and repeat such words to himself, since he does already experience confidence and sobriety and inner stability. The man’s spiritual health has the most priority, and is to be preferred over things which are supposed to be done for the sake of the spiritual health and yet fail to do anything for it. Let‘s say that the man would find himself in a sinking ship during a storm. The man should abandon the ship in order to save his own life, but the man should not sacrifice his life in order to save the sinking ship. For the ship did only have value while it was able to carry the man aboard and keep him from falling into the ocean, but if these conditions do no longer apply then the ship becomes expendable. This is why the man does not need to rely upon the mind in order to stay alive and well, because the mind did never fulfil such purpose to begin with, but only got in the way. The man should cease to have struggle in the mind for the sake of his spiritual health, because his spiritual health can be maintained and furthered by abstaining from all struggle in the mind.

We should not struggle against the mind directly, like when we try to bend thoughts and imaginations to our will, when we resort to arguments and methods and tricks, when we try to misuse the faith to selfishly save ourselves. But we should rather allow the divinity to fight against the mind within ourselves, as something which happens in an invisible and unhearable way behind the scene. The faith in the divinity is capable of silencing the mind, in holding in check all its evil influence. It is something which happens when it happens. The man’s self-will and human effort cannot force it to happen when it suits him. The man can just as well disregard all thoughts while he does constantly move on with his life, having always some useful goals and industry, appealing to his interest and ability. Since the mind does always lie then the man is not obligated to give attention to its words, because he does already know better than that. The man does always have a choice in ignoring everything which the mind can express itself of. The man can continue to practice the things which he intended to do before he experienced temptation. All thoughts are insincere and self-centred in their nature. For it is not evaluated each case by its own merit and in an objective way, but it is instead implicated the matter too personally to oneself and judged everything in a biased way. It is like the mind is stationed behind the man and pointing to things in front of him, while the mind is lying about everything, slandering other people, and trying to create suspicion and paranoia of the unknown. The man does not need to struggle directly against the things which the mind has been lying about, by receiving the lies into himself and restricting his capability, by attempting to discover answers to the imaginary problems or try to disprove them in some way. For it is only sufficient to know that this comes from the mind, that thoughts are involved, so it is definitely a lie and deception, something which is already deemed to be wrong. Therefore should the man not give any attention to such delusions, and react like he had never heard them in the first place, as if the mind was only meant to be silent in all things. It is not everyone and everything which is being bad, but it is rather the thought about everyone and everything which is being bad. The mind does mention everyone and everything in a bad way. The mind makes everything seem to be impossible and problematic and a tangled mess. Such bad experience follows the mind's bad presence. For example, an evil spirit is being tormented by an overwhelming fear, and when that evil spirit goes near the man then it spreads its own fear to the man. This does not mean that this evil spirit is powerful and to be feared. It is like that evil spirit is a rotting and stinking carcass which can infect other people of disease upon touch. When the man experiences bad thoughts about everyone and everything then he does not need to travel everywhere to everyone and do everything to fix it. The mind is the first/primary bad thing which needs to be withstood.

If the man is positioned at the side of the truth then he has nothing to fear, no matter what kind of lies the mind can use against him. The man does not need to worry about that when he lacks definite answers for himself, for the truth does already make him free from all lies, whether he does actually know the answer or not. By simply having faith in the truth then it is received things as they are, and there is nothing about it which is meant to make the man become troubled. By choosing to live under the jurisdiction of the truth then it prevents everything from affecting the man‘s internal condition for the worse. It should not be feared any unpleasant/disgusting thoughts, because it is through that fear that we give them further attention and our own needless reactions keep the problem alive. We should rather learn to hate the unpleasant/disgusting thoughts by shunning them altogether. It is renounced our own reactions in wanting to dwell upon them, and it is not allowed them to affect our inner stability in any way. The man must never allow his ego to be at the expense of other people, where he should do nothing out of vanity about his own importance, and he should do nothing out of fear that what could happen to his life. For the man will otherwise reveal a sign of weakness, and give the mind a chance to exploit it against him. Every time the man becomes concerned about his self/ego then he is allowing the mind to pick up the thread of that when last time tempting him. The greatest obstacles are those found in our mind, when something can seem so big and difficult in our eyes that we allow it to overshadow everything else in our life, and we are being too fearful to dare confront it. That can be likened to a mountain. It should neither be sought to climb that mountain nor go alongside it. The man should rather head straight through the mountain, as if a mere illusion would be involved which could only be dispelled by faith. A problem in the mind is a problem which only exists in the mind, because even that the problem in the mind is supposed to reflect a real problem (something about us or other people or a situation) then we do not need to struggle against the problem in our mind in order to solve the real problem as well. A solution to the real problem is found elsewhere, from another source than the mind. The problem in our mind is being a distraction and digression, something invented additionally to function alongside the real problem and to split our attention to two different fronts. We would have been better off having single undivided attention on that in solving the real problem, in keeping to the facts and available material in the situation and a principled approach. The man should renounce the temptations that exist in his mind, and he should renounce his own weaknesses as well, in which such temptations have hitherto been appealing to.

The man is more likely to be affected by the opinions of the mind than the opinions of other people. It can apply that the man does not only experience words in his mind, for it is being accompanied by fears and impulses at the same time, which manage to grab the man’s body and shake his resolve. The man must cease to believe that such temptations are bound to his subconsciousness, reflecting some hidden or deeper attitude that he has but does not want to have. The man is not really struggling against himself, or trying to convince himself of ceasing to produce new wrong thoughts, since such process is originated from the mind and would have happened either way. This is why the man does not need to say or do something to prove something to himself, as if that could/would finally make the delusions be driven away from his life. The man should rather calmly and patiently live with these delusions, for as long time as needed, to outlast them in the long run. The subjective problems tend to involve tangled arguments. It can be experienced a convincing concern in our mind, where it does initially manage to affect us in a personal or emotional way, making us conflicted/divided about someone or something. A suggestive question can involve two equally wrong/improper options in answering (being either too little or too much), where if we choose to agree with either one then we will be found at fault and entangled by our own words. This tangled argument or suggestive question is a half-truth mixed with a lie, thereby making it best left unapproached and non-participated in, as the only way for us to not 'lose'. If we choose to agree with the truthful part then it is like we are also agreeing with the false part. Or if we choose to deny the false part then it is like we are also denying the truthful part. Just by participating in this then we misspeak and get into a trouble. The questioner is also our intended accuser, and he does immediately ask about or inquire further into that which we had misspoken of. We had sought to end/conclude the first question by answering it, but now we are being trapped/ensnared by that same answer, and we consider ourselves obligated to further explain ourselves or to sort out everything. The end of one thing marks the beginning of another, where our improper reactions to one problem becomes a material for a new problem, as if this could go on endlessly. The best preventive measure is to confess/acknowledge it with ourselves that this being a hard experience for us and that we are unable to think clearly in it, so that we cast all these burdens upon the divinity and allow it to take care of it. And if we have already been entangled by our own words then we should simply confess that we were being wrong, and intervene no further, and willingly let go of it.

Let’s say that the man would meet an adversary armed with an illusionary sword. This adversary points that illusionary sword at the man and makes it seem like he is going to strike the man with it. If the man fears for his own life and tries to save himself in a selfish way then he will instantly get on the defensive. The man will invent his own illusionary sword (self-centred arguments, methods, tricks), and he will exert himself so much in striking against the adversary’s illusionary sword that he will in end become utterly exhausted. And when the man has become exhausted then he considers himself to have lost the fight and he does subject himself under the adversary’s terms (even that the adversary has not actually hit the man with the illusionary sword). This applies when the man’s lengthy needless struggle against imaginary problems makes him finally lose patience in enduring aggressive and unpleasant thoughts. The man can be so afraid of ‘not’ struggling against wrong thoughts that he considers his own silence and inactivity to be a sign of his defeat, that he is now giving up and giving himself all over to their influence. When the man considers himself already defeated by negative thoughts then he begins to justify their negative influence on his attitude, and he begins to act on them and to let out negative things in his dealings with other people. But originally, the man should have done nothing and simply allowed/let the adversary to sting through him with the illusionary sword, for as long time as needed, while the man is being well rested and full of energy and at the top of his conviction. Once the adversary has stung through the man’s soul then the man realizes that he is not being hurt by it in any way, that he has still not lost self-control and still not done the wrong thing that he feared so much of being capable of, and that he is still able to do the right thing. All these things happening in the mind with their seemingly changing stances and opinions are only bound to the mind, without reaching down to the man’s heart, what the man really feels after all of this and what he is going to do about it. The spiritual struggle is not about brute force and clever words, but it is about having more patience than the adversary and to wear him down.

Aggressive and unpleasant thoughts are only able to ‘hurt’ the man while he still clings to his ego, while he still considers his ego to be the same thing as his own life. But once the man is free of his ego and the ego has been separated from his decisions then he manages to rise above the mind, as if he were walking on water or being stationed atop a mountain. It can be mentioned Aesop’s fable of the oak and reeds. When a storm/hurricane came then the tall and strong oak would seek to stand upright and resist it (pride), and thereby become torn up by the roots, while the slender and weak reeds would bow low and last through the storm (humility). The mind can be likened to a giant which comes in front of us and blocks our view. Or the giant approaches us from behind and his body manages to overshadow everything in front of us. That giant is far taller and stronger than us. When we seek to overcome that giant then we should not try to grow taller and more muscular, since even that would succeed then we would still be far shorter and weaker than that giant. This applies when we seek to resist difficult thoughts by sheer willpower, when we seek to force ourselves through it in our human might, and when we seek to have the final word after many exchanges of words. But if we are going to overcome that giant the we really need to get/become smaller, namely so little/tiny that the giant is unable to notice where we are and he is unable to catch us with his hands. It is like we were a flying spark or gnat which always manages to slip through the giant’s motions. The lesser we get the lesser target we become. But if we would grow taller and more muscular than we would become even bigger target for the giant’s hits/blows. Hence we should ever be selfless and humble amidst every difficult motion within ourselves, and allow things to pass through which are beyond our control. And we should regard our own life little when it comes to serve the greater good, and leave/expose little to our adversary which he could make use of against us. But if we are being proud and seeking to justify ourselves then we keep answering and reacting in a way that puffs/swells us up, and entangles ourselves, and which we find harder to let go of when we are at fault. And if the man is going to overcome that spiritual giant then it is only sufficient for the man to believe that it is being possible, without him actually making use of anything against the giant (whether for defense or offense). The man keeps having silent determination in enduring anything that the giant can come up with, in refusing to say or do anything for the giant, in refusing to be turned/converted and not to serve the evil purposes of the giant, in refusing to comply with any evil demands and not to do any evil against other human beings. Hence the man keeps refusing to give up and be defeated by the giant, until that giant is the first one to lose patience. In the end the giant decides to give up on this impossible situation, that the man is not being worth all this trouble, so the giant goes somewhere else and thereby leaves the man alone. The evilness should be hated for the sole reason of it being evil, and where the hatred of the evilness is an end in itself. The man should hate the evilness more than he cares about his own life. It should outweigh any selfish concerns and needs. The man must ever be willing to suffer and die for the right cause. It should be obeyed the divinity in an unconditional way, and rejected all temptations in an unconditional way, regardless of that how it could seem to affect our life. That to hate the mind does not consist in that of being angry and hurl insults at it, but it is rather about withstanding as many delusions as possible with full self-control. It is thereby hated the mind through a constant active choice, while all words can be superfluous and needless.

It should be acknowledged that the mind is the only one tempting and attacking us from within, but it does not concern anybody else, which the mind can attempt to slander in our eyes. The mind is the original tempter, the original liar, and the original enemy to the man. The man should not blame other people for his own faults, when these faults were being caused by his compliance with something that came from the mind and belonged to it. And even that other people are to blame for something then the man should still not go too far in blaming them, as if they were being altogether bad and permanently bad and so bad that they could not be redeemed. Many people tend to be decent and trying to do things in good conscience, where they commit mistakes unintentionally and through ignorance, where they did not know any better. And there are people which had once been bad and deliberately committed bad things, but the good side in them made them able to repent and confess the truth, to assume responsibility and avoid committing further bad things, and to instead do something good with their lives. Why should the man hate the ordinary sinner so much and blame him so much for everything, while the man leaves out the mind/devil itself (stationed behind him and pointing at someone else) which is encouraging him to hate and blame the ordinary sinner so much? It is a great injustice when the very cause/source of all these bad things is not identified responsible of this by the man, where the man allows this bad cause/source to continue unchecked within himself, while the man is gazing upon someone else and blaming someone else, when that someone else was also being deceived by the mind and also being manipulated as a tool by the mind. The mind is a pure evil being which has been tempting everyone in everything from the very beginning, where it makes no difference before or after something has happened, whether the person is already being innocent or whether the person has been found guilty of a fault, since the mind does either way seek to make use of something to undermine the person. If a person is already guilty of a fault then it is being harder to bear than if the person had been innocent of it, and yet it does not mean that this fault has caused the opposition/punishment of the mind/devil, since the mind/devil had already been deliberately seeking to oppose/punish that person from the outset. Let‘s say that a man is guilty of a sexual misconduct, for having approached a woman in an improper way. When this becomes openly revealed and everyone know about it then that man becomes openly condemned and persecuted for it. That fault is kept being used against him, and he keeps being ‘punished’ for it by the masses. When other people condemn and persecute that man for it then it might seem to involve a sense of justice or just retribution, and yet the very driving force behind it is through the mind, which is not doing it through any sense of justice. That to encourage the man to commit a fault and then exploit that fault against him; is no different from that when the mind is slandering and accusing an innocent person. The mind might seem more justified in doing it through a fault than through an absence of fault, and yet it is all about the mind making use of any pretext to undermine the person within and on the outside. It should be acknowledged how insane and disgusting the evilness is, what does happen at the final destination, after the man has been corrupted in everything. But it should not be considered the evilness to be harmless and funny at the beginning, while the man is innocent and has still not gone over there, to the spiritual place of contempt and covetousness. The evilness does only end up being self-condemned, when its falsity and hypocrisy has been revealed, since it was in no justifiable position to accuse people or punish them for their faults.

The man’s struggle against subjective problems can be likened to a quagmire. The man tries to save himself from aggressive and unpleasant thoughts by resisting it in his mind. But all this time the man is gazing upon the mind above everything else. All these needless reactions do only keep the problem alive and encourage it further. The man will sink the more as he struggles more against the selfish problem, by relying upon selfish arguments and methods and tricks, and by trying to hide behind transient and useless things. The man becomes self-absorbed and alienated from the reality. It would have been better if the man had avoided all such needless struggle at the outset, by not choosing to make it into his concern and staying  detached from the same. Or it can be said that the real struggle is about the man keep being convinced of that in not struggling, no matter how difficult it can seem to let go of things and cease from his self/ego. That can be a struggle in itself, to resist his initial reactions in wanting to dwell upon things. And the man should have acknowledged the obvious truth in the situation, that the divinity is the only true spiritual refuge and able to deliver the man from any spiritual hindrance. It is an idolatry in itself when we invent something transient within and make it into a spiritual refuge against subjective problems, as if that lifeless and empty-breathing thing could save us. The mind is more of a threat than other people, because the opinions of other people are bound to the specific time and place where they are uttered, while the mind can come up with opinions in us at any time and place (as well as repeat the opinions of other people within us). The mind keeps following the man within, where the man is unable to separate himself from its annoyance, by travelling to a different place. The man should avoid all needless expectations, as if he could have the final word for once and for all, that the mind might henceforth leave him alone and speak no more lies. It is only sufficient to endure one delusion at a time, and the adversity which belongs to each day, until the next one. It should be evaluated the spiritual struggle in the long run, what it is that we keep turning our attention to and keep choosing amidst distractions. Everything will be made possible to the man so long as he continues to believe in the divinity, that it can always be victorious over the mind. It is about confirming it each and every time, on each and every day, no matter what can come up or change in the situation, no matter how one problem can seem different to another. The man’s mind is exposed to the influence of the evil nature. It is not really the man’s mind which is alive. The evil nature is an invisible adversary, capable of sending thoughts and imaginations to the man. The evil nature inserts its own thoughts and imaginations into the man´s mind, while making it look like they are the man’s own thoughts and imaginations. These delusions are automatic. They come  over to the man. The man is not having any initiative in thinking in such way (manually).

The mind is full of weaknesses and it can only rely upon the weaknesses of others. The mind‘s success in exploiting the human people has more to do with the ignorance of the human people than any real strength of the mind itself. It can apply that a tyrant is not really powerful on his own and what he is able to achieve by his own effort, but he relies upon other people to do everything for him. The tyrant who has no good qualities of his own; relies upon the good qualities of other people in getting things done. When the mind is involved then it seeks to make the human people deny themselves of good things in their own lives for the sake of the evil things of the mind, until all these good things have been squandered and the mind is not alone in being devoid of them. To the mind, that which is being at the expense of the human people is somehow mean to exalt the mind in comparison. It is like a worthless man would not be able to become victorious in a challenge through fair means or through the things that he possess in himself. But he instead tries to corrupt/undermine all the other competitors through indirect means, until all the other competitors are no longer being fit for the challenge or they withdraw from the challenge. It is not a sign of strength when the mind craves for the attention of the human people, when the mind spies upon and chases the human people in secret, when the mind slanders and attacks the human people from the dark, when the mind resorts to hypocritical and degrading means to manipulate the human people into doing its will. If the mind was really being powerful then the mind would be powerful enough in not needing anyone. By doing all these things mentioned above the mind confirms itself being a parasite, something which has no independent existence. The mind has been doing all of this in an invisible/stealthy way behind people‘s back, where the human people are not even aware of this enemy seeking to undermine them in secret, but they believe that themselves are thinking this and they blame themselves. It is not a sign of strength when the mind dares not do things straightforwardly and openly in the light, but resorts to the indirect and evading means of the darkness. When the mind haunts the man with aggressive and unpleasant thoughts then the man should not stop and seek to rationalize it, as if the man was experiencing such adversity all of a sudden because of something that he previously did to call for it (deservingly) and that he would need to appease it somehow. All such temptations are caused by the mind’s own wicked nature. It has nothing to do with the man’s current attitude and what he has been doing up till now, since the mind would either way have persecuted him at random. The mind does totally disregard the truth, even that the man proves to be blameless on his behalf, and even that he can come up with a correct reply. For the mind will then lie about something else, or hammer the same temptations again and again, hoping that the man will lose patience and try to defend himself through frail and transient means. The man should not try to change the mind, but he should rather change his approach of the mind.

5.3: Human Intellects

Realism is about acknowledging that the same natural laws apply to all men, regardless of that what man is involved. The same approach/choice under the same conditions will lead to the same results. If a specific approach had hitherto failed then it will also do so in the future, no matter how often it can be repeated or whether it is gotten someone new/fresh to undertake the same old/dry things. When something fails terribly then it should not be dwelt upon that how the external matters should have been different, or how other people should have acted/reacted differently. It is not like everyone and everything in the reality should have been different that our wrong opinion might become a correct one. We should have let go of this wrong opinion that we might adapt, instead of keep holding on to such wrong opinion while expecting everyone and everything to adapt to it. A ‘hindsight’ can be a pointless thing, when people in our times assert that someone in the past would not have lost a fight if that someone had done things differently. If that someone would have done things differently then the opponent would also have responded differently, and so forth, until that someone would have committed corresponding mistakes and failed in a corresponding way, based on his corresponding presumptions and weaknesses. For example, when there is a soccer match then one person can have the ball and an opponent can be guarding it, where if the person with the ball turns to a specific direction then the opponent responds by moving to that direction. It is not like a spectator can afterwards claim that the person with the ball would have scored a goal, if the person with the ball had turned to the right instead of to the left, or turned to the left instead of to the right. For the opponent guarding the person with the ball would have moved accordingly and there would have been no surprise about it. Hence ‘hindsight’ about the past tends to be pointless, because nothing is being ‘frozen’ in time or like an immobile statue unaffected by changes. Also when a wicked person ultimately loses a fight then it is a foolish thing to assert that the wicked person would have won the fight if it had done things differently. For the very wickedness of that person made God become its enemy and creator of its ruin. Even if something had happened differently in the past then it would still not have made any difference, because God would have made something else to happen to cause ruin to the wicked person. God is the one who can create all kinds of new opportunities/changes for better or worse. Broadmindedness is about observing the same challenge from all possible sides, before it can finally be deemed which approach is the best one or most likely to succeed. When there is fought an opponent in a game then it should not be come up with the same repetitive approach, which can be deemed too straightforward and predictable. When it is not bothered to wait and consider more intelligent means; then it is hurried/hastened to failure. A different approach can lead to exactly the same outcome as what defines the solution, so that a solution can be found from a different source and belong to a different basis. The best approach should require as much time and effort as needed, both when it comes to search diligently for it and when applying it in practice. It should be kept oneself to the main goal, what is wanted to contribute, what kind of outcome is sought for, or what is supposed to happen after the outcome (when affecting something else and allowing it to continue). This does define the essence of the solution, while all problems are called so because they contradict the solution, either preventing it or leading to some kind of digression from it. The hindrance should never have more priority than the path itself or the final destination, nor should a remedy to a problem overshadow the original goal and manage to replace it. If a specific remedy is good for the health of the human body then it should be resorted to that remedy. But if a specific remedy is not good for the health of the human body then it should be dropped, instead of sacrificing the health of the human body for the sake of the remedy.

Judgment is about a good sense, in discerning what is being morally right or wrong, in noticing the difference between the opposing values or what clearly separates them from each other. It is not like the man does first need to commit a mistake and then only know better afterwards. For that judgment makes him capable of discerning its value at the very outset. The man does not need to trouble himself about clever arguments, which might at first seem to be logical and convincing, but are still the same contradicting humble truth and straight dealings (justice). It is only sufficient to know whether an argument is originated from the human spirit or the mind,  whether it appeals to the man’s sense of decency or selfishness, whether it arouses something good or bad in him. A good speech encourages understanding and mercy toward other people, while a bad speed encourages presumptions and prejudices toward other people. By being aware of this then it can be wisely chosen or rejected the matter, regardless of its beginning or the means involved. It is thereby like the wise man approaches the matter in completely the opposite way, unlike most people which tend to trouble themselves about the logical structure of arguments. It is known that the speaker is clever and crafty, so that his arguments do also sound so. But it is also known that the speaker is a false and selfish person, so that kind of purpose dwells behind his arguments, to deceive and manipulate the hearers for his own selfish ends. If the man is able to withstand the mind then he will also be able to withstand selfish people, because these people listen to the mind and rely upon the same means. A judgment is not something which the man obtains through mere words, like if it would only be enough to agree with the right things or disagree with all the wrong things. For the man must make a moral choice, be consistent with his conviction and confirm it in his deeds. It does both involve pursuit of virtue and avoidance of errors, not only in regard to the external behaviour, but it also applies to the attitude or the intentions underneath. If the man does follow the divinity then he will be persecuted by the mind, because it is always pleased one source at the expense of the other.

Wisdom does deal with the human nature, what does motivate the man from within and how it can be discerned in his bearing, so it can be known why he does speak and behave in a specific way. Intelligence is more bound to the physical world, when it comes to know material things and develop more efficient methods. Wisdom does apply to living beings and their manners, while intelligence applies to material objects and their properties, which the living beings can make use of in this world. Intelligence can help the man obtain success in specific pursuits, but wisdom does determine the premises behind it, whether the man should have pursued for it in the first place, what is the purpose with all of this, what that pursuit is supposed to bestow to the man later on. It is not enough to develop more efficient methods to obtain success, but the man must also make good use of that success afterwards. The man must know how to maintain the success with moderation and expand it further. Warfare can involve sophisticated technology and equipment, and the soldiers can show much bravery and employ intelligent tactics to obtain victory. But the actual war can be completely lacking in wisdom, why it was waged in the first place. People can go to war because of trivial matters and they covet petty gain from it, which thereby makes them neglect important matters at home and they lose their current advantages. And people can go to war because of propaganda which is far amiss of the truth, when the good of their own side is exaggerated and the good of the other side is belittled, and the bad of their own side is belittled while the bad of the other side is exaggerated. And people can behave in a foolish way after it has been obtained a victory, like when it is treated the vanquished with arrogance and made him to take the blame for everything. It is thereby like the warfare is highly advanced, while the actual people remain spiritually primitive. They do not understand why they are actually doing such things nor who behind the scene is manipulating them into doing it. If the people had shown wisdom then there would not have been any unfair demands leading to a war nor any unfair demands after the war has ended, and it would have made all the sophisticated armies needless (along with the arms race or military buildup). Intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom, and education is not the same thing as judgment. The man can educate himself in specific fields, but it is still no excuse for him to become arrogant, as if he had become expert about any matter in the world. For that his education does not reach to spiritual matters, concerning human nature and morality. Let‘s say that there is a man who possesses high intelligence but low wisdom. That man has an inborn/natural talent for education and he keeps getting the best grades in school. But when that man witnesses the weaknesses and mistakes of other people then he immediately judges them in a harsh way. When that man finally reveals a tiny weakness or mistake of his own then he receives it too personally, where he treats himself in a harsh way and he feels like everything is about to collapse in his life. He keeps gazing/dwelling upon that tiny weakness/mistake above everything else and he refuses to let go of it. Because that man has been so accustomed to that in having everything perfect and successful in his life then he is being utterly unprepared for temporary exception/setback when it finally happens. Now let‘s say that there is a man who possesses low intelligence but high wisdom. That man is being ignorant and incapable in regard to worldly matters, how things work out in the world. That man keeps revealing his ignorance to other people, and he keeps misunderstanding the situation, and he keeps committing mistakes, although he never possessed any deliberate will in doing wrong things and he never wanted anything wrong to happen. That man keeps doing all these wrong things, and yet he is being wise enough to leave the wrong things where it happened and he keeps trying to do things in good conscience. When that man witnesses the weaknesses and mistakes of other people then he is being mindful of his own frailty, where he allows all of this to pass over as soon as possible (without prolonging it), and he keeps wishing all the best to the people involved.

Logic is not the same thing as truth and wisdom, but rather what appears to be truth and wisdom. There is a need for deeper truth concerning the human causality, or rather the invisible force at work behind it. A person can speak and behave in a specific way, but other people can derive wrong impression from it and misunderstand the reasons behind it. The person can be sincere and innocent in its intentions, and yet the person can speak out of turn and openly give impression of something else. The person did only afterwards realize that its outspoken words could be interpreted in a wrong way by those hearing it. The mind did of course tempt the person, by deliberately coming up with an improper suggestion, but the person did never deliberately want anything bad to happen while speaking its mind. This is a flaw with logic, because the mind can frame an innocent person, so the straightforward choice will seem to have been made by ulterior/dubious reasons. It can be mentioned when a criminal seeks to frame an innocent person for his own crime, by manipulating evidences in the environment in order create a false impression. It is planted evidences which are supposed to happen before and after a crime, as if the framed person would have touched such things and it had led to some reaction. But the framed person was not actually present at the scene, and it did not possess the will to commit a crime, so it does thereby contradict the forged evidences. Therefore must be discerned the difference between that what did really happen and what was made to look like to have happened, and which party was in position to do such things and which one was not. It should be looked upon this in context with the mind and its influence, which does manifest itself in selfish desires, delusions, impulses, mental symptoms, body symptoms or signs. It is not like these temptations happened because of some external incident, even that the timing might seem to give such an impression or a logical context. Let‘s say that the devil can touch/grab the man‘s body about ten times within a specific time frame. When the devil touches the man‘s body then it temporarily disrupts the ordinary activity of the body and there are some kind of bad effects involved. The devil seeks to maximize the effects of these touches/grabbing. The devil does not grab the man‘s body at random, or the devil does not grab the man‘s body only one time in ten different/separate matters (in no connection with one another). But the devil does rather choose to wait and only grab the man‘s body while he is involved in the one same matter (ten times), whether the man is doing something or using something or meeting with something. It might seem like the man has a bad experience every time he comes into contact with this one same external matter, and yet this external matter is irrelevant and not to blame for it. It is rather the devil which tries to make it look so, by making calculated grabbing at the same time. This bad experience is being caused by the devil‘s touch/grabbing, and this touch/grabbing could have happened anywhere at anytime, as something totally beyond the man‘s control. Such external matter, at such contact at such time, is being framed by the devil. That which is being breathless and lifeless does not possess a will of its own to harm us. It is not like we should fear mere material objects of being capable of causing threat or harm to our spiritual wellbeing. The real force which is capable of threatening or harming our spiritual wellbeing; is the force which is making us fear these material objects in question. Words do not come out from nothing, but it must always have been originally spoken/transmitted by a person. The man does experience selfish arguments in his mind, because the mind does possess the deliberate will to speak to him, and the mind proves to be selfish in its nature. The man does still have a choice what is decided to do after he has been tempted, whether he will show allegiance to the divinity or the mind, to truth or lies, to human decency or selfishness. Craftiness is mostly bound to enmity between selfish people, where it is sought to discover weaknesses in the enemy and exploit it against him, while hiding one’s own weaknesses. The man does first become selfish, and then afterwards does he rely upon craftiness and deception in order to obtain success in his selfish pursuits, at the expense of someone else. Craftiness is always intertwined with false dealings and corruption, so that nothing good will ever come out of it. The virtuous man would never have participated in selfish pursuits, nor relied upon evil means to get ahead in the world. But the virtuous man does rather rely upon wisdom in order to overcome the craftiness of the mind and the craftiness of evil men following the mind.

When the man educates himself then he must carefully consider square one, what kind of fields he does have interest in above others, and what he is capable of enduring in the long run. But the man should never neglect square one and then afterwards change his mind, while he is still in the middle of a specific field which he has lost interest in or is unable to finish. For that such process will otherwise continue to repeat itself, where the man does always begin a new undertaking before he has even completed the previous one. The man must first participate in specific fields and experiment with them, before he can discover which one appeals to him what most, and which is he is really good at. But it is not like the man can decide such matters during idleness, where no enlightenment will appear while the man is doing nothing at all and while no material is being available. All cheating proves to be short-sighted in its nature and counterproductive, because the man will remain just as foolish and incompetent as in the very beginning. The man can perhaps get good grades in school and be graduated from it, but he will still be unfit for the real challenges, the profession which the school had been preparing him for and reflecting. For the assignments and tests were meant to increase the man’s understanding and skill, leading to his personal improvement, but good grades were never meant to be an end in itself. There is nothing shameful about that when the man is stuck upon a specific assignment, when he is unable to understand and solve the lessons, so that he is in need of help. For that kind of ignorance and incompetence was already present in the man, but he is now finally realizing it, like when hidden objects in darkness are being revealed by the light. This makes the man aware about the things which he does still lack and needs to be improved, but he would otherwise never have known about it if he had avoided the challenge. The man must know how to handle defeats, and make a good use of them, because the man can learn something from it and do better next time in corresponding situation. The man must first understand his own weaknesses before he can overcome them, and he must change his manner of approach if he is going to avoid a similar defeat. It can be mentioned when it is fought against an opponent in a tactical game. It is not like the man should constantly repeat the same straightforward approach, by using the same trick again and again, as what has applied to all the easy challenges up till this point. The man does on the contrary need more difficult challenges and more difficult opponents, if the man is ever going to increase his own understanding and skill. The man should never boast about easy victories over easy opponents, which has more to say about their ignorance and and incompetence than the actual merit of the victor. That to only seek easy challenges makes the man stagnant, where he does never reconsider his own tactics in a game, what he needs to change in order to counter the enemy‘s moves and adapt.

It is always best to study with moderation, where it is spent a specific time upon reading the material and undertake assignments until one will become tired and bored. And then it can be spent some time upon a hobby in between, so it can raise/lift up one’s spirit and make one willing to continue with the study. There is a balance between work and fun, where one does have fun in order to refresh oneself and to make the work easier to endure in the long run. Hence many small contributions will lead to one great outcome. It should not be spent too much time upon work alone and overexerted oneself, because one can be present in the body while one’s heart and spirit is being totally absent. For that one will be already tired and bored, distracted or unable to maintain any focus for long, so it is like the reading material does either way make no impression and does not arouse any response in oneself. And it is not like one can go hastily over the reading material, as if it would be spent a shallow time and effort upon each content, so that one will either way not remember anything. The man does not need to trouble himself about many fields at the same time, because he will otherwise neglect each and every matter, when he needs to focus upon the one in front of him. And the man does not need to think about these fields in the meantime, while the reading material and assignments are unavailable to him. For man will otherwise waste his energy upon needless fears and worries, which will make the man already drained and tired even before undertaking the assignment. The man should only give attention to such matters if he is in position to do something about it, whether to read the material or participate in the assignment, by noticing facts and adapting to them. The man can become stuck upon a specific field or assignment, because the material involved can seem too outlandish in his eyes, with its technical words, dry and lifeless formalities, and longwinded descriptions. It should first be concentrated upon other fields and challenges, which the man is able to solve and keep the schedule in. And then finally can be used the remaining time upon the most difficult challenge, which is still beyond the man’s understanding and capability. It can still apply that the man is unable to make any progress in that particular field, like when the man is being good in humanities but altogether bad in natural science. It is like nothing about that field is able to appeal to the man and nothing is being aroused in him, so the man is unable to keep up with it or it is like he is staring at a blank wall. It can thereby be reasonable to sacrifice that field, that the man will be able to keep schedule with all other fields, which are still within his reach in completing. The man would otherwise allow that impossible field to drag down other fields with it, because he has invested too much time and effort upon it, which could have been spent upon the other ones and improved them further. When it comes to read a specific material then the man does not need to focus upon every detail, as if he would be able to remember everything at the same time. It should rather be had a good overview and separated the main issues from the minor ones. The man should only emphasis upon the parts which seem to involve some kind of context and analysis, in getting straight to the point and what is common with the content. It can be deliberately disregarded all the pointless and boring parts, which the man would either way never have remembered. It is instead spent twice as much time upon the important parts, because the man does only emphasis upon half the material and is more likely to remember it. Such gamble can work in humanities, when the exam allows the student to choose from the available questions.

Creativity is about inventing things upon entirely different basis, involving new setting and principles. But when it is imitated the creation of other people then it does defeat the very purpose, why it is created things to begin with, since that one such version is already enough. An original entertainment done well in the past is being preferrable to a new version which only involves better graphics. Many creations turn out to be cliché-like, uninspired, and stagnant, because it is put the same old things into a new costume and merely recycled previous ideas. The outward appearance might be different and involve different names, but everything happens in the same way as before and what the people can do. A good entertainment is supposed to be a replica of the reality, where the creators of the entertainment have their own developed skills and experience of the reality to draw from when making it. But a bad entertainment tends to be replica of a replica, where the creators of that entertainment draw their ideas from the entertainments that others have made. It is like the new generations have become so accustomed to that in being consumers of entertainments that there is no personal experience and developed skills to be drawn from the actual reality. (This does of course also apply to the one writing this.) It is digressed from the creative source that had been at work in those that started with nothing. A fresh thing springs up from a fresh thing, where a new thing should be put into a new vessel/receiver, instead of a fresh thing being instantly implicated to the old things or that it is first being consulted with the old things whether a fresh thing is being allowed. Fiction does to tend combine issues of already existing creatures. For example, the mythical dragon is made of parts belonging to a snake (head), crocodile (torso), and a bat (wings). The man must first experience various creations before he can learn to appreciate the best factors, and which ones most appeal to him. It does reach to that what is considered original, interesting, daring, beautiful, funny, witty, intelligent, deep, and complex, so it is wanted to take such essence to the next level. For example, it is not imitated/repeated the detailed form of dialogue which is considered to be witty and funny, but it is rather kept to the spirit or driving-force behind the dialogue which made it witty and funny. Something previously made is being an inspiration in going in a certain direction, while the rest/crossing of it is being fresh and original. Something previously made by others functions as a springboard to one‘s new vision of making. It is held unto the interesting part of the whole, while it is separated the uninteresting parts from it, the ones which is disagreed with or found to be lacking. It is thereby implicated the interesting part to one’s own creation, unless it does apply in a different context and setting.

If the man is going to become a skillful writer then he must do so from his heart, where silent inspiration emerges spontaneously while the writing does take place. It has nothing to do with any preparation, as if it would first be stopped and then thought about the next move. For it is like the man’s hands are in command, where it is allowed every perception and touch to lead himself forth, by being constantly active and having these things sharpen each other. It can be received an inspiration in few words, which does point to the right direction, what it is approximately meant with such expression. And after it has been begun then the man will somehow know how to write more about it. Each inspiration can become a constant extension, where one thing does lead to another, so it is like everything does come naturally on its own accord. It can always be revised the material afterwards, what kind of words are preferable to others, by adding or removing something that the sentence will be more to the point. It can happen that the man becomes stuck upon a specific topic, and does not know what to say about it. That to be in a better position to express himself about it is not something which can be forced to happen or be obtained directly. But the man must first become more spiritually mature, a better person through better choices, before he can become a better writer. The man should only express himself according to his personal conviction, knowledge, and experience, but he should otherwise put the matter on hold or write about something else. It is about preferring quality over quantity, where the man will obtain few words of wisdom after overcoming many foolish thoughts. The man should keep himself to the original reason why he began to write in the first place, what he is trying to accomplish with it and appeal to in his readers. But he does not need to digress from that purpose, by being too concerned about that in avoiding a possible misunderstanding or by defending himself from possible criticism. If a specific opinion/argument does involve some kind of bad side or hole/weakness which can be exploited against it then it should not be come up with such opinion/argument. It is tried to solve one thing while creating problem in another thing instead, where it might seem to do good in a limited matter and yet it is opens up for bad things to happen in other matters. This short-sighted remedy leads to unforeseeable disruptions in the working of the whole. It should rather be kept to that which involves an universal/general truth, something which can apply in any matter at any time and any place, something which is being even/balanced on the weighing scale of justice.

It can be discoursed upon that in having good taste regarding entertainments, where it is only chosen entertainments of high quality and fun factor, above the mediocre ones and poor ones. Entertainments are nothing more than entertainments, where they do only have value for as long as it can raise/lift up the man’s spirit and give him respite from his work. It should not be taken fictional entertainments too seriously, in regard to its realism and details. For it is only a replica of the reality, but it can never become greater than the reality itself. Fiction is a fiction because it is meant to offer an entertaining escape from the reality, like if the man’s finds his daily tasks to be boring and he wants to be somewhere else doing something else. That to expect fiction to be as real as possible does defeat the purpose of seeking fiction in the first place, because the fiction would then be reminding the man of the boring things in the reality that he is trying to get respite from. That to be somewhere else is not only bound to the physical body or by travelling to some exotic location, but it is also about being somewhere else in one’s mind or spirit. If the man has a bad taste then it does not matter how rich he can be, and how many things he can buy, since he will either way not derive any enjoyment from his purchases. It is more efficient to have a good taste and only purchase entertainments that are of great quality, although they might be few, since it is at least made good use of the time. It does not matter whether a rich man can own countless possessions, because he can still only make use of one entertainment at a time, and be stationed at one place at a time. This is why every man can just as well buy one thing at a time, and then make a full use of it, before he can begin to buy another product. The man would otherwise be hoarding up possessions which he does not use, where much more time can be spent upon the search for such products than upon its actual use. It is based upon the personal merit of the creators whether an entertainment will prove good or bad, like the person directing a movie or the team developing a video game. It is not the trademark itself which is important (the name of a popular franchise), as if it would make every sequel good at default, because when different people are involved making a sequel then it leads to different results. The franchise did originally become popular because of the involvement of the original creator, but when he is not involved in the sequel then the sequel fails to live up to standard. Hence it should be followed the works of the creative person, instead of following the franchise which that person had started and yet is no longer being involved with. It can be categorized fictional entertainments into four types. The first type is original and of great quality. The second type is fun and bearable, but still more of the same. The third type proves to be overrated because it does lack a soul or fun factor, even that everything else has been well made. The fourth type is of the poorest quality, only a waste of time. And some entertainments are well made in their own way, and many people enjoy them, but it does still not appeal to oneself and it is not appreciated it in the same way. It is thereby acknowledged that one is not in any position to judge that entertainment, because it has more to do with one’s own restrictions than the material in question. If new entertainments are found lacking in quality then it can be searched for older ones, even by going back a couple of decades. For the outward appearance (graphics) does not matter, if the people back then were being creative and had good sense. These good old games have heart and soul, because the people working on them did so with all their heart and soul.

Entertainments are not being sinful in itself, or it is not being sinful to make use of entertainments between work. It is rather being sinful when one does become so obsessive over entertainments and spends so much time upon them; that one neglects to care about persons when it is called for in circumstances. What is being preferred over the other, or what does come before the other? Is it being preferred a living being over material things, or is it being preferred material things over a living being? Let‘s say that a child is watching a movie or playing a video game. There is nothing wrong about that. But let‘s say that the parents of that child ask the child to care for its younger sibling (toddler) while the parents are away. Then that child must be willing to put aside this entertainment while caring for its younger sibling. Now it involves a choice between that beloved one and the entertainment in question. If the child keeps having most of the attention on the entertainment and keeps participating in it (while not bothering to check on its younger sibling); then that becomes blameworthy in itself. But if the child manages to restrain itself and be devoted to the task in caring for its younger sibling; then such moderation justifies that the child can continue to make use of such entertainments at other times. That the child is being moderate and responsible enough to be allowed certain perks/privileges. But if the child is being unrestrained and of volatile temper in the use of such entertainments; then it calls for the measure to deny the child further use of the same. Something similar can be said when an adult makes use of entertainments. If there is no pressing need/demand calling for our attention at such time then it is ok to forget ourselves in entertainments. But if it happens that our beloved ones want to meet and spend some time together; then we should be immediately willing to put aside all these entertainments and abandon them for a time, that we might have full attention on our beloved when we finally meet and try to make the most of the time together. That we are not being conflicted/divided within in wanting to do something else at the same time. That we are not being lukewarm and doing things half-heartedly. That we do not come up with excuses and refuse to meet our beloved ones in the first place. If the divinity has given us a calling in life, when it comes to serve the greater good, then we should diligently work toward that in fulfilling it and never forget what has been entrusted to us. We can make use of entertainments in between, that we might avoid the extreme of doing something too much, that we might not become disrupted by obsession and begin to do things badly. These entertainments are merely being means to that end, while not being an end in itself.  In our times it is being claimed that video games are to blame for the violent crimes of young people. It can rather be stated that violent crimes are committed because of absence of charity, when a person has from its youth spent so much time upon entertainments that the person has neglected human relations and thereby the charitable experience during it. It is like that person has spent so much time upon entertainments that it does not love anyone, and its lack of experience in human relations has led to nurture of hostile attitude toward other people. But if the person had loved someone and trusted in the good experience among other people then it would have dispelled all these hostile presumptions about other people.

NOBILITY OF SOUL

6.1: Self-control

The human will does consist in the independent attention of the individual, and it does belong to him alone. The independent attention can never be deprived from the man, no matter what can be experienced from within or externally. For the man does always possess a constant choice of that where his attention can be directed to, what he does choose to further notice and listen to or disregard, what he does choose to narrow in on or turn away from, and what he tries waiting on responding to or remain indifferent to. The man can always choose one thing while rejecting other things at the same time, whether it does involve the human spirit or the mind, through the values belonging to either one. The human spirit will continue to give good counsel and help the man for free, while the mind will continue to offer bad counsel and undermine the man for free. But the man does still have control of his will, what he does choose to give attention to, and in what way he will respond to it, during and after its experience. The sense organs make the man able to see and listen to information in the surroundings, but the sense organs do still not come up with interpretation or response on his behalf. That is rather being determined by the force working in his head and the force working underneath the middle of his chest (where the heart is and between the lungs). And yet the man seek shelter from such activity by relaxing the focus point between his eyebrows, and by hiding his focus point down below (as if he was being dead still and resting). It is based upon spiritual values in determining the man’s determination, self-control, and stoical fortitude. It is not like the man does need to know everything in advance or be able to predict the future. But it is only sufficient that he can possess certainty of his own determination, in receiving all things with inner calmness and a relaxed will. The man does first need to accustom himself to inner silence, before he can be able to concentrate upon all other things, by maintaining the attention alert in the long run. If the man is already silent then he can notice and learn new things with an open mind, because there is no distraction or interruption happening at the same time. The man would otherwise by self-absorbed by his own thoughts and whims, only listening to himself speak and what he wants to say, while neglecting other people and the environment. An inner silence is not something which needs to be strained for, or by repressing as many thoughts as possible, until there can finally be silence. It can rather be said that inner silence is about doing nothing at all, where it is allowed everything to pass through oneself, without showing any resistance, without attempting to defend oneself from anything. This does not mean that we have given up and yielded to temptations, because we know that the divinity understands our position and what we are going through in our life. This is why we do not need to be afraid of giving wrong impression and that we immediately need to explain ourselves. Our inner silence is another form in overcoming temptations in a more efficient way.  The best defence is to rely upon no defence at all, but it is rather had faith in the divinity, that it will be able to save us from everything and conquer the mind on our behalf.

Self-control is about silent determination, as if the human will would be bare/naked, without needing any superfluous things stacked upon it. It can be observed and understood things in a silent way, without needing to explain it any further. For that all reassessment only came afterwards, but it does not prove to be the original source, which bestowed such sense or inspiration in the first place. It should be had silent faith in the human spirit and allowed it to do its work in the circumstance, because the human spirit is meant to be our only spiritual shelter, the only true deliverer of our soul. But our own words and effort would otherwise only get in the way, like when we seek to defend ourselves through frail means and we flee into a poor refuge which is easily shaken down. The human body proves to be greater than any clothes, which are only meant to shelter the body. And the similar thing applies to armour, in protecting the body from harm. So that clothes and armour is centred upon the human body, but it is not the other way around. It should be looked upon this in context with the human spirit, for it is well able to speak for itself and act on its own and in keep moving through things, without needing any help from us. We should not neglect that of heeding the human spirit while we are being encumbered with something superfluous and transient of our own making. We should not neglect that of receiving good things from the human spirit while we are being occupied by our own effort in doing something supposedly good on behalf of the human spirit. The human spirit is the last thread to hold unto after everything else has collapsed in the man’s life, manifesting itself in a silent awareness and determination. So it is like everything is made acceptable and easier to bear, even that the man has not said or done anything. It can happen that the man shows a sign of weakness and yield to a delusion, but he should still not have guilt over the matter and dwell further upon it. For the man will otherwise pick up the thread where it was last left, and remind himself of the very same temptations, even that it is done through different reasons, in wanting to resist it this time. The man should rather allow all thoughts to pass through himself throughout the day, while he does continue to move on with his schedule and have a useful activity. It is thereby like there does not exist any connection between that what is thought about, and what is being practiced at this moment, since the thoughts do either way have no bearing upon it.

It can happen that the man stumbles and falls many times on the same day, and yet he should still continue to raise himself up each and every time. It is thereby like it could go on endlessly, because the man will always stand up one more time, and continue with his attempts/resolve. It does correspond to the struggle against the mind, for the man can at some point receive delusions into his temper, where the delusions manage to get hold on him and affect his stability. But the man should still refuse to give up, and still refuse to yield any further, regardless of that where he does now find himself, since it is only sufficient to be vigilant at this moment, henceforth. It should not matter whether the man has already taken the first steps to corruption, because he can always repent and return to his original conviction, just as what applied before. The man can experience difficulty in withstanding temptations, not because of any lack of right/definitive answers, but it is rather because he experiences impulsiveness at the same time. It is like the man is unable to control his own reactions, where he  does immediately show anger/resentment or some kind of weakness from within, every time he thinks about specific problems. It can thereby be helpful for the man to discover the root of the problem, by tracing himself from the fruits to the branches, and from the branches to the roots. The man must first ask himself why he does receive these things so much into himself, or why does he allow these things to affect himself so much, in taking things too personally. When the man has truthfully answered this question then he must ask again the same questions, unless the question does now apply to the (first) answer, why he does receive it so much into himself. It is thereby always questioned the new answer, and so forth, until it is discovered the root of the problem. The external matters are not the real problem, but it does rather consist in one’s own weaknesses, since that one‘s weaknesses make oneself already receptive to temptations and easily manipulated by them. It does thereby not matter when or where the temptation will happen, or by whom one is being tempted, since that one would either way have been affected by it. But if one is already free of such weaknesses then nothing will be able to affect oneself, and one will no longer choose to see the external matters as a problem, relevant to oneself. It should thereby not only be renounced temptations, but also one’s own weaknesses, which such temptations have hitherto been appealing to and thriving upon. For example, if it is come across an enemy then his presence might seem tempt one into becoming angry and saying something against him, but if one ceases to be proud then one is no longer being provoked by his presence. That is more important than to merely seek to overcome one temptation of many, this or that exchange of words on this or that scene, while one continues to be proud about it at all times. It is not like the man should struggle against all kinds of subjective problems and enemies, while he does still leave his selfishness intact as the basis of all further weaknesses. It does never work out when the man attempts to focus upon that in experiencing a circumstance and that in saving himself from subjective problems at the same time. For these two things do contradict one another and cannot both be completed at the same time, where the man’s half-hearted effort is the same thing as no effort. It could be likened to that if the man would station himself at the border between two countries, so that he will have the left leg at one country and the right leg at the other. Therefore will the man be unable to enjoy either country, because he is stuck in between.

It can be mentioned the illusion when the mind does both tempt the man and pretend to answer/respond on his behalf, as if the man had already agreed with the temptation or yielded to it. For example, the man does first experience a delusion about something, and then immediately does appear another delusion which seems to answer it in a selfish way, sounding just like the man’s own voice. But both the delusion and the response is part of the very same temptation, as if a bad person could both offer something to the man and leave it in front of him, even that the man has not agreed to anything nor reached his hands forth to receive it. Therefore has the man still not made any choice, nor yielded to the temptation in question, but it is rather being tested in what way the man will respond after all these things have happened. It is not like the man can always be perfect in everything and never show a sign of weakness, when it comes to maintain distance from all thoughts, in being detached from their influence, and in blocking them at the outset. For there are always some thoughts which are harder to resist than other thoughts, or which can even seem irresistible. These type of thoughts can be called the greater demons, which are stronger than the man in his human might, so the man needs to rely upon the divinity in order to overcome the same (the divinity is strongest, thereby stronger than those which are stronger than the man).  It is like the man is unable to control his own reactions, but he does immediately show anger or some kind of weakness from within, every time he thinks about a specific problem. The man is so personally involved that he cannot help himself, even that he might know thousand correct arguments against the one same problem. The problem does still manage to grab the man’s head and he finds himself unwilling to let go of it. For example, the man can still hold a grudge against false friends or enemies of the past. Every time the mind mentions these specific things then the man does immediately agree with it, where he begins to think evil toward other persons and wishes for evil to happen to them. But the man can still realize it within himself that he is now yielding to these thoughts, that what he is inclining to is wrong, that it should not be sought to justify it, and not acted upon it. The man can now turn to the divinity and confess the truth about his own position, that the man is unable to overcome these problems on his own and that he needs the divinity to help him through it. The man confesses that he is being so personally involved and biased in regard to those persons that he cannot think soberly and pass a fair verdict, that he is in no position to judge these absent persons in anything (based on their current attitude and choices). The man asks the divinity to help him forgive other people in his heart, and that the divinity might help him to receive its forgiveness. The man asks the divinity to help him cast all his burdens upon the divinity and allow it to take care of them. Even that these thoughts continue to emerge and the man can temporarily lose/forget himself in them (distraction, divided attention) then it is still only bound to the mind, without having any effects upon the man’s actual choices and dealings with other people. So that a seeming spiritual defeat is turned into a spiritual victory, by simply confessing the truth about that what the man is going through within and in relying upon the divinity for further reactions.

The man does not need to rely upon selfish arguments and tricks in order to secure/guarantee himself, because it is really only a dead weight to him, something which makes him become entangled (by his own words) and tired much sooner in the process. It can be likened to that of wearing heavy armour, where every movement costs more stamina and every received blow drains more stamina. Heavy armour is supposed to reduce the impact from blows, but it does never prevent blows. That to wear heavy armour can involve false sense of security, because it makes the man slow in movement (sluggish) and it becomes harder for him to avoid the blows of the enemy. Hence even that the man would wear a heavy armour and not be wounded by any blows; then he would still receive so many repeated blows by the enemy that the man would in the end become exhausted and drop to the ground. It would have been better if the man had no armour at all, but would rather rely upon mobility to avoid all blows from the outset. The best defence against delusions consists in that of relying upon no defence at all, because the divinity is meant to be our only spiritual refuge, the last thing standing after all else has collapsed. The man should never prefer his own transient creations above the divinity, what kind of words and human effort can be used against temptations (and the devils behind them). The creation can never become superior to the creator. So the divinity is superior to the man, and the man is superior to his own creations, but these creations can never surpass his own limits and manage to accomplish something which he himself cannot accomplish. If the man is already being driven/dictated by his fears and he does not believe that it is possible to overcome the temptations that are haunting his mind; then what is the point of him afterwards creating something as defence against the same? This very creation is already being tainted by his fears and unbelief and incompetence. It would have been better if the man had first turned to the divinity for help, that the divinity might free him from all these fears and from all this unbelief and from all this inability.

Equanimity is about experiencing nothing at all, except the unifying influence of inner silence, sobriety, calmness/peace, and stability. It is like the man does only experience silence in his mind, or at least most of the time. Although the man cannot control which thoughts come over to him (automatically) then he has still not been having any initiative in thinking further about something (manually). The man has at least not been stopped by thoughts and begin to agree with them, as if the man would begin to tell himself something indecent/inconsiderate about other people and what treacherous things he is intending regarding them. Equanimity is also about the man being free of all impulsiveness, which would otherwise have affected his body alongside thoughts. If the heart is made pure then the man’s facial expression will be pure as well, where his face will become expressionless, revealing no dubious and/or pretentious signs because there are none such things to be found within him as a driving force. The man is already being true and faithful in his ways, sincere and pure in his intentions, possessing self-control and self-restraint, so it is something to be noticed in his face and overall bearing. People do not only smile while they are glad, but they can also smile while possessing treacherous intentions (gloating), since it can be noticed something contemptuous or covetous in their eyes at the same time. They have this strange look and something feels off about them. This is why an expressionless face is being more straight-mannered and trustworthy/reliable in comparison to a constantly switching/changing face. Where there is equanimity there is also elegance, when the man does carry himself dignified in facial expression, speech, gesture, and the general movements of the body. The man will also move his limbs in an efficient way, with as few moves and touches as possible. It cannot be searched directly for elegance, but it is merely the consequence, after the man has maintained confidence and equanimity in the long run. The heart and the soul must first become pure before the body can be free of all disruptions, and the man must first be consistent within himself before his bodily performance can function as an unified whole.

An inner balance is about maintaining the same beat at regular intervals, like when it is had a stable breathing and a stable heart rate, unless it applies to the man’s spiritual side. First it is stabilized the spiritual side, and then it stabilizes the breathing and the heart rate of the body. An inner peace and stability is meant to be unconditional, something which comes first before everything else, which has priority over all external matters which can be obtained or missed out on. The inner calmness and balance is meant to influence the external things for the better, rather than the man would allow the external things to affect his internal condition for the worse. The man’s internal condition is not supposed to be depended upon the function of other things, as if inner balance would only come after it has been done this or that. It does not matter what can happen, how the circumstances can change for better or worse. For the man does already preserve an inner calmness, and he receive every incident just like any other ordinary thing, as if nothing is able to impress him or make him afraid. Both a time of prosperity and a time of adversity should be received with moderation, even indifference, since that such things prove to be transient while the man remains the same person. That which is being transient can just as easily disappear as it has appeared. Even that things have turned out in a good way then the man should still not stop and begin to gloat, as if he would feel good about himself or derive self-satisfaction. The man does rather acknowledge that the divinity is the one which have been making good things possible in his life and the divinity is also capable of taking the good things back to itself. The man does not possess any certainty what can happen in the future and how things can affect him. There will always be another day after this day and the spiritual struggle continues. Hence even that things have hitherto turned out in a good way then the man must still continue to be spiritually sober and on his spiritual guard at this very moment, without ever stopping and asserting that he has already gotten to the finish line and that he can finally begin ‘rewarding’ himself for it. The man can just as well continue to be calm and at peace with himself, without relying upon the addictive sinful pleasures of the world, since he does already possess greater blessings. This calmness or inner peace can constantly hold things in check within, so that in not feeling anything within is to feel something that prevents/blocks obsession and impulses.

Equanimity (being combined of sobriety, calmness/peace, and inner stability) can be likened to the number zero. It is the moderate middle course, which is free of both extremes, and which has no exposed side, and which is not being swung by anything. Everything from plus one to plus ten does signify various frequency of the selfishness, with its flatteries, briberies, and self-indulgence. Everything from minus one to minus ten does signify various frequency of the self-righteousness, with its self-accusations, deprivations, and self-constraint. The path of virtue is always maintained straight, stationed at the number zero, when it comes to undertake everything in an even/balanced and moderate way. Many small things will contribute to one great success, and it is the most rewarding system in the long run. But the two extremes are always followed by constant swings, where one day the man is at the number plus ten while the next day he is at the number minus ten. It is like there does not exist anything in between, for the man is being raised too high and then takes a deep dive, being raised again too high and takes another deep dive, and so forth. For example, the man does overwork one day and is being lazy the next day, or the man is being too self-indulgent on one day and too harsh/hard on himself the next day. The man might seem to be eager and devoted  to something for some time, but he will soon give up and return to his old negligence, so that his previous conduct was only temporary. The extreme of selfishness is always accompanied by the extreme of self-righteousness, what comes before or after the other. Each selfish desire does not stand alone, but it is always accompanied by another driving force involving opposite effects. A needless expectation is always accompanied by disappointment, a too little self-esteem in one factor is always accompanied by too much self-esteem in other factors, and pleasures derived from substance abuse is always accompanied by addiction and withdrawal symptoms. If the former had not existed then the latter would not have existed as well. It would have been best in the beginning if the man had not felt anything at all except equanimity, and if he had already been contented with his life as it is. That by willingly receiving the free blessings which come naturally to us, without seeking any additional things to feel additional things. Then there would not exist a lack of one thing which would call for a search of another thing as its selfish remedy. Every selfish desire (obsession) proves to be insatiable in its nature. Selfish people participate in debauchery (drunkenness, fornication, violence) and all kinds of errors, because it is supposed to be some kind of remedy to satisfy their restlessness and inner emptiness. But their restlessness keeps reappearing, and they keep being reminded of their inner emptiness, so they keep repeating debauchery to obtain a brief respite from it or to delay facing/confronting it to another time. If the people involved were already being happy and contented with their lives as it is; then they would be happy and contented enough to cease participating in things that had once been a reaction to their restlessness and inner emptiness, even as a person having fully recovered from a sickness is now being healthy enough in no longer needing any remedies and outside help.

The value of impartiality does consist in that of being initially neutral toward everyone and everything, that is to say before it has been observed what people are actually saying and doing and furthering/promoting. And next will be passed an impartial and fair verdict concerning the specific case, according to the objectivity of the facts, the choices involved, and what is deemed to be right in general. It is about the merit of the case and issues that do belong to it alone, while it is not allowed any personal bias or outside factors to affect one’s decision in any way. It should never be taken any side in advance before it has actually been witnessed the case in question, like when it is favoured one’s friends/teammates even that they have been doing the wrong thing, or when it is disfavoured one’s enemies/opponents even that they have been doing the right thing. For that one’s personal attachment and personal grudge is completely irrelevant to the matter, what kind of emotions or impulses are felt about someone, for better or worse. It should rather be discerned the human motivation, morality, and causality, in what way the persons involved approached the test/challenge and what measures were carried through the incident. Next it can be determined which person has a more rightful claim than the other and is being more worthy of being sided with. It can be mentioned competitive sports as a good example about personal bias or partiality. The fans have already taken side with their favourite team even before the game has begun and before it has been played to the very end. These fans complain when the judge makes a correct verdict at the expense of their favourite team, while they rejoice if the judge makes an incorrect verdict at the expense of the other team. But the value of impartiality does rather consist in evaluating the actual performance during the game, whether the team involved played in an honest way, and showed more team-work and more merit in deserving a victory. It should thereby first be watched the full game and afterwards be come up with a fair verdict, which favours the better and more deserving team, regardless of its outward appearance.

It should first and foremost be taken side with the truth and the justice, where the truth and the justice will honour any person which has the conviction to choose abiding by it. The person will have a sense of decency and succeed in its pursuits for a long time it stays loyal to the goodness, while the person will lack a sense of decency and fail in its pursuits for as long time it stays loyal to the evilness. If the man abides by the truth and its moral principles then it will affect his person for the better. If the man deliberately neglects to do so then it will affect his person for the worse. It is namely the man’s own choices which define who he is and what he is capable of and what he is calling for. The man should only take side with the rightful claim, instead of being a respecter of the person making the claim while being blind to the claim itself. The man should not consider his own life to be of any value, namely when it is looked upon his life lonesome, without that life being put into context of that in serving the greater good or the welfare of other people. It is not being imperative to the man to save his own life only to save his own life, through any means or regardless of the means, deemed treacherous to others or degrading to himself. It can rather be said that the man’s life does only have value through that for whom and what is lived for and died for. It is about living for the rightful cause, which makes the man able to have a meaningful life and a higher purpose, something good to be inspired into aspiring for above all else. The faith in the possibilities of the goodness is the best preventive measure, making the man capable of discerning temptations being temptations and rejecting them at the outset, as soon as possible. Therefore will the man not sow evil seeds on the ground or feed a monster which is still being a small infant, since the man does not even consider evil possibilities nor mention them. But when the man shows unbelief in the possibilities of the goodness then the exact opposite thing will happen. For the man will become unrestrainedly drawn to temptations and dwell further upon them, until the evil seeds have become a huge tree or the monster has reached full mature size. So the man has already reaped an all-spreading corruption in his soul and far-reaching evil consequences from his behaviour, making things harder to bear and escape from (when being accompanied by obsession, self-constraint, and restlessness).

Industriousness is about noble aspirations and useful industry for its own sake, regardless of that what kind of rewards or recognition can be had from it, which only came afterwards. For the man will be lively and sober in his spirit while the industry does last, and it is like the external challenges serve the purpose in promoting his personal growth. This means that the man will become a better person and move on with his life, rather than by being stuck on the same selfish problems or have a stagnant life during idleness. The useful industry will sharpen the man’s internal activity, where he will have something to look forward to in his life and receive stabilizing effects from his work. It can be cherished the industry for its own sake, for that during its participation the man did at least experience benefits within himself, like more confidence, dignity (self-respect), sobriety, and moderation. But idleness does breed delusions (selfish problems) at random, so the man will be compelled to listen to it all day long, while he is not doing anything else with his time. The matter in question is not about discovering right answers to such problems, but it should rather be asked why the man is idle to begin with, and why he does not have any useful goals to pursue. It is like all these problems will exist during the idleness, but they will be immediately dispelled during some useful activity. Education is not about collecting books and have a good memory, nor is physical training about good looks and watching oneself in mirror. It is rather meant to make the man ready and competent for the real challenges, where this knowledge and healthiness is meant to be of practical use in doing things more efficiently. That to participate regularly in physical training or profession can serve as a preventive measure. That one does participate in this that one might become focused and active enough in everything else undertaken during the day. That one does never stop and become too lazy or tired to do something, but one is constantly being active in something. This regular body activity in physical training or profession makes one feel refreshed and energized enough when it is undertaken a personal project (one‘s true calling) and hobby/entertainment in between. Orderliness is about fulfilling the needs of the body, to make it refreshed and re-energized enough for the challenges ahead, that the man can be in position to handle them in the long run. It does first concern basic needs like food, sleep, cleanliness, and bodily exercise, which needs to be done at regular intervals, in moderate quantity, and preferably at a fixed time during the day. It is not directly spoken about such things during a profession, when the man needs to participate in something with other people and promote a common goal. But these issues do indirectly affect the man’s performance during the profession, whether he will attend to the work at the right time, whether he will be focused enough and up to the tasks at hand. If the man is orderly in small matters then he will also be so in the greater matters. For the man must first be able to take care of his own life before he be trusted with an important position concerning the lives of other people. But the man would never be able to do if he does already neglect basic needs of his body, like when idleness and loose habits does only make him distracted and weak.

Physical training is all about making one’s best possible effort, until one is unable to move anymore during the exercise, since there is no longer any energy left in one’s body to continue. It is not like one should decide to stop when the exercise starts to feel uncomfortable and tiring, since it has more to do about one’s mindset than the actual capability of the body. For that one’s thoughts and words are irrelevant to the matter in question, but one should rather remain silent and allow the body to let one know what one can truly endure and accomplish. Before it is begun a physical exercise then one can feel tired or hesitant or not in the mood  to do it. However, it is all an illusion in the head. Once one has begun a physical exercise then it is forgotten oneself in it, and before one knows it then one has already accomplished/finished everything. One is being so involved in doing one thing at a time, and that to head from one exercise to another at regular interval (after having rested a little), that the activity of the body replaces the activity of the mind. It is only lived in the moment, or one is somehow being spirited  away from the mind. It is not about thinking first and then doing, but rather to first do it and think later. If one is being hesitant in doing an exercise then it should simply be forced oneself to begin, and forced it on oneself to be daring for a couple of seconds, and then the rest/remainder will take care of itself. When it is lifted weight then it is best to take the moderate middle course, where it is neither done too many times (too light weight) nor done too few times (too heavy weight). For example, when it is begun to lift a specific moderate weight then one can only do it about ten times (during the one same exercise). When it is done the same exercise three days later then one does progress about one more time, so that one can do it eleven times. It is progressed one more time every three days. The goal is to lift that weight up to fifteen times, which is being accomplished after about two weeks or five to six exercises in total  (since it was first begun on that specific weight). And next time doing that exercise (three days later) then one does increase the weight to the next level (about four or five kilograms more in total). When it is begun using more weight then one can only do it about ten times, and the same process will repeat itself henceforth. Also every time it is finished a specific exercise (ten to fifteen times) then it is waited for about twenty to thirty seconds before doing it again, so that when it is used the remaining energy of the body then one can only do that exercise about three to four times. Progress is all about 'one more time', little by little, again and again, until it has reached one great result with the time.

What can be said about the moderate middle path versus the excessive path. That to do the will of God is the same thing as to move on with one‘s life and to do something constructive with one‘s life, to keep to the most important things in life and fulfill them before attending to things of lesser importance, that when it is participated in something (like profession) then it is done to the best of one‘s knowledge and ability, and that one is being there for the beloved ones and it is shown mercy to those that live in weakness. When it is done the will of God on this day then God will bless one for it by making one internally sound and stable when it is participated in all the other things. When it is taken a break (in between) and participated in a hobby then everything goes smoothly. One is being blessed with a good taste and preferences, and one knows how to approach the hobbies in a proper way and make proper use of things, and one is able to enjoy things and feel relaxed. It is done the will of God for some moderate time, and next taken a break and participated in a hobby for some moderate time, and then felt energized and lively again to resume doing the will of God for some moderate time, and so forth. But what happens when one does neglect the will of God on this day and spends too much time upon unimportant matters (entertainments, lifeless objects). Then one will become obsessive over the same things, and make all kinds of needless changes which lead to mistakes and waste of time. Like when it is played a role-playing video game then one becomes so restless and pedantic about character development that one keeps quitting half-way through the game and keeps starting a new game, only to become dissatisfied and restless all over again, and thereby resuming/repeating such cycle. By wanting to have everything perfect then one becomes dissatisfied over the most trivial and petty issue. And one can become so obsessive and restless about that in finishing all quests as soon as possible that one does no longer enjoy the game, and one becomes distracted and restless just by thinking about the game in the meantime. It has been digressed from the original purpose of the entertainment. It is no longer being a tool to refreshen oneself between work. If the man is being moderate in all things then he makes the important things come first and the hobbies come after. The moderate man is actually better off during the participation of the hobbies; than those which gaze upon these hobbies above everything else and neglect everything else for them. Fictional entertainments are most appreciated when not taken too seriously. The goal is not to have everything perfect and to have anticipated everything. It is being adequate while one is being competent enough to continue the story/gameplay and finish the game. It only becomes a problem which calls for major overhaul if one is constantly failing (dying) at the same obstacle and being stuck in the story. Otherwise it applies not to fix something which is not broken. It should not be needlessly sought to change something which has hitherto been working out and moving things forth.

6.2: Contentment of the Soul

Gratefulness is about learning to appreciate the good things which are already had in one’s life. It does especially apply to the relationship with the beloved ones, in loving them and being loved by them, in rejoicing with their good lot and by being willing to share good things with them. Gratefulness is not only connected with that in having received good things from other people, but one can also become grateful for having been given the chance to do good things to other people. When it is provided help/support to other people then it is a good thing to feel good about, and it is a good thing to know that the divinity made one both willing and able to help them. That to find it in one‘s heart to help other people for free, that can be called a spiritual feat only made possible by the divinity. Otherwise one would be hard-hearted and already closed in advance toward other people, and find it too difficult to let go of one‘s selfish inclinations. The divinity had already given us the greatest blessings from the beginning of our existence, like good health and innocence (pure soul, pure attitude), that of being able to love and tell the truth, that of being able to feel joy and peace, and that of being curious and active. This is what we possessed in ourselves even before we had actually made any choices or obtained anything from the world. Such benefits can be constantly experienced within, at any time and any place, while everything belonging to the world is outside our soul and body. The grateful man does not care about the transient things of world and what transient things other people can own, but he is most of all grateful that the divinity has given him life and existence to begin with. The spiritually blind men have selfish needs and they travel around the world in order to satisfy them, even that all selfish desires proves to be insatiable in their nature. It is like a bottomless pit that creates even more emptiness and hunger in the man’s soul, since that selfish desires do only led to problems and maladies but are unable to heal and purify anything. The selfish man foolishly presumes that material things and other people are meant to make him happy, where he must first acquire something desirable once and for all, or accomplish a specific deed once and for all, before he can finally ‘deserve’ happiness and peace. But the same man will be no nearer to happiness and peace, just as much before he began to search for it, since he is already spiritually empty and afflicted by corruption. If the man is not already happy and contented in his soul then he will also not be so in the future, no matter how often he can repeat the same fruitless approach. Because the man is already being spiritually corrupt and sick then that same corruption and sickness prevents him from experiencing good effects within himself. The divinity must first forgive the man and purify his soul and restore his spiritual side back to full health, and only then will the man be able to become happy and at peace and contented with his life. It is only the divinity which is in position to make these things possible through grace, but the man is never able to produce it by his own effort or by coming up with some beautiful words. It cannot be searched directly for happiness and inner peace, because it is merely the consequence, caused by the presence of the divinity, after it has revealed itself to the man. If the man is already being happy and at peace with himself then it is because the divinity has already shown him grace, making him capable of experiencing such benefits in the first place.

Needless expectation will only lead to needless disappointment, and create needless bitterness. If the man had never had such expectation in the first place then he would have avoided both disappointment and bitterness, so the man would actually have been better off by having nothing on his mind. It can be mentioned when the man does only gaze upon the things which he has still not obtained in his life, or which is completely beyond his reach (above/out of his league). At the same time the man is neglecting all the good things in his life, which are still being accessible and able to benefit him. When that man has finally obtained the desirable thing in question then he will also not learn to appreciate it, while he gazes upon something else instead, so the same process will continue to repeat itself while the man is being covetous and ungrateful. It does not make any sense when the man allows external things to trouble and disrupt himself, as if such things were being more important than his own health and sanity. It is not like the man should cut off parts of his feet in order to make the feet fit shoes that are too small for him, but he could just as well be without shoes or look for befitting shoes elsewhere. It can be mentioned when the man is already being happy and contented with his current lot, and it is like there does not exist any problem in his eyes. Then it happens that the man begins to covet a specific thing but is unable to obtain it, or the man manages to obtain a specific thing but he later loses it from his grasp. Then the man presumes himself to be worse off, even that he had originally been happy and contented with his life as it was, before he had coveted that specific thing or obtained it. It can be said that nothing has changed in the situation, but it is rather the man that has allowed his own desires to change himself, in what way he does notice the external matters and considers them relevant to himself. Its personal attachment has only affected the man’s condition for the worse, and led to completely opposite effects, since he had wanted such things to make him happy but he allowed these things to make him become unhappy over them. It does thereby prove to be counterproductive, defeating the purpose why the man had sought for such things in the first place, since that nothing good did ever come out from it for him. For example, let‘s say that the man falls in love with a woman only because of her looks, while overlooking that the woman is a hard-hearted and mean-spirited person. When the man tries to impress that woman then it utterly fails, and that woman treats him as garbage. Then that man becomes sad/depressed and he is being afflicted by thoughts of that what he could not have. Let‘s consider the beginning of this and the consequence, when it comes to determine whether this did really come from and belong to the goodness. Firstly, the man thought he loved that woman when he was really being desirous/covetous and only in love with a superficial aspect. Secondly, because the woman turned out to be a hard-hearted and mean-spirited person then it cannot be that the goodness wanted the man to befit such a none-good person. Thirdly, because this failed undertaking only led to bad effects within the man then it cannot be that the goodness wanted it to happen, since that only good comes from that which is being good. Hence the desire for this woman proved to be unfounded and needless at the very outset. If the man manages to obtain a desirable thing and he later loses it from his grasp; then it is a sign that he was never meant to have it in the first place, either because it proved to be a useless thing to him, or the man was not deemed worthy and responsible enough to receive it.

Modesty is about letting those things suffice oneself which are truly necessary and useful, when it comes to satisfy the basic needs of one’s body and soul, what makes one able to stay alive and well and focused, and what does actually need to be used upon daily basis for the goals at hand. It should kept to the general role of each object, what it is meant to be used for and to help improve one‘s lot, while the outward appearance does not matter as much. For example, the nutrition had from food is more important than that how the food looks and tastes. Clothes are important so long as they can cover one’s nakedness and offer protection from the weather, while it is not being as important what kind of impression one‘s clothes can have on other people. The home is important while it offers a shelter and privacy, and while it can store all the things which one needs for a daily function/activity, while it is not being as important what is the size of the home in comparison to other homes. (Because there is either way no need for extra space for extra activity. One can go to specialized places for extra activity, like the gym for physical training.) The shape of tableware is being of use when eating food, while it does not matter whether the tableware is being made of cheap material (steel) or expensive material (gold). Beautiful clothes and luxurious objects cannot in any way exalt one’s person, because it is irrelevant to good sense and good qualities and good choices. These good things are not for sale and they cannot be bought. Luxury tends to be superfluous, like when something is beautiful to look upon, but that object does otherwise remain stuck at the same place and cannot be used for anything at all. It should rather be kept oneself to things which appeal to one’s needs and ability, like what can be used for survival, education, profession, creative work, and physical exercises. The man should only seek for those things which he is willing to deserve through honest work. But he should otherwise not seek for such things in the first place, if the man is not ready to make the required sacrifices and assume responsibility of it. Covetousness and envy only gazes upon the consequence, or incidental things, while it is neglected the path prior to it, how to make an accomplishment that leads to reward. It is not like the man should crave these or those things, expensive and luxurious, only because other people possess it and the man wants to advertise himself among them. For it means that the man is really in no need of such things, where the man does not even know what he should use it for and it will either way do him no good.

Generosity does not only reach to that in giving away money or material objects to other people, sharing possessions with them or offering them temporary access to one‘s possession for free (borrowing). It is also important that the man can have a lively, light-hearted, and generous spirit, a constructive presence which is able to arouse something good in other people. Thereby do the people involved enjoy the company of each other, forgetting all about their problems and afflictions, and becoming instead confident and cheerful, comforted and hopeful about everything. The man becomes generous to other people because they are more in need of it than him, whether it does apply to their morale/spirit or their living conditions. It should be done the decent thing for its own sake, and as its own reward, so it is never expected any repayment or recognition from it. For the generous man did truly believe in the value of that choice, that it was able to help and benefit the persons involved. In a way the generous act did not make the generous man become blessed, because the generous man was already being blessed when doing it, since the divinity made him capable of being generous and made things able to go smoothly. The generous act should always reflect a generous spirit, the nobility of soul or altruism of the doer. It is thereby most important that the man can first become generous in his attitude and intentions, and then it will affect his conduct in a corresponding way, in what way he does treat other people. The generous man is really willing to do so by his own free will, where he does really care for the person he wants to help and what kind of value it has for the person as a recipient. Generosity is not the same thing as a selfish compromise, like when it is paid money to charity organization in return for a specific service or an access to entertainment for ‘free’. It is not being consistent with virtue when the man does intentionally reveal his good act to other people and/or does boast about having done it, which thereby makes him openly receive recognition from it. For that generosity is about giving something for free, without getting anything in return, whether directly or indirectly. A true generosity does always involve a selfless act. There does not exit anything in between, but the man is either being generous or not. The generous man is supposed to be discreet, where he is only concerned about that in helping other people, and that the matter stays between him and them. He is only content with the accomplishment, so long as that person was able to receive help, whether the man himself or somebody else provided it. It is sufficient for the generous man to know the truth for himself, and what the divinity feels about it, while it does not involve anyone else. The whole world or the rest of mankind are being irrelevant. It is not like everyone would need to be overly generous, by offering everything which they own to other people, while leaving nothing for themselves (which would thereby make them unable to survive and unable to provide for their own family and unable to resume function in goals). It can rather be said that it is only sufficient for the human people to share things together, and be willing to loan objects to one another, according to the need of the moment. For example, the man can own hand tools, but he does need to carry such tools and use them all the time. The man can just as well loan the tools to other people, until he is again in need of them, but it does otherwise not matter what person uses the tools in the meantime.

Chastity is not only bound to sexual abstinence or faithfulness during marriage. It is also about spiritual purity. If the man is already pure in his heart then he will look upon all things with pure eyes, experience everything in a pure way, and approach the matter in a pure way. The man’s heart and eyes will correspond to a white and empty paper, so it can be written precisely down that information which is required to be known. There is no stain upon the paper, which would otherwise get in the way and make everything distorted to read. Such stain on paper applies when contempt and covetousness makes the man already biased and impure when noticing  and receiving things. The spiritual chastity is like a faithful relationship with the divinity, because it is abstained from all selfish intentions and corruption, which does belong to the opposite source. Where there is purity there is also sincerity and charity, when it comes see/notice the person as it is, accept and receive the person as it is, and esteem the wellbeing of the person most above other things. It is held the person in the same sincere and charitable regard, and nothing is able to change that. The man will give himself proper time and space in order to get acquainted with the person, in knowing what kind of person it is, and what dwells in its heart. It is had more interest in the person than what can be obtained from the person, so it is not like anyone needs to prove himself or offer some advantage to the other. A selfish man seeks to exploit or manipulate another person, as if that person was a mere tool for something else to be had, only having value for as long as the man can satisfy his impulses or selfish desires. A selfish man does implicate his own impulses to the person in advance, like sexual lust or hatred, but he does not actually see/notice the person as it is, outside/beyond his own self. If the man is having difficulty resisting sexual desires and he is beginning to fantasize about sinful things; then he should remind himself that covetousness does contradict pure and sincere love. He should only focus upon that in noticing the person when it is actually met with it, above that in having thoughts about the person and preferring such illusion over the actual person. For that when the man does finally meet with the person then he is being roused to decency and he repents of having thought of the person in such way. And the man should remind himself of that how the divinity has led him into the truth, and made him understand what kind of forces are working within the man, and made him able to withstand temptations and rise above them. It would indeed be an indecent thing if the spiritually discerning man would be exploiting the position of a woman which is living in weakness, where that woman is being credulous toward her internal activity, where she is being swept back and forth by thoughts/impulses which she does not discern to be equally wrong, and she does not know what she is doing. She is being needy and only trying to feel better by doing something, however misguided it can be.

If the man is being a true spiritual figure then his main objective is to help other people feel better, to bless them with his good presence and make them be at peace with themselves. A truly virtuous man would not trade away the integrity behind it for anything, like by having sexual intercourse with women that look up to him and seek his spiritual support, as if his spirituality could be rewarded with carnality. That in itself would make him just as carnally minded as the ungodly. If the one writing this ever manages to spread out the message to people and restore the 'church' of God (the community of the true believers); then may God make him boring and unresponsive as a person, that people might learn to follow God alone and trust in His words, instead of following a 'charismatic' human leader and centre their lives upon him. Let it be duly noted that the one writing this has little by little accumulated moral lessons from God, as when the Israel people gathered 'manna' (heavenly bread) in the desert. And yet there is really nothing more behind the man writing this, since he is otherwise being an empty and restricted person. It can apply that if the spiritually discerning man is going to help a spiritually sick person then all words or correct arguments can be insufficient to begin with. It corresponds to that if a man would seek to convince an intoxicated person of that what is being rational, where every argument would fail to obtain reception because of the internal condition of the same person. Since the person is being spiritually sick then it experiences everything in a spiritually sick way, where the person is being so fearful and distracted and afflicted by the mind that it is no condition to receive a correct argument and understand it further and apply to its life. The mind does immediately distract the person and makes it misinterpret the correct argument, so that there is derived some improper meaning from it and it leads to improper response. Hence the spiritually discerning man must first pray for the wellbeing of the spiritually sick person, and bless that person with his presence, that the bad internal things might go away and good things enter instead. Once the person does experience inner peace and wide enough space within (opposite to the obsessive and narrowing thoughts) then the person is in better condition to be taught the right path, and to give itself time to understand it, and to find itself willing to do it.

Altruism is the same thing as a self-sacrifice, where it is willingly sacrificed any concerns for one’s self-image and self-interest that one can stay loyal to the divinity and obey its voice in humility. The man should love the divinity more than he loves himself, because the divinity loves him more than he loves himself and is in better position to know what is best for him. The faith in the divinity is the supreme means in loving and helping oneself, because it is  guaranteed that it will be treated oneself with self-awareness and self-knowledge and dignity (self-respect). It is not through the self that one becomes aware and knowledgeable and dignified, but one is being aware when one‘s self is involved, and one is being knowledgeable in confessing what can make one rise above the self, and one is able to maintain dignity by staying detached from the self while waiting for the divinity to pass verdict upon one (one is not being united with the self seeing oneself through the self, but one is seeing oneself through eyes of another beyond/outside the self). It can be added that one is able to maintain dignity through fair/even and principled dealings, by having treated other people as one wants to be treated by them, and that one can expect something comforting from the divinity when one is in need of comfort. Altruism is about benefiting the common good, the welfare of the whole people. The man does willingly choose to forfeit his selfish claims, and prefer the rightful cause above his own life, so the common undertaking can be more likely to harmonize and go smoothly. The man did at least do his part and give a good example to other people. If all men were as equally selfless then nothing would be impossible for them. If the man is truly noble in his soul then he will be willing to confess it when he is wrong about something, and then stand aside and make a room for a more worthy person with a better claim. And the noble man does never want other people to become troubled on his behalf and suffer for having made a wrong decision concerning his life. The noble man is already contented with his life and at peace, since the divinity has already saved his soul and delivered him from the evil nature. It does not matter whether the noble man can be deprived of everything around him, since he is already being rich in spirit. It is namely our compassion and mercy toward each other which is able to redeem us. We might fail and suffer defeat in our body, but we have still proven victorious in our spirit, since that we did at least attempt to help and deliver each other. But it is a shameful thing when the man chooses to be indifferent and refuses to help another person in distress. If everyone would behave in such way then the human race would be already doomed. The merciless bystander proves to be just as uncharitable as he that commits a crime against another person. The noble man does not care about any pain and shame which could befall him, for he is only concerned about preventing similar evils from befalling innocent persons, by helping them escape from it, or by reducing the harm from it. If the heart is already full of love then it will overflow any selfish desires that seek to infiltrate it, since the wrong things contradict the love had for oneself and other people. The noble man does not do good acts at random, but it is always in context with the love of the divinity. First the divinity loved the man, and next the divinity taught the man to love himself, and then finally was the man able to love other persons, since he already knows it of his own accord.

The divinity is capable of bestowing heavenly citizen rights to the man, which are meant to guarantee his self-love, spiritual freedom, reason, and bold aspiration. The human rights of the society are meant to appeal to and encourage corresponding rights from within, the humane side in the man and what is considered natural to him, so the man cultivate it further and become spiritually mature/complete. It can be said that just laws of a just society are meant to remove all needless restrictions, like ignorance, prejudices, superstition, and corruption, so these things will not get in the way of the human spirit. It should be discerned the spirit of the law, why such laws were made in the first place, what kind of behaviour the laws are meant to encourage or discourage from. It is in the nature of the justice to understand the human nature, what did originally happen from within, what motivated the man’s intentions and behaviour. It is first understood the man himself before it can be understood the things which come from him, why the man does speak and react and act in such way. For example, the man seeks food because he is already hungry, and he seeks the company of other people because he already cares about them or he already feels lonely. The human soul needs moral principles and privacy, even as the physical body needs food and shelter. All men are equal before the truth and the justice of the divinity, where every man shall be judged by the truth and the justice, whether the man has been abiding by the truth and the justice or siding away from it. The justice does not only reach to that in punishing crimes, but it is also about preventing it in the first place, by educating the citizens in virtue and creating ideal conditions in the society, so there will be no shortage internally and/or externally which can nurture errors. All crimes are originated in the deliberate will to sin, while the environment only got involved afterwards. People can experience the same living conditions and yet respond in a completely different way, where it has all to do about their internal activity with its interpretation and motivation. This is why it is more important to nullify/undo the will to sin than by applying all kinds of punishments. It can be treaded the moderate middle path by claiming that it should be sought to reform those criminals that repent while it should be punished those criminals that do not repent, instead of going too far by claiming that it should be sought to reform everyone or punish everyone as an end in itself. Even that it is afterwards punished a crime then it does still not deal with the original cause, what encouraged the man to commit crime. Living beings are the most precious resource upon the earth, where everything is made possible so long as they can continue to live and become better with the time. Only a living being is able to make a choice for itself, by repenting of its faults and do better next time, while a dead person is no longer able to do anything.

6.3: Overcoming the Fear

The man is not really struggling against himself in the mind, but he is really struggling against the impersonation of the mind. For the mind does pretend to be the man’s own voice, and makes it look like the man has consciously or unconsciously wanted such selfish thoughts to appear, when such process would either way happen automatically. The mind itself is the root of the problem, for it is thoughts that distort the man‘s vision of external things and other people into seeming problematic, and it is implicated fears and impulses to the external things, as if the latter had caused it or aroused such fears from within. But it did originally begin from within, according to the initiative of the mind, where it had in real nothing to do with the external things which were thought of at the same time. All the conceived reasons are a merely a pretext, because all temptations are originated from the mind’s malice, when deliberately seeking to corrupt and enslave the man. But it has nothing to do with the man himself, what he has hitherto experienced and done. If the man is afraid of unpleasant thoughts and imaginations then it means that he is really afraid of the mind, what kind of opposition the mind can threaten to inflict upon him. But if the man does no longer fear the mind itself then no external things will be able to scare him, since the fear does begin from within and it is then implicated to incidents and other people. The man must first overcome his own fears before he can overcome the world, where he must conquer himself before he can be able to conquer. It should be replaced the fear with hatred toward the mind and all the evilness which it stands for, as if the man’s hatred would prove stronger than his own self-preservation, forgoing any profit and pleasure that could otherwise be derived from selfishness. The man must be willing to sacrifice any weakness and dishonest gain in order to conquer the mind, as if it would be applied 'scorched earth policy' toward any selfish desire, since the mind could otherwise use it against him and obtain power over his will.

The struggle against the wicked is not originally about physical force. A spiritual force comes before physical force and determines the latter, where one should first maintain full self-control and then discern whether there is a need for physical force, instead of immediately losing all self-control and be manipulated into doing something when provoked by the wicked. The struggle against the wicked is first about wiping away all their evil influence/trace from one’s soul, and to make their remembrance cease within oneself, as if they they had been wiped off the face of the earth and that they no longer existed at all. It is kept renouncing all concerns and affections for the wicked until it is no longer turned the face to them at all and ever moved past them. It is like they are being dead to one and no longer there and never regarded in anything. Even so it should be treated the mind, the most wicked invisible adversary ever craving for one’s attention. We do not ask the divinity to humiliate our wicked  enemies and make them feel miserable. We do not ask the divinity to kill or destroy our wicked enemies. It is only sufficient that the divinity drive our wicked enemies out before us, and turn their attention away from us, and turn our attention away from them. That the divinity cast our wicked enemies out of our sight, and make them absent from our lives. An absent enemy equals a killed/dead enemy, involving the very same end, since that wicked enemy is no longer there and we are being rid of his presence. When we are being tested by the divinity then it is like the divinity does temporarily allow an invisible evil spirit to come in front of us, so that we temporarily experience evil thoughts or evil influence from the presence of that evil spirit. We do not know when the divinity will banish this evil spirit away from our lives, but what matters is that we confront that evil spirit long enough in rejecting it with firm determination. Once the divinity knows that is our true stance, and that we are being consistent in rejecting evil, even after all of this which has happened and despite all of this; then the divinity does deem it the proper time to cast that evil spirit out of our sight. When we have a difficulty resisting temptation then it is like we want to do two opposite things at the same time, which thereby makes it into an internal struggle/conflict. But even that we are being weak and unstable in our determination in fully rejecting evil; then the faith does still offer us a a way out of this, if we are at least willing to confess the truth about it, and that even after all this movement back and forth within then we still refuse to justify that corruption in being part of our lives. We acknowledge that this spiritual adversary is being strong or stronger than us (having some kind of hold over us), and yet we also acknowledge that this does not diminish the power of God in any way, since God is being just as capable in overcoming that adversary on our behalf. Whatever our failures and shortcomings (with its realization of our powerlessness); then God does ever remain the same person. By believing in a perfect being then it makes us, an imperfect being, able to do the perfect thing in the situation. By believing in a being which is higher than us then it makes us, whom have stumbled and fallen down on the ground, still able to rise up and rise above the hindrance and reach out for higher things in life.

The man must overcome any evil influence from within himself, which does manifest itself in selfish desires, delusions, and impulses. But in order to accomplish it the man must first look upon the mind in the same way as if a human adversary would be involved, unless that adversary is being positioned behind the man and cannot be seen. That adversary is constantly pointing at and lying about the things in front of the man, for the purpose of misleading and manipulating and corrupting and destroying the man from within. Therefore is that adversary doing everything in his power to undermine the man through personal attacks and provocations, in daring the man to do something wrong through a fear or covetousness of something else, by slandering and distorting the interpretation of the man’s intentions or that of other people. Now the man is not able to look behind himself and notice that human adversary, but the man is still the same able to hear his voice and understand what that adversary is saying to him. The man does allow such adversary to obtain power over himself for as long time as the man is willing to heed his lies and obey them. But if the man is going to overcome that adversary then he must refuse to heed him any further, and no longer want him to be part of the man’s life. This is why the man must be willing to endure any lie with full self-control, where it is not shown any sign of weakness or need for that adversary. The man must be willing to stand his ground and answer truthfully, for the purpose of convincing himself about the proper course, and in being consistent with his own conviction. The man is not really being alone with himself and struggling against himself, as if the man would constantly need to persuade himself of something opposite that which is being thought of and which he fears that he could do against his own consent. It does not involve an efficient struggle when it is overlooked the very presence of that  human adversary and the man resorts to indirect means to overcome the words of the adversary, like when the man is constantly repeating clichés with himself, relying upon methods and tricks in order to deceive himself, by attempting to change the words of the adversary into having another meaning. This is why it can be condemned psychology for being vainglorious and foolish, since it cannot be changed or convinced the mind to be of different nature than it already is.

The man should not be credulous when the mind pretends to be his own voice, by mistaking the will of the mind for being his own will and then attempt to justify that’s how he is like. A permanent ‘personality’ or qualities is a mere illusion. The voices and the tones in the mind are completely different from the man’s real voice, when the man does actually speak with his mouth and how it does sound to other people. The subjective voices might sound somewhat similar to the man’s voice, but it can still the same be sensed something different about them, pretentious and exaggerated. There exist ego-tones, quibbling tones, doubtful tones, arrogant tones, envious tones, flattering tones, covetous tones, and so forth, according to each vice. It can happen that the man heeds specific thoughts and allow them to change his mind/stance, so the man does then say something in egoistical or quibbling tone (childishly, immaturely), like when it is rebelled against the higher authority or disregarded the transparent truth in the situation. The mind is false and wicked, constantly lying and trying to deceive the man, but there is no truth or wisdom to be derived from the mind, as some kind of logical process of elimination. It is not like the man is able to outsmart the mind through similar craftiness and tricks. That to rely upon evil means against the evilness is to be still listening to the evilness how to overcome the evilness, and that makes these suggested evil means be bad advices leading to entrapment/entanglement. The mind can come up with a trick which seems to be simple and obvious, but there can actually be a greater trick behind it, appealing to the man’s pride and vanity. It is like the mind would first pretend that the man is winning the struggle and that it will make the man become confident in vanity, only to later shatter that vanity that the man will lose all confidence and despair of his life. It corresponds to that in warfare when an enemy army consisting of cavalry deliberately creates an opening for a part of the other army to seemingly escape, only to later encircle that part and massacre it. The man should not move over to the mind’s foundation and then attempt to overcome it there, since he will otherwise fight at a natural disadvantage and where the rules are biased against him. For example, the man can seek for answers upon a wrong basis, be occupied in a needless struggle against illusions, and obtain a ‘wrong’ victory at most (red herring), since he only ended up alienating himself from the truth and the goodness.

The subjective psychology might at first look well on paper, because the healthy psychologist does not experience aggressive and unpleasant thoughts all day long. But the mental patient can find himself in a position where he needs to endure constant interference of delusions and impulses, so he does not have the time to answer each and every interference. Each delusion can last about a second, while that in coming up with an answer to it can last for much longer time, so if the mental patient would seek to answer every delusion then he would need to be on the defensive all day long. That to be constantly reacting to thoughts would make the mental patient too self-absorbed to know and do anything else. It is much more efficient if the mental patient remains silent on his behalf and ignores every thought, while focusing upon actual choices in the reality. The mind is on the offensive when seeking to interrogate the man, by coming up with aggressive questions, quibbling and distorting every answer from the man, and accusing the man of everything. The person that asks the question is in better position than the one which answers it. For the questioner is constantly obtaining new information about the answerer, while the answerer is only revealing his own vulnerabilities and restrictions. The attention keeps being on the answerer when he is supposed to given an account of himself, while the questioner is being exempt of the same. So the questioner has everything to gain, while the answerer has everything to lose. This means that the answerer will make himself exposed to manipulation of the questioner, while he is trying to defend and explain and justify himself before the questioner. We can already discern that the hostile person is our enemy, constantly tempting and opposing us, so that anything we say will never be able to convince that person of anything. Therefore should we not seek to convince our enemy to cease his opposition, but we should rather convince ourselves in enduring it, with courage and firm resolution. Silence is the most efficient protection against any question and accusation and trick and trap, since it will either way ignore everything. The adversary will know nothing about us, what kind of person we are, and what kind of strengths and weaknesses we have, so that he will be unable to connect our internal activity with external lures and provocations. It is matter of overcoming our enemy in the long run, by being more patient than him, and being always willing to endure his opposition one more time.

Impulses like fear can befall the man at random, without being in relation to the circumstances that he is experiencing at that moment or what is actually being thought of while the fear does last. The man can all of a sudden experience fear that manages to affect his stability or even seem to overwhelm himself. The man does first experience a fear, and he does afterwards tend to assume all kinds of reasons in order to explain the fear, what had actually caused it, even that the fear itself emerged by the initiative of the mind. It is namely the mind which does produce a fear in the man’s body while he is in the presence of other people, while experiencing specific circumstances. But the man should not implicate the external matters to the fear in question, as if these incidental things had caused it, since the contrary thing does apply. It is the namely the mind which implicates the fear to the external things, in order to make the fear seem logical, even that the fear itself came first, and would either way have happened. The man can experience fear of something which he has still not participated in, and a fear of a specific location which he has still not arrived to. But the man is actually experiencing completely different circumstances during the fear, like when it feared to travel with an airplane even that the man is still on the ground and far away from it. Therefore has the fear in real nothing to do with the flight of the airplane, but it does only seem so because the man is thinking about such things at the same time. These thoughts and imaginations would otherwise not seem dreadful in the man’s eyes, if he was not experiencing any effects of the fear in his heart or body at the same time. It is because of the impulse, which seems to touch or get a hold of the man’s body in some way, affecting his stability, leading to instable breathing or pressure in his head. It is like the man’s sight was temporarily being shrouded in darkness, in only noticing and interpreting dark things to befall himself, as if he had already lost the struggle and lost his self-control.

The fear can be likened to that if an invisible adversary was positioned behind the man, and able to temporarily grab the man‘s body in an unpleasant way while the man is thinking about something at the same time. Now since the man cannot see that invisible adversary then he assumes that the unpleasant grabbing of his body is being caused by the words that he is hearing in the mind, or because of the place where he is now at. That might seem logical because the man has hitherto not experienced such fear elsewhere. The man does not need to stop everything in his life and first try to get rid of the fear, because the fear which accompanied the delusions could not have happened in any other way. It is being a spiritual test, and this unpleasant experience would otherwise not be a spiritual test if it did not have any effects upon the man. Just like that fear did appear at random then that same fear will vanish at random, sometime later on, since the divinity is capable of dispelling such fear on the man’s behalf. This is why the man should constantly move on with his life, in doing the things which he had intended for all along, before he had experienced that fear in the first place. The man does not need to try to save himself from the fear or try to get rid of the fear directly, but the matter is rather about that in showing courage and stoical mind after it has been experienced. This means that the man will still feel the fear from within, and yet the fear is still somehow made bearable and the fear does not manage to control the man‘s decisions/choices. The man is still able to undertake the challenges in question and endure them to the very end, even that the fear did not make the experience easy or delayed the man for some time. It should be learned to live with the fear, and as if the fear could exist alongside other matters. The man should willingly allow the fear to befall himself for as long time as possible, because it is something which can be endured rather than prevented from happening. The man does not need to give the fear further attention, nor try to sort out anything in the mind. It can happen that the man does not feel any fear in his heart, but he does still experience its symptoms in his body, like stammering, shaking limbs, or difficulty in breathing. So it might seem to give the wrong impression that the man is being afraid of something, and other people will presume so, unless it is no context with his current attitude.

If one does begin loving one‘s enemy then one will also begin ceasing to fear one‘s enemy. That to love another person and being concerned about its wellbeing does somehow make things turn out in a lucky way. It is like the courage itself as good quality does freely intervene on behalf of those that love. The little child that was being sincere and innocent was being watched over by the courageous and strong angel of God. One was not being prepared for anything and one did never seek to encourage oneself in being courageous, and yet somehow one was able to approach the adversity with a stoical mind and things went smoothly. It is like things happened so fast that one did not have time to become fearful, and it was by some luck that one was able to do the right/necessary thing during the experience. Because the divinity showed one grace and mercy then this seemingly bad experience turned into a good experience of one‘s behalf, where this lucky internal condition came as a free gift and one was being carried forth by the breath/wave of courage without actually realizing that it was being courage. That to love can lead to the same beneficial end as if courage was being involved. God managed to appeal to the better side in the persons involved. The people simply found it in themselves to let go of their resentment. Nobody needed to fight anyone for victory. Nobody needed to seek directly for courage in order to resolve the matter. Nobody won and nobody lost, because nobody became exalted at the expense of someone else. For example, we can regularly encounter a specific person which is being rude and pressing/demanding toward us. This does not mean that we should ask God for help in order to repay evil with evil. We should not seek for something bad which we could rely on and use against that specific person. We should rather keep asking God to bless that person, and keep asking God to help us bear with that person. We keep seeking for good things which can be relied on and used for that person. Every time that the person reveals a sign of weakness then we show mercy and we never mention it to anyone. Every time that our enemy falls into our hands and we are in a better/higher position in passing verdict upon him; then we do still choose to let him go with his dignity intact. When some time has passed (we do not know when and we have not been expecting anything) then that specific person simply ceases to be rude and pressing of its own accord. Things just happen. When God decides something then people are being blown in that direction (their inclination). They no longer feel/experience the need for that in doing the wrong thing. It can happen that the man is being beset with all kinds of adversity and distractions of the world. That includes that when the man is constantly misunderstanding the situation and committing unintentional mistakes, and revealing his ignorance and weaknesses to other people, which can be afterwards hard for him to know of and live with. And yet it is being uncalled for that the man should seek to save himself from it and/or try to overcome his enemies directly (by trying to divert the attention to someone else and attacking his weaknesses in order to conceal own weaknesses). It is like most of these things most of the time was being irrelevant distractions, an one big illusion which there is no need to try sorting out. The only thing needful/necessary in the situation is for the man to keep his eyes open when he comes across a person in need/distress and to show mercy to that person. That is really the only meaningful choice amidst all these adversity and distractions of the world. The man did at least show mercy to a person in a more exposed position and he is being redeemed by that choice. The divinity will also show mercy to the man when he finds himself in a vulnerable position, and the mercy in itself will make up for all the things found lacking in his life.

It can be said that the man’s life does not have any worth in itself (lonesome, separately), but it only haves value while he is able to do the right thing, in living for a higher cause, in helping and benefiting other persons. The man should thereby choose to continue to live if the benefits do outweigh the bad things, if he is able to endure and fight another day for the good cause, and save more people in the process. But the man should otherwise not choose life through base and degrading means, like by complying with the wicked demands of wicked men and become enslaved by them, by betraying and persecuting innocent persons in order to avoid that of being himself targeted/persecuted, or by doing anything which is unbecoming the man as a dignified human being. The man should welcome pain and death if it is preferable to a dishonourable survival, where the man is either way not able to do further service to the goodness except by sacrificing himself, and thereby in/through death freeing himself from the power of wicked enemies. In can be mentioned when the man’s enemies possess information which can be used against him, like concerning faults from the past or something deemed shameful. These enemies do thereby threaten to reveal that information openly, unless the man does comply with their demands, since the alternative would otherwise seem humiliating to him and to his people. The most prudent thing is to consider such information something which is already out of his reach, since the man was not able to prevent it before it was too late. The man should rather focus upon that in enduring the humiliation when it will happen, and suffer for that in being consistent with himself. It is preferable to that in falling under the evil influence/control of the blackmailers. The man did perhaps commit faults in the past, but it is no longer relevant if the man has already repented and is doing the right thing in the present time. It does not make any sense if the man would again commit faults in the present time, by yielding to the demands of evil men and give them power over his will, just so that other people will not know about the faults which belonged entirely to the past. This is why it is prudent to turn the thing upside down, and respond in the exact opposite way. It would be better if the whole world would know about the man’s past faults, while he is able to maintain his will free and be at peace with himself. It is a preferable option than if the man would keep such faults secret to the whole world, while being slave to evil men at all time, even that he can pretend to be free in the eyes of other people.

The worst case scenario consists in that when wicked men have an innocent person as a hostage, someone which the man cares about and is afraid that it can come to harm. The man should be willing to sacrifice himself if possible and switch places with that person, or by offering any transient riches in order to guarantee that person’s release, since that a living being is always more important than any lifeless things (money, objects). But it is different when the blackmailers threaten to harm their hostage, unless the man will help promote their evil ends, at the expense of other innocent people in the process. If the man does comply with the blackmailers then he will give them even more power to inflict harm, so it is sought to escape from one danger to a greater one. For the man can seek to save an innocent person that he knows, while disregarding innocent persons that he does not know, even that they do otherwise share corresponding position. These wicked men possess the will to commit evil deliberately, in harming and abusing innocent persons at any time and any place, in complete disregard for truth and sense of decency. So that nothing good ever comes out from that in helping the wicked men, since they still possess the same evil intentions and they still can still commit evil all of a sudden. The man should never help a wicked person, which does at the same time want to harm him and his beloved ones, whether that wicked person will attempt to do so now or in the future. It does not make any sense that the man should seek to make that wicked person more powerful, in better position to commit evil against innocent persons, and more likely to get away with it. Imagine if a terrorist would take one person hostage, and then threaten to harm that hostage unless he will get two hostages, and so forth, until he will be in position to corrupt and destroy everyone. This is why it should never be complied with the demands of terrorists, because it will otherwise encourage them to commit similar crimes in the future. First it happens that wicked persons take someone hostage and then threaten to harm that hostage unless the man will pay ransom and/or comply with their demands. Next these wicked persons will make use of that same money and advantages to draw more wicked persons to their cause, and to further their wicked operations in taking more hostages and blackmailing more beloved ones of hostages.

Every good or evil act is originated in the man’s will to do so, where he has already chosen and sided with either influence from within, even before he has committed the actual deed. In this world can be experienced pain, shame, loss, and death. It is actually the evil man which degrades himself when he does commit an evil deed and mistreats an innocent person. The innocent person suffering an evil has not done anything wrong, nor wished for anything wrong to happen. That person should not have any guilt over the matter, nor feel responsible for it. It can be mentioned Aesop’s fable when a mischievous man sought to prove that a particular oracle was a fraud. That man held a live sparrow in his hand from behind or underneath a cloak, and he wanted to ask the oracle whether that bird was alive or dead. For that if the oracle would say that the bird was alive then the man would crush the bird in his hand, and then present it forth as dead. But if the oracle would say that the bird was dead then the man would present it forth unharmed. However, the oracle did tell that man that it was depended upon him alone, whether that he was holding was dead or alive. It should be looked upon this in context with that when wicked men threaten to harm their hostage, someone that the man involved cares about, unless he will further their evil designs. It is the wicked men alone which commit the wicked act, but it is not fault of those who have refused to comply with their wicked demands. The wicked men might perhaps proclaim that it was all that man’s fault, that his inactivity guaranteed that the hostage would be harmed by them, instead of being saved. However, the wicked men choose to interpret things in an evil way and they made the evil choice. Nobody forced them to do it, and it had nothing to do with the choices of other people. The wicked men would either way have distorted the interpretation of everything, by deriving an evil meaning from it, seeking for pretexts in order to justify their evil acts. It does of course not matter whether the man in question gets all the blame or not, so long as the hostage can be saved or spared further harm. But the man should seek to deliver the hostage in honourable way, without being at the expense of someone else. A person capable of such wicked things (blackmail, taking hostage and threatening to harm him/her) is also capable of being false (lying about everything) and betraying its promises. Even if the man would do everything in a faithful way on his behalf then the wicked person would still respond to everything in a treacherous way. It is not a question of money (how much money), but about the recipient of the money. The matter is not about that whether the man (being targeted for blackmail) could receive blame or be held responsible for bad consequences, or that he should seek to gratify his self-image in being caring for his beloved ones by complying with everything which the wicked person demands from him. For that by giving money to a wicked person does not end the matter, since that wicked person will make use of that same money to promote further wickedness to other people. It should not be sponsored a wicked person in sponsoring wickedness, when a wicked person draws other wicked people to its wicked cause and bribes people in important positions to give their support in corrupting the society.

If a blackmailer has two innocent persons as hostages and he gives the man a choice between saving one person while dooming another to death; then it would be most ideal if the man would choose himself to be the one doomed to death while these two persons would be allowed to go free. (But that is something unlikely to happen because of the wicked disposition of the blackmailer, since the blackmailer wants to manipulate the man into doing something that will be hard for him to bear.) Or if a blackmailer has two innocent persons as hostages and he gives the man a choice between saving one person while dooming another to death; then the man should consider that what the hostage involved would have wanted and answered for itself. A decent person would be willing to die that another decent person might live instead, and thereby not feel regret that the man would make choice to that effect. And if the man would have to choose between saving one innocent person that he knows (personal attachment) and many innocent people that he does not know (strangers); then it can be taken into consideration what that one innocent person would afterwards feel about that if the man would choose to save that person at the expense of many innocent people. Would not that person experience disapproval and regret that its survival came at the cost of many innocent people? Hence if the persons involved are being decent persons then they find consolation in their decency toward one another. The decent person that has to make the hard choice should not become tormented over guilt of having doomed one person to die in order to save other persons, if the very same doomed person understood that choice and approved of it and would have wanted the same.

The wicked person is already guilty and accursed, pronouncing its own harsh verdicts and falling into the very same trap which it had intended for innocent people. The wicked person may escape from the authority of men, but it can never do so from within, when it is experienced spiritual death, emptiness, torment, chaos, insanity, and maladies. The divinity is able to make the innocent person of stoical mind, when it comes approach adversity with humility and go through it with longsuffering. The divinity is also able to comfort the person, give it hope, raise its spirit, and heal its spiritual wounds. And the divinity is always able to have the final word, in passing the final verdict, both during this human existence and in the next existence. This means that the wicked men will never prove victorious in the end, even that they are able to hide their crimes from other people and escape from the human authority. For the divinity knows everything and is able to make anything happen, so the wicked men will surely be punished after death, experiencing far greater suffering than anything humanly conceived of and inflicted by human hands. The divinity can also create a new world and a new life for the innocent persons, so the persons will no longer remember the suffering and shame that belonged to the past. The human existence in this world is being a test, which determines what kind of existence is had next, for better or worse. Even if a wicked person would manage to come out on top of this world and rule the whole world; then the wicked person would still end up defeated and lose everything upon death, since the wicked person has failed the test and it is not deemed worthy for a better afterlife. This is why the wicked men do only ambush their own soul, when they threaten to harm innocent persons. For the wicked person is threatening to commit a wicked act, which will guarantee that the wicked person will be in danger of hell fire, be doomed to end there for all eternity. The innocent person does on the other hand obtain hope in its suffering, because the divinity can always nullify any bad experience and resurrect the person in the next existence.

6.4: External Adversity

Now the man can show a sign of selfishness or self-righteousness in his bearing, but it is still not the same thing as if he was evil or that he could not be redeemed. For the man can have his faults in small matters while he does otherwise prove to be scrupulous in the greater matters. That man does really love other persons and he is there for them in life, is humble enough to repent of his faults and confess it, and is understanding and merciful toward other people in distress. It can happen that the man commits some faults, but it does still involve a mistake or accident on his behalf, something caused by ignorance on his behalf. So the man did never commit evil in a deliberate way, nor was it directed personally against anyone. A person can show a sign of weakness in its human frailty, but it can still have the heart in the right place, since the person would have done the right thing if it would only know better and be given the chance. The person did not know what it was doing, where it was like a unwary child with good intentions being misled by an adult with bad intentions (higher forces at work behind the scene). An ignorant person thought/believed it was doing the right thing when it turned out to be a wrong thing, and that person was unintentionally being wrong about something when it thought it was telling the truth (based on automatic assumptions, an inaccurate memory). An angry person was not thinking clearly and not being in full control of its temper when it retaliated evil with evil, and that person was being so blinded in the heat of the moment that it did not foresee the damage that its action would lead to. So it is a fact that the ignorant or angry person did something wrong, but it can still be said in that person‘s defence that it was not being led by deliberate and calculating ill will (malice). Or an unhappy person does know that drunkenness and fornication is being wrong, and that person really tries to resist its urges and stay sober. But since the person lacks faith in dealing with its internal activity in the long run; then it succumbs to its weakness. But it can be said in the defence of that person that it kept repenting and trying again to do the right thing, without giving itself wholly over to the wrong things. That person did at least try to do something right within the wrong things, by trying to do wrong things in a less wrong way and still maintain some degree of decency, by being open about that how things really are and not try to make it seem like something else. It is a misguided thing when it is tried to mix right things with wrong things, and yet that person did what it could in its human weakness while knowing little and possessing little strength. But a truly wicked person does know what is being true and right, and yet it deliberately chooses to disregard it. And that person does know what is being false and wrong, and yet it deliberately chooses to do it, while being internally stable and in full control of itself, without being under any compulsion or seeming forcing of circumstances. The wicked person does give itself wholly over to the lies and wickedness of the mind, and it wholly conspires with other wicked people in undermining and destroying the righteous. The wicked person wholly betrays the truth and goodness of the human spirit, and it wholly betrays the human people in their human weakness. It should be evaluated each person by its merit, where every good quality should be commended and acknowledged, regardless of that whether that person is our friend or enemy. Even that the man has been persecuted by his enemies then he is still unable to predict the future, whether some of them will repent or not, in becoming a better person and able to help other people in distress. So the man may not understand it now in his current position, but perhaps later on his enemies can finally be converted from within. This is why the man should not wish for the downfall of his enemies. For such people may be ignorant now and not know what they are doing, but these persons can later on experience similar adversity in their own life and be taught humility by it. So that for as long as that person continues to live then it can be given a further chance to be spiritually redeemed.

It can apply that a person is being hostile and resentful toward the man, not because that person is being evil, but because it is being unhappy and unsatisfied with its life. That person has been discriminated and excluded by the group/majority, and it has not yet experienced acts of kindness and mercy from a noble man that is genuinely concerned about its welfare. If that person would feel good and become contented with its life; then it would become grateful enough to let go of its hostility and resentment. Hence we should pray for those that are being hostile and resentful toward us, that the divinity might help them to feel good and be at peace with themselves, that they will no longer care about their subjective problems and forget all about them. Just like a person can be quick to become resentful over bad/unfair treatment then it can become quick to become grateful over good/generous treatment, where little good things can rouse the person to repentance and decency once it has been experienced, and convince that person to turn away from great and many sins. It can apply that a person is being so accustomed to that in being treated in a good way by other people that the good things fail to reach to the heart of that person. All these good things, no matter how great and many, fail to rouse gratitude and repentance and humility in the person. But if that person would for once experience what it is like to be selflessly good and to do good to another person (instead of receiving it); then it would acquire 'taste' for the goodness and be encouraged to do good again. When the person does now know it for itself what it is like to be good then it will also learn to appreciate that in being treated in a good way by other people. The person will confess it with itself that it is being treated better than it deserves, and it will thank the divinity for all the good people that are in its life. When it is raised a child then it should be created opportunities which appeal to its giving/generous side, instead of the child always being on the receiving side. If the man does truly repent in his heart of all the suffering which he has caused to other people; then he should never become dejected in spirit or overwhelmed by his guilt. For the divinity has made that man capable of repenting in the first place, and humble enough to confess that he has been at fault. This is why the man is both able to ask for forgiveness and receive it, because the divinity has prepared his heart and soul from within. The man should consider himself fortunate, that the divinity loves him enough to make such repentance possible, making the man worthy to be redeemed in its eyes. But if the man was truly irredeemable then he would never experience any repentance in his heart, where he would be indifferent to the suffering of other people, be proud and stubborn enough in continuing with his evil ways, and that without confessing anything. The humble sinner does on the other hand assume responsibility of his choices, and he is able to become a better person after having repented of his faults. For that man does not repeat such errors again, not against the same persons, and not against people in similar position. But that man has already improved from within and in his conduct as well. When it was repented then it was sought to do better next time in a corresponding situation, henceforth. When the man succeeded following it through then he made peace with his conscience. But when a wicked man does not experience any repentance then it is because he is still being punished from within, and brought to even more shame by the divine justice. It is because the divinity has not restrained nor disciplined that wicked man in any way, which would otherwise have preserved him from greater corruption and troubles. But this process will continue to escalate while that man remains so proud and stubborn.

When wicked people are involved then they commit evil in a deliberate way, and it is directed against the person, for the purpose of causing it harm and shame and loss. The wicked man seeks to mislead the person, to corrupt and destroy it from within. This makes the wicked man already guilty in his intentions, even before he has actually said or done anything, since he has wished for evils to befall an innocent person and rejoiced over its misfortune. This is why it should be rejected wicked people from the outset, because they are already contemptuous and covetous in their heart, false and treacherous, and hypocritical in all their dealings. It should not be regarded the wicked people nor had any company with them, since that nothing which one can do on their behalf is able to change them for the better. Even that the man can do a good act toward a wicked person then the latter will still never see it as a good act, where it will neither acknowledge nor appreciate its significance. For the wicked person is already corrupt and spiritually distorted, which makes it interpret everything in a corrupt and distorted way, suspecting other people of the same false and treacherous intentions as itself possess. The wicked person does consider the goodness of other people to be a weakness, something which can be exploited against them, to betray their trust and turn against them when given the opportunity. The decent people can do the right thing toward the wicked person, through pure and good intentions, but that person will still always choose to see something contemptuous and covetous about it. The ideal thing is to love all people in an unconditional way and treat them in a decent way. But it does still not mean that one should trust everyone and/or seek to have company with everyone. One should still not seek for the company of the wicked men while they continue to be wicked. It is not like one should consider oneself in need of the wicked men or crave their approval, but they are the ones which must first have an initiative to repent and be converted by the divinity, before they can begin to approach other people in a true and honest way.

It can happen that the man allows himself to be deceived by delusions, which make him continue to have company with wicked people in order to help them and change them for the better, since the man will otherwise experience guilt over that in deliberately shunning their presence. However, if all previous effort has hitherto been fruitless then it will also be so in the future, because the wicked people continue to have the same heart and mindset in all things. No man is able to help and/or change the wicked person, but it is ultimately depended upon its choice alone, whether that person will sincerely repent in its heart and turn to the divinity for redemption. The matter is only between that person and the divinity, what is heeded and chosen from within, whether it is preferred truth and moral principles of the human spirit over the extreme and unrestrained influence of the mind, or the other way around. The wicked person will otherwise blame everyone and everything for its own evil choices, as if other people had first started the problem and that person is merely repaying them in the same way. But if that person would find itself all abandoned and isolated then it would discover that all such evil desires and delusions is bound to itself alone, since that person continues to crave such things even that other people are absent. It is not like the man does first need to have friendship with wicked people and be betrayed by them, before that man can finally cease to trust them and reject further dealings with them. It can already be felt something off about them at the very outset. It can already be discerned dubious signs in their bearing. It can already be read between the lines during the human relations, in sensing something false and contemptuous and covetous in the eyes of the wicked person, and where its tone proves to be pretentious and egoistical. It can be noticed that person having the eyes and smile of wickedness (gloating), the eyes and smile of the devil. The wicked person can all of a sudden let out an improper opinion, like when it is spoken shamelessly about indecent things like any ordinary topic, or too lightly about the misfortunes of other people. And when the wicked person notices another person in a weakened state then it immediately seeks to exploit the opportunity, by openly revealing it to everyone and seeking to exalt itself at the expense of the other person and to weaken that person even further. The wicked person did originally not dare anything while the other person was being healthy and strong, but when the other person becomes sick and weak then the wicked person does everything in its power to keep that person sick and weak, and thereby denying that person recovery from it. When the wicked keep using the bad past of the person against the person then it is like the wicked keep wetting and reopening the spiritual wounds of the person, so the wounds are unable to heal while that person is given no space/privacy to  move on with its life. That to deny a person a healthy/ordinary life is no different from that in murdering a person.

The wicked person is already insincere in its intentions, having ulterior motives behind its outward speech and gesture. That person is unable to suppress the signs that follow treacherous desires and thoughts. It does correspond to a fair-weather friend to some extent, where that person is the first one to seek us and pretend to be our friend when we experience a time of prosperity. But that person will be the first one to abandon us and turn against us when we experience a time of adversity and there is no longer any advantage to be had from us. It is a sign that such person was never our friend to begin with, because that person did never have any sincere and good intentions when we accepted it as our ‘friend’. It can happen that the man does have a friendship with a wicked person, even that he does not find himself in such bad company and he dislikes the person, so he does no longer feel any longing in continuing such friendship. But the man, against his willingness and better judgment, does still not choose to end such friendship, because of his misplaced concern for the wicked person. It is because the man is afraid of making that person upset and unhappy, if he does cease to give that person attention and has no further dealings with it. The man is thereby inventing these or those reasons which seek to justify further friendship with the wicked person, as if there was something good about it or to be hoped for in the future. But all such enumerated reasons are made upon a wrong basis, because they have nothing to do with the actual person, its attitude and choices in general.  For it is like the man could invent such ‘positive’ reasons about anyone in order to justify anything, without being in context with current circumstances and his personal experience, how the matters have hitherto been and will continue to be in the future. These ‘positive’ reasons do not change anything about that wicked person and what it is capable of, but the man must rather make decisions based upon facts and adapt to the situation.

The spiritual soil in the wicked person is already barren, where nothing good can be aroused in it, regardless of that whether one can have good intentions and wish to help it in some way. The goodness is meant to lead to good reception, in benefiting the man from within and making him a better person, in increasing his good faith and understanding and capability in the process. If the man’s effort for the sake of a wicked person does not lead to anything good; then it means that such an effort was never being influenced by the goodness in the first place. The goodness did never encourage the man to throw his ‘pearls before the swine’, because the goodness did already know it in advance that all such effort would be doomed to failure. The wicked person is already closed in advance, and no man will be able to convince that person otherwise, since that wicked person has already rejected the divinity from within itself. It does not matter whether the wicked person had once done favours to the man, because it does still not justify that he should be obliged to repay the wicked person with complicity in corruption. For that a good act should call for another good act, rather than an evil one. It can be mentioned when a wicked person has hitherto never appreciated anything which the man has done for it, no matter how great and many things. It has nothing to do with the man himself and what he should ‘rather’ have done, but it has everything to do about that person’s ingratitude and inner emptiness. It would not have mattered if the man had been perfect and made some great accomplishments, because that wicked person would still not acknowledge it nor appreciate anything. That wicked person is expecting too much and demanding too much from the man, while the wicked person is not expecting and demanding anything similar from itself. That makes the wicked person have a hypocritical standard, which makes it self-condemned in its ways. That to waste time and effort upon an hypocritical person; is a time and effort that could have been invested in a decent person. Just like weeds take the soil and deny that soil to beneficial plants; then a company with a hypocritical person makes one miss out on company with decent persons, which would otherwise have made one feel good in doing good to and receiving good from. That to hate evil and to separate oneself from an evil company is necessary if one is going to aspire for good things and make good use of one’s life. Otherwise one would always be spiritually stuck in seeking to gratify selfish and ungrateful people, where one would neglect to change within while seeking to change them, even as when it is sought to change the nature of the mind.

The man should invest his time and effort upon a mutual friendship, which is most giving to both persons, since they know how to appreciate what the other one is doing. It should thereby be cultivated further relationship with those that do already love in an unconditional way. If a person does already love us then that person will continue to love us, no matter what can happen and change in the situation. But if a person does not already love us then it will either way not love us when some conditions have been met, since such conditions were put forward by unloving attitude. Hence we should not seek to gratify unworthy persons that are incapable of loving us, while we neglect the decent persons that do already love us. If the man is going to separate himself from a wicked person then he must sever all direct and indirect communication with it, no matter what that person can attempt to do about it. It is not like the man does first need to explain himself before that person, since that person will either way disregard the truth and continue to obtrude into his life. The man should rather convince himself in continuing to reject that person, when it comes to shun dealings with that person in all forms and never reveal any sign of weakness to it. It should thereby never be made any compromises, nor given in to any demands. Now the wicked person can come up with excuses and promise to behave better in the future, but it does still not involve a genuine repentance. For that person is only coming up with a temporary outward show in order to convince the man that it is being repentant, while that person has not convinced itself of repentance from within. There is no genuine conviction and understanding behind that which the wicked person might seem to be doing as an amend, as if that person was merely pretending to be ‘human’ because that was something to be expected from it. The wicked person can change its manner of speech and gesture, by pretending to be ‘good’ for some time, but it does never involve any right underlying premises/intentions. Let‘s say that the wicked person does really repent and carries an endeavour in improving itself, regardless of that whether the man will believe it or not, forgive it or not, welcome it or not. That attitude and conduct proves to be genuine at that moment, and yet it is also a matter of that whether the person will remain so, by being consistent with it in the long run. The man can thereby still understandably be wary of the person and be justified in that of not giving it his trust too hastily. But both of them can go their separate way for some time, and focus upon their own lives. For the man can very well have a decent life without that person, and that person can very well have a decent life without the man. But perhaps can it be begun a new friendship sometime in the future, if that person has proven itself honest and reliable in its own affairs.

The man can find himself living in a place where the majority of the people are hostile and discriminating to him. It can apply that the man is innocent, where he has done nothing wrong in order to deserve such treatment, but he is being persecuted for not being as corrupt as that people. Or it can apply that the man does have a bad reputation because of the faults of his past life, so it is like he is being condemned and shunned in advance, even that he has already repented and improved.  If the man does find himself in such position then it has in real nothing to do with his person and what he can do about it. It is not like the man does first need to prove himself in the eyes of other people before he can finally be accepted by them, or by seeking to convince that people to cease their disrespect. For these people are already biased and closed in advance through an ill will. The man should thereby not consider himself obligated to stay in such place and continue to look for company with such people. But the man should rather seek to begin a new life, at a new place with a new people, which is solely for his own sake and not for anyone else, since the man should do things according to his own premises. It can of course happen that some person are good and friendly to the man, but it does still not mean that he is obligated to stay in such place, only for their sake, especially if these persons do already have an acceptable life. A similar thing can apply when the man does have false and treacherous friend, which is constantly going behind his back and does not appreciate his company. For that false friend can be friendly to the man sometimes in between, but the man should still not feel guilt over that in wanting to end the friendship, since the man is already unhappy and vexed most of the time.

It can be hard for a sinner to become a new and better person while the people of that place continue to see and judge/treat him as the same bad person of the past. They are ever questioning his motives, always seeing/interpreting something bad about every choice he makes, and inventing something new to hold against him. The sinner is ever seeing himself through their hostile eyes, and it can be such a distracting experience for him that he treats himself as such (loss of faith in himself, low self-esteem, repeating again the faults that he had tried to avoid). However, the repentant and improved sinner does not really need to say or do anything about this. He can continue to move on with his life and do the right thing, while he willingly allows all these hostile people to  judge him and slander him behind his back. For that man is not judging anyone for their faults and he is showing mercy to those that live in weakness, while these hostile people continue to judge him for the past faults and they are showing no mercy to those that live in weakness. These hostile people judge themselves by judging others, since they have been committing corresponding faults which they accuse others of. These people have not been doing things any better than those they judge so harshly, and they have not been experiencing the same difficult positions that they have been putting other persons into. These hostile people will only turn out to be hypocrites in the long run, when it is manifested that the persecuted person has changed for the better and is now doing the right thing, while these hostile people have still failed to change and they are still doing the wrong thing. Hence it is best to allow the weaknesses of our enemies to prove their own undoing, without ourselves needing to regard them or lift up a finger for them. All this superficial and hypocritical prattle of our enemies subjects them under the same superficial and hypocritical standard. Hence we are actually being prudent by allowing them to prattle as much as possible and to take care of everything from their end. We should not regard those who sit comfortably and speak ill of those that are distant, being themselves far away from all hard choices and circumstances, without daring to confront anything or openly stand up for that which they claim in secret.

Wicked people are either unwilling or unable to withstand the selfish thoughts in their lives, and hence they fail to change in their lives. When the wicked people realize they cannot overcome these selfish thoughts/problems then they try to divert their attention from this, by judging and slandering and persecuting those persons which are able to rise above these things. These selfish thoughts have managed to make the wicked people so resentful and angry and bitter that they seek someone as a target to unleash their frustration upon, as if that was supposed to make their problem go away or make them forget all about it. When a wicked person is alone with its thoughts then it becomes fearful and cowardly when the thoughts manage to affect its self/ego, and that person allows itself to be enslaved and controlled by the mind. Next the wicked person reacts to this by pretending to be courageous when provoking innocent people, as if that was supposed to exalt the wicked person and make it seem powerful in the eyes of other people. But none of this would have happened if the wicked person been manly enough to endure the thoughts in its life, without being so proud/sensitive and receiving things too personally, without being so quick to lose patience and give up. The wicked person that openly seemed to act so tough was really being motivated by unmanly reasons in secret (fearing about its image and reputation among other people, fearing giving a wrong impression in the eyes of other people). The wicked people have failed to become virtuous in their own lives, and yet they presume that if they punish ‘sinners’ for their sins then that is supposed to make up for all the good things they lack in their own lives. They try to make it seem like the victim is supposed to have done something bad to make it into a bad person and that it deserves to be badly treated by them. The wicked people are still doing bad things to other people, whatever the reasons/pretexts behind it. They look as far back as they can to ‘dig up’ something bad from the past and then try to hide behind it when making their attacks, since they could otherwise not openly persecute a good person for being a good person. Because the wicked are being wicked then they will never confess the true motivation behind their actions and never openly agree that the good is being good. The divinity is the ultimate judge which decides who is being forgiven and having his sins forgotten, and who is being condemned and having his sins revealed. The wicked people should first and foremost be concerned about giving account of their own sins to/before the divinity. It can be come up with a following parable about hypocrisy. Three men participate in an archery contest. The first man manages to hit the mark. The second man misses the mark. The third man misses the mark further away. The second man now presumes himself to be in position to condemn and mock the third man for having missed the mark further away, even that he himself neither hit the mark. That makes the second man into a self-condemned hypocrite. Instead of trying to improve himself and manage to hit the mark; then he spends his time belittling those that are trying to improve themselves and hit the mark (repentant sinners).

If the man has been brought up in a place where the majority of the people are hostile and discriminating to him; then it is too time-consuming and energy-draining for him to keep answering and reacting to every disrespectful move of theirs. If the man is constantly on the defensive and following the initiative of his enemies; then he will remain spiritually stagnant (fail to grow as a person). But if the man continues to disregard his enemies while focusing upon that in growing as a person; then he will in the end become spiritually strong and wise enough to outgrow his enemies. The man will no longer feel the need to say or do anything in regard to these enemies, since they only seemed to be big in the man's eyes while he had been little/immature in the past. But now the man has become a different person, doing different things, and faring in a different way, while these enemies are still stuck on the same things in their lives. It is enough to let the silent accomplishments speak for themselves and let them disprove the problem, when it is already transparent who has been doing things which work out and who has been doing things which do not work out, who is now being better off and who is now being worse off. Let’s say that enemies mock or accuse the man of being bad in a particular sport. Then the man should not put a stop to the training while producing endless arguments in order to convince his enemies otherwise. But the man should rather disregard his enemies while focusing upon the training in that sport, until the man has become good enough in the sport to disprove all false/unjustified claims. Even so we should not quarrel with our enemies when they ascribe something bad to our person, but we should rather focus upon that in becoming a better person. We should cease to repeat things that are blameworthy and instead surpass our enemies in virtue. These hostile people presume that they can hide behind the group when doing evil, convince each other and agree among themselves that the man is an object of contempt. If the man is stationed at an unfavourable place and being outnumbered then he should not seek to fight an enemy here or there. But the man should rather 'pull up the ground under the enemies', along with them all, and 'throw it into the sea'. That to 'pull up the ground under the enemies' is to not desire the things that they desire, and not to pursue the things that they pursue (debauchery), and not to have the bad qualities that they have, and not to seek to become like them and one of them. The man should rebuke and chasten them all as a group, by making the same rule befall them all and without making any exception for anyone. The man keeps being indifferent to all of them, shunning them all, and moving past them all. It is not like the man would only disregard some of them while regarding others, have no initiative in talking to some of them while being the first one to talk to others, or seek no company with some of them while seeking the company of others. But the man should consider that group to be the one and same person, and treat them as one and the same person (all of the same bad sort). First the man should move away from that place and live elsewhere, that he might have a proper space and peace to grow as a person, and that the hostile people might no longer find shelter in their numbers. Then if a hostile person from that place ever comes over to the man's place (his basis) and they come across one another somewhere sometime by chance; then the man should focus upon withstanding that person as a single and isolated enemy. It is not about fighting everyone at the same time, but rather to focus upon one enemy at a time, until the next one, as if the rest of them were waiting in a row. So when the man finally meets with one of the hostile people then he treats it with utter indifference, without regarding that person the slightest, without saying or doing anything for it, while the man keeps doing his intended thing and moving on with his life. Spiritual victory is determined by that which person considers itself less in need of the other person, and which shows less attention to the other person. It is a question of that who goes back to the other, and who goes after the other, who is the first one to lose patience and have an initiative in seeking the other's attention. Even if an enemy does openly speak bad of the man then it is still a sign of the enemy's weakness, since he is the one constantly giving the man attention with this and chasing after him. That enemy would not be doing this unless he was constantly thinking about the man. But the persecuted man who thinks little as possible of that enemy, and never mentions him at all, and never goes over to him; that same man does hold the higher ground. It is not about convincing our enemies to cease their disrespect or to make them suffer, but rather to rise above them all and be wholly free of their influence. And if we really want to insult our enemies in a discreet way then we should continue to be spiritually free and happy regardless of them, as if all of them were being expendable to us, having nothing to offer in regard to spiritual progress and happiness. They are being shut out and excluded from the bright time we are having, where they get no share in our time of prosperity which they had no part in promoting. We are being better off without them, while they are being worse off without us. It can now be noticed the bright countenance of those that were persecuted and driven out of that hostile place, and also the bright countenance of former persecutors that have already repented and are now having the heart in the right place, where the divinity is being gracious to them and shining on them and making them prosperous. It can be noticed a clear difference between the righteous and the wicked, when righteous people are drawn to other righteous people and keeping to that side, when they are being separated from the company of the wicked and maintaining their distance from them and not going over to the other side.

Even that some of the people are now being open and friendly toward the man during his regained time of prosperity; then he should still not allow it to ensnare him into returning back to the people as a group. Otherwise he will soon find himself back in the same position of being disrespected and provoked by worthless people, and have his current prosperity undermined by them. But the man should be mindful of the time when he was spiritually down on the ground and what was then the people’s attitude toward him and how they treated him. They had back then rejoiced when he was down on the ground and ‘kicked’ him, while they now feel bad after he has stood up of his own accord, or they finally changed their mind and are now showing ‘mercy’ when it no longer applies. Since the man is now doing well for himself (higher position) then it does no longer involve a choice in showing mercy to someone in a lower position. It should be shown mercy to a person while it is being sick and weak, instead of finally showing ‘mercy’ to that person after it has managed to become healthy and strong again. Now these people are being open and friendly to the man because they think there is some kind of advantage to be had from his higher position. They are not in love with the man, but rather in love with his prosperity (the bright time he is having). If the man would still be down on the ground then the same people would still be exploiting his weaknesses and advertising his shame to everyone. If the man had always lived among these people then he would never have recovered from his spiritual wounds and sickness, and never have managed to obtain this prosperity in the first place. These people are even now still despising and discriminating other persons in a corresponding position that the man had once found himself in among them. Their attitude has not changed, in what way they behold those that are in a higher position and those that are in a lower position. If the people are now truly being sincere and repentant of that in having despised and discriminated the man in the past; then they really not need to do anything for him. But they should in their hearts cease to despise and discriminate the lacking persons that are still among them, and rather open their hearts to those persons, and welcome them among them, and treat them as their equals. And if the people truly care about the man and wish him all the best and rejoice with his prosperity; then they should stand aside and let him go, that he might continue to feel good in the things he has hitherto been doing, being free from the place of his misery, even that it means that the people will no longer have him in their lives. But why should the man consider himself obligated by little friendly things to turn back and keep staying in a place involving so much hostile things? The man would not be doing it for himself but rather for the sake of other persons. It is sufficient that the man speak neither good nor bad to the people, and that they speak neither good nor bad to him. May the divinity bless those persons that were being sincere and compassionate and merciful toward the man during his time of misfortune, and may the divinity make it up to them that the man has not had initiative in being open and friendly to them in turn, since it was expedient to his spiritual recovery not to go back.

The wicked people kept persecuting the righteous people and driving them out of the town; until there would only be wicked people remaining there. Now the divinity would no longer shine on the many for the sake of the few, but the divinity would in the end punish them all with the same thing at the same time. Their wickedness was not being rebuked and chastised at regular interval, thereby seemingly enforcing their presumption that they would always be able to get away with everything and continue it endlessly. Unlike God’s chosen people, which kept experiencing many little adversity that they might be saved/restrained from a greater adversity to come, since they would be humbled by it and repent and turn back to decency. But the divine wrath over the continuing proud and stubborn attitude of the wicked would be stored up and finally unleashed in one great catastrophic punishment. Now let these wicked people try to hide behind the group when they are feeling bad, convince each other and agree among themselves that they should feel better, that they are being justified and deserving of spiritual relief from their spiritual anguish. Let the wicked people flee to each other and seek comfort with one another, whom are feeling just as miserable and helpless within. And let the wicked flee from one place to another, when the whole basis under them is cursed and the whole area around them a spiritually barren wasteland. What are the wicked going to come up with when their soul/heart keeps being hit and penetrated by subjective problems (spiritual sword), being disturbed and made upset by it, roused to fear and desperation? What are the wicked going to come up with when their souls keeps being blocked from all spiritual benefits and relief (spiritual famine), when their spirit and inner life and energy keeps being drained by long-term absence of good? What are the wicked going to come up with when their soul is being tormented and made restless and maddened by overwhelming sickening (spiritual pestilence), as if each moment was being unbearable and impossible? The wicked people keep trying to save their own self/ego from this and resorting to alternate means to deliverance, without realizing that these seemingly ‘positive’ thoughts and fleeting/temporary sensations are misleading them (false saviour on a white horse), where all of this will lead to a dead end and a waste of effort and further alienation from the truth. Even that a wicked person has experienced continual prosperity for a long time and without any setbacks; then all of this does still not mean anything when the divinity finally decides to punish that person with spiritual ruin. In one moment, in a blink of an eye, then everything will go straight to hell and become unbearable for all time. When a wicked person thinks that it has finally reached the top and made everything in a perfect condition to enjoy henceforth; then that person will in an instant become swallowed up by its own mind, and experience everything in a bad way from the belly of the dragon, and not know how to get out of it. A man of good sense will stand aside and depart and not be among the wicked when the divinity will punish them all, that he might not be consumed with them. Let this be their epitaph: a people which pushed their weak brethren out of the way and left them spiritually dying nearby, while the people got drunk and had fun and fornicated, ever passing by their weak brethren, not even once visiting them in their time of distress, never reconsidering the matter, since the people kept telling themselves they were already occupied with their own lives, that they had no time for their weak brethren, and that they would not miss out on the fun that others were having.

It is in the nature of the spiritually blind men to appeal to corresponding vices/weaknesses in other people, just as what such men possess and experience in their own lives. For example, a self-righteous man can preach something to other people, that they might become just as meddlesome and obtrusive as him. A selfish man can come up with flatteries toward other people, that they might become just as vainglorious and self-indulgent as him. And a malicious man can come up with a hard speech directed against innocent people, that the audience might be filled with the same ill will and cruelty as him. The spiritually blind man has already been defeated by selfish desires and vices, where he is now being enslaved by the mind and he does not dare to rise up against it. That man does now wish other people to share his spiritual defeat and he tries to drag them down with his fall, so he tries to tempt that people into having the same wrong opinions and corruption as he. The innocent person is unable to prevent evil people from speaking evil things about it, and what kind of evil devices they can come up with in order to undermine it. For such evil people had already been intent upon that in doing the wrong thing, regardless of the truth in that matter, what the innocent person could say for itself or do in order to appease them. It is already transparent that evil people are being false and guilty of wrongdoing, where nobody is able to control in what way they choose to think and speak openly of. But the innocent person does still possess a free choice, how it is chosen to look upon the adversity, and how it is chosen to react toward the opposition of evil men. That person can always refuse to allow such things to affect itself in any way, by ceasing to become credulous and sensitive about it, since such things would either way not have been avoided. The innocent person does at least know the truth for itself, and it can continue to do the right thing in regard to its own life, while the choices of evil men are their own problem and responsibility. It is most important that the innocent person does not give such opposition any power over its will, where the person will no longer consider this to be its problem, and no longer have any initiative in subjecting itself under its influence. This means that the person will never lose faith in itself, never restrict itself, never neglect its true potential, and never cease to treat itself with self-love and self-awareness and dignity (self-respect). It is the divinity which is able to understand everything and determine everything. It is the divinity which passes the final verdict, when it comes to justify someone over someone being condemned. The empty words of evil men are powerless, and cannot change anything from within, unless the innocent person chooses to believe their lies and treat itself in a superficial and unfair way. It is most important that the innocent person can overcome its own weaknesses, which make itself receptive toward such temptations and opposition from other people. It is true that an evil man is guilty of falsity and wrongdoing, but the innocent person does have itself to blame for choosing to heed and yield to such temptations. The evil man did not force the innocent person to make wrong decisions and commit wrong acts, but such troubles happened after that person did choose to become too credulous and sensitive, in receiving such things too much into itself (too personally). For example, the innocent person can begin to neglect its own affairs and even ‘punish’ irrelevant people for the faults of the evil man which disrespected it. Hence the main problem does not really consist in the original incident with the evil man, but rather in that person’s improper interpretation and response.

If the man has been betrayed by a false person then the real problem does not consist in that person, but rather in the man’s own credulity and error of judgment, in having presumed that such person was being trustworthy and having chosen to have association with it. If the man does have a friendship with an ungrateful person which does not appreciate him and treats him with disrespect; then the real problem does not consist in that person. But rather in that  the man does consider himself to be in need of such person, in making himself too depended upon it. The man did first want something from that person (expectation), and next he began to regard that person (attention), and then finally he began to seek its company (behaviour). The actual problem did exist within the man long before he experienced bad things from that person. The bad things within did draw the man toward bad things on the outside. But if the man had never wanted anything from that person in the first place; then he would never have wanted to have anything to do with that person. The mind obtains power over the man’s will every time the man wants/desires something selfish, where all these selfish expectations of the future (as a selfish remedy to selfish problems) makes the man depended upon the mind when trying to make it become true. That is how the great tempter manages to gain access to the man’s heart and soul, where the man is willing to listen to the mind while the mind says that what the man wants to hear and get (illusions). But if the man frees himself from all selfish desires then the mind loses all power over his will. The man will no longer regard anything which the mind can come up with, whether it is bound to bad things of the past or ‘good’ things of the future, that in seeking for or trying to get some kind of self-gratification. It is usually dwelt on selfish problems and selfish expectations to this end: that the man might justify himself and be right/correct about something, that he might get the better of his enemies and make them suffer, and that other people should please him and make him happy (sexual fantasy). If the man does experience an adversity from another person and he allows it to have bad influence upon his temper, resulting in negligence of his life and beloved ones; then the real problem does consist that man’s own sensitivity and revengefulness. If the man has been deceived by another person and underwent some loss (fraud, scam, hoax) then the real problem does not consist in that person. But rather in the man’s own vanity and greed, which had blinded him to that what was really happening and made him short-sighted and easily exploited. If an intoxicated man has been convinced by another person into doing something reckless and fall into unforeseen trouble; then real problem does not consist in that person. But that man is rather to be blamed for having chosen to drink alcohol in the first place, which made him lose his judgment and self-control. It can be calculated the real intentions of evil people, by being aware of that what kind of reactions they are attempting to arouse in us, by saying or doing this or that. It should be noticed what kind of response or consequences will happen if there is believed their words and acted upon it, so it can thereby be discovered their real plans. It does correspond to the principle that if a crime has been committed then it should be inquired which party does profit most from the crime in question. It is about discerning what kind of selfish desires drive the evil people, for there is always some selfish advantage or profit or pleasure which they do covet for themselves. It is like everything else is a pretext, what they can pretend to say and do in order to obtain it.

Pride and covetousness can be likened to shackles, because if the man possesses such weaknesses then he will allow himself to be drawn/attached to the bad company of bad people. A better man can be overcome by a worse man if the better man makes use of worse things in their dealings. When a righteous man keeps to the righteous side then he cannot be overcome by a wicked person, but if the righteous man leaves the righteous side and goes over to the wicked side of the wicked person then it exposes him to manipulation. For example, when a wicked person says or does something bad to the righteous man then it is in the power of the latter to not allow it to go/reach any further, since the righteous man has himself not been doing anything bad and he is not being responsible for it. But if the righteous man becomes proud over this then it will induce him into thinking about the wicked person and showing it attention, and to seek the company of the wicked person that he might have the 'final word' during such confrontation. So that righteous man, which is being righteous in all factors expect in this one (pride, absence of humility), allows this weakness of his to draw him to the wicked person, and their meeting/quarrel will become a new source of bad things said and done. The end of one thing will mark the beginning of another, as if this could go on endlessly. This corruption, which began with pride, will spread out to other factors and lead to many vices. If the man seeks for a confrontation with a 'tempter' because of the previous temptation; then the man will only end up getting tempted further. If the righteous man keeps repaying evil with evil then he will in the end possess nothing good which can be drawn from within himself. And let's say that the man has been righteous in all factors, but if he is now yielding to covetousness (no longer being righteous in that factor) then he will be drawn to a wicked person which he expects to help him obtain success in its pursuit. But the wicked person, being the worse person, will exploit this opportunity to deceive and manipulate and undermine the better person, and to cause it shame and loss. The better person will only end up making a fool out of itself, having been unaccustomed to the falsity and deception and hypocrisy of the wickedness, having listened to the bad advises of the worse person and deemed it to be trustworthy. The better person was being covetous in that factor, and yet it retained the virtue of sincerity and truthfulness, by being honest and outspoken about its covetous inclination. But the better person made the error of judgment in presuming that the worse person it consulted with did also possess such good qualities, when the worse person was altogether being pretentious and false and dishonest. The better person was doing things in good faith with the worse person, while the worse person was being altogether faithless and treacherous. It is like the better person was trying to do bad things through the truth (misguided attempt), when a true evilness is devoid of all truth, always making use of lies as means to an evil end. If a righteous man seeks to play the 'game of the devil' then he will surely get outmaneuvered and beaten by a wicked person (which is being more crafty and insolent). It is like a sheep would go over to the wolves and try to become like a wolf, but that sheep would lack their sharp teeth and appetite for meat, and ultimately be unwilling to be as aggressive as them (to go that far in insolent and despicable dealings). By being among the wolves the sheep is only calling for that in being targeted and eaten by the group.

A truly wicked person is also being false and pretentious, while a truly righteous person is also being truthful/sincere and outspoken. It is truly bad persons which pretend to be good in the eyes of other people, instead of confessing it openly that they are being bad. They pretend to be good in order to be openly approved/honoured for it, and to deceive good people into becoming compliant with their evil wishes. But when bad people are among bad people then they reveal all their wicked thoughts and desires to one another. It is something which is being done in secret, whether it is spoken despicably about other people or plotted against them. A truly righteous persons would never pretend to be bad in the eyes of other people, because that would contradict the truth that they feel and know in their hearts. It can happen that a well-intentioned person pretends to be bad in the eyes of other people, because that person believes/presumes that it is being bad when it is not being bad (in the greater matters), because that person has a misplaced concern for bad people (people unworthy of all the kindness and helpfulness shown to it), because that person does not want to become a target to the bad people (while being considered one of them). That person can have a good heart and try to do wrong things in a less wrong way, but that person is still not being truly righteous (whole-heartedly), since that involves integrity or consistency between that what is felt and said and done. A truly righteous person dares to speak the truth and to stand by it, and it is being willing to suffer wrong for doing the right thing. A truly righteous person is being supported by the good qualities of wisdom and courage, because that person discerns the voice of the good source and firmly keeps to its good belongings. A person can have good intentions, but because it lacks a spiritual roothold in its life then it does not know 'how' it can actually be done good things. That person possesses the potential to become righteous, but it is still being undecided and half-hearted (not whole-hearted), being weak and unstable, or somewhat influenced by the extremes of selfishness and self-righteousness. That well-intentioned person can be called the repentant and sincere and humble sinner, which chooses the company of bad people while not really being one of them, since these people are not being repentant and sincere and humble. It is like that person would dress itself like a bad person, or put on a monstrous costume, but when it is looked into the eyes of that person then its eyes give it away, because it has the eyes of kindness (harmless dove or sheep). It is eyes of a person that is soft enough to ultimately bow down to the voice of the truth in its heart. It does not involve the evil eyeing that bad people have, whether it can be called 'glint in their eyes', gloating eyes, rough/hard-hearted eyes, or hungry-looking eyes. It can of course happen that bad people pretend to have 'a kind look', so it is something which one has to judge/ascertain on the scene. When these bad people find out that this well-intentioned person is not being bad as them, and not willing to go as far as them in bad things; then they turn against that person and treat it as trash/garbage (outcast). Once that person reveals a sign of weakness or becomes exposed to attacks then these people reveal their ugly character, which they had all along. The humble sinner was being inexperienced in the ways of the world, and ignorant about the true character of bad people. He was being deceived by thoughts which made it look like there was something beautiful and redeeming to be seen about wicked people, while failing to notice the actual people and what they were truly capable of. Once being 'branded' then they act like he does not exist in their eyes, despite all the kindness and helpfulness that he had shown them. It is a sign that he should never have shown them any kindness and helpfulness in the first place. He should never have sought their company in the first place.

If the man is going to overcome the opposition of evil people then he must first overcome his own selfishness, namely any concern for his self-image and self-interest and self-preservation. If there does not exist any ego then there will also not exist any problem, at least not in the man’s eyes, since there is no fear or vanity in him which can be appealed to and nurtured. The external things are not the original problem, but it is rather the mind with its delusions which seeks to make everyone and everything become a problem in the man’s eyes. The wrong opinions of other people are unable to harm the man, unless the man chooses to receive it into himself, by behaving according to such lies and slander as if it was being true about him. The man does not first need recognition or approval of hostile people, as if their permission was required before he could finally aspire for greater things and manage to have a decent life. But the man can very well do so without such people, and without the mind’s intervention. Even that nobody has faith in the man then it does still not matter, so long as the man has faith in himself, thereby confirming that the divinity has faith in him. It does not work the other way around, namely if everyone had faith in the man except the man himself. If an evil man is not persuaded after the first few truthful arguments (or rebukes); then it would also not matter whether one would produce thousand additional arguments. That evil man has already been intent upon that in making an evil choice, and he does afterwards come up with a pretext or excuse in order to cloak his real intentions. It is something which has already been planned in advance, what the evil man would say and commit at the scene, even before he had heard what other people had to say about it. That man is already closed in advance, hypocritical and self-condemned in his ways. It is most important to stand one’s ground, as if nothing could change one’s determination and conviction, when it comes to oppose lies and injustice in all things. The spiritually blind man should be allowed to be selfish and stupid in peace, by being so full of himself and wrong about everything, so long as it does involve his life alone. But it should otherwise be stood up to the evil man, if his choice is about to or is already affecting other people for the worse.

The man cannot expect that it is possible for him to overcome the enemy, if the man is already afraid of the enemy in advance, if the man is already being too hesitant and fighting half-heartedly. That would prevent the man from being fully concentrated upon that in overcoming the enemy himself, since that his attention is upon things irrelevant to victory. This does especially apply to the man’s concerns for his self-preservation, like by being afraid of the possible pain which the enemy could inflict upon him, by being too passive and on the defensive, merely following the initiative of the enemy’s attacks. But the man must rather fight with his whole heart, by being fully devoted to the struggle, in making his best possible effort, and be determined for its own sake. That to save the body at the expense of the spirit does always prove to be counterproductive, because the spirit is meant to be the driving force of the body but not the other way around. If the spirit is neglected then the body will be neglected as well. If the man abandons the moral high ground for the sake of temporary security/respite from adversity;  then the man will soon find himself carried away by the worldly current and become manipulated by the agenda of someone else. If an understanding and capable man allows himself to be enslaved by evil people; then his understanding and capability will from now on only serve their evil ends. But if the man does willingly sacrifice the body in order to uphold the spirit then he will be more likely to save both. The man should never comply with the demands of an evil person, but he should on the contrary be willing to endure the opposition which the threat does reach to. It is preferable that the man should endure such pain above any shameful dealings, because he will continue to be free after the pain, not be burdened with the presence of that evil person. That evil person would otherwise become the root of the problem, constantly creating new evil demands and new problems, since it does possess the deliberate will to cause evil. The matter in question is not about the possibility of avoiding all harm, or by having an easy victory against an easy opponent, as if it could already be foreseen the outcome and 'played it safe'. It all comes down to that whether the man will abide by a principle, by continuing to withstand the evilness in an unconditional way, regardless of the enemy and the time and the place. It is as if the external conditions do not matter or how powerful the enemy can be, so long as the man is willing to live and die for a higher cause, rather than by trying to save his life in a shameful way. The man can perhaps be defeated in regard to the physical body, but he has still the same conquered in regard to his spirit, by maintaining his freedom and dignity and innocence intact. The noble man does not necessarily care whether he can win or lose in these or those fights, because he does already have faith in himself, does never give up on himself, does never yield to his enemies, and he will continue to persist to the very end. It does not make any sense when the man surrenders his freedom and dignity to the evil enemies in order to save his physical body temporarily from harm. By doing so that man will encourage all other evil men to treat him in the same way, where they will come up with similar threats and exploit the same weaknesses against him. This is why it is preferable to continue to persist to the very end and be willing to die with honour, since the alternative will otherwise make life become worse than death. It is most important that the man can be freed from his fear of pain and death, because his enemies have hitherto only seemed dreadful because they are able to inflict pain and death upon him. But if there is no fear of pain and death then there will also be no fear of any human enemies, because it does all come down to the same destination, the ability to endure suffering. It does not make any sense when the man craves for the survival of the body, even that he has nothing worth living for, since only the spiritual aspect can make his life meaningful.

It can be a needless thing when the man remains bitter and still carries personal grudge against people which did him wrong in the past. It can namely apply that the man has already been healed of his weakness, and the problem has already been solved which had once been used against him. For example, the man was once insatiable and unhappy, but he is now contented and happy with his life. The man was once cowardly and weak, but he is now being courageous and strong. And he was once foolish and easily exploited by other people, but the man is now being wise and spiritually sober. The wrong things do thereby no longer exist in the man’s life, which he is supposed to be upset over. The man did once not have faith in himself, in his capability to have decent life of his own. The man did not believe that he could resist temptations, and he did not believe that he could do the right thing, and he did not believe that he could be changed for the better. Once the man did give up on himself then he committed many shameful things, provoking many people and often making a fool out of himself in their eyes. Therefore did the man obtain a bad reputation, and other people began to shun his company and treat him with disrespect. However, the man should still not blame these people for the things which went wrong in his life, because it was merely the consequence, the after-effect, or incidental things. The primary goal is not about satisfying a personal revenge, in hurting his enemies or to make them acknowledge their past faults. It is much more important what dwells within the man at all times, what kind of attitude and understanding and capability does follow him everywhere, and affects his personal experience of everything. This is why the man should forget all about the enemies of the past, while rather being concerned about that in understanding himself and improving himself, when it comes learn from the mistakes and do better next time, when finding himself in a corresponding situation. The people of the past were not the only evil persons in the world, but the man would surely have met some other evil persons instead, even that he had been somewhere else at some other time. For that any evil person would have spotted/noticed his transparent weaknesses and sought to exploit it against him, long as that man would remain so easily swayable and not stand up for himself. The best preventive measure is to be free from such weaknesses, while accustoming oneself to firm determination and conviction. It should not be wished the people of the past any evil or rejoiced over their misfortunes, since it is a despicable thing to attack people while they are down on the ground.

The divinity is the supreme judge, which passes the final decision on the human lot. When the divinity passes a righteous judgment then it evens everything out, regarding prosperity which can be deserved or undeserved, and regarding adversity which can be deserved or undeserved. If the man does experience undeserved adversity then it means that the divinity will later make it up to him with free blessings. This can also apply to adversity within the man, when the man is being haunted by his own mind while he is hating evil and abstaining from evil, and that nothing good seems to be aroused within him and making the situation any better. All these aggressive and unpleasant thoughts, chaos and suffering in the flesh, spiritual poverty and restrictions, do yet serve the higher purpose in the long run. The man is storing up free blessings from the divinity, as if it was being a sum in a bank, where the bad things undeserved do equal good things deserved. The divinity can equalize the situation by making the man more lucky and prosperous in his life, or the man can allow the divinity to transfer these free blessings to other people, whom are having a harder time than him and are in more need of help. It is not lost a prosperity. That prosperity does merely switch places, according to necessity. So these blessings can fly away and land on someone else, where before the afflicted person knows it then it does already feel better and is freed from all its problems. The righteous man who suffers evil undeservedly and maintains his integrity; that man obtains the greatest spiritual treasure, which is namely the favour of God. This means that the favoured man can be bold in the presence of God, when it comes to ask God for good things and that God might spare the many for the sake of the few.

It makes sense when the true believer does constantly experience internal temptations and adversity, restrictions and weaknesses, ignorance and foolishness. Just like Jesus Christ carried the sins of other people then the true believer is doing his part in spiritually carrying the burdens of other people. Jesus Christ became spiritually poor that He might spiritually enrich His people. That to be a true believer is to be a spiritual organ donor to those that are spiritually handicapped  Let's say that there is a group of people and each person has a part of its spiritual body tainted by a different thing. One person is spiritually tainted in its leg, another person tainted in its hand, a third person is tainted in its torso, a fourth person is tainted in its head. One person is being troubled by bad past/memories, another person is being troubled by the fear of doing something wrong, a third person is being troubled by obsession and restlessness, a fourth person is being troubled by that how other people see it. Each person can be so affected by a specific subjective problem that this spiritual taint quells/suffocates spiritual growth and the person fails to reach its full potential. The person allows this tainted part to overshadow everything else which is being healthy and functional. Because something important to the person is lacking then it prevents the person from becoming happy and contented with its life. But what if one person would receive into itself all this taint which belongs to the other persons, so that all the other persons might brighten up and move on with their lives and become prosperous. For example, instead of one fully healthy person and ten persons having each ten percent tainted part (which manages to affect the rest of their activity for the worse); then the fully healthy person takes on itself one hundred percent taint and the ten persons become wholly healthy. The divinity redistributes the good things and bad things involved, that the true believer might spiritually carry all these burdens for the sake of other people and promote maximum benefits to them. All these devils behind subjective problems are being transferred over to the true believer and they harass/haunt his mind instead. When the believer is being mentally harassed by the enemies of God then the believer is 'taking hits for the team' (the people of God). When a specific devil is being occupied in hitting the believer then that devil is thereby not hitting someone else somewhere else. Someone else somewhere else is being spared all this. It is like the true believer manages to pin down these devils, where he makes them waste all their time and effort upon him. A noble man keeps telling himself that it is better that he experiences all these bad things than someone else (which would have been sensitive to the same). If the man is truly being noble then he does not become resentful that other people are having better lot than him; but he does on the contrary become grateful that they are having better lot than him. If the man truly loves another person then he considers it to be a good thing that the same person is being better than him and of better understanding and of better capability. It might at first seem unfair and undesirable that true believer should be experiencing all these bad things within and that nothing good is ever being roused within to counter it. Even that the true believer keeps rejecting all these wrong possibilities and abstaining from corruption then he never 'heals' in a sense, is never being rewarded with good mood or better understanding and capability. He keeps being just as ignorant and restricted within. But when it is noticed all the good changes in the lives of other people and how bright they have become and living their lives to the full; then it is all being worth it for the true believer. The true believer is grateful that all these people are experiencing good in their lives, regardless of his own life, regardless of that how it might affect his own life, regardless of that what is lacking in his own life, regardless of that how empty and barren his own life is. When the true believer is able to bear and outlast the spiritual burdens of other people; then it is not because he is being strong in willpower, or clever enough to see through tangled arguments, or that he has more merit than other people. The true believer is being just as weak and helpless as other people. The difference between the true believer and the people involved is that he approaches the divinity regarding the burdens, and he confesses the truth about his own frail position and that he is need in help, and he asks the divinity to carry/lead him through this experience, and he believes that it is possible and that it can be overcome these difficult things. That alone is sufficient to last through all these great and many burdens. That alone is being transformed into spiritual benefit stored up in heaven. The true believer takes the place of another person, and he stands before the divinity and pleads on behalf of that person, and that person is being rewarded for it.

When the believer undergoes a 'baptism of fire' then it is like he is being stationed in the fires of hell, and the most powerful and clever devils are tempting/attacking him from every possible angle. If the believer comes up with imperfect and transient arguments against such temptations then these devils will immediately discover its weakness/holes and exploit it against him. Such arguments would not involve an universal truth, a general truth, or a common/shared truth, something which is able to apply to and last in all these situations with the time. It corresponds to that when cheap materials like stubble and wood do burn up in the fire (wholly wasted away), while precious materials like gold and silver are being refined in the fire. Hence if we are going outlast all these convincing and difficult temptations of the greater devils then we must make use of the word of God, and understand it further, and explain further its moral principles. We can discover further truth about these moral principles and come up with additional arguments to enforce/encourage them, as what applies to the purpose of this work. It is like the divinity has burned down everything within the believer (mood, willpower, cleverness), except the believer's awareness of his human frailty, and his reliance on God, and his willingness to heed and obey the voice of God. It makes sense that the believer should have one great talent (the knowledge of God, patience amidst temptations) which can be fully focused on and invested all the required time in, rather than by having many talents of limited focus and of partially invested time. So what little and narrow thing the believer is given, he does it well. It makes sense that the divinity does deliberately deny the believer specific ability/competence which would otherwise  have made him successful in worldly affairs, when these worldly affairs are in themselves being transient and vainglorious. It would otherwise have distracted and delayed the believer from a higher calling regarding spiritual matters. For example, a man can have it in himself to finish military training and become a competent soldier, and yet such success is being misused when he fights for the selfish agenda of selfish leaders. Or the man has it in himself to finish education and get a high position in a company, when that company is being founded upon greed and exploitation and unfair wages to its workers. It is like the man becomes 'good' in something that steals his attention from the greater good. A rich country is being invaded for its resources, and animals are being tamed for their natural products (milk, wool), while those that do not seem to offer any advantage are left alone. It can be a good thing to be rich in spiritual affairs and poor in worldly affairs, or at least to seem poor to other people. The poor person is automatically being free of the company of pretentious and hypocritical people, because they do not notice any advantage to be exploited from it and thereby shun/disregard it. The poor person does not need to reject the advances of such people because they never went over to it in the first place. The poverty became a preventive measure against flatterers and parasites, separating the false persons from the true ones. It can be a good thing in a bad thing when we have transparent weaknesses and restrictions, when something lacking in ourselves drives away a specific sort of people. Let‘s consider the search for true love. If the man is being outwardly ugly or unattractive then it excludes all the people that only seek outward beauty in relationship or which value that most in a relationship. These people would either way not have truly loved the man during a relationship. Just like they would not seek relationship with the man before he became beautiful; then they would have abandoned the man after him having lost his beauty. If a person truly loves the man with all its heart and only wishes him the best;  then that person will still continue to love the man in all his weaknesses and restrictions, despite all his weaknesses and restrictions. We have our weaknesses and restrictions to thank for that we are being free of superficial and hypocritical people, that they are not being drawn to us. Our weaknesses and restrictions automatically got rid of them for us.

Just like God is being selfless then the true believer is being selfless and the faith in God makes sense from that perspective. But the phony believer expects God to fulfill his selfish needs and he gives up on the faith when it does not come true. It includes that when the phony believer wants God to reveal Himself to him and to witness supernatural signs that he might ‘feel better about himself’. It includes that when the phony believer expects God to make him always experience prosperity and never any adversity, as if everything would always be easy and never difficult, never involving any temptations and hard choices, never putting to test his loyalty to God and to the moral principles which belong to God. The phony believer says that he believes in God as his Savior, and yet he keeps trying to save himself from selfish problems, instead of confirming that only God can save him from it and that he who believes is already being saved as a free gift of grace. The true believer is meant to stand fast in the moral principles of the Scripture, to keep abiding by the same things in the long run, no matter what could change within him or around him. The phony believer does on the contrary keep changing his answers and reactions to temptations. When things change in his mind then his resolve is being changed as well. He says that he agrees with the moral principles of God, and yet he is quick to abandon such resolve when it does not seem to yield immediate results, to arouse something good within or to make bad things go away. Hence he is constantly inventing something new in his mind to rely upon and hide behind, and expecting that it will this time lead to a different result. It is not really meant that what is being said nor is it believed in its value, but it is pretended something temporarily and made a guess for something which is supposed to make him feel better. It involves a short-sighted chase for good consequences, as if the phony believer was trying to force something to happen or pretend like he was reacting on behalf of God for his self, when he does not possess any control of that what will be God‘s answer and response. A long-term resolve in abiding by that which is true and morally right would have made good consequences come over to us (the angels of God attending to our needs). What can be said about our internal condition and activity, when there is a conflict between the Spirit of God in our heart and the spirit of the Enemy in our mind? First God does come over to us, and He tells us to do the true and decent thing in the situation. Next God does temporarily go away or hide Himself from us. Then comes to the devil over to us, and he tries to contradict that what we had previously been taught by God, to distract us from it and make us digress from it, that we might 'not' do the true and decent thing in the situation. After that the devil goes away, and God does again come over to us or again reveal Himself to us. Then God finds out whether we have stayed true/faithful to His words or whether we have betrayed His trust, and God will then reward us or reprimand us accordingly. Hence it is not really us that manage to find/arouse good things within ourselves, but it is rather like good things manage to find us. Even that we do not seem to experience any immediate reward within us (good mood); then God has still entrusted us for more spiritual and moral things. Something has happened within us which makes us able to confess further truth about our life and develop further sense of decency (attitude, human relations). When we keep moving on with our lives and remain consistent with our conviction; then it is had all kinds of invisible and unhearable changes within. It is something which has already happened before we know of it or become aware of it. It is something unexpected, where we have no way of determining its timing and manifestation. We never needed to stop our lives and 'check' whether good things were now coming or not. We never needed to stop our lives and 'check' whether we were now supposed to deserve blessing and immediately demand it from God. God will in due time set things right and straighten things out within us.

As the man has more faith in the divinity then things will get easier for him, because it involves that in heading in the right direction and doing things right at the very beginning, by being governed by right premises when approaching things, by getting straight to the point when speaking to the divinity and heading straight to the root/source of the solution. The difficult thing is to keep denying our self/ego on the path in unlocking more faith, to cease to be proud and cease to rely on our own human effort in trying to force things, to realize that the things we considered to be ours are not really ours and belonging to higher powers, and to realize that we are doing things upon a wrong basis and based on a faulty premise. The difficult thing is to recognize the root/source of the problem (the mind itself), that we might not keep repeating the same mistakes and not get stuck on new illusions/problems which the tempter invents instead of those sorted out. If it is neglected the very beginning of things then all subsequent effort will be doomed to failure, having been needless and a waste of time, having been irrelevant and digressive from the things that we were trying to obtain. It is an easy and effortless thing to receive a spiritual benefit/victory as a free gift from the divinity, but it can be a difficult thing for us to remain humble and patient enough to wait for it in the meantime, and that to maintain the same resolve amidst so many conflicting thoughts. It might be hard to begin with, like when something seemingly unfair manages to make one angry enough to complain, but once it has been accustomed oneself to whole/entire attitude and practice for some time then that attitude and practice does follow oneself. It is just something which one does, and which one keeps doing either way, without ever stopping to question it or seeking further/additional reasons in encouraging it. Once it has been gotten over the beginner's phase/problem then the rest becomes easy. The true believer will experience more temptations and harder temptations with the time, and yet at the same time the divinity (in its grace) makes it easier for him to turn to the divinity for help and rely on it to counter everything. Even that things are not being perfect and something manages to affect the believer in some way; then he does still consider things to be acceptable and bearable. A true believer and non-believer can encounter the same problem which initially manages to affect them in the same way, and yet they differ in that how it is chosen to see the problem and what is chosen to do after having realized their own weakness. The true believer justifies God for being true and righteous in all things, and confesses that he can only overcome this weakness through God's truth and righteousness. But the non-believer tries to justify himself, and he lies something to himself and tries to hide behind something when complying with corruption.

The wicked people can deceitful and crafty, but they are still the same not prudent and wise (wisdom). That craftiness can only work out if the man is credulous and believes their lies, by assuming such people to be trustworthy, and while he is unprepared for their treacherous move. But after the wicked people have betrayed the man and turned against him then they will be unable to do again, since he now knows their true nature and intentions. The wicked people are full of weaknesses, where there is no existing virtue which makes them strong and wise. They can only rely upon the foolishness and weaknesses of other men. And the wicked people might rely upon lies and tricks in order to deceive other men, but they can still be utterly incapable of discerning the same things in others, whether they are telling the truth or not. The wicked person does already live in self-deception, where it does not heed the truth in its own life, so that person can easily be deceived by the lies of other wicked people, or that person does not believe the truthful testimony of a honest man when the latter points out something to it. A quarrel with its exchange of insults is not something which belongs to the goodness, so the goodness will not help the better man scorn and humiliate his enemy. The wicked man is already worthless, and he does have nothing to lose during a quarrel, by relying upon personal attacks and insults, which is deemed shameful to him. But the better man does only degrade himself by relying upon evil against evil, by going down to the same level as his wicked enemy, so that he has nothing to gain and everything to lose by participating in a quarrel. For the honest man wants to maintain his self-control, innocence, and dignity intact, so it would have been better if he had never participated in the quarrel at the outset. First the devil helps a wicked man to insult an innocent person, and some time after the incident the devil pretends to be helping the innocent person by suggesting a witty insult which the innocent person can make use of against the wicked man. But when the innocent person begins quarrelling with the wicked man then the devil stands aside and does nothing to help the innocent person insult the wicked man, while the devil is constantly suggesting new insults to the wicked man which he can make use of to humiliate the innocent person. That to seek to repay evil with evil exposes the innocent person to betrayal of the devil. The main objective is not about getting the better of insolent person in a needless quarrel, nor to come up with a witty insult which might seem funny, but it is rather about being altogether free of the presence of that person. That to not regard an insolent person and to forget all about it within, that is being priceless.

One is not being a wretch/loser by revealing a sign of weakness, but one is being a wretch/loser by deliberately exploiting the weaknesses of other people. Wickedness involves a loser-attitude. A wicked man seeks to exploit the weak position of another person, when something is not being on equal terms. Let’s say that a wicked man has training in a martial art. He can know the basics of fighting, but because of his inner failings then he is unable to advance in it. When that man fights against other trained fighters then his performance is poor. Because of the wickedness of that man then he avoids fights against his equals (those having similar training and skill level), while he rather seeks to abuse and oppress persons that lack all training in a martial art. A virtuous man with the same training (having had the same opportunities to develop his fighting skill) would have bested that wicked man. Virtue is superior to wickedness on equal terms. Wickedness seeks to obtain victory through irrelevant means (cheating, dirty tricks), thereby making such victory empty in itself and without confirming any merit/superiority. Many people join in attacking a single person. It is made use of weapon against an unarmed person. It is suddenly attacked a person which did not know that it was going to happen and was altogether unready for it. But if the better person would have been ready for it and able to make use of same things  (equal terms, as in a contest, where the same rules and the same equipment apply to the contestants) then it would have performed better. It can be mentioned the contradiction when violence is supposed to exalt the violent man and make him seem more manly by it. Which is being more difficult experience of these two, that to punch someone in the face or to get punched in the face? It is harder to suffer beating than to make someone else suffer beating. It does of course apply that a cowardice of a person is being unmanly, and when that person gets unwillingly beaten by someone then that person does not become manly/courageous by it. But when a man is courageous enough in being willing to take a beating for doing the right thing; then that is being manly and tough of him to do. (It is the ideal thing when two men of similar physical strength and fighting skill do fight one another, where both of them are being courageous and stoical in accepting that they will take much beating during the fight, where they are both equally willing to hit and take hits, and they keep exerting themselves skilfully to the very end of the fight.) But why should the violent man be considered manly and tough when he is being so willing to hit another person, while that same man immediately flinches or falls back through fear of that in being hit by someone in turn. It is not being an even thing when a man becomes confident and bold when torturing another person, when that same man would not be so confident and bold when himself is being tortured. Hence the golden rule, that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The wicked men are especially those which deliberately seek to harm and abuse other people, whether it does involve violence, sexual abuse, oppression, discrimination, manipulation, temptation to complicity in corruption, or slander aimed toward ruining the reputation of others. The divinity can punish the wicked man from within, even that he has not experienced any external incidents or intervention from his human enemies. This means that the wicked man has not received/experienced pain through violence nor shame openly, but the wicked man does still experience another kind of pain and shame from within. Let‘s say that a wicked man manages to make use of dirty tricks and cheat his way to victory. Or the wicked man manages to become victorious over his enemies by surpassing them in wickedness, by doing something despicable to them which was being very low of him and which his enemies would never have been so despicable to do to him. Although the wicked man is being proclaimed victor, and everyone believe him to be a victor and treat him as a victor;  then he is still not being convinced that he is a victor. He does still not believe himself to be a victor, and he does not feel victorious within, but he does experience internal condition alike of those that have failed miserably and been defeated. He can fool the whole world and even manage to escape the human justice, but he cannot fool his own conscience and he cannot escape from his own conscience. Hence the wicked man continues to have low self-esteem and to feel miserable after all of this. The wicked people have already been marked out for punishment by the divinity, because they are already being wicked. They are unable to go over to the other side and know the benefits of the goodness. As the wicked person becomes the more stubborn in its evil ways and refuses to repent; then it will experience the more chaos, torment, madness, and maladies in its soul, as if each moment would become unbearable. It is much greater punishment than any personal revenge from a human enemy, since it is constantly experienced from within while the latter does only last temporarily in the flesh. The man does not become virtuous by killing human enemies, nor will a misfortune make the man into a better person by default. It can happen that a wicked person does experience a misfortune which arouses pity from other people. But that same wicked person had been devoid of all compassion and mercy toward other people in distress, secretly wishing for such things to happen and rejoicing over their misfortune. It can thereby apply that the wicked person does experience a misfortune of its own making, because that person has pronounced its own harsh verdict and received similar evils. The wicked person was being so self-absorbed and delusional that it became distracted and negligent of itself, thereby falling into some unforeseen accident or undertaking a task far beyond its capability.

THE SCRIPTURE

7.1: Faith

The first fundamental question which the man asks himself is that whether God does exist. For that everyone can acknowledge that this universe does exist, while it is a matter of debate whether it was created by anyone and ‘who’ that creator is supposed to be. There are good and valid reasons why God has hitherto not revealed Himself to the whole world, why He has not given supernatural signs to those that demand it (as a prerequisite for believing). It is not because God is being unaware of such claims, or that He does not hear prayers in general. For the matter is more complicated than that. God in His pure and sincere love created the human race for mutual love. The man has been given free will to make his own choices, to the end that he might love God willingly, truly believe in His goodness, and obey Him with perfect understanding. The human race has really nothing to offer God, except its continual goodwill and gratitude. Even that the offering is found lacking then the thought behind it is what counts. Everything was originally created good, and the man was supposed to have the best life possible. But the rebellion of Adam exposed him to another nature. First Adam was being tempted on the outside into desiring/coveting forbidden thing, and after Adam sinned in such way then fear became part of him and he would again sin through fear, by not straightforwardly confessing the truth before God. When the evil nature became part of Adam then he would also think of and feel evil things. The Enemy was never being courageous and powerful enough to challenge God directly. But the Enemy did all of this indirectly, by indirectly encouraging Eve to desire something which the Enemy was really desiring to happen, and by indirectly tempting Adam through Eve. The Enemy managed to tempt them into doing something against their own wellbeing, while deflecting their attention from himself, since they did not originally stop to question his presence and motives. Adam willingly went over to the Enemy and chose to give the latter a power over his will, although indirectly, since Adam preferred self-conceit and selfishness over the ways of God. Such corruption would be passed on to the human descendants, so that Adam’s rebellion restricted the potential of the human race and exalted the Enemy at its expense.

It all comes down to that which side the man will choose and stay loyal to. But before any of that can happen then the man must first believe in such possibility in advance. It does not only reach to that in believing in God formally, by calling Him by the right name and approaching God through the religious aspects ascribed to Him. It is also about believing in the truth and the goodness, which defines God and belongs to Him. The man of integrity is indirectly choosing God by practicing the very same things which the faith promotes. It is not enough to flatter God or by verbally agreeing with His ways, while the man is at the same time following the selfish and covetous side in himself. The faith in God can correspond to ideology to some extant. It must first be believed in lofty ideals before it can be worked hard to promote them, in making such ideals come true at last. The man cannot actually see or touch these ideals, but he does still acknowledge them and he believes in that what it does stand for. A similar thing applies to the faith in God. We are not merely acknowledging that God does exist, but we do truly believe that God is being truthful and trustworthy/reliable, concerning every one of His promises and moral principles. If we have faith in God then we will also have faith in everything which can come from Him, what God can speak of and do on our behalf. Hence when we turn to God and obey His commandments; then it is because we acknowledge that He is the best person there is, where His goodness is greater than our own perception of it and His ways deliver greater results than our ways. The faith in God helps us to approach Him in a proper way. God knows it best what pleases Him and what He requires from us. Hence we consult with the testimony which God has given of Himself. The faith in God points us to His testimonies, and the other way around. Once we have believed and abided by the testimony of God then we will know of more things to be reached out for. It can be said that there do not exist many virtues, but there does only exist one virtue, and that virtue does consist in heeding the voice of God from within today (now, at this very moment). That to heed and obey the voice of God will lead to every virtue there is.

It should be considered the alternative, if God would reveal Himself to the whole world, that it might be better understood why such option would never work out in the long run. The human people would then become fearful of their lives and only pretend to obey God while He would be watching. It would never involve any genuine reasons, why people are supposed to act in such way. It has more to do about covetousness for reward and fear of punishment, like when a selfish kid seems to behave in front of the authority while he is never being obedient in his attitude. Once nobody higher-up is watching then such selfish kid reveals his true character and bullies those down-below. Faith involves that in believing in something which cannot be seen and touched, and which has yet to happen in the future. If God could already be seen by everyone and it could be seen Him making immediate effects/repercussions to everything; then it would not involve faith. It would remind of the saying ‘Might makes right’, where it is obeyed God for the sole reason that He possesses the most power in the universe. People would still continue to covet evil things in their heart and wish for it to happen. People would commit a crime if it seemed like they could get away with it, if the crime would not be discovered, if there would be no repercussions. This is why it would not solve anything if God revealed Himself to the whole world. But it makes much more sense that God does deliberately conceal His presence, that every person might reveal its true colours, what the person truly wants in its heart and what it does when an opportunity presents itself. It does all come down to that in believing in the rightful claim of the choice and what value it does hold, rather than by being swayed/controlled by irrelevant outside factors. It can be a good thing in a bad thing when we no longer experience a time of prosperity and experience a time of adversity instead. For such vicissitudes will reveal which persons are being true and reliable friends, and which persons prove to be false and treacherous, when it seems that there is no longer any advantage to be gained from us. The false people will no longer flatter us and pretend to be friendly, but they will reveal their true colours and turn against us openly. But the true and reliable friends will continue to be there for us and help us rise up from the ground. When we overcome the time of adversity and obtain a new time of prosperity; then we choose to share it with them. People who are not there for us in our time of adversity, do not deserve to have any share in our time of prosperity. It can be a good thing in a bad thing when we seem to reveal apparent weakness in the eyes of other people, like when we show ignorance in worldly matters, commit casual mistakes, are incompetent, or are clumsy. For that if the people involved prove to be proud and superficial then they will immediately become contemptuous and arrogant in their bearing, as if we were stupid and useless, having nothing to offer them. But the sincere and decent people will rather show us understanding and tolerate us. They choose to overlook our faults and not hold anything against us. Hence we seek their company over the other. It is through such kind of tests and temptations that it is separated the good from the bad, based on their reactions to the same incident. Even so God makes use of difficult circumstances to determine whether our faith in Him is being genuine or not. We should neither slacken our resolve and indulge our self during our time of prosperity, nor become resentful and complain during our time of adversity. Whatever happens then our personal conviction remains ever the same. We humbly receive a time of prosperity when it happens, and we humbly receive a time of adversity when it happens. Humility is something which should have priority, something which we should never forsake for any external change. It would not make any sense if God would be doing supernatural signs for the people that demand it, as if God was a mere clown or an entertainer for the unworthy. No decent man would act in such way, by advertising himself what most shamefully in order to become popular, by craving the approval of hypocritical people and by doing cheap tricks in order to appease their whims. But all such things belong to the hypocrisy of the world, its foolishness and vainglory. Where there is truth and goodness there is also modesty and discretion. For these virtues are kindred to each other, belong to the same source, and work to the same end. God does seek to convince us about His ways through fair and honest means, by appealing to our sense of decency and reason, when it comes to believe in and do the right thing for its own sake.

The darkness is nothing more than an absence of light, even as cold is an absence of heat. The evilness is merely an absence of goodness. Evilness is a mere distraction. Evilness contradicts goodness. Evilness digresses from the goodness. The Enemy encourages the human people to do either evil things or no good things. That to do an evil thing is to do nothing good. That to do nothing good is an evil thing in itself. It does lead to the same destination as all the evil things. The evilness does not have any independent existence. It cannot survive on its own unless God does allow it to survive for a time being. And the evilness is unable to affect good things in a bad way unless God does allow it to have access to the good things (that to go over to the other side). The evilness has hitherto been allowed to tempt the human race. Temptations are necessary to test the spiritual allegiance of every man. Without temptations there would be no test. God will tolerate the earth and spare the many for the sake of the few, so long as the earth continues to produce decent men. Jesus Christ has already conquered the Enemy and all the fallen angels, and thereby everything which they stand for and have invented, belonging to the evilness. The devils (fallen angels) are already condemned and doomed to eternal punishment. It is now a question about the human race, the choice belonging to each individual. If the man does not acknowledge the rightful king then he will thereby acknowledge the usurper, and he will become an accomplice in the rebellion by agreeing to its rebellious terms. That can be said when the individual does deliberately reject Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, even that the man has come to know about His truth and justice, contrasting his own selfish inclinations. By keep siding with his selfish inclinations the man prefers the selfish ways of the world above God’s authority. The world tends to exalt the unworthy and bestow power to the incompetent. The Enemy has been chosen leader of the world by spiritual slaves. The evilness thrives on the ignorance of the human race. The Enemy does not make the man become powerful (in true and lasting things of worth), but the man chooses to make the Enemy become powerful in his own life. The man does so every time he inclines to his lesser side/nature and does that of lesser worth, which makes him become a lesser man. The man does so at his own expense, since the Enemy has everything to gain by parasitizing his life and the man has everything to lose by it. It is like God continues to tolerate the man, while the man continues to tolerate the Enemy in his own life. But it does not mean that God is tolerating the Enemy. The world does belong to the Enemy, with all its erroneous doctrines and inventions. It does not mean that the human race does belong to the Enemy, but it is rather about the ‘image’ of this world, its combined influence working against the truth and the goodness. Human beings are more important than anything which belongs to the world. They are more important than that which comes out of them. The person is more important than its misspoken words and mistakes. God is more important than our self-image, and that to do His will is more important than our self-interest.

When the man considers himself to be already perfect then it can be likened to that if a man has always been sitting on a comfortable couch. While the man is sitting comfortably on the couch then he thinks that everything is all right with his life, that he is in good health and strong for everything. But once the man needs to stand up from the couch and exert himself in bodily exercises; then the man immediately becomes tired and falls short of the requirements to finish the exercises. A similar thing applies when we have to go out into the world and undergo difficult challenges. Even that we lack certain bad qualities then it does still not mean that we possess all the good qualities in the world. It does not mean that we will be able to accomplish things when circumstances test our resolve and existing qualities. We did not become incompetent when doing things, because we were already being incompetent from the very outset. All this time we lacked good qualities and power to accomplish things. The only difference lies in that we have now become aware about it, that out  knowledge and ability fails to live up to standard. All this time we were never being perfect and having a perfect human lot, but our own weaknesses were being hid/concealed from us, or God showed us grace by covering our weaknesses from our own sight and from the sight of other people. No bad things came up because God kept them checked underneath. It should not be said that the man is able to become perfect and blameless, but only that the man is able to become blameless. The man can avoid bad things (corruption, bad qualities), and yet he does still have his restrictions in regard to good things (good qualities, capability). These good things are beyond the man‘s reach, unless God allows the man to become partaker in them. The man can at most approach God with all his heart and ask God to 'loan' him good quality for the matter involved for a time being. For example, it should not be said that the man is being courageous (personally, permanently), but that the man is being courageous while God shares His courage with the man. Let's say that the man has hitherto been blameless in everything. Because the man possesses pure intentions then he sees God in a pure way, and he acknowledges God's goodness and mercy in all things. When the man notices people that live in weakness then he only wishes them well and does not hold anything against them. He asks God to be gracious and merciful and generous to them, that things might brighten up in their lives and they be shown a way out of their difficulties. Now let's say that the same man fails to be on his spiritual guard, and he yields to sinful desire, and he possesses the will to sin, and he seeks opportunity to make it come true. When the man becomes aware of his blame in that matter then it does not mean that God is being transformed by it into an angry and harsh tyrant, someone who is eager to condemn and punish the man in everything. God is not some kind of spiritual idol which is being shaped/reshaped by the man's own righteousness or lack of it. When the man finds himself imperfect and frail like other people, and as equally much in need of forgiveness from God; then the man is  also meant to acknowledge God's goodness and mercy in all things. That God is an independent being able to act independently of the man's own will/mindset. That God is still being motivated by love for us, and that He still does things based upon love, and that His love is still working inside us and between us. God is being calm and mild when bearing with us (being patient with us), and He is being calm and mild when correcting us, and He is being calm and mild when blowing/swaying our hearts into the right direction during our experienced circumstances, that things might turn out differently/better than we had originally purposed. What can be said about that when we experience an ongoing prosperity. We should become grateful that the 'sun' keeps shining on us, but we should not stop and claim that we are being the 'sun' itself (cause of prosperity). And when God manages to create a lucky/favourable turn of event which saves us from dangers (there would otherwise have befallen a great misfortune); then we should not stop and claim that God saved us because of our righteousness (as if we had deserved it). But we should rather acknowledge that God saved us because He is good and He cares about us.

The faith in God is a matter of mutual trust or relationship in good faith. We trust that God loves us and is doing everything in His power to help us, even that we cannot actually see God, cannot see what is happening behind the scene, or what is taking place in the meantime before help arrives. God can be slandered by His enemies in our eyes, where He can be accused of being untruthful and selfish, corrupt and powerless, and coming up with false promises and threats. But we do not need to rely upon the testimony of such intercessors, when an enemy claims that God had said this or done that while we cannot see God for ourselves. For that we can just as well head straight to the primary source, the testimony which God gives of Himself, that we might know it for ourselves what kind of person He is and what He is being capable of. We can see God through the personal example which Jesus Christ has left us. It is not God whom changes, but it is rather us whom change and our vision of God with it. God is already perfect and at the top. A change would otherwise only lead downhill. God is indeed all-powerful, but it does not mean that God would abuse His power in some way. God could foresee the fate of everyone and spy upon everyone if He wanted to do so, but it is not the same thing as if God would make such choice. A wise man does not need to possess godly powers in order to know whether specific people prove to be sincere or false, honest or selfish, reliable or treacherous. If the person proves to be so in the present time then it will also be so in the future. Hence God will deal accordingly, whether that person is a friend, fickle, or an enemy. But God must surely abide by a principle, when it comes to trust the person further, which has hitherto proven trustworthy, and bestow that person with more responsibility. There must be some kind of discretion, which prevents obtrusion upon the man’s privacy, although God is still able to watch over us and help us when needed. This is why the Lord takes His leave and returns at an indefinite date.

The faith is the supreme means in following God at all times, toward every spiritual victory and progress, regardless that what kind of circumstances the man can find himself in and what kind of personal experience seems to follow him. The human people have been born at different times and places, involving different possibilities and restrictions, human abilities and skills, education and technology. But the faith in God is still always as equally valid and relevant to the human lot, making up for any human restrictions and able to make the best of the situation. A good education might seem to work out for a person that is born into a rich country, while such education is being denied/excluded to a person that is born into a poor country. It should be looked upon this in context of the human history, because education has not been made accessible to everyone. But faith does originate within the man, regardless of his external circumstances. It is always open and available for the man to have faith, that he might obtain good sense and become virtuous. A good education might seem to have all the right words on paper, but it does still not guarantee morality in the person, a wisdom and insight into the human nature. The man can become educated, and yet he is still fundamentally the same person, as if the education had merely confirmed his abilities or appealed to and boosted them, already existent in him from the beginning. The man might come up with a different vocabulary, but he is still being unaltered in his heart, still being accustomed to the same desires and presumptions, impulses and habits. This is why the faith is superior to philosophy and ideological systems, since only faith is able to bring actual change from within the man and make him bear good spiritual fruit. The faith is so efficient because it is so simple, unlike human systems that tend to overcomplicate things. It is simply believed in God and asked Him for help, and then waited for it with patience. God can overcome any odds, any uncertainty, any problem, any personal experience. God can always help us in a new and unexpected way. A new problem can emerge, but it will still be solved as well. There can appear forth a new threat and a new enemy, but it will only become another victory to us. The faith in God is meant to reach to every factor/aspect in our human existence, that God might help us through it, regardless of our internal condition and restrictions. Personal implications do not matter, what kind of person we have become and what we have hitherto done, so long as we will to heed God now and henceforth. It is only sufficient to confess the truth and ask God for help. Our petition does not need to be cleverly phrased or have a ‘perfect’ form, as if it would increase chances for reception. For that God knows us, what kind of position we find ourselves in, and what we really want. It is only required that we should get to the point and state the humble truth. God can do whatever He wishes, whenever He wishes, wherever, and however He wants. It is not our human effort which guarantees reception. It was not because we first tried to become free of flaws (perfectionism) which determined why God decided to help us and deliver us from our troubles. It had everything to do with God’s goodness, His love and kindness in caring for us, even that Jesus Christ would need to go through a lot of troubles and afflictions to redeem us. Let it thereby be duly noted that God would either way have heard our prayer, and either way shown us grace, even that we had done nothing whatsoever prior to it. That to be pure in our intentions does help us to approach God in the right way and ask Him for the right things. If the heart is not right then it is made an improper request from God. But that to confess the truth can help set our heart right and purify our intentions. Hence it is only sufficient to make a confession so that other things will follow as well.

What can be said about the difference between faith and absence of faith. At first it might seem so little and insignificant, and yet later on it turns out to be so great and significant. The man has hitherto been selfish and short-sighted in his life. The man has hitherto been experiencing all these selfish and short-sighted thoughts. When the man converts to a genuine faith in God then it might at first seem like nothing has changed within. The man is still experiencing all these selfish and short-sighted thoughts as he had before. And yet the man is still somehow able to take one step back (away from his mind) and discern that these thoughts are being wrong. It is like the man does now notice these thoughts in front of him, instead of these thoughts being actually part of him and hiding underneath his eyes (further inside, where if the eyes are tainted then the man fails to know that his very eyes are seeing things in a distorted way). The man had once been immediately swayed by these wrong thoughts and he had deliberately justified their wrong influence in his life. But now the believing man does experience more space within himself when it comes to consider the matter and take his time in making a choice. Now the believing man is somehow able to recognize that these thoughts are being wrong, and to confess the truth about it, and refuse to comply with these thoughts regarding his choices. Hence the believing man is able to become internally detached from the old selfish mindset. The selfish mindset has now become a mere mask or worn out clothes, which can at most be on the man‘s body and not in it. The man does carry this selfish mindset on his soul, without it being part of his soul. The selfish mindset is still there, and yet that selfish mindset is being nullified by something else within. Something does somehow happen within which gently blows the man into the right direction. The Spirit of God working in the man‘s heart is able to accomplish this in a smooth and discreet way. The man does somehow find it in himself to stop and step aside from the selfish course in his mind, to calm down and quiet down within himself, and to keep his attention open for the better course. In the beginning the faith might seem to involve a little change, and yet later on one is able to approach God about one's attitude in all things and ask Him for help to change one‘s attitude for the better. Even that these (obsessive) thoughts have been hard in the beginning and/or during the former part of the path; then it has still somehow turned out differently during the latter part of the path and in the end. In the end, even after all these considerations, when it finally came to that in making a choice; then we have still not taken things too personally, and we have still not had any angry outburst, and we have still not complained, and we have still not come up with any personal attacks against other people.

God can indeed help anyone, if the person is being willing enough to receive help and to ask for it. God abides by a principle when doing a good act. God is indeed ready to help us and He possesses the ability to do so. But God does not want to force it upon us, against our consent. It is not like our faith is able to make God powerful or powerless. But it can rather be said that God is concerned about our freedom of choice, in approaching Him willingly and with a right understanding. Our faith help us to know what God is capable of, and what we can hope from Him if we do things His way. We can do nothing but confirm God’s power. There should not exist any uncertainty which god should be invoked and get all the credit. It would never work out if the man invoked all the ‘gods’ at the same time, since the man would then not know which one of them had been helping him. It would correspond to that in applying many remedies from many physicians against the same sickness/disease. But the patient should rather have tested one physician at a time, and the remedies belonging to the same physician, so it could be determined the best physician of them all. The benefits can only be established if the healed person knows its true Benefactor, in giving God the rightful glory which He deserves, in being grateful and loyal to Him, and in serving the greater good henceforth. And there should not be made any half-hearted effort, like when it is constantly changed one’s mind and each undertaking only lasts for a brief time. But it is all about approaching God with our whole heart, fully devoted to all His teachings. Then we can experience it for ourselves, whether it really works out in our life. We cannot forgive ourselves. Only God is able to forgive us and purify/heal our soul. It is something which can only be felt from within. Spiritual means are required to heal spiritual wounds. But without God's presence then no benefit would happen, even if we forgave everyone and everyone forgave us. That which happens outside us is outside our soul. God teaches us to forgive each other if He is going to forgive us all our sins. By being forgiving we are merely confirming His grace in all things, and allowing God to work uninterrupted in us. First we need to forgive one another if we are going to be forgiven within. We come up a gesture in good faith, and then God responds by benefiting our soul.

If we ask the Heavenly Father for anything in the name of Jesus Christ then it will be granted us. It does not mean that it is enough to implicate the name of the Lord to our request, while the actual request proves to be selfish and foolish. It can rather be said that the name of the Lord is about confirming His truth and justice. This is what the Lord is known for and what belongs to His side (heavenly). It is asked for good things as the Lord Himself had done and would do in our position. It is about acknowledging the leadership of Jesus Christ in all things, especially in that what we need to undergo from within ourselves. It is successfully prayed while we stay even in the will of God, by keeping to that what is being noble and altruistic, generous and discreet, charitable and merciful. And when we pray to God then it is not because we need to remind Him of that in being good, nor are we attempting to change God’s mind. A prayer can be called the minimum effort for the most benefit. We reveal our concerns for others. We pray because our own human means are found lacking. We cannot always see the person we care about and we do not know what it is going through in its life. And we are often powerless in doing anything about it, when it comes to help the person to know the truth, to be able to improve its own life, and overcome temptations from within. This is why the prayer to God makes much sense, as the supreme means in helping the person we care about, even that we are not present with it, even that our human ability is found lacking. It is not like we do first need to say or do something  ‘ultimate’ for that person before the person can be well once and for all. (The person does not become permanently well, because there will be another day after this day and the person will again be in need of something good to make it well.) But it is only sufficient that God can bless the person and change it from within. It did not involve any human confrontation with clever speeches and heroics feats, but God gave benefits directly to the person, as if such blessings had come out from nothing. We pray because we turn to God for that in helping the person we are unable to help. Our only virtue consists in that in knowing whom to turn to and in making our wish known.

The faith in God is the same as faith in the possibilities of the goodness. The man believes in the truth and he keeps seeking the truth until he finds it. Even that the man does still not know the truth about something then he does still confirm that the truth does exist, and that the truth only waits to be discovered. Something similar applies when the man is being open for the possibilities of the goodness and he reaches out for them. It is turned to God for the will, the understanding, and the ability to do good. The faith reaches to the man’s attitude, the way he sees/notices everything, the way he understands everything, the way he responds to everything, and the way he endures everything. God can achieve anything and conquer anything within us. God can make our attitude conform to His will. God can draw us nearer to His attitude. The prayer prepares the man’s heart for God. The prayer prepares the man for that in doing the right thing. The man confesses the truth about his situation. The man describes what is being experienced at that moment. If the man has a hard time doing something then he simply confesses that it is so and he asks God to help change it. The prayer can also reach to the inability in praying. It can happen that the man experience himself ‘lukewarm’, where he does not feel himself being wholehearted in the faith and he lacks motivation, and he does not know what to say at that moment. But the man can still tell God all about it. The man is being aware about his restrictions and he is being open for a change. Instead of pretending to be perfect and coming up with beautiful words which he does not mean in his heart; then the man confesses it to God that he is not experiencing himself in a fit condition to pray. That his heart/attitude is not being right at that moment and that he needs help from God if he is going to approach God in a proper way. It is prayed for that in praying well. After having told God all about it then it is waited until God intervenes. Even if something does not happen immediately then the matter still gets resolved in the long run. The prayer can reach to the man’s will, willingness, interest, motivation, concern for other people, energy, and fortitude. The prayer can sharpen these things and make the man fit for the matters at hand. It can help give the man the will to do things. The man discovers the power in himself to do what is needed. The prayer worked, because the man is now already saying and doing the right thing. Something has somehow happened to make it so. Before the man knew it then he was already inclining to it. The man managed to stay long enough to say all the things that he needed to say and remain true about it. God has put His words into the man’s mouth and made the man capable of saying these good things in prayer. God has made the man able to be sincere and mean every word at that moment. God has made the man able to wish well and turn to God for help. Otherwise it would never have happened. Otherwise the man would still have found himself closed within, either unwilling or unable to do so. Hence the prayer can open the man’s heart for the right possibilities and help him reach out for them.

First it is believed in the good possibility, and next it is confirmed it by holding one’s peace. By confirming God’s power in getting things done then it is ceased from one’s own human effort in forcing it. When we are being at peace then we let the matter rest (mention it no further and intervene no further). We allow God to do things from His end. We wait until something will somehow resolve the matter. It is God who does all the work. We can at most receive that which God has in store for us. We can at most hold our peace, and keep ourselves silent and still within, and wait with patience until good change happens within us. Before we knew it then the good state came over to us and we were already feeling better, knowing better, doing better, and faring better. Before we knew it then the subjective problems had already vanished and we are now being free from its awareness. There is a time that we forget all about our problems and we have our attention on the matters at hand. And when some time has passed then the problems reappear and try again to steal our attention. But later on something happens somehow which makes us again feel better and forget all about our problems. That can be called God’s intervention. That can be called the gift of God. Hence we should acknowledge that we cannot do anything about our internal condition until God will intervene again and change things. We should cease from our own mental effort and simply do nothing within while we are waiting. It can happen that we experience bad mental state, where delusions keep harassing us and symptoms keep reappearing. God’s interventions can describe itself in this. All of a sudden we begin to meditate on something, as if mental experience was passing through us. And when it is finished then we find ourselves in a different situation. Now everything it quiet and the bad things are nowhere to be found. It can be said that God as a clever healer shifted our attention temporarily elsewhere while He was fighting our battles behind the scene. We should have faith that in due time the good state will come over to us and drive away the bad state.

There is a day before and after the night, and there is a night before and after the day. During the day the time is bright and the man is able to see well enough to go about his business, while during the night the time is dark and the man sees too little ahead to be travelling outside (This applies to the original time, or the time before the human people began to make use of electricity to lighten up things.) The bright time and the dark time take their turns, where each of them get their own half as separate domain and they rule/prevail within that time frame. This is a natural law which always applies and cannot be changed. So that during the night (dark time) then the man should stay at the same place and rest from his labour, until a new day begins and everything becomes visible again. But during the night the man should not pretend like that it is still a day (bright time), where he should not tell himself that there is something bright to be seen about this darkness. The man should not go outside and spend much effort in trying to find his way in the dark, which would otherwise make him get lost and too tired when a new day finally begins. The man should acknowledge that the time is always dark during the night and that there is nothing that he can do to change it, so he needs to wait it out. Even so applies to our internal activity, when there is experienced a good state for some time and a bad state for some time, when we forget all about our subjective problems for some time and when they reappear for some time. It is not like we should keep telling ourselves something ‘positive’ about our mind and pretend like the mind meant something differently with its wrong thoughts. We should not try to sort out the wrong thoughts during the mind’s deliberate persecution of our soul. We should not try to invent/lie something ‘good’ in order to rouse something good within ourselves, as if we were pretending that there was something bright to be found in this time of darkness. But we should rather acknowledge that now is a dark time within ourselves and we need to wait it out until there will rise a bright time within ourselves. We should keep to the good things which we stored up during the bright time (prosperity), and make use of them during the dark time (adversity). We should keep to the good experience and conviction that we had during the good time, and wait patiently during the evil time without adding or changing anything, without being swayed into something contrary to it. For example, we originally had a good time with another person. We should keep to that experience, and wait until we meet that person again as a continuation of it. In the meantime we let the original experience remain still and undisturbed. We do now feel the same way about the person that we felt about the person back then. We do now possess the same goodwill toward the person that we possessed toward it back then. We should not allow the mind to sway us from it when it is looked back, as if there was something less good or something more bad to be seen about it. We should not allow the mind to change our perception of the person in the meantime. But we rather stay faithful to the original experience (bright time) as a silent counter to the conflicting thoughts which can be had in the meantime (dark time). The time of darkness can also be likened to that when a boat is being driven by a storm or when it is abstained from food in the desert. There is nothing good to be found in that place and it should not be sought to see something good about it. We need to wait until the evil things pass away, and that we be led by the divinity to a different place. If the man finds himself in a middle of darkness, where there is darkness all around him and he cannot see anything on all sides; then the man should simply stay still on the same spot and wait until things will brighten up. The man should not deceive/fool himself into believing that he can make correct guesses and find his way in this darkness, since that it will only make him even more confused which way/direction is what and make him further away from the exit/deliverance. Even so when we experience obsessive thoughts accompanied by internal instability; then we should not hurry ourselves doing something and/or making changes to something. For example, we had already been doing something right, but these obsessive thoughts make us see something wrong about it, so that we try to fix the right thing with something wrong which ends up being its wrong replacement. It is made a needless change which is being erroneous, and we later have to spend further time in reverting it. If we lack certainty/conviction about that what is being true and we do not really understand that what we are trying to force through; then it is a sign that we need to stop and wait the matter out with patience. Hence in the beginning we should simply acknowledge that we do now not know what we are doing, and that we are now in no condition to make sound decisions.

When God is with us then we see the environment as it is and we see other people as they are. But when the devil comes then he throws a dark veil over our head, so that it makes us see the environment in a dark way and we see other people in a dark way. The external things in question are not really dark. It does only seem so in our eyes while the dark veil is between our eyes and the external things in question. And some time later then God takes away this dark veil from our head, so that we will again be able to see the environment as it is and see other people as they are. We do not know the timing of these things. We do not know when this dark veil will be cast over our head, and we do not know how long we will have this dark veil over our head. We do not know when God will come back and take this dark veil away from our head. The timing is never the same. One time God came back after 'this' length of time, and another time God came back after 'that' length of time, and so forth. It is a matter of faith in waiting patiently for as long time as possible, since we never know when God will come back. When it happens that we have a dark veil over our head then we only need to wait it out, since God will either way come back and take this dark veil away. It is a matter of principle, something which God does for free because of His goodness. When it happens that we have a dark veil over our head (bad experience of everyone and everything) then we should not presume that we did something to call for this dark veil and explain something as its underlying cause (past incidents, past choices). And we should not try to say and do something in order to remove this dark veil over our head, since that dark veil is like a sticky material which will either way not come off. But we should acknowledge the natural laws which God has set and wait until things have come full circle in general. This bad experience we are having can also be likened to many walls which try to narrow us down in our mind. One wall comes from this side, and when we seek to escape from it then another wall comes from another side, and so forth, until something has managed to narrow us down into a specific wrong assumption and reaction. These illusionary walls seek to confuse us in regard to causality of things. It can seem like we are being punished for seeking to do the right thing, while we are being rewarded for seeking to do the wrong thing. These walls continue to chase us while we seek to do the right thing, and these walls seem to stop and give us respite when we change our mind (no longer seek to do the right thing). But all of this is being one great illusion. We are still being able to do the right thing and avoid the wrong things, regardless of all this activity in our mind. Even if our head is being sick and we are unable to think clearly; then we are still able to sense things in our heart and make use of the rest of the body (healthy parts). God is still capable of the ultimate decision through His Spirit in our heart. It can also be mentioned when an infant is not feeling well and it cries. The infant is having bad experience even that nothing bad is happening in the circumstances. This bad experience is something which comes and goes within. The infant does still not know how to talk, and it does still not understand that which is being said to it. This bad experience involves bad feelings without words. Adults know how to speak and they know what is being said to them. When the devil does cast a bad experience over an adult person then the devil also says something at the same time (thoughts), which makes it look like this bad experience is being caused by the words or the external matter which the words are supposed to reflect/involve. But that is being an illusion, because it is the devil himself which causes this bad experience through/with his presence. This bad experience would have happened either way, whether it would have involved words or not.

The evilness strikes from the dark and not from the light. The evil spirit behind thoughts seeks to hide/conceal its own personal involvement from the man, while diverting the man's attention to everything and everyone else. The man is being receptive to thoughts while he considers them to be his own, while he is being used/accustomed to hearing them, and while he considers them something casual or harmless in itself. The evil spirit which is whispering these thoughts to the man seeks refuge in the man's ignorance (darkness) of the cause/maker of these thoughts. But if the man could actually see how monstrous and deformed that evil spirit looks like; then the man would become alarmed and be on his guard, and question the validity of that thought, and have serious doubts of having dealings with such dubious creature. Let’s say that the man is being depressed because some misfortune has befallen his beloved one, or the man is having worries over a person that he cares about and he cannot stop thinking about it in a bad way. When the man experiences thoughts which remind him of this then he can consider himself obligated to dwell on these thoughts and torment himself for the sake of another person. But the evil spirit which is behind these thoughts is being false and hypocritical, where the evil spirit does not care about the person which he mentions, and he is only mentioning that person in order to attack the man and to drag the man down with this. Hence the man should become aware of the ugly character behind these thoughts and what is the true motivation behind them, that the man might stand firm in rejecting every indecent mention of his beloved one, when it is made use of that person‘s name as some kind of tool.  A similar thing applies when the man is being conflicted about a person close to him in the past (parent), since that something good had been lacking in the person and it had neglected to do something good back then (guidance and support in the upbringing). The man is being divided what to feel about the person, because even that it can be acknowledged the faults of the person then it cannot be denied the decency it possessed, and even that it can be acknowledged the decency of the person then it cannot be denied the faults it possessed. When it is thought about the person then the man becomes immediately entangled with dissatisfaction over the past (lack of preventive measures early on which led to great and many troubles later on), and the man swings back and forth in  either seeing something too bad or too good about the person. The very beginning of these thoughts lures the man into internal instability, during which he cannot think clearly/straight. If we would witness a wicked person deliberately mention bad incidents from the past in order to get to the man, or deliberately mention his beloved ones in a bad way in order to get to the man; then we would consider it indeed an ugly and despicable thing, and we would abhor such person and shun dealings with it. Even so we should treat the invisible mind every time the mind mentions something bad from our past, whether it involves misfortune we have experienced or misfortune of those that we care about.

7.2: Peace Within

When God makes His presence known to us then it does not consist in some kind of overwhelming sensations (as if it would be expected an ecstasy alike that had from an illegal drug). It can rather be said that the presence of God is able to benefit us in a discreet way. It might seem that everything is being just as silent and still/unmoving as before, unless that we have already received a benefit in our spirit and felt a change for the better. We can experience a peace come over us and some kind of purifying effects in our spirit, which makes us hold our peace and be silent, and enjoy the moment and be contented with our lot.  And the presence of God can quiet down all activity in our mind, which makes us forget all about our personal problems and be eased of all our burdens. It had nothing to do with our human effort prior to God’s presence. But it was because we cast all our burdens upon God and allowed Him to take care of them on our behalf. After having continuously relied upon God then all these temptations and problems vanished all of a sudden, and we would no longer become aware about their existence. Everything seems to happen naturally of its own accord, and the blessings are already upon us before we know of it. It is not something which we can produce by our human effort, like by first saying this or that and then something is supposed to be immediately evoked in us. It is rather like the good state solely decides to come over to us and overwhelm us in benefits. There is experienced a good atmosphere, or felt a good spirit in the air. It can be felt a heat in the air, a gentle breeze, or like it is entered into a peaceful sphere. We have not seen the blessings of God, nor touched them like some material object, but our life has still taken a turn for the better, with its good sense and stable condition. But there are many men that demand signs from God, and expect some kind of momentary sensation. When that does not happen then it does not mean that God does not exist or that He is being powerless. But such men have already presumed everything in a foolish way, and looked for God in all the wrong places. When we need something within ourselves then we pray for it. It was previously had a hard time resisting temptation, but now something manages to restrain oneself from it or make one determined enough to reject it. Now it is felt the little strength needed to do the right thing and abstain from corruption. Everything might seem to be the same, and yet something has changed within to resolve the matter just enough. It was neither more nor less than what was precisely needed in the situation. It is prayed that one might have a right motive, a right intention, and a right attitude, in what way is noticed all things and met with them. That one might look upon every person with a pure and sincere eyes, and that one might only wish it well, and be concerned for its welfare, and bear with the person in its weakness. That one might appear outwardly to other people as one is inwardly, being free of contempt and covetousness, having nothing to hide or be ashamed of revealing. That one might not possess the will to sin, neither fantasise about sinful things, nor seek out opportunities to make it come true. The greatest blessings in life are free, and we can be blessed without even realizing it. It is something that we have taken for granted in being ‘ordinary’ and common. That to experience equanimity is not nothing but it is actually a good thing, because one is being free of the two extremes and thereby not having any self-delusional mood swings. It can again be mentioned that when we have difficulty resisting temptation, which thereby becomes a problem to us, so that we confess our frailty before God. It can happen that it is forgotten all about the subjective problem for many days or weeks in a row, until the problem begins to resurface and again tries to steal one’s attention. It is like one has hitherto been carried by an angel of God over all the obstacles on the ground. Now one has been put down on a ground and a devil is again tempting one with the same subjective problem, so that one does need to approach God again and again have a ‘free spiritual ride’.

It is confirmed that God can make all His promises come true, and it is only a matter of time when it will happen. It can be superfluous thing to know about the process involved, what is happening in an invisible way behind the scene, what kind of power God is using in order to help us, or which of His emissary is being sent to us. It does not matter so long as we are able to receive God’s help and be relieved. The only thing required was that we should ask for a benefit and patiently wait for it in the meantime. There are good and valid reasons why the divine aid happens in an invisible way. For such information would either way be beyond our control, where even that we knew about it then it would still not speed up the process in any way. We are meant to believe that God will hear our prayers and make good things come to pass, according to His initiative and in His own time. But we do not actually control ‘how’ God’s power will manifest itself, or ‘when’ it will happen, since it does belong to the jurisdiction of God. It is thereby like we can only reveal ‘what’ we want from God, and perhaps ‘why’ we consider ourselves in need of it, like how it is supposed to benefit us and/or other people in the situation. But we should avoid all needless expectations, like when it is has already been imagined what kind of signs or miracles are supposed to happen. For example, we should ask God to heal our heart and soul. But it does not mean that we should expect to witness an angel, an earthquake, or a thunder at the same time. It is because such things are nothing more than superfluous ornaments, completely irrelevant to the actual healing, which could just as well reach us in a simple and discreet way. We would otherwise be creating our own restrictions and only get disappointed. It does not mean that God could or would not bestow benefits to our life, but we do only have ourselves to blame, for not having bothered to keep our eyes open for the real miracle. When we hope for good things then it is superfluous to imagine what is precisely supposed to happen in the circumstances and/or during human relations. We do not need to trouble ourselves about minor details. It is only sufficient to hope that the situation will change for the better, that things will turn out well in the end and that we will fare well, regarding the bigger picture or what is deemed most important. Like that we can remain on spiritual guard, the continual wellbeing of our beloved ones, and that to finish noble and constructive goals. So we can hope for good things to happen, while we allow God to determine ‘when’ and ‘how’ and ‘through which persons’ it will come to pass. It should not matter where the help will externally come from or by which person, so long as help will arrive. God is good and His goodness is being shared to us all. We draw good things from the same good source and make use of these good things for one another.

It can apply in the situation that we do not need to ask God for this or that, as if we were really in need of such desirable things and they were able to benefit our life in some way. For that we can very well become healthy and happy and at peace without all such external things (wealth, expensive material possessions, outward beauty, popularity, success in sexual pursuits, failure of our enemies). These desirable things would either way have led to another kind of troubles and needless cares. This is why it can sometimes only be sufficient to ask God to bless us, according to that what God considers best for our welfare, although we do not know what it is. It is because God knows us more than we do know ourselves, and He knows it more than us what is able to benefit us most. We do not know if the desirable thing in question will really appeal to us, or if we are really being ready and worthy enough to receive it, since that something unexpected can happen later and change our life for the worse. It is thereby more prudent to ask God to do good things to us. We do not know what our true needs are and we are being unsure what we really want. But God knows it, and we know that God knows it. So we put our trust in God, that He knows what He is doing. The prayer is the wish, and God hears our prayer by giving us direct beneficial effects. The very means can be of secondary importance. It is not like something must first happen or be done by someone, and then afterwards will something else happen that we really want (what we are really after). When we pray to God then it can be skipped this (anticipated procedure) and gone directly to that what we really want. It would otherwise be a foolish thing if we were being very picky about the supposed means, while we would utterly fail to obtain any benefits, the end in sight. The means are only important if they are able to lead to a good outcome, but it should not be preferred foolish means above the outcome, the very reason behind everything. The faith is about adapting to God and His ways, but we should not attempt to make God adapt to our foolish presumptions and whims. God can bless us as if He would head directly for the outcome, since that God Himself is the means. God did not need to change everyone and everything around us. God only needed to change us; change our attitude about everyone and everything, change our understanding about everyone and everything, change our responsiveness to everyone and everything. That to become a new and better person will lead to a new and better approach. We will make better choices and fare better in our lives.

It is a spiritual idolatry when the man worships his own prosperity, and becomes like a slave to pleasures and luxury, unwilling to say ‘no’ to his need for self-gratification. The man no longer makes decisions according to truth and morality, what is deemed to be right or wrong in general, what is being dignified and becoming him as a human being. But the man is only concerned about pursuit for pleasure and an avoidance of pain, regardless of the actual means (no matter how degrading to him). It can be mentioned when the man is already being healthy, free, sober, stable, at peace, light-hearted, happy, and untroubled. And yet the man begins to crave sinful means like debauchery. It would correspond to that if the man would crave food, even that he is not being hungry, when there is no hard/difficult experience within compelling him to seek food. Hence a spiritually filled (happy) man craves sinful pleasures, when he does not really need such things in addition. Selfish people do already experience inner emptiness and restlessness, so they rely upon debauchery in order to forget all about their selfish problems. Alcohol and sex is supposed to be the means that promotes happiness as the intended end/effects. But if the man is already being happy then he does not need to rely upon such means in the first place, since he does already experience good end/effects without the means. Selfish people are never able to become happy from within, even that they are constantly repeating sinful means. They become obsessive over the sinful means, even that these means do not lead to any lasting beneficial effects, so it is preferred the useless means above the end/goal in sight. The faith in God makes us able to head directly to the beneficial end/effects, like happiness and peace, even that we have done nothing and used nothing at all. We do not need any intercessors, like human means or earthly items in order to produce it. It is not like we do first need to own this or that, or do this or that, before we can finally become happy. It is something which is freely given to us by God. We can simply receive happiness at the very outset.

It can be discoursed on inner peace. Peace is obtained by making peace with God. Peace is obtained by making peace with one’s conscience. Once one is on God’s good side then it is experienced peace as its consequence. The heart is fixed, unmoved by the distractions of the mind. The mind can still meddle and interfere. But one does still not receive it into oneself. One does still not allow anything to disrupt one’s internal stability. It is like the head can at most be unquiet and restless while the rest of the body is being quiet and at rest. Peace does consist of calmness, silence, and stillness. First it is maintained calmness, by allowing everything within to pass through oneself. It is loosened up and ceased from all further effort/resistance. It is yielded to peace within. It is opened oneself for the good internal state and received it. Next it is maintained silence, by quieting down among everything which is happening within. It is ceased from having opinion by/of the things within. Even that it cannot be controlled the activity of the thoughts (automatic voice); then one can at least say nothing on one’s behalf (manual voice). It is come up with no further reactions and allowed things to wear out with the time. Thirdly, it is maintained stillness, by keeping to the same internal stance in the long run. No matter what happens then it is remained at the same internal spot, without wandering to the right or to the left. It is looked straight ahead, through all the thoughts getting in front of one’s attention. Finally, it is abstained from all thoughts which keep appearing and reappearing. Once becoming aware that one is beginning to wander in the mind then one does shift the attention back to nothingness. It is kept one’s distance from thoughts. It is not picked up the thread where it was last left off. Even that one does blunder and gets temporarily absorbed in thoughts; then one can still keep trying to stay away from it, repeatedly, little by little, until it has finally been obtained tranquility of mind. The mind can be likened to the sea. The thoughts of the mind are like the waves of the sea, driving us back and forth, to an inner place not of our choosing. The thoughts of the mind are like spiritual animals passing through, bumping into us here and there. The thoughts of the mind are like giants, constantly moving in front of us and blocking our view. Instead of gazing upon that what the thoughts say (and agree with them) then we should rather notice that thoughts are involved and do our best to avoid them. We should with a detached attitude notice the motions in our mind, in what kind of form the thoughts appear to us. All these unpleasant thoughts have to appear to us in a specific way. Every man should find his own description of his mental activity. We should cease to be credulous to the first contact with thoughts. We should rather get familiar with their structure and allow our familiarity to breed contempt of them.

The Spirit of God in one’s heart is the true shelter, the true hiding place, the true anchor of the soul. The Spirit of God is located in one’s heart, but it is not located in one’s head/mind.  One should have the 'focus-point' relaxed downward to the middle point (where the heart and the breathing is), away from the head. It should be spiritually detached the head from the rest of the body. One has to learn to live without the mind. It is like one would be constantly moving on with one’s life and doing one’s daily business, without it being in any connection with that what is happening in the mind at the same time. It is lived amidst thoughts, alongside thoughts, without being part of these thoughts, without agreeing with them, without yielding to them. It is like one's head is being possessed by an evil spirit, when an uncontrollable obsession (spiritual giant) is taking place, which might seem to be irresistible. And yet one can flee to the heart as a hiding place and stay there until all of this will pass over. When there is a conflict in the head, where unwanted thoughts keep coming and it cannot be stopped thinking something bad; then it should be simply left the head and not intervened there. It is acknowledged that this part of the body is expendable to the rest of the body, and that the rest of the body can continue its function without it. It is kept to that what is sensed in the heart and followed its personal conviction. It is kept to the understanding which one is given at the moment it is called for, which God has put into one’s heart. It is waited for the inspiration (moving breath) to appear and gotten blown with it while it does last. That to be selfless is to be spiritually untouchable. It is like one's invisible and silent 'focus-point' is being spirited away from the body, so there is nothing within the body which the mind can notice and grab and squeeze/narrow (attachments, concerns, cares). It is like one's body becomes dead/stony and motionless to all evil influence. It is like one's body becomes something of a ghost, being clear like a glass which can be seen through and having no spots in between, and being air-like so that all things can pass through it without hitting anything, and being so light in weight that it can easily be blown to a safe side and not get stuck. Or that to be spiritually pure and innocent is like being a stuffed toy in the form of an animal (teddy bear), which is being so soft that when a strongest giant does repeatedly hit it with a sledgehammer then nothing harmful ever happens to it. Or that one‘s soul becomes streaming water-like that it can bypass or run smoothly along any rough gripping/handling of the giant. Noah's flood can be likened to a dark tainted water flowing upwardly in our spiritual body (soul), beginning at our feet and finally reaching to the top of our head. It is like we are having bad experience of everyone and everything, both when it is thought about someone or something (whatever the mind gives its attention to), and when our body feels like a shadowy prison or in captivity of death (emptiness). And yet our invisible and silent faith is like a boat which manages to stay above all this bad personal experience, where it manages to reach beyond our mind and body. All this bad experience is happening within us, and yet somehow our 'focus-point' is being spirited away from it. Or our invisible and silent conviction is being so tiny/little in itself that our mind and body is unable to grab/catch it and squeeze it. It is true that the man's head can temporarily shake when he experiences unpleasant/shameful memories, and yet it involves uncontrollable reaction which comes and goes. The man's heart and soul is still not being hit by it, since he keeps moving on and doing that what he is doing, without stopping and trying to save himself from the unpleasant experience. When it is participated in something constructive and gotten involved in its experience; then it is forgotten all about oneself, as if one's self/ego had ceased to exist. It corresponds to that when we cast all our burdens upon the divinity and allow it to take care of them, so that we are being freed from our own self while we are experiencing things and we can make the most of the present moment. When it is cast one's burdens upon on the divinity then it is like the divinity does temporarily lend one a life with good experience, where it is had natural 'flow' within, and where seemingly hard things become easy once it has been begun doing them, and before one knows it then it has already been made progress. When it is entered the rest of God and ceased from one's human effort; then that inner peace becomes the greatest preventive measure against temptations. The inner peace excludes the mind from interfering in the first place. It is not like the matter is first about overcoming temptation and then afterwards experience an inner peace as a reward. The inner peace in itself does overcome temptation on our behalf (automatically).

The peace is a gift from God. God is our means to that in obtaining peace. And if we are able to maintain peace then it is because God maintains the peace on our behalf. The Sabbath (day) is about ceasing all inner effort and to rest through all inner burdens, that the man might become aware of the uncontrollable thoughts passing in his mind. And this continual waiting in peace helps the man to discern the voice of God in his heart, since the man is being spiritually alert enough in noticing the tiny change/movement within himself which blows him into the right direction (moving-breath). Sabbath is the same thing as if it would be spent one day per week upon meditation. A true meditation is about keeping one‘s spiritual body still and fixed in its place, while the actual physical body does not need to be still and fixed in its place at the same time. One does not have to wait idly for a long time before obtaining inner peace and maintaining it. One does not have to be in some kind of preparatory position and make use of techniques (focus on breathing or parts of the body). It can be treaded a moderate middle path by possessing peace within while the body is being industrious on the outside. When the man is under the grace of God then he is being blessed with inner peace for free, so that there is already a good state over him preventing the bad state from getting his further/whole attention. That to be free of selfish desires makes the man spiritually sober for the most part, most of the time, and in the greater matters, which makes it acceptable and bearable enough. Even that the man not does experience complete peace in everything; then he is still being free of all the bad things which could have disrupted his heart and soul (uncertainty, obsession, craving, fear, anger, restlessness). Figuratively, if the man is already being about 95 percent at peace then why bother to spend many hours (or multiple amount of time) upon meditation for meagre 5 percent to reach 100 percent? That would be to do something too much at the expense of something else; for some measly increase that is being negligible in itself. The internal condition is already set right and finished by God’s intervention. It falls under God’s jurisdiction and He is the one who takes care of it. So the man can just as well have his eyes on a noble goal and become so involved in it that he forgets all about himself, without trying to change anything in regard to his internal activity. It is a contradiction/hypocrisy when people seek to escape from distractions by relying on meditation techniques, while they still cling to selfish desires and cares of the mind. It does only offer them temporarily relief from distractions while leaving its very cause intact. It is both wanted to do the right thing and the wrong thing at the same time, so that it is experienced inner conflict in the process. It is an unworthy thing when it is sought for inner peace only so that the man might become more focused in selfish pursuits and more likely to obtain success in it. The man must be willing to deny the wrong things for the sake of the right things, and stick with the same conviction in the long run before finally reaping benefits from it. It can also be spoken against that of coming with beautiful lies or fictional descriptions in order to arouse something good within during meditation. True spiritual benefits can only come through the truth. We need to wait patiently until the Spirit of God intervenes in our heart. We need to stay even in the truth when making a morally right choice, which includes that in denying all false and luring arousals bound to our ego, and then the truth will work out for us. If we abide by the truth and live for the truth then the truth will set us free. It is had an invisible and unhearable movement/change within. Something manages to further open and soften our heart to the truth, instead of something closing and hardening our heart. Something manages to ease and lighten our heart, instead of something troubling and burdening our heart. Something manages to still and stabilize our heart, instead of something driving/wandering our heart out of its place. In a moment (as in a blink of an eye) our experience is changed into a good one. The man's soul can be likened to a spiritual house which has many rooms (qualities, factors). If the man has a specific vice/weakness then it is like he will become troubled every time he enters that specific room (chaos). Every time the man thinks about that factor or show attention to it then he will experience inner conflict. If the man manages to replace a specific vice/weakness with a virtue then it is like that specific room will get filled with peace. Now that part/factor is being resolved. Henceforth the man will remain calm regarding that part/factor in his life, and he is able to move on with his life without looking back. The man is on a spiritual journey his entire life. When it is managed to show faith in the divinity during a spiritual hindrance/opposition then the divinity will overcome it on our behalf, and then we will be blessed with inner rest/peace in that matter. The intended end is to become calm (or at rest) in every matter and every experience. When we are being tempted then it is like an evil spirit does carry us and flies with us into a bad room (bad inner place). When something brings us spiritual relief then it is like an angel of God does carry us and flies with us into a good room (good inner place). When we manage to overcome temptation then that bad room will stay locked and we will not enter it again. We will not again be troubled by the same problems. When we manage to show faith in the divinity then the good room will stay open and we can enter it again. We will be able to maintain the good things in our lives and approach the divinity again for the same good things.

It can again be spoken against that of sitting idly for a long time during meditation. It is outside our control when the mind does decide to arouse thoughts in us and how often it happens. It is outside our control when all these obsessions and distractions take place in our mind. It makes no sense that we should stop our lives and sit idly for a long time every time the mind chooses to intervene in us in a bad way. If some person was following us and saying all kinds of bad things to us; then we should not sit down and wait idly until we cease to hear anything, since it is entirely depended upon that person alone in choosing to stop speaking to us. Even so we should not presume that we can do something to make these thoughts stop appearing to us and change that what is happening within us. We rather need to keep moving on with our lives and focus upon a constructive goal, while at the same time we are being still/motionless within and waiting within. We should symbolically sit idly within during the mind‘s interference (as if we were downing our will to the same relaxed stance), instead of us literally sitting idly with our physical body. If we are having difficulty withstanding distractions in our mind then it is only sufficient to approach the divinity in a prayer and get straight to the point. We simply let the divinity know that we are having difficulty withstanding distractions in our mind and that we ask it for help in freeing us from its influence. It is preferable to that in sitting idly for a long time while it is tried to do this or that in order to obtain a peace of mind. If we want a peace of mind then we simply ask the divinity for a peace of mind. We do not first need go at great length in resisting countless thoughts and try to change that what is happening within us. The mind will either way lie something new instead of the old thoughts, so it is like this process will continue endlessly and still nothing good will happen within. It is only the divinity which can arouse good things in our heart and soul. We cannot force the divinity to arouse good things in us when it suits us. Even that we focus upon it in our willpower and make use of worldly methods/techniques then we only end up on deceiving ourselves or being deceived  by our mind. Even that the devil ceases to tempt us for some limited time then his inactivity is not the same thing as God was now doing a miracle and rewarding us for current effort. Let's say that the devil has hitherto been attacking us from all sides in our mind, and nothing that we invent and say regarding it manages to make the devil stop his attacks. But the devil can fool us by deliberately stopping his attacks for a short time, to make it seem like our last argument and method were now finally working, and that these inventions of ours could really save us from the attacks. So that we obtain false confidence in things that are being just as vain and transient as all the other things that we have resorted to in our human might. After a short time the devil decides to resume his activity in attacking us from all sides, and when we rely again on these seemingly life-saving things then they fail to do anything. These vain and transient things never worked out in the first place. The divinity did never reward us for making use of these vain and transient things. All of this was being one great illusion. A corresponding thing applies to all these tricks and methods during meditation. A non-intervention of the devil is not the same thing as if we had found God (enlightenment). Let's say that the man is being disturbed by unwanted bad thoughts which keep coming over to him and which he is unable to prevent/control. The man does stop his life and he begins to reason with himself what is calling for such bad thoughts, as if he had done something to deserve them. The man keeps inventing these and those reasons in order to explain it, and he invents these and those remedies which are supposed to appease the mind. But this bad process in the mind has really nothing to do with the man himself and what is now his current attitude, and what is now his current choices and experienced circumstances. This is happening solely because of the mind's malice toward the man. The mind is persecuting the man's soul. The mind is making use of wrong things in order to steal the man's attention from the right things. When the man does experience temporary respite from the mind then it does not mean that one of these invented reasons is being a true explanation, nor that one of these invented remedies is being a true solution in appeasing the mind. Just like this opposition was really being uncalled for and undeserving; then its presumed explanation and appeasement is being needless. It should not be participated in the mind's game in chasing for 'good' consequences in the mind and to flee from 'bad' consequences in the mind. The mind is an unjust judge which makes it seem like a right attitude and right choices do call for bad consequences in the mind, while a wrong attitude and wrong choices do call for 'good' consequences in the mind. The mind did never do anything good. The mind makes it seem like good things are happening when the mind deliberately makes a short pause in its persecution. If the man stays sincere/true and consistent in his conviction then he will keep experiencing opposition from the mind, all the time. If the man keeps changing his answers and making guesses, and coming up with a temporary pretentious show in order to appease the mind; then the mind can for a short time seem to reward him for it through fleeting sensations and misleading bodily signs. But it will only happen for a short time and the insincere/false man soon finds himself back in the same position. All of this is about the man undergoing a spiritual test in his life, whether he will stand fast in his conviction and keep doing the right things he had been intent upon doing before the test, no matter what can change within him.

It can be mentioned when a selfish man is now feeling miserable, and he does look to the past and how everything was supposed to be better back then (nostalgia). But during that time in the past that man was also being selfish and doing the wrong thing. The difference between the present and the past is that in the divinity had previously been encouraging the man to repent and to do the right thing, which that man was never willing to consider and act upon. Now the man is experiencing the bad consequences from his previous wrong choices. The divinity is now punishing the man for his failure to repent and improve. During that 'time for repentance' the divinity chose to hold back the wrath stored up and delay/postpone retribution, while being patient with the man and bearing with him and offering him further chances in being redeemed from his selfish way of life. This 'good old time' (time of prosperity, golden age) was not being caused by the man's attitude and choices. Despite all these good experiences or good turn of events; the man never allowed it to change him in a good way. If the man does now find himself punished by the divinity for his failure to repent back then; then it does not mean that all hope is lost and that the man has become permanently irredeemable. Even now the man can humble himself and assume responsibility for the repercussions of his actions, and become willing enough to endure these repercussions for as long time as possible, until the divinity deems/decides otherwise. It is a gesture in good faith, where the man is not trying to escape the repercussions from his previous failure to repent, but the man is now repenting and improving himself that it might be prepared a time of prosperity when these repercussions have ended. Metaphorically, although the divinity has burned down all these selfish things the man had previously built, and the man is now sitting astonished in the ashes; then it is still being open for the man to start from nothing and build a new decent life for himself. ‘Nostalgia’ can be likened to that if the man was now having a hangover and feeling miserable, and the man tries to comfort himself by thinking back to the night before when he had been intoxicated and having a good time. This hangover would never have happened if the man had not been intoxicated prior to it. The ‘good time had back then’ did never involve a healthy living in the first place. The man had been so vainglorious and self-indulgent back then that it seemed like a good experience. And yet it was really his ego which was being raised by something false and unjustified, only to later drop down and shatter by something true and justified. The time that the selfish man experienced as 'heaven' was being a 'hell' to others (the outcasts). For example, the selfish man had once been popular in his youth, but during that time he had been treating his weak brethren as 'trash' and 'pushing them out of the way' (excluding) and exalting himself at their expense. A time of prosperity is not only about being free of problems and having a comfortable life. It is also about improving as a person and obtaining a spiritual progress. We should not consider our present time to be bad when we are being free of blame and doing the right thing, even that we are having bad experience within and without. Despite all these bad consequences in our mind and body, and despite all these bad consequences in circumstances and among other people; then we did still never do anything to deserve it and call for it. And we should not consider our present time to be good when we are full of blame and doing the wrong thing, even that we are having seemingly good/positive experience within and without. All these good things were really being caused by the good attitude and choices of someone else. We only happened to be near when the divinity was blessing someone else, without us having contributed anything good in the situation.

The Gospel of Christ is like an inner constitution for the individual. The same spiritual laws (morality) continue to apply to the human soul, regardless of time and place. The human body is nothing without the soul. The soul controls the body and determines it’s potential, for better or worse. That to be human means that we will experience love versus desires, inspiration versus delusions, and peace versus impulses. Such things are indeed impalpable, something which cannot be seen and touched, and yet it can still be experienced from within. The faith in God is about unlocking His spiritual values, like charity, courage, wisdom, humility, temperance, and patience. And where there are spiritual values there are also benefits, like inner purity, sobriety, stability, peace, equanimity, light-heartedness, alertness, and responsiveness. The spiritual values are the source of everything else. It drives the man from within and determines whether he will obtain success in his undertakings. The faith is not the same thing as perfectionism, as if we would first need to do this or that before obtaining grace from God. It is rather about acknowledging our human frailty, that we are unable to overcome ourselves and become virtuous unless we do first receive God into our lives. The only thing required is to believe that God is capable of helping us, that He is concerned for us and is willing to redeem us from our sins, even that we are being imperfect and we cannot accomplish something on our own. First did God show us grace and became a part of our life, and next were we able to become a decent person, led by our conscience and only wishing well. This means that God’s presence is the cause, and our personal improvement is the consequence. First God showed us grace and then everything else came by itself, with all its spiritual progress. All the good things are originated from God, and shared with us as free gifts. But we did never have anything to offer in the first place. It is us whom are in need of God, but He does not need us in a sense, since God is already perfect and owns everything. It is not good works which are the cause of divine grace. It is not like the man does first need to do something to prove himself and deserve divine grace, and then afterwards feel himself saved by God. A self-righteous man forces it upon himself to do good deeds, when he is really unwilling to do so and it is not done with a right understanding. That man does still cling to his self/ego, either fearing or expecting something else when doing something (ulterior motives). Good works are rather meant to be the consequence of divine grace. Because the man is already saved by God then he is willing to do good works for free. The man simply believes in the value of the good choice, and he feels like doing it, and he is thankful for the opportunity. It is done the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Because God has changed the man and made him into a good person then the man is being drawn to good things, and he inclines to them, and he aspires for them. Divine grace motivates and encourages good works. It does merely reflect and confirm that what has already happened from within. When it is given alms to the poor or donated to a charity then it is not because we expect to feel good about it afterwards. Because we already feel good and have all our spiritual needs taken care of; then we are being grateful enough that we freely choose to help other people. The good work is being straightforward in itself, that it might benefit the wellbeing of other people and bring them relief in their difficult circumstances (distress). We are being freed from the need to seek expensive pleasures/luxuries or remedies/therapy, and we do not need to travel somewhere else to find something good or to escape something bad. There was never any spiritual lack in us in the first place to call for such search. The faith does reach to the man’s love for God and the man’s love for his neighbour. The former is internal, while the latter is external. If we love God with all our heart and soul then the intended end/outcome of that faith is peace within. If we love our neighbour as ourselves then the intended end/outcome of that faith is mercy toward the poor and the needy.

When we invest in the wellbeing of the poor and the needy then it makes us invest in a spiritual/heavenly treasure. That spiritual treasure does manifest itself in a divine luck. There will always happen something good in time to bring us relief in our time of distress. The divinity is capable of creating favourable changes in the situation. The divinity is capable of making a right person be there at the right moment and right place in helping/delivering us, which might have seem to be a happy coincidence to us, and yet it was deliberately planned by the divinity long before it. That to become lucky in a critical situation or regarding our most important needs, that indeed is priceless. It is something which no money can buy, and which no material object can be used to trade/exchange for, and which no worldly worth can be equalled to. That to help the weak for free makes the divinity help us for free in our weakness. Also, charity toward the poor and the needy is in itself being a preventive measure against thieves and frauds/scammers. It cannot be robbed the generous man of his wealth if he has already given away all or most of his wealth to the poor/needy. (It does of course apply that the generous man does first satisfy his general needs and spends a little something on entertainments, and then afterwards he gives away all the surplus to the poor and the needy.) It cannot be robbed someone who does not have anything to be robbed of. Because the generous man is free of covetousness then he cannot be defrauded by those that appeal to the covetousness of their targets/victims and deceive them with promise of imaginary things (of acquiring more wealth). Finally, a generous man can be blessed with good taste. He does not waste his money upon expensive junk or dull/boring entertainments. Somehow he is able to find the best material in each category (the few things of the best quality), instead of going through everything belonging to one category (which includes all those of poor quality and mediocre quality). The man with good taste manages to make good use of the time, so that he is able to refreshen himself between hard work.

The essence of the faith consists in Jesus Christ Himself, and how He lived among us in this world. The Lord is the living example of the faith, with its principles, accomplishments, and victories. It did not only reach to the activity among men, but also to the activity of the soul. The Lord obeyed God in every matter, and He conquered temptation in every matter. The life of Christ was perfect and nothing more needed to be added. The man must become like the Lord if he is ever going to do the same things. And that can only happen if the man receives the Lord into his life and is remade in His spirit. First the man must become pure from within before he can speak and act in a pure way. There must come pure intentions from a pure heart. The man will otherwise not be able to have pure intentions while his heart is impure. The deeds can only become good if the intentions are good. The deeds can otherwise never become good if the attitude behind it is false and selfish. This is why Jesus Christ is the centre of the faith, the very foundation of everything. For that only His presence is able to change our heart and our soul and our spirit, and keep our mind and body in check. It should not only be looked upon that what the Lord preached and practiced, but also what He never preached nor practiced. The true believers are meant to behave after His good example, even as the Son proved to be noble and altruistic like the Father. The followers can prove to be frail, prone to error of judgment and mistakes. But the Lord Himself can never be blamed for anything. The Lord would have done the perfect thing in our position. And we can also become blameless in everything, if we will only heed His teachings in our heart and apply it to our life. It is a good rule of thumb to ask ourselves what Jesus Christ would have done in our position, and what He would never have done in our position. We can be imperfect and guilty of faults, but we do still always believe that the Lord is perfect and blameless. This is justification by faith, to believe that the Lord is true and just and able to save us; regardless of that what we have hitherto become and done in our life, and where we are now at.

When Jesus Christ carried our sins to/on the cross then it did not only reach to the external behaviour. The Lord has underwent every bad internal experience of the human people. He has already confronted and overcome every desire of the heart there is, every delusion of the mind there is, and every impulse of the flesh there is. All these bad things passed through the Lord without ever corrupting Him. All these bad internal experiences can be likened to dark clothes which the Lord wore, without ever being part of His own body. These bad things were like a sticky matter on the soul, but not of the soul and not in the soul. The Lord maintained an innocent life amidst all these thoughts and mental symptoms. Hence the Lord has the rightful position to intervene and save us from every bad internal experience there is. The Lord has already done it, and He can do it again in us all, as many times as He wants. By overcoming all these temptations then the Lord collected every spiritual victory there is. The Lord unlocked every good possibility in his life. All this good sense, good qualities, and benefits are contained in one man. And through that same one man are all things made accessible to everyone. The faith of Abraham reveals the faith of the Lord. The meekness of Moses reveals the meekness of the Lord. The mercy of David reveals the mercy of the Lord. All these Biblical figures from Abel to Zechariah reveal the good qualities which would be gathered together in the child of promise. The Lord does possess the power to share His spiritual victory with us, so that we will reap all the benefits from His victory. It does not only reach to a right answer and an inner strength in order to overcome temptation, but also what happens after it has been overcome it, the final destination. It can be headed directly to that in experiencing the effects of that in being victorious (feeling good).

That to be under the grace of God can be likened to the relationship between an infant and its parents. The parents take care of all the needs of the child, and that child does not have to do anything except to receive good things from them. Even so the divinity does freely choose to share all good things with us, even that we are being so imperfect and restricted, ignorant and incapable. The infant is being breastfed by its mother, where the infant receives nourishment (milk) from the middle-part (torso) of her body. The lungs (the main breathing part) are underneath the breasts, and the heart is stationed in between them. Even so we are being nourished by the inspiration from the Spirit of God in our heart. An infant is in ideal condition to watch and listen and learn from its parents, because the infant is like a blank page in its heart and soul. Since the infant has only recently come into the world then there is no old/dry knowledge (or accumulated wrong opinions) getting in the way of the new/fresh knowledge being taught by its parents. And every time that the infant has a bad experience (unrest) then it cries to its parents, where it makes use of the one and the same thing to let it’s parents know about it, and then the parents immediately seek to comfort and soothe it. A similar thing applies when we are having difficulty resisting temptation and we experience ourselves weak, which we thereby consider to become a problem in our eyes. The only thing required is that we approach the divinity for help and confess the truth about our position. Then the divinity will do something within us to calm us down. It can be said that during our whole lifetime, regarding every experience we have within and without; then we are again and again being tested, whether we will continue to have faith in the divinity to calm us down and make us be at rest. No matter how difficult and unpleasant experience we can be having, whether it stems from seemingly great matter or trivial matter (since we can know it with ourselves that we should not be so troubled by such trivial incident, and yet we cannot stop experiencing awkwardness and restlessness about it); then it is only sufficient to believe that God can lead us through this bad experience. There can be many bad things going on in the world, and yet the infant does not understand what is happening and is not being aware of it. The infant only looks to its parents for comfort. They are the centre of its existence. Even so we should not become troubled about all the wrong things happening in the world, these things which are beyond our control, but instead look up to God and have faith that He is over all these things and able to make things turn out good. Abraham sojourned (had a temporary stay) in many places, without settling permanently in each one. Abraham had faith in that what God promised, and he was willing to travel to the unknown. He kept waiting for further command from God, and while he waited then he was at peace. It does correspond to the spiritual journey within ourselves. When we are being led into a bad inner place, which involves a bad personal experience, then we are not supposed to stop on a temptation and justify it being a permanent (settled) part of ourselves (corruption). We are not supposed to stay long on a temptation, like when it is prolonged its bad influence through our own compliance or needless effort in trying to save ourselves from it. We are rather meant to keep enduring this bad experience long enough that God deems it timely to save us from it and take us away from it. Hence we stay for a short time on this bad inner place, and God helps us to keep moving on with our lives, until we come across another bad inner place, and so forth. We stay/remain calm and wait long enough for God to intervene within us. In our lifetime we travel through all these inner places of the world (image of the world, under the  power of the Enemy), without us belonging to any one. We keep looking up to Zion, the kingdom of God, which is not of this world. The moral principles of God are our spiritual map, guiding us closer to His spiritual kingdom.

7.3: Being a Believer

The ‘unbelievers’ can be led by God by being led by their conscience, even that they do not believe formally in Jesus Christ, even that they are not being ‘religious’ like those that are being considered ‘religious’. Many of them do still belong to God in their heart, since they heed and obey the good things which are originated from Him. It is thereby believed indirectly in God, through His sense of truth and justice, which is either way meant to be the end of the faith (final destination). Such men are not really ‘unbelievers’. But the term does rather apply to amoral people (spiritually indifferent), whom do not believe in truth and human decency above self-conceit and selfishness. Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, and those who do not reject the truth do not reject Christ. Christ is already working in them through the truth even that they do not know about Christ through the Scripture/Bible. The faithful unbeliever is someone who does not reject Christ, at least not deliberately, although he can reject the religions of the world and belong to none of them. If he does officially reject Christ then it is because he does not know any better. But if he would be led into the truth (and that truth become part of his conscience) then he would officially confess Christ. But there are many people whom openly pretend to believe in Jesus Christ, by seemingly agreeing with Him in their thought and words of their mouth, while they are being utterly faithless in conviction and choices. It is thereby shown faithlessness indirectly, when truth needs to be confessed and moral choices need to be made, so there is no context between that which is being said and that which is being done. A faithful unbeliever is preferable to a faithless believer, while it is preferable to be a faithful believer than a faithful unbeliever. The faithful believer knows about God and how to approach Him, so that God can help him head straight for the right thing in what most efficient way. But the faithful unbeliever relies upon his human understanding and human ability, and has thereby more trouble doing the right thing. He can often get delayed by something in between (distractions in his mind), or spend more time upon something in between (needless additional effort), although he manages to do the right thing in the end. It can be mentioned when something is found missing or not functioning properly in the chain/sequence of attitude and understanding and ability to follow good through. The man can indeed know the right thing and be willing enough to do it, but he still finds himself unable to do it (as if it was being denied him by his own body, or something stiffens up in him and he cannot pass that spiritual wall). The ability itself is still out of reach. Only those can do right whom it has been given by God. That applies both to the believer and the unbeliever. This also applies to the one who is writing this. He is being no exception to such restriction. When most clever and powerful devils persecute the man then he needs divine assistance. Supernatural assistance is required against supernatural enemies. There is need for divine benefits to counter and nullify the bad influence which forces itself upon the man internally. The faith in God helps to restrain the man and hold him even/balanced. The faithful believer can identify the enemies behind temptations and fight spiritual battles in a proper way. Otherwise the man would have a hard time resisting temptations which he fails to understand. Much time and effort can be spent upon needless struggle against needless problems (illusions). One of the purpose of this work is to help people resist the mind in what most efficient way, with a minimum time and effort spent. That does help speed up the process in doing the right thing.

God knows what truly dwells within each man and understands his position. The Lord does already understand how we feel, what we are in need of, what we are thinking about, and what we are about to say to Him. He does already know everything there is about our attitude, our motives, our intentions, our premises, our expectations, and our fears/worries. The Lord does already know why we are doing this, for what and/or for whom. He already knows what we are trying to do, what we hope to attain, and what we intend to do after having attained the same. It can apply that the man would have believed in Jesus Christ if he only knew better and ‘how’ to do it (in contrast to the wrong means which follow Christian religions). The man might deny Christian religions and organizations, but it does still not mean that he has denied Jesus Christ in his heart. Religion is the man’s version of the faith. Religion is the man’s interpretation of the Scripture/Bible. There exist many different versions and interpretations. Even that religions can be a failure and disappointment then it does still not undermine the Scripture in any way. What the man can touch and make, that same can be corrupted. But the spiritual values of the faith continue to exist pure in heaven, being safely stored and made accessible at any time to those that believe. It is believed in and received spiritual things, beyond the man’s physical reach. Hence the man can lose faith in the religions of the world and reject their teachings, at the same time that he continues to be open for God and His words, waiting for it to be revealed. And the man might deny religious delusions, self-righteous interpretations of the Scripture, but it does still not mean that he has denied the Scripture. Many people have given up on the Scripture, not because of the original meaning or the moral value of the teachings, but it was rather because the Enemy tempted them with wrong assumptions. Remember when the Enemy tried to tempt the Lord into casting Himself down from the temple, by quoting a specific place in the Scripture, unless it was put into a wrong context. It can thereby apply that people hate such religious delusions and do not want to become like the false/phony believers, but they mistake the Scripture for being the cause of it. However, if that people really knew God then they would follow Him, because they do still believe in His truth and goodness, and have not betrayed God in their heart.

In our times the Law of Moses is considered to be too harsh. Still, these are the kinds of punishments all of us would deserve for breaking the law. And yet the justice does never stand lonesome. Justice can be accompanied with the mercy of God. This means that we are indeed guilty of transgressions and deserve to be punished, and yet it is still within the power of God to pardon us and redeem us from it. It is not like God is cheating and breaking His own law, but God has offered His Son to take the punishment instead, as the only lawful thing to be done to even things out. The Law is still in full effect, what is deemed to be a crime and that it should be punished accordingly, unless that the Lord has directed it to Himself, as if hostages were being exchanged. The Lord goes from the good side over to the bad side, where He willingly offers Himself to be taken instead of us, that we might safely go from the bad side over to the good side. In our times people consider the Law of Moses to be controversial. It is not because the law does somehow encourage iniquity, but rather because the punishments for iniquity seem too harsh. It is generally agreed  among men what is considered to be unlawful, a crime, a transgression, an iniquity, an offence. It can be mentioned crimes like murder, theft, and false witness. It must of course be upheld law and order, where it is made an example of the transgressor in order to enforce discipline upon the rest, to prevent similar crimes and similar attitude behind it in the future. A truthful and decent person should beware of presuming that everyone else are being just as truthful and decent. There is entirely different nature at work in the wicked person. A wicked person is never willing to confess anything and nothing is able to arouse a sense of decency in it. The Law of Moses does not seem to make sense if one presumes that everyone are being truthful and decent, while the Law of Moses makes sense when it comes to punish those that are being insolent and despicable in their dealings. In our times it can be mentioned gangs of young people which attack innocent persons for no reason, and organized crime which systematically undermines the society. People can be so insolent and despicable that they cannot be restrained from anything insolent and despicable, and they remain unrepentant and stubborn about everything. When we live in a society where most of the people are being truthful and decent then the Law of Moses might seem too harsh, because it does seem unfair that people should get to so harsh punishment when they are being decent enough to humbly confess the truth and be decent enough to assume responsibility. Why should a truthful and decent person be punished in such a cruel way, for a slight fault in comparison to the faults of those that are wicked? But the punishments of the Law of Moses are not really being meant for people which are being truthful and decent. These harsh punishments are rather meant for the wicked people, when the times have become so lawless and organized crimes has thrived so much that it calls for harsh measures against those that are being harsh. The Law of Moses was not being made for the righteous, but the Law of Moses was rather made for the wicked. We should make use of the New Testament for those that are either being righteous or a sincere and humble sinner, while we should make use of the Old Testament for those that are wicked.

The Father and the Son are exactly the same. It can be said that they share the same heart and would have done the same thing in any situation. But many people presume that the Heavenly Father is being selfish and harsh while the Son is being noble and humane, because of supposable difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is failed to realize that Jesus Christ would have said and done the same thing as the Father, and the Father would have said and done the same thing as the Son. The Lord could just as well have fulfilled the role of the Father in the Old Testament, and the Father could just as well have fulfilled the role of the Son in the New Testament. Both of them are basically the same person, except the differences consist in their roles, and who came before the other. Christ is of course the Lord, and the Lord is often quoted in the Old Testament. So the supposed controversies do also reach to Jesus Christ we know, but not only to the Father. It does not mean that Jesus Christ is guilty of unfair and harsh dealings toward the human race, but it is rather us who are to blame for not fully understanding the matter. We do not know all the reasons behind God’s decisions, why God acted in the way He did, and what end He had in sight, regarding the overall picture. This is why we should first understand what kind of person God is, what belongs to His good nature, and what His love is capable of, before it can be explained His intervention in all things. If God is good then His intervention must also be good. God did hard/tough things through love, because it needed to be done. A ‘tough love’ is being one side of the same coin which love is, when a  ‘soft love’ is no longer working out in encouraging and convincing the person to repent of its errors. There is a need for rebuke and disciplinary action against an erring and subversive attitude of those involved, when those involved think they can get away with their errors and resume them indefinitely. This ‘tough love’, which might at first seem too harsh, does yet help and benefit that person in the long run. In the Gospels Jesus Christ did mostly rebuke and condemn the Pharisees for being hypocrites, when they claimed and practiced something against the spirit of the law. That was being relevant to the faith and the Scripture, because it teaches us to avoid the extreme of self-righteousness when trying to follow God and His teachings. Jesus said that we should not cast pearls before swine and dogs. Jesus did not need to waste His time and effort upon that in trying to convince the wicked and the ungodly, because they were either way being unreceptive to everything which He could say and do. Such people do not read the Scripture in the first place. For example, Jesus did not attend to those that were in the middle of debauchery and/or committing despicable crimes against other people. The New Testament involves a testimony meant for those who can be reasoned with and convinced of the truth. Even that the Gospels mentions people which failed to follow Jesus Christ because of their fear of the Pharisees and that they could be excluded from the Synagogues; then these people were still being receptive to the truth which Christ taught and they could be reasoned with. There was being a good side in them which could be appealed to and drawn out from their mouth (confession). The wicked and the ungodly are mostly omitted in the Gospels, because they are either way considered irredeemable. When God does rebuke His people for presuming and doing something wrong; then it is because they are being capable of heeding such rebuke and do something about it. God does rebuke His own people, while those outside are not being worthy of a rebuke. If Jesus Christ had back then been asked about all these wicked and ungodly people which He did not attend to; then He would have answered something similar to that being testified of in the Old Testament. He would also have predicted a harsh punishment in store for them.

Jesus Christ proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was near. It was not the same thing as the end of this world, or that sinners were about to be punished with hell. The Kingdom of God is made possible through the Spirit of God inside the believer. It is a spiritual state where the truth and the justice prevails. The end of the world does not only reach to the destruction of the earth. It can also mean the end of the world’s evil influence, which had once troubled the man from within. There will no longer be any uncertainty and selfish problems afflicting the man. The man will instead become confident, light-hearted, sober, calm, stable, and at peace. It does not make any sense when fanatics claim that God wants us to suffer for our sins. It does contradict the mutual love between persons. That love between persons is originated from God, where He loves us and He wants us to love one another in the same way. Fanatics presume that everyone will go to hell except they, but such uncaring and arrogant attitude would never exist unless God was already absent from their life. This means that the fanatics are already spiritually dead, and it is like they see death in all things, since they have rejected God in spirit and the inner life from His presence. God does love us more than we do love ourselves, and more than we do love the fellow man. His kindness and generosity does always surpass our best expectations. Therefore can we obtain comfort in misfortune, since we are in the good hands of God and He treats us better than we deserve. It is only God who is able to justify us and grant us eternal life. But it is not something which we can deserve by our merit, or work hard for with many good deeds. This does not mean that God will condemn everyone and send them to hell, but it does rather explain why God does redeem us from our sins. It is because of God’s goodness alone, and for no other reason. He loves us with His whole heart and whole effort. It is not like we can assert anything in advance and demand eternal life from God, but we are rather meant to acknowledge the obvious truth and submit to Him. The everlasting Paradise is of greater worth than this transient earth, and the perfect body of Christ is greater than our imperfect body. It would not make any sense if the imperfect things could deserve the perfect things, or be traded as objects of equal value. So the grace of God is much greater than anything which we can offer to Him. But God does still choose to give it freely to us, as a testimony about His own greatness.

It has already been described the voice of God from within the individual, in what way it does manifest itself. That helps us to know the truth by recognizing its origin. It might seem that we are listening to our heart, but it is really the Spirit of God in our heart. Our heart has already been purified and revived by the Spirit of God. Our heart would otherwise have remained spiritually barren, dictated by self-centred desires and too much personal attachment. That to follow the heart without the Spirit of God is to prefer self-seeking inclinations over self-restraining inclinations. Jesus Christ is the very personification of the Truth. This means that the truth is being humble, temperate, and discreet, just like the Lord Himself behaved while He was among us. It is in the nature of the truth to comfort us, solve our problems, dispel our worries, raise our spirit back to hope, rebuke our folly and errors, and reassure us that God will always be there to watch over us. It is not like the truth would treat us in a superficial and rough way, by dwelling on our past faults and accusing us of everything. But that can only belong to the Enemy. This is why the man is not supposed to be afraid of the truth, that the truth will reveal something from the past and cause him harm (pain, shame, or loss). For that Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, able to forgive us our sins and make us forget all about the past evils. The truth is meant to deliver us from all evil, so that we can repent, learn from our mistakes, improve our life, and regenerate every wound in our soul. But it is the Enemy that seeks to exploit the past against us and make us dwell on our weaknesses, since that he is ugly in his soul. It is not the truth that does hurt us, but it is rather our thoughts about it. We fail to notice the truth in its own right while we are being concerned about our self-image, a mere illusion and a vanity. It is true that the truth can reveal our faults, but it is also true that the truth is able to pardon us of the same things. So there is always more truth behind every matter, made accessible to us and capable of our deliverance, if we will only believe in its value. The Life moves on, because the Lord is the Life, ever helping us to make the best of the situation, to live in the present time, to let go of our problems, and let the matter rest. The Life itself is being beautiful and forgiving, while the world (or the image of the world) is being ugly and cruel. Since Jesus Christ is the Life itself then the Life is being gracious and merciful.

It can be mentioned when we are afraid of doing something wrong, and we are worried that something bad might happen to our beloved ones. However, the Life itself proves to be tolerant and patient toward us in our unintended mistakes and negligence. Even that we can unintentionally do something amiss then our worst fears do still not come true. It is like the Life chooses to overlook this and pardon this this time. The Life had already anticipated this, and thereby created favourable coincidences in averting bad consequences (no contact, no recipient). The Life is quick to make us realize our mistakes, and help us not repeat them, and to take a necessary precaution for next time and from now on. These mistakes and negligence will only lead to bad consequence if we deliberately keep repeating them, if we are abusing the grace of the divinity and recklessly 'tempting fate'. We can be grateful that all these fears and worries do only seem to exist in our head. The reality is far more gracious and merciful than the mind's version of the reality. We can be grateful that all this bad experience is only happening within us, without being in any connection with that what is happening outside us. It is not like we first need to have a good internal experience (feel good and have 'good' thoughts) that we might obtain some kind of guarantee that our beloved ones are having it good and that we should not be worried over them. It can apply that when we have a bad experience within us, and good things are being denied to us, and we cannot see past this darkness that shrouds us; then the divinity is at the same time being gracious to everyone else in everything. Because we experience all these bad things then the divinity makes up for it by making the opposite thing apply to the people in our life. We cannot see it happening when we are all alone or other people are distant from us, and yet this invisible faith leads to all kinds of invisible benefits and lucky coincidences (as preventive measures), when the invisible Spirit of God and His angels are working behind the scene. It might seem like we have already done something wrong, and that the matter has already finished/concluded in a bad way, and that 'all is lost' (an impossible or hopeless situation). And yet it is a question whether we take God into account/consideration, that God is still able to do something about this, that God is still able to have the final say in the matter and to a create an unexpected change/movement for the better. We can still acknowledge/confirm that God is able to free us from this bad experience (forgetfulness, no awareness of its existence) or make this bad experience bearable enough for us, that we are at least not being overwhelmed by it and able to maintain 'good posture'. We acknowledge/confirm that God has already anticipated everything, and that He already has a solution in store for everything, and that He can still show us a way out of this darkness. Also, because the mind always lies then we can receive consolation from that knowledge. All these bad things which the mind mentions are not going to happen. All these bad possibilities (fears and worries) can be excluded.

Temptations manifest themselves in the selfish desires of the heart, the delusions of the mind, and the impulses of the flesh. It is only delusions which tempt us with speech, while desires function as stimulus before/behind the speech and impulses function as effects after it has been complied with the speech. All temptations are originated from the mind, although our mind is not being alive or evil in itself. It is rather because the Enemy can insert/implant his thoughts into our mind. The Enemy is capable of sending us thoughts and imaginations, as if it were telepathically. There can befall a storm at the sea. Something disruptive can happen at the sea and threaten the human people. The sea is quiet and still, until the wind blows upon it and disturbs it. The human mind is quiet and still, until the Enemy inserts his own thoughts and imaginations into it. It is not really the human mind which is evil in itself. It only seems to be so while the Enemy is tempting the man and making everything seem bad in his eyes. The Enemy possess the deliberate will to tempt the human people, to oppose them, and to distract them. It should not be blamed the scene where the crimes happened. It should rather be blamed the wicked person that committed the crime at the scene. Once the Enemy has been cast out then the mind will become quiet and still again. That to be tempted is not the same thing as compliance, in having already yielded within. That to be tempted by the Enemy is not the same thing as if we had already sinned, or that we had been guilty of selfish desires in our heart. It does not mean that we did something prior to it to draw the Enemy to us (something to call for it and deserve it). Jesus Christ was indeed sinless in this world, but the Enemy did tempt Him all the same, in every possible way, both directly and indirectly, in his person (in the desert) and through the human people. This is why we should not become troubled when the mind seems to haunt us, involving unpleasant or aggressive thoughts. Such process would have happened either way. It is nothing personal, like what we have hitherto become and done with our life, since that temptations can be something which could not have been prevented in our mind. Only God is able to prevent temptations, and drive the Enemy away from our life. Our human effort would otherwise not have made any difference, in silencing the mind. When we are being led by a selfish desire then we wish for or expect selfish things to happen. It is coveted and craved sinful things. It is felt the need for it. Next will we experience delusions, arguments that encourage us to make our selfish desires come true out in the world. It is contemplated ‘how’ we should speak and behave, that we might obtain success in our pursuit and gratify our self/ego. Finally it will be experienced impulses, illusionary effects in our flesh/body, involving obsession and restlessness and self-constraint. Impulses make it seem hard/harder for us to resist the urge to commit these selfish things all over again. We are no longer being spiritually sober and able to maintain distance from the things we know to be wrong. But we are being swayed by misleading signs and false alarms in our body, where we allow it to convince us into following through the wrong thing above the rightful reasons in following through the right thing. These three types of temptations point to one another and sustain one another. Impulses like fear and anger seem to add weight to and confirm the presumptions which is being had. It does create a vicious cycle. The Enemy is able to tempt us in our mind, even that we are free of selfish desires and we have not been inclining to anything wrong (not deliberately, not further by our attention). We experience selfish thoughts in our mind, and yet it is like mere words, unable to make any impression on us and which is easy for us to reject. We are already pure and at peace, stationed at the right foundation. These thoughts come over to us, uninvited. But we are already closed in our heart. Every time the temptation tries to infiltrate then we turn our attention away from it or see past it.

When the man does believe in Jesus Christ for the first time then he can experience all kinds of aggressive and unpleasant thoughts, which has never before been experienced in his life. The man tries to rationalize why he does experience such aggressive thoughts, constantly harassing him. The man assumes he had been doing something wrong and reaped its consequences from within. It is assumed this to be a sign of 'repression' and that the man is being too hard on himself, and that thereby should he return back to the self-indulgence of his selfish way. It might seem to be the logical thing to blame the faith because of the bad things that have been experienced at the same time, concerning the man’s mindset and internal stability. But does it not seem incredibly coincidental that the man did never experience such opposition while he was being selfish! The man did not meet such opposition when he was already being compliant with corruption. It did happen afterwards, when the man finally attempted to become virtuous, by doing the right thing and abstaining from corruption. Is this not a transparent sign that the evilness is persecuting the man for following the goodness, rather than that the goodness would be punishing the man for being no longer selfish! It can be compared the opposition of the mind to the methods of Pavlov, regarding classical conditioning and involuntary reflex actions. The devil does 'grab' the man while something is happening at the same time, or while the man is doing something at the same time, to make the man think that he is either being 'rewarded' or 'punished' for it, to make the man think that he should follow the 'good consequence' and avoid the 'bad consequence'. The indirect signs/touches/arousals in the man‘s mind and body seem to give such impression. The opposition of the mind is being incidental, instead of being the direct consequence of following the goodness. That to follow the goodness has yet to lead to good consequence. The man has to remain patient while he keeps making good choices, until it has reached full cycle, until these good things have reached full grow with the time and can be finally reaped. The man will experience adversity in his mind while he does believe in God and tries to follow Him. The man should acknowledge that the mind is at fault, rather than by blaming the faith. A pursuit of pleasure and an avoidance of pain does not make the decision right in itself. It should rather be based on personal conviction, freedom, understanding, and morality. The adversity does not really prove or disprove anything when it is evaluated the goodness by its own merit. The faith can still work out in the man’s life. The man can still make use of the good things which belong to the good side. Even that it is thought about God then it does still not mean that God is being involved, since that thoughts belong to the mind and it distorts our vision of all things. There is the will of God, and then there is us implicating our own will to the will of God and mistaking our own will for being the will of God. The Spirit of God is in our heart, and His voice does manifest itself in a silent sense. It can only be obeyed the will of God by heeding His voice. But we should not implicate thoughts to His will, since we will otherwise rely on wrong means, offered by the Enemy. The man should not blame God for his own failure and disappointment, because it was never originated from the Spirit of God.

Let‘s say that the man undergoes the spiritual test of being always haunted/harassed by the same type of thoughts. If the man has faith in God then the man will continue to deny these temptations, each and every time, no matter how often these thoughts appear and for how long time, even that the man does not possess any certainty about that when these thoughts will finally cease, and he does not possess any certainty in his own ability/power to keep denying these thought to the very end. If the man lacks faith in God then he will only resist these thoughts for a limited time, where he will soon become angry and complain that all of this is being unfair, as if God was not doing anything for him and that God was being totally useless and no longer to be relied upon for anything. To the faithless man then it is like he is being stuck upon the same single devil, where that devil keeps tempting him countless times no matter how many temptations that man has managed to resist, so it might seem like there is no victory to be had over that single devil and God has failed the man. But what if it would be revealed to the man what has really been happening in the spiritual realm behind the scene. That these countless thoughts were not being bound to the same single devil, but that thousand devils were being involved which kept getting destroyed by God, one by one, as if all these devils had been waiting in a long row/line and replacing the foremost devil which was getting destroyed. It only seemed like involving the same single devil because these thousand devils kept pretending to be the same single evil, by making use of the same type of thoughts over and over again against the man (since it is being more efficient to keep exploiting the same weakness against the man than by coming up with random attacks in random matters). The faith in God is a preventive measure against all such first impressions which would otherwise have deceived the man. God is indeed being dreadful to His enemies and powerful in destroying them in what most efficient way. God is like a consuming fire which devours every devil which comes close enough, when a devil obtrudes into the life of the believer and tries to convince him to abandon this consuming fire. This is happening in a bright way in the spiritual realm behind the scene, while the believer is being in the dark about it during his human existence, and yet through the faith the believers knows about this and he confirms it even that he cannot actually see and hear it happening.

A sin is the same thing as unbelief in God and His goodness. The unbelieving man is not open for the possibilities of the goodness, so that he will neither consider them nor reach out for them. It is like the man has already given up on the goodness in advance, before actually experiencing and knowing the goodness for himself. Unbelief does begin in the man’s attitude. The man has already chosen the evil possibility and yielded to it from within, long before he has spoken and behaved in such way. This is why unbelief in God is the original cause, which drives forth the man’s weakness and corruption. The external behaviour is merely the consequence of the internal attitude. If there is no unbelief then there will also be no iniquity. The external factors are determined by the internal factors, what kind of reception and response will be shown to the external factors. A principled and harmonious kingdom will easily drive off the invader, while a corrupt and divided kingdom will easily fall to the invader, since the latter is already defeated from within even before any invader appeared on the scene. Let‘s consider the human body and the environment. The external influence (sound) does always first need to go through the sense organs (hearing of the ear), and next be analyzed by the spiritual capability (understanding of the spirit or that of the mind). A pure man and an impure man can hear the same things being spoken to them, but they interpret it differently and respond to it differently, based upon the analyzis of the spiritual capability which they side with. Because the pure man is already being pure then he heeds the pure part in himself (the Spirit). Because the impure man is already being corrupt then he heeds the corrupt part in himself (the mind). This part in the man, whether pure or impure, functions as the intercessor of all information. Every sin and iniquity is as equally wrong in its nature. Every temptation is originated from the same evil nature. It can be a misleading thing to speak of a ‘little’ temptation and a ‘big’ temptation, or a ‘lesser’ evil and a ‘greater’ evil. It is because it does involve different arguments from the same person, the Enemy himself, whom is being pure evil and altogether evil and most evil of all. The Enemy does everything through pure malice. There is not the slightest degree of decency to be found in his motives and intentions, even that his speech to us might seem to involve a degree of decency to be taken into account. The matter is not about that what the Enemy can say differently to us, whether it is deemed to be a ‘harmless’ and ‘casual’ temptation or a serious and disturbing temptation. It should rather be noticed that what he is trying to promote through it. All these temptations have it in common that the tempter is deliberately trying to deceive, manipulate, undermine, corrupt, enslave, degrade/humiliate, oppress, afflict, and destroy the human people. All of this does work against the wellbeing of the human people. The worst crimes are directed against the person, while lesser crimes only involve material possessions outside the person. All crimes are still originated from a corresponding attitude, like covetousness, lack of charity, or hatred. A criminal behaviour can seem different to one another (in what way it was executed and the scene of the crime), but the selfish desires behind it remain the same. God is capable of forgiving us all our sins and iniquity, so that our soul will be purified of all corruption, healed of all spiritual sickness, and guided by the Spirit of God henceforth. Therefore will all our sins and iniquity become insignificant in the eyes of God, as something no longer being taken into consideration. It does not mean that such sins and iniquity are being trivial/little in general, as if it would be belittled the suffering of the person we sinned against. It is acknowledged that nothing is being too hard for God to accomplish, even that everything is being too hard for us to accomplish. That these things are not being a little matter in our eyes, and that we cannot do anything great to make up for it, and yet we acknowledge that these things are being trivial/little when the great power of God is involved in doing the impossible.

There is a difference between faith and religion. Faith confirms the original teachings of the divinity, what the divinity has testified of itself and in what way it should be approached. We have God’s testimony to us, found in the Scripture. That is the primary source, the original meaning. But then there is the human interpretations of the same testimony, or human thoughts about it, which tends to digress to entirely different meaning. The religions of the world are more like secondary or tertiary (third-rate) source, since there can be many human interpreters in between. It is like an interpretation of an interpretation, while it is neglected the original testimony. The Scripture tells us what kind of person God is, what He is capable of in our life, what kind of moral principles belong to Him, and what is our position in His eyes. The faith does help the man adapt to God and His goodness, while religions try to make God adapt to human presumptions and errors. It is taken the name of God in vain, as if the name of God was a mere tool or propaganda, something to serve the self-interest of the worldly rulers (self-justifications, pretexts). The human people ascribe their own foolish opinions to God, and attempt to shape God into their own image, as if God would become a mere reflection of their ego. It corresponds to that when it is worshipped a golden calf under the same name as God. The human people have preferred their subjective image of God above God Himself, and their interpretations of the Scripture above the Scripture itself. It does not longer involve the same principles which define God‘s person, since God is known by His truth and goodness. It can be likened to that if we would make a statue of our friend, and then prefer that statue above our friend, even that there is nothing identical to the friend except the outward shape. A selfish man tells himself 'I want to do this selfish thing'. And when that man becomes a phony believer (through selfish reasons) then he instead tells himself 'God wants me to do this selfish thing'. Nothing has really changed in regard to the attitude and the behaviour. The name of God is being taken in vain and used as an excuse for the very same selfish things inclined to.  A self-righteous man is still being bound to his self/ego deep down in his heart. He has still not opened his heart to God and allowed God to change it. All this lip service involves empty words. It is mentioned the word 'God' while everything implicated/attached to it has nothing to do with God. A self-righteous man does deep down desire the same selfish things as the selfish people, but he tries to guise it with 'beautiful' words/vocabulary when speaking to other people. He makes something 'high' and 'mighty' from something trivial, or he tries to decorate and overblow something  which could have been said plainly. He does seem to say all the right things in order to get other people to do what he wants. It is like a specific man would pretend to be spiritual in order to impress a woman enough that she would have sexual relations with him. All this 'spiritual talk' turned out to be carnally minded all along. It ended up being a contradiction, something opposite that which was originally claimed to be.

The religions of the world are irrelevant, a mere digression. A religion is not the same thing as God. A religion is separate from God, made by people separate from God. That to criticize religions is not the same thing as if the man was criticizing God. This means that we do not need to defend religions and their doctrines. God has existed from the very beginning. God is the Creator of the universe and He created the human race. The human race did then create religions, with all their errors and crimes. This means that a religion merely came afterwards. It would be foolish thing to blame God for their faults, since it never involved God directly. It is the men themselves that showed error of judgment, and committed crimes against each other. But God did never do so in His own person, nor did He encourage them to do it. In every religion there are all kinds of scandals, and crimes committed in secret. It was never the true believers whom became guilty of such wickedness, nor did God help them do it. It is a sign that the wicked offenders never belonged to God in the first place, since the divine grace would otherwise have purified their heart from all wicked inclinations. When a wicked choice is being so far from God and totally devoid of God; then it has been aroused by a wicked heart being so far from God and totally devoid of God. It can also be mentioned when the leaders of such religions attempt to cover up the crimes of others, since they are afraid that the scandal will otherwise harm their own position. It is a sign that God never gave His approval of such religion, nor was it founded upon His goodness. That religion was merely invented for the sake of its leaders. It is like that religion is merely a pretext, that men might create titles in order to feel important about themselves, receive honour from each other, and convince each other about their own delusions.

In our times it has been marketized the faith as any other product on the market. First there was faith, and next faith became replaced by Christian culture, and then Christian culture became replaced by Christian marketing. A ‘Christian marketing’ with all its inventions and merchandise, like Christian TV stations, Christian radio stations, Christian self-help books, Christian music, and Christian objects (crosses, pictures, statues). (It is like someone would tell us that we were being a Christian by buying a ‘Christian’ coffee cup and that we should drink the same coffee which other Christians are drinking, when these things are being irrelevant to spiritual matters and we can just as well make use of general/ordinary objects like everyone else to satisfy our needs.) All of this is nothing more than mass produced clichés and junk, which gets in the way of God’s original testimony and steals the attention from it. It does correspond to that when it was made a golden calf which was called by the same name as the Lord, and when faithless merchants at the temple in Jerusalem sold animals which could be sacrificed. It is seemingly done something for the sake of the Lord without having first been consulted with Him. What does Jesus Christ feel and think about all of this? What did Jesus Christ make use of or avoid making use of? What did Jesus Christ approve of for being important or condemn for being trivial? Do the true believers really need to make use of these external things when the faith is originated within them and the voice of God is originated within them? How are these external things supposed to speed up the process of something which already existed before these things, and which can just as well be followed through without these things (in addition)? The very source/essence of everything does originate within and it can be concluded within. The Scripture speaks against demand for signs. It is like people would first expect to notice fireworks exploding in the sky before they could be convinced by something which is being transparently true and morally right. And people would keep expecting to notice such fireworks exploding in the sky every time before making an important choice, as if such fireworks were confirming something totally irrelevant to the fireworks. People can just as well watch a movie or play a video game if they want to notice striking ‘special effects’, rather than by expecting such vanity from God. Something seemingly spectacular happens, and then it is over. The man finds himself still stuck on the same selfish needs and selfish problems. He remains just as ignorant and selfish as before he experienced this (spectacular sighting) in the first place. There is still no belief in the goodness, still no personal improvement, still no understanding of moral principles, still no firm conviction behind the choices, and still no analysis or discernment of spiritual matters. Supernatural signs and magic tricks are altogether irrelevant to that in feeling better, knowing better, and doing better. True miracles are about healing and restoration within. That the bad things might go away and good things enter instead, which surpass current restrictions (spiritual walls), in regard to the person’s internal condition, will/willingness, understanding, and capability. It can even be questioned the value of future predictions (prophecies). The prophecies in the Scripture make sense because they function as parables about something fundamental in spiritual matters and which spiritual lessons can be derived from. But all prophecies outside the Scripture, which have been made by men and added by men, are utterly pointless. It includes that when foolish men presume themselves capable of interpreting the prophecies of the Scripture, where they implicate something foolish to them and comment something foolish on them, which thereby replaces the original prophecy with a foolish prophecy. Even that it could be accurately predicted very distant future event in the world; then it does still not help deal with the underlying cause which makes people think and act the way they do. For example, what is the point of predicting a single bad event in the future and manage to stop it from happening, when that bad event is being motivated by pride and pride will continue to motivate countless bad events. It is more important that the human people can be free of pride to prevent such bad events from happening, and one does not need to be some kind of prophet to predict the beneficial effects of something which makes sense and is being practical in the situation. It is being prudent to offer spiritual guidance which can apply to each and every individual, in what way he copes with various matters on a daily basis and what essence to hold unto.

The one writing this confesses that he was once a phony believer. One was constantly trying to save oneself from unwanted thoughts, and one was constantly seeking a supernatural sign from God to make one certain that one was being saved. At that time then one attended to a Christian cult which was being led by a self-righteous preacher. During that time then one was being so absorbed by personal problems that one was not really looking around, when it came to discern the value of that what people said and did, and what kind of people they were. But once one began to truly open one's heart to God and approach God in faith and become fully determined to abide by moral principles; then one also began to open one‘s eyes and notice how phony and hypocritical such Christian cult proved to be. It is like a needy and troubled person (mentally ill) goes to a place which is supposed to offer spiritual support, and yet that person passes unnoticed by everyone and nobody bothers to check on it. Nobody bothers to inquire why that person is coming to this place, what that person is really seeking for or trying to escape from. Even before one became mentally sick then one had been guilty within of all kinds of heresies, like by afterward ascribing one's salvation/redemption to something else than the faith in Jesus Christ (which had happened originally), and by wanting to rely upon the means of the devil against the devil (crafty and clever tricks), and by wanting to make compromises with the world in order to convert more people to the 'faith' (a hypocritical faith, or a faith which is spiritually empty and thereby no faith at all). One had inwardly been despising the role of Jesus Christ in one's life and despising the testimony of the Scripture/Bible, as if it was not being enough and needed a 'help/support' from inventions of the world. And when one turned mentally sick then one was being so distracted by unwanted thoughts and by one's own improper effort in trying to save oneself from it; that in this weak/poor state one was easily being convinced to attend to a phony Christian cult. If one is being a phony believer and a 'wannabe false prophet' (being insincere within toward God, being insincere in regard to the motive and the means in furthering the faith); then God does rebuke one for it by making one drawn to a phony Christian cult, since its superficial dealings or none-helping dealings makes one realize how fruitless such path is. If one had become a successful false prophet then one would also have neglected all the needy and troubled persons attending one's cult. God managed to rebuke one for this wrong attitude back then by making one experience what it is like to be a spiritually stagnant follower of a false prophet. False prophets are truly the worst of the worst, because they seek to exploit the weak/poor state of those that are too weak/poor to know otherwise. They convince distracted and desperate people to donate money to them in exchange for false promises of a miracle, which these people would never have done if they were really 'being themselves' (mentally sane and stable and spacious enough to make right decisions for themselves). People are being so afflicted by the mind that the mind narrows everything down into a most improper assumption, what can be resorted to in order to save themselves from it. True miracles come for free, because God is so good that He gives/shares everything for free.

A false prophet can be likened to an ordinary man in which there is nothing special about. He is being selfish and short-sighted, no different from all the other selfish and short-sighted people in the world. That man presumes that he is being favoured by God, because he is not being mentally/spiritually handicapped like the persons which live in distress and are seeking relief from it. It can apply that something is not functioning properly within the person, where that the person is unable to know/realize or accomplish something because an inner part of that person is missing. When something bad happens within then there does not seem to happen anything good within to counter it, whether to correct or restrain that person from the bad thing. It is like that ordinary man (false prophet) would try to to tell blind people how to see, or tell deaf people how to hear, or tell lame people how to walk, because he only looks to his own life and fails to put himself into the position of other people. A sick person experiences everything in a sick way. Because the person is already sick then it makes every experience heavy and hard to bear. (When a man is already being healthy then all bad experience seems so distant from his soul and body. But when the man becomes sick then all bad experience seems so near his soul and body, as if every moment was being unbearable and the man knows he cannot do anything to alleviate it.) That foolish false prophet is not experiencing this spiritual sickness, where he does not know anything about that how hard and narrowing and pressing it can be, and yet he tries to tell/guide other people how to overcome it. It is like that ordinary man would say to a sick person that these circumstances are being easy to handle and the person should not be troubled by them, because that man is not experiencing a sickness at the same time and he presumes it is the same with the other person. It was not really the circumstances that made the person sick. The sickness of the person was already there and it affected its experience of the circumstances. People which attend to cults or false prophets are people which are already being disturbed and afflicted by something within, which are already being restricted or disabled in their understanding and capability, which are already being narrowed and pressed hard by the mind. The false prophet does not experience these bad things within. He thinks that these ordinary things in his life can apply to the people he pretends to help. He only looks to outward things, without putting the same things in context of the inward things. People can be so afflicted by the mind that they consider themselves being forsaken by God and they are utterly at loss what to do about this. Hence they attend to someone whom is supposed to be more favoured by God and whom is supposed to know more about that what they should do. Because people lack faith in God within themselves then they are not being convinced by their own confessed truth meant for themselves. They are all ready and eager in being convinced by 'comforting' things uttered by the mouth of someone else. They seek answers from everyone but themselves.

It is a question what will happen after a person has been converted to the faith in Jesus Christ. Many people spend minimum time and effort upon the faith, as if it was nothing more than a dull/boring routine, or something which does not reach beyond the activity within religious buildings. The faith in God does not actually reach to their heart and all factors in general, what kind of choices need to be made from within and when encountering things most of the time. People only implicate the faith to worldly affairs and mix them together. This 'hybrid' proves to be lukewarm and half-hearted in itself. It should not only be converted new people, but also maintained them as true believers, so they will continue to believe sincerely in God and abide by His teachings. It would otherwise be overreached oneself, where it would be gazed so much on that in converting new people that the previous converts would be neglected. By the time that new people would be converted then the old ones would already be gone, having lost their faith and given up. A false prophet is only concerned about increasing his worldly standing and luxury. In order to do so he needs more followers, whom can support him financially. His followers are not without blame. They follow a selfish leader for a selfish reasons of their own. A false prophet tries to get/convert as many people as possible, by appealing to their vanity and selfishness, and by making compromises with the world. It has been preferred quantity over quality. It is betrayed every principle in order to obtain more followers, while it is neglected each individual by himself. As more people come together to worship God then their faith becomes the more superficial and impersonal, like it is merely for the sake of nearby spectators. It is sought to cast the crowd into the same mould, so that everyone will become as easily exploited by propaganda and tricks. A whole-reaching faith of one true believer is being worth more than the none-reaching faith of countless phony believers. A mere quantity of people means nothing if they ascribe wrong things to God and they approach God in a wrong way and they ask wrong things from God.

It can be mentioned when seemingly ‘healthy’ and ‘ordinary’ people show prejudices against mentally ill people. The former people are not being troubled by the thoughts in their own lives, and thereby they consider mentally ill people to be ‘pathetic’ for being troubled by the thoughts in their lives. All of this is being so shallow and self-centred. The former people are already being self-indulgent slaves to the selfish thoughts in their mind. These people are already despising God in their heart and not believing that He is capable of anything in their lives. These people are already despising and discriminating those that are not being corrupt like them. These people are already being dictated by pride, contempt, hatred, covetousness, and envy, in the greater matters and most of the time. Instead of confronting the bad thoughts of their mind then they choose to make a compromise and be bribed into compliance, namely by diverting these bad thoughts toward someone else (scapegoat) and say these bad things about him and treat him like a bad person (as if all these false claims were true about him). They seek to save themselves from the mind by sacrificing someone else to the mind (prejudices). The mind does not need to try to force these people into compliance (convince through persecution); because they are already bowing down to the mind in their heart and soul. The mind does not persecute these people because they never wanted/dared to act contrary to the mind in the first place. They never wanted to become virtuous. They never wanted to cease to be selfish and to resist the selfish thoughts in their lives. Hence these people experience 'soft' and 'indirect' thoughts, or thoughts that are not being 'hard' and directed against them, thoughts that do not 'grab' them and 'disturb' them. But the mentally ill people keep experiencing aggressive and unpleasant thoughts again and again, and these thoughts are being accompanied by disruptive effects in the body. When a person is being sick then it experiences everything in a sick/bad way. A healthy person does not experience the circumstances in a bad way because it is already being healthy. A 'healthy' person presumes that a sick person is being pathetic for feeling bad in the same circumstances, as if these 'ordinary' circumstances were causing the bad condition, when it really had all to do with the sickness of that person prior to it. The mind is being discriminating in what way it does treat the righteous persons and the wicked persons. The mind accuses/slanders and persecutes the righteous persons for doing the right thing, while the mind does flatter and bribe/support the wicked persons for doing the wrong thing. The mind does fool the wicked persons by pretending to be easy to bear and that its imaginary problems are easy to be solved, as if the wicked persons were in full control of their own mind and masters of it. But all this time the wicked persons were living inside a self-deception (illusion). They are like a caged bird which presumes that it has always been free, since that bird has never tried to move outside the cage and make use of its wings to fly up to heaven. But if that bird would try to move outside the cage then it would quickly discover that it is unable to do so. A corresponding thing applies to people which have had a selfish attitude their whole lives, and which have never tried to become virtuous in their lives. What can be said about that when an ‘ordinary’ person despises a mentally ill person for not being able to overcome the thoughts that are haunting it. A sunny and good weather is not of our own making. A storm is not of our own making. We cannot prevent a storm from happening when it happens. We cannot make the weather become sunny and good again when it suits us. The ‘ordinary’ person is still experiencing a sunny and good weather in its mind. When the ‘ordinary’ person comes up with selfish arguments and tricks in order to make bad thoughts go away then it might seem to work out. But that is because that person is still experiencing a sunny and good weather. These selfish arguments and tricks did not cause the sunny and good weather because there already was a sunny and good weather. It would be a foolish thing to claim that such selfish arguments and tricks do work out when there is finally a storm, because these things were invented and used during a sunny and good weather, and they cannot stand the test of time (during time of adversity). A mentally ill person is already experiencing storm in its mind. All this experience is being hard for the person and what that person can attempt to do about it does not make the storm go away. It cannot be controlled or changed the storm, and that which is being worn during a sunny and good weather is not suited to be worn when there is much wind and rain and cold. Hence it is a hypocritical thing when an ‘ordinary’ person despises a mentally ill person. That ‘ordinary’ person has yet to experience a storm in its mind in its full force/adversity.

7.4: Controversial Issues

Many people agree with the moral teachings of Jesus Christ, while they tend to deny the faith in Him. It is because the supernatural aspects of the Scripture are deemed controversial. All these miracles do not seem to happen in our time. It is like the moral teachings of the Scripture have been dragged down by this. Many people would otherwise have continued to have faith in the moral teachings, if the Scripture had been bound to them alone. And yet the faith in God and His moral principles are intertwined, because the believing man is being internally all set following things through. A believing heart is being straightened by it, and a straight heart heads straight for the right thing in the situation. Belief is the motivation behind the moral principles. It can be acknowledged the earth is bound to natural laws and there is nothing supernatural about it, unless God chooses to reveal Himself to us and manifest His wondrous power. A miracle is supposed to be an exception/anomaly, and thereby not a common thing to happen and to be expected. The Scripture/Bible covers thousands of years, and over seventy generations of men. When we read the Scripture then it contains so many accounts of miracles that we might presume that miracles were happening every day in the lifetime of every individual. It can take us a very short time to read about the lifetime of one individual in the Scripture, when that individual lived all these years/decades without experiencing any miracle in his own time. Most miracles happened in the lifetime of Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Elisha, Jesus Christ, and the apostles of Christ. Otherwise miracles happened very seldom in lifetime of other individuals mentioned in the Bible. Let‘s consider the life of Abraham. Was not Abraham about 75 years old when God first revealed Himself to Abraham? This means that Abraham had not experienced any miracles in all those years between. And yet Abraham had continued to have faith in God all these years/decades without wavering. It can be asked why God would ever bother to promise something which He does not intend to keep. It can be acknowledged that God is an all-powerful being, where He is capable of making miracles if He wants to, but God has still the same not chosen to do it every time it is asked for. Would it not have been better if God had said nothing about miracles and promised nothing, so that none of us would become disappointed and hold it against Him? I speak now as a man, according to that what applies most of the time, and how the world has hitherto been. For it is better to pursue a small advantage and obtain it, rather than by expecting too much and only end up getting nothing. God makes miracles. But these miracles are being done in a discreet way. Some miracles are preventive. We do not know about them because we did not fall into the accidents they prevented. Other miracles might seem like ordinary events, unless they took an unexpected turn for the better. It should not have happened. Yet it happened and things ended well. Like when we hear news about someone having fallen into a danger and yet by some lucky coincidence he somehow managed to come unscathed out of it, and some person on the scene call its a miracle that that someone survived this danger.

The New Testament states that Jesus Christ made persons whole from their sickness, that He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, that He made the dumb able to speak and the lame able to walk, and that He raised persons from the dead. It can be acknowledged that these miracles happened in that time, and during the time of the apostles, and yet for some reason God has not made such miracles since that time. God is of course at work when people heal in general, although it is something which people take for granted and which they do not consider to be miraculous. As the time passes then people get better and are no longer affected by the same problems (outgrowing it), where it seems to happen by itself when life resumes its natural course and it is a common thing that everyone can relate to. And yet God is the force of change behind these seemingly little things that decide/resolve the issue. And God is at work when people are able to discover remedies in medical science and guiding their hand when they skillfully treat patients. These good things come from God. True progress is had from doing things on God terms, when it comes to do things based on facts, when it is kept to that which works out and sought for more efficient methods, and possessed the right feeling in the body. When Jesus Christ healed a person‘s physical body during His time then it was really being a parable about that in healing a person‘s spiritual body at all times. It can be treaded the moderate middle path by acknowledging that God makes miracles in the spiritual aspect, but not in the physical aspect. God does not make people physically whole, but God can rather make people whole in their heart and soul and spirit, that they become wholly determined opening their inner being to God and following Him in humility. Once the person is all/whole for God then the person is willing to repent and confess the truth, to cease from sinful things and be willing to pursue good things instead. And God does not raise deceased bodies in our times, but God does rather raise the man’s soul from the spiritual death of sin, that the man might become a new and better person within, having a new and better attitude, and constantly making improvements in moral choices and experienced circumstances. And God does not open the physical eyes of the blind or the physical ears of the deaf, but God does rather open the eyes and ears of the soul. This means that God does open the man’s understanding within, and makes him open for that in hearing instruction and rebuke, and makes him willing to notice and consider the right possibility in the situation. And God does not make the physically lame able to walk or the physically dumb able to speak, but God does rather make the man’s soul able to aspire for good things and reach out for them, to possess the inner strength to reject temptations and keep to the same right conviction in the long run. And that the man‘s mouth opens for that in mentioning the truthful thing which God has put into his heart, and it is asked God for help in improving things that need to be improved. The man is made spiritually free to travel to any spiritual progress within himself. This is a teaching which can apply at all times and in any situation.

It has been said that it is a mad thing to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. Why should we keep expecting the same miraculous things and keep telling ourselves that it will be different this time; when nothing ever changes in regard to that aspect (the physical body)! If something is not working out and not leading to any beneficial effects; then it should be sought for a different approach. If something only leads to disappointment and resentment then it should be ceased from it, that our internal condition might ever remain sound and stable, involving self-sustaining conviction and adaptability, without being stuck at the same hindrance and wasting needless effort upon it. Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, and we honour Jesus Christ by confessing the truth. We do not honour Jesus Christ by lying something in His name and by pretending that such miracles are happening in our times. If we have to choose between that in stating the humble truth and that in glorifying God by lying something beautiful about Him; then we should always choose the humble truth over it. Although we believe in God and acknowledge His power in all things; then we are still being plainspoken about that how God has hitherto worked in our lives. We are simply responding to that what God has hitherto chosen to do. It is better to be honest about it and confirm the little things than to lie something beautiful and grandiose in the name of God. Why should it matter whether something good is provided through ordinary or miraculous means, so long as something good is provided to the same end! It should not matter whether a rich man could buy enough bread to feed thousand people, or that God Himself would rain bread from heaven for these people, so long as it can be fed these people with food. Even so it does not matter whether remedies for healing and recovery are to be had through medical science instead of miraculous promises of the Bible, so long as people get well in the end. Since God does not make miracles in the physical aspect then it means that God points us into different direction and wants us to make use of different means. God wants us to abide by principle and make good use of our understanding. God helps us within to help ourselves and that we might help one another. The technology of our times would be considered miraculous or magical in the eyes of those that lived in the Biblical times, even that it is not being supernatural in itself. But why expect something supernatural when ordinary means can get the same things done! We should avoid both extremes, where it is neither done too little by asserting that God cannot do something, nor done too much by asserting that God will surely do something (not implicated our wishful thinking to the will of God). It can rather be said that God can do anything and He does whatever pleases Him. Whether God does something or not then it is because He chose to do it. If God wishes to do it then He does it, but if not then we will respect his decision and abide by the same.

The man can find himself compelled to obey the orders of a higher human authority, even that he does not agree with it and he does so reluctantly. Such obedience does tend to lack all conviction and devotion. The man deliberately holds himself back, obeys the orders poorly, and drags out the issue. But it is otherwise most efficient to appeal to the man’s sense of decency and reason, so that he will willingly obey the orders and through a right understanding. The man must first believe in the order and then he will make his best possible effort to carry it out. It is kept up the same resolve, no matter what can change in the situation. God wants us to approach Him through faith because that brings the most fruit in our spiritual life. We are meant to obey God because He does always speak the truth and He is always being right about everything, where His goodness is able to promote most progress and benefits to us. It is a contradictory thing when the man refuses to obey God, unless God will first make some kind of supernatural sign to validate His claim. It should of course be evaluated the moral principle according to its merit, because it is the decent thing to do, fair and dignified to those involved. When the unbelievers demand a sign from God then it is never through any sincere/genuine concern for the truth. The true believers are already being convinced by God without needing any signs. They would either way have heeded and obeyed Him to the best of their knowledge and ability. But the unbelievers are endlessly demanding signs from God. They are not already convinced by anything, and nothing will be able to do so in the future. That to demand signs from God is not the cause of the unbelief, but rather its consequence. It is come up with a pretext to confirm a decision which has already been made. It was first rejected God and next it was loudly demanded signs from Him. Even if some sign would have happened then it would not have made any difference. The faith is meant to make us virtuous like God Himself, when it comes to wish well and do well. First there is compassion and understanding, and next willingness to help the person, and then finally it is used available power in order to make it come true. The power to make miracles is supposed to reflect the goodness of God, as the supreme means in helping the person. That is of course far more effective than any human words and effort. God does not make signs and miracles at random, as if God was only showing off. The miracles are always consistent with His good nature and principles. God possesses the most power in the universe because He alone is worthy of such responsibility. It is not like the saying applies that ‘Might makes right’; that because of his power the supreme god would be allowed to be foolish and unfair and abusive. It cannot be expected that God will make miracles and signs when the actual conditions prove to be trivial, superfluous, and vain. So even that God is all-powerful then it does still not mean that we should believe all kinds of foolish things, as if a brute force could replace all freedom and reason. And if we are going to make miracles then we need to do so on God’s terms. We need to have the same considerations and make good use of that which is good. The goodness of God should have the most priority, and then everything else will follow. The faith should first make us virtuous, and next bestow to us the power to work miracles.

Many people presume that God’s miracles are only bound to the physical body and the environment. But it is much more important that God can make miracles in spiritual matters. Once possessing good sense and inner stability then our approach improves. Once our approach improves then it is fared better. The faith does free us from all doubts and worries and stress, which would otherwise have disrupted the activity of our body, resulting in ailments and accidents. If our soul is burdened with many cares and troubles then it will weaken the body, and make it more vulnerable toward external influence. Even that God does not immediately heal our body of its sickness and injuries; then He can still bless us with a sound attitude, a stoical mind in enduring all adversity. It can still be felt pain, but that pain is somehow made bearable to us and we do not complain about it. It is like the faith in God is all about healing and reviving our spiritual body, so that we can have the right attitude in all matters, the right spirit in confronting the challenge. The faith in God is the greatest preventive measure, because it makes us already focused and sober, observant of the environment and capable of adapting to its demands. We would otherwise be absorbed in thought and neglecting that which is happening in front of us, so we would be more likely to fall into some unforeseen accident. The faith is also able to save us from troubles that we had failed to prevent. We can escape unscathed from it in time, or at least avoid all permanent harm. It has either been nullified the harm, or lessened it to the point of making the harm trivial. It often happens that our body lies to us, when the enemies of God create false alarms in the flesh. The outward symptoms can be mere illusions, a fleeting sensation. There is no actual disease underneath. And we might seem to experience bad things. But we do still the same continue to be alive and well, which makes the bad things inconsequential. We can experience sleep deprivation, but we are still not tired throughout the day. We can lack food and drink, but we are still full of energy, working to our fullest potential. It is thereby like we can experience bad means, but not bad consequences. And God is always able to save us in time, before it becomes too much for us to bear and handle. It is a horrible thing when the man believes in miracles regarding the physical aspect, while the man is at the same time despairing in regard to the spiritual aspect, since he has been misinterpreting the Scripture and expecting worst possible treatment by God. A faith to salvation becomes an anti-faith to perdition, where this very despair of the man drains all energy from him and makes him spiritually sick at all times, which later results in his body failing and collapsing as well. The spiritual wellbeing of the man is being more important than all the supernatural signs and miracles out in the world, and hence if needed these latter things should be skipped for the former.

The grace of God works in the complete opposite way to human expectation. The man presumes that he will first need to do this or that BEFORE he can obtain a divine help, or a deliverance from the problems that are afflicting him. But the true believer confirms that he receives everything, because the faith in Jesus Christ does justify him in advance, forgives him everything in advance, and makes every benefit available to him in advance. It is all about confirming that God can help us, that He wants to help us, and that He will help us. It is only a matter of time when we will receive a blessing from God, where God has already chosen to give it to us and even given the order, through the intercession of Jesus Christ. We must believe that we can receive it. It does not only apply to the possibility of receiving it, but also that God can help us wait patiently for that in receiving it. The enemies of God can appear all of a sudden and tempt us. But then God will appear all of a sudden and vanquish them on our behalf, even that we have not actually done anything. The goodness does automatically cancel the evilness. An adversity will become something which vanishes as suddenly as it had appeared. The blessings of God overtake us even before we are aware of it. The means can be optional, so long as God’s intervention does lead to the same outcome. It is enough that we can be healed and our problems solved, even that we do not see any angel, even that we do not experience any vision or sign at the same time. The Holy Spirit does of course continue to do its work in an invisible way behind the scene. And a similar thing applies to the angels of God, for we may perhaps not see them, and yet the emissaries of God are present and attending to our spiritual needs. That to witness supernatural things can be superfluous, especially if we do already believe in God and obey His moral principles, thereby behaving to the very same effect as if we had seen His miracles.

Philosophical questions are usually bound to matters that are beyond the man’s reach, which he is still not capable of discovering, or the things in question are still not accessible to him. But even that he man could acquire truthful answers to such lofty questions then it would still not change anything, what is the man’s current position and what he can do about it. For the answer does not have any practical use, where is not relevant to the man’s internal condition or the challenges ahead, so it does not make its process easier to endure. The man is still in the same position, just as before he came up with such question in the first place, since he does not know in what way he can make a proper use of the answer. The divinity will still continue to function in the same way, and the truth will always continue to be the truth, even that the man does not know it or recognizes it not. It is only sufficient to know that the divinity knows the truth and is in position to do something about it, while it is not as important that we can know it, frail and incapable as we are. It does not matter whether we can be ‘right’ and ‘win’ an argument against another person, for the truth should be cherished for its own sake, and have priority over our selfish inclinations. The meaning of life is not difficult to discover, if the man knows what it is to love and be loved. Is not the divinity our supreme parent, having created us in order to love us unconditionally! Did not the divinity create us so it could share everything with us, even its own heart and spirit! True parents love their child with pure and sincere heart, where their only concern is that their child can be healthy and happy, at peace and enjoying every moment. It is also about teaching the child to be a decent person and in living well, all in good conscience. It is not like the child came into the world in order to offer selfish advantage to its parents, where the child would first need to do this or that before it could deserve love. For the parents already loved the child even before it was born, and it has everything to do with that what the parents want to do for their child, what is deemed best for its welfare. This is the grace of the divinity, in having loved us first, even before we loved it in turn. The man has nothing to offer to the divinity, which the divinity does not already possess. It is only sufficient to love the divinity in good faith, before the man can be able to love himself and other people, when seeing himself and others through the eyes of the divinity. The man is given a free will so he can acknowledge this love by his willing consent. It is about following the divinity with a perfect freedom and understanding, because it is truly believed in its goodness, what it is capable of in our life. In the Scripture it is written that God created all things, and that for His pleasure they are and were created. God is love, and those that love know God, and those that know God do the same thing as Him, and those that to do the same thing as God will fare as God had always intended for them, and all of this pleases God.

The faith is not only about that in believing that God does exist. It must also be had faith in God as a person, what He testifies to us, and what He is capable of in our lives. But it is indeed a foolish thing to lose faith in God because of some petty issue, an unanswered question or a criticism, which is either way irrelevant to our life in general. Our faith would otherwise only reach to the next doubt which cannot be solved right away, so it is something which cannot work in the long run, in being self-sustaining. Everyone seems to appreciate philosophical questions that are still unanswered, like when it comes to explain our human existence or something beyond our reach. However, when a conclusive answer is finally discovered then nobody seems to care about it. It is not appreciated the answer, not bothered to inquire further into it, and not made any good use of it. Everyone will instead gaze upon the next unanswered question, until it will be solved, and so forth. It is preferred the question above the actual answer. It is because of such attitude that many men are unworthy to discover truthful answers, since they only want to exalt themselves and to become famous and boast about it to other people. It should be put this in context of the faith in God, why we should not make our resolve centred upon the need for answers to every silly question or that to disprove every criticism. We are not in need of logical answers according to the human standard. But we are rather in need of Jesus Christ, since that He is the Truth and the Life from within us all. The faith in God does unlock a higher truth, a heavenly wisdom above a carnal wisdom, a moral insight which can apply within us in any situation and last in the long run. But what does it profit us to know this or that, which we are unable to apply to our life? Or what is supposed to happen after we know the answer, regarding our current situation? It is like we are hoarding up questions and answers that have no practical use, since we continue to be just as restricted in our internal condition, intellects, and capability.

The Lord is the Truth, and the Truth is the Lord. The truth is originated from God, and the truth belongs to Him, and the truth confirms His glory. This means that truthful knowledge is always being consistent with itself, working in harmony with each other, and for the same purpose. But it is not like the enemies of God can make use of the truth against Him. God does not work against His own truth and goodness. The enemies of God can at most pretend that they have gotten the better of Him in our eyes. First it is spoken something wrong and foolish on God’s behalf, and then it is attacked the same thing for being obviously wrong and foolish. It is criticized and disproved things which are really originated from the critic himself. The enemies of God ascribe their own delusions to God, and they see their own corruption in Him. It is blamed God for the thought (opinion) which is had about Him, as if He had thought of and done that thing. The thought itself was being wrong and foolish, making everything seem wrong and  foolish upon contact. It can be mentioned when the man does feel the need to question God about everything, like why there are bad things in this world or why God ‘allows’ them to happen. The problem about such approach does not consist in the actual question, but rather in our own position. We are being frail and faulty persons, unable to judge correctly in our own affairs, let alone in the affairs of others. And we are now demanding that God should give account of Himself before us, as if we were in a justifiable position to judge Him. God is not obligated to explain, defend, or justify Himself in our eyes. Jesus Christ gave the best possible example to us. He did never contribute any evils to this world. Christ finished the works of God and there were no loose ends left unresolved (to be criticized by us). The man tends to be indifferent toward people that he does not know, and indifferent toward troubles of others that he has no personal experience of. When the man does finally undergo the same things then he presumes himself to be in position to question God about it, as if that man was the only one suffering in the world.

The faith in God is superior to human logic. It is not like we would first become troubled by this or that argument, and next try to find a right answer to it (either to prove our point or disprove that criticism), and then finally could we regain our peace of mind and move on with our life. The faith in God is rather about approaching the matter in a complete opposite way. We will continue to remain confident, calm, and at peace with ourselves, even that we do not know any answer, nor went through the trouble in searching for answer. It is because God is right either way, and He would either way have disproved every criticism, once making the truth known to us. This is why we can just as well be contented with the fact that God knows the truth, even that we do not yet know the answer. Our faith in God remains the same. It is begun at the end, by being calm as when knowing the right answer, even before we have sought it out and known what it might actual be. We remain calm while seeking for the right answer. We remain calm while we wait for God to reveal the answer to us. Whatever happens then we remain calm about it. Even that we can experience distractions from within and all around us then it can still only cast doubt upon the truth, but it can never disprove the truth. So the truth does always continue to be the truth, and even now we can choose to live under its beneficial effects. Every time we hear the constructive truth then we are comforted and reassured. This means that we can now be assured and be of good cheer. That is our stance while faithfully waiting for the return of the Truth. Hence even that we do not yet know the right answer to a subjective problem then we will still not become dismayed, no matter how convincing such argument seems to be and how it seems to affect us. Jesus Christ is the Truth itself, and we only expect good things from Him. Every time the Lord returns to us and tells us the truth then it confirms that God is being true and just, and that His ways are being true and just, and that through His ways we can do that which is being true and just. And that truth does split/separate the Enemy‘s influence from our heart and soul, and we come to realize what makes the ways of God different from the ways of the Enemy.

The human race has become proud over its technological advancement, as if it had made the man into an expert in everything else, so that he can thereby come up with haughty assertions against the faith. But intelligence is not the same thing as wisdom. The man can change the environment around himself, while the man himself remains just as unaltered in his heart and soul. Progress in earthly matters is only bound to earthly matters. It is irrelevant to spiritual matters. The Scripture says next to nothing about specific topics while others are brief and to the point. The Book of Genesis speaks briefly about that in what order everything was created. God created things out of nothing, where just by saying it it became so (made directly to happen), unlike the human science as we know it, which can only make use of existing things. The Book of Genesis does neither say more nor less than what is needed, while the account is being relevant/symbolic to spiritual matters. It is  a matter of controversy whether the Scripture should be considered a valid source or not; when it comes to explain the physical reality in a scientific way. But the Scripture was never meant to fulfil such purpose to begin with. The Scripture is more about the spiritual aspect, like human nature, morality, wisdom, self-control, moderation, altruism, and redemption.  God has deliberately left specific matters unanswered so we will need to rely upon faith in order to discover it. The faith is the internal source which can unlock every secret and mystery. Hence the Scripture emphasis upon one thing which all others are depended upon and which leads to them. It would not make any sense if God would reveal everything in the Scripture, like by coming up with scientific explanations of the universe and its function. The people of that time were in the early stage of human civilization and not ready to receive such knowledge. There was a need for simple explanations for those with simple understanding. This is why it can be ridiculed criticism of the Scripture in that regard, because it is begun at the wrong end, by coming up with anachronistic attacks on its significance. It is written in the Scripture that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It can thereby happen that we are tempted with things that can be seen and touched, while we believe in things that reach beyond our own life. It is confirmed that God does exist and what He is capable of, and that it will continue to apply in the reality, even that all kinds of things can happen to us. This means that our person can change, our state of mind can change, and our lot in this world can change, but the truth will continue to be the truth and we are still under its jurisdiction. There is now a common belief among men that there is no truth, or no ultimate truth. Everything is supposed to be relative according to culture. The problem about such claims is that it does not really disprove the right things, but only the wrong things. All the wrong things are originated from the mind, being manifested in subjective opinions and transient customs and human folly. But the truth continues to be equally valid, when it comes to testify about the value of every choice. It can be claimed that atheism is an idolatry in itself, and yet another digression made by the devil, since it is still not believed in God and the goodness He stands for. It is true that that the atheist does not also believe in false gods, but his unbelief is still originated from the enemies of God, the same devils behind the false religions. The atheist has already turned his back on God, and yet the atheist wonders why he cannot see God at all. It does not mean that God does not exist, but rather that the atheist does not have God in his life.

It can be ridiculed that when atheists are overconfident in science, where they both seek to disprove the faith in God through science and to replace it with science. Science is only bound to material matters. Let’s say that the man would give up on the faith in God. But what then? How are mathematical lessons or discoveries supposed to help the man in spiritual matters? How are these and those earthly methods supposed to help the man in moral matters? All these material things are utterly useless in regard to guilt and redemption, what is going on within the man and how the man’s good side can prevail over his bad side. The faith makes the man believe in a supreme being which is greater than the man, which the man compares all things to and seeks to model his life after. The higher standard of the faith makes the man aspire to become a better person, and to restrain himself from things that would make him a worse person. The faith in God offers the awareness and motivation behind it. That to develop a sense of decency involves a faith, whether that faith is being direct (belief in God) or indirect (belief in the morality of God). Otherwise the man would senselessly indulge his self in all things, without holding himself in check, and without even realizing it within himself. It can happen that the believer forgets his resolve and he shows negligence in a time of temptation. When he experiences a temptation which he has a weak spot for then he can be quick to yield to it, without having first stopped to remind himself about God and what kind of moral principle would have held it in check. So that before the believer has come to realize it then he has already sinned and he is guilty of a fault. However, since the believer has the Spirit of God in his life then he is quick to realize that he has sinned and that it had been wrong to do such thing. The believer is quick to repent of it, and to confess everything to God, and to ask God for help in overcoming this weakness and that he might do right next time. Hence the believer will not sin any further and he will now do right for the rest of the day, and remain consistent in doing so for many days in a row. It is not like the man must first manage to be perfect in everything before approaching God, but it is rather the perfect thing to approach God regarding everything. The faith in God involves a 'fail-safe' in regard to weakness and sin. Something within the man manages to restrain him from further sin and escalation, so that he is quick to get back on his feet and resume the right course he had been on. This endeavour in wanting to do the right thing and in heading in the right direction would not have been made possible if the Spirit of God was absent from the man's life.

Why should our faith become shaken when the unbelievers attempt to discredit or disprove the Scripture through recent scientific discoveries? God has already made a miracle in our heart and spirit, as a much more reliable testimony to us, since it is something which we are constantly experiencing from within. It is still being undeniable that God is who He says He is and that Jesus Christ was the best person that ever lived among us. It was said of Jesus that nobody ever spoke like that. Nobody had ever done such miracles before. Nobody could have done more good things than Christ. That to read about the life of Jesus Christ does surpass our own expectations/imaginations of an ideal and perfect person. There was something other-worldly about that how Christ spoke and what He did in the situation. The Scripture might seem to be like any other book in the eyes of a selfish and superficial reader, having still neither believed its testimony nor acted upon it. But as the man has become more virtuous then he will more come to see the Scripture as it is, and acknowledge the purity of its text, since he is already pure from within. It is because the text is inspirational and impartial, the style is sober in presenting forth facts, and every word is carefully organized to its proper place. It is not like one would notice a stupid assertion here or there, a personal bias and self-conceit, or some kind of corruption, which does generally follow frail works from frail authors. But the Scripture has been written with a good sense, a right feeling for the words, when it is looked upon the sentence in whole, and each part in context of another. The Scripture can be likened to a chain mail, where many rings of the same size do fit with one another and make up that body-armour in whole. Every verse is being consistent with a verse elsewhere, and every principle is being consistent with a principle elsewhere. All these sayings are being smooth, like a circle being smooth all around or a complete knowledge able to reach full cycle. The Scripture is holy because it is spiritually pure, involving pure truth and pure goodness. It does merely reflect the Spirit of God, which drove forth the writers from within. The men who wrote the Scripture did so through pure intentions, to the best of their conscience. God had already deemed these men to be faithful or made them so, prior to it.

The human science can explain ‘how’ the universe came into being, what kind of process took place, what kinds of matters/materials were involved and the interplay between them. It explains ‘how’ the universe was made, while it does not explain ‘who’ made the universe and ‘why’. Someone possessed the will to create life from his own life-source and made all of these things come to pass, rather than that the universe and all these life-forms would spring out from nothing. Science is only explaining the execution or the means, but not the actual cause. Let’s say that a scientist would be making an experiment, so that he will describe its process in every detail. That scientist can mention the tools he will be using, and the available chemicals which he will be mixing together, so it will lead to some kind of fusion or explosion. But these things would never have come to pass without the scientist himself. The scientist possesses the required intellects and capability to make the experiment, to collect and arrange things in such way, which none of these material could do from their end. None of things things possessed a will of their own to move on their own and do things on their own. There is always a creator behind all creations, a soul or head that governs the activity of the body, instead of soulless or headless body moving on its own. And only a living being can give life from its own life-essence (procreation), or a new life is always originated from a life preceding it. A speech and deeds must be originated from a living person, and intelligent life-forms must be originated from an intelligent founder. At first then everything might seem to happen at random in the universe. But it does only apply to the small matters, which are really part of the greater matters, governed by laws. It is like a chaos in small matters will promote order in the greater matters, where the combined influence of all the small matters will keep up the cycle.

Scientific theories are something which is not permanent, because there will always be more discoveries in the future, which can disprove or adjust/improve current theories. The account in the Book of Genesis has been attacked, undermined, and ridiculed, mainly because of the supposable age of the universe, the earth, and the mankind. The Scripture does never state directly when exactly these things came to exist, but it is something which is indirectly implied, interpreted, or assumed by people reading the Scripture. The correct age is something that the human race will be able to discover. And it is something that will confirm the account in Genesis, and vice versa, since that God created the universe and He is always truthful about everything. The account in Genesis is the primary source, while the theory that the human people have existed for about six thousand years is merely an interpretation. It should not be sought to defend that human theory contrary to transparent facts, nor should it be sought to adapt things to that human theory. Since the Scripture has still not been accurately translated then there is still some element missing which can connect the facts. Until then the Scripture cannot be understood further in that aspect. Some people have attempted to come up with an outlandish interpretation of the Scripture, so that it can adapt to scientific theories. Such compromise does tend to digress from the original meaning, and it appeases neither side, of those that are either completely with the Scripture or completely against it. It proves to be counterproductive when people seek to change the Scripture, only so they can defend it better in the eyes of the unbelievers. It has already been betrayed God in spirit, since it does no longer involve the same Scripture. It would make a victory in the debate irrelevant to the actual cause of the debate. We should never ascribe our foolish opinions to God, while it is attempted to answer everything and justify everything, since it will otherwise contradict His truth and goodness. It would be better to remain silent and patiently endure the slander of the unbelievers, rather than by taking the name of God in vain and manage to obtain a wrong victory over them.

When the Scripture/Bible contains something seemingly contradictory and erroneous then it has all to do with the human translation of the Scripture than the actual source material. It can be acknowledged that such contradictions and errors exist, not because God is being guilty of contradiction and error, but because men have been guilty of making half-baked guesses in translation of root words which they do not fully comprehend. It involves an approximate translation, not a precise one. It is like someone would be using a sledgehammer to get things done when a surgical scalpel is rather required. Hitherto the Scripture has not been translated in a way that the one same root word is always translated in the one same way. The one same root word has often been translated into many separate words of similar meaning, like when we go through many synonyms and each word is being near to the meaning of another word. (And yet the meaning switches places, as when it is made a ‘google’ translation of Icelandic word into an English word and then made a ‘google’ translation of that English word back into an Icelandic word, and it ends up being nothing like the first Icelandic word.) And translators have often deliberately changed the translation of such root word to an entirely different meaning; in order to make a sentence here and there seem more comprehensible to the reader. Otherwise the general/common translation of such root word would seem to be odd and out of place with all the other words in the sentence. That to have different translations of the same root word is the same thing as to change the testimony of God. When it is made use of complicated technical words then such words can in a limited way apply to few places. But when it is made use of simple self-explaining words then such words can in a widening way apply to many places. Let‘ consider the word ‘salvation’. It is being such a complicated word that the person hearing it for the first time has to ask ‘What is salvation?’. It has to be explained in simple words to the person. Salvation is that to ‘be/being safe’. But why not make use of such simple words when translating the root word! There is also another root word which has been translated as salvation in the Scripture. Its meaning is being near to the previous meaning mentioned. It can be explained to be freed from that which is troubling us. The word ‘troubling’ can be further widened to the word ‘disturbing’, and ‘disturbing’ can be further widened to the word ‘bothering’. (The word ‘bothering’ is being more universal word and has thereby more widening reach.) And it can be used the word ‘freeing’ instead of ‘that to be freed from something’. Hence it can be used ‘bother-freeing’ as a fresh and simple translation, instead of the alternate ‘salvation’. Translators have been experiencing difficulty in translating root words because there is no such equivalent word in their own language. And even the language of the source material has been little better in comparison, because words and their meaning have transformed through the human history. This means that new unorthodox words need to be invented in order to do justice to the Scripture. The translators of various versions of the Scripture have been guilty of that in not letting the believing reader know about all these things mentioned above (in a preface or foreword). The believing reader has been sincere in trying to heed and obey everything in the Scripture, when the very premise behind the translation of the Scripture has been faulty.

THE WORLD

8.1: Various Issues

It should be kept to the original purpose of politics, which drove forth its existence, why it was created in the first place. Politics should be centred upon the needs of the people and their welfare, in making them able to have a decent and dignified lives, and to enjoy fairness and progress in the society. It has everything to do about that what is considered best for the people. But it should never be preferred an ideology above the people themselves, which such ideology was created for and meant to serve. How hypocritical thing it is to repress and oppress people while the idealist is stubbornly trying to make a point that his ideal is being right! Should all the people suffer for the sake of empty words which came into the head of one man, which he could not let go of? It should not be shown blind loyalty to a specific ideology, as if such ideology would be permanent or always the best one. But an ideology does only have value for as long time as it can benefit the people, or rather currently benefit them most in comparison to all the other ideologies. If there will appear a better ideology in the future then it should be adopted, while the obsolete one should be discarded, regardless of that where it is originated from. The sense of the truth is the best ideology, and justice is the best government. The methodology of politics is irrelevant to personal merit, a sense of truth and justice, in determining whether the contenders are being honest and competent and responsible enough. Such political tricks are only bound to the time before the man was elected into an office, while it does not deal with the challenges which happen after the election. It can perhaps help deal with that man’s image in the eyes of other people, that the man will able to hold his office a little bit longer, rather than by losing their trust too soon. But political tricks do otherwise not make the man into a better person, a better leader, or a better reformer. All men can wish for a good consequences or outcome, but the difference does namely consist in the means, ‘how’ it can actually be achieved, by what or whom, above others. This is why people do disagree with each other and become divided into political factions. It is not like the man does first need to belong to a specific ideology or a political faction, before he can finally become wise and competent enough, in discovering proper solutions and applying proper resolutions. For the truth and the justice is originated from the divinity, where the man is merely receiving from its abundance, while having created nothing and contributed nothing on his own. The solutions are originated from within the individual, but he does not need to implicate it to a specific ideology or a political faction, since that only appeared afterwards. Each proposal should be evaluated by its own merit, rather than by being mixed together with other irrelevant proposals, belonging to the same political party. It should be elected the best proposal, and the best person, which had a good enough sense to propose it. Political factions are somewhat identical to the medieval setting in Europe, when many irrelevant fields or studies were mixed together, rather than by being separated. For example, it was mixed theology with practical fields, so the theology only got in the way of the other, creating needless presumptions and restrictions in the process. It is the same thing with political factions in our times, because it includes both wise and foolish persons, wise and foolish proposals, which are mixed into one whole. It would have been better if political factions were abolished, while it would rather be elected independent individuals into office, and voted for proposals, without the factional attachment. The concept of ‘the public opinion’ and ‘the majority’ is overrated. It is not quantity which makes the opinion right, but it is rather based upon its quality. The group consists of individuals, and all opinions are originated in them. It happens in one man at a time, and there is had one opinion at a time. The prevailing public opinion does not explain ‘why’ the people have such opinions, based upon what inner source.

When a man does bad things then it does not belittle and undo the good things which he has done. And when the man does good things then it does not belittle and undo the bad things which he has done. It is being a good thing in itself if all the good things manage to outweigh all the bad things. The man is being redeemed by that in what good way he has chosen to react to the previous bad things. If the man had once been bad but he is now being good; then it is preferable to that if the man had once been good but he is now being bad. It does not make any sense when honest and competent men are being slandered and condemned and rejected because of something bad which belonged entirely to the past. (This does of course apply to weaknesses and mistakes and humiliating incidents which are not being concealed crimes.)  It corresponds to that if a champion in sport would be belittled and not allowed to compete, because he had once been bad in this sport far back in time or that he had once made mistakes during his training far back in time. Or a healthy and strong man is not allowed to participate in a challenge, because he had once been sick and too weak to do so back then. Even so we should consider our past faults and mistakes as temporary setbacks that happened in our path to spiritual progress. Back then we had believed something to be right and tried to do the right thing, but because we were still being ignorant and did not know any better then we ended up doing something misguided. Now, when we look back, then we clearly understand what had been so misguided about it, and we choose to omit or discard such (written down) opinion instead of choosing to stand by it and fall with it. Once we have learned from it and improved and managed to reach spiritual progress in the long run (as our final destination); then everything before it ceases to matter and is no longer to be held against us. It has been said that evil prevails when good men do nothing. It can also be said that evil prevails when a man with good qualities loses faith in himself and he does not aspire for good things, because bad men which lack all good qualities have ganged up on him with continual slander and accusations. The success of bad men is founded upon the low self-esteem of their victims. Or even that the good man is now doing everything perfect on his behalf then the majority of the people do still allow themselves to be swayed by superficial and petty things, as if the mention of past faults and mistakes could undo every good work of the good man, and that it would instead be favoured those that never do any good things. Bad men have nothing good to be praised for, so they seek to find fault with the opponent in order to to divert people’s attention away from their own incompetence.

It can be unfair to say that a ruler is a bad ruler solely because he inherited a time of adversity (bad times). And it can be uncalled for to say that a ruler is a good ruler solely because he inherited a time of prosperity (good times). This time of prosperity and a time of adversity was not of the ruler‘s own making when he finally came to power. Let‘s say that a king is being a good ruler, where he manages to make good use of available resources and invest in important things in the kingdom, and he saves/amasses much money in the treasury for unexpected setbacks in the future (rainy day). When that king dies and his son becomes king instead then the latter does inherit a good state of the kingdom and much money in the treasury. Let‘s say that this king is being a mediocre ruler, where he is neither being wise nor foolish. He is wise enough in not making foolish mistakes in squandering all the money in the treasury, while he is at the same time not being wise enough in adding more to the treasury. Things in the kingdom stay the same during his rule and he only manages to maintain the good things he inherited. After having invested in something and paid everyone for their service then the original treasury stays the same. When this king dies and his son becomes king instead then the latter inherits things in such state. Let‘s say that this king is being a foolish and incompetent ruler. During his reign he manages to squander all the money in the treasury upon something totally self-indulgent and needless. This is something which happens in the course of decades and it does not immediately begin to affect the people of the kingdom. While there is still some money in the treasury to be squandered then the people of the kingdom do not experience poverty and hardship until sometime later in the reign of that foolish king. When that king dies and son becomes king instead then the latter does not only inherit empty treasury, but also all the debts and problems which the previous king had promoted. It is like that king does begin with nothing good in his hands and he has to solve problems which were caused by the previous king. It would be unfair if the people of the kingdom would blame that king for all these bad things in the kingdom and rebel against him, because the underlying cause of these problems happened further back in time and it is being reaped something which another man had sown. This king is actually being a good ruler if he somehow manages to solve problems in the kingdom and increase the treasury for important projects, even that he has not managed to solve all the problems and invest in all important projects. He has managed fine/okay even for the shitty cards dealt to him.

What would be the ideal government? No man is worthy to be called a leader except Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and Saviour, the very embodiment of truth and justice. Let's say that there would be made a throne, and yet no man would be allowed to sit on it. That throne would remain empty while it is waited for the return of the rightful king. And on that throne is written: ‘This throne is dedicated to the truth, the sincerity, the outspokenness, the understanding, the wisdom, the knowledge, the goodness, the charity, the purity, the innocence, the inner beauty, the justice, the fairness, the compassion, the mercy, the generosity,  the humility, the courage, the temperance, the patience, the long-suffering.’ Or, ‘This throne is dedicated to the truth and every good quality there is’. That empty throne would serve as a symbolic gesture, that we are meant to be ruled/governed by the good things which come from God and belong to Him, even that we cannot see God and even that we do not know whether the Lord will come back in our time. It does not matter whether we can see God or not, so long as we submit to God in our hearts and we abide by the moral principles that He does stand for. It is not like somebody is supposed to become a great man/leader, which is supposed to know much and be capable of much, while everyone else remain ignorant and uninspired and incompetent. When we have faith in God and  acknowledge His power in our lives; then we wait patiently for God to rouse our heart and spirit, to inspire us with good sense of the matters that need to be decided, and to make us aspire for that which is being noble and beneficial to the wellbeing of the whole. It would be something like this: We pray to God and ask Him to help/lead us through the matters at hand.  Then we all wait until God will choose to rouse (stir up) the heart and spirit of someone somewhere. Then that  person will step forward and share that what God has put into the heart of that person. It is like God is able to make anyone anywhere at any time into a helper for the community. It does correspond to that when God chose judges and sent them as saviours to the Israel people. It would be a divinely inspired government of the heart and spirit, where every man is being equal before God and where God‘s distribution of spiritual gifts can reach to anyone. If it comes to that then God is capable of making some fool experience an inspired and wise opinion, where it is something which comes and goes, and which is being inspired and wise in a single matter. It is like that fool is acting out of character, where he continues to be a fool after this inspiration just as he had been before receiving it. A same thing can apply to a weak and timid man in experiencing a courageous aspiration in standing up to injustice and corruption. It would not involve ‘theocracy’ as what has hitherto been tried in the human history. It would not involve false and corrupt men pretending to represent God in everything, as if their every opinion was supposed to be an ultimate truth and the voice of God. It would not involve that in taking the name of God in vain, like when impostors implicate their own self-interest to the will of God. It does not work out when it is tried to mix that which is spiritual with that which is carnal, when it is tried to make the spiritual things serve the agenda of the worldly things. (Like when God is supposed to support an unjust war and offer justification for that war being waged, when that war is really being founded upon covetousness for dishonest gain and rivalry of proud men.) A priest is someone who is meant to pray for the people and plead before God on their behalf. The priest prays that God might prepare the hearts of the people for God and open their hearts to Him and make their hearts right before Him, that they might possess pure and good intentions in everything, that they might know how to approach God in the right way and ask God for the right things. The priest prays for a ‘civic virtue’ in his countrymen, that God can rouse good things in them and draw out good things in them between them, in what way they see/notice and treat one another. And yet the priest is at the same time being ignorant and incapable in worldly matters. He does not really know anything about making wise decisions and capable executions in worldly matters. That is something which does rather fit a king-alike person. That person is meant to be naturally endowed and educated and experienced for handling worldly matters. So the priest helps the people possess pure and good intentions, while the king-alike person helps the people to make good things come true, in what way they need to react and act in the matters at hand. The priest helps guide the people in what direction to turn to, while the king-alike person helps the people on/during the way and he helps them to reach the destination. The king-alike person gives a good personal example and he is the first one on the fore-front, that his force-driven presence might encourage everyone else to follow and do the same things.

All good qualities are originated from the divinity, while all bad qualities are originated from the devil. It does not matter whether a person is being a man or a woman, because good qualities and bad qualities do either way not belong to a gender in particular. It is not like a man should tell himself: ‘because I have these womanly qualities and preferences then I should be turned into a woman’. Neither should a woman tell herself: ‘because I have these manly qualities and preferences then I should be turned into a man’. What happens within the person is being irrelevant to its human body. Let this be a due consideration. One is not claiming that transgender persons should not have been altered into the other sex. Neither is one claiming that they should reverse the process. One is not condemning anyone. One is not trying to arouse guilt and regrets in those involved. Let every person consult with its own conscience and follow its own conviction in the matter. The one writing this was born a man and he consider himself to be a man. And yet he no longer experiences bias in regard to those of his gender and those of the other gender. Good qualities are to be acknowledged and commended in those that have them, regardless of gender. Bad qualities are to be recognized and disapproved of in those that have them, regardless of gender. Why should one take a side with one gender over the other before hearing what the debated matter is about? Why should one seek to exalt those of the same gender at the expense of those of the other gender; when it was by mere chance that one was born like that. What if one had been born as the other gender? What would one then feel about being in such position? Hence we should seek to avoid everything that is being self-centred, and everything that is being unfair/uneven and discriminating to those that are not like us, since it is a hypocritical thing to subject others to something that we ourselves would not want to experience. Let‘s say there would live ten men and ten women upon an island. The ideal thing would be if all these men and women were being good, and that there would be one man for every one woman in forming good relationship, making it ten couples in total upon the island. But what if five of these men are being unworthy in regard to their attitude toward women and their treatment of women? What if these men are being false, covetous, unfaithful, disrespectful, abusive, and rough/cruel, which makes them utterly unlikable and undesirable in the eyes of the women? Should five of the good women consider themselves obligated to form relationship with such men? Is it not being understandable and reasonable to assume that these women will rather be be drawn to the better part of the men, namely the other five men that are being good? Maybe these five good men will have two women each, or maybe four of these men will have one woman each while the fifth man (the best one among them) will have six women. It is not like the five unworthy men can afterwards complain that all of this is being unfair/uneven to them. It is something which they brought upon themselves because of their despicable approach to women. They allowed the devil to make them digress from the good things originally intended by God, and by doing so they ended upon denying good things to themselves.

It can be discoursed upon unequal division of wealth, when the rich people become even richer while the poor people become even poorer. It can be ridiculed that when the men in power refuse to increase the salaries of the poorest workers, while trying to hide behind some technical issue, a term which belongs to an educational fields like business and economics. Such technical issue might seem to sound intelligent and outlandish to the common people, where they don’t know how to respond to it and are ready to accept it as a valid explanation. It is because the common people do not thoroughly know the field in question, where they lack a comprehensive overview, the context between the terms and when it applies (the conditions). That technical issue is merely a pretext, an excuse which was invented afterwards, while it is not the original reason, explaining why the men in power refused to even things out as had been demanded by others. The men in power deem everything to be possible in regard to their selfishness, while everything is supposed to be impossible in regard to other people, since these men do not want to help other people at the expense of their own self-interest. That is the root of the problem, the selfishness of the men involved. The men in power do not possess the will to help other people, where they do not feel the need to do it, and do not want to do it, and do not choose to do it. It corresponds to a situation if a rich man would come across a dying man upon the road. Then the rich man would refuse to help the dying man, by claiming that it was because of his beautiful clothes, that the material was not being suitable for the occasion. As if the clothes worn on the body were being a hindrance to that what could be done with the body? Or that which was afterwards put on the body was somehow supposed to restrict that what the body could do at all times. Such an excuse is of course foolish and irrelevant, because the rich man did only need to intervene according to his human capability. His own lack of initiative prevented his own body from being of good use in the situation. It can be mentioned a hypocrisy in our times. Let‘s say that in a small town and/or school then the majority of the people have been bullying the minority, or discriminating and excluding the minority. Because the minority has been treated like trash/garbage then they have low self-esteem and they have been disrupted from that in having a healthy/ordinary life like everyone else. When all the people have grown up then the majority does have ordinary lives while the minority has been pushed sideways in the society (outcasts). The ordinary people never attended to the minority in their time of distress while the ordinary people focused upon having a healthy/ordinary and happy lives of their own. But later on in the society there has been mismanagement and unequal division of wealth, so the ordinary people are no longer able to have healthy/ordinary and happy lives of their own. Now all of this is supposed to be so unfair to the ordinary people and they demand justice in the society, when these same ordinary people never cared about the minority while the latter had been denied healthy/ordinary and happy lives. The medium fishes that ate the small fishes complained that it was unfair that the big fishes ate the medium fishes. Ordinary people have been despising and excluding those that live in weakness and are different from them. Ordinary people have not been showing any understanding and mercy to those that are considered below them. And yet these ordinary people expect a different treatment from those higher up, as if the rich and the powerful people were supposed to show them understanding and mercy. It is a pointless thing when it is tried to convince the rich and the powerful to cease being selfish, that they should do something out of character and become generous to the ordinary people. We should not seek to convince those above us to show us mercy, but we should rather convince ourselves to show mercy to those below us, those that are being more exposed in their weakness and which have it worse than us. First we should do that, and then who knows? Maybe God will respond to our merciful choice by making something alike happen in those above us, that they should all of a sudden find themselves willing to show us (below them) mercy. Or that the rich and the powerful are at least being rebuked by it, that they have not been doing alike to us (below them) as we have been doing to those below us.

Law and order is not only meant to protect innocent people and punish criminals. The spirit of the law is meant to free the people from all fears of criminals, where the people will not have to be constantly looking over their shoulder and they will not allow criminals to disrupt their manner of life. The spirit of the law is also about a preventive measure, to encourage honest conduct and discourage dishonest conduct, so that people will not consider the latter to be worth the trouble. The law is both meant to punish the criminal after the evil act and to prevent further harm, since there would otherwise be more crimes and victims in the future. The main problem does consist in the criminal’s deliberate will to sin, where that will must either be separated from the person or that person will be separated from the society. This is why convicts are either given the possibility to be rehabilitated or to remain in isolation. The man did create the laws of the society, but the laws did not create the man. The laws and their regulations are meant to make it easier for the people to obtain justice, to make that process efficient, and less likely to be abused or exploited in any way. The laws and their regulations should thereby adapt to the human beings, when it comes to fulfil their needs, maintain their freedom and security and dignity intact. But it should not be preferred the regulations above the welfare of a human being, like when it does involve needless formalities, sluggish process, and stupid technicalities, which fails to protect honest citizens in time. The fight against organized crime must always be flexible, responsive, and adaptable, by heading straight for the root of the problem and come up with decisive/necessary measures, since that guilt is already transparent for all to see.

If a crime does only involve transient things and lifeless objects then it should not call for harsh punishment, unless it had deprived the victim of basic necessities in order to survive. For it merely involved loss of superfluous luxuries and no person became harmed in any way. The life of the criminal is more important than the material possessions which were stolen or destroyed. Imagine how stupid it would be to esteem a human being to be of equal worth as these or those objects, no matter how expensive it was, since it was not being that necessary to the owner. It can be commended those criminals which possess a sense of decency, by being compassionate and merciful enough in leaving innocent people alone and unharmed. A destitute man might have stolen in order to survive, and a mentally-suffering man made use of illegal drugs in order to feel better, but it has to do with human frailty and seemingly forcing of circumstances above any deliberate wickedness. A truly wicked person is dictated by malice, where it seeks for opportunity and pretext to do wickedness. A truly wicked person seeks to exploit and abuse the weak. But the humble sinner does have the heart in the right place and is being decent in the greater matters, despite all his misguidance and failings. It does not make any sense when the society wants all criminals to suffer for their acts, regardless of the act itself, even that the criminals differ in their intentions and choices. This can apply to the conditions within the prison, when the worst criminals abuse the better sort, which does far exceed the official sentence/punishment of the latter. That in selling illegal drugs is a crime, but far worse crimes consist in that when criminals trade human lives to the highest bidder, when they enslave helpless people and force them to work for them (human trafficking, sex slavery), and when they threaten and harm those that are unwilling to comply with them. That should call for harsher punishment and multiply the years of the sentence in comparison to crimes which are not being directed against the person. It is a wicked thing in itself when the wicked get rich by selling illegal drugs, since they will make use of that ill-gotten gain to sponsor more serious crimes and to further human misery. Every crime involving a despicable treatment of a human being should call for a harsh punishment, like when it is betrayed the trust of a mentally impaired person and defrauded it, when it is played with the feelings of a person and openly shamed it, when during relationship it is sought to isolate the person from everyone and everything. And when it is bullied those that are physically lesser or unable to defend themselves, when it is abused a child or a family member (as a more precise example, when of course any abuse of any person is being wrong), when it is sexually abused a person, when it is inflicted violence for the purpose of intimidation or shaming or permanent harm. Even if a particular crime might not seem to be as serious as other crimes then it is not a question of that how much dishonest gain was had from it, or how much consequences it had upon the victim, but rather how despicable such attitude of the criminal was in the first place. It is something so despicable in itself that it should not even have been gone that far in considering the possibility of doing it.

Fanatics and terrorists are to be found in all countries. They are namely those which prefer a specific ideology or religious errors above the welfare of human beings. The fanatics do not love or care about other people, but have instead based their life upon hatred and impulsiveness. Such men do first want to harm an innocent person, and they do afterwards invent reasons as its pretext, as if there was something rational about the wicked deed. Fanatics seek to distort the interpretation of religious writings, until they will get the meaning which they want. They want to be allowed to kill innocent people, as if such wicked deeds could be openly approved of for being good deeds and they would not be held accountable for their wicked deeds. It can be mentioned when fanatics persecute innocent people for some imaginary transgressions, like by accusing them of blasphemy or having failed to uphold some religious customs. But such fanatics are at the same time guilty of far worse errors against the divinity. Such men have ascribed their own foolish and wicked opinions to the divinity, taken the name of the divinity in vain and lied about its divine will. The fanatics have sought to make the divinity become their mouthpiece of propaganda, as if the divinity did only signify their self-interest, and by doing so they have pretended to be the divinity (impostors). Are not such fanatics being guilty of the worst blasphemy there is? Hatred and impulsiveness had already existed in the fanatics from the very beginning, even before any human enemies appeared on the scene. And the same evil nature will continue to exist in the fanatics after such enemies are gone, so the fanatics will instead turn against their own people through new pretexts. It is because the fanatics are still looking for opportunities to unleash their hatred upon someone. If there are no human enemies then the fanatic does tend to ‘invent’ enemies to be hated, where he looks for enemies elsewhere until he can make an enemy out of someone. It can be mentioned when fanatics speak about committing all kinds of atrocities ‘in the name of the whole’, whether it is supposed to be for their own country or for the wellbeing of their own people. But it proves to be hypocritical in its nature, because these same fanatics do not care the least about a single person which they can meet with. The fanatics do not evaluate the life of a human being as precious in itself, but only according to some selfish advantage to be had from it, as if the person was a mere means or tools for some selfish ends of their own. The whole mankind consist of individuals, and a crime against one individual is the same thing as a crime against the whole mankind. It is a common practice among fanatics to blame foreigners for all the problems in their own society, where it is attempted to create a fear about the unknown. But the fanatics themselves prove to be the worst problem, because they possess the deliberate will to inflict suffering and shame upon innocent people, which is far worse than anything else in the world. It is indeed a mad thing to presume that the murder of an innocent person is somehow meant to help the society, in making the people more virtuous and enlightened in their affairs. It is not like fanatics do only apply to religions, but it can also apply to racists and fascists, when specific fanatics pretend to be fighting against another kind of fanatics. It does not matter where the fanatic is originated from, if the attitude and the conduct is the same. A white racist is being just as self-centred as a black racist, because in both cases they are exalting their own race colour while discriminating everyone else. But if the white racist had been born black then he would have exalted that colour instead. It should be seen this in context with Muslim terrorists and fascists within the western society. For that both groups want to persecute innocent people that belong to the other side, and they are ready to corrupt their own people from the inside, in the name of unity against a ‘common enemy’. It should be condemned terrorism in any form, regardless of that whether the terrorist does come from within our society or somewhere else. When a war between countries is involved then it does not make any sense that the decent men among them should be killing one another on large scale. Should it not rather be fought against the wicked men found within each country! Should it not be fought against those which have been deliberately undermining that country from the inside and disrupting the lives of ordinary people! This does apply to organized crime, or namely any organization which treats human beings in a despicable way and makes a profit of their misery. It does apply to those individuals that are most hard-hearted and unrepentant and cruel in their wicked ways. Surely wickedness is the only justifiable target, meant to be uprooted and wiped off the face of the earth.

The human race has been pondering whether life does exist on other planets, whether intelligent ‘aliens’ would be involved, and whether they would possess the ability to invade the earth. This has been pondered after the human race possessed the technology to explore space and travel for a limited distance, and yet it proves to be somewhat self-centred in it nature. The technology has changed and the man’s perception about himself, but everything else has remained the same, concerning the earth’s position in the universe. The earth is still revolving around the sun. All this technology has not made the earth become the centre of the universe, something which all possible life-forms on other planets are likely to be modelled after and evolve in the same way. The human race does implicate its own technology to possible aliens, as if it was only an exaggerated version of that what does already exist upon the earth. It does correspond to science fiction, where the future is supposed to be a bigger proportion of the present time, but the objects are otherwise identical to each other, concerning their general role. For example, about forty or fifty years ago people imagined the distant future involving bigger spaceships able to travel to more distant planets, and yet it was still being imagined the computer technology to be primitive as it was at that time. It is nothing like the digital/computer technology in our times. And if we go further back in time then could a man during medieval times have accurately imagined what our present world would be alike? Would not that man think that the people in the future would still be fighting wars with melee weapons (spears, swords)? Hence when people imagine the future they are still seeing the present things in the future and they are unable to look outside the box. It can be a superfluous thing to know whether there is a life on other planet or not, distant as it is, while the human race is destroying its own planet. If the human race is being negligent and irresponsible of its own planet then it will also be unworthy of other planets in the future. The human race is it own worst enemy, because of its selfishness and indifference. If the human people treat each other in such way then they will be no better to aliens, at least in the long run, after having become accustomed to their company. Let‘s consider how the human people have hitherto treated the animals upon the earth, and what scars/wounds they have left upon the vegetation of the earth. Would not the human people end up doing something similar to life-forms on other planets? It can be claimed that the aliens would be better off if the human race had never discovered them. For that if aliens exist then it means they have already been able to survive and prosper on their own, without the involvement of the human race. And these aliens would continue to do so, whether the human race knew of them or not, so it is like everything would already be acceptable as it is during secrecy and discretion. Such arrangement would make much more sense than if the human race would first discover aliens on another planet, and then decide to leave them alone or do them no harm. What is the point of that when biologists explore jungles and manage to discover new species upon the earth, when through that same discovery hunters or tourists will come to know about the location of these life-forms and travel to that place and end up wasting everything upon touch?

Some people have speculated whether the human race had been created by aliens, where intelligent life-forms could have used their advanced technology in order to do something to that end.  But such theory does not solve anything, nor does it disprove anything about the divinity. If there were some aliens that created the human race then these aliens must in turn have been created by someone else, and so forth, until it would be traced oneself back to the divinity, the original creator, the being which came first before everything else. This is why it can just as well have been the divinity which created the human race directly, rather than if there would have been some intercessors involved. It has even been speculated whether aliens are manipulating the human race behind the scene, by pretending to be the divinity or some supernatural force at work through the human history. What if all these Biblical miracles and supernatural signs did actually happen, and yet these same things were really ‘special effects’ produced by technologically superior aliens, exploiting the credulity of primitive humans and ‘stifling’ their natural progress (collapse of the Roman Empire, superstition during dark ages and middle ages)? What if these same aliens have both pretended to be angels and devils, both working for God and working against Him, that they might keep the human people in check and hinder them from progressing? These ‘spiritual beings’ were all the time carnal, making use of cloaking technology  and  ‘appearance-changing technology’ (a spaceship could look like a cloud). There exists a good force and an evil force in the universe, and these two are always opposing each other in every aspect, dividing every living being into either camp. The human race is unable to witness the process directly, what does happen in an invisible way behind the scene, how an angel and a devil are fighting each other. The human race does only need to concern itself about the spiritual struggle, concerning free will and moral choices, what kind of values or principles belong to either source. It does otherwise apply that the evil force seeks to deceive and manipulate the human race behind the scene, but not through some physical form and materialistic technology. The evil force can change its outward appearance and shape, so that some people presume that they are seeing aliens, mythological creatures, dead persons, or something they are afraid of. But it is merely an illusion, something which only happens in the eyes of the human beings, while the evil force continues to be impalpable, spirits that have no substance. When we experience visions of other-worldly beings then it is either evil spirits pretending to be them, or evil spirits as telepathic beings are behind us conjuring such illusions in front of us.

Just like the human people can create convincing illusions in computer and in television; then evil spirits can create convincing illusions in our mind and in our dreams. Different things are put together to present a convincing world, a convincing story, and a convincing characters, whether it involves video games or movies. A real person does lend its voice to a fictional character in an animated film or a video game, where that fictional character does not look like the real person. A similar thing applies when evil spirits conjure imaginations of people that we know of, and the evil spirits put their own words into their mouth (or they say/repeat something bad at the same time we see these imaginations). A human actor participates in one staged scene at a time, which is then cut and mixed with other staged scenes, that it might create the illusion of a continuous flow of time and course of events. A similar thing applies when evil spirits conjure memories of a single moment taken out of context with the event in whole, and they immediately implicate/mix this to another memory of a passing moment, that it might enforce a narrow-minded view of the past. In our times people can change their outward appearance through the use of costumes and make up/over (including prosthetic) and special effects in film industry. In our times any foolish and evil person can make use of such things in order to look like some heavenly being (or as what people presume that a heavenly being would look like). It is not far-fetched that technologically advanced aliens can make use of corresponding things in order to deceive and manipulate the human race, and that they have already done so many times in the course of the human history. Let's say that the devil would appear in his real form to the man. The devil would look ugly and deformed/distorted and pale to the man. The devil would then claim something false and foolish and indecent (morally wrong), and ask the man to do something false and foolish and indecent, which the man refuses to do because of that how transparently bad the outward appearance of the devil is. Let's say that the devil would leave the man, and next the devil would put on a costume alike that of a beautiful angel and carry a device which produces bright shining light around him. Then the devil appears again to the man in this beautiful and shining form, and the devil now claims exactly the same false and foolish and indecent things, and asks the man to do exactly the same false and foolish and indecent things. And now the man becomes filled with fear or awe, and he is now ready to do these false and foolish and indecent things, solely because of the outward appearance of this spiritual messenger, even that it involves exactly the same content/essence of the first/original visit, and its compliance will lead to exactly the same wrong reactions and consequences. It should be taken this into consideration regarding every experience which can seem to be supernatural, whether it involves visions or dreams or hallucinations. It is not enough that we can witness or experience a visit from a being which looks other-worldly, as if we were then supposed to  immediately 'swallow' everything that it says to us. It should be looked beyond the outward appearance of that being, and rather focused upon that in evaluating its message to us, whether it does conform to that which is being true and wise and decent (morally right).

Jesus Christ is no longer among us in His physical body, but He is being near to us in His spiritual body. Even that we cannot see what Jesus Christ does look like then we are still able to know Him through His teachings and principles in the Scripture. It does involve the spirit or the essence behind everything which Jesus Christ said and did. If we abide by the same things as Jesus Christ then we will be able to know and accomplish the same things as Him. We cannot see the 'hero' but we have an access to writings that reveals to us the heart and spirit of that 'hero', what it was that drove that 'hero' from within and that made him do these things. It does not matter that we did not live during the same time as Jesus Christ, that we did not personally see Him and did not see these events regarding Him. It is only sufficient to believe the testimony of the Scripture, that we might spiritually discern what comes from Christ and which belongs to Him, what things Christ had done and which He would have done in our position/situation. By knowing these things we will be able to see through every illusion and deception, and reject every presumption and error that might contradict it. Even if someone would look exactly like Jesus Christ, and claim that he was Jesus Christ, and that all kinds of supernatural signs were following him; then none of these things on their own would manage to impress us and make us sway from our conviction. We would first consult with the teachings and principles of the Scripture, and evaluate whether that person was being consistent with the very same things. It is ultimately about that whether something is being true and morally right. Let‘s say that the man dreams that of being contacted by a seemingly supernatural being (Jesus Christ, a saint, or an angel), which is supposed to bring him message from God and bid him do something. Then it is a good rule of thumb that the man should afterward (when awake) pray to God and ask for confirmation, whether this supernatural being was really being of God, or whether it was the devil (yet again) pretending to be a messenger of God. It is acknowledged that God is able to make a miracle and contact us in a supernatural way, and we really want to hope the best and believe something to be of the good. But we also acknowledge that we have hitherto come into contact with so many devils in dreams and had so many false experiences in dreams; that we will not be surprised if this new dream experience turns out to be yet another lie and deception.

The man is likely to experience hallucinations or visions of supernatural beings when he has been mentally unstable and distracted and neglectful of himself in the long run. It does not make any sense that the man should boast of that in having seen a supernatural being and received some seemingly supernatural message; when he is at the same time being so mentally impaired that he is unable to maintain focus and unable to make sound decisions and unable to take care of himself. It is preferable that the man be spiritually sober and sound while experiencing no supernatural visions in his life, rather than that the man should experience supernatural visions in his life while being enslaved by the mind. A virtuous life  (including good sense, good qualities, good works) without supernatural visions is preferable to that in having supernatural visions without a virtuous life. Truly the good things which come from God and belong to Him are the greatest miracle.  That the man might feel good and aspire for good things, and notice other people in a good way and treat them in a good way. Supernatural signs are irrelevant to the goodness of God and what His goodness can do in our life. The faith does regard/involve things which exist and yet are not seen. The following can be said about dreams most of the time, although one is not sure whether it can said about all dreams all the time. In dreams the man can see things which are lacking/absent in his life, while the man does not see things which are already there in his life. The man does not see the angels of God while he is being good, and the man does not see devils while he is being bad. Exactly the opposite thing can apply. If the man is being blameless in his life then he does have bad experience with devils in his dreams and he sees them, because he is not under their bad influence when being awake. The devils persecute/haunt the man in his dreams because during his awake the devils are not getting anything from the man. But if the man is full of blame in his life and/or he has spiritually reached the bottom in his life (desperation); then he can have experience with angels of God in his dreams and he can see or hear them (singing), because the man is not being under their good influence when being awake. The angels of God are trying to encourage the man to have faith and hope, because the man has not been willing to receive anything from God (which they represent). If the man is already being good then he does not need to experience contact with angels of God in his dreams, because he does already have these angels in his life. If the man is already being bad then the devils do not need to try to persecute him into becoming bad, because he does already have these devils in his life. The man does not see the spiritual beings which are already present within him, in what way his heart is governed and what moral choices he makes.

When the man closes his eyes and sleeps then he can see within himself (dreams).  When the man comes into contact with various persons in his dreams then he should not be fooled by their outward appearance, since it involves the same spiritual beings ‘shapeshifting’. (Either they are really shapeshifting or they somehow manage to project such images in the man‘s eyes.) If there exists corruption in the man’s life then the evil spirits draw life-force from it, so that they can take on a ‘fair human form’ or look like someone the man knows. But if the man is free of corruption then the evil spirits will become ‘spiritually bare’, revealing their true form, which is ugly and distorted and pale. If the man is spiritually blind and corrupt in his life then he will dream seemingly ‘positive’ scenarios with the evil spirits that are feeding on his life-force. The man is spiritually drunk and participating with them in spiritual debauchery, without realizing that all of this is one great illusion and really being at the expense of his soul’s condition. But if the man is spiritually sober and free of blame then the man will often experience ‘sleep-paralysis’, where the evil spirits harass him and seek to intimidate him. It can happen that an evil spirit comes at the man suddenly from the sides and the man becomes startled by it. It can happen that an evil spirit grabs the man from behind, takes him up and flies with him some distance (as if the man was hovering little above the ground). It can happen that an evil spirit grabs a part of the man‘s body or bites/nibbles it. All of this reveals the weakness of the evil spirits, since they crave the man’s attention and they cannot sustain themselves without him. Also the evil spirits are being so cowardly and pathetic that they only dare to attack the man while he is lying paralyzed in his bed. Even that the evil spirits might look so monstrous and deformed that the man becomes afraid of their appearance; then it is still not the same thing as if they were being courageous and strong. It is only sufficient to be willing to look the evil spirit straight into his face and tell him that one is not afraid of him, even that one cannot move and defend oneself.

The evil force seeks to deceive and manipulate the human race through the mindset, where evil spirits insert their own thoughts into the human people and try to make the latter think that these are their own thoughts. The evil spirits do so telepathically. It is slowly pushed the human people into a wrong direction until the common mindset has gotten so bad that people strive against one another on a large scale. The evil force makes use of subtle and indirect approach, as when a shadow follows the man (imitating) and is near enough (to the point). The evil spirits do not want to reveal themselves by going too far, but they try to make these thoughts somehow related to the man’s current position and then one step ahead. It is like someone close to the man and knowing about his personal life would begin mentioning something which the man already knows, and next play with that how the man is being affected by it, and then suggest something improper as its assumption/reaction (stretching that matter to extreme). It is much more subtle than if that someone would immediately suggest something extreme and improper to the man, as if completely unexpected, since that would make the man suspicious of the suggester and questioning his motives. While the man is being so absorbed by that how thoughts affect him then he fails to notice what is  causing these thoughts. It is like the evil spirits know the things we know, and they manipulate that knowledge against us while making it seem like we are telling it to ourselves (since we do not presume anyone else to know all this about us). The human people should cease to see enemies in each other, but they should rather notice the true enemy within. If the man gives himself time to be silent within and cease all effort within; then he will become aware that these thoughts keep coming over to him (automatic), that he is in no control of that what thoughts are passing through, that it is not really himself which is thinking this and calling for it (manually). The human people should unite against these invisible spiritual beings, where it can hopefully be invented technology which can reveal these spiritual beings to the waking human eye and protect the human mind from their telepathic attacks. These invisible beings are able to spy on us and monitor us our entire lifetime, where they know everything which has happened in our lives (both within and without), and they seek to make use of that knowledge against us in order to quell down our progress. It is like a mature man would be making use of all kinds of methods and tricks in order to convince a child to have low self-esteem and to aspire for nothing good in its life. Or that mature man would be doing everything in his power to annoy/bother the child, and to make the child become so fearful and angry that it monopolizes everything within it (thereby leading to neglect of all its good qualities).

The fear of death does never make the man into a better person, more capable of understanding himself and overcoming his own human restrictions. Only the divinity can determine the man’s ultimate fate, in what way he will live and what happens after death. It is not like the man is able to guarantee a better lot after death, by relying upon false prophets as intercessors or by investing upon specific service which the world does offer. All such means are useless, because those involved cannot even determine their own fate, let alone those of others. It does not make any sense when psychics are supposed to be contacting deceased persons on behalf of the living ones. It is a contradiction, because either a person is alive or dead, awake or asleep. If the person is already dead and asleep then it will be unable to contact anyone. And if the person is already alive and awake then it is unable to know the state of death (on the other side). How are we supposed to imagine the darkness if we have always been in the light? Or how is a seeing man supposed to imagine the state of a person which was born without sight? While we are living then we tend to foresee death in a living way, when death proves to be fundamentally different from life. The psychic is revealing personal information which is supposed to have happened in the past, or what other people are thinking while they are still alive in this world. Even that such information might seem accurate then it is still irrelevant to the actual state of death. It can rather be said that the evil spirit could somehow access the memories of the living people, the ones consorting with the psychic and exposing themselves to him. But that evil spirit, being spiritually dead, is still bound to this world. It is like  a fraudster would spy upon a specific person, and then pretend to be that same person to someone else. An evil spirit could say ‘I did this’ or ‘This did happen to me’, which makes the sentence false in whole, because the evil spirit claims to be that deceased person. An evil spirit can insert his own thoughts into the man’s mind, which when passing through the man’s mind the man can mistake for his own thoughts. Hence when a psychic knows what the man is thinking then it does actually belong to the evil spirits in their lives, where the evil spirits seem to point to and support one another. Even that the evil spirit can know what the man is currently thinking or what he is planning to do; then it is still bound to the present time. The evil spirit can come up with vague predictions about it, like when one thing is supposed to signify another thing, not because evil spirit can foresee the future, but because it is likely to happen based on current information. It is something which any human being could do if it had access to similar information. There does not exist any realm of the dead, unless the one consisting of devils, while the devils are still tempting the human race and is still taking place within this world. But all the deceased human beings are now asleep, in the good care of the divinity, until there will be a day of judgment.

In our times unscrupulous people can collect information about website users to monitor their online behaviour. It is then targeted that users with tailored advertising. It is spied on that what persons do, that it might be known their taste and preferences, and then it is come up with a lure which appeals to the same things. All of this is being done for the sake of avarice/greed, or pursuit for unscrupulous gain. It is like these human people are thinking and acting in the same way that devils do. Devils are able to spy upon us and know the things that we know. It might seem like our 'brain' is arousing these and those memories (of incidents that we know of), and yet these memories are being too selective and manipulative. We keep experiencing memories which are personally directed against us and trying to drag us down with it. It is either mentioned bad incidents from our past or interpreted something bad from ordinary incidents. We are constantly being tempted into changing our attitude about someone or something, when it comes to notice ourselves or other persons in a different way, all for the worse. As the devils try harder to attack us through selective memories then they expose themselves the more. We come to realize that all of this is being too deliberate for a mere body organ (the brain). Devils can know everything that has happened in our life, which includes our desires and tastes and preferences, what we are more inclined to give attention to and what we are more likely to pursue. It is like a human psychologist would observe us and make a 'personality profile' of us, which would then be used to exploit our weaknesses and manipulate our behaviour. This does not involve true prophecies or a miraculous foretelling of the future (completely unexpected). It is something which is calculated based upon our current character or mindset, what we have hitherto been intending and doing in circumstances, and what we will continue to intend and do in upcoming circumstances. It has been said that there is nothing new under the sun, because it has already happened and been done in the times of old. The devils are making use of an old system/methodology of temptations, where if it is said this or done that then it can be said this or done that, where one possibility can lead to various reactions and answers, so it is already calculated all kinds of outcomes which can happen and be done. If a devil makes a seemingly accurate prediction of that what a specific person will do or what will happen to it; then it is not because that devil can truly foresee the future, but exactly the opposite thing does apply. That devil is rather looking back to the past, what kind of system applied then as is applying now, what kind of trick and method is now repeating itself in the lives of other people. It does involve a corresponding essence, even that the details are not exactly the same.

It is a more challenging and more difficult thing to experience undeserved adversity than an undeserved prosperity. It is a more challenging and more difficult thing to experience persecution by devils than to experience a visitation by angels. Jesus Christ is the true hero because He was both willing and able to experience all these undeserved bad things for the sake of His people. Even if a false/phony believer does experience prosperity in worldly matters then it has no bearing upon that what position he does hold in the eyes of God. Even if a false/phony believer does not experience any spiritual adversity by devils then it does not mean that he is already free of blame and doing the will of God. Self-righteous people presume that when something good or bad befalls a specific person then that person must have first done something to deserve it and call for it, when it is really something which is beyond the control of that person. When the man is constantly being haunted by the mind and experiencing misleading signs in the body; then it might give the impression that the man has already been guilty of that in sinning and that he is now experiencing its bad consequences. And yet the man has not been desiring anything bad, and not been seeking anything bad, and not been saying anything bad, and not been doing anything bad. All this adversity of the mind and the body is being undeserved and uncalled for. It is precisely because the man is being a true follower of Christ that he is undergoing these bad unwanted things. It corresponds to that what happened to the man Job. There was a debate in heaven between God and the devil about the motive of Job's faith. Will the man keep believing in God and keep justifying God in being true and righteous, even that the man does never seem to be rewarded for it, and even that it seems that he is always being punished for it? That is the true test, what is the worth of the man's personal conviction. Is it gold-alike and able to last through the burning fire? Or is it like some cheap material which easily breaks down? It can apply that even that the man has done something good then he cannot stop having bad experience. There does not seem to happen anything good within, where the man does not feel any better and there is had no spiritual relief from the bad experience. And yet the man keeps doing the good thing because it is the good thing to do. All this personal experience has no bearing on the man's conviction and choices. It is not like the man must first have a good experience before doing a good thing, as if that was supposed to be some kind of sign that guarantees that it should be done. Neither should the man be swayed by that when he has a bad experience while considering doing a good thing, as if that was supposed to be some kind of sign to dissuade him from it. The man's faith is able to pass through all these spiritual walls. Let‘s say that when playing a role-playing games it is encountered a giant which is being so powerful that he can kill one‘s character upon a single successful hit. It would be beside the point whether one would first seek to increase the hit points of one‘s character to some maximum number, since he would either way get killed by a single blow of that giant. When we believe in God then it is like we are always having only one hit point remaining, as if we were no longer at our best and already being weakened and having little strength left. And yet by some luck we do never get killed by that giant, where no matter how often that giant tries to hit our character then he never makes a successful roll of a dice. Such is the difference between that in relying upon our own human strength and that in relying upon the grace of God.

The man can find himself in a situation where he is being deprived of good things and bad things are being forced upon him. The man has no control of the situation, where he cannot get the good things back again and he cannot make the bad things go away. If the man finds himself in a situation where he has been backed into a corner, and he cannot avoid the bad things that are chasing him, and he will either way suffer bad things; then the only thing that he can do is to confess the truth about it and be willing to suffer it through. Remember that the man Job had all good things taken away from him and he could thereby not offer any good possessions (sacrifices) to God. Job was being afflicted by so many bad things at the same time that he was not in any position to do good things to anyone. It was like Job was being naked. He had been stripped down to his heart and soul, as the only remaining things. Sometimes the only thing that we can do in a seemingly impossible situation is to open our heart to God and confess the truth. That we are being frail and just as much in need of God, that God is a true and just judge whose verdicts we submit ourselves to. It can happen that we do something wrong and we experience guilt about it afterwards. Like when we experience situation where we know what is the right thing to do, and yet we find ourselves unwilling to do it and we maintain our distance from the person that is in need of help. We have been shutting our heart to someone and discriminating him. We have already made a wrong choice and we cannot change what has happened. There is nothing that we can say and do in order to defend or justify that wrong choice. However, the thing remaining is to confess the truth about it, and allow God to judge us for it, and wait for things to turn out the way it pleases God. That God might forgive us, and help us to receive His forgiveness. That God might free us from all concerns about our self-image, self-interest, and self-preservation. That God might help us to be only concerned about the wellbeing of the person involved, instead of us being only concerned about that how our neglectful treatment of the person might make us look bad in the eyes of other people and make us lose their esteem. That it is not important what bad things can happen to our life and how we can be affected by it in a bad way, so long as God is blessing the person involved which we have neglected. That God is able to make things up to the person which we failed to do good to. And we confess that it is one thing to come up with beautiful words or seem to say all the right things, while it is another thing whether we truly mean it in our heart and find ourselves willing to act upon it. Hence we ask God for help to set things right in our heart and prepare our heart for it. That to begin with it can actually be felt that which is being right, before we begin say anything seemingly right. Instead of us pretending to be perfect and saying 'something' beautiful then we rather ask God to convince us of that which is being true and right. That instead of us becoming fearful and considering ourselves obligated to say 'something' before God (centred on our self, reaction to our self); then we rather wait for God to say something to us which will 'blow' us into the right direction. That with the time, later on, we can have better feeling/sense for the matters involved. It is not like we wait for some kind of sign that we are ‘off the hook’ and that we can afterwards feel better about ourselves. If God forgives us and we no longer experience guilt over the matter; then it does not mean that we should raise up our head (become self-confident). We keep bowing down our head under God’s jurisdiction. We continue to be just as humble throughout all these situations. The good things which happen before and after, and the bad things which happen before and after; these same things do not change our attitude in remaining humble before God.

Even that we have been experiencing good lot for a long time and it is like bad things have been far away from us;  then we should still never sleep on our spiritual guard and begin to judge/condemn people in our heart. We committed great and many sins in the past, and God has forgiven us all these things and made us forget them for most part. We should not remember the details of our past sins (that we might not again be tempted into doing the same things, and/or that we should not allow personal attacks to make us lose faith in ourselves in living well today), but we should still remember that these sins were being great and many (general description). Instead of thinking about other people in a bad way and consider ourselves in position to judge/condemn them; then we should only be mindful of that in giving account of our own sins before the divinity. We are now experiencing good times because we are now under the grace of the divinity and the divinity has hitherto chosen to tolerate us. But we would never have experienced these good times if the divinity had not chosen to forgive us all these great and many sins back then. Hence our position now is being just as frail as our position back then. The divinity is capable of recalling everything in a blink of an eye. It can be confessed the following self-righteous thing. When we have experienced good lot for a long time then we begin to take it for granted, and we forget what is like to experience the bad things which other people are now going through. Hence we become indifferent toward those that are now having hard times. It can happen that we come across a person that is having it bad and is in need of spiritual help/support. And yet we are being so occupied with our own life and its routine that we consider ourselves not have time for that person and we do nothing in that regard. Afterwards when we realize our lack of charity then we can experience guilt over the matter, and yet that same guilt is being made upon wrong basis (self-centred). For that we can become afraid that our wrong choice will have repercussions on our good life, that the divinity will punish us for it and make us lose our good lot (prosperity). We can consider ourselves obligated to 'help' the person in question, as if that was supposed to be expected from us, or that we are trying to save ourselves through that person. But we are not being genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of the person and there is no firm conviction behind that how it can be helped it. We should not approach the person while we are being insincere in our attitude and doing things through wrong reasons, when it is pretended to show the person interest when we are really expecting something for ourselves. And we should not try to say something 'clever' and 'helpful' to the person when it feels pretentious and shallow, like when we try to force things (to become resolved as soon as possible) and end up overreaching ourselves,  or when it feels like we are being a 'salesman' trying to 'sell an idea' (like the false evangelists in our times). Hence we need to confess our frail position to the divinity, and wait until the divinity has managed to make us have a right attitude toward the person. We need to ask the divinity to help us feel the right thing toward the person, to help us develop personal conviction and to know that what we are doing. We need to wait until the divinity deems it to be the proper time for us to approach the person and try to help it.

Let's say that because of the man's ignorance and restrictions then he is regularly misunderstanding the circumstances and making mistakes, and making fool out of himself and having a humiliating incident. However, because of the grace of God then none of these things manage to 'touch' the man and affect him in a bad way. Something somehow manages to shield/prevent the man from receiving these things too personally. The man does not consider this initial bad experience to be 'that bad' experience, and he does not choose to make this into a problem in his eyes. The man does not stop his life and dwell upon the lacking things beyond his control. The man does not stop his life and become angry/resentful about it. The man does not complain to God and assert something bad about God. The man is like a little child which just keeps trying to learn to walk, regardless of all the failed attempts prior to it. He is like a 'mind blank' child which looks straight ahead, and which only focuses on the things in front of it, and which only focuses upon doing one thing at a time. It is a good thing that the little child is too simple to know about the cares and worries of the world. It is like the little child is living inside a 'bubble of innocence', which shields the child from being aware of all the wrong possibilities in the world. Because a little child is being sincere and innocent then nobody does hold it against the child for not knowing about something or not being able to do something. The innocence of the youth manages to make up for everything and override all the lacking things. Because the man is under the grace of God then he is able to 'slide smoothly' along all these temporary setbacks and adversity, so that he really never comes to any spiritual harm and loss. He never develops any 'roughs spots that tear into something upon contact' (angry/resentful outbursts). Also the grace of God is like a blanket which covers all the man's weaknesses and inner lackings, so that he is somehow able to find grace in the eyes of the people that witness his signs of weaknesses and shortcomings. By some divine luck the people involved do not choose to hold anything against the man, and they treat him better than he deserves. The devil is a master of clever and crafty tricks, when it comes to deceive and manipulate and defraud a person. However, the devil is unable to deceive a person which is being too simple to understand what he is talking about. A little child cannot be deceived by all these clever and crafty tricks of the devil, because the child does not understand him in the first place or does not understand that language at all. But a false and selfish and covetous man is able to grasp all the filthy and despicable language of the devil, where it does immediately appeal to that man‘s filthy desires and fancy, and it becomes most difficult for that man to let go of the filthy prospect involved. A man that is fully mature in selfishness is fully able to get fully taken by the speech of the devil, to fall into all the lures and traps and snares which the devil can come up with. An intelligence in lesser matters becomes a trap for those that do not possess intelligence in greater matters. The man is being 'intelligent' enough to be fooled by the intelligent speech of someone more intelligent than him. It would have been better if the man had neither understood nor pretended to having understood all these concepts involved which appealed to his vanity and greed.

False religions involve gods which are supposed to be just as delusional and corrupt as the man himself. These gods are either supposed to have committed selfish deeds, or they are preaching something which is not being pure and altruistic as the divinity is. When false gods have their presumptions and weaknesses then it does merely reflect the restrictions in/of their human creator, because he had been like that from within. It cannot be united all the worldly religions and their teachings into one, as if all of them could be right at the same time, since that truth and lies always contradict one another. The divinity can never be of more than one nature, for it does otherwise no longer involve the same being/person at all. The human nature finds itself in between, where the man will be both contacted by the good force and the evil force, and he will have to choose between them. That to try to mix them both into one compromise is being originated from the evil source and not the good source. Only one God can be true while all the other versions are false. And only the true teachings do actually lead to good and beneficial effects, while all the false teachings lead to bad and disruptive effects. It does not matter whether the worldly religions can be improved in these or those matters situated at the top, because their very foundation does ultimately collapse along with everything which has been added/built on it. The worldly religions might seem to have a different beginning, concerning beliefs and doctrines, and yet all paths lead to the same final destination, which is namely superstition and self-constraint. It can involve all these vices/weaknesses which belong to the extreme of self-righteousness. It is like these self-righteous qualities 'prepare' the person for that in being weakened within before the evil force will strike that person in full force and exploit/manipulate it into total desperation. All religious reforms are doomed to failure, because it is sought to prolong the wrong things, which should have been fully rejected at the outset. It would correspond to that in adding a little fresh thing to keep a dying monster alive a little longer, or by doing a partial reinvigorating to prevent a decayed building from collapsing, when such thing can never last on its own. The man should rather allow all worldly religions to collapse by their own weight with the time, since the divinity did never exist in them to begin with nor did it ever take their side. The divinity will only keep to its own pure foundation, with its pure truth and pure goodness, but it will never support anything which is created and promoted by the evil source.

It should be approached the divinity in a decent and dignified way, and appealed to its decency and dignity, so the divinity can help the man to become decent and dignified in his own life. But it should not be tempted the divinity, by asking it to fulfil our selfish desires, or that the divinity should help us obtain success in dishonest pursuits, at the expense of other people. It should also not be taken the name of the divinity in vain, by implicating it to our vain opinions and trivial/petty issues, or namely anything which is irrelevant to its truth and goodness. The divinity is a moral and intellectual being, and the man should approach it in a corresponding way. The man should be honest about his true intentions, confess the truth about his position, make himself clear and comprehensible, and get straight to the point, as what the man does find in his heart to say at that moment and by appearing like the person he truly is. But all flatteries are useless, and so are all the man’s pretensions, when he tries to seem something else in the eyes of the divinity and tries to conceal his ulterior motives from it. It can correspond to human relations, where it can easily be discerned when another person is flattering us, while secretly coveting some selfish advantage from us. For that person is only saying that what it thinks that we want to hear and there is no underlying sincerity in it. And it is not enough to always repeat the same things over and over again, in only listening to ourselves speak, while it is not bothered to notice and listen to the other person. If we are able to discern such signs during human relations and read between the lines; then should not the divinity be even more capable of it regarding our life! The divinity must surely know us more than we do know ourselves, when it comes to discern what kind of position we find ourselves in, what we are going through in our life, what are our real intentions or premises, and whether we are being truthful at that moment. A prayer is something which must be made willingly each and every time, when we have a simple-spirited turning in our heart, something which smoothly draws us into feeling like doing it. It can be prayed according to our true needs, necessity, critical times, or its importance to the persons involved. That kind of moderation is always able to last in the long run, when it is preferred the quality of a prayer to mere quantity, since our faith is being genuine and sincere every time we pray. But it is not so when the man forces it upon himself to pray too often, and when each prayer is longer than it needs to be. For the man might be present in his physical body, but his heart and spirit is being totally absent, concerned about other matters during each and every prayer. The man should rather give himself a sufficient time and space, in praying when he really wants to do it, and in expressing himself as much as what he does really mean in his heart. The man must first approach the divinity like the person he is before the divinity can receive him, and through it make the man able to understand himself and improve his own life. A single sincere worshipper is greater than many false worshippers, where one genuine prayer is greater than many pretentious prayers, and few truthful words are greater than many flatteries. This is why the divinity does tend to favour few saints above the multitude, since it is all about the rightful approach, in knowing what the divinity is all about. It is better to say nothing than by coming up with sweet words that are not really meant, and it is better to omit mention of specific matters if one is in no position to pass verdicts on it. It should be confessed one’s current attitude, position, and personal experience, whether one can really afford to speak this or that concerning other people. It should be confessed one’s own frailty, selfish intentions, bias, and personal grudge, if there is any, rather than by saying nothing and resume having it deep down in one’s heart. It is all about confessing one’s ignorance before one can begin to know, and in confessing one’s current restrictions before one can begin to change for the better.

All men can read religious texts, speak about religion, attend to religious buildings, uphold religious ceremonies and customs, and preach religion when trying to convert people, regardless of that whether they are being sincere or false, honest or dishonest, faithful or hypocritical. This is why many superficial issues can just as well be excluded from the genuine faith, if the issues in question are irrelevant to truth and goodness. That to stay loyal to God is to stay loyal to one‘s conscience, and that to stay loyal to one‘s conscience is to stay loyal to God, and that separates the true believer from the false believer. But there does not exist anything in between, as if would be enough to uphold some religious customs and show ‘minimum’ piety to become qualified as a true believer. There is nothing holy about religious buildings, because the actual building is made of matters that are not holy and the building has been made by men that are not holy. It does thereby not matter what that building can afterwards be called by the human people. The divinity is not more present in such building than elsewhere, but the divinity is rather present in the heart and spirit of the true believer, wherever he might be. And it does not matter whether the human people can attend to religious buildings and come up with temporary outward show, as if the divinity was more likely to see and hear them there than elsewhere. It is more important what people will feel and say and do in general, what is their attitude most of the time, while they are outside the religious building and making actual choices. It does not make any sense when religious men are willing to suffer want in this world; because they are being greedy for all kinds of luxuries and carnal pleasures in the fancied ‘afterlife’. They imagine that the ‘afterlife’ is an exaggerated version of similar/identical things as are in this world. Such men pretend to reject the temptations of this world, while they continue to covet exactly the same things in their heart. Therefore are they not being true believers, spiritually pure and devoted to the divinity, since that love in good faith is meant to replace all selfish desires.

It must first be understood the noble and altruistic nature of the divinity, before it can be understood why it should be obeyed its principles in all things. It is about understanding its depth of love in all things, the good values which it does stand for, the spirit of its message, what kind of benefits will be promoted from within the man. If the believer is going to make a proper decision then he must do so according to love for the person involved, rather than by calculating the advantage to be had from this or that. Let‘s consider our faith in God, when we are meant to acknowledge the Scripture in being the truthful testimony of God, and that we are meant to obey everything in the Scripture in order to confirm that we are following God. But what if something seemingly written or translated in the Scripture does seem to contradict the goodness of God? Are we really showing faith in God when we seemingly follow the letter of the law at the expense of the spirit of the law, or are we showing faith in God by overlooking that letter of the law in order to uphold the spirit of the law? That we are meant to love our brother (same-of-man) and show him understanding and be merciful to him in his human weakness. If we have to choose between that in loving our brother or that in stiffening up against him because of some seemingly hard saying in the Scripture; then we should always choose love over the other. A noble man does not want other people to live in fear of him and to serve him like slaves, but he is only concerned about their continual welfare. The divinity does notice the man as he is and it receives the man as he is, but the divinity is not gazing upon his shadow, no matter how big the shadow is following the man from behind. The man can continue to be the person that he is, even that he did once have a shadow in his life. The evil nature can take on many difference voices and tones, but they all have it in common to appear forth in the mind. The man should immediately reject the subjective voices, without first needing to sort out anything with himself, since it is only sufficient to know where the temptations are originated from. It does not change anything when such voices might seem to be friendly, sweet, or positive, since they lead to exactly the same effects as when aggressive and negative thoughts are involved. The voices always lead to negligence of fundamental values, making the man  instead live in self-constraint, forcing everything upon himself, against his own willingness and better judgment. It is like the man is serving a harsh and oppressive and manipulative tyrant, whom is exploiting the man’s credulity and weakness, and ordering him around like a slave. The man might presume that he is serving the divinity, but everything in its bearing belongs to the evil force. It is like the man has betrayed the divinity in all but name, although unintentionally, since he showed much eagerness but too little sense in his devotion. The human people are like ignorant children which do not know what they are doing. The human people tend to have good intentions when doing all these different things in order to promote supposably good things, and yet they are being misled in a different way by the same tempter. It is a tragic thing in itself when one misled person (self-righteous fanatic/ideologist) seeks to punish another misled person (selfish pleasure-lover) for faults which itself does not have, while failing to realize that it is in a corresponding position. The former person is also being a spiritual slave, being manipulated by thoughts and impulses within, and still being far from pure truth and pure goodness. The Enemy is the one to blame for causing all these lies and corruption and injustice in the world. It has the most priority to overcome the Enemy within and be free of his evil influence, instead of gazing upon blaming and punishing people that are unintentionally being deceived by him. Those that seek to brainwash the youth with propaganda into doing evil things, those same are guilty of the greater sin.

The one who is writing this confesses that he has not been having an ordinary life like most people, when it comes to have a full-time job and raise a family, and travel to new places and get to know new people. One has not been experiencing all these worldly demands and challenges and responsibilities which most people have to go through. One is thereby in no position to comment on such things. And yet one does not need to teach ordinary people to have ordinary lives. That is something which they are already able to do on their own and they need no help in that regard. One does not need to heal a part which is already being healthy and functional. But one is rather in position to help people in regard to the spiritually sick part in their lives, which has hitherto been distracting them and troubling them and disrupting their inner function. By having written all these things in this work then one is able to help people to be alone with their thoughts, that they can remain spiritually free amidst all these thoughts, and that they can rise above all these thoughts. All these troubles and sickness of the society in our times, that is being originated from the selfish mindset. This selfish mindset has hitherto been encumbering people within and preventing them from reaching their full potential. The one writing this confesses that he lacks genuine feelings, and he lacks understanding of even simple matters, and he lacks initiative in doing things decisively. His strong factor consist in that of having at least a sound attitude (of the heart), in confessing the truth and in what direction to turn to/toward, while he still lacks able limbs (arms, legs) to travel the path through and make it across to the final destination. The other strong factor of his consist in that of continually withstanding temptations within, when it comes to let go of things and allow things to pass through himself and shift the attention elsewhere. It is like mastering the spot between the eyes, and hiding underneath in one‘s heart. One has been of service in regard to these two parts of the spiritual body, while other people can be of service in regard to all the other parts (limbs, organs). This spiritual body in whole, which the Church of God is, the community of all the true believers.