Power concedes nothing without a demand.

       Have you noticed how long hard times seem to last? And don't rainy days seem to go on forever? Do life's difficulties appear to multiply rapidly? When hard times, difficulties or rainy days appear, do you give them all your attention?

      If you are like most of us, you probably do. And like most of us, you give difficulty power. Nothing is ever as it seems. What looks bad today can be a blessing tomorrow. Challenges come so we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle now.

      When we face our challenges with faith, prepare to learn, willing to make changes, and if necessary, to let go, we are demanding our power be returned.

My willingness to grow is my demand for power.

If your spiritual philosophy is not moving you to the state of peace, health, wealth, and love your spirit desires...you need a new spiritual philosophy.

What is your spiritual philosophy? Your life philosophy? Is it leading you to the places you want to go? Is it moving you through the challenges and obstacles you face? Is your spiritual philosophy yours? Or is it one that was passed on to you? Is your philosophy creating the optimum conditions in your life? 

Your spiritual philosophy is the way you approach life. It is the foundation upon which you can stand at any time, in any situation, without fear of falling or failing. If your spiritual philosophy leaves any room for fear, lack, hate, intolerance, anger, pain or shame, it may be time for a change.

I Am open and willing to change.

Index

Truth is more than a mental exercise.

The human mind is always searching for truth. The mind guides us through books. It interprets our experiences. It limits us based on our exposure. The mind searches to find truth, not realizing that truth was never lost. Unfortunately, truth cannot reveal itself in a mind that is busy with personal chatter. That chatter refers to what you think we need or want and what you say. Unlike truth, your mental chatter may have nothing to do with what is real.

The only way to find truth is to go deep within the self and to live from that consciousness and understanding. The truth is the reality of who you are from the inside out, and that is something we rarely think about.

Truth is the joy of living, of being, of having a connection to everyone and everything, without thought or malice or condemnation of any part of you. Truth is the spirit of life.


I live in the light of truth

Index

God is as dependent on you as you are on Him.

One good way to know whether something is working is to actually see it work. No matter what your philosophy, regardless how much
you believe it, if it does not produce, it is worthless.
God is the same way. We can talk about Him, sing about Him, pray to Him, for Him and about Him, but if His glory is not produced in
our lives, what are we really saying? The only way for God to be seen is through our lives. Our lives must reflect all the things
we say God is. We are His hands, feet, eyes and voice. Our lives reflect who and what God is.

Are we living a happy life? Are we thinking peaceful thoughts? The only way for God to demonstrate who He is, is for us to do it
for Him. We must demonstrate what we know about God in the way we think, talk, walk and live. God is peace. God is strength. God is mercy. God is forgiving. God is all knowing, all powerful, abundant, radiant life. God is love.
 To know God is to be like Him. All else is a figment of your imagination.

If I want to know who God is, I look at me.

Index

A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.

If you had to tell someone in ten words or less what you stand for in life, what would you say? It might be noble to speak of the liberation for all people of color, but what do you stand for? Perhaps you would take up the cause of starving or abused children, but what do you stand for? The freedom of political prisoners? Decent housing? Equitable distribution of food and natural resources? An end to all wars and warlike aggression? Or perhaps its education?

It is good, honorable and very noble to have a cause, but before you can do that, you must be able to stand on your own two feet. More battles are lost in this life to weary soldiers than are lost for a lack of cause.

What do you stand for? How about peace of mind, radiant health, truth and honesty, viable use of your God-given talents, gifts and abilities, or maybe just plain old love. When you are standing on well-cared for and rested feet, you will be victorious in any cause.

I Stand on the principle of me first.

Index

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

There are many times in life when we want to do, know we should do, may even know what or how to do, but we don't. At these times we are relying on the body. We must realize that the body cannot move without the spirit.

Spirit is the force behind all motion. No matter what situations we face in this world, spirit is always with us. That presence is always guiding, protecting, loving us-to ensure that we do the best. The love of spirit will inspire us and never abandon our needs. Spirit brings divine knowing and order so that we can express strenght, peace and power in every situation.

When we are fearful or feeling alone, we can turn within and affirm the love of spirit. We need never to rely on the physical body alone, for we are always in the mighty presence of spirit.
Closer than breath, nearer than arms and feet, spirit will move the body when we ask and obey.

The guiding love of the spirit within conquers all without.

Index

There are three kinds of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, those who wonder what happened.

I was thinking about it but...I was going to but...I want to but...I wish I could but...These are the excuses we give for sitting on our butts. We tell ourselves we are waiting for something to happen. We tell ourselves something is missing. We tell other people we will do it, whatever it may be, but we never do. If you think what you need is not there, find it. If you cannot find it, make it. If you cannot make it, find someone who can. If you do not have the money to pay them to make it, get it done on credit. If you have no one to borrow from, ask someone else to borrow it for you. If you do not have credit, get some. If you cannot get credit, go out and do something that someone will pay you for so you can pay for what you need.

There are no "buts" so big they cannot be moved. Once you move the "butt," everything else will follow.

I would sit here, but I have something to do.

Instead of wallowing in my misery, I just made some changes.

You can do something the same way for so long that you begin to do it without thinking. When you are not thinking about what you are doing, you may not recognize its harmful effects. Very often, the habit of doing a certain things in a certain way robs you of new experiences.

In order to learn to grow and be happy, you must always seek the new. Take a new route to work today. Eat lunch in a new environment. Speak to someone before they speak to you, or let them speak first. Try the radio instead of television. Bathe in the morning instead of at night. Be conscious of what you do, how you
do it and be open the happy new experiences.

Today I Am willing to do it differently.

If we stand tall it is because we stand on the backs of those who came before

As painful as it may be to accept, that our ancestors were required to die as part of the evolution of the race. They died in order that or genius could be spread throughout the world. They died so that their energy would be shifted into the invisible, untouchable force that sustains life today. They died in order that we could stand in a new place, do new things and create a new order.

We must stand tall knowing the power, strength and wisdom of the ancestors is as close as a breath. All that we ever need to be, to do, to know, to have is available. All we need to do is take a stand.

I Am standing on a solid foundation.

Sometimes the strong die, too!

Are you one of those people who is always there when somebody needs you? You know just what to say, exactly what to do to turn the worst situation into a conquerable challenge. Everybody calls on you. Everybody needs you. You are, after all, strong enough, tough enough to make it through anything and everything.

Well, Who do the strong go to? Who do the strong lean on? Where do the strong go when they are not feeling very strong?When you set yourself up to be an anchor for everybody else, you jump ship on

yourself! The need to be needed, the illusion that without us things would not get done, is actually the way we escape ourselves.The strong have needs. The strong have weaknesses! Sometimes those needs are so deep and painful that rather than face them, the strong run away. When the strong take the weight of the world on their shoulders, they eventually break down.
The question is, Who will be there for the strong?

I take time for me, to do for me the same things I do for others.

You must live within your sacred truth.

So much of our time, energy and attention is wasted trying to convince other people how wrong they are about us. We want them to know we are not ignorant, lazy heathens. We want them to retract the untruth that has been told. We try to convince them that we have a valid history, a rich culture and that our ancestors have made valuable contributions to the development of the world. We spend so much time trying to show them who we are not, we lose sight of who we really are.

It is not our responsibility to prove to people who we are. Our job and responsibility is to "be." What you do is proof of who you are; manifestation is realization. People have a right to think whatever they choose to think. Just because they think it does not make it right.

I Am who I Am.

Education is your passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.

Education is not limited to the classroom. It takes place in the kitchen, on the corner, as you ride or walk to any destination, when you listen or speak to others and in the silence of your bedroom.

Education springs forth from books, songs, children, elders, women, men. It rises from victory, tragedy, joy and suffering. Education does not take place when you learn something you did not know before. Education is your ability to use what you have learned to be better today than you were yesterday.

No matter how much you know or how you learn it, the ultimate goal of eduction is to give "you" greater insight to "yourself."

I Am educating the world about me.

The determination to outwit one's situation means that one has no models, only object lessons.

If your facing a challenge in your life, before asking someone else what to do, remember what you did the last time. Nothing is new in life. Everything has been said or done by you. It may look different. There may be new people involved. It may even feel different, but it's not.

The key is to recognize the lesson. Ask yourself, "What am I learning in this situation?" Is it patience? Peace? Forgiveness? Independence? What am I feeling now? Have I felt it before? What did I do than? Remember, no one can learn your lessons but you. And the best teacher you will ever have is experience.

I Am divinely guided at all times and I know exactly what to do.

One's work may be finished someday but one's education, never.

Unless you make every waking a learning process, you are wasting a major portion

of your life. You can learn from people you do not like as well as from those

you love. You can learn from the elders and the youth. You can learn more about

the things you know about and fine-tune the things you are good at. You can

learn by observing, listening and serving. You can learn by assisting,
completing and forgiving.

Never withdraw from the education process by picking and choosing from who you

can learn. Keep your mind open, your eyes attuned and your willingness to learn

in the humble state of a student.

I Am learning a little more every day.

How I wish I could pigeon-hole myself and neatly fix a label on! But self-knowledge comes too late! By the time I've known myself I am no longer what I was.

You are growing and learning every moment of every day. Regardless of what you have been told, you can and do change with every new experience. Each experience enhances your capabilities by giving you something new to draw upon. Every new capability you discover and develop leads to a new opportunity. As long as you have the capability and an opportunity, there is a new possibility for you to grow and learn something new.

Dare not to limit yourself to only knowing or doing one thing. Take a chance by putting all you know to use. Accept all invitations to do a new thing and when you do it, celebrate. Move toward your wildest dream, take the labels off your mind and step boldly into your greatness.

With every new step I create a new me.

Lord, make me so uncomfortable that I will do the very thing I fear.

When it is time for us to grow we get restless. When it is time for us to move forward we get tense. When the time comes for us to let go of the things we know are holding us back, all hell breaks loose. Unfortunately, we sometimes misunderstand what we are feeling and use it as a reason to stay where we are. Nothing forces us to move faster than pain. Restlessness is pain. Tension is pain. Hell breaking loose is a sign that pain is on the way. When we are in pain we must do something to make us feel better. And if the old remedy does not work, we must try something new. Too many times we have cut ourselves down to fit into the situation. Fixing ourselves to stay where we are is the very source of our pain. If we allow ourselves to live with a constant, dull ache, it means we are not getting the message. But you can be sure all dull aches eventually turn into a throbbing pain.

Pain tells me there is something wrong.

It is impossible to pretend that you are not heir to, and therefore, however inadequately or unwillingly, reponsible to, and for, the time and places that give you life.

We each come into this life to learn, relearn or unlearn something we need to know. As difficult as it may be to accept, we choose the exact circumstances into which we are born. Whether it is poverty, abandonment, abuse, rejection or disease, our deepest self knows the lessons we must learn. Our mind chooses the path.

Life's lessons are few: peace, freedom, strength, justice, faith and love. All the answers you need are buried within you. For just a moment let go of the anger, fear, guilt, shame and blame. Focuse all your attention on the center of your being and ask yourself, "What is it that I must learn?" The longer you ask, the more sincere you are to know, the faster your answer will come.

I AM willing to take full responsibility for me.

The dog is sometimes smarter than the owner.

The tongue has no mind of its own. Like a dog, the tongue follows where the owner leads. If the owner leads the dog into harm's way, the dog will not question the direction or intent. The same is true for the tongue. Unlike the dog, however, the tongue has a power the owner may not always be aware of.

The tongue can create. The intent of the mind creates a force for the tongue.
The power of this force will materialize as a physical condition or an emotional state for the owner. The tongue knows, even when the owner forgets, what you say is what you get, whether you want it or not.

I Speak with a conscious tongue.

You don't always have to say something.

Everytime we open our mouths we release a powerful energy. If we could learn to hold on to that energy, it could be used to nurture our dreams, heal our bodies and fuel our minds. But we always have so much to say.

Talking can take us off the track, knock us off our center and kill off our dreams when we speak mindlessly. Talking is something we must learn to use, not something we must always do.

There is power in silence that energizes the mind, body and soul. Think of the sun, moon and stars. They all appear silent and never fail at their job. There is wisdom in silence. Think of the mountains and trees. They never have anything to say, yet it takes great effort to bring them down.

There is love in silence. Think of the womb. Perfect timing, order and completion accomplished in total silence. Silence is an art, a tool of the wise. When we perfect the art of silence, chances are we will get a lot more done.

Today I will practice the art of silence.

The tongue of a man is his sword.

Wars do not begin when one force is aggressive towards another. They begin when one force speaks aggression toward another.
No act of aggression begins without a word. The word ignites the warrior mechanism in the mind and body. When we hear aggressive words, we are compelled to respond. When we speak aggressive words, we are advanced upon.
A wise soldier knows never to draw his sword unless he is ready, able and willing to do battle.
Meanwhile, a fool draws his sword aimlessly and is prone to cut himself to death.

My Tongue is my sword of power. I use it wisely.

You,ve been tricked! You've been had! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled!

Somebody sure pulled a fast one on you! Somebody, somewhere tricked you into believing there were certain things you could not do because of who you were. Someone else told you that only certain people could do or be the very thing you wanted to be. And you were not one of those people.

With a sleight-of-hand manipulation of facts, someone made you think you didn't have what it takes, so they took it. Somebody told you that you were slow, or lazy; not good enough; or crazy. And you believed that? They tricked you into believing what they wanted you to believe. They knew who you were and they knew you had no idea. They pulled the wool over your eyes. Ran a game on you and you fell for it!

The truth is they downright, open-mouthed, bare-faced told you a lie! Now what are you going to do?

I Am not falling for the same old tricks again.

Speak your truth, and speak it quick!

Saying what you really think, feel or believe is often difficult. Usually you don't want to hurt other people's feelings. Even when they infuriate you, you don't want to make someone mad.

The real truth of the matter is, somewhere deep down inside, you don't believe your feelings are "right" or that you have the "right" to feel the way you do.

When you hold on to feelings you become angry, fearful and confused. When you don't say what is on your mind you will be prone to gossip, rebel or commit acts of betrayal against yourself and others.

The only way to free yourself from the stress of not saying what you think is to speak your truth with love, clarity and conviction. And to speak it quickly with a conscious tongue.

I speak my truth from my heart.

You must never be stupid enough to say, or smart enough to admit, you "know" what someone else is talking about. The moment you do your learning stops.

Generally speaking, the ego encourages you to constantly prove yourself and what you already know. When you are in the presence of someone you feel the need to impress, the ego's automatic response is "I know."

When your in the presence of someone your ego thinks is smarter, richer, more experienced than you, your ego tells you, "I know what they are thinking about me."

When your in the presence of someone your ego believes is not as smart, rich or experienced as you, "I know" is the way to cut them off.

The moment you say "I know," you are demonstrating that you don't know. You can learn something valuable from everyone, in every situation.

I Am open and willing to learn.

The one thing grander than the sea is the sky. The one thing greater than the sky is the human spirit.

The reason we can't get clear is because we have so many things cluttering our minds and lives. We have so much mental chatter we can't hear ourselves think. We have so much emotional baggage we can't feel what's good, what's bad, what's right or what's wrong. We want so much, so fast, that we can't get clear about what to do first.


The first thing we have to do is get clear about the one thing we want. We must describe it, identify it, see it in our possession.
Dont stop to worry about how, that will only create more clutter. Just want it and see it the way you want it.


Once you do that, eliminate everything that is not getting you to what you want. Eliminate it from thought, word and deed. Eliminate people if necessary. Stop doing things that will not get you what you want.


When you are conforable with the energy you have put into you first want, move on to the next one.
The trick is to want one thing at a time. Focus on it. Concentrate on it and then let it go.


I Am clear about what I want.
I Can see through to it.

You can look ahead, you can look behind, what is written cannot be changed.

We cannot change the color of our skin. What we can change is how we feel about it.

We cannot change a pain-filled past. What we can do is change how it will affect us.

We cannot change how other may feel about who we are and where we've been. What we can change is how we see it, how we use it and how others use it to our benefit or detriment.

The past has already been written, but we have the power to write the future, based on who we are and what we do now. Only we can write a future based on self-support and respect. We can write a future full of strength, peace, wealth and love.

All we have to do is what is right now.

I Am choosing my future by what I do now.

Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect and make everyone deal with you the same way.

Focused Vision

Many of us live day to day without a real sense of purpose. We know we want more out of life, but we can't seem to put a finger on exactly what it is. We believe our fate is due to a lack of career, money or the freedom to do what we want.

Actually, what we may be longing for is a personal mission. When you have a mission,you have a core passion that gives you vision. With the vision of your mission, you move gracefully through your goals. When you have a mission, you wholeheartedly embrace a task and you remain focused until the task is done. When you have a mission, you feel valued, worthy and respectable. You manage to keep your head up and others notice you.

What is your mission? Is it teaching, healing, painting, driving? Perhaps it is building snowmen, counting pea pods or keeping others on their mission.

Respect your life enough to pursue a meaningful mission.

Respect yourself enough to give yourself something to do.

I Am mission-minded and focused on a goal.

Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first call promising.

The road of life is strewn with the bodies of promising people.

People who show promise, yet lack the confidence to act.
People who make promises they are unable to keep.
People who promise to do tomorrow what they could do today.
Promising young stars, athletes, entrepreneurs who wait for promises to come true.

Promise without a goal and a plan is like a barren cow. You know what she could do if she could do it, but she can't.

Turn your promise into a plan. Make no promise for tomorrow if you are able to keep it today.
And if someone calls you promising, know that you are not doing enough today.

My Life Needs A Plan Not A Promise.

Where you will sit when you are old shows where you stood in youth.

We can become so consumed with trying to make it that we never do. Unfortunately, before we know it, we are seated by age, hardened by experiences, having never realized the full value of life.

We want so much.
We try to do so much, it seems as if nothing ever gets done. The Ancient Africans knew that quality not quantity makes life precious. Its is our individual responsibility to set the standards for quality in our lives.
Do we have peace in our lives? Do we have a source of happiness in our lives? Are we living up to the standards we set for ourselves? Have we set standards? Are we committed to following our hearts desire? Are we making our dreams come true?

We must decide for ourselves what we want for ourselves while the sunshine of youth is upon us.

It is quality not quantity, that brings wisdom with age.

Dont let anyone steal your spirit.

There are times when we find ourselves at odds with someone. It may seem that our only choices are to get caught up in the situation or walk away.

The ego tells us we must prove we are right. If we walk away, the other person will win.

The ego keeps us from recognizing there is another choice. Whatever situation confronts us, we must recognize our right to be at peace. The need to be right and meet discord head on begins within. It is a need that stems from feelings of powerlessness, unworthiness and a lack of love. It shows up in life as arguments and confrontations.

When we have peace in our hearts and minds, we draw peace into our lives.

When discord and disharmony present themselves, we can stand firm.

When we let go of the need to prove to ourselves, nothing and no one can disturb the quiet and peace of our minds.

I am rightfully peaceful.

I ain't gonna study war no more...

Let us insist on peace today turning our minds away from war. There is war in our hearts, minds, body organs, and words because of the fast pace in which we live. Yet just for today, we will lay down our weapons, insisting the peace be the light and the way. Let us know today that we are spiritual beings, programmed for peace and love. Let us teach be example, demonstrating peace and love in everything we say and do. Let us know that it does not matter what other say or do. We will think in peace, speak in peace, knowing in our hearts that like will draw like. Let us know we our bound to become that which we study, so let us study peace, love and truth. If we commit ourselves to just one day of peace it is bound to feel so good, we will want to do it again.

 

Keep Thy Heart With All Diligence.

Ma'at and Isis (left to right)

Queen Maat is the gatekeeper of the heart. It is said that before man can pass on to eternal peace, his heart must be balanced on the scale of Maat. On one side she will place your heart, the cause behind all of our actions. On the other side, she will place her feather, which contains all the issues of life. If your heart tips the scale, you are banished from a peaceful rest and your spirit must continue working to cleanse  itself.

What are you harboring in your heart? Hate, anger, fear, judgement, shame or guilt will tilt the scale against you. The feather of Maat contains truth, honor, justice, harmony and love, which the ancients believed were the only requirements for a long, prosperous and peace-filled life.

To pass through the gate of Maat you must seek and speak the truth, harboring no ill thoughts or feelings, you must honor the ways of those who came before you, you must deal justly with honesty in all situations, be harmonious in all that you do, seeking no quarrel with anyone and extending only love to others.

                               My heart is as light as a feather.

A delay is not a denial.

Patience is a virtue many do not posses. We have very little difficulty identifying what we want and need. The difficulty comes in waiting for it to manifest. We become nervous, doubtful, even fearful when we don't see our good coming as quickly as we think it should. Sometimes we even allow ourselves to believe someone or something can hold us back or stop our good from coming. We worry, we complain and sometimes we give up hope. We cannot see how we get in our own way. We forget about universal timing and divine order. We may not realize how our negative thought, doubts, and fears uproot the positive seeds we plant. We just don't understand that we would not have the desire unless the supply were ready to come forward. We must learn the virtue of patience because every time we open the oven door, we run the risk of making a good cake fall.

Be patient and know that you have all the time in the universe.