Advancing Spiritually Instead of Staying "Babies"

While I agree with the article below, I rarely find the hypocritical, sanctimonious, "holier than thou" types many articles talk about. 

By far, I see many more people being real, honest and saying how imperfect they are (like we all are!), HOWEVER, they not doing anything about it. They just wallow in their sin, having their pity parties...They are not proactive in changing, but stay "baby Christians" forever.

Remember, we are all called to be saints, and to get there, we must constantly be moving forward, growing in our faith. Living the life of 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Instead of judging how "fake" others seem to be, check oneself to make sure there is daily, true, genuine, spiritual growth toward God. 

https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/church/the-churchs-biggest-problem-isnt-what-you-think/ 

Email me for FREE spiritual or nutritional advice at: LoraJET@rocketmail.com

Slowing Down Can Give You More Control

Great article below. I can relate to it, to a certain degree. 

I used to rush, rush, rush at work, but one day, I decided to slow down, regardless of when I "should" or even want to, finish the work. And every time I have slowed down, I not only manage to finish my work, but it seems like time slows down too! So I get the job done anyway. 

When we let go of the fear, and work feeling healthy and peaceful, God makes a way to accomplish our goals, for His glory.

"Johnathan McReynolds on the Spiritual Power of Doing Less"

https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/jonathan-mcreynolds-on-the-spiritual-power-of-doing-less/

Email me for FREE spiritual or nutritional advice at: LoraJET@rocketmail.com

"Though it is a ubiquitous, even mundane snack today, the humble pretzel actually has a spiritual origin: It was invented by Catholic monks at the beginning of the Middle Ages and, according to legend, was imbued with religious symbolism." 

Read all about it: 

Pretzels were invented by Catholic monks.

A Peaceful, Cruelty-Free Fourth of July

We humans aren't the only valuable souls on Earth. Animals have valuable souls also and we should be kind to them, as they are on their own spiritual journey....

One way to be cruelty-free to our companion species is to have a vegan meal. Here are some delicious ones for the American Fourth of July:

10 Vegan Ways to Celebrate 4th of July

10 Vegan Recipes for 4th of July You Need to Make Now

Celebrate Fourth of July, Vegan-Style

Psychological Factors Regarding the Environment

There is a mental distance that many people invoke when thinking about the damage happening to the environment. A feeling that becomes present when realizing that the current lifestyle that many of us live will be the very thing that eventually kills or limits life on this planet is hard to face. There is a  sense of denial that we live with in order to cope with the reality that today’s luxuries are contributing factors to the destruction of the Mother Earth, which is why some psychological process needs to be addressed and explored regarding the problems of climate change and other environmental issues that are continuing to manifest. But doing right by the environmental movement means that we have to do without the very luxuries that we have been conditioned to believe make life worth living. 

We as people have failed to take into account the psychological conditioning that capitalism and other such systems like in the United States have had on the average person. We are continuing to struggle between the messages of society that are based on worth, gain and monetary values.

This is why the solutions lie very much in the psychological and the spiritual realms of activism; we cannot combat hundreds of years of programming with a simple Public Service Announcement or by using guilt tactics that promote recycling. We have to reach beyond the borders of our average activist actions and embrace the concept of majickal intervention as a means to transformation in thought, action and healing. We must also incorporate the knowledge we have gained from the social sciences in understanding how systems of denial operate, how dissociation from reality becomes a protective measure against what feels threatening, and how the social construct of our environment will shape and mold value systems. 

We live in a society that exists in so much pain, and with so many struggles that life becomes about the struggle and not about the beauty. We have to look at the struggle for environmental justice in combination with the many other struggles of justice we are fighting: They do not exist separately.

The fight for environmentalism is a combination of a psychological, spiritual, societal and historical wound that is wrapped in unchecked privilege, oppression, pain and the trauma of a world. We need to intensify our efforts to support ourselves in a healthy, whole and integrated way, so that we can change and heal the world.

Compassion for Animals

Awesome story....

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/science-of-spirituality/compassion-for-animals

Veganism and Spirituality

Here is an interesting blog post on:

Vegans who identify themselves as religious and/or spiritual. Do they believe that their veganism is the result of their faith or vice-versa? Do they see veganism and spirituality as being completely separate? How do they inform each other?

*I don't agree with everything said by the ones being interviewed, but still interesting to read other's opinions.

The Thinking Vegan

http://thethinkingvegan.com/ttv-consortium/veganism-and-spirituality

The Souls of Animals

 

In this revised edition of his celebrated book, The Souls of Animals, Unitarian Universalist minister Reverend Gary Kowalski discusses the big spiritual questions around our relationship with animals--whether they have souls, self-consciousness, awareness of death, and a capacity for recognizing beauty. Rev. Kowalski combines heartwarming stories with solid science to show that other creatures are not insensitive objects devoid of feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient beings with an inward, spiritual life.

 

 

The Souls of Animals presents insights into the emotional lives of animals, their creative abilities, their sense of play, their experience of love, and their awareness of death. As John Robbins states in the preface: this book is a resource that is about "learning to take our place with reverence and respect in the council of all beings."

Pet Loss

 

The grief that follows the death of an animal companion  can be crippling emotionally, mentally, and even physically. This book can help anyone discover the many emotional reactions and responses to the loss of a pet, learn what happens at a pet cemetery burial, cremation, or home burial and help you to find out arrangements that are legally available.

Spiritual Animals

Do animals have spiritual experiences? Check out some answers here:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/200911/do-animals-have-spiritual-experiences-yes-they-do

http://io9.com/5659502/animals-can-have-spiritual-experiences-just-like-humans

http://news.discovery.com/animals/animals-spiritual-brain.html