Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

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Blood Type Diet, Diet, Food, Harold Klemp, nutrition

Paying attention to foods can help you lead a better spiritual life. People ask me, “What is good food?” There is no good food or bad food for everyone. It depends upon the individual, upon his particular health condition. Who can best tell what’s right for you? You can, of course.—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Ah, food! My evolution with food is slow but sure. I have been reading a lot of books about nutrition. Some of it was absolute BS but there are some little nuggets of gold here and there.

For my current weight loss efforts, I am tracking my food intake daily and monitoring my carb, protein, and fat intake. One of the books I read explained how type O blood folks (that’s me) are really good at digesting fats and proteins. Our particular weakness is with carbohydrates, particularly those nasty ones in grains and dairy products. Unfortunately, there are no studies out there that verify that the blood type diet or any of the other diets out there do anything for your waistline, however, there were some items in the type O diet that I already knew I had a problem with.

My body loves protein but I discovered in the last few weeks when I began paying more attention to what I was eating, that Whey protein products are a no-go. I only drink about two protein shakes a day and they were causing some major issues with my digestion. I’m trying an egg white protein now and it appears to be ok with my physical makeup.

This is what Harold is talking about. What’s bad for me, may be good for you and vice versa. It’s really important to find this stuff out before you have a major allergic reaction or you screw up your digestive track. For me, it’s important to eat whole (non-boxed foods) and make sure I supplement properly to recover from my workouts.

So, folks, take some time to analyze your diet and identify those foods that might not be working for you. You can also visit your doctor and have him send you to a nutritionist if you have a major concern. These folks can make diet recommendations to get you started. Regardless, the food you eat, the supplements and vitamins you take, really are individual. Some supplements I have tried have ZERO effect, while others have been very helpful. Experiment, test things out. You’ll feel a lot better in the long-run.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesdays – Anger, Fear, Vanity

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Anger, Emotions, Fear, Harold Klemp, Meditation, Prayer, The Language of Soul, Vanity

“When we reach the point in our unfoldment where we are treating others with love instead of fear, anger, or vanity, we’ve made a very important step back home to God.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

How do we treat others with love? It is quite simple. We simply wish others well.

How many times have you reacted to someone else in anger or preached to someone from the pedestal of vanity? If you really think about it, both emotions are quite harmful and worthless in the end.

I tend to have the greatest weakness with vanity. When I am experiencing success with self-discipline, I tend to preach to others about how they are NOT. This is one version of vanity. Other types of vanity could be prejudice against another person, discriminating against someone, even the poor treatment of animals as if they were less important than we powerful humans.

Anger is a tough one because when someone does something to hurt us or violates our space after being asked politely to back off, we naturally get angry. I would never advocate turning a cheek in this respect. We all have a right to defend or stick up for ourselves.

In the end, each of us is simply Soul. If we can have compassion and understanding for other beings, treating them as Soul, our outlook can change a bit. There will always be someone to challenge you when you attempt to interact with them from “higher” ground.

What we are really talking about here is the ability to master the emotions. If we rise above them, they have no hold on us. This is hard, particularly when you are right in the thick of it. What I have found to work the best is to contemplate these emotions and really try to understand them. If you’re like me, you find that they are simply an illusion. When you get to the center of anger, fear, vanity, or jealousy, you find that nothing is there. It is just a way we REACT to the reality we are giving light to.

It is the REACTION to the things that are outside us that get us into trouble. One of the beauties of the human mind is our ability to replay these events in our mind and mock up different scenarios and situations that have invoked an emotion in the past. Once you experience this emotion, alter the environment or alter your way of reacting to it. You’ll find that you will become more centered and less likely to be thrown out of emotional balance. None of this is easy. You must want it. Experiment with this when you are meditating or praying. Play a situation that got the best of you repeatedly until it no longer affects you. Typically, once you master this situation, you will be better equipped to be in control and react less than you did before.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Today’s Quote – Harold Klemp

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Following your Path, Harold Klemp, Helping Others to God

Today’s Quote:

“Sometimes you are called upon by the Holy Spirit to go out of your way to help another person toward the enlightenment of God.” —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

For those of you who do not know, my religious path is Eckankar. Sri Harold Klemp is the spiritual leader of my path and I wanted to pass along a few quotes of his during the holidays. His quotes apply to any path.

Have you ever felt so good about the religious path you follow that you had to share it with others? This is a common feeling. We receive God’s love and we want to help others find this same feeling.

When I was growing up, I felt a little embarrassed by being an Eckist, because the town I grew up in was predominantly Christian. All of my friends went to Church and I didn’t. I felt strange and out of place when others could talk about going to Sunday School and the things they learned. I had nothing to share with my friends and when they asked I had to make something up to fit in.

I don’t feel bad about this. It is the nature of our existence here. Some of us are different and have to adapt to our differences. At the time, I chose conformity, making up a Church my family and I went to, to avoid the chastising I visualized receiving from my classmates had I admitted that I was not a Christian at all.

After following this path for 47 years, I have finally come to realize that this is just a phase that we must pass through. I imagine it is the same for any child who follows a path that is different from the mainstream in his school. Some may choose ridicule and “stick to their guns”, while folks like me took the easy way out and avoided the criticism by blending in.

Over the years I have matured in my beliefs and hope everyone has the opportunity to find a path that suits their needs. Whether their path is Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, or any other number of paths, each path is the right one for the individual who chooses it. They all lead the follower back to God.

Embrace your path. Follow its tenets. Study and follow the practices required by your holy books. The more you put in the more you get back.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Today’s Quote – Harold Klemp – The Plus Factor

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God, Harold Klemp, Path to God, self-improvement

Today’s Quote:

“No matter how much insight we gain about God, there will always be something that lies beyond the horizon of our understanding. That is simply the nature of truth.” Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

As an Eckist, this is quote refers to the plus factor. It relates that regardless of what we do, we will never be able to understand God in its entirety. There will always be one more step to take, one more level to achieve.

I think this is a tremendous thing! It means that our journey towards being our best self will never be over. Imagine how boring life would be if there were a final place where we finally make it? I think that would be a terrible place to be.

I enjoy stretching myself. I enjoy the ups and downs of self-improvement. We never stay in the same place. We are either progressing or slipping backward a bit. That’s ok. This is how it works. I see this in the gym, my writing, my reading, and even my spirituality.

What I find most interesting is that each time we hit a new high, we begin to realize we are more capable now and our view of what’s next becomes clearer. Then we reset our sights on something higher and continue.

The path to God is the same. Imagine yourself at the bottom of a mountain. You begin walking upwards. You take a rest after a while and look back. You are now much higher in the worlds of God and can see more. This new awareness changes us. It allows us to see better and make better decisions. We can see the mistakes we made in the past, we can see the various routes we took and can visualize where we made mistakes. It doesn’t make sense to dwell on these mistakes, mind you, but it does point out that we will always fumble about as we move forward, regardless of the task. This is the nature of things.

Each time we take a rest, we are higher still. We can see more, are aware of more, and are literally changed beings. Continuing on with my metaphor of a mountain, imagine how hard it will be when the air begins to thin, the path becomes more treacherous and steep. This requires, even more, transformation as we progress. Our path to God and perfection never ends. It continues forever.

I hope everyone had a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Doing what's right, Harold Klemp, Knowing what's right, Self-discipline, Unfoldment

Today’s Quote:

“Unfoldment is a two-step process. First, knowing the way; second, walking it.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Today’s quote is about integrity. Most of us know right from wrong. We also know what’s good for us and what isn’t. We all have an internal compass that points the way for us to act and to respect others.

Obviously, knowing the way is the easy part. Walking it is where the discipline comes. This is the part that challenges us. This is the part that has the most meaning.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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God, Happiness, Harold Klemp, Quest

Today’s Quote:

“The quest for God is the quest for true happiness.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Yeah, I don’t have anything to add to this one. This is what we are here to do.

Until Next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Completion, Golden Heart, Harold Klemp, Love

Today’s Quote:

“A person with a golden heart is filled with love and likes to see something that he starts completed and done well.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Have you ever done something well, just for the sake of doing it well? Have you ever done something well without any expectation of praise or feedback? This is what the golden heart is. It is about serving one’s fellow creatures without any expectations of praise or payback. You serve others to make their lives easier, more peaceful, and to take away some of their burdens.

Service can be as simple as listening to someone, picking up a piece of trash out of your neighbor’s lawn, petting an animal, smiling at a young child. The list goes on and on. I don’t remember where I read it, but the passage said that when times are tough on you and you have no idea where to turn–help someone. By helping someone else, you take your mind off of your troubles and make someone else’s day easier. This is really great advice. It has worked for me multiple times.

Serve others when you’re happy; serve others when you’re sad, especially when you’re sad. It will help you more than you could ever imagine.

Until next time…

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Contribute, God, Harold Klemp, Love, Talent

Today’s Quote

“Become an expert in something. You need to be grounded in something. When you do something for God, for the highest principle, you do each step until it sings.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

We are all put on this Earth to contribute. We all come here with inherent talents that are uniquely our own. Harold Klemp stresses the need to do whatever you do for God. If you truly do this, you will do the very best you can. When you do this, you’ll feel a completeness within. This completeness is love.

Love what you do. Put love into all you do. To get love, you have to give it. Give it to every task you do and it will be returned to you.

Until tomorrow…

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Harold Klemp, Mental Habits, Problems, Self-discipline, Surrender

“Every problem contains a solution. The key is self-discipline and surrender of the mental habits to the Holy Spirit.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

We are all faced with problems from time-to-time. Some of them are large problems that could take years to resolve, while others are small, but pesky issues that need to be handled quickly, and are normally out of our hair in a short amount of time. Some of our problems are caused due to health. Some are related to money issues. Others relate to our work or relationships.

As Harold Klemp states, there is always a solution to a problem. Sometimes when we are not ready to solve a problem, there are no answers forthcoming. This is due to our emotions getting in the way. When we are letting our emotions get the best of us, it is impossible to think. We cannot elevate our consciousness to clear thinking until we have gained control over our emotions or risen above them.

See you tomorrow!

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

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Belief, Dreams, Harold Klemp, Inner Experiences, Knowingness, Revelations

Today’s Quote

“Those living the high spiritual life are the knowers, not believers. There is a world of difference between knowing and believing.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Belief and knowing are infinitely apart. When one of us has a revelation, a memorable dream, or some other form of inner experience, it is sometimes very difficult to explain it to others. We try, but at times we’ll get strange looks or a “thanks for sharing, but…”

When you experience what is called knowingness, it is beyond the mind. It comes directly to you. When it does, you know in your heart that it is truth and a reality that is beyond explanation. The experience comes from deep within and you know that it is yours to treasure.

Thanks for visiting!

See you tomorrow…