CAN ATHEISTS HAVE MORALS?

I often see Christian fundamentalists taking swipes at the notion that atheists and other non-believers can have moral values. In their view, God is ruler over the universe and therefore the only source of morality and objective truth. Since atheists don't subscribe to the God-centric model of the universe, the only values they can come up with are relative and subjective.

Having spent a great deal of my life as a fundamentalist Christian, I thoroughly understand their perspective. I recall the word "atheist" evoking images of a very nasty, evil person. When Madalyn Murray O'Hair was in the news regarding some legal challenge to public religious expression, I recall thinking that she must be a particularly twisted, evil person. How could she hate God so much?

Now that my beliefs have evolved, I'm no longer a "theist", so atheist would be technically correct in describing my beliefs. However, the popular usage of atheist also connotes a totally materialistic philosophy and even hostility toward anything supernatural, and that's not me. I see God as the single unitary consciousness that comprises all things, so perhaps pantheist is more accurate.

Believing as I do that spirituality is a natural part of existence, my source of morality is not in doubt. Even a materialistic atheist develops values, because everyone has an essential worldview that attempts to explain their reason for living. Most of us are quite capable of love for our fellow humans, with some exceptions: A narcissistic sociopath has moral values as well, though these values would be considered selfish and evil by others, but they are standards nonetheless.

Rather than defend how a non-theist develops values, I'd like to shift the argument back at Christians: My contention is that their own moral values are just as relative and subjective as that of non-believers. Absolute standards are pretty darn difficult to prove in any case, and many competing views on this exist within various religions.

What absolute standard are we talking about?

The Christian would state that God is the ultimate standard. And how do we know what this God's views are? They claim it's through the Bible, "God's Word". They believe that the Bible gives them a rock-solid, undisputed moral standard to live by.

So...exactly what are these moral standards, and where are they found? 
The Ten Commandments are well known, so it's a good place to start. Let's examine what morals are taught here:

1 –   You shall have no other gods before me.

Sounds like this is about an insecure deity, afraid of the competition. What's the moral for us mortal humans? Since Judeo-Christianity is supposedly a monotheistic religion, what competition is God worried about?

 2 -  You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

Again, more insecurity coming through.What's up with that?

 

3 - You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Could be some merit in this, as in keeping something in our lives sacred and protected from the constant barrage of cynicism and ridicule. But "God's name" depends on the theistic model you subscribe to. 

4 - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

This one is all about control, How does being controlled by endless rules help us to be better humans ? This just helps keep us subjugated by the controllers.

5 - Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

I guess you can't argue with that. 

6 – You shall not kill.

Ah, herein lies one of the biggest incongruities in Christianity. Very short and unambiguous, yet the one commandment that is most often violated or ignored. The concept of not killing each other is a glorious idea, that if followed. would make the world a much nicer place. Here you have it, in black and white, and yet many if not most Christians support the death penalty, and sending troops into combat. They support the military raining death down from drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pacifists, practicing what Jesus taught, are generally ridiculed by these same Christians. Maybe they should just delete this inconvenient commandment?

7 – You shall not commit adultery.

On the face of it, this seems positive, but it's really about male control and ownership of women as property. Women caught in adultery were stoned to death, while men could make good by killing off the husband and adding the woman to his harem. (See the David and Bathsheba story).

8 – You shall not steal.

Thumbs up for this one, but don't forget the stealing done by the rich 1% from the working class. Why are they not caught an put in prison like a petty thief would be?

9 -You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Another great idea. The fact that the 10 commandments used to be posted in courthouses everywhere, yet innocent people are still imprisoned or executed indicates that this one is widely disregarded. The modern version is "cover your tracks and tell the truth only when in danger of being caught lying".

10 – You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

This one probably has merit, but notice how it's addressed to the male of the household, as if women don't even exist.

The score? Out of 10, maybe 6 1/2 have moral merit. So is this the gold standard that Christians have but atheists lack? Great stats for baseball batters, not so much for the supposed source of all moral code.

Let's reflect a bit more on this. The real problem with the 10 commandments is what's not listed. 

Slavery, for example, was permitted and even encouraged elsewhere in the Old Testament.

And why did slavery end in this country? Was the abolitionist movement spearheaded by fundamentalist Christians? Hardly. Many of them defended it until the bitter end. Abolition was achieved due to the efforts of secular people of conscience, even atheists among them! And the fight against segregation and discrimination continued until modern times, opposed by...you guessed it!

So it stands to reason that if the Bible is the source of all wisdom and moral values, the fight for a more kind and just society should have been led by fundamentalist Christians. The reality is that they mostly have been the old guard responsible for resisting social progress, and still are. Assistance to the poor, gender equality, minimum wage, environmental protection are all still actively resisted by conservative Christians. In their defense, perhaps the Old Testament provides little encouragement for progressive social morality. But there is still the New Testament to consider...

The teachings of Jesus stand in marked contrast to much of the Old Testament. He pulled no punches when criticizing OT law and practice, which is probably what got him into so much trouble.

Stone the woman caught in adultery? Jesus said "he who has not sinned cast the first stone" (There were no takers that day).

Chase the Banksters out of the temple with a whip! Feed and clothe the poor! Helping someone in need is more important than Sabbath rules!

The gist of Jesus' teachings was love. "The sum of the law is love your neighbor"! How complicated is that? Even atheists are capable of love, and there is nothing in the Bible that teaches how to love better or more in any case. People live in harmony and love their neighbors and families in parts of the world that have never heard of the Bible. Societies influenced by religion tend to have more strife and bloodshed. In any case, there is no evidence that religion teaches us how to love more.

Conclusion: Christian claims that their morals are based on objective standards are false. The Bible does not speak with one mind and voice, so it's a subjective matter of which passages to adhere to and which to ignore. Christians that condemn the harsh Islamic punishment of women in the news should recall that their own Bible could be used to defend such practice. Do they think that stoning the pregnant woman in Pakistan was a moral action? Of course not, but they cannot cite the Bible as their moral guide on this matter. 

For everyone, morality is a very subjective matter, taking into account culture and prevailing beliefs. In this regard, Christians and Atheists are pretty much alike.

Toward Full Actualization

The theme of this blog has been learning to live in a state of "Full Actualization".

Simply stated, this means learning to access the spiritual dimension and higher-self consciousness, even while fully embracing our physical existence.

A great deal of spiritual teaching is available, much of which is helpful and somewhat convergent. Certain concepts are widely accepted, such as reincarnation and the "law of attraction".

It's easy to find teaching on how to attract wealth, or how to connect with loved ones on the other side. The problem I experienced was how to integrate it all into a broad, practical philosophy of life. Having money is great, but what if learning to attract wealth doesn't answer all the questions? What if the questions run along the lines of "Why am I here?" and "What is the purpose for all this suffering", and even "What can I do about the things in my life that I don't like?"

The "Fully Actualized Life" is based on a number of initial assumptions about how it all works, based on my experiences along the spiritual path up to this point. I have seen enough correlation with other sources to feel fairly confident that this is the gist of how things really work in the universe.

Here is a recap:

 It's All About The Soul.

The soul is a splinter off the vast, unitary consciousness that fills the universe, which we call God.

The soul incarnates in various physical environments in order to experience lessons or achieve objectives that are difficult to experience in spirit. Being human on Earth is our primary experience, which we will address here.

The primary objective of the soul is not to gain more knowledge, since it already has infinite knowledge of the Godhead at its disposal. Humans seek to rediscover knowledge as part of their experience.

The primary objective of the soul is not to become more holy or righteous, or to "earn" a higher level in the cosmos. The soul does not seek to please God, for the soul is already comprised of God.

The primary objective of the soul is not to resolve every problem and reach a state of bliss, because it originates from a state of bliss. The soul originates from a state of total love and security, but bravely sets sail on uncharted seas in an attempt to rediscover love and learn how to manifest its needs in a contrived system of fear and scarcity.

So Why Do We Suffer?

The soul does not come here merely to suffer. 

Suffering occurs primarily due to the following:

1. Failure of the ego-mind to understand the lessons at hand, and to resist them.

2. Failure of the ego-mind to understand that physical existence is merely a drama on a stage, and that there is much more to reality than what our physical senses are aware of. The ego-mind therefore buys totally into the concept of scarcity and fear as being the norm. In this state of mind, life can seem like a cold, cruel joke.

3. On occasion, the soul incarnates with specific intention to experience certain limitations, such as physical disabilities or distressed environments. Accidents or acts of violence are often "contracted" in advance according to the soul's purpose.

4. Often balancing a karmic account is a major part of the soul's purpose. Depending on the nature of the karmic contract with other souls, the experiences that are created can be difficult or challenging.

How Can We Optimize Our Experience as Humans?

1. Recognize the lessons the soul has planned for this life, and stop resisting. Often unhappy circumstances will recur over and over, because the soul seeks to provide the "stage scenery" that is necessary for a particular lesson. Accepting and completing the lesson is the fastest way to change things for the better and move on.

2. Learn to balance the major Chakra energy centers. For example, a healthy root chakra keeps us grounded to the Earth and feeling secure, while an open heart chakra is necessary to give and receive love. Learning to eliminate fear and open one's heart to love is a general lesson for any soul incarnating on Earth.

3. Realize that personal reality is created by the individual. All problems have roots that can be discovered in the energetic body or subconscious (higher self or oversoul). By accessing the subconscious, problems can be either resolved or at least understood as part of the soul's plan. This knowledge alone should help dispel fear, since it precludes the possibility of being victimized by outside forces or random events. The journey of self-discovery and self-improvement is a major theme on this blog, and is the focus of energy practitioners in general.

4. Become aware of the Shift. Our planet is graduating to a higher vibrational frequency. The process is often chaotic and challenging, but the end result will be great! The human race is evolving toward a state of golden enlightenment, such as experienced in the distant past. Even better, the veil between the physical and the spiritual is thinning. The truly Fully Actualized Human will live with one foot on the ground and one foot in Atlantis. This is something we can begin to experience now!

Lynn Savage

Getting Past the Pain

In the quest for the "fully actualized life", the problem of pain and suffering must be dealt with. Everyone experiences it at times, no matter how successful they appear to be.

Many people are so tired of suffering that they lose their enthusiasm for being here. I'm not referring to clinical depression or suicidal thoughts - that is a serious problem of a different magnitude.

I'm talking about the millions who simply muddle along, shrouded in the "fog of distress". They resent the pain and suffering, and feel victimized by life circumstances that seem out of their control. Whatever the circumstances, be it illness, relationship disharmony, financial woes, or simply an empty feeling inside - the tendency is to feel angry and disillusioned about existence in a sea of pain.

One can blame God, blame your parents or partner, or inflict the damage upon yourself through persistent negative thoughts and self-directed anger.

A more spiritual approach is to seek answers from a higher source. Law of Attraction teaching correctly points out that changing attitudes and beliefs can greatly change the way things look and feel in physical reality. However, some LOA gurus seem to insist that pain and suffering can be eliminated by attracting Health and Wealth. This approach misses an an important point.

As I mentioned in previous posts, most suffering seems to result from resisting the soul's agenda and current lesson program. The attitude we take can make a huge difference in how it looks and feels.

Other issues can be unresolved pain from past traumas, that remains stuck in the etheric field, or metabolic imbalances resulting from poor diet or chronic stress.

A fundamental truth to consider is that suffering is not the primary reason we are here. The extreme duality in this physical plane ensures that challenge and chaos will abound, but that is merely incidental to our existence on the physical plane.

A silver lining to Earth's duality is that the soul is provided a stage on which to work out its purpose. What novel or movie would be entertaining without drama? Challenges can be seen a mere stimulants for creative problem solving.

The soul has all the tools it needs to overcome any problem. There is purpose in everything, so it helps to become aware of how the soul sees things.

To anyone currently facing challenges in life, I suggest asking yourself the following questions:

1. Could this experience be related to a lesson from the soul's perspective? This is especially pertinent if the challenging situation seems to repeat itself again and again. A passing grade is required to move on!

2.Some tragedies result from soul contracts or scripts. This may sound like scant comfort at your moment of distress, but if you can access your soul's perspective or Akashic records, it can make a huge difference once you piece together the big picture.

3. Many problems result from energy blockages, negative beliefs, past life bleed-through, or even spirit attachments. You may need to consult with a skilled energy practitioner to get help with these.

Whatever the cause, the point to remember is that nothing happens by random chance. From the ego-mind's narrow viewpoint, it's easy to develop a view that life is harsh and unjust. From the soul's perspective, life is a grand adventure! 

The way we experience circumstances can quickly change by simply changing our attitude. One reason for that is consciousness is the driving force behind our perceived reality, We are the cause, not the effect! This realization can be a truly liberating truth.

O we can wait no longer,
We too take ship O soul,
Joyous we too launch out on trackless seas,
Fearless for unknown shores on waves of ecstasy to sail,
Amid the wafting winds, (thou pressing me to thee, I thee to me, O soul,)
Caroling free, singing our song of God,
Chanting our chant of pleasant exploration.

- excerpt from The Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams (from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass)

10 Principles of Abundance

Here are the 10 principles of abundance that are referred to in my last post. They are adopted from John Randolph Price's "The Abundance Book". They are designed to be meditated upon each day, one per day for 10 days. Then the cycle is to be repeated over three more times for a total of 40 days.

I can attest to the fact that this really works! Somehow the message must get past the ego-mind and into the subconscious. It continues to work throughout the day even though the conscious mind is not focused on it.

If you try it, please leave a comment regarding how it works for you.

1. Source is abundance, but is not outside of me. Source is me. The abundance is as individualized as me.

2. I am aware that I am source and substance of all good things.

3. I am conscious of the inner presence as my lavish abundance. I am conscious of the constant activity of this mind of infinite prosperity. My consciousness is filled with the light of truth.

4. I draw into my mind and feeling nature the very substance of spirit. This substance and presence within me is my supply.

5. Money is not my supply. No person or circumstance is my supply.  My awareness of the all-providing activity of the divine mind within me is the supply. My consciousness of this truth is unlimited, therefore my supply is unlimited.

6. My inner supply instantly and constantly takes on form and experience according to my needs and desires and as the principal of supply in action. It is impossible for me to have any needs and desires unfulfilled.

7. The divine consciousness that I am is forever expressing its true nature of abundance. This is its responsibility, not mine. My only responsibility is to be aware of this truth. Therefore I am confident in letting go, and letting source provide total sufficiency.

8. My consciousness of the Spirit within me as my unlimited Source is the Divine Power to restore the years the locusts have eaten, the make all things new, to lift me up to the High Road of abundant prosperity. This awareness, understanding and knowledge of Spirit appears as every visible for and experience that could possibly desire.

9. When I am aware of the God-Self within me as my total fulfillment, I am totally fulfilled. I am now aware of this Truth. I have found the secret of life, and relax in the knowledge that the Activity of Divine Abundance is eternally operating in my life. I simply have to be aware of the flow, the radiation, of that Creative Energy, which is continuously, easily and effortlessly pouring forth from my Divine Consciousness. I am now aware. I am now in the flow.

10. I keep my mind and thoughts off “this world” and I place my entire focus on God within as the only Cause of my prosperity. I acknowledge the Inner presence as the only activity in my financial affairs, as the substance of all things visible. I place my faith in the Principle of Abundance in action within me.

The Law of Attraction Revisited

It has been a while since this blogger has written anything. I have been busy, working through some life challenges and soul lessons. You might say I have been out on assignment, since I consider my own life to be a laboratory for discerning and working out the spiritual teachings that I'm sharing. Could be part of a course that my higher self is enrolled in on the Other Side, and an earthly incarnation is like a field trip in the curriculum.

Anyway, my recent lessons have caused my understanding of the Law of Attraction to evolve. The brief synopsis: About 10 years ago, after being introduced to the Law of Attraction teaching, I became enamored of the idea that I could attract an alternate flow of income and quit my day job, leaving me free to pursue spiritual studies and various other noble endeavors. It took several years, but eventually something changed, in that an opportunity developed to become a self-employed contractor. No longer working for "the man", my schedule was more flexible. However, the only source of income still came from old-fashioned work, and it still amounted to trading time for money. I was still working for the man, or so it seemed.

Not sure how Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale came upon their millions, but "The Secret" sure wasn't working for me...at least that's how I was seeing it. When I was busy working, the money flowed, but my time was shortchanged. When I worked less, my alternative pursuits were more feasible, but the income sucked.

I sensed that "Clearing Baggage" was an essential part of the equation, and wrote about that extensively last year. But how to accomplish that? Some programming seems to go so deep. Hypnosis, energy work, psychic readings...all that these managed to accomplish was to point out that I have a problem. Duh, I know, right? Energy flow was blocked. I was stuck. Wave a wand and make it change, ok? Or maybe that's just "magical thinking".

Eventually I hit a low point that proved to be the necessary catalyst for change. My acupuncturist told me that I needed to change "the story I tell myself about money".  The story line that goes "Life is hard and you always have to struggle to get by". Ok, sure, back to the concept of baggage and old tapes. But as I pondered it, I tried to imagine how the story could really change. What would the new story line be? Why do we think life has to be hard and why can't it be easy?

I knew that a core truth about life is that the soul incarnates to experience things and work through lessons. I also readily accepted the premise that reality is an ongoing creation by the soul - that reality is energy and can flux and change.

A central point within Law of Attraction teaching is that your reality tends to reflect what you believe and what you focus your thoughts on. Change your beliefs about reality, and reality changes. Easy to change, eh? But then a new insight dawned on me: Some core beliefs that we embrace are embedded so deeply into our perception of reality that we don't think of them as beliefs - we think they are facts about reality. Thus the story line I had told myself about life being a struggle wasn't accessible as a belief that could be reconsidered and changed - it was my view of how the universe simply is.

Ultimately, it was yet another insight that had the most impact on changing my life. At just the right moment, a little green book crossed my path, "The Abundance Book" by John Randolph Price. It contains ten principles of abundance, which are meant to be meditated upon one per day for 10 days. The reader is instructed to repeat the cycle 4 times over for a total of 40 days.

I thought I had read enough books on abundance and prosperity, so why was this one different? The central premise in "The Abundance Book" is that we all possess the divine creative spark within. Since Source is unlimited, and we are Source, we literally have everything we could possible need or desire at our fingertips. It's not about visualizing or attracting; it's about simply letting go of the struggle and realizing that you have a divine mechanism within that can go to work shifting reality in whatever way it needs to be shifted. It's about realizing that you are a powerful being and that your soul loves to create.It's about letting go of the struggle and just focusing on allowing the flow to move through you and into your physical reality.

The angle that helped me change my story line was the realization that my ego-mind is not on the hook to produce what I need, and life is not meant to be a struggle in that sense. This frees me up to ponder what my soul purpose really is in this life. Seen from that perspective, the landscape tends to look different. If you understand what your soul is trying to accomplish, and get with the program, things tend to go much more smoothly.

It turns out that a major soul lesson for me was to overcome fear and insecurity. Applying that understanding to my life history, I realized that my soul had repeatedly created situations that triggered my fears and insecurity. I had always managed to muddle through these crises, but resented them and failed to realize that the soul wanted the opportunity to show what it could do. It has unlimited resources to work with, and excels at solving problems by targeting a flow of energy to where it's needed. The soul loves to be confronted with a problem, simply for the opportunity to creatively solve it. That's why we are here! In the higher dimensions, thought is translated into reality instantly. There is great value in having a stage to enact our dramas upon, which is essentially what incarnation is about.

I had previously thought of the Law of Attraction as a form of magical thinking, wherein if you could just hold the right thought long enough, you would attract or create it into your reality. Visualization is powerful, and this principle does work in some manner. However, the core principle to grasp is that life is about the soul and its lessons rather than being about big houses and large bank accounts. It's about tapping into the energy of Source and establishing a flow. It takes more than thinking in a static mode. It takes action. Establishing a flow is the key.

My attitude toward working has now changed. The Abundance Principles teach that no  particular job or situation is the source of your abundance, but rather the Divine Source within. A job is simply an outlet for creative flow. Of course not all jobs feel that way, but the soul will tend to guide toward the situations that best achieve its goals. Even stressful, problematic job situations could be precisely what was ordered for a particular lesson or experience. Things could look much better simply by getting with the program. Most suffering in life results from resisting the soul's program.

At this point I'm just starting down the path of abundance. It didn't take long for seeming miracles to occur, which is amazing and gratifying,  but this is a lifelong process. I have robust goals and expectations that are not yet materialized, but the vital, radical change has already taken place: I now focus on the flow. Problems are simply opportunities. The soul is not intimidated by anything. Possibilities are endless.

This understanding is a basic tenet of "The Fully Actualized Life".

-Lynn

Heaven On Earth

I was recently listening Sandra Ingerman's audio CD "Miracles for the Earth", and was particularly impressed by the message in the track titled "Changing Perception - Changing Reality".

Here is an excerpt:

At one point while writing “Medicine for the Earth”, I journeyed on the issue of “Bringing Heaven to Earth”. The response of my spirits was, they said Heaven is already on Earth. It was my perception that needed to change. I was told that as we learn to change our perception, we change our reality. This sounded really nice, but  I needed more information to work with, so I asked for more.

Next I was told that in order to change my perception, I needed to learn to see the beauty in all things. Once again, that sounded really nice, but I needed more.

I was told that in order to see the beauty in all things, we must live in a state of appreciation and gratefulness.

In order to really work with the principles that I’m speaking about here, there’s some personal  work that we have to do. The most important is learning how to change our negative states of consciousness. You must feel your feelings, and then learn how to work them completely through, so you are transmuting them to an energy of love and light that is being put out into the universe.

The energy coming from your thoughts and feelings are being sent out into the environment. I’m sure you have felt the negative impact of being in a room where there’s a lot of anger or fear. The experience of this energy is tangible. We are human beings and part of being human is having an ego that feels separate from others. We experience a range of positive feelings as well as negative feelings. We have positive thoughts, beliefs and attitudes, and of course there’s negative thoughts that creep into our lives. The energy from our emotions and thoughts is energy that is really tangible.

In tribal cultures, the difference between expressing anger and sending anger is well understood. In modern culture where the energy behind thoughts and emotions is not validated, we don’t realize the pollution we create by sending so much negative energy into our world. 

I’m not saying we should not have negative emotions and thoughts. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty for being a human being. Part of being a human being is to experience the full range of feelings. We know from the cancer research that has been done, if you repress your emotions you can create illness inside of yourself.

So the solution isn't not having negative emotions and thoughts, but learning how to transmute and transform the energy coming from them into love and light. Another aspect to this is in working with the power of our words.

After one of my lectures, a Navajo woman came up to me after listening to me talk about the power of words, and asked me if I was familiar with the term "May you walk in beauty". Living in the Southwest, I told her of course. She said the term "May you walk in beauty" had to do exactly with what I was talking about - the power of words. The Navajo believe that whenever you speak to another person, it's important to empower them in beautiful words, and never to plant the seeds of fear. This is what the term means.

Putting the Law of Attraction to Work Part 3

I have been making the case that understanding the Law of Attraction is an essential part of the Fully Actualized Life. This is because the LOA is in operation whether you are aware of it or not. If you aspire to learn how to consciously guide and shape certain aspects of your reality, you must learn to master the LOA. If you are content to accept whatever randomly comes your way, then you can go back to sleep and skip the rest of this blog.

As I write this blog, I am actively working on these principles in my own life. Following are some of my recent insights:

Prosperity requires that a flow be present in your life.

Some confuse the LOA with "magical thinking", which is a disparaging term used in the field of psychology. Not to dismiss the possibilities of magic, but in practical terms, it's best to not assume that the LOA is akin to pulling a Genie out of a bottle and commanding your wishes to be met.

Seriously, there is a place for magic, and in theory, the soul is enough of a natural creator to manifest anything it wishes. It's simply a matter of consciousness acting upon energy to form matter. It's how we got here to begin with.

However, it's best to take baby steps at first. Within the context of the Fully Actualized Life, we are focusing on producing a prosperous flow within our physical existence. The soul knows well enough how to create, but it's really here for the experience. A creative flow in your life means that the soul is expressing itself in the outside world. A creative flow is almost always synonymous with prosperity and success, although these terms should not be narrowly construed in terms of dollars and materialism.

So what produces a prosperous flow? Our society is structured around the concept of work and career being the centerpiece of our purpose in life. In many cases, one's vocation does represent the soul's highest and best aspiration for self-expression. In those fortunate cases, a creative flow is already present and producing a degree of prosperity.

For those less fortunate, who find that their soul's expression has not found an outlet in their work, some fearless self review must be undertaken. Is your soul finding an outlet? Many people find that an avocation or hobby outside of work is sufficient. However, in many other cases, the soul feels blocked and frustrated. This is a major source of misery in life; anxiety, depression, stress, illness and accidents often result.

Due to trauma or negative conditioning early in life, we can have major blocks in the body's energetic systems. This causes the ego's view of reality to become distorted. The ego can be very stubborn and resist the natural expression of the soul.

Another negative factor is that society conditions us to sell our time as wage slaves in exchange for material needs. We learn early in life that it can be unreasonable to expect for our job to be enjoyable and rewarding. The ego uses this argument to tell the soul to stuff it when thoughts drift toward daydreaming of a better life. Whatever fun, fabulous endeavor has been suggested by the higher self would be nice, but it doesn't pay the bills! So we reluctantly turn our attention back to the salt mine and try to accept our fate.

In all the teaching I have reviewed on the LOA, prosperity is never achieved through working hard at tedious, unrewarding jobs. That's fine if your only goal is to merely get by, and are willing to reduce your expectations for happiness, but that's not prosperity. The teaching seems unanimous, that prosperity and happiness require that the soul be free to seek its bliss. In fact, the soul seeking its bliss is a major source of prosperity.

For those stuck in unrewarding jobs out of economic necessity, the LOA offers a path to become unstuck and begin moving toward a more rewarding life.

In my own case, I had a somewhat satisfying career as a programmer, but my soul aspired to take a different direction later in life. Thus I have found myself at a crossroads where the LOA is an essential tool to employ.

To be continued...