Havanna Travel

I am sure we have all asked at one time or another, “What is the purpose of life?” Or perhaps this variation: “Why am I here?”

It seems like such a profound question: Great philosophers have been asked that question. Great thinkers and scientists have been asked. Great spiritual and religious leaders have been asked, too.

One would think that the answer is so profound and unknowable, even the greatest minds of all time could not provide the ultimate answer. But I humbly say to you, I have the answer. And it is quite knowable to all of us.

The purpose of life is (drum roll please) TO EXPRESS.

To express what? To express as much of God as you can. To express as much Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy as you can.

If you are familiar with Judge Thomas Troward, a pioneer in the New Thought Movement, you will know that he describes the qualities of God as: Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy. Since God is First Cause or Universal Creativity, It creates. What does It create? It creates Itself. What is Itself? Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy.

We are expressions of God, which means we are all Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy in various levels of expression. Our purpose is to express greater and ever greater levels of these qualities, all for the purpose of God’s ever-increasing Enjoyment of Life.

From “The Creative Process in the Individual” by Thomas Troward: “We found two principles as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely, its power of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the Living for ever increasing Enjoyment of Life.”

Spirit creates for the sole purpose of expressing Itself. We are created in the image and likeness of Spirit; therefore our purpose is to express ourselves. Our highest selves. Our God-like selves. Which is Life, Love, Light Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy.

We can think of the seven qualities of God listed above as they relate to us as individualized centers of Spirit this way: Life is the Energy of Good. Love is the Givingness of Good. Light is the Knowledge of Good. Power is the Movement of Good. Peace is the Acceptance of Good. Beauty is the Expression of Good. Joy is the Experience of Good. (– courtesy of Rev. Harriet Smolka of the Oak Park (IL) Church of Religious Science.)

We can all express more of the givingness, the knowledge, the acceptance, and the experience of Good in our lives.

Again, from Troward: “We have seen that the Spirit’s Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a reciprocal — it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to answer to it; otherwise, by the inherent law of mind, no consciousness — and consequently no enjoyment — could accrue; and therefore by the law of continuous progression, the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being [my emphasis] awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes into existence.”

WE are that BEING to which Troward refers. We have been created to be the reciprocal that Spirit needs to consciously recognize and know Itself as Itself, which, again, is Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty and Joy.

So what does that mean in our day-to-day living? Couldn’t we all express Peace a little more? Perhaps by saying a kind word to a stranger, perhaps by resisting an argument with a loved one, perhaps by letting some indiscretion by another driver on the highway, go without incident. Couldn’t we all express a little more Love? By expressing your feelings for another person without expectation of a like-wise response. By giving of yourself by volunteering just because you can. Couldn’t we all express a little more Wisdom and Understanding (Light)? Such as knowing when someone is lashing out not at you, but because of their own fears or sense of powerlessness.

This is how we express more of God. This is why you are here. You are here to express your unique spiritual self. Spirit would not be complete without you.

©2006 Tina Montalto

Tina Montalto is the founder and president of Conscious Kernels, Inc., an ePublishing company specializing in New Thought spiritual eBooks and audio books. She is the author of “You are What You Think” available for free at the company’s website: http://www.consciouskernels.com.

She has also created and serves as instructor for a 7-week eCourse on Spiritual Mind Treatment also available at the website. In addition to providing a selection of original eBooks, Conscious Kernels offers a free monthly eNewsletter, a community-building discussion board, spiritual retreats, and e-greeting cards.

Drop that cozy blanket and bookmark your bestseller for that special spot under the shade tree. The daffodils are breaking through and begging you to come out of hibernation.

Ditch the New Year’s Resolutions

It’s almost April. If you’ve made no progress so far, there’s no sense in trying to force an outcome! Take a cue from the buds on the trees - they blossom when it’s their time. Embrace your sense of timing and trust that it’s perfect.

Promised yourself that you’d lose ten pounds? Stop procrastinating? Save more money? Pick one habit or desire every three months and follow through.

If you want to shed pounds, ask yourself why? Chances are if your reason is to look better in a bathing suit or drop weight because it seems like the “right” thing to do, you won’t have enough “juice” to sustain your efforts. Corny as it sounds, you’ll enjoy more success over those three months by honoring your body as it is and learning to love yourself no matter what your weight or wallet.

Celebrate Your Individuality

Use this Spring to pop out of your cocoon. Fertilize the side of you that’s been waiting to blossom. Maybe you’re yearning to be a little bolder. Wishing you’d be a little softer or more patient.

Wondering what really makes you unique? Ask a few friends - what are some of the things you see that make me…uniquely me? Listen with an open mind and open heart. Then, ask them what they would do - if they were you - to play up or play down certain features, skills or talents.

You can take or leave their advice, but chances are you’ll walk away with some great ideas from the folks that love you most!

Listen to the Whispers of Your Deepest Desires

You know those nagging thoughts that tug on your soul? Paint, sing, write, hike, rest…fill in yours here. What if those whispers are inviting you to your bliss?

If you’ve found yourself ignoring those desires or waiting until the right time, consider a new framework.

What if those thoughts are an invitation from the universe to do it now?

What if you decided to trust that you’re lovingly being provoked to follow that path to your full self-expression now?

How would you welcome (or reject or be scared) the notion that if you take that first step to stepping into all of who you are, everything you need to sustain your dream will appear?

Draw on the Season’s Energy for Your New Growth

Think Abundance. Believe there are enough resources to go around. There’s more sunshine, more daylight. There is more of everything to feed and nurture your dreams. When you take the first step toward living the essence of who you are, the resources you need to succeed will appear.

Discover how to turn your inner critic into your #1 Champion. Free “Secret Ingredients” e-course by Dalai Momma shows you how. http://www.dalaimomma.com

Are you empowered?

I don’t mean ready to conquer the world, or land that gold medal.
Are you empowered sufficiently in your own life so that you are doing the
things you believe you should be doing? Or are you watching TV every night,
getting up dreading your day only to watch more TV come evening?

If the latter description fits you (or something close to it) and this is the best life you can imagine or desire, then I wish you peace.
If you know there’s more to life, however, but just don’t have a clue how to reach a place where you can be experiencing it, then I would respectfully suggest that you are in need of empowerment.

That raises the question: Where does empowerment come from?

Here’s the short answer: It comes, and can only come, from within.
Want the long answer? It comes from everything your Creator sends into your life with the view of improving you. And that means, quite literally, everything.

Everything that happens to you, all your experiences, joys, disappointments and defeats–is all meant to improve you. To bring you closer to what you are supposed to be, and what you are supposed to be doing.

Now for the bad news: It won’t all work that way (to improve you) without your cooperation. This is the reason so many people aren’t now, and may never be, in a place of empowerment. To get there, you need to accept the vehicle that takes you. Which is, everything that has and ever will, happen to you.

If you can get to the place of being thankful for even the negative stuff, knowing that it will play a part in your growth towards the best you possible, that is how you get on the vehicle. That is how you accept it. And think about it: can a journey start if you don’t get in the car? By foot, perhaps, but it will be much, much slower.

Get on the fast track to empowerment! Find out how everything you’ve experienced can actually HELP you in your life’s quest to fulfill what you are here for.

Is that a tall order? Yes.
But I believe in the old biblical saying, that, “Nothing is too hard for God.” And it is God, I believe, who ultimately empowers us.
The key is to get on His team. Again, it’s like accepting the vehicle for the journey. If he drove up to you in a posh limo and opened the door wide, you’d probably jump right in! Why not?

The thing is, he more likely pedals up on an old, broken-down bike, asking you to hop on to a rickety-looking seat in back–and then promises that by getting on his old bike, you’re actually fast-forwarding the journey! You are now on the way to finding the true you, the empowered you, the one He made you to be. And faster than you’d ever get there, otherwise, if you could indeed get there at all.

Think the analogy doesn’t fit? Many people balk at the idea of “wasting” time in church attendance. (What? Spend good, free time every Sunday in a church? All they want is your money!) But the church is there, you see, as God’s vehicle. It’s the old bike that looks like it’s had better days. And there’s a rickety seat in it waiting for you. Same thing with Bible reading. (I’ve got so many books to read already! And I can’t “waste” my time on that one. It’s so hard to understand, anyway!)

If you’re looking for empowerment to be the person you were meant to be, and to do all the great and wonderful exciting things you were meant to do, then you’ll just have to get on the old bike. Trust me. I got on it a long time ago, now, and the journey just gets more exciting and fulfilling every year.

Linore Rose Burkard is an Inspirational Romance writer. She also writes short fiction, and has been a homeschooling mother of five for the past ten years. She lives in Ohio with her husband, five children and grandmother. Visit her on the web at: http://www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com
Ms. Burkard also writes a monthly eZine on the historical Regency called, ‘Upon My Word! Facts, Fashion and Figures of the Regency’ which you can sign up for (for free!). Go to http://www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com/Regency_eZine.html
If you are a Christian writer and would like to contribute to Revelations: The Textbook Project,please go to http://www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com/revproject.html