Never Give Up on Love

Love is a beneficial act of edification. It is the thread that is interwoven in the fabric of life since the dawn of its conception. It serves only to empower and to enrich its bearers and not to destroy.

However it may dismantle and replace nonproductive components of our lives with beneficial aspects. Love is not weak nor should it be confuse with affections. Love is the cornerstone of ethics and stirs up emotions and actions but it clearly is not an affection. It is the cause not the effects. It is unconditional. Properly dispense, love will move from the heart to action. This is of course the infamous 'Golden Rule'. Love comes first then peace will inevitably follow.

In lieu of the 'Golden Rule' lies its counterpart; the 'Silver Rule'. The 'Golden Rule' instructs us on what to do while the 'Silver Rule' is based on what we can't do. It attempts to sway us with rewards for good behaviour while attempting to control us with fear for bad actions. In this system peace – a social contract - precedes love. The contract is design to maintain order through rules. A peace contract is based on concessions which consequently breeds conditional love. Its success is measured by our adherence to the conditions through rewards and punishments. The contract attempts to raise up love through enforcement. Contractual peace comes first then contractual love.

“But I say to you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which spitefully use you.” ~Luke 6:27-28

The 'Golden Rule' reaches our hearts and our moral values while the “Silver Rule' is confined to emotions and actions. Conditional love is tainted by partiality and affections. The more we are fond of an individual, the greater the odds that we will share deeper affections with that person. And that is not necessarily wrong if you understand that true love is not an affection and that it should be shared with everyone equally. Unconditional love can be tough to execute but worth its weight in gold. Never give up on anyone. True love does not!

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At the center of your universe

As I have discovered late in life, everyone is regulated by a self-imposed set of values. Whether their values are stringent or liberating, everyone without exception has placed a lower case 'g' god at the center of their universe. Whether this lesser god is a vocation or an addiction, or whether it is

What is at the doorway of your heart?

philosophical or humanistic in nature, we have all bestowed a mantle of supremacy to a central anchor. Some people regulate their lives around laws and social contracts, while still others are guided by supreme love. There are many that may profess a high standard of values while in fact their actions betrays their verbal allegiance. Who wants to admit that their central anchor is a bottle of whiskey, work, or anything less desirable then an orderly system. But no matter how you cut it, your lower case 'g'-god rules your life. You cannot expect to outlive, outshine, or reign over your current idol unless you are dissatisfied by its results and are resolve to abandoned it altogether. Think about it. You will acquire your center's attributes regardless how efficient or deficient they may be. If your moral centre is an addiction, then your keystone habit is first in your life. It takes precedent in your life and your family. Consequently your set of morals will conform to the standard of your lesser god. After-all you are a product of your inner-core values. Until you feel the need to rebuff your idol, you are a shadow of its character, its strengths and its weaknesses. You are the sum total of your anchoring god. No matter what this moral anchor looks like it will directly or indirectly govern your behaviour and consequently your life. Only a strong inner set of values can yield a formidable character. Unfortunately, more often then none, society will support a value system that was produced from the the reward and punishment system (human conditioning process).

Reward & Punishment is a system that governs the people. It is dependent on enticement or persuasion and tends to feed the individual's ego with desires or it attempts to manipulate the ego through fear. It does not necessarily seek long-term results and prefers short-term pleasures. Our lesser god, the central anchor (in this case a social contract) will reward us when we do right or punish us when we go astray. Here's a glass of wine for good behaviour or a glass of vinegar when we falter. Or maybe its a pat on the back for good work or a slap on the hand for misconduct. It is purely conditional. You are unable to function accordingly without a reward in sight or without the fear of being punish when you do wrong. So within the confinement of this system, the only way we primates can govern ourselves accordingly is by chasing the dangling banana in front of us (reward) while a ravenous lion gives chase behind us (consequence or punishment). Albert Einstein, arguably one of this planet most brilliant mind in history stated that “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” There must be a better way.

Most certainly there is. The alternate to the reward and punishment system is the beneficial principal. It governs itself lovingly. The beneficial principal seeks advantageous long-term results. It is sacrificial, supportive, and grateful of others. It will accept pain if it promotes long-term stability for itself, its social cell and social cell-cluster. It will reject short-term pleasures if it does not produce long-term beneficial results. It is motivated to love and to live in peace.

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” 
~Mother Teresa

It does not require a reward or fear to keep them in line because it esteem all life and relationships. It would not nor could not ruin an individual and its livelihood. A person with genuine love benefits from altruistic acts of benevolence. Mother Teresa was quoted as saying; “let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” The beneficial principal gives unconditionally and don't look back. This precept is rooted in the golden rule that has been taught by the wise through out history. It crosses all philosophical, religious, and humanistic boundaries. It is the only way and the truth to life.
Choose to govern yourself lovingly! Choose to anchor yourself with the greater god; the God of Love.

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Positive can be bad and negative can be good

I want to continue with beneficial thinking. It is sad how many have accepted the idea that a negative attitude brings a disastrous outcome and needs to be avoided at all cost.

The self-proclaim gurus are big with the positive attitudes and instructs their disciples to be mindful and avoid negative thinking. It is one thing to harbour an optimistic perspective in life but to rid oneself of a negative view is fundamentally impossible. You see, positives and negatives are a inseparable guidepost needed to take action. You cannot have one without the other. They are neither bad or good but contrast markers to assist you in your decision process. It can be viewed as a life map pointing to 'where you are' and to 'what is coming at you'. Look at it as a life preview of sort depicting a favourable or non-favourable outcome.

Armed with this insight, you can now take appropriate action. For an example; let's say you're feeling good (where you are - positive) and suddenly you are facing a fast approaching vehicle seconds away from being hit (an unfavourable prospect). The negative perspective prepares your body with adrenaline in order for you to take necessary action. It concluded that a change to your current status was about to take place if appropriate action was not taken. This short-term negative outlook is beneficial. It is a survival mechanism to promote your well-being. A contrast was instantly provided to you and a decision was made. Avoiding a negative attitude in this scenario would be detrimental.

“A positive moment can be just as detrimental to your well-being as a negative one.” ~Tricotomas

Sometimes avoiding an immediate pleasure or positive prospect can also be beneficial. Think of any addictions. It brings you temporary pleasures but is devastating in the long run. So in this example a person suffering from withdrawals is in a negative situation. Contrasting this negative state is a dealer who can provide his addictive client with a positive outcome – howbeit temporary. If you are strong, the prospect of this positive scenario will be avoided. Not all positives are beneficial and not all negatives are detrimental.

Furthermore, positive and negatives cannot exist without each other. As mentioned, they are coupled in order to take action. The two terms; positive and negative, are rather misleading and it would serves us better if we would see them as an acceptive or rejective response (inflating and deflating). You can be in a mildly positive situation when something better comes along and lifts you up higher. Lets say a friend comes over and lifts your spirit. Positive! And now while conversing with your friend, a close relative whom you have not seen for a while shows up unexpectedly at your door wanting you to attend a concert with him. Even better! In fact one can conclude that the first event that was trumped by the latter was demoted to a negative. The latter – a close relative, was accepted over the company of your friend. Was this a positive or a negative response? Wrong question! We should be asking whether or not our decision was a beneficial one.

Positive and negative are simply an accepting or rejecting response system to an event or stimuli. Happiness may be stirred up by any given event but it does necessarily bring lasting joy into your life. A positive moment can be just as detrimental to your well-being as a negative one. Ironically, they can also bring you long-term benefits. So think beneficially because sometime positive is bad and negative is good.

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Beneficial Thinking

The idea that positive thinking has exclusive rights to happiness is a great fallacy perpetuated by pop-gurus wanting people to subscribe to their beliefs. Positive and negative share a place in healthy living and they can both reap beneficial and non beneficial results.  Negativity can be beneficial if disperse in short-terms.

A 'beneficial negative' usually refers to a threat that needs an immediate course of action. A person who is about to be struck by an oncoming vehicle is placed in a negative situation. The body immediately reacts to the threat and jumps out of the way. It was the negative condition that prompted the body to take beneficial action in the first place. This negative reaction promotes health and suffice to say contentment to those surrendering to it. Alternatively, thinking positive in this situation would not have benefited the person. Positive attitudes would have failed... I'm positive that this car will not hit me... I'm positive everything is going to work out.. I'm positive that I will positively vibrate the car's negative energy away... I'm positive that the driver will stop on time. A positive solution would be rather ineffective and consequential here. Fear (negative response) is the appropriate course of action which leads to a beneficial outcome.

"Negative can be good as a positive can be bad."

A patient who faces chemotherapy is understandably apprehensive and is not thrilled or happy about the prospect. The treatment is an immediate negative. However this short term negative may hold long term benefits.

There are so many other examples of beneficial negativity... from painful needles to a proper workout, from staying home to study to being hospitalized. All share short-term negatives and long-term benefits, as well as contentment for making the initial decision to grin and bare the discomfort. The infamous half of glass of water can be both positive or negative. Not due to your perception or optimism in as much as your situation. If I have a half of glass of water at home – who cares? I won't see this situation as a negative. I won't suffer from any pessimistic attitudes. Now a half of glass of H2O in a desert requires great conservation abilities. Negativity alerted you of a potential threat and the need to conserve.

Negative can be good as a positive can be bad. Can you imagine a person with an addiction waiting for his fix? He is anticipating a positive result. He is alleviating his negative suffering with a temporary positive solution. I'm sure you can see that this person has chosen a non beneficial positive. Many seek temporary pleasures that are detrimental to their well-being.

There is a time for everything and negativity is no exception. Just ensure that your negative experience is short lived and beneficial. You will be glad you did!

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Which tree are you standing under?

We governed ourselves through a social contract (silver rule) or by compassion and love (golden rule). Which one rules you? If you are like most people, love is just an abstract concept that is hard to define.

If love is the thread that holds the golden rule together, what is the thread that holds love together? Love has many interpretations but does it share a common root within every relationships? How do we uphold the golden rule when we don't even have a universal definition of love?

When offering a definition of love, many people will not address what love is, but rather what love does and what love feels like. In other words, people tend to offer the result of love but fail to explain the substance of love. Much like defining rain, people will limit their answer to 'it feels wet' and 'it makes plants grow.' Seldom do we hear a meteorological explanation of rain. We are looking for a causal answer to love and not the effectual explanation. Love is the cause, and emotions along with actions are its effects. Love must have a common thread between one relation to another. What is it?

A good place to start is by analyzing love's nemesis – its evil counterpart; hate. Is it not ironic that hate is much easier to define than love? What does that say about us?

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” `Albert Einstein

Hatred fears, it destroys, it deceives, it plots evil, it exploits, it frets, it's self-promoting, it's selfish, it's unsure, it's impatient, it's partial, it's power hungry, it's heartless, it's unforgiving, it's chaotic, it's deadly, it's faultfinding, and its dishonourable. A person with hate is governed through the 'social contract' system in which the fear of punishment and the want for rewards keeps the individual in check. Albert Einstein, arguably one of this planet most brilliant mind in history stated that “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

Since love is hatred's adversary then we can reason that love holds diametric traits from hate:

Love has faith, it co-operates, it edifies, it forgives, it's honourable, it's courageous, it's steadfast, it's self-sacrificial, it's peaceful, it's compassionate, it's honourable, it's has integrity, it's patience, it's impartial, it's inspiriting, it's relentless, and it enjoys life. A person with genuine love is governed by the 'golden rule', where the individual benefits from altruistic acts of benevolence. “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” ~Mother Teresa

Short Definition of Love
Love is a contract to continuously edify everyone.

Longer Version
Love is an agreement of faith to honourably commit to the well-being and edification of every person with impartiality and with perseverance. It recognizes and respect all life.

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” ~Mother Teresa

Ultimately there are two ways to keep this world in check; the letter of the law (rules) or the spirit of the law (love). Which tree will you eat from?

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The Golden and Silver Rule

The 'Golden Rule' promotes edification through a spiritual state, while social contract (the Silver Rule) advocates mutual well-being through the letter of the law.

The Golden and Silver Rule (Copyright Tricotomas)

In other words, law and punishment drives the silver rule while love kindles the 'Golden Rule' . You must be aware of the contrast of good and evil while working within the parameter of the silver contract (social contract). It can be argued that the infamous Adam and Eve originally walked in the Spirit with God and were not aware of this contrast of good and evil, until the moment they chose to surrender to the forbidden diametric knowledge. Their action condemned them into a state of social contract forgoing the 'Golden Rule' principal. If you live outside the principal of golden rule (true love), then you exist in fear and mistrust of others. You require a social contract to govern your world. Therefore one can look at the silver rule as a default setting. Fear of punishment is what keeps the populace in check.

“Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained [only] by fear of punishment ...” ~Einstein

Legal contract in general is an attempt to maintain the public's interest by deterring selfish acts. Adam and Eve were swayed into this snare and consequently 'fell' into a self-sabotage state of reward and punishment. Punishment breeds fear and drives the social contract into existence. The moment control through fear is removed from the equation you will unquestionably incite pandemonium. A planet without laws would be chaotic but only because people don't understand the golden rule. Yes everything would be resolved if everyone were disciples of the 'Golden Rule'.

This rule is fortified with love promoting stability and peace. It flourishes on the principal that 'one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.' But let us not forget the first part of the golden rule; First love God with all your heart, strenght, and soul. Everybody serves a god. Whether it is drugs, sex, work or capital 'G' God, everyone submits their lives to something. Now is your 'something' promoting love, edification of others, and life. Or is it advocating self-interest and division. Every time one fails to forgive, one fails to love. Unforgiveness seeks retribution as a viable solution.The 'Golden Rule' has no room for retribution because hate and self-interest are never promoted. Also true-love will always right itself. The 'Golden Rule' elaborates the need to love yourself and then others. You must therefore be grounded in the single domain of love. People make appropriate and edifying choices through the highest standard of goodwill. The 'Golden Rule' dwells in true-love and stands on its own. It intuitively operates in edification.

Think about it for a moment. Would it be possible for you to physically hurt your love ones? Do you require a written law to warn you of the pending consequence you would face if you decide to harm your love ones? I'm not referring about your neighbour or another person. I'm asking you and you alone. Of course not! It is not in you to see this evil take place, therefore your thoughts remains steadfast in love. No social contract is needed here. On the other hand social contract is founded on good and evil, or reward and punishment principal. The followers of this principal must not only be aware of the antagonistic dual but must also labour in conforming to regulations. This will be the consequences of my choices. Ifyou walk in the 'Golden Rule' there can be no consequences to imagine because the thought of harming or doing wrong are alien to you. The opportunity to return to the Golden Rule is always available; remember the father accepted his prodigal son with open arms.

Walk in the truth and love.

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(Ammended from an earlier post)
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Emotional Home Keys

Living on the crest of an emotional wave is disastrous to inner-peace. Now the key word here is 'living' and not to be misconstrued with a short-term visit. Life throws all manner of pandemonium at us whether beneficial or not. We all have our proverbial 'ups and downs' but we have learned to cope with these events and sooner rather then later we move on.

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However some people have greater difficulty levelling off because their emotional home-keys are set at the extreme ends of the spectrum. Your emotional home keys are where your predominant emotional state lies. Most people have set their home-keys at the middle or neutral ground of of this so called wave. Reasoning propagates efficiently at this level. However some people have their home-keys set on depression and/or elation. Reasoning becomes a monumental undertaking.

A person suffering from depression have become desensitize to low to medium intensity emotions such as happiness and requires a bigger kick. Satisfaction can only be quenched by bliss. The opposite can be said to one who lives in elation. One would appear unaffected by low to medium impact emotions such as sadness and requires a traumatic event before the person relinquish any grief. One has become emotionally numb.

An emotion engages a person to take direct or indirect action. Someone who lives on a crest of an emotional wave has the tendency to over-compensate and will often produce non-beneficial results. An elated person has the inclination to overstate their actions while a depressed person tend to fall into inertism. Rational judgement cannot be made in this state. Is it any wonder why we should not engage in decision-making while in an extreme emotional state?

We must learn to take effective and reasonable action at the time of an event. To delay can suppress an appropriate and measured response. One risk the possibility of interchanging functional behaviour with maladaptive behaviour.

Deal with your emotions as they arise. Disperse them with appropriate action.

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God's Love Superseded His Creation.

Love, the most misunderstood concept of them all. As previously noted, love is not an emotion but the cause of affections. It was the event that prompted you in extending your grace to someone in the first place. It was generated by your deep conviction regardless of the affections that were inevitably produced after-the-fact.

The recipient of your love would have acknowledge your generosity through emotions and actions, but they are clearly after the cause.

It has been often said that love must
have superseded God's creation.

Love is rooted in your moral beliefs. It is offered equally (or should be) amongst each person. It does not come in a variety of flavours as many subscribe to. Rather it is responsible for a myriad of affections that were rationalized and emotionalized by your thoughts and subsequently demonstrated by your actions. But the inescapable truth remains; your value of compassion initialized the entourage of affections and actions.

Imagine a severe storm headed over your town. I'm quite sure that you will concur that a storm is neither an emotion or an action but a weather phenomenon. However this event will produce an entourage of emotions and actions experienced by every individual. Everyone is different and will have their own perception of the storm. Love works the same way. Your inner-being applies its golden rule upon your people. This sets a chain reaction of emotions and actions offered up by each recipient. You can control your outgoing message of love but you cannot control how it is going to be interpreted. Once love has been properly deployed, peace will follow.

How do we define love? Your definition will dictate the quality of relationship you have. Is true-love about giving and taking? And is the 'golden rule' functional? The answers may surprise you. Will continue the love message on the next blog.

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Emotional Wave and the Intellectual flatline.

PART ONE (understanding love series)

On a Crest of an Emotion  Everyone has experienced emotional up and downs. But what are the mechanism that are involve to create such dynamic feelings. Are there any advantages? Well intense emotions adds to the experience and contributes tto memory retention, good or bad.  But high intensity emotions (super-inflated or super-deflated) are volatile and uncontrollable.

Balance between emotions and intellectual reasoning is required. Remember that all events are based on your sensory perception.

"Changing your perception changes your  actions."

The Experience Process (Stimuli to action)

1. Perception of stimuli (event); your senses perceives an outside stimuli (any event) that benefits or challenges your physical, mental well-being, as well as your moral beliefs that are anchored in your sub-conscious or spiritual being.
2. Evaluate; your brain quickly assess the level of importance your sensory array has placed on the current event or stimuli. No matter how trivial an event may seem, your senses inevitably categorize them in two groups; accept or reject.
3. Determination is made (accept or reject); the brain (reticular activating system - ras) prioritized all signals pushing the critical impulses to the front of the line. One can look at the sorting process as neural impulse triage. 
4. Emotional response; a specific emotion is then deployed with a level of intensity appropriate to the stimuli at hand (in healthy individuals). If the event is trivial then the sensory output will be less significant to an event that is critical. Subsequently a trivial stimuli will summon very little response from the individual, while critical event is a serious call to action.
5. Action; emotion has prompted action. The level of action is determined by the intensity of your emotion, which was influenced by the stimuli. Therefore any course of action is influenced by the intensity of an emotion and the acceptance or rejection of the stimuli (event).
6. Result; depending on whether the decision was made to accept or reject the event in the first place; the individual faces several possible results. The person has achieved or failed to absorb the desired stimuli. The individual has achieved or failed to reject stimuli.
 

Acceptive and Rejective Emotions
Pleasant emotions influences person into acceptance of event or stimuli, while unpleasant emotions are signals to reject the stimuli. However both acceptive and rejective emotions are beneficial in short term use. However any long-term emotions can be detrimental. For example horror (a rejective emotion) is beneficial in situations of danger. It advises you to reject, to fight or flee. While long-term horror leads to maladaptive behaviour. It inhibits one from taking any appropriate actions.
Intense experiences brings intense emotions and quick reactions

 It is your perception that will influence and dictate your emotions and consequently your actions (Your Results). Change the interpretation or its intensity of your emotions and you change your actions. If something made you angry then you may resort to violence. But if you don't let the stimuli (event) lead to uncontrolled anger you then you have succeeded in changing your perception and your action. Changing your perception changes your actions. Never make a crucial decision while in an highly emotional state. Over reaction is not only possible but highly probable.actions

Now with respect to love...
Love is a stimuli that dwells in your core values. It is not an emotion but leads to emotions and actions.

Will continue with this series on my next post.

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The Golden Rule

The 'Golden Rule' promotes edification through a spiritual state, while social contract advocates mutual well-being through the letter of the law.

In other words, law and punishment drives the social contract while love kindles the 'Golden Rule' . You must be aware of the contrast of good and evil while working within the parameter of social contract. It can be argued that the infamous Adam and Eve originally walked in the Spirit with God and were not aware of this contrast of good and evil, until the moment they chose to surrender to the forbidden diametric knowledge. Their action condemned them into a state of social contract forgoing the 'Golden Rule'  principal. Order had to be restore at some level.

“A planet without laws would be chaotic but only because People don't  understand the Golden Rule .” Tricotomas

Legal contract in general is an attempt to maintain the public's interest by deterring selfish acts. Adam and Eve were swayed into this snare and consequently 'fell' into a self-sabotage state of reward and punishment. Punishment breeds fear and drives the social contract into existence. The moment control through fear is removed from the equation you will unquestionably incite pandemonium. A planet without laws would be chaotic but only because people don't  understand the golden rule. Yes everything would be resolved if everyone were disciples of the 'Golden Rule'.

This rule is fortified with love promoting stability and peace. It flourishes on the principal that 'one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.' But let us not forget the first part of the golden rule; First love God with all your heart, strenght, and soul. Everybody serves a god. Whether it is drugs, sex, work or capital 'G' God, everyone submits their lives to something. Now is your 'something' promoting love, edification of others, and life. Or is it advocating self-interest and division. Every time one fails to forgive, one fails to love. Unforgiveness seeks retribution as a viable solution.The 'Golden Rule' has no room for retribution because hate and self-interest are never promoted. Also true-love will always right itself. The 'Golden Rule' elaborates the need to love yourself and then others. You must therefore be grounded in the single domain of love. People make appropriate and edifying choices through the highest standard of goodwill. The 'Golden Rule' dwells in true-love and stands on its own. It intuitively operates in edification.

Think about it for a moment. Would it be possible for you to physically hurt your love ones? Do you require a written law to warn you of the pending consequence you would face if you decide to harm your love ones? I'm not referring about your neighbour or another person. I'm asking you and you alone. Of course not! It is not in you to see this evil take place, therefore your thoughts remains steadfast in love. No social contract is needed here. On the other hand social contract is founded on good and evil, or reward and punishment principal. The followers of this principal must not only be aware of the antagonistic dual but must also labour in conforming to regulations. This will be the consequences of my choices. If you walk in the 'Golden Rule' there can be no consequences to imagine because the thought of harming or doing wrong are alien to you.

Walk in the spirit of truth and love.

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Understanding The Golden Rule

So do you think you understand the golden rule? Is it just about loving your neighbour as you love yourself? Have we been tainting one of the oldest principal of  our earth? Many religious and moral

Poster found on Scarborough Missions website

groups subscribe to the golden rule but the teaching has long been seen by many as being 'fluff' wrapped in a whimsical package. In other words, it sounds good but it is not practical or applicable. The first question that arises from the 'Golden Rule' is how can we know what a stranger likes or dislike? Consequently how can we know when we have transgressed against him or her? What is acceptable to you may not be acceptable for another. Different cultures brings different morals. Secondly, what if the person does not love himself. How can he love another? What if the person as grown accustom to pain and hate. How would the 'Golden Rule' look to him in contrast to someone who has lived a life relatively delightful and compassionate? In order for the 'Golden Rule' to be universal there must be some common ground. How can we dare to push forward with the rule of love without a definition of love? After all, love is the cornerstone of the "Golden Rule'.

                      

DEFINITION OF LOVE

Love is act of faith to honourably commit to the well-being, edification, and dignity, of every person without partiality and without termination. True love recognises the individual as well as the group.

EXPLANATION

Act of Faith:                    When entering into any relationship (professional or personal) one can never have all the answers about the partner. Trust is build on evidence but faith is based on hope. We enter with beneficial expectation in acceptance that we don't know everything about our partner but agree to co-operate. It is not possible to be fully aware of our partner.

Honourably Commit:       A productive and mutually beneficial pursuit.

Well-Being:                      In this definition the term is limited to physical health.

Edification:                       In this definition the term is limited to emotional and mental health.

Dignity:                            In this definition the term refers to morals and spiritual health but can have a physical application.. It is use to signify that a being has an unconditional right to respect and ethical treatment.

Every person:                    Every person - all!

Without partiality:              Every individual is equal under love and benefit from the golden rule without any discrimination whether it is race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.  There is no exception.

Without termination:         Love never fails. Forgiveness is always assured. But integrity requires reproof at times. (Reproof without love is hateful criticism).

(continues, continues, continues, continues, continues, continues, continues, continues, continues,continues, continues, continues)

The Love-Front

I remember growing up how my mother dreaded thunderstorms. As the electrical tempest approached, my mother would instruct us to shut the windows, unplug all appliances (which included the television), and lite the holy candles for protection.

Source: extremeinstability.com  Additional artwork: tricotomas

As flashes of lightning lit up the house, she would instinctively cover her ears for the inevitable sound of thunder. My loving mother would then stoop her head down as the tumultuous sound shook her being. My father on the other-hand was quite amused by the entire matter and would often mimic the sound of thunder – much to my mother's disapproval. Today my siblings and I have drawn from our parental quarks and we hold various views of storms.

It is interesting how people respond differently to a storm. We experience the same storm but hold a myriad of emotions, actions and preconceive ideas. I'm certain that you would agree with me that a storm is not an emotion nor is it an action. The storm is just one event that is experienced in various ways by people. It is a meteorological phenomenon able to summon many feelings. Which leads to the point of topic; love.

Love is not an emotion or an action. It is a state of well-being, a core value. This moral belief is your love-front. It will stir people's feelings, actions, and results. Although the cause (love) is the same from person to person, it will bring-forth an entourage of affections. Our love for everyone should be the same but its entourage of affections and actions will carry many shades. Love is an agreement of faith to honourably commit to the well-being and edification of every person without partiality and without limitations. Is your love-front capable of stirring many?

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Love Is Much More

There lies many misconceptions with love.

Faith is the Building Block of Life

I recently participated on a forum on faith. The question was posed;  What does it mean that the just shall live by faith?

I'm not going to deal with this question today but rather elaborate on its definition. It was interesting to note the different angles bloggers addressed when dealing with faith. Scriptures often interchanges the word faith with religion, belief, trust, and positive expectation. Not always beneficial to the readers. It could lead to confusion especially when we attempt to understand the state of faith. What I mean to say, can faith grow or does it dwell in a absolute state? Just like God's unconditional love, is faith unconditional? We can clearly see that trust and belief can be subjugated to growth but what about faith? Can faith increase or decrease? Before you answer make sure that the scripture that comes to mind is not referring to trust or belief. Because both of these do indeed fluctuate in stature. But what of faith?It is in my opinion that true faith is as limitless as Divine love.

“Faith is the building block of life.”

-Tricotomas

Let me clarify one of the many misinterpreted passage in the bible regarding faith. Let's take for example Matthew 17:20, the infamous parable of the mustard seed.

'And Jesus said to them, cause of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.'

Some versions has the words; faith as small as a mustard seed. Unfortunately the addition is incorrect. One will lose the beauty and the message of this parable if we were to add the word 'small as'. You see Jesus was attempting to capture several of the characteristics of a mustard seed. Mustard seeds can grow in almost any environment including a rocky area. Jesus the teacher, is explaining that if you have the tenacity or the persistency of a mustard seed you will push through the rocks and overcome. You will move mountains. It is not referring to having faith the size of a mustard seed but having faith like a mustard seed that thrives in any situation. Faith does not grow. You either have it or you don't.

Again I say don't confuse trust and belief for faith. Faith is the key component to love and love must be unconditional. Faith is what propagates the golden rule. But trust is rooted in self. Trust requires a certain amount of evidence prior in proceeding with a matter. Faith on the other-hand, pushes forward with a positive expectation regardless of the evidence at hand. I may resort to faith when trust is not available.

Faith expects positive and edifying results while long-term fear expects the opposite. It is faith that was lost in Eden because Adam and Eve displayed behaviour that were rooted in fear. However perfect love casts away fear. Faith leads to the door to love, peace and life. Faith is the building block of life. While fear opens the broad gates of hate, chaos, and death. To live in true faith is to live in love with the golden rule. We would edify everyone. Globally, we are not there yet. But one day WE WILL LIVE IN FAITH.

© 2009-2011 Copyright Unlimited Harmony - Tricotomas All rights reserved.

No part of this website or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the site owner SHORT EXCERPTS ARE PERMITTED

Make the Right Choice

We are all capable of being angelic. Not because it's possible to achieve perfection on earth, but because we are not thwarted by its impossibilities.' -Tricotomas

Looking back in the last few years, it is astounding if not contemptible how quickly and completely I destroyed my life as well as negatively impacting others. I watched myself systematically forfeit common sense for a moment of bliss and diversion. Reality had become an enemy that I avoided at all cost. It is only as of late that I have been able to recognize a familiar pattern of destruction. It is clear now that my coping mechanism was dysfunctional. I would surfed upon the top and bottom of the emotional wave, seldom permitting myself to level off in a moment of serenity. I had little self-control and even less rational thoughts.

My emotional pendulum swung wildly and without temperance. Quick fixes, immediate gratification, and outright avoidance had become my method of operation. I did not realize at the time that I had little self-esteem with no courage to fight. I knew however that my actions were consequential and that my future was in peril.

Why did I continuously sabotage myself with poor judgement and action, regardless of the negative outcome that would inevitably follow?

On the surface I had everything; a wife, children, a house, a car, and two cats. However internally I knew that a battle raged. I was hurting but I had no desire to commit to an introspective. My materialistic world was not enough to appease my pain. I needed fast living pleasures and I would painstakingly protect these quick fixes. Unfortunately this type of pleasures would die-off as quickly as I experienced them. The emotional roller coaster ride brought an array of pain and consequences. But that was okay because I could sequester the 'quick fix spirit' to suppress the new chaos that I had just whipped up. This endless cycle bred deception, avoidance and then settled as a welcome friend. But I soon understood that this was one roller coaster ride that my inner-circle of friends would not endure. With no friends and no sense of belonging, I crashed. Today I realize that many are trapped in this 'cycle of hell' and sadly some are not even aware of it.

From extra-marital relationships to substance abuse, from cheating on a diet to lying to our spouses, we know that our actions are wrong and yet we are still driven to destruction. It is amazing how our mind works. It is our will that plants thoughts in our lives much like planting seeds in the garden. We nourish the proverbial seed with many ideas and beliefs. We spawn a personal reality that can either be successful or devastating. We hold the key. We create our own universe. It is important to be aware of our internal strength and all of our capabilities. Let us agree not to walk on that beaten path that leads to poverty mentality. We can choose to change anything that fails to enhance our existence. We can overcome anything.

Let us avoid the cycle of hell and learn to walk like angels. We will take the high road and steer ourselves away from poor decisions.

Self-control and harmony is one choice away to freedom. Make the right choice!

© 2009-2011 Copyright Unlimited Harmony - Tricotomas All rights reserved.

No part of this website or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the site owner SHORT EXCERPTS ARE PERMITTED