Here in Athens, Greece we have our registration week in during which about
500 students register for classes of various types seeking greater health
and harmony in their lives, work and relationships, as well as spiritual
growth. We all work on a volunteer basis and enjoy serving those to whom we
can be useful. We are about 80 persons serving in various different ways.
We are always interested in hearing from you and welcome you to use our Life
Clarification Process. We welcome knowing about the subjects which interest
you and which you would like to see discussed on our site.
If any of you are interested in participating in a Chat Room on such
subjects as psychological and spiritual growth, let us know so that we can
designate a special time for this.
Robert Elias Najemy's Book the Psychology of Happiness is now available in
English as a paperback with 352 pages full of useful information and
techniques as well as case histories which enable us to understand ourselves
and create greater happiness in our lives. You can order this book through
our web site with your membership discount at www.holisticharmony.com/members/psychofhapiness.html. If you are not a member, click here.
=> 1. What Does It Mean To Be A Christian? - Interactive
What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?
My logic and faith in the wisdom and justice of the Divine is that all religions have equal access to the one and only Divine Being.
I believe that after leaving the physical body the virtuous Christian and the virtuous Jew will keep company with the virtuous Moslem, Buddhist and Hindu as well as with the virtuous atheist.
What is of more importance, the name that we call God, or the purity with which we seek?
Does God have a religion?
What religion does "He-She-It" belong to?
I believe that there is only one God and "He-She—It" is Love and that Love is the essence of all religions.
However, being born a Christian,
I wonder the following:
Am I really a Christian?
What makes one a Christian?
What I claim or my heart's purity?
My birth or my conscience?
My Baptism or my behavior?
Then I thought, "A Christian is a person who seeks to put in practice Christ's teachings and example.
Subsequently I brought to mind his teachings and concluded that in order to be a Christian I would need to:
* Love others as I love myself.
* Love others as Christ loves me.
* Love even those who seek to do me harm.
* Not have any anxiety concerning tomorrow, having faith that if I work for the benefit of the whole, all my needs will be cared for as are those of the birds and lilies of the field.
* Remember that God exists in each being, in the poor, ill, imprisoned, orphans, refugees and all others, and serve them in anyway that I can.
* Share my resources and belongings with those in need, thus freeing up my spiritual wealth.
* Realize that the satisfaction and abundance I am seeking are within me.
* Never do to others what I would not like them to do to me.
* Abandon my personal life and unite with my fellow beings just as the first Christians in communal life.
* Never criticize or condemn others but rather seek to understand and overcome my own weaknesses.
* Have trust that God loves me unconditionally and that if I ask, I will be given what I need unless it is my greater benefit not to have what I am asking for.
* Forgive others regardless of their actions and repetitive mistakes.
* Understand and employ the power of fasting and prayer.
* Remember that our destiny is to live in harmony and unity with our fellow beings.
* Realize that my purpose is to use my talents, intelligence, abilities and virtues to create a more harmonious world.
* Remember that I could leave my body at any time and thus live in such a way that I am without regrets or pending matters whenever I leave.
* Remember that I am the Temple of God and that the Divine lives in me.
* Realize that the Kingdom of God is within me and nowhere else.
* Realize that by following ChristÕs guidelines I will discover the Truth that will set me free from my ignorance.
* Gradually absorb the truth that we are all divine and that our destiny is Theosis or to become like God through the perfection of our innate virtues.
* Love God with all my power, mind, heart and soul.
* Live with love.
I suspect you could add many more qualities
of a Christian.
Then I thought, "so, am I a Christian or not?"
An answer came from within.
"It is my goal and I am in the process."
Being a Christian, Moslem, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu or even a conscious Atheist is an ongoing process of seeking to experience our true spiritual self and manifesting it through love, truth, peace, service, right action and selflessness.
Be well — Be Happy
We are the Divine — Goodness itself.
(Adapted from the soon to be released book "Visions of Virtue" by Robert Najemy . His book the Psychology of Happiness and other writings can be viewed at http://www.HolisticHarmony.com where you can also download FREE articles and e-books.)
+++++ MEMBER INTERACTION +++++
Return this email with your additional qualities of a conscious
Christian, Jew, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist or even atheist.
=> 2. LESSONS OF AN INTERROGATOR AND AN ALOOF - Life Situation no.1 - Interactive
Anna enjoys sharing her feelings with her husband Paul. She also needs to know what he is feeling and thinking in return. When she is unable to communicate with him, she feels neglected and unloved.
Although Paul does love Anna, he does not enjoy communicating as much as she does and feels very uncomfortable sharing his feelings, mostly because he is not very familiar with them. Also, when he is aware of his feelings, he is ashamed to share them because he fears this will lessen his "manhood".
This constructs a conflict of needs. The more Anna pressures Paul to open up and communicate, the more he withdraws and avoids her. If she pressures him too much, he angrily pushes her away.
As a result, Anna feels rejected and unloved, while Paul feels pressured and suppressed. The more Paul avoids Anna and does not fulfill her needs, the more negative, critical and accusatory she becomes. In response to AnnaÕs negative reactions, Paul avoids her even more.
He feels she does not understand his needs and refuses to accept him as he is. She feels he does not love her and that he rejects her as a woman and a partner in life.
Anna is unhappy and completely unsatisfied with her marriage. Her needs are not being fulfilled. Paul directs his attention to other activities, such as work, sports and recreation with friends.
Both are susceptible to others of the opposite sex who they believe will truly "understand" them.
In this case, two individuals, who actually love each other, have become victims of their own programming and needs. Their attachments, fears and lack of communication skills are destroying their relationship and their happiness.
They both need to understand the beliefs creating their fears and attachments in order to put themselves in the other's position, understand the otherÕs needs, and communicate more openly and clearly.
The key to creating our reality is what we believe. If we can change our beliefs we can improve our reality. Let us examine what they might believe which is causing them to have this problem and then what positive beliefs they could develop so as to create a more positive reality.
++++++++++ MEMBER INTERACTION ++++++++++
Return this email indicating with an "X" to the left the numbers of the lessons,
which you think Anna and Paul need to learn in order to find their happiness.
Add your own ideas about lessons, which you think they need to learn which are not listed here.
Anna might need to learn some combination of the following lessons:
1. To feel safe and worthy even when she cannot share her feelings with Paul.
2. To feel close to others even when they do not open up to her.
3. To feel her self-worth even when others (especially Paul) do not respond to her.
4. To feel people's love even when they are not able to respond to her, realizing that they have problems.
5. To feel safe with persons without knowing their emotions or thoughts.
6. To solve her own problems without needing to get feedback from others.
7. To realize that she is not the victim and take responsibility for the reality she is creating.
8. To allow Paul to take responsibility for his reality and not feel that she is responsible when he is not happy.
Paul might need to learn some combination of the following lessons:
1. To accept his emotions.
2. To acknowledge his feelings and needs and share them with his wife.
3. To accept that men too feel fear and rejection and need affirmation and love.
4. To feel free to be himself and cease fearing his wife's criticism.
5. To free his self-worth from what his wife thinks and does.
6. To communicate more honestly with his wife.
7. To pay more attention to her needs.
POSSIBLE POSITIVE BELIEFS
In order to change the way we feel and behave, we need to change what we believe. Our beliefs create our emotions and behaviors. Let us examine some positive beliefs that they could develop so as to create a more positive reality.
++++++++++ MEMBER INTERACTION ++++++++++
Vote for what Anna and Paul should do.
Return this email indicating the number of the one most important belief, which you believe that Anna and then separately Paul needs to strengthen so that each and both may be happier. You may add your own positive beliefs, which you do not find here. We will inform you of the results of this vote in our next issues.
Anna might benefit from developing some of the following beliefs:
1. I feel close to my husband regardless of how much he can share with me.
2. I am safe and loved even when my husband is unable to communicate.
3. Life provides me with exactly what I need in order to learn my next lesson.
4. I dynamically create my reality with or without my husband.
5. I accept and love myself regardless of his behavior.
6. I understand his difficulty to communicate and love him as he is.
Paul might benefit from developing some of the following beliefs:
1. I feel safe and comfortable communicating my feelings to my wife.
2. I accept my feelings and share them with my loved ones in order to create deeper love relationships.
3. I am free to be myself in every situation.
4. I enjoy sharing my inner world with my beloved wife.
5. In each moment life provides me with exactly what I need to learn my next lesson.
(This Life Story is one of 23 presented in the recently released book
=> 3. THE RIVER GRASSES - Contemporary Parable no. 1 - Interactive
Have you ever sat by a river and watched the mesmerizingly graceful movement of the river grasses, which surrender themselves completely to the flow of the river?
At their base they are firmly attached to a rock on the riverbed. If they were not securely attached in this way, they would be carried away by the current and would perish.
The upper part of these grasses has absolutely no resistance and is thus free to flow in an infinite variety of movements caused by the riverÕs ever-changing flow pattern.
A similar type of event may be seen while observing various sea grasses, which are attached to the bottom of the sea and move with the gentle currents and tides.
We have something to learn from these grasses. We can learn the delicate balance between discipline and freedom, between routine and diversity, between control and surrender, between tradition and change. Obviously, too much of any of these opposite qualities will create problems.
On the one hand we need to have discipline, routine, control and tradition to give us a security base, a moral base, a sense of inner strength and stability in facing the ever-changing circumstances of life.
Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, concentration, meditation, proper diet, self-analysis, exercises and breathing techniques help to create that centered feeling of an inner stability and inner security.
Then we can feel free to allow ourselves to flow with life, trusting the Divine, life, others and our own selves; free from the fear of being harmed, overcome or swept off our feet.
The greater our connection with our inner security base, the more spontaneous and free we can allow ourselves to be.
We all need to find our own way of connecting ourselves to the spiritual rock within us, so that we may adjust and cope in a more relaxed way with the ever-changing situations and tests of life.
Be disciplined and flow.
(This small "Parable - Model" is one of over 90 to be found in the forthcoming book "Contemporary Parables by Robert Elias Najemy. His recently released book "The Psychology of Happiness (ISBN 0-9710116-0-5) by Robert Najemy and other writings can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.HolisticHarmony.com)
++++++++++ MEMBER INTERACTION ++++++++++
Share with us your parables and models, which help you understand truths which enlighten our lives.
We might publish some of them in future issues.
+++++ SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER - SPECIAL OFFER +++++
A 40% Discount on the life-changing book
"The Psychology of Happiness"
by Robert Elias Najemy
Until January 1st 2002 you can become a member for FREE and order this book from http://www.HolisticHarmony.com at this discount.
Thus you will be receiving the book at your home for only $10.80 plus $ 5 shipping = $15.90.
It's Greek version has sold over 20,000 copies
The Psychology of Happiness penetrates to the heart of the subject of human happiness in a deep and yet simple, clear and understandable manner. It offers a variety of techniques, questionnaires and guidelines for creating happiness. It covers many subjects including: Psychology of Evolution, Managing Emotions, Overcoming Fear, Loving Ourselves, Facing Loneliness, Stages of Love, Reconciling Inner Conflicts, Healing Our Inner Child, Forgiveness and Freedom, Coping with the Death of Loved Ones, How Emotional Reality is Created.
Included are 23 case histories - real life situations and the possible lessons, which we can learn from such and similar situations.
Over 95,000 of Robert E. Najemy's 19 books have been sold in Greek, an impressive number considering the small population and reading tendencies of the Greek public.
Some are translated into Portuguese, Polish, Arabic and German.
We sincerely wish for you to be well and happy and for your lives to be
blessed with love and peace.
