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I – A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, 1st published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 & illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley & the spirits of Christmas Past, Present & Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring & re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, & newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth & by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written 3 Christmas stories prior to the novella, & was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London’s street children. The treatment of the poor & the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character is the key themes of the story. There is a discussion among academics as to whether this was a fully secular story, or if it is a Christian allegory.

A Christmas Carol captured the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens had acknowledged the influence of the modern Western observance of Christmas & later inspired several aspects of Christmas, including family gatherings, seasonal food & drink, dancing, games & a festive generosity of spirit.
– Wikipedia

II – 4 And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
(Isaiah 61:1-4 AMPC)

III – “I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” – Charles Dickens

IV – “Small shifts in your thinking, and small changes in your energy, can lead to massive alterations of your end result.” ― Kevin Michel

V – Dr. Wayne Dyer’s famous quote, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” is absolutely true…it’s been proven in the world of quantum physics & is explained as ‘The Observer Effect’…Jesus said, “Unless a person changes his/her mind (μετανοέω: metanoeó), he/she cannot enter the Kingdom of God”…and, ideally, the Christmas season is all about changing the way we look at things…You don’t have to jump off of a bridge, & have Clarence the angel jump into the icy water after you to save you, to show you that you’ve really had a wonderful life…you can realize it right now, & change your present by changing the way you look at your past…you don’t have to have 3 ghosts visit you in the middle of the night to scare the bejeezus out of you, & cause you to have a completely transformational paradigm shift about life, about money, about relationships, & about yourself…you can have that paradigm shift right now, right here, in the light of day, & enjoy the season for what it is…you don’t have to steal Christmas from the people of Whoville, only to realize that Christmas is something more, & then have your heart grow 3 sizes bigger…you can look at someone differently & experience rapid heart-growth right now…you don’t have to witness a massive angelic choir serenading shepherds out in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night, for no apparent reason…you can embrace the concept of “peace on earth, good will to the people” in your own relationships right now, right where you are…you don’t have to wait for eastern magician-astrologers to be led by celestial light to a foreign country to worship an infant King…you can follow your own star right now, into another dimension, & worship your God in your own way… Today is a great day to connect with the nexus for the visible and invisible realms, where a virgin can somehow conceive, &, inexplicably, the Word can actually be made flesh & dwell among us…today is a great day to allow Him to appear, and to allow your soul to feel its worth…you need a little Christmas, right this very minute…you need a little Christmas now…” – Jim Swilley

VI – (Genesis 28:16, 17 – The Message)

VII – “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!” – Ebenezer Scrooge

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12-8-19 – ‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE!: Freeing Yourself from the Ghost of Christmas Past to Follow Your Star into Your Future’, Part II

Today’s Notes:
I – “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a song by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer published by the Montgomery Ward Company. Gene Autry’s recording hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.
– Wikipedia

II – “Being an atheist is okay. Being an atheist and shaming religions and spirituality as silly is not okay. Being a Christian is okay. Being homophobic, misogynistic, racist, or otherwise hateful person in the name of Christianity is not okay. Being a reindeer is okay. Bullying and excluding another reindeer because he has a shiny red nose is not okay.”
– Author Unkown

III –
“All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games…”

To everyone who has ever been marginalized, ostracized, or made fun of because something about you is different, or considered to be odd by the mainstream, let me encourage you to embrace the ‘Gospel According to Rudolph’ and be inspired to celebrate the very thing that sets you apart from the herd…the uniqueness or eccentricity that made the others laugh at you, or make you feel less than, is the very thing that the world needs, even though they don’t know it yet…and when the right time comes, the thing that they thought was weird about you will be exactly what makes you so special and valuable, and will cause you to lead the pack…

When the lyric says,
“Then how all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer
You’ll go down in history”,

It always makes me think of when Joseph’s brothers finally realized how amazing his gift was…it was a long time coming for him, but his latter was most definitely greater than his former at the end of Genesis…so hang on…your “foggy Christmas Eve” is coming…
– Jim Swilley

IV – “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.”
(Matthew 5:5 – The Message)

V – Meme (cartoon of Rudolph)
They used to laugh and call him names. Now they call if Bullyin

VI – Meme (see thumbnail)
Photographic evidence That Rudolph Wasn’t Allowed to Play Reindeer Games…

VII – “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6 – AMPC)

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12-01-2019 – IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE! Freeing Yourself from the Ghost of Christmas Past to Follow Your Star Into Your Future, Part I

Today’s Notes:
I – “The Little Drummer Boy” (originally known as “Carol of the Drum”) is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family Singers, the song was further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale; the Simeone version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since.

In the lyrics, the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the Nativity of Jesus. Without a gift for the Infant, the little drummer boy played his drum with approval from Jesus’ mother, Mary, recalling, “I played my best for him” and “He smiled at me.”
– Wikipedia

II –
Come they told me,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
A newborn King to see,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
To lay before the king,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Rum pum pum-pum, Rum pum pum-pum

So to honor Him,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
When we come

Little baby,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I am a poor boy too,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I have no gift to bring,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
That’s fit to give our King,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Rum pum pum-pum, Rum pum pum-pum

Shall I play for you,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
On my drum

Mary nodded,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
The ox and lamb kept time,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I played my drum for Him,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I played my best for Him,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Rum pum pum-pum, Rum pum pum-pum

Then He smiled at me,
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Me and my drum

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11-24-19 METRON Thanksgiving Celebration with The Bridge at The Chapel of Love

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Today’s Notes:
I – ‘In A beginning, created by the Alueim were the heavens and the earth. Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos. Yet the spirit of the Alueim is vibrating over the surface of the water. And saying is the Alueim, “Become light!” And it is becoming light.’
(Genesis 1:1-3 – The Concordant Literal Old Testament)

II – “Jesus said to them, ‘A little while the light is with you. Walk while you yet have the light so that darkness will not overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he goes. While you yet have the light with you, have faith in the light, that you will be children of enlightenment.’ Thus spoke Jesus and went off and hid from them. ‘I came as enlightenment unto all men so that whoever completely believes will not stay in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I will not condemn him, for I came not to condemn men, but to save men.'”
(John 12:35, 36, 46, 47 – Khaboris Manuscript)

III – “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson

IV – “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:14-16 – The Message)

V – “To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are.”
― Roy T. Bennett

VI – “Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.”
― Jim Carrey

VII – “The more light you allow within you the brighter the world you live in will be.”
– Shakti Gawain

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Review notes available on 11-3-19 DIVINE DISCOVERY, Part I video
Today’s Notes:
“Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. Peter broke in, “Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?” While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. “Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus. Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t breathe a word of what you’ve seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to talk.” The disciples, meanwhile, were asking questions. “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?” Jesus answered, “Elijah does come and get everything ready. I’m telling you, Elijah has already come but they didn’t know him when they saw him.”
(Matthew 17:1-11 – The Message)

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Today’s Notes:
I – “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
(Matthew 5:14 – NKJV)

II – “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].”
(Ephesians 5:8 – AMPC)

III – “And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way]. [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents]. But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].”
(I John 1:5-7 – AMPC)

IV – LIGHT AS ENERGY – Simply stated, light is nature’s way of transferring energy through space. We can complicate it by talking about interacting electric and magnetic fields, quantum mechanics, and all of that, but just remember–light is energy. Light travels very rapidly, but it does have a finite velocity. In a vacuum, the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second (or nearly 300,000 kilometers per second) However, when we start talking about the incredible distances in astronomy, the finite nature of light’s velocity becomes readily apparent. It takes about two and a half seconds, for instance, for a radio communication travelling at the speed of light to get to the moon and back.
You might find it interesting to remember, the next time you watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset, that the sun itself actually dipped below the horizon eight minutes earlier–it takes that long for the light to reach the Earth! And, of course, every newspaper article you ever read about astronomy will always include the required statement, “A light year is the distance light travels in one year at the speed of 186,282 miles per second, about 6 trillion miles.”
Light is more generally referred to as electromagnetic radiation. Too often when we say “light” it is mistaken to mean “optical light,” which is roughly the radiation visible to our eyes. Visible light is a tiny portion of a huge smorgasbord of light called the electromagnetic spectrum. For our convenience, we break this smorgasbord up into different courses (appetizer, salad, etc.) and refer to them by name, such as gamma-rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio. However, it is important to remember that they are all just light. There are no “breaks” and no hard boundaries in the electromagnetic spectrum–just a continuous range of energy.
– Bill Blair

V – “Just asking ‘what is light energy’ opens you up to a flood of other questions trying to narrow down the context that you are asking the question in. In photometry, luminous energy is the perceived energy of light. It can also be defined as the electromagnetic radiation of visible light. Since light itself is energy, then another definition is relevant: light is nature’s way of transferring energy through space.”
– Universe Today

Full text notes (including points VI and VII) can be found here: https://www.bishinthenow.com/teaching-notes-11-3-19

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10-27-19 – THINK ON THESE THINGS: Consciousness, Meditation, and Words of Life, Part III

Today’s Notes: Freestyle, enjoy!

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10-13-19 – THINK ON THESE THINGS: Consciousness, Meditation, and Words of Life, Part II

Today’s Notes: Freestyle, enjoy!
Category
Education

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10-6-19 – THINK ON THESE THINGS: Consciousness, Meditation, and Words of Life, Part I

Today’s Notes: Freestyle, enjoy!