Changes

To You Who made all that is, but most importantly " Father" to all Your personal sons and daughters; to You, great Creator, we turn our [[hearts]] of [[gratitude]] and [[worship]]. We call You, "Father", "Great Parent", "Unfathomable Love", "Perfect Graciousness", for that is how we experience You in our [[souls]]. May Your nature continue to fuse with our human nature so that the two together can become one perfected pinnacle of joyous [[creativity]]! Tonight, my friends, may our hearts melt to each other with no [[barriers]] or misgivings present. Put aside all things and let us endeavor to do the will of our Father, our Brother, our Mother, our Sister. [[Amen]].

To You Who made all that is, but most importantly " Father" to all Your personal sons and daughters; to You, great Creator, we turn our [[hearts]] of [[gratitude]] and [[worship]]. We call You, "Father", "Great Parent", "Unfathomable Love", "Perfect Graciousness", for that is how we experience You in our [[souls]]. May Your nature continue to fuse with our human nature so that the two together can become one perfected pinnacle of joyous [[creativity]]! Tonight, my friends, may our hearts melt to each other with no [[barriers]] or misgivings present. Put aside all things and let us endeavor to do the will of our Father, our Brother, our Mother, our Sister. [[Amen]].

Daniel(Bill): This is Daniel, your teacher, your friend, your guide, and your joyous [[companion]]. Your hymn says, "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Things_Bright_and_Beautiful All things bright and beautiful], all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!" I wish tonight to [[focus]] our [[attention]] on the [[experience]] of [[grateful]] enjoyment.

Daniel(Bill): This is Daniel, your teacher, your friend, your guide, and your joyous [[companion]]. Your hymn says, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Things_Bright_and_Beautiful All things bright and beautiful], all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!" I wish tonight to [[focus]] our [[attention]] on the [[experience]] of [[grateful]] enjoyment.

===Lesson===

===Lesson===

===='''''[[Hedonism]]'''''====

===='''''[[Hedonism]]'''''====

You live in a [[society]] where the quest for enjoyment is frenetic, frantic, and [[frustrating]]. People often chose the pathway of [[hedonism]], to indulge the [[senses]], where, " if a little bit is good, a lot more is much better", is the philosophy. But, as you know, this pursuit of [[pleasure]], in and of itself, is a dismal [[failure]]. One sensation has to be followed by at least as much, in terms of [[energy]] discharge, to keep the excitement going. So, some people become adrenaline [[addicts]]. In their search for pleasure they totally turn inward to their own [[nervous system]]. This happens also with substance [[abuse]], as you know. [[Grateful]] [[enjoyment]] is quite different. It comes from knowing who you are and how you fit in with [[everything]] that is. When you know that you are a son or daughter of the Creator of all, then you know that you have a primary [[connection]] to [[the Source]] of reality. Primary, I say, rather than marginal, secondary, provisional, conditional, maybe this and maybe that, or most discouraging of all, only an accidental connection. A primary connection means you are of the same substance. You are a person from [[the Father]] of [[personalities]] and you have a part of your Parent in you, the prepersonal [[Thought Adjuster]]/Controller. Consequently, because of your primary connection with your Source, our Father, you then have another primary connection; and that is with each other. You are truly brothers and sisters, not because you are "homo sapiens", but because you are [[children of God]].

You live in a [[society]] where the quest for enjoyment is frenetic, frantic, and [[frustrating]]. People often chose the pathway of [[hedonism]], to indulge the [[senses]], where, " if a little bit is good, a lot more is much better", is the philosophy. But, as you know, this pursuit of [[pleasure]], in and of itself, is a dismal [[failure]]. One sensation has to be followed by at least as much, in terms of [[energy]] discharge, to keep the excitement going. So, some people become adrenaline [[addicts]]. In their search for pleasure they totally turn inward to their own [[nervous system]]. This happens also with substance [[abuse]], as you know. [[Grateful]] [[enjoyment]] is quite different. It comes from knowing who you are and how you fit in with [[everything]] that is. When you know that you are a son or daughter of the Creator of all, then you know that you have a primary [[connection]] to [[the Source]] of reality. Primary, I say, rather than marginal, secondary, provisional, conditional, maybe this and maybe that, or most discouraging of all, only an accidental connection. A primary connection means you are of the same substance. You are a person from [[the Father]] of [[personalities]] and you have a part of your Parent in you, the prepersonal [[Thought Adjuster]]/Controller. Consequently, because of your primary connection with your Source, our Father, you then have another primary connection; and that is with each other. You are truly brothers and sisters, not because you are "homo sapiens", but because you are [[children of God]].

===='''''[[Stewardship]]'''''====

===='''''[[Stewardship]]'''''====

Knowing this [[fact]] of your sonship/daughtership as children of one Parent makes the rest of [[creation]] friendly. It gives you something of the [[feeling]] that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples native people] have where they recognize their kinship with all living things. The [[understanding]] of that [[kinship]] is a different explanation in native religion as expressed in its [[mythological]] [[stories]], but the sense is correct. The other aspect of the sense of connection with nature that traditional authoritative religions recognize, the [[stewardship]] aspect, then becomes more humane. Stewardship has been conceived as ownership, with the subsequent [[belief]] that the earth and all other living creatures on it exist for the [[purpose]] of satisfying the desires of homo sapiens. What I am suggesting is a different concept of stewardship, more like the stewardship of the oldest person in the [[family]], who wisely administers the resources of the family for the benefit of everyone. [[Grateful]] enjoyment of the [[earth]], of creation, of your [[relationships]] with other people, comes from this [[perspective]]. You are not apart, [[separate]] from everyone else and self sovereign. Rather, you are connected to everybody as brothers and sisters and to the rest of creation as caretakers. Your role is to take care of it, not to [[exploit]] it and destroy it. [[Grateful]] enjoyment, seen in this context of beneficent [[stewardship]] allows you, then, to harmoniously use the [[resources]] of [[this planet]].

Knowing this [[fact]] of your sonship/daughtership as children of one Parent makes the rest of [[creation]] friendly. It gives you something of the [[feeling]] that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples native people] have where they recognize their kinship with all living things. The [[understanding]] of that [[kinship]] is a different explanation in native religion as expressed in its [[mythological]] [[stories]], but the sense is correct. The other aspect of the sense of connection with nature that traditional authoritative religions recognize, the [[stewardship]] aspect, then becomes more humane. Stewardship has been conceived as ownership, with the subsequent [[belief]] that the earth and all other living creatures on it exist for the [[purpose]] of satisfying the desires of homo sapiens. What I am suggesting is a different concept of stewardship, more like the stewardship of the oldest person in the [[family]], who wisely administers the resources of the family for the benefit of everyone. [[Grateful]] enjoyment of the [[earth]], of creation, of your [[relationships]] with other people, comes from this [[perspective]]. You are not apart, [[separate]] from everyone else and self sovereign. Rather, you are connected to everybody as brothers and sisters and to the rest of creation as caretakers. Your role is to take care of it, not to [[exploit]] it and destroy it. [[Grateful]] enjoyment, seen in this context of beneficent [[stewardship]] allows you, then, to harmoniously use the [[resources]] of [[this planet]].

===='''''[[Gratitude]]''''', '''''[[Moment]]'''''====

===='''''[[Gratitude]]''''', '''''[[Moment]]'''''====

Grateful enjoyment allows you to [[interact]] with other people with the [[recognition]] of your family [[connection]], so that you are not "us and them" or you against the world, but you are within the fabric of [[humanity]]. It allows you to [[transcend]] ruthless [[competition]], in fact, to abhor it. I am not saying you cannot have some friendly competition that is governed by honorable rules, as in games such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics Olympics], etc. But to cast everything into the framework of a [[war]], as your culture currently is doing, is to deny your [[connection]] with other people and the rest of creation. Wars are fought between adversaries. Wars are not appropriate ways to relate within the [[bonds]] of [[family]] structure.

Grateful enjoyment allows you to [[interact]] with other people with the [[recognition]] of your family [[connection]], so that you are not "us and them" or you against the world, but you are within the fabric of [[humanity]]. It allows you to [[transcend]] ruthless [[competition]], in fact, to abhor it. I am not saying you cannot have some friendly competition that is governed by honorable rules, as in games such as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics Olympics], etc. But to cast everything into the framework of a [[war]], as your culture currently is doing, is to deny your [[connection]] with other people and the rest of creation. Wars are fought between adversaries. Wars are not appropriate ways to relate within the [[bonds]] of [[family]] structure.

In grateful enjoyment, the enjoyment comes as a result of the [[gratitude]], which comes as a result of [[understanding]] who you are and how you fit in to [[everything]] that is. The other aspect of grateful enjoyment is the result of the [[ability]] to "live in the [[moment]]". For it is only in the moment that there is enjoyment, real, vital enjoyment. True, you can pass a great deal of time [[thinking]] about past enjoyable moments. In this [[process]] you are rewinding your tape recording back to a previous time of moments where the enjoyment occurred. And even if those previous moments of enjoyment were also recollections of previous moments, [[eventually]] you will realize that all original enjoyment began in "the moment". It is obvious in a child, for children are not reminiscing on the [[past]]. They are in the moment, enjoying being alive. It is in the "moment" that you experience [[connection]] with other people, not in remembering the past or planning for the [[future]]. In the "moment" the ever present "[[eternal now]]" is the potential for enjoyment.

In grateful enjoyment, the enjoyment comes as a result of the [[gratitude]], which comes as a result of [[understanding]] who you are and how you fit in to [[everything]] that is. The other aspect of grateful enjoyment is the result of the [[ability]] to "live in the [[moment]]". For it is only in the moment that there is enjoyment, real, vital enjoyment. True, you can pass a great deal of time [[thinking]] about past enjoyable moments. In this [[process]] you are rewinding your tape recording back to a previous time of moments where the enjoyment occurred. And even if those previous moments of enjoyment were also recollections of previous moments, [[eventually]] you will realize that all original enjoyment began in "the moment". It is obvious in a child, for children are not reminiscing on the [[past]]. They are in the moment, enjoying being alive. It is in the "moment" that you experience [[connection]] with other people, not in remembering the past or planning for the [[future]]. In the "moment" the ever present "[[eternal now]]" is the potential for enjoyment.