The Divine Art Of Living E-Book

Kathleen Besly

• Herausgeber: Andura Publishing
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Experience the life-changing power of Kathleen Besly with this unforgettable book.

Leseprobe

The Divine Art Of Living

Kathleen Besly

CONTENTS

Foreword

WHAT we give to life we may have in return. We may have happiness if we give happiness to others. We may have sorrow if we extend sorrow to those about us. Right living goes with right thinking. The spoken word is the outward manifestation of the power of thought. As every act is preceded by thought, it follows that thought is real, and that if it is right, evil cannot follow.

This little book has been planned as a help and guide for those who would have a method of living from which they may draw the maximum of happiness and Interest. If it brings a tithe of that result to those who read, the author’s work will have been richly rewarded. K. M. H. B.

Chapter 1 – The Omnipresence

IN EVERY Christian church stands the doctrine that God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. The very foundation stone of our teaching is the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit, and this we accept without reserve. We accept the word in its full meaning as defined, “Presence in every place at the same time, unbounded, universal presence, ubiquity.”

We know that the Holy Spirit is everywhere and in everything. We know that the Holy Spirit is the creator and must be in the creation that never ends. His word is the power that makes all things. In the first chapter of Genesis is recorded. “And God said let there be light and there was light.” The record ofeach act of creation is prefaced by the words. “And God said.” The creative force is thus expressed by the word. A word is merely the expression of thought Thought is the power.

God created this wonderful universe from his own substance,from Spirit. He put Himself into everything He created and is therefore omnipresent and in everything. Necessarily this omnipresent spirit in everything is God: but at this point arises the question. If God the good is omnipresent, why is there evil in the world? Why, it is asked are there sin, sickness and death, wars, pestilence and misery? The answer is that these things which seem so dreadful to our senses are not realities. When we have learned to see only good. these manifestations will cease. All will disappear when we come so a full realization of the Omnipresence.

Then we will overcome sin and its results, sickness and death. There is no real death. Life is omnipresent because God is life. After our bodies have been given up. indeed, we think we shall live mom intensely than before. The Infinite Omnipresence is love. Love cannot exist with hate. Hate and fear and all horrors are cast out by love just as a light turned on in a room casts out darkness. It is only the external or outer man that suffers the horrors of war and starvation and the multitude of human ills. Some day he will awaken to the blessings of peace, harmony and brotherly love. This will come with the growth of faith in the Omnipresent Good. Meanwhile as is our duty we gladly send forth healing thoughts and gifts of money, food and clothing to alleviate suffering.

Buckle, in his History of Civilization, says that God is just as civilized as the people who worship. Putting this thought in another way Ingersoll said: “Man created God in his own image and likeness.”

These sayings which shock some people are quite true. People who are swayed by human passions create a god of their own kind. If we are cruel and require human sacrifices we worship a god who requires such sacrifices.

The ancient Greeks loved pleasure and beauty and and created gods who typified these desires. The Puritans who came to America for religious freedom worshipped a God who stood for austerity, stern justice and hard labor. We believe that the Spiritual light shines for each and all of at but that it can be seen only by those whose spiritual eyes are open.

As the evidence of the Omnipresence grows clearer we approach a realization of the importance of making this truth a working basis for the conduct of our lives. As we are creatures of the Holy Spirit, so we are a part of the Holy Spirit. It’s our duty then to live according to the law of our creation. This is the foundation stone of our work and of our play and we must take it into every nook and corner of our lives.

Chapter 2 – Love

THE essence of all religion is love. If had perfect and universal love, we would have realized all of the teachings of Jesus. The world would be rid of all evil.

St. Paul has given the clearest and most wonderful analysis of love in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Paul at that writing was an old man. He had endured many trials. His soul had passed through the crucible of fire. He had been the author of massacres and tortures. He was present at the stoning of Stephen. His hands were stained with blood when he was converted on the road to Damascus. We must know then that Paul was fairly inspired when he wrote this letter to the Corinthians. and we must conclude that his definition of love was the result of his own wonderful experience. Paul tells us that love is the combination of nine qualities, patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper. guilelessness and sincerity.

All of these qualities may be acquired by earnest. persevering effort. The degree of happiness resultant is dependant wholly upon the strength of effort. Patience is a rare and noble quality, and difficult for most of us. It may be acquired by the desire along with constant watchfulness. We often yield to impatience with what we regard as stupidity in others, begetting that we ourselves are often stupid. Kindness is, of course, an integral part of love. It goes with patience. Kindness that is doleful or studied is of little value. It is the kindness that comes spontaneously that upbuilds character. Out of it come joy and optimism. As has been said, the thought that precedes the act is the vital thing. Thus, when we constantly cultivate kind thoughts, kind acts follow.

Generosity does not lie wholly in the gifts of money or things. We can readily recall men and women who make large gifts to philanthropy because by so doing they may advance to a higher place in what is known as fashionable society. That purpose is altogether selfish.