Realms I Have Known

Celebrate Learning When you learn about a good life principle, you should celebrate that learning, and as a result of that, also celebrate the noticeable advancement of your higher self, no matter how slight that advancement may be. If you should learn about a sensible principle, that’s great, but if you learn something about the importance of having a good attitude, that is icing on the cake. Attitude wise and socially speaking, you don't really need to be nice to everybody you know. If there are people who are causing problems for you in your social life, you may need to dump them. If those people are the weaklings in important matters, like standing up for the right, they might try to turn you into a weakling as well. Weaklings love company. They feel stronger when they are a part a group, or even a mob. If that is the case, dump them, and don't apologize for it. Some other friends might turn out to be 'control freaks' and so they could easily try, over time, to gain control over you. Dump them. You might dump them officially by discussing matters or you might dump them unofficially by just avoiding them. Do not mingle with such people no matter how 'nice' they may be in their better moments. Their better moments might just be for the purpose of 'setting you up' for a fall. At the bottom of their cup though there might be a poison of some kind. The presence of such people should not be a part of your Personal Default Mode. Don't let that happen. Here is something else that you may not have considered. What if you are doing something yourself in your life that you know is not good for you. Did you ever think about 'dumping yourself'. I am being quite serious here. You will not be practicing self- abuse. When you 'dump yourself', you are dumping your 'old self', and then allowing your 'new self' to take its place. That could simply be described as 'repentance' and that is a basic gospel principle. This is a process that all of us should come to be familiar with. It can come with wonderful benefits. Learning how to make positive change is one of the greatest 'knowledge gifts' that you can ever receive. Thus, if you truly feel stronger by taking a moral stand on anything, don't back down. In these cases, it is invaluable to have a good friend, one who understands your good motives, and agrees with where you are coming from. Such a friend is easier found in a person who has the same belief system as you have. I count myself fortunate to have a few of those good friends in my life. *** The Four Remembrance Steps The four remembrance steps is a part of the Elm Street philosophy (E.L.M. or Effective Life Management)) Once you have found the truth as much as you are able to, the best strategy you can employ in your life, other than loving God in word and deed, is to remember and contemplate four things when you wake up in the morning: 1. (Present) - Remember who you are, including the good things you have learned that you should stand up for. 2. (Past) - Remember the noble heritage of your body and of your soul. 3. (Future) - Remember the gift you have been given of having the ability to leave behind a good record (a legacy) that someone you love would benefit from reading it or hearing about it. 4. (Eternity) - Always keep the end in mind and also keep in mind who you would want to be with you in this realm and in the Eternal realms. What is true success. Some might call it being happy. Some might call it being content. Some might call it salvation, which I define as being completely free from all danger and peril. There are also many scriptures that testify that salvation comes only through the Atoning sacrifice made by the Son of God who is Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us all in the meridian of time. Do you believe that? Whether you do or you don't, you are still invited to participate in studying His life. The awareness of the truth will help you to gain the faith that you will need in order to succeed at your most important job. That is to find 'joy' even a sacred joy. That joy will give you a purpose in your life, and thus, that joy will be worth celebrating. It might sound overly repetitive to contemplate these four things every single day, but it is not. That is because they are counteracted by the four strategies of the wicked one. Those four negative strategies are: Strategy #1 - to get you to forget who you are and what you stand for and that you are a child of God. Strategy #2 - to get you to forget where you came from. Strategy #3 - to get you to forget who you wish to become and how you wish to be remembered. This third one (your legacy) is a record of what you have learned in your mortal life. These stories could be a short or long, but they will always be more effective when you seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost as to what you might write or say. This writing can always be revised and it could even be years in the making, so it is okay to take your time. Strategy #4 of the wicked one - to get you to forget that you are headed towards a permanent realm that, hopefully, is the place that is known as 'Heaven'. That realm is real and we must always remember that. This final realm will be partly dependent on the truths that we learned while in mortality, and how we used those truths, and, as well, how much love that we showed to others who were on the same Quest as us while we were on this planet together. If you make a practice of remembering these four steps regularly many other important truths will be revealed to you, especially when prayer and study accompany your remembrances. You will feel better about yourself and about your life and about the opportunities that you have been given. Another truth that you might feel is that you are unique and thus, of great value. You may or may not be extraordinary, that is not for you to decide. However, if you have faith in the extraordinary Creator, or God, then be confident that you will be somewhat extraordinary just by being yourself. Nevertheless, you should reject the notion of exalting yourself. That is vanity. You are like all other people in many ways and other people are like you in many ways. Hold to that thought as a means of keeping yourself humble. However, there will be times when God wants you to show your uniqueness and your strength and your allegiance. You will know when that time comes. Just remember to be prepared for that. Humility is a good thing. It can take away some pressure off you when you realize that you need not conquer the world, you only need to conquer your own worst inclinations. If you are sincere in your efforts to do that you will find that it is not necessarily easy to do, and yet it is not necessarily difficult to do. It really is all about attitude. This can definitely happen though as long as you see the great value in self-discipline and having respect for others, and having a love for God. You are not stupid. You are quite capable of self-improvement when you put your mind to it. Even if you start with 'baby steps', that is all right. Things will get better as you go along, as long as you don't 'slack off', or choose to go into 'reverse gear'. The first remembrance step is to remember who you are individually, what your best talents are, and what the moral principles that you stand for are. This will give you clarity as to the potential that you have. Mainly though, remember that YOU ARE A LITERAL CHILD OF GOD. (Psalms 82: 6). That is true no matter what your race is or what your gender is or what your education is. We all deserve to be happy because of the trek we have all just been through. We should be united as the human race and united in a spirit of joy.