So now you have it.  A path that leads to me.  It is one of the easier paths you can come across during your life.  But I must stress that it is not the only path.  It is simply one out of many.  If it does not work for you, then leave it.  Seek a better path.

So now that you have this information, you might ask how to use it in your daily lives?  That is the next part of this path:  Learning how to use the information you have gathered in your daily life. 

Indeed, how can one live knowing that God loves them completely and unconditionally?  I will tell you know that it will be a life that is not lived in fear.  Some fear will still be there, but you will be free of the fear that I am watching you, waiting for the moment to strike when you make a mistake.

Knowing that God requires nothing from you, and that God loves you unconditionally can be liberating.

Where shall we begin?  Why don't we start with an issue that is among the hardest for all of you to address.  The issue of forgiveness. 

Forgiveness is one of those words that sounds wonderful in theory, yet is very difficult to use in real life.  I am not surprised by this.  You humans have the unhealthy habit of holding onto your anger and your hate far longer then you should.

I inspired Ann Landers to write that hate is like acid.  It damages and corrodes the container that holds it.  This is a very true statement.  It does not bode well for you if you harbor your hate and anger like precious jewels.  They are anything but.

If you hold these things for a long time, then you will find yourself weak, upset, fatigued and angry.  I am here to tell you now that it would be in your best interests to let go of hate and anger as soon as you feel them.  You gain nothing by holding on to them.

You gain so much by releasing these feelings and letting them fly to the wind, far beyond your reach.  Forgiveness is letting go.  Letting go of any and all hate you may keep, as well as fear, anger, regret and sadness.  Forgiveness is a clean start, a blank slate for you to begin painting your life upon it once again.

I understand if you feel that your hate is too strong to let go.  So often, many want to hold on to their anger and hatred because it gives them the illusion of strength.  Yet while these feelings may give you strength in the (very) short run, in the long run they will destroy you mentally and physically.

How can you get rid of these feelings?  There are many ways.  Write a letter to the person you hate, pouring out your feelings onto the paper.  Hold nothing back as you tell the person exactly how you feel about them.  Then when you are finished, tear the letter up and throw it in the fire.  Watch as your words of hate and anger burn away, turned to dust.

If that does not work, then try praying for the one you hate.  Wish for them all that you want yourself.  Yes, this sounds insane, but try it.  Even if you are not being honest, pray for your enemies so that they might have what you want.  Try it.  Keep saying it, even if you are not sincere.

Do you see what happens when you do so?  You will see your enemies in a new light, a new dimension of seeing.  You will begin to see them in a way that you could not see before.

If all else fails, turn to me.  In fact, it would serve you best if you turn to me in the first place!  For one of my greatest strengths is listening.  Have you not heard that the reason you have two ears and only one mouth is because you should listen more and talk less? 

I can listen to you talk for hours, days, even weeks if necessary.  I never tire of listening to you, of hearing your tales and your woes.  Bring me your sorrow and tell me about it.  Tell me everything.  Hold nothing back.  Tell me what troubles you.  Rant and fume about how unfair the world is.  I am not angered or upset by your words.  When you speak to me in angry tones, I simply smile and continue to listen lovingly to you.

Give me your fears and your anger.  Grant me permission to work for you.  Tell me that I am free to take over and help rid you of what you hold.  You will be quite surprised by the results!  If you give me problems and allow me to step in and help, everything will be worked out in perfect fashion.  It may not be the ending that you want, but everything will work out perfectly according to the divine plan.

You can turn to me for anything my beloved.  When I see you struggle under your burdens, I long to come and help take the load off your back.  I am infinite strength and power.  You cannot tire me by giving me your problems and your worries.  I can help everyone on earth at the same time, and I can give each problem my undivided attention.

With me you will find all the answers to your problems.  In me will you find the cure for what ails you.  I am the great healer and the great problem solver.  There is no problem in heaven or earth that is beyond my capacity to solve.

When you cannot release your fear, your anger or your guilt, turn to me.  Invite me to step in and take over.  I promise you that I will not let you down.  When you try to solve things by your strength alone, you can falter.  When you allow me to walk with you and assist you, you can move mountains (metaphysical ones that is). 

*

Why don't we go over the steps to having a more loving relationship with God?  It serves you well to review them.

1.  Know that God does not require anything from you.

2.  Know that you can trust God.

3.  Know that you can Love God.

4.  Know that you can use God.

5.  Know that you can thank God.

6.  Know that you can embrace God.

7.  Know that God loves you unconditionally, now and forever.

Are these steps simple?  I hope you find them to be so.  Ah, look at where we are in the forest my child!  Do you not find this open plain between the trees to be quite beautiful?  See the green grass, the soft flowers.  Feel the warm breeze in the air.  See the sun as she sets on the horizon.  And see the clouds as they turn pink and yellow.  Are they not beautiful?

As we walk through the grass in this meadow, think about the beauty that you see here.  This beauty is me, in one of my most beautiful forms.  The natural world can be a source of great comfort and refreshment to you. 

All too often, people spend most of their time in forests of steel and concrete, spending their days in buildings, working on hard floors and surfaces.  Can you imagine how delightful it is to step off the hard floor and onto the soft surface of nature? 

If you go to nature, you can find much comfort and refreshment.  Notice how, if you allow it, your mind clears when you are in nature.  When you walk amongst the trees, do you not feel as if all your problems are a million miles away?  When you walk on the forest trail among the tall pines, you will wonder just how important that business contract is, or how vital that school paper is.

When you are in the beauty of the natural world, your problems don't seem like problems at all, do they?  How much comfort can you find in a field lit by the sunset, filled with chirping insects and chirping birds?  You might be surprised to find out that you can get much comfort.

Therefore, why not try and spend more time in nature?  Granted, not all of nature is beautiful and pretty.  There are some hard spots with nature, but see how much goodness there is in the natural world.

If you want to be refreshed and renewed, try going back to nature.  Find a tree and sit next to it (though you might want to watch out for ants).  Feel the tree behind your back, strong and firm.  Let it support you as you sit. 

Let your mind relax.  Let the fears and worries of your day slip away like melting snow.  Let your world temporarily leave you, and let nature come back into you.  Feel yourself as one with nature. 

I gave you nature to enjoy in all its beauty and splendor.  The natural world is a gift to humanity, one to enjoy, treasure, and keep.  Nature can replenish the strength within and give you the courage to face another day.

Therefore, go to nature.  Accept its gifts to you.  Feel its beauty and splendor.  And above all, know that nature is a gift to you.

*

If you know me, what good will religions do for you?

Do you remember how I said earlier how I do not care about what religion you follow?  That is still a true statement, for I only care about your heart.  Does this mean that you should leave religion, or that I am against it?  Of course not!

Though I do not care about what religion you follow, that does not mean that I am against religion, nor does it mean that I do not want you in them.  If your religion brings you peace and joy, then by all means keep with it! 

If your religion provides you with guidance and meaning in life, then by all means, embrace it!

Religions have the special power of giving you a sense of family, of fellowship and companionship.  Indeed, you will find yourself among those who believe what you believe if you choose to join organized religion, and that can bring you much joy!

Just remember my child that while I may have inspired parts of them, religions are still man-made.  Religions are created by humans in their own attempt to explain who I am, what life is, and who they are.  Every religion has elements of truth in it, and each religion has false teachings in it.

No one religion is above the others, and no one religion has all the answers.  How can you tell what is true knowledge and what is false?  That is easy.  Do you remember the answer?  I gave it to you earlier.  See if you can remember it.

…

Stumped?  Very well, I will say it again for your benefit. 

Test Everything spiritual you come across in life.  If it is love based, it is from God.  If it is fear based, it is false.

Does this mean that I will never bring you negative things?  No.  I may warn you or caution you of things to come, but I will give you comfort and give guidance on what you can do.  If I must tell you something unpleasant, then I will do so in the gentlest way possible.  There is a difference between messages of caution, and messages of fear.  If you work at it, you will quickly learn how to tell the two apart.

When you go out your door every morning, it is easy to see the influence that organized religions have on your world.  See how many people wear miniature crucifixes around their necks.  See how many pray five times a day towards Mecca.  See how many ponder the nature of Nirvana. 

While Religion can bring you much comfort, know that it is not the only way back to me.  Religion is a way, but not the way.  It is an individual choice to turn to me, and the path to me can take many forms, as you have seen.  Religion is just one of those paths.

But please remember this my child.  Religions have the unfortunate tendency to operate with fear, rather then love.  Religions will more often then not tell a non-religious person how they are damned, rather then how much I love them.  In more ways then you know, religion is used by humans to control humans.

When religions operate on fear, they are really not operating on my level of love and care.  When they try to recruit with fear, they do not understand me.  For as I have said, I am love and nothing else.

Furthermore, be cautious of your holy books.  Remember that while they may and do contain spiritual truth, there is also a great amount of un-truth in your holy books as well.  Again, look for the love and fear based passages to see which are true.

You may not even feel the need for religion.  Many can come and know me on a one to one basis without needing holy books or ministers to guide them.  Remember that I am God, and I am above your religions. 

You do not need a mediator between you and me.  You do not need the church to talk to me for you.  You do not need to come through Jesus to know me.  You can come to me directly.  After all, you and I are one.  You are my treasured child.  Do you know any parent who turns a seeking child away? 

*

I sense that at one time or another, you have wondered if all those spiritual books you have read are really from God.

I want to say one thing before we continue.  Many on your earth believe that I stopped talking to humanity thousands of years.  They say that I put all my words in a holy book, and that book has all the answers.

I have never stopped talking to humanity.  I keep sending messengers, guides and prophets.  I send them every day, often without them knowing!  Some are aware of their purpose on earth and eagerly go about achieving this purpose.

I have not left humanity in darkness.  I keep sending people to teach, guide and spread the truth of my all accepting love.  You will meet them during your lifetime.  I did not stop sending prophets thousands of years ago.

I often reveal myself directly to people on your earth.  I have done so throughout history and will continue to do so in the future.  I am never changing in my character, which is love. 

But one important thing to keep in mind is that people's views change with time.  While I may not change, people's views do.  During the time of the bible, many saw me as a harsh and jealous God.  In truth, they did not recognize my true nature of love.  In their views, they could not see me and my love.  Therefore, they simply wrote down what they saw me to be.

This explains why many true spiritual books are slightly different from each other.  Every human acts as a filter when receiving information from me.  No matter how fine or how large the filter is, things do get caught and stopped. 

Therefore, little details may change in real divine books, there may be a contradiction or two (or in the case of heavy filters, a good amount), but the core message will always be the same.  That I love and care about you, now and forever.  It is the core message that is important.

True divine guidance is consistant and it is repetitive.  It does not change over time.

I am never changing.  I always have been, and always will be, love.  Your views of me may change, but I do not.

I have inspired many spiritual books throughout history.  When people see me, they see me as their own individual views shape me.  Therefore, if they see me as harsh and demanding, that is how they will see me.  If they see me as loving and kind, that is how they will see me.  It has happened in the past, and it happens today.

When I inspire and talk to people, I talk only in a loving way.  Yet the ego can come in and control what a person hears.  The ego is fear based.  I am love based.  When you hear thoughts of anger, hate, revenge, of fear, know that it is not me.  That is your ego speaking as it attempts to dominate you. 

Those who think in a loving, caring manner can hear me more clearly and more efficiently.  Anyone can learn to hear me.  All they need to do is teach themselves to think in a loving and/or caring manner.

When someone hears me, I inspire them to do great things.  Exactly what things depends upon the individual.  Some may be happy doing missionary work in a country.  Others may feel the suggestion to take up teaching adults how to read.  Many are inspired to write books.

Again, use the love/fear test on spiritual books that you read.  If they speak of love from me to you, from the angels to you, from heaven to you, etc. then they are from me.  If they speak of fear, exclusiveness, uncertainty, segregation based on religion, skin color, etc. or specific things you need to do to earn my love, then know that the book is not from me.

So many are influenced by fear based ego messages.  It has happened before and it will happen again.  The ego does not want you to believe that my love for you is total and absolute.  The ego wants you to remain frightened and scared.  The ego wants you to remain in darkness while I see to gently lift you out. 

In a way, the ego is the Satan that your religions talk about.  The ego is hurtful, hateful, fearful, bitter, and angry.  In a way, ego and fear are one and the same  It is, to put it in terms you can understand, a spoiled child that wants everything for itself, and prides on putting others down. 

Many listen to the ego and the fear it whispers.  Look at fear based religious beliefs or books, and you will see the ego at work.  Therefore, when you come across a spiritual book that is based off fear, know that it is the ego speaking and not me. 

If you look closely, you can see the ego of the bible authors in many passages that they wrote.  When they write of a hateful, jealous or angry God, that was the ego speaking to them.  They listened to it and wrote down what it said.  As a result, the ego found its way into your holy books and has misled so many.

Let us use a biblical example.  Jesus taught that the way to heaven is love.  Really, it is!  Go take a look at Luke 10:25-28.  The answer to your salvation questions is right there. 

Yet the ego cannot accept this.  There must be something you have to do!  Therefore, the ego managed to convince the authors of the bible to write that God only chooses some to be saved and others to be dammed.  The ego wrote that you must believe in Jesus to be saved.  The ego wrote that I will judge you.

But am I not love?  Am I nothing else but love?  Love does not abandon anyone. Therefore, I do not abandon anyone.  Nor do I damn anyone to hell for all eternity (and I do not damn anyone in the first place).  I do not punish.  I love. 

The ego tries to make you fear me when there is nothing fearful about me.

Remember my child that fear is the only true opponent in your life.  Fear wants you to believe that you must do certain things to earn my love.  But you already have my love. 

Fear/ego wants you to believe that there is only one path to salvation.  But there are an infinite number of paths to me.  Fear and ego, above all else, wants you to be afraid.  Know that it is not in my plan for you to be afraid.

When you encounter a fear based book, gently put it down and walk away.  Seek love, and love will come to you.  Love based books come from me.  You shall know them when you read them.  This goes for your holy books as well.

It cannot be stated enough.  Words from God uplift you, encourage you, and support you.  Words that are not from God tear you down, make you afraid, make you fearful, and leave you with a sense of fear and uneasiness.

When you practice and seek, you will find my words to you.

*

There is another issue that needs to be talked about regarding your holy books and religion.  Many believe that your holy books are the only places that I am found in your life.

I want to tell you something.  You do not find God in a book.  You find God in life. 

No one book has all the answers.

Yet, we apparently have a contradiction here.  One can find God in a book.  That is happening right now with you.  Yet God is not found in a book.  I am found in life.

Perhaps I should say it this way.  You can find my footsteps in a book.  You will find my divine touch, my thumbprint in a spiritual book.  "Wow!"  You think.  "If that's the thumbprint, I want to see the finger that made it!"  Good spiritual books encourage you to go out and find God yourself. 

I am not confined to one book.  I am found in many books.  I am found in many movies.  I am found in many stories.  I am found in life.  I am found in your daily life.  I am found in other people.  I speak to you from all these sources. 

When one becomes spiritual, they will go and seek me everywhere they go.  They will not spend all their time reading books that say they came from me (again, test them to see if they are love based). 

Books from me can and do bring you wisdom and guidance.  Indeed, you can gain so much from these books that I have inspired.  But remember that all the information you gather is useless unless you put it into practice.

Therefore, when you find true divine guidance, put it into use!  Use it in your daily life and use the knowledge to help yourself and help others.  Use the knowledge to make your world a better place!  Share it!  Live it!  Love it!

When you embody your spiritual beliefs in your everyday living, you will move mountains.  You will be a prophet, a messenger, a teacher.  You will show others the way to heaven. 

If you live your life according to divine love, you will be as Jesus was.  For as Jesus lived his life based on love, so can you do the same!