does God exist - who are you and what do you want?
Jon Peniel New Year 2001 Message.


First of all, for those of you who have been concerned about my health, thank you, and I’m OK. My body was about "down and out for the count", but one of my student monks who decided that was unacceptable, did a substantial "laying on of hands" type healing, allowing the hierarchy/God/Universal Spirit to work through them.  So it seems I'm stuck here a little while longer. How long, only God knows.  Which brings me to this saying:

If you had only 30 minutes to live,
what would you do?
who would you call?
what are you waiting for?

 

resolution/new years - spirituality
It’s New Year’s eve in much of the world as I write this.  Many people make “New Year’s Resolutions” – commitments to make some kind of positive change.  Most don’t keep them.  But what is a commitment mean then?  Does it mean “trying”?  No.  Does it mean “attempting”? No.  It is an absolute dedication.  It is a “resolution”, it is supposed to be a “resolve”.  It is a contract with yourself.  Of course, most New Year’s resolutions are not all that serious, and thus not taken seriously.  So what whether you do or not go on a diet.  So you do or do not…whatever.  But some commitments or “resolutions”, such as commitments to grow spiritually, to make spiritual changes, should be dead serious, and inflexible.  It is literally, a matter of life and death – for your soul.  

Since last summer, when the Sun began blasting us with incredibly powerful energies from solar flares, the cycles and forces of the Universal Spirit have created greater pressure on the human race.  It has been a particularly intense time for many people.  Commitments and life choices have been under great pressure, and tested.  It is/was a period of God/the Universal Spirit “turning up the heat” and “separating the wheat from the chaff”.  God is pressuring us to choose our path, before the times of cleansing, or what Native Americans call “the Great Purification”.  The path you choose, and the results of choosing it, are all up to choosing what you want, and how you use and apply your free will.

It has been a time of deciding who you really are, and what you really want, then making an absolute commitment to stick to it, and see it through to the end, no matter what.   It has been a time of choosing which road we will choose, when we come to the great fork in the road – spiritual/selflessness/God, or separateness/self-centeredness and self-indulgence.  It was and is a difficult time, and even many of our novice monks (who don’t have the support of a monastery now) succumbed to the lure of the temporary false happiness offered by selfish indulgences.  It is much harder for them to embark on and stick to such a strict spiritual path, while having to live and work in the world amongst selfish peer pressures and constant temptation of self indulgences.  That is one of the reasons for the necessity of monasteries, for any spiritual path.  But nevertheless, things are the way they are at this time, and there is no monastery to protect and nurture spiritual “infants” while they grow mature and strong enough to take on the selfish world by themselves.  Still, it comes down to use of free will to stick to commitments and programs of self-discipline and spiritual/mental clarity and inspiration, and it can be done, with or without a monastery. 

These Universal changes and pressures have affected everyone in one way or another.  Because we are essentially spiritual beings trapped in animal bodies, you and I were all born with two sides.  A spiritual side and a selfish-separate-self side.  Thus we have both selfish “urges”, unselfish urges, and a conscience.  We have instincts, and intuition.  It is nothing less than a war between these two sides of ourselves, and more serious, and with far more implications, than any world war.  We must decide which side we are on, and once we do that, not deal with, or give up ground to, the enemy side.  It is up to us to decide who we really are, and then what we really want, and then apply our free will to give the reins of how we will think and act in our lives, to one side or the other.  We have come to a time in which the Universal Spirit demands that we stop “sitting on the fence”, stop floating with the tides like a jellyfish, and stop blowing in the wind.  We must make an indelible alliance with one side or the other.

A fact of reality is that people always really just do what they want to do.  They may claim they’re happy and satisfied about the results of their choices, or complain about them.  But either way, they are all (with certain exceptions) still just doing what they want to do.  People have often asked me “What should I do?”  My reply is often, “Do what you want to do, because that’s what you’re doing, and what you’ll end up doing anyway”.  This even applies to monks who are “struggling” with their selfish side.  And I’ll give them the same response.  But unfortunately, the self is more than happy to take advantage of that.  To take the concept of “Doing what you want to do” as an escape, an excuse, a rationalization, to “give in to the struggle”, to give in to what the SELFISH self wants to do, and thus take the selfish path.  For instance, even a person who is doing well with their spiritual growth, but is “struggling” with selfish urges, may think to themselves (via the separate selfish self’s inner voice), “Well, I guess what I really want to do is party, have a selfish relationship with a man/woman, indulge in food, drugs, alcohol, sports, diversions of all kinds, etc.”  But such thinking is only the selfish separate self trying to trick them.  And if they hand over their will to the selfish self, down they go.  Down a road to the deep misery and suffering that underlies all the selfish get-offs.  Only during the “crashes” that occur in-between the “highs”, do they have a momentary chance to see what they’ve really done, and change their course. 

That “struggling” is a problem, and puts a block in the path of one’s spiritual growth - but it doesn’t need to exist.  It comes down to first making a real, rock solid primary decision, and then a real, rock solid commitment.  If a person really WANTS to achieve a state of unselfish love, they WANT the self-sacrifices, criticism and mirroring of selfish traits that it takes to achieve that.  Then a criticism is a welcomed aid rather than an attack that the self must defend itself against.  A mirror you want to help you comb your hair correctly, not a mirror to shun because of the mess you see.  But if instead of the humility that comes with wanting that, one has selfish ego pride and wants to live in denial, doesn’t want to see themselves, and fears facing themselves and reality, then “mirrors” show them what they DON’T WANT to see.  That kind of attitude prevents real spiritual change, and opens the doors for “struggling” with the urges to indulge in selfish desires, and avoiding the fears that need to be faced and dealt with.  So the spiritual path then includes a “struggle” with selfishness, regardless of what form that selfishness takes. 

It’s difficult, if not impossible for some people, to achieve spiritual progress while constantly “struggling” every moment.  So during this year, I have reminded many “strugglers” that they need to just do what they want.  Unfortunately, many tend to take that as meaning “do what your selfish self wants”, and the self is more than happy to help.  They should have first decided WHO they are, which side of themselves they WANT to make an alliance with, commit to that, THEN decide what they want from that perspective.  People should first do that before deciding the answer to ending the “struggle” is giving the reins back to the self.  But they often don’t.  Giving in to the pressure, pain and “thumbscrews” that the self applies to a person trying to take control and give the reins over to their spiritual side, is what the self wants.  But doing that doesn’t end struggle, it just makes more and worse struggles, while you simultaneously live a destructive life.  Because on “selfish boulevard”, there is never ending struggle, and at the end of the road, there is NEVER happiness or peace.  Whereas at the end of the selfless road, the only true happiness, inner peace, awaits – and whatever hardship or self-sacrifice one must endure on the journey to get there, is ultimately far more than worth the price. 

It is thus important to start with clearly defining WHO you are, before asking “what do I want”?  Because the answer will be totally different accordingly – totally 180 degrees opposite of each other.  For instance, if you decide WHO you ARE is a spiritual being trapped in a selfish separate self, then what you will naturally WANT is to return to oneness with God, serve God, spiritually help others, and be self-sacrificing.  But if you decide that who you are is just a body, just an animal, just a self, then what you want will naturally be whatever the selfish-separate-self wants.  Of course, until you are enlightened, there will always be selfish issues lurking in the dark, desires and fears, but if you really want spirituality at any cost,  rather than a “struggle”, they will just be a temporary annoyance that you must be aware of and vigilant about, casually using your mind to redirect your thoughts away from them, rather than using your thoughts to constantly “struggle” with them.   Struggling, fighting with negative thoughts, desires and fears, FEED them – because during the struggling you are giving them life with your thought energy.  Starving them by not giving them mental energy, destroys them eventually.    

While deciding who you are and what you want, keep in mind that the selfish separate self, and the body, always die.  You who think you are the self, or the body, are in fact, dying right now.  It’s only a matter of when.  Only the spirit lives on forever.  Also remember that the selfish separate self is never satisfied for long, it always wants more no matter how much of what it wants it gets.  When it gets what it wants, it soon loses the “get-off” type of happiness that the self momentarily feels – then it’s empty again, unhappy again, and looking for the next get off to feed the never ending hunger.  You can only find individual peace and happiness by bursting your illusion of separateness, turning away from selfishness, turning away from focusing on your self, and turning towards the Universal Spirit with humility, openness, receptivity, and a desire to serve.  Change the focus to caring and giving to others, and to serving God, and then you will be filled with a love that is meant to give to all, and fulfills you at the same time.  Love becomes a state of being, and a way of living. 

Remember that only the enlightened saints live in a state of love and caring, really love, and really love you.  All the other 6 billion people on this planet, are separate selves, and thus it’s natural and logical for them to be self-focused, self-centered, self-indulgent, self-serving, and care far more about themselves than they do you, or even their family or friends. That includes that really nice guy you just met, or that cute girl.  Give them time and opportunity, and you’ll get hurt, just as you will hurt them.  So if your self desire is to find a mate and be happy, all you are going to find is another selfish person like yourself, who really only cares about themselves when it comes down to it. After the initial self get-offs, you’re either left with a break up, or staying together unhappily, and probably having kids and putting them through hell also.  The only way you can have a lasting great relationship, is if you, and your partner, both decide to really love each other more than yourselves.  And that takes going through all the pain of bursting the illusion of separateness, and subjugating the self to your higher self, your inner being, to God.  You can never find that eternal blissful relationship until you stop being selfish, and living with someone who is selfish.  You can also only find it if you stop selfishly seeking it, and turn to the Universal Spirit.  If you don’t, you will always eventually end up with a deep pit of loneliness and pain inside. That applies to all other kinds of selfish desires also, not just relationships (it’s just that relationships are the ultimate self get off and possession).  You will only find love, peace, and true happiness when you turn back towards God, let that love fill you over the brim, and spill over onto everyone else.

Focusing on caring only about others is also a way in which the “struggle” disappears.  There is a great line in an old Joni Mitchell song, that goes something like this: “I hate you some, I love you some.  I love you, when I forget about me”.  “The jealousy, the greed is the unraveling, and it undoes all the joy that could be.”

Besides keeping your mind and heart on caring about others, keeping the “big picture” before your mind at all times, also removes self-struggling.  When you realize and keep in mind all the things that are happening on and to this entire world – so many terrible things are happening because of mankind’s general selfishness.  It makes people blind, and gives birth to all the offspring of selfishness, like greed, hate, jealousy, etc..  As almost all the native peoples of many lands say, the time of “the Great Purification” is upon us.  Why? - Because of humankind’s selfishness and resultant actions.  You can see the signs everywhere if you aren’t living in fear and denial.  See the imbalances of a nature going wild, the injustices, torturing, starvation, the daily extinction of species, the wars, killings, the hate, murders, the plagues, the suffering of all kinds that mass numbers of people and life are enduring every moment. When you carry the realization of what is going on all over the planet all the time, it becomes impossible to “struggle” with your silly little self-indulgent issues and complaints.  How big a deal is your lust, or your incredibly overpowering craving for an ice cream, if you are aware that at the moment a hundred beaten tortured women are being gang raped at the same time? How can you get negative about not being able to sexually “score” with a date, or feel sorry for yourself about not having a relationship or being “dumped”, when you really have in your mind the starvation of a whole nation of children, some of whom are alone because their family is already dead?  And how can you get negative about being tired, having sore muscles and joints, and not getting a massage, while at the same time somewhere else on earth, someone is being tortured? And that’s just thinking about the suffering that is happening now, let alone thinking about things like the Great Purification and all the suffering people will be going through then.  It puts it all into perspective.  And it should be on your mind all the time – it will change your life, change the way you think and do everything, if you will embrace it.  It’s similar to those who have gone through near death experiences.  And both things, rather than bringing fear into your heart, will bring compassion, caring, and with unselfish love, peace.  Rather than fear and focus on death, it will bring wonder and an enjoyment of every precious moment of life.  It will bring disinterest in the petty things that selfish humans make big deals about.  And instead of getting “bummed out” about having a “hard day”, or being obsessed with something you want, or not getting what you want, or having to face a fear that will set you free, you will look at all those things like they were no more than a piece of lint on your jacket.  You can then be free to live on and spiritually grow without the big “struggles”.  (by the way, I’d like to recommend a couple of movies here.  For seeing the effects of one man’s facing death without fear, I advise Jeff Bridge’s “Fearless”.  For getting an idea of the reality of selfish relationships, try “Denial”, and “Happiness”.  On a separate issue, for those who have seen the old Tyrone Power version of “Razor’s Edge” recommended in the book, also try Bill Murray’s modern version).

So decide now, commit to SOMETHING unswervingly now.  First ask yourself, and answer “Who are you?”  Then after you’ve really decided that, ask yourself “What do you want?”  If you decide you are a soul, a spiritual being, then make a true commitment to a path that will get you WHAT YOU WANT (which means no more struggling).  If you don’t understand what “commitment” means, look it up.    A REAL commitment is something you don’t break or give up on, ever.  Even if you’re being tortured, even if you’ve lost everything in your life, even if you must walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Then can any of the following be reasons for breaking your commitment: Because you’re lonely, want a massage, want sex, want some indulgent food, want a drink or drug fix, are tired or lazy, or you’re ego is getting threatened and attacked instead of bolstered, etc..  I don’t think so.  Keep things in perspective.  Decide who you are then choose what you really want so you are doing what you really want rather than struggling to do something you don’t want to do.  Whatever your decision, it is your free will choice and you will reap the consequences.   As for my personal wishes for you, I hope you open your eyes, and look up from your little life, before it’s gone.  I hope that you don’t squander your life in the frustration and pain of forever pursuing the next self-indulgence, and the next, and the next, and the next…  I hope you finally wake up from your own suffering and see through the illusion of separateness that caused it.  I hope you see the pain and suffering you cause your self and others, and that which all the other separate selfish selves cause themselves and others. I hope you finally realize that you are indeed a spiritual being and WANT to walk the path to return home to the inner peace and selfless love of the Universal Spirit.  After completing that, then you will find inner peace and true love.  Then you will face the choice of staying amongst the selfish people who are still lost, suffering and trapped in the illusion of being separate, in order to help them by your example and presence.  If you choose that route, you will suffer a new pain, the pain of compassion, but your inner peace will make it bearable.  Or you can choose to live with the others who, like yourself, changed themselves from selfish beings, into beings who live in a state of love, a state of constant giving and caring about others. That, is truly heaven.  But it must be earned by changing yourself FIRST.   

BIO, AND FICTION BOOKS ON THE HORIZON

At the request of some of our readers, I intend to begin work on a biography.  Even though such trivia is insignificant to the teachings,  many people have requested it, and it could be helpful to those who want to become teachers someday.  I have no idea when this will be completed, but it will get done if God is willing and my health holds out.

I’m also trying to finish a really fun, yet profound, fiction book I actually began writing before I had to get busy writing the “Lost Teachings”.  A fun fiction book about the last days of Atlantis, that still uses many elements of the reality and lifestyles of those times, could be enjoyable for both the readers of the “Lost Teachings”, and also subtly introduce aspects of the teachings to a whole new group of readers that don’t read spiritual philosophy (but who gain some insight and inspiration from fiction).  For instance, "Stranger in a strange land", and the sci-fi fiction series, "Babylon Five" have much to offer spiritually.  

This new fiction book, presently titled “The Atlantis Chronicles”,  is a blend of sci-fi, action, mystery, and fantasy, that I hope many of you will like. It is the first in a “cliffhanger” series, and is already completed, but only in it’s first draft.  I still need to re-write it a few times, and hopefully get some good editing help.  It should be available well before the biography. Keep checking our websites for updates.

Many people make weight loss or diets their new years resolution. Here's some advice for them.

One of the biggest New Year’s resolutions is getting in shape.  It’s also one of the most broken resolutions, so I thought you should know about this. Especially if you consider the body to be a temple. 

The problem with most weight loss diets (if you aren’t a monk living in a monastery) is that they either leave you hungry, or deny you the foods you love to eat.  It seems there is now a solution – a diet that let’s you enjoy almost all of your favorite foods, desserts and candy, as much as you like.  And according to many (including a famous heart surgeon), it is also a very healthy diet.  We think that if you are overweight, or have other problems, and already very imbalanced, it is probably true.  He is an MD, says he was a heart surgeon, and thousands of patients didn't need an operation after going on the diet, and lost weight. It is very difficult to stay on an organic vegetarian or semi vegetarian healthy diet when you travel all the time, and eat out.  Thus, my body got out of balance.  I went on this diet after suffering many heart attacks, and having a half-dozen crippling heart pain attacks daily.  They stopped after I started this diet, and HGH (FDA disclaimer: this is not medical advice, just my experience, always check with your doctor before doing something like this).  But in my opinion, this is an imbalanced diet, but works for imbalanced conditions.  After reversing the imbalances, I went back to a more normal healthy diet, such as that laid out in the book. But I maintained a relatively low carb diet by limiting my intake of grains or grain products, and no sugar including honey.  And of course, sugar free is great to keep kids from getting weird, and cavities.

Check out the Atkin's or other low carb diets. Also, for powerful help with habit changing or other self improvement issues, see the special sounds and hypnotherapy site for weight loss, sexual, spiritual and many other CDs hypnosis tapes and downloads from a Stanford MD PhD that have real science and spirituality behind them. Also, if you're a diabetic (or know someone who is) or want healthy treats for the kids, check out the low carb and sugar free recipes, carb counters, and gourmet quality foods, candy and goodies from the below site.  http://www.lowcarbyummies.com or Click here for more information on the diet.  

 A “REVIEW” OF THE A.R.E., BY ME.

The ARE (Association for Research and Enlightenment), is an organization founded by the late, famous American prophet/psychic, Edgar Cayce, to promote spiritual research & enlightenment.  As some of you know, Cayce gave a prophetic reading in 1934, predicting the coming of a “John Peniel”.  The reading indicated this would be a VERY important turning point for the world, in that Peniel would be  a spiritual messenger who would be giving to the world the next step for spiritual growth, and "the new order of things" for a new age.   Our book was first published in 1998 without us being aware of that reading.  It was one reading out of thousands, and I never claimed to be the Peniel that Cayce predicted. In fact, I made great efforts to publish anonymously (provable), including submitting the book anonymously to the ARE press (their book publishing branch). Many ARE members however, (including those in Cayce material study groups) and independent Cayce readers, have, after reading the book and the teachings, contacted us, saying they belief that I am the Peniel prophesied by Cayce.  They then began to study the teachings, and practice them, and form new study groups based on the teachings. Whether Cayce was referring to me or not, doesn't really matter because the only thing that matters is getting teachings out that help people, particularly helping people to return from the suffering of their separation from God/the Universal Spirit, back to harmony with, and serving God's will. 

I do know though, that the teachings are in-sync with the Cayce readings, and can take those who have found truth in them, to the next step in living and implementing those truths.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the ARE has thus far refused to even discuss anything with us, or respond to letters I personally sent to everyone I could find in their governing hierarchy.  So, I have written an important open letter to the ARE, and a link to it should be available on the http://www.atlantis.to home page. 

May you be consciously One with the Universal Spirit,
GWBD,

Jon   

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