Yes, not just to your spiritual well-being, but to your physical, psychological, emotional, social, and even financial well-being as well. There is nothing else in Life that can bring you security, health, prosperity, happiness, and inner peace faster or more abundantly than the achieving of Completion. This is, of course, the opposite of what you have been told. There are, you have been advised, many other things to which you must pay attention.

You have been told that to be happy in Life you need to get the guy, get the girl, get the car, get the job, get the house, get the spouse, get the kids, get the better job, get the better house, get the promotion, get the grandkids, get the gray hair, get the office in the corner, get the retirement watch, get the illness, get the burial plot, and then get out.

You have been told that you need to obey God’s commands, do God’s will, follow God’s law, spread God’s word, and fear God’s wrath, for when you face God’s judgment you will be begging for God’s mercy—and, depending on your offenses, you may not get it, but rather, may find yourself condemned to everlasting and unbearable torture in the fires of hell.

You have been told about the Survival of the Fittest and that To the Victor Go the Spoils, that Nice Guys Finish Last and that The One with the Most Toys Wins, that It’s Every Man for Himself and that The End Justifies the Means, that Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees and that You’re to Be Seen and Not Heard and that You Are Not to Color Outside the Lines and that You Made Your Bed and Now You Have to Lie in It.

You have been told that There Is Only One Way to Heaven and You’d Better Get It Right, that It’s Us Against Them, and that You Can’t Fight City Hall; that you should Never Raise Your Head Above the Crowd, that You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It, and that you should Never Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch.

Your Mind has been filled with many, many others messages that have created a day-to-day reality so far removed from your real reason for being on the Earth that it is a wonder you find any joy or excitement in life at all.

* * *

Now you are being told that the only thing that matters doesn’t have to do with any of this. The missing puzzle piece revolves around how you reach Completion on The Sacred Journey of the Soul. Can this be true?

It can, and it is.

But don’t worry; going where your Soul seeks to go will not deny you the Good Life. Completion of the Agenda of the Soul will get you everything that your Body and your Mind signal to you that they desire to enjoy.

This is not about giving up one aspect of Life for another. Trust that. Pay attention to the Soul’s Agenda, and to what it takes to complete it, and the rest of Life—not only what you desire, but all that you may imagine that you need—will take care of itself. It will take care of itself by itself.

Or, to paraphrase a far more eloquent statement:

Don’t go around asking,
“What are we to eat?” “What are we to drink?”
“Wherewithal shall we clothe ourselves?”
Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven,
and all else shall be added unto you.

The “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Completion of The Sacred Journey” refer to the same experience. The problem with both phrases is that no one has lately (if ever) explained or described to you what this experience is, and how to achieve it.

* * *

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a physical location, it is a State of Being. It is, in fact, the state of being “Complete.” And so it is perfect that the two phrases are used here interchangeably.

It is literally “heaven” for humans to find themselves in a state in which there is nothing left to be, do, or have in any given Moment in order to experience inner peace, total love, and absolute bliss, because All That Is and all that one could ever desire is fully present, fully expressed, and fully experienced Right Here, Right Now.

You are Complete.

The Agenda of the Soul is to bring The Totality of You to this very State, so that the aspect of Life that is called “you” may express, experience, reflect, demonstrate, and personify the aspect of Life that is called Divinity.

This is your Basic Instinct.

* * *

Survival is the Basic Instinct of most chemical or biological life forms. It is what makes flowers turn toward the sun. It is what makes birds fly to warmer climates. It is what makes turtles recede into their shells. It is what makes lions roar and rattlesnakes shake their rattle.

Survival is not, however, the Basic Instinct of human beings—nor of any sentient creatures in the cosmos who have evolved into Self Consciousness. For such beings, the Basic Instinct is Divinity.

If your Basic Instinct were survival, you would run away from the flames of the burning house. But you run into the flames, because you’ve heard a baby cry. In that Moment your survival is not the issue.

If your Basic Instinct were survival, you would turn away from the man with the gun. But you stand between the man and the person he is assaulting. In that Moment your survival is not the issue.

Something deep inside of you, something you cannot describe or name, calls to you in such Moments to demonstrate at the highest level Who You Really Are.

People who have done this, when interviewed by the newspapers later, never put it that way, of course. They say they simply acted on instinct.

But it surely could not have been survival instinct, for their actions defied survival. Yet they had no fear—not even a thought of fear—at the time, because Who They Really Are knows that survival is not the issue. It knows that their survival is guaranteed. There are no questions about whether they will survive, the only questions are: How? In what form? Why? And for what purpose?

These become, in moments of self-realization, Life’s Only Inquiries. And in moments of self-realization, the Mind and the Soul answer as One.

Instantly.

* * *

As a human, your Basic Instinct is on display when the Complete Being that is you is Completely Remembered, Recreated, Reintegrated, and Reunited with Divinity.

Even as the tiniest cell within you is a member of your Body, so is every element of physical Life a member of the Body of God. When the Mind’s Experience and the Soul’s Knowledge combine to produce elevated Consciousness, human beings choose to experience themselves once again as members of the Body of God. They are thus said to have Re-Membered.

====================================================
The above excerpt is from The Only Thing That Matters, which the author, Neale Donald Walsch, has described as the most important writing he has been inspired to produce since Conversations with God-Book One

One of the suggestions all newcomers get in the 12 Step program is to not make any major decisions for the first year.  I had decided I wanted to quit smoking during my first year of recovery, and my sponsor and many people in the 12 Step meetings advised me against doing so.  I took their advice, and when I had 18 months sober, I quit smoking cold turkey.  Second best thing I ever did, by the way.

I have asked a lot of people along the way why caffeine isn’t considered a problem drug or one that should be avoided by addicts in recovery.  I haven’t received a very good reason from even the most scholarly of my teachers.  I’m thinking this could be due to the widespread use of this drug, along with a teaspoon of denial.  The best answer I have been given may well be the following:

There aren’t too many people suffering deep consequences from drinking coffee, tea, or sodas.  “Nobody is breaking into cars or mugging people to fund their Starbucks habit.”

You won’t get an argument from me there.  Compared to the consequences I and many others experienced from our addictions — drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, pornography, electronics, always being right, greed, power — caffeine would seem to be as innocuous as broccoli!

Yet for me, I feel that caffeine is causing undesirable effects that I no longer wish to experience.  I am not comfortable knowing that if I choose to not have my morning coffee, by afternoon, I will get a headache.  That is kind of a red flag of addiction, isn’t it?  I also don’t care for the jittery nerves and the rapid thoughts that accompany my cup of java.

I have also used caffeine to exceed what my body’s tolerance is.  I have overexerted myself many times with the use of caffeinated beverages.  That is a pretty big consequence for me nowadays.  I am very conscious of taking better care of my body, and by pushing it beyond the point of fatigue is no longer something I wish to do.

But here is the reason that brings me to this decision so resolutely:  I want to experience my thoughts, my feelings, my emotions, my passions, my interactions with others without a chemical in my system that has the ability to pass through the blood brain barrier and tinker with my brain chemistry.  I no longer wish to artificially alter my mood, energy, or creativity.

If I want my mood elevated, I can train my mind to think the thoughts that elevate my mood and do the things that bring me joy.  If I want to have more energy, that is as simple as eating foods that do not drag my system down.  Fruits and vegetables, nuts and berries are very high in energy and easy for the body to digest.  Eating light foods like fish and chicken that are not fried or smothered in greasy, creamy sauces will also keep my energy high.

On the spiritual path of life, I find it important to follow my gut instincts.  What is good for some may not be good for others.  If you are questioning a behavior of your own, over and over again, it is probably your soul giving you a nudge to consider a different direction.  Conversations with God, Book 1, says, “The work of the soul is to wake yourself up.”  I am going to listen to the message this time around.

Is your soul knocking on the door?  Is there something that you keep thinking you should be doing or not doing that you continuously ignore?  What is stopping you?  Fear of failing?  I have quit coffee dozens of times.  Relapse is a part of recovery.  Our past experience is always a valuable tool in our day-to-day decisions.

Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional. He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, life coach, and interventionist specializing in individual and family recovery. You can visit his website for more information at www.Kevin-Spiritualmentor.com  To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com or call 407-808-6431.

Frank, Pennsylvania

Ah decisions, decisions.  I don’t know about you, Frank, but to me the worst part about making the “wrong” decision is that I am the one who makes it, the responsibility falls on me.  But then, nearly in the same instant sometimes, I remember that because the responsibility falls on me, there is no such thing as a “wrong” decision.  In other words, you make a choice and then you make that choice the “right” choice.  You are the one who gives meaning to it, you are the one who creates what your experience is.

You see, we can’t lose at this game of life, Frank, not really.  That’s because we’re making it all up.  Events show up in our lives and we are all at choice as to how we want to experience those events, where we want to place our focus and attention.  It’s the same with a choice we have already made – the event has happened and now we get to decide how we want to experience it, how we wish to view that choice.  And if I may, why on earth would we choose to view something as the “wrong” choice, full of regret, resentment, and feeling bad about ourselves, when we can just as easily say that this was a fantastic choice and feel great about ourselves?

As for the curiosity over what taking that other job would’ve meant for your life, well, make that up too.  Give it meaning and proceed with your life from there.  Our brains, our bodies even, respond to what we think.  And furthermore, our minds don’t know the difference between memory, imagination, and “reality”; it will produce the same chemical reactions and physiological responses no matter what.  So again I say, why not make up (a.k.a. giving meaning to) something that feels good?

And if by chance we decide that something was the “wrong” choice, remember this: opportunities in life are endless, literally endless.  There are more combinations of the elements and stuff of life than our minds could ever comprehend, there will always be something else available for you.  Strive to keep your attention on the good, on gratitude and possibility and love as much as you can and your awareness of those opportunities will increase.

So go ahead and take a deep breath, Frank.  Stop telling yourself you made the wrong choice and start telling yourself you made the right one.  Give meaning to taking this job closer to home, and come from a place of what you want to say about it, with you as the authority on the matter.

(Nova Wightman is a CWG Life Coach, as well as the owner and operator of Go Within Life Coaching, www.gowithincoaching.com, specializing in helping individuals blend their spirituality with their humanity in a way that makes life more enjoyable, easy, and fulfilling.  She can be reached at Nova@theglobalconversation.com. )

(If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to: Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

An additional resource:  ChangingChange.net offers spiritual assistance from a team of non-professional/volunteer Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less. Nothing on the CCN site should be construed or is intended to take the place of or be in any way similar to professional therapeutic or counseling services.  The site functions with the gracious willing assistance of lay persons without credentials or experience in the helping professions.  What these volunteers possess is an awareness of the theology of Conversations with God.  It is from this context that they offer insight, suggestions, and spiritual support during moments of unbidden, unexpected, or unwelcome change on the journey of life.

“You are not the body. You are not the mind. You are not even the soul. You are all three – and more.” from When Everything Changes Change Everything.

We are in a battle for balance in our lives. We constantly get pushed and pulled away from our focus, distracted, and stressed. How in the world are we supposed to create a balance between body, mind, soul, and more?

In order to make sure that we have a balanced life, we need to eat a balanced diet. But what does that mean? We must consider not only what we eat (protein, fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, water, fats) but also the flavors, temperatures, and textures of our foods.

One way to balance our foods is to consider the Yin and Yang properties of each food. Yin foods are expanding, cool, moistening foods such as fruits and vegetables, sweet foods, raw foods, alcohol, and cool foods. Yang foods are animal based, fish, meat, eggs, salty foods, hot foods. If we eat too much of a yin food, we can trigger cravings for yang foods. For instance, if we eat too much salt we may later crave sweets.

It is best to avoid the extreme yin or yang foods. Extreme yin foods include alcohol, sugar, fruit juices, nightshade vegetables, and dairy products. Extreme yang foods include salty cheeses, red meat, eggs, caviar, and sea salt. But feel free to load up on foods that are closely balanced such as nuts, fruits, vegetables, beans, tofu, sea vegetables, whole grains, and fish.

Another way to balance your food is to include all of the Ayurvedic tastes in every meal. In this way, you will help avoid cravings because every flavor has been received by the brain. The six flavors in Ayurveda are

• Sweet – fruits, grains, sugars, dairy
• Salty – salts and sea vegetables
• Sour – sour fruits, yogurt, fermented foods
• Bitter – dark leafy greens, herbs and spices
• Pungent – chili peppers, garlic, herbs and spices
• Astringent – legumes, raw fruits and vegetables, herbs

Try to balance the flavors in your meals by keeping a set of condiments on your dining room table – select from any flavorings, spices, herbs, oils, vinegars, and butters you like and keep a variety available within reach at every meal.

Paying attention to balance in your foods will help you maintain balance in your entire life.

(Beth Anderson is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and a Certified Natural Health Practitioner. She is the founder of Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana and author of The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life. Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. An expert in holistic and alternative health, Beth thoroughly enjoys educating and inspiring people to learn about the truths of food, consumer products, environmental issues, and life choices. She speaks nationally and publishes articles regularly on several internet wellness sites. Beth provides individual and group holistic health coaching and works with companies to provide wellness programs, workshops, and individualized coaching services for employees. You can find Beth on Facebook  or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)

Intrigued?

Read on…

May I share a possibility with you, one that caused my life to alter so dramatically that it changed the course of my life forever. In fact, I wouldn’t be writing this to you today without it. You might be thinking by now that it was reading books like Conversations with God. Well you would be partly correct, but it wasn’t just reading CwG that made the difference for me.

About 14 years ago, I embarked on a spiritual quest, to find my truth about God and life. I was 12 years sober at the time, but I was missing something, as my life experience was anything but happy, joyous and free. One day in a meeting, while thinking of my challenge, I looked up at the AA 12 steps and had a realization: I had no clue what my truth about God was. It said, “God, as you understand God,” but in that moment I realized I didn’t have a clue what that meant for me. Sure, I had my ideas about it, my childhood upbringing, but clearly those weren’t working, or I would have been happy.

Later that year, after much contemplation and searching, I began a course of study which took me down the comparative religion path. All of it was really very interesting and helpful stuff as a whole new world began to open up for me. But nothing really knocked my socks off; that was, until this happened.

I was right in the middle of studying Christian history and theology at the time. I wish I remembered the date, but I will never forget the day. CwG, Book 1, showed up, not once, not twice, but three times from three different sources. I had dismissed the first one simply because my thought was that I had a stack of books at home to read, like I really needed another book on that pile? I don’t think so. Later that day, I was sitting in a Chiropractor’s office and something caught my eye. I looked up at their lending library and, low and behold, there was CwG, Book 1, on tape. I pulled it out to look at it, but once again dismissed it thinking I was just too busy. That evening, I was watching a game show, and as if God needed to hit me with a two-by-four, there was a question in the category “New York Times Best Sellers”:  “Name the author of Conversations with God”… Okay, whatever!

After I picked myself up off of the floor, I jumped into my car and drove down to the bookstore. I may be slower than some, but after the third time, I got it. I began reading the book that evening – big mistake.  Who needs sleep anyway? Well, probably like you, I began to make the journey with Neale, as he asked the questions and God answered.

Yes, reading the book moved me and I had to learn more. I read all the books available, which at the time was only the first three. I had an excitement. Like a treasure hunter finding clues, I knew I was on the right path. I found out that Neale was going to be speaking in my area, so I bought a ticket. A week later, I went to Sedona, Arizona, for my very first retreat. I followed the breadcrumbs to an invitation that I knew was changing my life.

I felt there was something for me within having this whole “Conversation with God” experience. I was led to these books and retreat by a communication from God; I just wasn’t talking back. But I was paying attention to the signs that led me all the way to Sedona. I watched and listened as this regular guy named Neale, who had a boat-load of living problems, shared his story of transformation and the invitation that God gave to him. His was to be a messenger, and his invitation was for me to consider being one, too.

In that moment, I heard the call and I knew this would benefit me greatly. If I could really get a grasp on the concepts within the CwG message, maybe I could live them. If I could incorporate them into my life, I knew I would reap the rewards of living my life in that new way. Perhaps I could be happy, joyous and free. The breadcrumb trail had led me to a guy who had a conversation with God and who suggested that I help others as a way of helping myself. Oh, I got it, the 12th step of AA. “Having had a spiritual awakening, help others have one too.” I can do this!

I now pass along that same invitation to you. One very simple way of helping yourself and others transform is by starting a CwG Study Group. I did so for seven years in the San Diego area and not only was a new man born out of it, so was a new career. I continued to follow the breadcrumbs, which led me all the way here, now as the Executive Director of the Conversations with God Foundation. How do you plan for something like that? Yet there was a path and there is one who knows your heart and soul. What is God saying to you? Was this invitation written directly for you?

Here is the best part: I will help you create a Study Group if you hear that call. You must answer. I will also help you transform your life, not because there is something wrong with your life, but because like me, you wish to become a grander version of yourself. That was the call I answered — to become the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever I held of who I am. I knew within my heart that if I could be around the messages of CwG enough, that I could begin to live them. And what better way than sitting in front of the room. I heard things come out of my mouth in those meetings that were sometimes astonishing to me. I was being a vessel for wisdom to flow through and gaining that wisdom in the process.

I promise that your life will change forever.

Interested?

Reach out to me:  JR@CWG.ORG

I will be offering a conference call on Wednesday, June 19th, at noon pacific time for those interested in learning more. I will show you how easy it is to do. Does it take a year to transform?  No.  But it will take about a year just to get through Book 1 in a study group and discussion. And you will be a different person in that year.

I was forever transformed. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the conference call info.

Looking forward to speaking with you soon! – JR

(J.R. Westen, D.D., C.Ad, is a Holistic Health & Spiritual Counselor who has worked and presented side-by-side with Neale Donald Walsch for over a decade. He is passionate about helping individuals move beyond their emotional and spiritual challenges, transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs. His counseling and coaching provides practical wisdom and guidance that can be immediately incorporated to shift one’s experience of life. As is true for most impactful teachers, J.R.’s own struggles and triumphs inspired him to find powerful ways of helping others. Sober since June 1, 1986, J.R.’s passion for helping individuals move through intense life challenges drove him to also specialize in Addiction and Grief Recovery. J.R. currently shares his gift of counseling & coaching with individuals from around the world through the Wellness Center, Simply Vibrant, located on Long Island N.Y. In addition, he operates “Change House” a place where people come to transform. He also works with Escondido Sobering Services and now serves as the Director for the Conversations with God Foundation. He can be contacted at JR@CWG.ORG. )

I was delighted when all 14 of those on my Facebook page responded with thumbs up to this thought. I have been searching, just one of several avenues of thought to explore in my quiet times with God, for what we impart to our young women that we do not impart to our young men to the same degree. What is this life coping mechanism we share with women but fail to share with men? What is it that causes men to choose mass murder and gang shootings as a solution for solving problems? What is that difference in what we teach our children?

Today I found a partial answer to my question. Women are nurturers in far greater numbers than men. We need to greatly improve what we teach our young men about nurturing if we are serious about helping them change their relationship with one another, women, and society as a whole.

We, the moms and dads of the world are directly responsible for fostering this lack of nurturing in our young men. Yes, the difficulty of giving young men a good balance of nurturing is exacerbated by the social norms we live in, but we are responsible for those too. Social conditions and thinking in our country promote the fact that 95% of all single parent households are headed by women. That does not have to be our way of life. We have chosen it to the detriment of our young men. We moms and dads must teach or sons a different, more nurturing way to view their own parenthood.

I think it is more difficult for women to kill others because they have a deeper respect and feeling for life than men do. This directly relates to nurturing life, which is both a family and social expectation of women. Teach your sons to do for, to care for others, and you will teach them skills and thoughts that help them find better ways to solve their problems than killing one another.

I know this is just one aspect of what our children learn about living life that we should consider and change, but I do think it is a step in the right direction. What do you think? What would you add to this thought? Most importantly, what will you do about the problem? Government and legislation were not meant to solve this problem. But we are responsible and we should do something. Make the relevant changes in what you foster for our children and pass this on to everyone you know, giving them the opportunity to be part of the solution with us.

(Richard A. Thayer is a 65-year-old married father of five and grandpa of four and retired carpenter. He met God while in prison because of his stand against the war in Viet Nam. Richard lives in the USA and has written a book, “Love Alive, My Relationship With The Holy Spirit Of God,” which is available for free at http://ratmanhaye535.wordpress.com.)

(If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)

There are those who say that transparency will never work unless and until all elements, all segments, of society are operating on the same model. I agree that this would be the most effective implementation of the idea. Yet it is clear to me that waiting for all cultures, organizations, institutions, governments, corporations, and individuals on our planet to embrace this notion simultaneously would be a waste of time. Such a shift in global consciousness is never going to happen all at once, with the snap of a finger. How, then, will it be produced? By people, organizations, and governments demonstrating leadership through showing the way.

This will take great courage. Masses of people do not like individual people who show the way to a new lifestyle. We like followers, not leaders.

We accuse leaders of making us “wrong,” of putting down our current way of being, of tearing apart our society with their “new ideas” and their “new rules,” and with their exposing of our foibles and of the non-beneficial outcomes of our present behaviors.

My favorite (and saddest) story about this is the account of Ignaz Semmelweis, described in Wikipedia as a Hungarian physician of German extraction and now known as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures.

According to the Wikipedia article, Dr. Semmelweis “discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. Puerperal fever was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal, with mortality at 10%–35%. Semmelweis postulated the theory of washing with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital’s First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors’ wards had three times the mortality of midwives’ wards. He published a book of his findings in Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever.

“Despite various publications of results where hand-washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis’s observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings.

“Semmelweis’s practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister, acting on the French micropbiologissst’s research, practiced and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success. In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum,  where he died at age 47 after being beaten by the guards as he tried to escape, only 14 days after he was committed.”

Four of the latest people to show us our foibles and the non-beneficial outcomes of our behaviors have been Julian Assange, the Australian Internet activist who is created with having created WikiLeaks; Bradley Manning, a United States Army soldier arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of having passed diplomatic cables and other classified material to WikiLeaks — much of which is said by some to have generated many of the uprisings of what has come to be called the Arab Spring; William Binney, described by Wikipedia as “a former highly placed intelligence official with the United States National Security Agency turned whistleblower,” who has repeatedly claimed that the NSA regularly engages in warrantless eavesdropping, including surveillance of email, phone records, and other data; and Edward J. Snowden, the latest whistleblower, who recently unveiled information about U.S. Government surveillance of phone records and other data from millions of Americans.

All are considered by many to be traitors and criminals, who some believe should be punished by death or by life imprisonment for revealing the military, diplomatic, and security secrets of governments (chiefly, the U.S. Government) to the world.

Whether these men are “traitors” or “heroes” is a matter for history to decide. But they certainly do illustrate the danger of some people practicing transparency while others do not. Lives can be at stake — as those who argue for severe punishment of these men point out. Yet it has also been argued by others that many lives have been saved as a result of their whistleblowing.

Whatever the outcome of their cases and of their lives, there is no question that they and others have placed high on the public agenda the topic of just how open human society should be and can be. And the invitation in Conversations with God is for all of us, on an individual level, to practice complete and utter transparency in our daily lives, personal and business interactions, and intimate relationships — whether or not others are doing so also.

In this, as in all things that produce revolutionary and evolutionary shifts in our global society, somebody has to go first.

Sebastien De La Cruz, 11 years old, a former contestant on the popular television program “America’s Got Talent,” was invited by the NBA to sing the National Anthem at the opening of Game 3 during the finals in San Antonio, Texas.  This adorable and wonderfully talented young man stepped courageously out onto the basketball court in front of thousands of onlookers and performed a rendition of the National Anthem that brought people to their feet, cheering with appreciation.

However, unfortunately, Sebastien De La Cruz was also confronted with the same backlash as General Mills experienced in response to their Cheerios commercial by people who verbally attacked young Sebastien, slinging racial barbs at him on the internet, questioning whether his Mexican heritage deemed him “worthy” of singing the National Anthem, and harshly criticizing the fact that he wore a mariachi outfit during his performance.

The comments that are being circulated are so offensive that I have chosen not to reprint any of them here.  And they most certainly aren’t instrumental in our ability to have a discussion around why and how a young boy — who happens to be an American citizen, by the way — can find himself on the receiving end of such seething hostility and distorted thinking.  What in the world could cause anyone to think and then actually rise to the level of expressing such oppressive and hurtful words to an 11-year-old child?

Will there be a time when we eventually stop defining ourselves by “this” or “that,” “here” or “there,” “have” or “have not,” “better than” or “less than”?

In response to the commotion, Sebastien De La Cruz has demonstrated himself to be a powerful force of wisdom and clarity.  “For those that said something bad about me, I understand it’s your opinion,” said Sebastien to CNN. “I’m a proud American and live in a free country. It’s not hurting me. It’s just your opinion.  Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.”  Sebastien said today was like any other day, but he’s always grateful to wake up to yet another day able to sing. He said he owes his positive outlook to his parents, family and everyone in San Antonio.

Contrary to the negative energy swirling around this story, there has also been an overwhelming show of appreciation and support for Sebastien.  So much so that the San Antonio Spurs invited him back for an encore performance for Game 4.  Sebastien also received encouragement in the form of a Tweet from a very special fan:

“Barack Obama:  Don’t miss @selcharrodeoro’s encore performance of the national anthem at the #NBAFinals in San Antonio tonight.”

In closing, I share with you this from Conversations With God, Book 3:  ”The level of a society’s advancement is reflected, inevitably, in the degree of its duality thinking. Social evolution is demonstrated by movement towards unity, not separatism.”

And the question I proffer to you is:  Which one are we moving towards?

Please enjoy this video of Sebastien De La Cruz’s performance:

(Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)