“Message” is a Worldwide Phenomenon

Although this project has been in the making for almost three years, it only went live on the Web at around Christmas 2008. Since then, through personal challenges and changes, it’s grown into a worldwide phenomenon — and I’m NOT exaggerating.

First off, some numbers:

READ IT: As of October 19, 2009, more than 2,000 people have viewed “A Message From God”  on Scribd! That includes 54 downloads and added to 30 reading lists. When you factor in the people who have received it via email (and probably forwarded to some of their loved ones), it’s safe to say that nearly 3,000 people have been exposed to it. That’s simply awesome and humbling to me.

WATCHED IT: The video on YouTube has been viewed 620 times. Hot spots around the world: South Africa, The Philippines, Argentina and the U.K.

FACEBOOKED IT: There are now more than 250 fans on the AMFG Facebook page. What’s fascinating to me is how the message seems to be resonating with young people in The Philippines, Singapore and the surrounding areas. In fact, about 110 of those fans are from Southern Asia and the Pacific Islands. There are fans in India, Bahrain, Sudan and Pakistan. And if you’re not a fan yet on Facebook, what are you waiting for?

I want to thank each of you reading this for participating in this project, and for sharing it with those you love. There have been times when I’ve hesitated about moving forward with this project, mostly out of fear. But through it all, I’ve been able to quiet the fearful noises and listen to the quiet voice of The Author, which has given me that legendary “blessed assurance.” The more I watch this project touch lives, the more grateful I am to be its messenger.

In the coming months, look for more features and additions to the site, including more bloggers from various belief systems, a recommended reading list, live chats and more video content. Stay tuned!

All that said, I’d love to hear your feedback! If you’ve read “A Message From God,” watched the video, or read any of the blogs, speak up! The object of this was never to have a one way communication. Post a message on one of the blog posts to let me know what you think!

Onward and upward,

Lee

IMAGINE That

This song says it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okd3hLlvvLw

God bless us everyone as we dare to imagine and live to make the dream a reality.

Thich Nhat Hanh and the Practice of Mindfulness

I first ran across the name of Thich Nhat Hahn in an airport bookstore. No less than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself nominated Thich for the Nobel Prize in 1967, with the following ringing endorsement:

I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize than this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam…. He is a holy man, for he is humble and devout. He is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity.
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Anyway, the book was entitled “Going Home: Jesus and Buddha As Brothers.” As someone who believes that Jesus was not the only great spiritual teacher, this intrigued me enough to pick up the book, which is so indescribably peaceful to read that I’m not even going to try to do so here. Suffice to say that since then, I’ve read many of Thich’s books, including True Love and Peace Is Every Step.

Earlier this month, Thich was scheduled to come to Magnolia Village in Batesville, Mississippi, where I was planning to go and learn from him. Unfortunately, he caught pneumonia and was hospitalized. But while I couldn’t make the trip, I ran across this piece by Ryan Croken at Religious Dispatches. Has to do with how we define “toughness.” I hope you enjoy it!

Of Monks and Men: A New Kind of American Toughness | ReligionDispatches.

Parable of the Cast Iron Skillet

Being from small-town Mississippi, I have had many, many, MANY meals prepared in a cast iron skillet — the big black ones that fry everything — from catfish and fried chicken to pork chops and hot water cornbread. Delicious. And what’s more, the cast iron skillet is respected in kitchens worldwide. Most importantly, it’s respected in mine.

But if you think you’re gonna just go into Wal-Mart and buy one . . . well, you can. They’re not that expensive. But if you think you’re going to come straight home and start to fry up some delicious fish, think again. Your skillet must be SEASONED. Not in a “put some salt and pepper on it” kind of way.

Seasoning a skillet involves oiling your skillet up and putting it into the oven at an extremely HIGH temperature for several hours. It goes into the oven a sort of grayish color and comes out much darker if not straight up black. There will be smoke. There will be fumes. And obviously, there will be heat. But once it’s done, the skillet will provide an optimal non-stick surface, that is known for its even distribution of heat, which facilitates great cooking.

As I write this, a long and extremely painful divorce process seems to be coming to an end. There has been no shortage of heartbreak, sleepless nights, loss of appetite, racing thoughts and anxiety. Part of the way I’ve dealt with the heat of this is by pouring my energy into this project — allowing God to transform my pain into something that serves the greater good.

And while this situation tests the boundaries of what I think I can take, through it all, I can say I feel that I have been “seasoned” — much like a cast iron skillet. I feel stronger. Tougher. To some degree, non-stick even. I feel like the time is coming when I will be removed from the oven and allowed to cool for a while. And when that happens, I’ll be primed for some great cooking from The Author (God).

You too, are dealing with some challenges — some situations you wonder if you will survive. You wonder: if you do survive, what will you be like on the other side? Well, The Author is seasoning you for great things. You are being prepared for the next phase of your life — and when you come out on the other side (operative word: WHEN), you will come out with a greater sense of calm. You will have seen tremendous storms, and they won’t scare you so much anymore. Your strength will become an anchor for those who witness the way you withstand the heat, and the way you allow yourself to be used for the greater good.

So in the midst of your seasoning, and hot and painful as it is, focus on these things:

• First and foremost, remember what Jesus taught us: Greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. My translation: There’s NOTHING that The Christ Within you can’t bring you through. NOTHING.
• Stay focused on doing the best you can with each day. Your best isn’t going to be the same every day, but if you can go to sleep knowing you gave your best, then you have earned a good night’s rest.
• Be cheerful, even if it’s hard. Meet the day with a gentle smile.
• Be grateful for what you have in the moment, even the small things. Thank God for that great cup of coffee. Savor it. Thank God for your time with your children, even when they misbehave a bit.
• Surrender your situation to The Christ Within, and let it go. Your problem may be bigger than you, but God is bigger than it. God doesn’t work in a linear way, which means you won’t always be able to see how God’s going to bring you through. You just have to trust and have faith.
• Help others. One of the simplest and easiest ways to get your mind off your own problems is to help someone else solve theirs. Don’t meddle, but if the Inner Voice of the Author guides you to help someone, do it. It’s good for your soul. And it allows you to sow seeds of healing — and remember, as you sow, so shall you reap.

In the midst of your seasoning, there are many things you will not be able to control. But what you can control are your choices. YOU choose how you move through the process. YOU choose the attitude you have in the midst of it. YOU choose who you are being in relationship to it. Choose wisely. Choose from love. Eventually the heat will die down.

And then, my friend . . .  THEN, it’s time to COOK!

9/11: A Day of Forgiveness

NOTE: I wrote the following as we approached the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. My vision at the time was to launch a National Forgiveness Movement, with 9/11 becoming a National Day of Forgiveness. A website was created called Forgivethem.org (for those of you who have noticed that in the back of the PDF).

Other things have happened in my life and the world since this was written, but on today, the eighth anniversary of 9/11, much of it still rings true. Thus I share it with you. Our world is in pain. Forgiveness is a good place to start. — LES

————-

So it hit me last fall right around my birthday . . . which happens to be two days before September 11, a day which shall, as they say, “live in infamy.” And I’m thinking to myself that the wound that’s still aching from that day will be reopened every year, with varying degrees of memory and pain. Reliving the same horrible day over and over and over again.

Since then, the U.S. has launched “a global war on terror,” which has got to be the most bass ackward war ever launched. I’m not going to get into the politics of it, but my reason for calling the “War on Terror” a “traveshamockery” is quite simply that WAR BREEDS TERROR. Name for me one time — just ONCE — that WAR didn’t terrify somebody, somewhere. What this war is unwisely doing is creating terror in the hearts of people around the world, which can only breed more terrorists. It’s a classic case of fighting fire with fire — somebody may actually win, but before not the whole damn house burns down.

Out of all of this, an idea hit me. It’s too big for me to claim credit for . . . I defer to the Higher Power, which you can call whatever you want. And the idea is quite simply this:

Forgive Everyone For Everything.

Forgive Al-Qaeda. Forgive the 9/11 terrorists. Forgive Saddam, North Korea, Iran . . . Forgive the Republicans and Democrats . . . Forgive your Ex, your baby’s momma, that guy who mugged you . . . EVERYBODY. FOR EVERYTHING. I’ll explain HOW to forgive later, but quickly on the WHY.

Why? Simply because holding onto anger, fear, resentment, hatred . . . if you spend all your time and energy consumed with these emotions, THEY WILL KILL YOU. In its purest form, forgiveness is VERY SELFISH. It’s something YOU do FOR YOURSELF. While others may benefit from it, it’s mostly FOR YOU. Obviously, we can go deeper into this, and we will as this movement gets going.

We live in a society where FEAR is CONTINUOUSLY pumped into our lives . . . From the war on terror to identity theft to Social Security. When you have this many people afraid at one time, it’s a recipe for disaster. Fear turns to hatred, hatred turns to rage. Rage and weapons of mass destruction DO NOT MIX.

For WAR and FIGHTING to stop, somebody has to stop swinging at each other. One way is to beat the other guy into submission. That’s NOT WORKING so far. So we have to try SOMETHING else. Why not forgiveness?

I’m not talking about forgetting valuable lessons learned. I’m not saying to ignore precautions. I’m saying you release the emotional attachment to however it was you were wronged.

As corny as it sounds, what the world really does need now is LOVE. And it starts with FORGIVENESS.

Originally, the idea of a National Day of Forgiveness was what hit me. I looked into booking the Smithsonian Mall for 9/11/05, but instead, I’m getting married that weekend. Yet, I still have a vision that hundreds of thousands of people with gather in a spirit of forgiveness.

In the meantime, the movement starts HERE. Post your thoughts and ideas. Let’s create a better world through FORGIVENESS.

Lee

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