Thought Reform is Not Love

I truly believe that the root reason of why so many people succumb to mind-controlled practices is out of fear. The Bible teaches that “perfect love casts out fear.”

Fear is only overcome when it is faced- but that is so much easier said than done. Fear has a very deep and complex root system, buried in dark, earthy placed. It takes work to dig it all out and in the meantime what is it that we deal with? The fire-breathing, scaly fear monster itself- and it is prepared to torment us every step of the way. Only perfect love- which is God, can cast it out. Perfect love is undaunted by anything dark and grotesque, within or without. Perfect love is like pure honey- nothing impure can survive in it. Only perfect love can cast out fear.

The fruit of perfect love is gentleness, goodness, kindness, even tempered to all. It is like a mother that cherishes her children and none are exempt from her nurture and care.

But the fruit of fear is judgment, harshness, unkindness, exclusiveness, and irrationality. Love sets a soul free while fear chains a soul.

When your religion makes demands upon you, and asks you to forfeit reason, accept what they do and say without question and instills an intense fear of punishment- the ultimate being everlasting… its not of love, no matter what it thinks. It is based in fear, and fear and love do not dance together- they battle.

Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Point Model of Thought Reform

1. ENVIRONMENT CONTROL. Limitation of many/all forms of communication with those outside the group. Books, magazines,
letters and visits with friends and family are taboo. “Come out and be separate!”

2. MYSTICAL MANIPULATION. The potential convert to the group becomes convinced of the higher purpose and special calling of the group through a profound encounter/experience, for example, through an alleged miracle or prophetic word of those in the group.

3. DEMAND FOR PURITY. An explicit goal of the group is to bring about some kind of change, whether it be on a global, social, or
personal level. “Perfection is possible if one stays with the group and is committed.”

4. CULT OF CONFESSION. The unhealthy practice of self disclosure to members in the group. Often in the context of a public gathering in the group, admitting past sins and imperfections, even doubts about the group and critical thoughts about the integrity of the leaders.

5. SACRED SCIENCE. The group’s perspective is absolutely true and completely adequate to explain EVERYTHING. The doctrine is not subject to amendments or question. ABSOLUTE conformity to the doctrine is required.

6. LOADED LANGUAGE. A new vocabulary emerges within the context of the group. Group members “think” within the very abstract and narrow parameters of the group’s doctrine. The terminology sufficiently stops members from thinking critically by reinforcing a “black and white” mentality. Loaded terms and clichés prejudice thinking.

7. DOCTRINE OVER PERSON. Pre-group experience and group experience are narrowly and decisively interpreted through the
absolute doctrine, even when experience contradicts the doctrine.

8. DISPENSING OF EXISTENCE. Salvation is possible only in the group. Those who leave the group are doomed.

“John Dewey believed that, “the human power to respond to reason and truth protects democracy.” Any organization using coercive persuasion on its members that also claims to be a religion is turning the sacred trust and privileges of our democratic First Amendment sanctuary into a fortress for psychological assault. It is covertly twisting “religious freedom” to deny our more basic constitutional right to unfettered rationality in our freedom of thought and free will.

Freedom of religion cannot exist without first having an absolutely protected freedom of thought. Freedom of religion without freedom of thought is an absurdity.”

Taken from a the webpage: http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/mindcontrol/

 

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The Simplest Answer is Always LOVE!

Lately, it seems to be quite a struggle to hold onto hope for real world peace, to feel safe and secure in life, and to trust in the best intentions of humanity. News headlines lines literally wreak with purifying stories of hatred and malice, murder and deceit, heartache and suffering. I suppose the most baffling aspect of it all is why would things be worse, when there are churches and religions massively covering the earth claiming to teach unity and love? In fact, I don’t think there is hardly a religious person out there that would not agree that LOVE is the key that unlocks happiness, peace, joy, liberation, forgiveness…

Then why, why is the world in such a mess?
Why is religion not impacting the world as it could be?

The reason religion is failing to unify is because of a little conjunction that most religion adds to the simple message to love.

That conjunction is “and”.

What comes after that conjunction is as vast and as varied as personalities are.

Love and go to church
Love and give money
Love and dress the way we dictate
Love and submit to authority
Love and be baptized
Love and call yourself a_____________
Love and join our affiliation
Love and see things the way we see them
Love and agree with everything the pastor preaches
Love and don’t listen to rock music
Love and wear a covering on your head
Love and don’t ask questions
Love and be compliant
Love and serve our church
Love and stay away from______________

On and on and on it goes. Where it stops nobody knows.

Its not what follows the “and” that is the problem. It’s the “and” being there in the first place.
The “and” is what breaks the fellowship. The “and” is what divides. The “and” is what turns love into hypocrisy. The “and” is what removes the unconditional. Its the “and” that provides the excuse to commit atrocities. Its the “and” that inflates the ego. It’s that little conjuntion “and” that is added to the simple message of LOVE that dilutes it and robs it of its potency.

LOVE!

That is the key to world peace. That is the key to happiness. That is the key to Spirit.

God is love. Love is God.

The message of the sages is simple:

LOVE!

Written by Elizabeth A. Van Cleve
10/09/2016

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Don’t Judge Me

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“Don’t judge me” is probably one of the most common phrases thrown out there by humanity. People do not like to be judged by others because they feel like others lack real insight into their own personal situation; and for the most part, this is absolutely true. Even the bible admonishes us about judging in scriptures such as Mathew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye may not be judged” and Romans 14:13 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more.”

But the reality is, we all judge. Insomuch as you declare, “do not judge me” you are judging; you have judged those you believe are judging you.

Judge: To form an opinion about something after careful thought; to regard as either good or bad

There really is no escaping judgement- neither giving or receiving it. So what are these scripture in the Bible about? Let us look at the amplified version of Matthew 7:1-2:

Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. ² For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.

A problem arises when we sit on a pedestal, believing ourselves to be more special or deserving than the hypocrite, the murderer, the thief, the adulterous, the one who disobeys… We cease to see our own spiritual infidelities. Our hearts become unrepentant. We forget that we are all made of the same dirt and will all return to that dirt. Thinking we have judged rightly, we will find in the end that we have misjudged our own position before God. This also carries over to putting some people in higher esteem than others.

You see, the one condemned in your eyes, is the one Jesus Christ died for. The one whom you think yourself superior too, this is the one that “God so loved, that he gave his only begotten Son” for. That one that you have disregarded? That is the one that Christ is seeking to save.

Most people believe they are not judging. But let us consider some trigger words. What sort of thoughts come to mind when you read these words. Ponder them each individually and slowly:

Homosexuality. Muslim. Abortion. Christian. Jesus. Buddha. Science. Family. Gandhi. Mother Theresa. Baptism. Salvation. Heaven. Hell.

This list could be infinite. Each word will conjure up something within your heart, and for each word, you have a personal judgement made about it. The problem does not lie in what your personal perception and understanding of these words is. The problem lies when you attach these labels to people and consequently praise or condemn, befriend or avoid them.

One of the most damaging thoughts out there in our time is the thought of “toxic people.” Many quotes are being circulated in our world about staying away from these toxic-humanoids. Yes, you may as well call it something different than human. This thought process is loaded with judgement and condemnation, because as soon as you have labeled somebody “toxic” you have judged them.

Does that mean that staying away from someone that may harm you or pressure you to go against your own conscience is wrong? No! That is healthy. But, remember, those that deserve our attention the least, may need it the most. If we must, for our own safety, put distance between us and another person, do so with love, praying that this person may get the healing and help they so desperately need. But pushing people out of our lives just because they are different, difficult or not what we expected, is harmful.

Life is not easy- no matter who is in it. This life is meant to teach us lessons and lessons are not learned through ease. We all have a powerful inner-critic at work all the time. Let us not be found guilty of strengthening the inner critic of others.

“Don’t judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes.” 

Too many wear this like a badge of honor, yet do not honor this in others. We cannot sit a critic and condemner and love at the same time.

Most of religion is set up with walls- enclosing people, codes, regulations, laws, hierarchy and tradition inside walls and judging and excluding those who stay without them. There was a letter written to the Galatians dealing with this very thing in chapter 2 we read:

Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really^[b]—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. ⁵ But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. . . ¹⁴ When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? . . . And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. . . I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. ¹⁹ For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. ²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ.^[e] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Many times those who sit in judgement get angry when you highlight these scriptures, because they have turned the Bible into their God and have dissected its words and created another system of laws which was never the purpose of Christ. His purpose was to come and light the way of every man. His purpose was to turn us away from the incessant struggle of habitual fleshly sins, and to allow his light to come into our hearts and lead and guide us.

“Don’t judge me!”

This is impossible. No matter how you live your life, someone here will judge you and condemn you. But as we allow the light of Christ to illuminate our hearts and draw closer and closer to this unconditional love, we will no longer feel the need to defend ourselves, nor to judge others. God’s grace and love will suffice us!

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