Thinking something is not the same as believing something. "I think it is going to rain," is from observation but unless I absolutely know the conditions are right, I don't have a foundation for a belief that it is going to rain. Mother Nature often fools thoughts, even those of a meteorologist.

Believing something will happen does have influence. I prep for it, simply knowing it will happen. I do this somewhere beyond the conscious level in every action I take. The chair will hold me up when I sit on it. The outfit I wore a few days ago will still fit me.

Every soul is made up of beliefs. Every action taken follows a belief. Every decision follows a belief. We live by our beliefs.

We talk because of beliefs, we hear because of our beliefs. We interpret all of our senses according to our beliefs. We smell a rose as sweet because we have been told this is a sweet fragrance. We taste the acidity of a lemon because we have been taught that this is sour. We hear a squeal in our car and believe something is not quite right. We see the moon and believe it is round. A perception is a belief until we prove it to ourselves as otherwise. Beliefs consume our being.

Do beliefs change? Beliefs are like body cells. They multiply and nurture us. Then they die and new cells replace them.

Just as we exercise certain muscles to accomplish our tasks, so do we exercise certain beliefs. We are not aware of some until we take time to go within and investigate those that are less obvious. Some may be hidden behind others. As we open our consciousness to become aware of why our thoughts and actions surface as they do throughout the day, we learn how to adjust our beliefs. We then choose our options of releasing or strengthening them. Awareness is the key. A decision lies in our beliefs.

In the past, I used the term "subconscious" as anything that was not in my awareness at the time. I do not understand or know enough about the functions of the subconscious to use the term in explanation. There seems to be a middle level that is higher than the everyday routine consciousness of activity. I can discuss what comes to surface, what I recognize and give a name, such as Love, Joy and Peace but I do not know how these inter-relate and develop my being on the subconscious level. If I think I know, it is no longer subconscious.

Spiritual beliefs are not always visible. They portray a subtlety that holds my personal universe together. By soul searching, I become aware of myriad spiritual possibilities that I have pondered through the years. As I write what many of these mean to me, I can either release or solidify and deepen my dependency on each.

We flavor each moment with our preference on our path of life for the benefit of our expansion. Regardless of what appears, it is to be enjoyed. We are not to envision whether the moment is "good" or "not good." The choice comes from beyond our conscious mind, regardless of what we think we desire, and this is what is revealed.

Some believe the revelation comes through our intent. This can deal with emotions and emotions fluctuate frequently, depending on where our belief lies. We may set our mind with our desires or pronounce affirmations. These help tune us into recognition but they do not create the happening. We can receive the happening without thinking, seeing or having any feelings about it. It comes from a deeper source than these.

By stepping into acceptance, we can taste joy with whatever is happening. If our attitude brings us to any other decision, we see it as less favorable and find discontent with much that happens in our lives. We blame others and outside situations. We think we would rather have different results. Would an attitude of acceptance be more joyful, giving us occasion to study it for lessons? With such an attitude, we could simply continue on our path, enjoy smelling the roses and hear the melody of life with acceptance and confidence.

Our attitude about something or someone equals our relationship with that something or someone. This premise occurs in every position of our lives spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, in our relationships with our families, with friends and acquaintances, with our coworkers and bosses and with our finances. It occurs when choosing our style of clothing, what books we read, what kind of pet we have, plants that we house, how we treat children and the elderly, and how we are affected by international affairs. Our attitude about the universe affects our relationship with these aspects and with every situation we meet along our path.

Just as we exercise certain muscles to accomplish our tasks, so do we exercise certain attitudes or beliefs. We are not aware of some until we take time to go within and investigate those that are less obvious. Some may be hidden behind others. As we open our consciousness to become aware of why our thoughts and actions surface as they do throughout the day, we learn how to adjust our attitudes. We then choose our options of releasing or strengthening them. Awareness is the key.

Conviction must continue to reign to show us where our focus lies. This depends on the reflection of our attitude and the choices we make. Once we have the taste of our preferred outlook and realize how comfortable it feels, we feel astonishment to hear why anyone would choose anything less favorable.

I have been choosing beliefs all my life. I am choosing each moment. They continue to adjust and readjust themselves within my life activities from day to day.

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Expansion
by Dusty Reed

To be confident
Includes making decisions,
Affirming the "I believe"
While allowing the Lord
To stretch my boundaries
And accept expanding
As He provides.

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Some sites I recommend:

God-Mind

Spirit Online

Flower Essence Energy

Mystic Stars Astrology

Lightbearer Presentations

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And, for anyone who enjoys playing at ebay, I continue to have a few items (which change daily) available for sale -
Dusty's Ebay

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You are welcome to forward this newsletter to friends who might be interested! If they would like to subscribe (at no cost), they can write to me Life Now. Thanx muchly!

Working toward consideration and to better humanity, we want to encourage free enterprise, free speech. We are Life Now, a spiritual happening on and off the Internet.

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PATHWAY
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LIFE NOW

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