What Does a Pastor Read?

What are you reading this week, Pastor Roland?

A. Thanks for asking. I am reading

Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society   by Dr. van der Kolk

Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth  I can tell you that Geneen's books are fantastic. When it comes to food issues, she knows what she is talking about

The Origin of Science and the Science of its Origin  Fr. Stanley Jaki

Chapter 1 of Understanding Physics by Isaac Asimov

Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris (I'm rereading parts of this excellent book)




I am also editing a book I wrote about 10 years ago and will republish soon called Spiritual Healing from Within

 Here is a small excerpt from chapter one

    All of our symptoms, including death itself, are caused by a defection from God and His Right Way.

   Pain is evidence that something is wrong. In a sense, physical pain is the body crying out, asking for help or relief. Something being wrong is a sign that something is out of order. Cancer is the growth of cells that are under the authority of a head renegade cell. But the renegade cell would not have gained a foothold if the body’s immune system were functioning well. It would have been observed, reported, and hunted down.

   Secondly, other cells would not have defected to the authority of the rebel cell if the ruling authority of the body were just and loving.

   In the perfect hierarchy, The Creator is the ultimate authority, then Christ, followed by the humble, repentant soul.

   With the soul, humble and obedient, as the good king of the body--the mind and all the body’s systems, all the way down to the individual cells, live in a perfect system of justice.

   In such a system, the ego wants to do God’s will. Through the respectful aware soul, truth and love are expressed; and the mind, tongue and body carry out the descending orders.

   In such a system ruled by proper authority, there is no need or desire to rebel, since all is justice. An atmosphere of Truth surrounds the truth-loving soul, and the Light of Truth searches out all things, revealing and healing even hidden remnants of sin and wrong living in the body.

   The mind that is ruled by the Light from God is attentive to what is right, because the soul loves what is right and makes it more important than anything else. Such a mind is ever aware, and in the Light is keen to observe and stay away from anything improper.

   Can you see the parallel between this mental/spiritual process and that of the operation of the healthy immune system?

   An aware person is careful about hygiene, nutrition, and association. Clean in body and careful about associations, the person is less likely to come in contact with harmful pathogens. If any do get through, the body is scanning constantly so that anything harmful or foreign is quickly dealt with by the immune system.

   In a similar way, the humble and honorable soul shuns promiscuous improper associations. When something improper is observed, it is not allowed to cohabitate. The Light Itself, operating through the still observant soul, does the screening.

   The soul merely needs to remain aware and not get caught up in goals, schemes, excessive thought or emotions.

   Another analogy is this: you could compare excessive thoughts and emotions with eating too much. A person who has gorged himself and is overstuffed with food or drink is not as alert as the person who has eaten very little or in moderation. Too much of anything tends to interfere with a proper state of mind.

   When the body or the blood becomes overfilled with chemicals, salt, sugar, undigested foodstuff, or toxins—it becomes exceedingly difficult to have a clear mind or to realize anything. Yet it is realization that is the key to salvation.

   Truth must be realized. When we indulge ourselves in anything—be it food, music, anger, excitement, drugs or even sights and sounds—realization is interfered with.

   When we are on medication, we are in a mental fog. When we are sick, and especially when we run a fever, our mind is fogged and delirious. However, if the sickness and suffering sober the soul, it might initiate a time of sincere searching. The pure intent and yearning of this soul will be a silent cry to the Father.

   He will make it possible for the soul to realize despite the downdraft of the sickness.  All I am saying is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better to begin seeing what we need to see while it is easier. But if, like with many people, it has taken a desperate situation to begin sobering up--take heart. With God all things are possible.