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Welcome to our new Sunday Morning Service by Dr. Dean A. Banks, D.D. Every week Dr. Dean will be engaging subjects that are pertinent to your growth and expansion into recognition of; respect to; and communication with your inner spirit. Please feel free to comment or suggest topics for review. May the Divine always bless you and your families! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

 

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE WITH DR. DEAN A. BANKS, D.D.

"BIRDS OF A FEATHER"

Sunday, November 13, 2016

The title of this article is a figure of speech, or technically, an idiom. A figure of speech is any expressive use of language (metaphor, simile, personification, or antithesis) in which words are used in other than their literal sense in order to suggest a picture or image or for other special effect (dictionary.com). An idiom takes this one step further. It is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics (dictionary.com). Idioms can be geographically specific as well.

Birds of a feather are people with interests, opinions, or backgrounds in common. They can also be any thoughts or thought-forms that are similar in creative or manifested nature. What the idiom birds of a feather flock together basically means is that people are attracted to others who are like themselves. Furthermore, thoughts that are negative or positive in nature attract similar thoughts and subsequently create and manifest similar thought-forms. This principle is the basis for the Law of Attraction.

States of happiness occur generally when people or thoughts are in agreement. Happiness is a state of contentment and joy accompanied by a feeling of being favored or blessed. It is usually followed by an exaggerated exhale moment where a person feels relief from the stress of not having what they felt would make them happy. An agreement is an arrangement or understanding that is accepted by people, your thoughts and your subsequent thought-forms. States of sadness occur generally when people or thoughts are not aligned or not in agreement with each other. Sadness is a state of grief and sorrow accompanied by a feeling of being rejected or let down. It is usually followed by an exaggerated inhale moment where a person feels the stress of not having what they felt would make them happy.

The daily thoughts that you hold to and identify with in your consciousness are creating and attracting similar thoughts and subsequently, thought-forms. Thoughts are the result of chemical interactions in your brain. The interaction of the chemicals create electrical signals that stimulate neurons to either input (sensory information from the environment) or output (motor responses to move the body) action. Similar patterns of electron movement create pathways of movement that the body becomes adjusted to and comfortable with; resulting in established patterns of behavior. Our comfort zone is a result of the warm fuzzy feelings we receive from traversing a known path. This is why it is difficult for most people to adopt new pathways of programming and interaction. It is challenging to forge new pathways that are uncomfortable or difficult. The natural response is to fear what is unknown, new or different.

Any electrical movement in a direction generates a magnetic field. Similar particles fall in line with the force of the magnetic field. This is why specific thoughts automatically accept similar thoughts. Birds of a feather do flock together. Ultimately, holding onto these similar and comfortable thoughts create similar and comfortable thought-forms. If you experience frustration, doubt, worry and fear, these negative emotions are sending you a message. They are telling you that you are NOT in alignment with your inner being and the purpose for which you were created. If you experience cooperation, certainty, assuredness and faith, these positive emotions are sending you a message as well. They are telling you that you are in alignment with your inner being and the purpose for which you were created.

The processes involved are a procession from sensing, to thinking, to knowing, to being and then starting all over again. Those who don’t identify with their purpose and react to their environment with no understanding of their ability to control their environment, proceed from sensing to being day after day. Who they are is a result of what their environment tells them they are. Those who identify with their purpose and pro-act in their environment with an understanding of their ability to control their environment proceed from being to sensing each day. It’s the same wheel, but you proceed in a different direction.

Reacting to your environment is like rowing upstream. You daily fight the current and use your will to push forward. Life is a struggle and justifiably so. Pro-acting in your environment is like stowing the oars and allowing the current of life to move you in the direction you need to go. It’s the choice of being stressed or being relieved of stress. It’s a choice each one of us must make every day.

Thought-types are either negative or positive in nature. Thought-processes are ways in which we utilize our thoughts for a purpose. Concentration is the process where we focus on one thought and absorb the subsequent feeling from that thought. Contemplation is the process where we move that thought around into different scenarios to see what reactions it will produce and the feelings we will receive from those reactions; testing the waters, so to speak. Meditation is the process by which we stow the oars and let the current of life create thoughts on the stage of our minds. We let go of these thoughts to flow in the stream of life and absorb the feelings of contentment, peace and oneness with God.

After utilizing thought-processes we can begin to employ thought-decisions. Prayer is a decision we make to pro-act where we recognize the divineness of God and we ask for what we feel we need, want, desire or expect in our lives. It is associated with concentration. Meditation is a decision we make to pro-act where we stop driving and simply let go of our thoughts. Service is a decision we make where we take our thoughts and create beneficial situations for ourselves and others; and make the subsequent steps to physically create these situations. It is associated with contemplation and movement in a direction.

Similar thoughts create similar realities. It is our choice to choose which thoughts to hold on to or discard. When the onslaught of negative emotion occurs we must simply change our direction on the wheel of existence. Stop allowing your reactions to control you and choose to pro-act with the confidence that God didn’t make a mistake when He created you. He gave you the gifts, talents and abilities to achieve the desires of your heart. His view of this universe (multiverse) is much greater than ours. We are in the valley and we cannot see the other mountains surrounding us. Only when we reach the vista of our personal mountain can we see the other mountains left to climb. Trust in the oneness and indivisibility of God and not the perceived dualistic environment that our senses reveal. It is an illusion that daily fools us into thinking that it is reality. Stop. Turn around. Ride the wheel of existence to the accomplishment of your deepest desires.

 

 

Excerpted from the book "Spiritual Growth: Articles Of Expectation." Please click here to order the book: https://www.createspace.com/3691279

©2016 Dean A. Banks, D.D. All Rights Reserved.

 

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