HOPE ~ AN OFTEN CONVOLUTED WORD

I have often heard the phrase, I hope so spoken with a voice inflection that indicates that the person speaking would love to have a wish or something come true, but doesn't think it will really happen. In other words, it is a maybe, or perhaps. It appears that the word hope has become a word with an ambigious meaning.

I looked up the meaning of the word hope, which is to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment. The archaic meaning is to have confidence, trust. Hope is a beautiful word that has gradually lost its luster. It's time we polished it up and now share messages of hope.

Recently I was sent an email giving a website for the Hope Revolution. A beautiful woman began placing messages of hope around New York City and now there is a website: http://www.hoperevo.com/.

When we change our attitudes such as prejudice, bigotry, judgment and harboring anger and resentment, we change our lives. When we watch the words we use and the thoughts we have and change them into something affirmative, we change our lives. When we change our lives, we affect the people around us. It is something like throwing a pebble into a pond and watching the ripples flow out. This is what we can do.

There is never a problem or a challenge that cannot be resolved. We can create what we want by using affirmative words and thinking affirmative thoughts. I use the word affirmative because it is a statement. Thinking positive will only attract its opposite of negative.

Pass the word and use the affirmative word hope and we can change our world.

Bettye Johnson

The Secret De-Mystified

What is The Secret? There is a plethora of prosperity thinking teachers giving lectures, seminars and workshops today. Where did they learn the secret to fabulous wealth? Who or what turned them on to prosperity? Each one has a different answer or a different approach.

I began contemplating this and I realized the secret to prosperity really isn't a secret. Down through the ages it has always been available to those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Or, in other words an open mind that is ready to receive and utilize the information. There have been numerous books writton on prosperty and to have whatever you want. One of the well-known prosperity thinkers/writers is Catherine Ponder and Napoleon Hill whose books sold in the millions. Now, who do you think they got their information from?

Ask and you will have. I wanted to know and began looking for signposts along the way. I was led to re-read "The Writings of Florence Scovel Shinn," which includes her books, The Game of Life, Your Word is Your Wand, and The Secret Door to Success. Her affirmations are simple and basic - but effective.

Shinn was an amazing woman. She was born in 1871 and lived in New York City. She was an artist and an illustrator of popular children's literature before WWI. After Florence graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, she married Everett Shinn another artist. After 14 years of marriage Everett asked for a divorce leaving Florence devasted. In the first part of the last century divorce was an almost unheard of occurrence. Her biography states that according to Ira Glackens she got religion in her own way.

Very little is know of her life and how she got religion. This woman is only known and remembered through her books. She self-published her first book The Game of Life in 1925. This book became immensely popular leading her to a career of author, lecturer, teacher and created correspondence courses based on her books. She left clues in her books as to where she received her information. She uses the Bible extensively and there will be many who will shut their minds to the wealth of information given. Florence turned the Bible into a metaphysical book and it all makes sense. However there are other clues and she mentions Hermes Trismegistis, an ancient Egyptian teacher and The Kybalion written by Three Initiates, which gives the Laws of the Universe of which is the Law of Attraction. Doesn't that law sound familiar? Apparently Florence absored this and brought forth her wonderful books all based on esoteric teachings taught in the ancient mystery school of Egypt and Persia.

Floence became adept at using affirmative thing, which JZ Knight also adheres to. What is the difference between affirmative thinking and positive thinking? Positive thinking is a term coined by the late Norman Vincent Peale when he wrote his best seller in the 1950's, The Power of Positive Thinking. Peale reviewed Shinn's book The Game of Life and How to Play It and this comments are displayed on the back cover. Possibly Florence was one of Peale's teachers. It can also be said that Catherine Ponder took a leaf out of Shinn's books and ran with it into selling millions of copies of her books.

Returning to positive thinking, I recently heard JZ Knight when she appeared on the Larry King Live Show with four of the participants of The Secret. When Knight was asked by King what she thought of positive thinking, her reply was that she does not subscribe to positive thinking and prefers affirmtive thinking. Why? I also contemplated this and realized that women have been labeled negative and men positive for eons. We are living on the Plane of Opposites and the words negative and positive carry the taint of good and evil. Women have had the reputation of being the source of evil for ages. Therefore, in using the term positive thinking there is a subconscious interpretation for women that says since you aren't male it is unattainable. Affirmative thinking is open-ended, having no attachment to good or bad.

In utilizing the Law of Attraction, our thoughts magnetize to us what we are thinking and also the words we speak. Affirmative Thinking is being the energy, which is neither male nor female and brings to us our desires. Many women do not understand why positive thinking doesn't work for them. By understanding Affirmtive Thinking as given forth in Florence Shinn's books and utilizing the information, one has the key to unlocking the Secret.

According to Shinn, The reasoning mind and personal will causes a short circuit. There is a term used by many people, Let go and let God. In other words, don't try to figure out how it will come. Another affirmation of Shinn's is The Genius within me is released. I now fulfill my destiny.

Having been a student of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment for 20 years, I was taught years ago the power of affirmations along with in-depth teachings on how the brain works, the biology of emotions and quantum physics. Think about the word genius. Drop the 'us' off and we have geni. Each of us are our own geni and we have the brain to create whatever we want. All we have to do is practice over and over and over and over until it becomes.

Where Is Your Passion?

Here it is! January 2007. Where I live Nature is in her dreaming state. Some will call it dormancy - however that is only another name for the dream state. It is a time for us to follow Nature's example and dream of what we want to experience during this New Year. There is an old saying: to "ring out the old and ring in the new." This means we can do it at any time and at any moment. We are all different from Nature because we can change our minds at any moment. WHERE IS YOUR PASSION? Passion. What is your passion? I just completed reading a profound book titled Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox. As a little girl Cox developed a passion for swimming. One of her dreams was to swim the English Channel. She accomplished this while in her teens and went on to break many swimming records and to do what no other woman had done before. Her passion drove her to swim the 2.7 miles between the U.S. Little Diomede Island and the Russian big Diomede Island and her intent was to perhaps bring the governments of Russia and the U.S. to friendlier terms. For over ten years she wrote, called and tried everything to get permission from Russia to swim to the Big Diomede. The U.S. was cool to the idea and the Russians had given her no response. She trained to swim in frigid water - 30 degrees temperature. She had a passion to do this and with the encouragement of family, friends and admirers set off to Nome, Alaska to do this even though she did not have permission from Russia. At the last minute Russia came through and she swam the 2.7 miles and received a tumultuous reception from the Russians. To learn how she accomplished this feat against all odds and a lack of funding to bring together a closer and friendlier relationship between two major governments in the world is truly a story to inspire anyone. She made a difference. She was instrumental in speeding up glasnost between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Passion does not have to be as all consuming as the passion of Lynne Cox, but I think there is a passion within each of us to accomplish something in this life. Mine came in the form of writing and it did not emerge until I was in my seventies. It is never too late! Perhaps there is a passion to help others - to be a light unto the world. Our abilities come in many disguises and it is up to the individual to discover what it is. There is always a way. If you are unsure of what your passion is, I suggest reading Janet Attwood's book "The Passion Text." It is a simple process of writing down 15 things you like to do. The next step is to list the top 5 interests and to then list them in the order of priority. It is a simple process of elimination. Many people think that by going to workshops and get-rich seminars that they will find their passion. For some this may be true. Usually it comes in those still quiet moments. I have been a student of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment for almost twenty years and what I have learned and experienced inspired me to recognize my passion for writing. Each of us is on a journey of discovery and no two people will experience the same journey. Do what you love to do- meaning find your passion and the money will follow. JZ Knight appeared on the Larry King Live Show last year and was asked what she thought of positive thinking. Her reply was that she did not subscribe to positive thinking because she uses affirmative thinking. We live on a plane of opposites and one of the ancient laws is called the Law of Attraction. If we think about thinking positive, then we also attract the opposite - negative thinking. There is also another subconscious aspect to positive thinking. For eons women have been considered to be negative energy and men the positive energy. What message does this send to women? Affirmative thinking is being the center of the magnet and it has no positive or negative. It just is. One of the greatest writers of Affirmative Thinking is contained in the book The Wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn. Shinn was born in 1871 and died in 1940. Her affirmations are each a jewel and one can purchase this collection of her four books from Amazon.com. Within her writings are clues as to where she received her wisdom and knowledge. She mentions The Kybalion by Three Initiates, which includes the Law of Attraction. In addition she mentions Hermes Trismegistis indicating she had studied ancient wisdom called the occult. For those who think they are burdened with debt, she has a wonderful affirmation, which is as valid today as it was during the first half of the last century. I deny debt. There is no debt in Divine Mind. I owe no person or corporation anything. All obligations are now wiped out under the grace of God in a miraculous way. I have learned over the past twenty years to re-wire my brain for affirmative thinking. I must give up the past of old unproductive thinking. Affirmations must be utilized and spoken out loud over and over until it becomes natural and productive. The killer of dreams and passion is fear, doubt or skepticism. Manifestations come to me in beautiful ways and below I share a few with you. The German language version of Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls is doing well in Europe. It was released in December 2006. My publisher Helga Krachler tells me that my book is now in the archives of the Austrian National Libray and the German National Library. (It is also in the Australian library system.) Here is a note from my publisher of the German edition: I also would like to let you know that the people who have read the book and contacted me give a fabulous feedback. Beside that they like the story, have to force themselves to put the book down and thoroughly enjoy reading it, the questions most frequently asked are: Is this all true? Are the scrolls real? How does she know all this? Today a bookseller who had ordered about 25 books had called and said: "Magdalena seems to so real when she tells her story." By now you have readers of the German version in Germany, Austria and Switzerland who knows where else. I send you blessings for a fantastic year of 2007. May each of you find your passion and pursue it. Bettye Johnson

Life is like a tapestry. A chance meeting can lead to a beautiful new thread. We are weaving our individual tapestry with each choice we make. - Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls