CHAPTER 9 - "BEING POSITIVE"

If I said that I truly believe that we create all the illnesses and diseases we get, you would think the writer is insane, but I do believe that. Our mind, when developed to that point, can prevent us from getting sick. Our attitude and outlook on life is the cause of this. Being positive is so important.

How can someone who has been hospitalized so many times, has had open-heart surgery twice, say that? Wasn’t I positive? Sure, I was. But I had to experience that suffering. That was all in my life path. I could never have gotten to this point in my life without experiencing all that suffering. But I tell you this: For several months I have been suffering with back pain. This was the result of the polio I had at age 5. The pain would be so bad that I could not walk and stayed in my apartment for weeks at a time, only going out when necessary, usually to see doctors. But I looked at this suffering as positive for I knew that it would stop.

Every New Year’s Eve I begin to pray about 11:45PM, and stop only once to turn on the television to watch the ball at Times Square drop. This time when I did my prayers I asked God to do something for me. Every time I prayed in the past it was for others. This was the first time I asked that God do something for me: to take the pain away. One hour after I finished praying the pain stopped and has not returned. I am positive that it will never return. Of course, when I walk now there is discomfort because the nerves at the base of my spine are degenerating, but there is no pain. I walk with a cane, but I have discovered that as each day passes I am able to walk faster, not that I am in a rush to get anywhere.

One night I awoke at 2AM and turned on the TV. I never do that, but I felt compelled to turn it on. I saw a TV preacher named Joel Olsteen talk to a large audience, speaking about being positive and taking action. He gave examples of this concept. All he said I believe. When my son came to visit me for a week, he brought with him a gift for me. That gift was a book written by Joel Olsten. Coincidence? I do not feel that, for I believe that nothing in life happens by coincidence.

About 50 years ago, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a book entitled “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Unfortunately, most people accepted that book with much criticism for they did not understand what Dr. Peale was trying to say. Stay positive and face what I call “devils and obstacles” -happenings in our lives which should be met with a positive approach, knowing full well that this is just another test with which God has us face.

There is one actor who I admire very much. He is Michael J. Fox. In the early 1990s he was told that he has Parkinson’s Disease, an extremely debilitating disease. But he does not allow his illness to change his life. He continues to act and looks at his illness as something he says is “uncomfortable.” While being interviewed for “Inside the Actors Studio,” Michael realized he was losing control of speech and motor coordination. What did he do? He excused himself by saying to the audience “I will be back in 2 minutes. I have to take a pill.” And return he did to much applause. Michael J. Fox is a perfect example of one who has a positive outlook on life.

When we do not stay positive we risk letting in negative energy, which is very bad. Those are the times when we are susceptible to everything bad. But we are human, and how can we stay positive all the time? When I find that I am having a negative thought, I immediately stop and change that negativity into something positive. It works!! But it does take some practice to do this. As my guide once told me, “You are human.”

Often I watch the Today show, and when pictures of those Americans who have attained the age of 100 appear, each of those individuals lead active, productive lives and I am sure each of them has a positive attitude toward life. I am sure that I would be one of those shown were I to reach the age of 100. I have been told the date of my death: I will die exactly one hundred years from the time of my birth, so that will be March 1, 2044 at 5:23AM. I do not know the reason my guide provided me with this information for He/She never reveals the future when someone communicates through me. The only time this happens is if He/She feels that either providing some future information it will keep a person on the right track to reach his or her destiny or that I will not change whatever action the person takes.

I cannot stress how important being positive is. You, the reader, must try to reach a point in your life when you are positive 99% of the time. Only then will you see a change in your life - a change for the better.

I have been to India several times, and I have great compassion for the poor. But I do know that these people just accept what life offers them. They do not believe that they can change their lives. They are certainly not positive. I say that one can change anything that is bad to good. Be positive and look at each day as a blessing. You have another day on Earth to experience and learn. This is for the growth of your soul. My motto is “Live Life.” Each morning, when I awake, the first thing I do is thank God for giving me another day. Yes, we call today the present for it is a gift from God. So, make the most of it.

Another prayer I say each morning is:

“Thank you Master for each and every experience I will have today and every day for the rest of my life. I pray that I am and always will be worthy of the faith and trust you have in me.”

Look at each day as a new beginning. Stay positive. Experience and learn.
A while ago, I asked several strangers who passed me on the street the following question: “What is your faith?” An elderly woman who walked with a cane said, “I am a Catholic.” A young man, walking with his girlfriend, responded, “I am a Jew.” A third person, this one a beautiful woman, who I could see was quite wealthy because of her clothes and jewels, stated, “I am Protestant.” The very last person I asked, a man in his mid-forties responded “It is 100%.” How odd that the first three people I approached responded by telling me their religion, but the last one knew the meaning of the word “faith.”

One must have faith and hope. Both are positive! Without them, a person will never achieve or get what he or she wants. Don’t you think that God knows what each of us needs in our lives? He/She is always there to help us achieve whatever our definition of success may be. If it is right to have in our lives what we ask for when we pray, we may have to wait a while to get what we want. But get it we will. Timing is very important. One of the most difficult lessons for man to learn is patience. God knows the right time for us to get what we pray for. But we must never give up the hope that it will come. All we need is to be patient, retaining our faith in and our love for the Creator.

What do I need? Right now, I have all I need. When the adult home I was living in was closing because the owner sold it, I was not worried about what would happen to me. I had faith that God would protect me. I knew I would never be living in the streets. To me, that was impossible. God did help, because I now live in the West 70s in Manhattan, in a beautiful studio apartment, paying one eight of what the rent should be. I never gave up faith or hope, and God helped me.

Each of us is born with the power God gave us. It is what we do with it that is important. Most people do not realize that the power is always being in sync with the Universe. It is only then that all we need in our lives is provided for us. How do we tap into this power? We must stay positive, even faced with adversity. Do we get what we need immediately? Sometimes we have to wait, but we should never give up the positivism, knowing that we will achieve what it is we desire.

Listen to the words of the song “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music. “Follow every rainbow till you find your dream.” The Von Tramp family never gave up even when faced with so many obstacles. The head of that family had incredible hope and faith. He never gave up and led his family to safety.

Every time we take a risk in life we must be positive. There are many occupations which require risks, often more than once a day. A police officer or a fire fighter must take risks for that is part of the job. A surgeon takes risks each time he or she operates. But those of us who are neither fire fighters nor doctors nor police officers must also take risks in our lives.
A while ago I had seen a film called “Jeffrey.” The main character, Jeffrey, was a gay man who was in love with a man who had AIDS. Jeffrey was afraid to commit to a serious relationship. He did not want to take a risk by spending only a little time with this man before the man died. But after Jeffrey had a vision he realized that even if he were to be with the man for a short period of time it was better than not being with him at all.

In the film “Sweet Magnolias” there is a scene in which Julia Roberts confronts her mother, played by Sally Fields. Julia’s health was not good, and doctors advised her not to become pregnant. Well, she married and did become pregnant and the scene I am referring to is when she told her mother. Of course, Sally Fields was very upset because she was concerned how the pregnancy would affect her daughter’s life. Julia told her that she would rather have 15 seconds of something in her life rather than a life of nothing. She was willing to take the risk for something she wanted very badly.

Are you willing to take a risk for something you really want in life, or through fear you do not? Never be afraid for God is always with you and He/She wants the best for you. Don’t you want the best for yourself?

My friend Sandra contacted me one morning to tell me of the death of her dad and the hospitalization of her mother. I was told how wonderful a man her father was, and I told Sandra that he is with me listening to the conversation and how proud of her he was and is. Sandra and her siblings are extraordinary people; they accepted his death, and instead of mourning they celebrated his life by toasting to him and laughing when one told a humorous story about their father. They all knew that constant mourning keeps the spirit of the dead “earthbound,” which means that the deceased cannot move on. Their father moved on quickly. I was told what a wonderful life he had, being married to the same woman for 60 years - happily married. He loved his job as a judge; even though he acted stern while sitting “on the bench” he had a heart of gold. He was the type of person who, like my deceased sister, cared more about helping others than helping himself. He led a full life, and he passed on with very little bad karma. I am certain that his next life will be fuller and richer. That is God’s reward to him for his goodness and compassion. Sandra knows that when it is her time to die she will be met by her father. There is no doubt in her mind. Now how much more positive can one be?

Both Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ tried to teach us that we are all born equally, that since each of us is a spark from the Creator there is no difference. But we make each of us different, and not by the color of our skin or our religious convictions. It is how we live our lives that make the difference.

We each are born with the same powers that we have seen exhibited by the Four Messengers sent by God. The Creator wanted to give us a “head start” and to continue to make the Earth the paradise He/She created for us. But what happened? It was not because of “Free Will” that we made that paradise a hell. It was because we did not bring out the powers given to us at birth.

From the age of 13 I wore eyeglasses. The optometrist informed me that I was “short-sighted.” In 2002 I stopped wearing glasses, and began tapping into the power of my mind. I now have perfect vision in both eyes. All I had to do was to know that the power of my mind is endless. Like most humans, I use only 3-5% of my brain power. An incredible amount is still available. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have access to 100%. I would be my own computer.

We have all heard stories of people having unbelievable strength for a few brief minutes when faced with incredible adversity. It is not unusual for someone to lift an automobile to save someone pinned under it. One does not have to be “Superman” to do this. The one lifting has tapped into the power of his or her mind for a few minutes, and the result was extraordinary.

If you all seek and acquire positivity in your lives, the result will be incredibly wonderful changes.