24/05/2023
**Respect and Compassion
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In a society that is in itself, insane, the sane will always seem to *appear* crazy. The best we can hope for, is to be treated with—and to treat others with—**compassion**, and **respect**.
Earning respect from your *friends* is easy if you’re a good friend. It’s easy to earn respect from *family* if you’re a good father, mother, son, or daughter.
To earn respect from your *enemies*, however, requires and is only achieved through true greatness; and being at that level of having earned even the respect of your enemies takes *the strength and power of God and the Holy Spirit on your side.*
**What does this mean**: to have ***the strength of God ***on your side? And how does one apply this to their life?
In the words of Jesus:
"The kingdom of God does not come with things that are observed [seen with the physical eyes]. Nor will people say, 'look, here it is!' or 'there it is!'. For behold, the kingdom of God is among [within/around] you."
*(Luke 17:20-21)*
And, in the holy Zohar (the Kabbalistic 'book of Splendor'), we read the following verse: *"Open slightly your heart to me and I will reveal the world to you."*
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***GOD IS FOUND WITHIN**
God is found within us; and, *when we **truly** **know and have found ourselves***, God is not very far away. *The Spirit of God is always present*; it is all around us, and it runs through us. It is the Universal Consciousness, the force of creation which upholds and sustains all things—including us and our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Even if you have only the desire to change, or believe, or have faith, let that desire work inside of you until it grows. Nurture that desire; feed that desire; let that desire consume your life, until all that you want and all that you do is for the greater good of yourself, and for all.
**Here are some steps we can take** as to ‘***train**’ ourselves *to become *more aligned with this higher consciousness*, which is accessible to everyone. It ca