That reminds me…

So, after church (which, by the way, was pretty good), I went to Chipotle and ate a burrito. While I was eating it, I was thumbing through a bound collection of sermons that Sylvia Browne gave a few years back. (Even if you’re weirded out by the fact that she calls herself a psychic, do yourself a favor and read at least one of her books. I really like them.) Anyway, I was sitting there with ideas flowing through my mind, fresh from church and reading what she had to say, and it dawned on me that today was the day I needed to start writing my book.

Back when I was 14, I was “called” (as they say.) Some people are called to be ministers or healers. I was actually called to write a book about my spiritual beliefs (not knowing the difference, I called them “religious beliefs” back then.) I even remember telling people this in high school. At one point, while mentioning it to a friend, I remember thinking, “What happens if I never write it?”

The answer: “You will.”

So I’ve had that in the back of my mind for almost 9 years now, knowing that I was going to write it but not quite knowing when. Julia and I decided that today was the day, and I started it. I got all the way through the introduction and got a start on chapter 1. I now have 6 single-spaced pages of what is to become an epic part of my life.

I’ve told some of you that I know my real calling isn’t to run a business (though that’s an important step along the way.) My real calling is twofold: 1) to write a book, which will become an important part of a revelation in Christianity that is to take place in the next 50 years, and 2) to eventually become a motivational speaker and pass on all that I know to many others who can then spread the word of the “new” God; of love and truth and peace instead of damnation, guilt, and Hell.

What’s the revelation in Christianity, you ask? It’s simple. People my age aren’t going to church, by and large. Why? Church is full of negativity and control. Pastors preach “eternal guilt” and “sin” instead of the love that Jesus taught us. The revelation will occur as we slowly go back and immerse ourselves in the core of Jesus’ teachings; the fact that he taught us to love others as ourselves and to make the world a truly better place in all that we do. As we rediscover that Christ and God’s message to us is to love, not hate, and to band together, not enforce artificial separations (she’s a woman; he’s gay; they’re black), churches worldwide will become better places. That will be a revelation to the generation currently in power, but not to the kids who are growing up today, who will grow up in a world that perceives itself as more of a community than we perceive ourselves today.

I’ll post pieces of the book as it becomes a more coherent object. Here’s an excerpt for you to mull over:

-What are ‘surface negatives’?-

The woman smiles. “Surface negatives are everyday things that bother you,” she says. “They are the person who calls you on the phone and is rude to you. The person who cut you off in traffic. The guy who didn’t offer an apology when he bumped into you on the street. As part of your learning process, you have to understand that surface negatives are part of a person’s way of dealing with frustration. You’re angry, so you take it out on someone else. That makes them angry, and they take that out on someone else. You – or the person who made you angry – have created a chain of negativity.

“The first part of dealing with surface negatives is stopping the chain. Learn that surface negatives have very little to do with you and everything to do with that person’s perception of the world. That person has been frustrated by something else – likely nothing to do with you – and is taking it out on you. Resist the urge to pass the negative on to someone else and learn to smile and move on, remembering that even though the person is negative, it’s usually not your fault and there’s nothing you can do about it. The thing you can change is yourself – don’t fall victim to the chain, and instead encourage yourself to step beyond it and create a positive interaction with the next person on your list. If we all were able to just stop the chain of negativity, the world would be a much happier place, but like a cold, it’s infectious. We get it, get irritated, and pass it on to someone else, who then gets irritated…we may have affected hundreds of people by the time it is over. Stop the chain.”