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VIRTUES AND HOMILIES
The Virtues &Homilies are Our
Guiding Principles
At The MeetingHouse for Aspiring Spirits,
as humans who are spiritual but not religious and who tolerate and
respect the non-violent religious of others-We Attest That We Have Pledged
To Support These Virtues. We Believe They Are Necessary For Good and
Correct Human Relationships as Humans go through their life's eight
stages.
(Please, see the Hyperlink, The
Eight Stages of Human Life - for useful help with not only coping but
succeeding in living a well focused good life during the journey from
birth until death. Know about the eight stages and the crises that one
must go through to get to the next higher stage. This information could
be a great help with raising the kids, too!)
First: We attest to our belief that
the quality of life known as Happiness is a fundamental quality of a good
life well lived according to the will of God.
Note: Happiness is not
simply the absence of dysfunctional symptoms nor is it only a product of
a happy socialization process. We know that if we had every
conceivable thing that is supposed to conduce happiness, youth, beauty, wealth,
love of task, respect, fame, health, renown and longevity, it will only add up
to somewhat more than half of what is required for happiness. The
remaining balance must be internally derived for that is the human
condition.
Second: Those who affirm
our creed believe that humans are capable of maximizing their human
potential. We believe that the able human knows and likes him or
herself. Accordingly, the able mind has excellent human potential to: quickly
grasp and comprehend and recall learning from the media, and others (whether
aurally or visually). Learning through the other senses of smell, touch,
and taste are also maximized, though less so in urban areas. Therefore, a
humble virtuous human can think in a highly focused way for long periods
without fatigue. "A concentrated mind can pierce a rock." (Eleanor
Roosevelt had a concentrated mind.) We make full use of unimpaired
curiosity and do not feel guilty about doubts.
Third: We join with others who share the following qualities that will enhance and empower our greater human potential, such as:
- Having an ego ideal rather than a
super-ego; we are inner-directed, and have a high self-regard.
- We are Beings
free of the narrow constrictions of convention and from the overpowering
need of peer or superior approval for what we do before
we act;
- We have the trait of being
psychologically aware,
- We learn to know that parents ought
to be perceived as humans not as personages.
- We have a sense of proportionality,
not constrained by over-riding narrow tribal or magical-religious
authority asserted by others,
- We comprehend the right use of Mythos (e.g. prayer, meditation, self-hypnosis) and the right use of (Logos)(e.g. the use of logic, the rational mind) and the potential and limits of both. Yet, we enjoy
the use of magical-thinking in aesthetics, humor, and God-Love.
- We believe that Humans are persons
who are capable of living by the standards of fair play, due diligence,
good faith and respect for the dignity of other humans while acting with
a generous, compassionate, forgiving heart and mind. The spirit of God
wants humans to live that Way. We are ethical rather than moral and
ethics are rationally derived and feel right.
- We are certain that from birth forward we ought to accept death as a part of life , the spiritual but not religious neither wish death nor fear it. Nor do they want it to be sugar-coated by false illusions.
Hence time is prized and the prospect of death helps us to know that
life should be used in the service of other humans and the pursuit of
happiness.
- The spiritual reserve the metaphysical for times of: prayer, meditation, self-hypnosis, and group agape a non-sexual wholly selfless and
spiritual love. Such love proceeds from self-love to love of family and
our collaterals; to community, to species-love and to love of all of
life.
- We have learned that being able to Love and Be Loved in Return is the God Given Way of Eros. God promotes Human Sexual Love by enhancing it year round
- and teaching us to take care to choose objects worthy of love who will
reciprocate a Loving response.
We Know that one cannot go out and
search for happiness. We believe that Happiness comes by way of the
pleasant experience of doing something that helps another human that has
given them a sense of well being.
The Homilies
We know we ought to try to carry these virtues in our daily lives as lived one day at a time. There may be some slips but we are committed to these virtues as God's guidelines for humans who can do more than merely cope. We know that we can succeed to enjoy life while trying to comply with these virtues through living by the following Homilies:
- Silence , Avoid gossip, speak well
of others if one can-if not, choose silence.
- Resolution , Resolve to do what one ought
to do. Perform without fail what one has resolved. Resolve to earn trust
of others by way of conduct that is honest, loyal, done with fidelity,
accountabilty, allowing for the duty to speak, and being responsible to
others.
- Temperance , Eat and drink for good health,
avoid over-indulgence in food and use the chemicals that distort the
mind's perceptions not at all or very sparingly.
- Order - Organize one's place so things have
a place. Let each part of your business have its time. Be Industrious ,
Each moment is its last. Waste no time. Eliminate unnecessary actions.
Interrupt work with rest and play. Do not mix them, except in a work/play
safe environment
- Sincerity , Think innocently and without
deceit, act justly, use no hurtful words or actions and speak
accordingly.
- Thrift , Conserve. Make no expense but to
do good to yourself and others. Save part of your income to invest for
future uncertainties and the declining years.
- Sex, Love, and Chastity , God gave us the sexual urge to compel
humans to attempt to procreate. Still, God also made sexual lovemaking
for humans a year-round celebration of life that has a wondrous
health-giving affect on our mind and body. Use sex with care for good
health and offspring , do not over indulge for it can cause weakness or
injury to your self or another's peace or reputation.
- Moderation , Avoid extremes. Forbear
resentment of injuries, real or imagined, because such resentment is
more harmful to the self than it is worth.
- Justice , Wrong none by doing injury, or,
omitting to do benefits that are your duty to perform.
- Cleanliness , Tolerate no uncleanness in
body, clothes or habitation, which includes the community surround.
- Tranquility , Be not disturbed about the
accidents or trifling incidents that are common or unavoidable as the
daily lot of the human condition.
- Charity , Help those in poverty, also the
disabled, handicapped, elderly, children in need, and those in need due
to an emergency crisis. Be generous, but do not weaken your future
ability to help others. When in need do not let pride get in the way of
receiving charitable acts done by others.
- Humility , Imitate the life of Jesus, St.
Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and other
great souls who have by their example showed us the way to serve our
fellow humans out of love for God.
As the practical and wise Benjamin
Franklin, said,
" . . .it is in everyone's interest to be
virtuous if one wishes to be happy . . . though one may never arrive at
perfection. But, instead fall short of it . . . yet by way of the
endeavor one will be a better and happier man (or woman) than one
otherwise would have been."
We, the spiritual but not religious,
hope for the day when the human condition is improved by a universal
desire to make these virtues and homilies a part of the humans' universal
commitment to our service to God and our fellow humans.
Vaya Con Dios during life's quest and
journey. The MeetingHouse for
Aspiring Spirits
To contact us please go to the
home page.
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