A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. September's Theme: "Opening"
Volume 3 Issue 6 ISSN# 1708-3265

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Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Diane Keys The Bookshop Chapter One Jennifer Monaghan Order Out of Chaos - Time to Wake Up Tira Brandon-Evans Inheriting Our Beliefs John Penberthy Seagrass Meadows David Suzuki PhD Slowing the Heavenly Fan Rev. Cheryl Jewett The Majestic Artist Renee Chambers An Opening Story Dr. Jean Hofve DVM Animal Rescue Lynn Whipple When I Became an Opening Janet Alston Jackson Running On Adrenaline? Here's How To Get Un-Hooked! Martin Avery The Benefits of Meditation Reginald Johnson The Secret of the Moon and You Daniella Breen The Autism Acceptance Project Da… Funny Pages! Featuring: Dan Pelletier Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Wyrd Lynx John Sacelli Technically Tarot Jeannette Roth Aunty Nasty Nasturtium Blackwitt Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Wiccan Voices Anne Ellis Reiki Chants Jonathan Goldman Messages from Water - DVD Dr. Masami Emoto To Bee or Not To Bee John Penberthy Gardener's Dream Cream Aroma Crystal Therapy Ltd.

Inheriting Our Beliefs by John Penberthy One Saturday morning I was sipping my coffee and reading the newspaper when the doorbell rang. This was an unusual occurrence as we lived in a somewhat isolated log cabin in the mountains outside Denver. At the door stood two attractive college-age girls who wanted to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah's Witness. Normally I would politely say, "No thanks" and return to my paper, but that morning I decided to engage with them. After hearing their initial pitch, I asked one of them, "Are your parents Jehovah's Witnesses?" "Our whole family is," she replied. "Do you think religion is an important thing for people to have in their lives?" "Very," she replied, and I agreed. "How many other religions have you studied and investigated?" "None." "Is a car an important thing in your life?" I asked. "Well, yes, but not as important as religion." Again I agreed. "What kind of car do you drive?" "A Toyota." "Is that what your parents drive?" "No." "Why not?" I inquired. "Because I like Toyotas better." She was starting to get impatient but politely continued to humour me. "How do you know?" "Because I like the way my Toyota looks and drives, plus it was inexpensive and gets good gas mileage." I nodded toward my Toyota sitting in the driveway and agreed. "How did you know that about your car when you bought it?" "I test drove different cars and talked to my friends about their cars." she said, increasingly exasperated. "So you checked out lots of different cars before deciding on your Toyota," I gently summarized, "but your religion, which is much more important, you inherited from your parents without knowing anything about the alternatives?" "Yeah," she replied rather sheepishly, catching my drift. "I'll tell you what," I said. "Spend the next five years investigating and studying the other great religions of the world and then if you still want to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah's Witness, we'll talk." The girls, realizing they had a hopeless case on their hands, thanked me for my time and left. The vast majority of people worldwide inherit their religion - one of the most important things in their lives - unquestioningly from their parents, without ever investigating the alternatives. Many are convinced it is the only way to God, believe that other religions are heresy, and some will fight and die for it. Did you inherit your religion? Check out our review of John's book here! John Penberthy is the author of To Bee or Not to Bee, endorsed by Dan Millman, Stephen Levine and Ram Dass. It's an inspirational allegory - clever and spiritually sophisticated - about a worker bee who transcends the mindless tedium of life in a honeybee colony. FREE EBOOK to first 10,000 visitors. http://ToBeeBook.com/preview.html Make sure your speakers are on. John Penberthy was born with an insatiable curiosity which has made him an ardent student of Life and Spirit. He grew up in south Florida, earned an MBA and spent 12 years consulting for proposed banks and commercial real estate developments throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Subsequently, John coordinated a vitamin A fortification (blindness prevention) project for Helen Keller International in Indonesia and later managed the 70,000 acre Cache River Bioreserve for The Nature Conservancy in southern Illinois. His striving to see the Divine in all things led him to write To Bee or Not to Bee, which came to him in a meditation. John lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and daughter.

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