Faith | I Take Off The Mask!

101 Things To Do Before You Commit Suicide

101 Things To Do Before You Commit Suicide

The economy is down, times are rough, you lose your job, you lose the love of your life. Ever contemplated on committing suicide?

First of all, let me be clear on this. I never advocate taking one’s own life, and I am now officially trying to stop you from doing so! For goodness’ sake, DON’T DO IT! If you do it, you can’t even have time later on to sulk about how life really sucks. That’s the sad part.

But since I actually possess no power to stop anybody and you’d just probably do what it is you wanted to do, here’s my last request. Won’t you please read this article before committing suicide?

(Waiver: Any advice or theories contained within this blog, its articles and downloads whether free or with a fee contain only the personal opinion of the author and are not meant to be applicable to your personal circumstances. If you need professional advice, please contact a professional consultant for the matter. )

101 Things To Do Before You Commit Suicide

1. Write a ten-page letter discussing why you’re doing it. I know, you may complain you’re too depressed, you’d easily run out of words to say. But hey, consider these the last pages you’d ever write. After this, you’ll never need to write anything anymore, not a single damn page. So why don’t you consider this for now. See, people would miss you. They’ll long to hear more about you. Aren’t ten pages too short then to write everything you’ve ever wanted to say?

2. Write down the three important items you’d want to give away and to whom you’re giving it to.

3. Write a separate letter to three people that mattered most to you. Tell them why you’re thankful you’ve had them in your life. (Don’t worry, the next item won’t be about writing anymore).

4. Cry for a moment for your own passing. Well atleast you’d know somebody cried for you. Grieve over the great loss the world would feel in losing this very dear person.

5. Write down 5 good things this person has done in his/ her life. (Sorry to be back about the writing stuff. But this time, its for this special person, you know?)

6. Write down 5 more things he/ she could have done had his/her life not ended so abruptly. (No need to feel guilty here now).

7. Plant a seed, a plant or a tree in memory of this special person.

8. Create a website summarizing his life and his heart.

9. Scan some of his baby photos and paste them at the website made.

10. Compose some e-mail greetings to be sent automatically in the future to greet special people in your life. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they could still receive greetings on their birthdays or during Christmas season from you? Go to www.lettermelater.com and do that for free.

11. Eat your favorite food.

12. Have some vanilla ice cream.

13. Say goodbye to your pet. Buy a cute puppy if you don’t have one. And then say goodbye.

14. Make a last round of strolling about at your local market or favorite cafe. Give the people you meet there everyday a firm handshake.

15. Record your favorite song and have it burned on a CD.

16. Write down the background music you’d want to be played in your funeral.

17. Buy that dress you’ve always wanted to buy.

18. Treat your classmates to lunch.

19. Dance one last time.

20. Ride a bike one last time.

21. Buy some caged birds and then set them free!

22. Reconcile with your enemies.

23. Take a cold shower.

24. Buy some fresh roses.

25. Go to a theme park, be like a child again and enjoy the rides.

26. Do some bunjee jumping. No need to be afraid now.

27. Watch some fireflies.

28. Catch some fireflies.

29. Do some wall-climbing.

30. Do some go-kart driving.

31. Taste some snow.

32. Watch a sunrise.

33. Make a poem about the sunrise you just saw.

34. Bake some cookies, give them away to kids across the street.

35. Visit some kids suffering from cancer.

36. Go to China.

37. Go to Paris.

38. Ride a train.

39. Ride an airplane.

40. Try some skydiving.

41. Learn how to be a pilot.

42. Climb a tree once more.

43. Watch your favorite movie.

44. Join a marathon.

45. Light a candle, make a wish.

46. Write a book.

47. Give your Mom a hug.

48. Let her hug you back.

49. Kiss your cute daughter.

50. Let her kiss you back.

51. Wish upon a star.

52. Watch a Disney film

53. Watch the movie Forest Gump

54. Explore the jungle.

55. Kill a lion!

56. Live with tribesmen.

57. Scuba dive.

58. Snorkle.

59. Learn German.

60. Join a reality tv show!

61. Go ghost hunting.

62. Research about the world beyond and see if you can still haunt people after you die.

63. Talk to a priest.

64. Read WHEN GOD PRAYS at www.itakeoffthemask.com and settle your matter with your God. Let Him know how angry or how frustrated you are. Take off your mask, be true to yourself and find what you’ve been looking for.

65. Learn how to paint and leave a masterpiece.

66. Write the most heartbreaking novel based on your own life.

67. Join www.plurk.com (a social networking website). Make 700 friends there and then announce your looming departure from life.

68. Join a boring book club.

69. Join an adventurous camera club.

70. Help a streetkid find a home.

71. Talk to your old grade school teacher.

72. Scold your silly boss!

73. Get ready for a fist-fight.

74. Go to Hollywood.

75. Ask an autograph from Brad Pitt.

76. Go to Rome.

77. Ask an appointment for the Pope.

78. Serve the army.

79. Do dangerous stunts.

80. Audition for a theater play.

81. Play some drums. Make as much noise as you can. Bother your roommate. Bother the guys next door. Bother the entire neighborhood!

82. Make a proposal to the most beautiful person you’ve ever met.

83. Marry that person.

84. Have kids.

85. Have grandchildren.

86. Be a stage-parent.

87. Buy a house.

88. Run for Congress.

89. Run for Senate.

90. Run for the Presidency!

91. Save the world.

92. Be a mystic.

93. Be a prophet.

94. Be a martyr.

95. Make a difference.

96. Make people happy.

97. Be happy.

98. Heal people.

99. Let go of your hurts.

100. Look forward to a beautiful new morning.

101. Live a little longer and ask yourself, “What does God really want me to do?”

We all try to commit suicide at one time or the other, by ignoring our life, our time, our opportunities. We kill ourselves with stress and with griefs from a past we can no longer pull back. Life is a gift. Each day is a gift. We’re all going to die one day anyway. Why not live to the full while you may?

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A Beacon of Light in the Darkness

Times are hard they say, the financial crisis is getting worse. People are anxious, everybody’s thinking for himself. Where do we go from here? Where do we find the light?

When all else is darkness, remember-

There is a place where darkness cannot prevail

there is a path where sunshine blesses still

where flowers grow in abundance

and the air is sweet.

Ten thousand may fall at your left

a hundred at your right,

yet you will not fall

if only you can believe.

Yea, there is a beacon of light

deep inside you

in that sacred space

which God Himself reserved

as His temple

as His sanctuary

and as your refuge amidst the storm

There is a beacon of light

that guides you still

even in the darkest night

even amidst the fiercest storm

Peace is yours

Joy is yours

if only in the moment

that you pray

Nothing touches you

that can harm your soul

or your heart

or your faith

or your song

The most sacred things are protected

forever

in that beacon of light

that shines through

beyond all time and space.

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Eight Universal Laws That Will Change Your Life

What are Universal Laws? These are the principles that are fixed and applies to you whether you are aware of them of not. Wise men have deciphered them. Prophets were revealed their secrets. But not all were able to benefit from them because their simple laws have been cloaked in the depths of religious rituals and theological debates. These Laws are simple. I call them Keys, KEYS that include the famous Law of Attraction that have attracted and confused many at the same time. Hereunder are the Universal Laws that will change your life.

8 KEYS OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SALVATION

1. The KEY of the ABSOLUTE

GOD is absolute good and absolute love. There is no exception. There are no excuses.

“but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”-Matthew 5:44-45

How can we be urged to be good both on the just and the unjust when God himself can’t do it? Many have already been disheartened, turning away from religion, and from the Ultimate Source, because they have been briefed how “conditional” God’s love really is. And why not? Reading from the Bible, especially from the Old Testament, we can see many references to a God who becomes jealous, to a God who withholds his blessings and takes vengeance upon the people, to a God who cannot intervene when his people needs him the most.

I believe that these are based mainly from wrong interpretations of what has really transpired. Men saw God not in God’s eyes, but through his own limited vision. God is saying something, but we are hearing another thing. We have a hard time dealing with the perfect, with the absolute. And that is why we see so many inconsistencies in God’s character in the Bible, one day being perfect, the other days being moody and easily angered and offended. These inconsistencies are not from the Ultimate Source, but from the various people who wrote the message they were given. They may have really seen something, a vision perhaps, but whoever said that every vision is a clear vision? Do we all have 20/20 vision?

This key of the absolute is evident even in the study of nature for it is said that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. This is ABSOLUTE. There are no exceptions.

2. The KEY of FREEDOM

Men have freewill, on earth and even in life after death. To talk of an eternal heaven or hell where one can no longer escape is to talk of the lost of freedom. And if this freedom can be lost and is not important, why give it in the first place?

Freedom is important and is the highest manifestation of man’s dignity. In my article MAN’s PURPOSE, I have discussed why among all of nature’s creatures, only man questions his purpose, the answer being, his purpose depends upon his freedom and his ability to decide how he wants to live his life.

Together with this freedom is the condition of being able to experience both good and bad, happiness and sorrow, victory and defeat. If there were only one course of action, whatever is freedom for?

Freedom imbues man with divine attributes, attributes that include responsibility, accountability, the power to create, and the power to destroy.

This freedom is also the reason why we do not see God intervening in times when evil men seem to succeed in what they do, especially when they do harm and cause sufferings to other people. If God were to intervene everytime such acts happen, where is freedom there? Men are free to do evil as they are free to do good.

Now some may ask, if men were created in the image of God, and if men are free, is God also free? Can God choose to be evil? I would say that God is free to do that, but what God did is something better. God chose to pass that freedom unto us so we may decide to choose ourselves whether to experience good or evil.

3. The KEY of VIBRATION

Objects of similar vibration attract each other

This is also related to the law of cause and effect and to the law of karma. Whatever you sow you also reap. You attract what you’ve already planted in your heart.

This key balances the key of freedom in such a way as to give corresponding value and effect to all the choices that we make. This key possesses the hand of justice when others abuse their freedom and fail to see the consequences of their choices and actions.

This is also the explanation why we sometimes encounter difficulty due to collective consciousness.

This cause and effect is also the reason for the blessings and curses in the old testament. It is not God who causes the people to suffer. It is the people who have brought such sufferings unto themselves by doing evil and reaping all its consequences. God was even good enough to give them the commandments as a guide on how to live life well and avoid the negative consequences of their sinful actions.

4. The KEY of TRANSMUTATION

The challenge of life is that of transition and the transmutation of evil into good.

This key also answers the question on whether God intervenes in the affairs of men. The answer is YES, but only through men of enlightenment. JESUS for instance bridges heaven and earth. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus says.

We do not all possess a level of consciousness that can allow us to bridge heaven and earth as Jesus did, but we can come to him to help us find our way. We are bridges of one another, uplifting one another up in our voyage of transcending our valleys to climb the highest peaks within our vision.

We pray for other people because this helps raise their vibration or align it to the Source through you. If God were good and if there is no law such as this, do you think we ever need to pray for anyone still? Won’t God give their blessings unto them without need for asking?

This is the way by which man’s freedom is not infringed but at the same time, man is not cut off from the unlimited power available in the Universe.

This key enables men to tap unto the Higher Source, even unto the Ultimate Source and transform vibrations that cannot easily be changed using one’s own limitations.

Per the key of the absolute we discussed that matter can neither be created nor destroyed but only trasformed. Now I add that matter can only be TRANSMUTED. All creation is a work of transmutation.

Man himself is a work of transmutation, God performing a marvellous transmutation unto the dust from which man came from.

5. The KEY of FAITH

Faith is required to connect to the Absolute Source or GOD. The New Testament is filled with precepts on how significant one’s faith is.

Without connnecting to the Source, no transmutation can ever take place. This is one reason why Jesus said that whoever believes in him shall be saved.

6. The KEY of LOVE

After connecting thru faith, it is LOVE that is required in order to empower miracles.

Without love, there is no sufficient purpose to manifest anything. Without love, the unmanifest cannot manifest, the darkness cannot be filled by light. Love is the force that propels, even unto seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Love is both the mover and the reason for every move taking place. Love alone persists unto completion.

7. The KEY of SURRENDER

Letting go fortifies faith and allows the flow of energy from the Source. It is not enough that one believes. One must surrender totally in order for Love to be allowed to do its work.

Now many may ask which comes first, is it Love or is it surrender? One must have known that once Love takes over you, one has no other choice but to surrender. Love is so powerful that once an opportunity opens for it to come in, it flows through you and moves you in ways you never even imagined.

On the other hand, it is faith that often gives us the needed nudge so that the door of surrender may be opened for love to come right in.

In some occassions, when both love and faith seem totally absent, surrender is reached through a path we desire not, but proves to be a blessing in the end. Such is the role of pain, of sorrow, of the exhaustion that helps us to give up trying to accomplish something out of our own limited strength. Many times indeed, it is when we have surrendered that we find the infinite strength that will propel us in achieving our highest purposes and desires.
8. The KEY of MYSTERY

Not everything is revealed at once but in their proper season. The veil is as important as the keys. Men often go wrong when they become impatient and try to figure out everything at once. Why would you need all that knowledge at once? Are you prepared to receive it? Are you strong enough to be able to use it? The veil is lifted up at right time when we are ready enough to find the key behind it. There is a season for everything, and everything comes at the right season it was destined to arrive.

These are the EIGHT KEYS of Salvation, the EIGHT UNIVERSAL LAWS that will change your life!

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Secret to Answered Prayers

What is the secret to answered prayers? Will God answer my prayers?

The Bible has a very simple guide on how we should pray:

Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not… ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. - Matthew 21:21

And when we look back at all the prayers that Jesus had answered, honesty and simplicity in those prayers were very much evident.

And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. -Matthew 8:2-3

And as Jesus passed by from thence, two blind men followed him, crying out, saying Have mercy on us, thou son of David. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done unto you. And their eyes were opened. - Matthew 9:27-30

Such simple and straightforward prayers, and yet these prayers were often the prayers that Jesus praised for their faith.

Why then do some of our prayers seem to remain unanswered until now? What have we failed to understand? What is the kind of prayer God always hears and answers?

I’ve listed THREE easy guidelines that have helped me tremendously in my own prayers. They’re so simple and easy to remember, and they have guided me through much of my prayer life.

Three things we need in our prayers:

1. To KNOW what we want

What is it that we truly want? Are the concerns that escape our lips in prayer truly the things we desire? We are to remember that prayer isn’t about mere words no matter how beautiful or how well composed they seem to be. Prayer is that which comes from our hearts, the things we lift up towards heaven when we close our eyes and kneel before the One who hears the voice within us. For all we know, the things we say are just the opposite of the things we really want. For all we know, we have not yet come to discover the things we truly desire.

Do we still remember the blind man whom Jesus healed?

And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Why did Jesus ask him what he desires? Wasn’t it already obvious that he needed to see? What I can say is this: the prayer, the real desire of the blind man should come from him himself. Jesus wanted him to realize the desire that lies in his own heart, to claim it, to proclaim it, and to believe that it can be done. Because this is the way to authentic prayer. God does not suddenly appear before us and insist on the things we obviously need. What would you say if He suddenly comes to you and says, “Well John, I think you need a new job so you can buy a new shirt because you really look so shabby already, and I can’t bear the sight of you!” Well, won’t it be encroaching on our God-given will, on the honor He has bestowed upon us as His children? On the right to receive whatever gift we want, not the gifts thrusted upon us by force?

We need to seek inside our hearts those desires that have slept there for so long. Unless we do, we do not know what to pray for in the first place, and we end up sending a bunch of mixed and weak signals that do not really know the things it asks for. Have you ever heard someone talking on the phone over a choppy line? Well, was it easy to understand what he was saying? If the person was asking you for something, would you have understood what it was? And having never understood what it was in the first place, would you have given what the person was asking for?

We must uncover the prayers our souls are crying for. And in order to do so, we must learn how to remove all the impurities that conceal our true desires. Know what you want. Be brave enough to face yourself in the mirror and see what it is you’re lacking. Do not content yourself with the outer layer of your problems. Seek the core of your difficulties. It is only then that you will know you are blind. It is only then that you will know you needed to see.

2. To BELIEVE that we can get what we want and that God can answer our prayers.

What is the point of praying if we do not believe our prayers will be answered? What is the point of praying if we do not believe someone hears them and that the one who does can answer them? You might have noticed how people often simply murmur their wishes, hoping some genie might pass by and grant them their wishes if he so desires. Not a very empowering concept, isn’t it?

See if you can relate to the following:

a. We think we do not deserve what we pray for

Having a realistic assessment of ourselves is good. But insisting on our unworthiness as a cause to believe that our prayers should not be granted is another. Remember that God does not force us to receive anything, however wonderful or generous His blessings are. If we do not wish to accept his answers, we are the ones closing our doors and shutting out every good thing God sends out to us.

b. We think God is not good or generous enough to grant us our desires

We may have an idea of a God who never even smiles, a God who gives out all these commandments for us to follow and who watches our every move so He can punish us if we violate any of those laws He has given us. If this is how you see God, it is no wonder that you do not believe your prayers will be answered. In fact, if this is how you see Him, you may never even have the guts to pray to Him at all!

Believe that God is good. Believe that God loves you so much He gave up His glory to be just like you in order to save you. Believe that if He can grant you His One and Only Son, He will not withhold anything from you.

3. To fervently and consistently DESIRE the thing we want.

Sometimes we know what we want, and we believe that God can grant them. But when some sort of delay comes, we start doubting our prayers, and subsequently, God’s generosity to grant what we ask for. A persistent prayer proves how far our faith can go. It proves how much we believe in the things we pray for.

When we fail to pray fervently, the following happens and jeopardizes our prayers:

a. We settle for the initial results we get instead of pursuing what it is we really want

Sometimes, we recognize some things as answers to our prayers. It may be a job, which pays enough, but is not as rewarding as we envisioned it to be; or a boyfriend who seems okey, but one with whom we do not feel truly happy with. Though these answers seem good enough, they do not fully satisfy our desires. And we settle for these things instead of pursuing the true essence of our prayers.

These things may have been answers indeed, but only answers to the broken prayers we prayed when we have not yet uncovered our true desires. They have been sent according to our faith, but that doesn’t mean they are the true answers to our deepest desires. They may only be there to help us dig deeper, to ask ourselves what it is we truly want. If they can satisfy us now, then well and good. But if not, if we can’t pray a prayer of thanksgiving with a heart overflowing in joy and gratitude, then let go of these things. These are not yet the answers you are searching for.

b. We change our minds even before we get the desired results

Sometimes it happens that even before the answer to our prayer arrives, we retract our prayers and ask for something else instead. And after doing so, we change our minds again and ask for another thing, and then another thing, and then another. How do you expect then to get the answers you want? If you keep on changing your mind, you only prove you do not know what it is you really want, and that’s why you cannot persist in your prayers. You just keep on jumping from one prayer to another hoping that you may finally hit the jackpot by randomly guessing on what you really desire to have.

Consider the blind man whom Jesus healed:

And it came to pass, as he drew nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. - Luke 18:35-43

Though the people rebuked him, though they urged him to keep quiet, the man continued to cry out to Jesus. He knew his need and he believed that Jesus can grant him the answer to his prayer.

Unlike the blind man, some people nowadays listen more to the people rebuking them than to the inner desires in their hearts. Often, we believe these people, and we allow them to make us believe our prayers can’t be or don’t deserve to be answered.

Don’t listen to these people. Listen to your heart, because somewhere in there, God had planted a sacred seed of desire that will bring you to your happiness, to the destiny He has planned for you all along, if only you will believe.

So go ahead and pray. Pray your deepest, innermost desires. For such is the secret to answered prayers. Believe that God listens and God longs for you to have your prayers answered. Pray fervently, do not give up. For as you might have observed, Jesus never turned down anyone who’s ever asked Him for anything; NOT ONE.

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