This week the New York Times had a story about Christian Universities not allowing gay clubs on campus. I was outraged to see ACU, my university mentioned in the story. I quickly called the office of the president to ask if this was true. I was told, they didn’t know. Really? I then asked if they knew the earth was round and hung up.

When are we going to stop using the Bible for our own fear-based prejudices?

In the 1860’s, Southern preachers defended slavery by propping up the Bible and what it literally says. Ephesians 6:5, “slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling.” Or, Titus 2:9, “…tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect.” Southern Christians who wanted to keep their slaves had the words of the Bible to back them up.

A new symbolic view of the Bible is needed today including how we view homosexuality. Yes, it is true the Old Testament says in Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” But this old testament God is the same God who got angry and wiped out cities of the unfaithful, killed Job’s family because of a bet he had with Satan and killed Onan because he “spilled semen on the ground.” Is this the God you believe in, love and follow today? A God with human emotions?

In January, mega church pastor Joel Osteen told CNN that homosexuality is wrong because, “the scripture shows that it’s a sin.”

Mr. Osteen should be careful about his rhetoric going forward-careful not to continue giving the impression that being Christian is in large measure about opposing gay rights, and careful not to let the public expression of his faith become primarily associated with something like looks, sounds and feels like hate to the rest of us.

Just as science ultimately proved the earth is indeed round, science is again proving being homosexual is the way a person is born. Just like we can’t change the color of our skin, we can’t change our sexual preferences.

The next step in human evolution is the development of our minds and the expansion of our hearts. I can only pray that young gay Christians can hang on, keep the faith and look to the compassionate example of Jesus.

One of my favorite things to do is to play the game, “Let’s pretend,” with Sam, my nine-year-old son. Sam spends most of his time in a make believe world. He fights off monsters and demons and dressed like a knight, will roam through castles and palaces, and wander through enchanted landscapes.

Too often we grow up and allow our imagination to shrivel up and die. We think the world we live in is the “real” world. Yet without imagination life can be pretty colorless and bland. With it, we can dream of the impossible, join the ranks of explorers and inventors and change the world.

As we all embrace spring and the renewal of this season, I invite you to step out of the world of the mundane, and use your imagination to see new possibilities, to try the unexpected, and step fearlessly into new territories.

Imagination is more than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein

Airports are great places to watch people. You see such a variety of people: business travelers, parents with small children, and vacationers; some excited to be leaving, some are relieved to be coming home.

The energy level in airports can be overwhelming. Emotionally charged greetings and sad farewells contrast with the frustration of missed flights and lost luggage.

Yet, every airport has a control tower that monitors the flights, manages runways, and maintains order in the midst of chaos and confusion.

Life also has a control center where peace and calm reign supreme, where order is brought out of chaos, and where we can retreat at any time to escape the hustle and bustle of the day. At this center we find stillness that quiets our overactive mind and a silence that soothes frazzled nerves. It is a place where only we can enter because only we hold the key.

The next time you find yourself in a situation of tension, anxiety, or if you become emotionally upset, remember to escape to a place of inner stillness where your true self lives.

You can reach this place through meditation. Join me tonight for a short 30 minute teleseminar on mediation, 5:00pm Pacific, 6:00pm Mountain, 7:00pm Central and 8:00pm Eastern.

EVENT: Meditation Workshop
DATE & TIME: Thursday, March 24th at 6:00pm Mountain
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO INSTANT TELESEMINAR, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=18556428

Thank you everyone for such an overwhelming response to my Teleclass last night! I am so grateful that so many of you emailed questions and comments. I am excited that y’all expressed an interest in starting a spiritual community. I wasn’t able get to all of the questions, so I decided to blog about the ones that weren’t answered.  I received several questions about the ego so let’s discuss this juicy topic.

You are in a group shot. The film gets developed or downloaded. You look at yourself first. That is ego, me first. You want recognition for an outstanding job or performance, ego again. I was on CBS News Sunday Morning, I got a copy of the video and sent it to everyone I knew, big ego example. Ego is our personal identity. However, ego is important. Without it, we would not gain a sense of ourselves as important and separate people.  Since a tiger named is a tiger tamed, it is important to know that insecure voice in your brain, the fear that you feel, is also your ego. I think the ego is the mortal part of us, the part that cares what people think, and the part that allows fear to dominate our lives. You break out of the ego prison by finding the inner you, the real you. Ironically, the only way to access the inner you is to fully access the present. Fear is made up of past emotions, so if you are experiencing fear, it is impossible to stay in the present. At this moment you are reading this blog, it doesn’t matter what other things are going on in your life at this moment, your focus has shrunk to this second.

What do you think the ego is?