Joy just is. It’s not in the lights or the stars, in getting or giving presents; nor is it in gathering with friends and family, although one might, or might not, be aware of joy in any of these experiences. Experiences come and go; joy is a spiritual quality that is unchanging. It manifests through awareness of it.

Who are we? What is life, and what are the laws that govern it? What is its meaning and purpose? What is real; what is unreal? What is truth, health, evil, disease, death? How are these elements of existence cognized and understood?

The term “existential” is used to connote whatever deals with the above issues.

When a tree has its roots in contact with the source of its nourishment, it is in harmony with its own nature and, as a consequence, it is a beneficial presence in nature. What is our essential nature? If we were ego-persons, then ego gratification would make us healthy because then we would be true to our essential nature. But we see that ego gratification does not make anyone healthy; it makes us sick. So, there must be something wrong with this idea.

At Christmas time and other holidays, families come together and the members make a supreme effort to express love toward each other. They try to do it and the result is that after these holidays people tend to run into various problems (such as colds, flu, sadness, exhaustion, etc.) .

Isaiah in chapter 1, verse 18 makes it sound so easy: “Come, let us reason together.” And, indeed, it may be easier than it looks. All it requires is sincere interest in what is really true, useful, and beneficial for all concerned.

Are we free, or are we enslaved?

Most people don’t realize that they are enslaved. It is so widespread that they think it is just natural to be paralyzed with fear. So the first thing is to know the difference between being enslaved and being free. Once we know that we can be enslaved when we could be free, then the question is, What is the next step?

Here is a simple idea to discern what is good and healthy vs what is not:

Any idea, or system of values, or religious system, anything that impinges on individual existence, can validate itself or disqualify itself by its consequences for the health and fulfillment of the individual. . .

if we have the right idea of what abundance is and what its source is, we will never lack an opportunity for being useful and helpful. But if we are ignorant of this fact and feel deprived or sorry for ourselves, we have closed the floodgates of the good which God is generously pouring out continuously.

. . .Our ability and willingness to be useful and helpful in business or employment determines the prospering of it. Should we experience insufficient income or a slowdown in our business, we need to improve our ability to be helpful.

. . .In a certain sense, looking for a job is a mistake. We are looking to be useful, to contribute. While it is intelligent to be concerned with what benefits we may derive from our employment, we must also be interested in what way we may benefit the company or institution we work for.

There are all kinds of moneys. We have to distinguish between drug money, and political bribery money, and crime money. But the real money, the good money, is the shadow of love.

Aging is the accumulation of unresolved grievances. . . .

The word “maturing” is an attempt at describing a progressive development of consciousness, moving in the direction of ever-clearer discernment of nondimensional Reality: toward the light of enlightenment.

-Dr. Hora: "Self Transcendence"