THE MAGAZINE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS.ISSUE No. 1 JUNE 2008

Published by The Nooze Publishing Company, LLC

PREMIER ISSUEPREMIER ISSUE

Believe - 1

Reoccuring FeaturesAll Faiths News

Prayer

Meditation

Miracles

Health & Healing

Comfort & Support

Family Issues

Parenting

Relationships

Dating & Marriage

Pastor’s Corner

Teen Issues

Children’s Corner

Find a Therapist

Finding Peace

Music Reviews

Movie Reviews

Book Reviews

What’s Happening

Saving the Planet

Our Faith Heroes

Church Directory

The Eye of God

Current

Special Feature

Articles

Who we are at Believe Magazine

The Powerof Prayer

Run to the RoarFrom Fear to Courage

The Pastor’sCorner

Find a Churchnear you.

2 - Believe

Scott Lindquist, EditorScott Lindquist is an author, lecturer, crime prevention practitioner and graphic designer. He is a graduate of the F.C.P.T.I., (Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute), and has written three books on rape prevention. His latest book was published in 2007 by Sourcebooks. He has given numerous semi-nars and TV interviews on crime prevention, and has written dozens of articles in national magazines. He has been featured three times in Cosmo in the U.S. and U.K. He is married to Rev. Sydney Magill-Lindquist, a Unity minister, and pastor of Unity of Gainesville Church in Gainesville, Georgia. Scott is also a screenwriter, actor and set designer. He has devoted his life to mak-ing an impact by leaving the world a better place then when he found it. Believe maga-zine is only a small part of his contribution.

He may be contacted at: Phone: 678-923-4898Email:scottlindquist.believe@gmail.com

Welcome to the “Good News” of Believe. For all of us searching for unconditional love and acceptance, for those that yearn for positive spirituality and an uplifting message of hope... we bring you Believe. This magazine is for all people of all faiths on a spiritual path. We all need to feel that we are not alone, and that the world is ba-sically good. It is out of that need that “Believe” was born. It is my hope that Be-lieve will be a source of comfort and inspi-ration for you, regardless of your beliefs. It is not our job at Believe to judge you or the path that you’re on. We believe that there are many paths to God and many op-portunities for enlightenment along the way. We celebrate the experience of God. We believe that the experience of enlighten-ment is universally felt by all people, how-ever it is in the understanding and transla-tion of those experiences that sometimes leads to confusion and division. We believe that God speaks to all of us in many ways and in many languages on a daily basis, however much of the time we are too busy to hear the still quiet voice of the Creator. We hope that this magazine will give you hope, encouragement and even help you fi nd a connection to the Divine as you travel along your path. May God bless you on your journey.

- Scott Lindquist, Editor

Welcome to Believe Magazine.

The symbol above represents our belief that we honor all faiths here. The symbol of the dove in the center of the symbol represents our call for peace among all religions and beliefs. Let us fi nd our common ground and celebrate our belief in a Divine Creator.

An explanation of our symbol.

What is meant by Spirituality?Perhaps the simplest way to make the distinction is to say we’re talking about experience, not doctrine. Though spirituality is a part of all religions, no religion can own it, and those who aren’t comfortable with organized re-ligion are no less involved in the journey. This approach honors questions, mysteries, and journeys of discovery over dogmatic answers, closed systems, and now-you’ve-made-it destinations. Respecting and drawing upon the world’s great wisdom traditions (religions) as well as the latest insights from medicine, psychology, sociology, ecol-ogy, and the natural sciences, we speak to people from various religious traditions or no religious tradition at all.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT To bring all forms of positive spirituality together

in order to give encouragement and support for people of all faiths.

Cross - Christianity

AUM - Hinduism

Yin and Yang - Taoism

Nine-pointed Star - Bahai

Wheel of Dharma - Buddhism

Jain Ahimsa - Jainism

Torii - Shintoism

Water Symbol - Confucianism

Native American Spirituality

Star of David - Judaism

Khanda - Sikhism

Islamic Star - Islam

THE MAGAZINE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS.THE MAGGAZINE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL

Believe - 3

A Story of Fear and Courage

It was a day, I’ll never forget. I had been working on installing a com-puter system in my home/offi ce, when all of a sudden, I got winded and short of breath. I didn’t feel well and when my wife looked at

me, she said I looked ashen. We decided that we had better go to the hospital. Now, I have to admit that I’m a lot like many other men who will tell you that they HATE going to the doctor, much less the hospital. Many of us men would rather just have a heart attack and die rather than get into the who medical treatment scene. Yes, I know that’s stupid. So, as I was sitting in the bed in the hospital my wife was trying to convince me to undergo the Cardiac Catherization test that the hospital had prescribed. For those of you who don’t know what a Cardiac Cath test is, it’s where they put a camera inside your leg and thread it all the way to your heart to see if you have any arterial blockage. It’s not that serious, but if they fi nd an artery that’s blocked it could lead to heart bypass surgery, which is serious.

As for me, I was having none of it. I was afraid of the unknown. I just wanted to go home. A very understanding surgeon came in to talk to me about the test. As we talked, I’m sure she could sense my fear. She then said she had a story to tell me that she had heard when she was in Africa. She said that when a male and female lion went on a hunt, it was the female lion who actually did the take down of the animal. The male lion would stand on a bluff and roar. The other animals, hearing the roar would run away from the sound and into the clutches of the female lion. So the African proverb would say that we should “Run to the Roar”, as that’s where safety is. In my case the roar was the fear of illness and death, however by running away from the fear, I would only run towards danger. I had to face my fears. I remember what FDR said, “That the only thing we have to fear is... fear itself.” It wasn’t long after that, that my wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. During that situation, fear was everywhere. It’s interesting that when a major crisis happens, it puts all of life’s small grievances into perspective. Once again, I thought of the lions of Africa. In this case, my fear was losing her and being alone. We walked through the fear and came out the other side, more whole and with a greater ap-preciation for life and our relationship.

What is your “Roar”? What do you fear most? Is it illness, loneliness, debt or bankruptcy? What is the cloud that you see when you wake up? One of the things that we both noticed when we were going through the cancer trauma, was that we’d wake up as if our problems were a bad dream, then the dark cloud would come over us and we would remember all the fears and anxiety that we had felt the night before. I’m sure you have had the same experience when your life was turned upside down in a crisis. Today, there is much that we can be afraid of; from terrorism, disease, crime, job loss, fi nancial debts, and of course death.

The poem on the right will give you comfort. James Dillet Freeman, was an internationally acclaimed poet, author, and lecturer. His poem “I Am There, was taken to the moon by Colonel James B. Irwin on Apollo 15.

I Am There James Dillet Freeman - 1947

Do you need Me? I am there.

You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by. You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice. You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands. I am at work, though you do not understand My ways. I am at work, though you do not understand My works. I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.

Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith. Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer. When you need Me, I am there. Even if you deny Me, I am there. Even when you feel most alone, I am there. Even in your fears, I am there. Even in your pain, I am there.

I am there when you pray and when you do not pray. I am in you, and you are in Me. Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me, for only in your mind are the mists of “yours” and “mine.” Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me.

Empty your heart of empty fears. When you get yourself out of the way, I am there. You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all. And I am in all. Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there. I am there because I have to be, because I am. Only in Me does the world have meaning; only out of Me does the world take form; only because of Me does the world go forward. I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded.

I am the love that is the law’s fulfi lling. I am assurance. I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by. I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance. I am your peace. I am ONE with you. I am. Though you fail to fi nd Me, I do not fail you. Though your faith in Me is unsure, My faith in you never wavers, because I know you, because I love you. Beloved, I AM there.

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Conscious Water Crystals - The Power of Prayer Made Visible

Conscious Water Crystals - Th e Power of Prayer Made VisibleThe image above shown on the left is a frozen crystal of pure water--a bright, radiant hexagon. But in response to human thought and emotion, water crystals can take many forms.

What is the real power of prayer? For centuries, religious people have believed in the power prayer. Science has historically been more skeptical because they haven’t been able to actually prove the effect of prayer or words and thought on matter. That is all beginning to change. The brilliant work of Dr. Masaru Emoto has proven that matter, in this case water, is affected by thoughts, music, words and yes... even prayer. If you still doubt that your thoughts impact the world around you, viewing Emoto’s work will erase this doubt forever. If we can see a dramatic physical change in the crystallization of water, then we must believe that it is possible to change matter, our human bodies, with the power of thoughts, words and prayers.

The photo on the left is of a frozen water sample from the lake at Fujiwara Dam, in Japan. As you can see, the water’s structure is dark and amorphous, with no crystalline formations. After the water sample had been taken, the Reverend Kato Hoki, chief priest of the Jyuhouin Temple, made a one-hour prayer prac-tice beside the dam. After that, new water samples were taken, frozen and photographed. As you can see (at right), the change is stunning--the ugly blob of the former sample has become a clear, bright-white hexagonal crystal-within-a-crystal. Here are some other effects that Emoto claims to have found in his research: Water from clear mountain springs and streams has beautifully formed crystalline structures,

while the crystals of polluted or stagnant water are deformed and distorted. Distilled water exposed to classical music takes delicate, symmetrical crystalline shapes. • When the words “thank you” were taped to a bottle of distilled water, the frozen crystals had a similar shape to the crys-• tals formed by water that had been exposed to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” (see right) -- music composed out of grati-tude to the man it was named for.When Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” was played to water, the resulting frozen crystals were split in two.• When water samples are bombarded with heavy metal music or labeled with negative words, or when negative thoughts • and emotions are focused intentionally upon them, the water does not form crystals at all and displays chaotic, fragment-ed structures. When water is treated with aromatic fl oral oils, the water crystals tend to mimic the shape of the original fl ower. At right, • water crystals were exposed to aromatic essence of chamomile.

Of great interest for healing and just day-to-day well being is the extreme effect upon water crystals of negative words and ideas. When the words “Adolf Hitler” were taped to a bottle of distilled water, the results seen at left were obtained.

When we love our own bodies, they respond. When we send our love to the Earth, she responds. For our own bodies at birth are 70 percent water, and the percentage of water in our bodies remains high throughout life (depending upon weight and body type). Also, the earth’s surface is 70 percent water. And now we have seen before our eyes the proof that water is far from inanimate, but is actually alive and responsive to our every thought and emotion. Perhaps, having seen this, we can begin to really understand the awesome power that we possess, through choosing our thoughts and intentions, to heal ourselves and the earth. If only we believe.

The pictures and discussion in this

article represent the brilliant work of Ja-

pan’s Masaru Emoto. The photos have been

published in a gorgeous book called The Mes-

sages of Water.

sand

Believe - 5

Ministry is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Regardless of your denomination, or religious beliefs, the stresses and strains of ministry can lead to burn-out. Here are some

tips from Rev. Bob De Moor. He is the pastor of preaching and ad-ministration at West End CRC, Edmonton, Alberta.

Ten tips for New Christian Pastors

1. Love God’s people. You can’t show them Christ’s love if you don’t visit them; preaching, discipling, and pastoral care mutually reinforce the effectiveness of each.

2. Learn to lose a few. If you don’t always get your way, the king-dom will still come, others will be encouraged by being allowed to show some leadership too, and your blood-pressure readings will look much better.

3. Weep with those who weep. Dignify grief by listening, pray-ing, and grieving alongside instead of trying to “fi x it.” When Job stormed heaven’s gates with his laments, his visitors were true friends only as long as they kept quiet.

4. Take advice. A colleague just offered a gem that would have made me much more effective in church meetings: “Never pass up a chance to remain silent.” Sigh. If I only could . . .

5. Let criticism hurt but not too much. Your congregants never took that course directing you to give 10 compliments to earn the right to offer a single criticism. So take your medicine because you’ll be swallowing lots of it. Accept criticism kindly, learn from it, and, if it’s unfounded, remind yourself that what really matters is what Jesus thinks. But don’t become calloused. If criticism no longer stings, fi nd another line of kingdom work.

6. Get a life besides ministry. If you don’t shelter family, personal, and down time, you won’t have any. And if you never interact with family, you’ll have to settle for those lame generic sermon illustrations on Google.

7. Be a shock absorber. Take those bruising shots to the ego without passing them on. Release them regularly at the foot of the cross.

8. Don’t bore people. To bring good news, you have to be good news. You can’t help folks experience the joy of God’s kingdom by being odious. Be like Jesus; help people laugh a lot (Matt. 11:19).

9. Search out people who will level with you about how you’re really doing. Your supervising elders—and God bless them for it—want to support you. So they might sugarcoat the bitter pill. Enlist your spouse, some close friends, and your colleagues in ministry.

10. Enjoy! It’s a HUGE privilege to be invited into people’s lives at their best and worst moments. You’ll run into Christ so often, you’ll fi nd yourself blessed immeasurably more than you’ll bless them. You’ve made a smart career choice. Go with God!

Ten Tips for New Christian Pastors

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6 - Believe

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Presbyterian Jewish Synagogues

Mosques

Methodist Episcopal

Temples

Non-Denominational

Believe - 7

Thin Line Between Love and Great Copyright © 2008 by Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes

Are you happy with where you are in life? If not fi nd something that you love to do and become great at it. You are not that far away from where you want to be. The assets are greener on the other side. I love what I do each and everyday. I write and speak to encourage others to be the best that they can be. If you are sick and tired then get inspired. In order to motivate you to greatness I will use the word L.O.V.E., because in Cor-inthians 13 it says that love never fails. In this scripture, faith and hope are along side love, so my dream is that you step out on faith to give your dreams hope.

LLearn what you are good at doing. Make a list of the things you do well. On a sheet of paper write down as many accomplishments that

you can remember. If you can list 100 victories then list 100. Don't limit yourself before you get started. Narrow your list to a top ten, then a super three. Ask others what you do well. Stop being shy with your future. What do I do well? Ask this question to any and everyone that will give you a sincere reply? The answers they give may confi rm what you are already see in yourself or give light to future possibilities. Take classes to improve or learn more about an area of interest. Once you know what you and others think that you are great at, start taking classes to develop your strengths.

OOvercome your obstacles. What stands in your way of success? Is money or time a factor for you not making things happen? Do you

know the right people? Do the right people know you? Make a list of things you need to succeed. Whatever resource you need is available to you.

V Visualize achievement. See in your mind what you want. What do you want to accomplish as a result of using your talents? Do you

want to sail the seven seas? Do you want to change lives and help thou-sands of people out of debt? Close your eyes for a few minutes each day and dream about being successful. Open your eyes and believe that dreams come true. Read about what you want. Find books that will help you digest thoughts of greatness into your system.

Eexercize. Get started. It has been said that people perish for lack of knowledge. I strongly also feel that people don't reach greatness

because they lack action. Find your best starting point. If you need a mentor or business plan call SCORE at your local Chamber of Com-merce. Check and see if you are near a state university so you can use the resources available at the Small Business Development Center. Get noticed. After you start, which is the greatest thing you can ever do, fi nd cost effective ways to get the word out about what you do. Design busi-ness cards and fl yers to hand out and write a press releases that you can send to media outlets to get covers. Keep going and never give up. When you wake up learn what you love to do and never let an obstacle stand in your way. Start visualizing achievements and exercise your right to get started and get noticed so you can have greatness. Remember you can't fail if you choose love because there is a Thin Line Between Love and Great. Encouragement Speaker Derrick Hayes publishes The W.O.R.D. each week. For more information or to have Derrick Hayes speak at your next event visit www.encouragementspeaker.com or email info@encour-agementspeaker.com

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8 - Believe

Are you stressed? Irritable? Having trouble sleeping? Do you feel like screaming? Crying? Pouring a jug of water over your boss’s head?

We all feel stressed from time to time, so it is essential to have an arsenal of coping mechanisms at hand. Instead of heading for the refrigerator, here are some stress management tips that should help ease the pressures of life!Breathe. No kidding! Taking in a few deep cleansing breaths and slowing down does wonders. Are you ready? Breathe deep.... inhale, exhale. Ahhh-hhh.Change your routine. Shake it up baby. If you’ve been sitting all day, get up! Let’s get physical! Stretch. Walk. And ... if you’ve been lifting heavy boxes (anyone out there lifting???), then sit down and take a load off. Think deep thoughts.Keep things in perspective. When you fi nd yourself in an emotional twist, ask yourself ... “Will this matter in ten years? Five years? Tomorrow? In ten minutes?” Smile and Laugh. Every chance you get. (Laugh lines are sexy!) If you can’t fi nd the humor in a situation, get a funny video or CD.

I recommend “Fawlty Towers”. (This was a hilarious British comedy with John Cleese.)Add Vitamin C to your diet. Studies show that vitamin C knocks out the secretion of stress hormones.Pray: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ~ Isaiah 26:3 KJV You might also remember the passage: Chant: Aum Mani Padme Hum (pronounced “Om mahnay pahdmay hoom”). The most popular translation is “Hail the Jewel in the Lotus.” Have Fun: Let your inner child out. Play with children and be “in the mo-ment”. Do something in nature that makes you concentrate not on you or your problems, but upon something else. The greatest way to get out of yourself and the anxiety you’re feeling is to fi nd someone that is worse-off than you. That is the key to the “Christian” message... to be of service: to lose yourself in service to someone else. If you do this, you’ll fi nd that your problems are not nearly so important. It will give you a perspective that you need to see things differently. Contem-plate on the poem below.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS AWAY.A mighty monarch in the days of old Made offer of high honour, wealth and gold, To one who should produce in form concise A motto for his guidance, terse yet wise---A precept, soothing in his hours forlorn, Yet one that in his prosperous days would warn. Many the maxims sent the king, men say. The one he chose: “This too shall pass away.”Oh, jewel sentence from the mine of truth! What riches it contains for age or youth. No stately epic, measured and sublime, So comforts, or so counsels, for all time, as these few words. Go write them on your heart And make them of your daily life a part.Has some misfortune fallen to your lot? This too will pass away--absorb the thought. And wait; your waiting will not be in vain, Time gilds with gold the iron links of pain. The dark to-day leads into light to-morrow; There is no endless joy, no endless sorrow. Are you upon earth’s heights? No cloud in view? Go read your motto once again: This too shall pass away; fame, glory, place and power, They are but little baubles of the hour, fl ung by the ruthless years down in the dust. Take warning and be worthy of God’s trust.Use well your prowess while it lasts; leave bloom, Not blight, to mark your footprints to the tomb. The truest greatness lies in being kind, The truest wisdom in a happy mind. He who desponds, his Maker’s judg-ment mocks; The gloomy Christian is a paradox. Only the sunny soul respects its God. Since life is short we need to make it broad; Since life is brief we need to make it bright. Then keep the old king’s motto well in sight, And let its meaning permeate each day. Whatever comes, This too shall pass away.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Chicago, W. B. Conkey, 1902.

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