Rev. Marilyn L. Redmond 

 Since we had moved out of theneighborhood to a new home, the distance to attend the classes was a bigchallenge. Every week for two years, I took the school bus to where I couldcatch a county bus into Seattle. I then transferred to a city bus that let meoff on the other side of a lake from the church, where I then completed thetrip to the church on foot. Conveniently, my parents picked me up at aneighbor's near the church to take me home at night.

 I always have been a diligentstudent and learning the Biblical Stories and memorizing the Small Catechism byLuther was the program of study.  I knowtoday the catechism was the dogma and beliefs of the church. I now know thatreligious beliefs are rules placed upon us. I did the memory work, but nevertook it to heart as I was in survival growing up. It was just words to me. Therefore,I was not entirely indoctrinated. This ultimately served me well.

 However, I did attend church andcontinued to take my own children to church for their confirmationclasses.  During my domestic violentmarriage, church was a safe place to be. I was out of the house and in a pleasant environment. I understand nowhow it did benefit me to have a safer place then being home, in those days. However,when I needed to ask myself the deep questions in recovery from addictions tothe prescriptions, I found that the church dogma did not keep me from beingaddicted. I needed different answers that were more realistic not for justsurviving in life, but how to thrive without medications.  

 In treatment, I was introduced toa path of spirituality to replace the medications. It took a while for me tounderstand the difference between religion and being spiritual. I had livedfrom my head/ego trying to be safe for years thinking someone would save me fromthe trauma. Moving into listening to my heart was new to me. In fact, my churchpreached against meditation saying it was the voice of the devil. Consequently,this was a traumatic shift in commitment. Taking that step of faith washarrowing. Using a higher power of love was foreign, as I did not know aboutlove. I was raised that love hurt. Therefore, I had closed my heart as mystepfather said, "I am only beating you because I love you".

 I needed to attend 12 stepprograms to stop the addiction route. Over time, I found my old beliefs hadunderlined my addiction. I was looking for love in all the wrong places.   As I released my fears, guilt, shame, and more,I replaced the negative for the positive. My life began to shift into a morepleasant life. Realizing that I had lived in fear and negative messages ofbeliefs that were not true was a huge awakening.  Since life is about cause and effect, mycause had a base in fear and falsehoods. I found affirming the truth broughtreal results. I was determined to change my negativity into being positive forbetter outcomes. I had allowed the dogma and creeds of the churchthat were placed on me to be the focal point of my thinking and actions. Replacingthe old beliefs with affirmations to affirm the truth replaced the lack oftruth about who I am. I now understood God is always positive. I have alwaysbeen loved. I am a worthy person.

 Learning that the wordbeliefs has the word "lie" in it was now meaningful. I was taughtlies to live by. If God is always positive and PURE LOVE, then I am not asinner, nor guilty for the past, nor is there a hell. I did not cause anyone todie. In my just published book, "A Spark of Truth" at Amazon, I sharehow this dogma through the Nicene Creed in 425AD became the basis for manyreligions for centuries. It is also affecting us today.

 In the future, I have to findthe truth for me and listen to my heart, I want to be led to that futurereality by my feelings; they are guiding me towards the truths that serve me best.I move from listening to others, authority, experts, or my head into listeningto my heart and the truth within me. This is why it is important to know thatit serves me more to process information through my body than through my minds.If something does not feel good to me, then I no longer pay it attention.

I had based what I believed tobe true on what others told me. I learned to change my focus on faith andlistening to my heart messages, rather than in beliefs.. I think for myselftoday.. I found love never fails. What goes around comes around. I moved intobeing a love-based person and send that out for happy returns.

I discovered there is anotherway to view life; I get to choose which action to take, and how to imagine whatfeels good. Selecting my own path puts me into harmony with the real me andwhat is around me. Try feeling into it, determining for yourself whether it isa road you really want to go down, and a reality you actually want toexperience. You can feel into the truth of it, then you know that what you feelis telling you it is true for you; it feels good. That love creates was new tome.

My book, "ParadigmBusters" at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Redmond/e/B0069WIKDChas the process of how I moved into my heart from the negativityof my past. Today I live from my Creator's spirit of love and not my old beliefs.I know in my heart are the answers to my life for loving solutions. I see through the eyes of love. "Thereforeif any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;behold all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17   Maturity is no longer living in the immaturityof fear. PURE LOVE brings us into unity and community. 

My newest book, "A Spark ofTruth" at Amazon has the history to how the church doctrine has been usedto misinform people for the benefit of those manipulating and controlling ourlives. https://www.amazon.com/Spark-Truth-Rev-Marilyn-Redmond/dp/0944851630 In addition, "A Spark of Truth" has currentinformation about how we have been told other beliefs that do not serve us presently.