If you’re a Christian, you’ve probably been asked this question a million times because it’s part of the everyday Christian lingo. In fact, for a lot of people, it seems like both “going to church” and “being a Christian” go hand-in-hand.
But I’ve also heard a lot of Christians say that “we are the church”?
So which is it?
Is “church” a place you go to?
Or is “church” … people?
Check out my latest video.
Isn’t it interesting that the place many religious folks call a “spiritual hospital” (church) for the “spiritually sick,” usually ends up being a place where everyone looks healthy? So instead of being a place where we can “be ourselves,” the church usually ends up being a place where we pretend everything is okay.
If you had a chance to watch my last video Why I’m No Longer a Christian, you’re most likely aware of the various (and strong) reactions people had to it.
Some of the common responses from viewers were that I “never had a genuine encounter with God” and was “never a genuine Christian [i.e., saved] in the first place.”
Well, here’s a look into more of my life as a born-again, spirit-filled Christian whose passion was to know Jesus, and to preach the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world.
The Secret to Awesomeness event the other day turned out … awesome! It was great to finally meet many of you face-to-face. I feel so honored knowing that some of you came all the way from the US, Singapore, Tagaytay, Quezon City, etc., just to attend the event. (Despite the thunderstorm, too!)
Seeing the tears, hearing the laughter, and having people openly share their their deepest struggles (for the first time) … wow … it was like heaven on earth to me.
Some of you approached me and said, “I’ve been waiting for this day.” You know what? Me too. I want all of you to know that you inspire me as well. As I mentioned in the talk, you are people of COURAGE. And hearing your stories motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing here in the Philippines.
I’m not sure when the next event will be, but one thing’s for sure. I will cherish this day. Thank you for supporting my wife and I all these years.
Much Love and Peace to you all.
Joshua Tongol
**If you have any pictures of the event, please upload and tag me on Facebook. I’d love to include them in the album.**
If you were to look at yourself in a mirror right now, what would you see?
Too fat.
Too skinny.
Ears are too big.
Or your eyes too small.
Little things you hate about yourself … or maybe you don’t like yourself all. I don’t know
Now if you were to look directly into your eyes in a mirror right now, what would you feel?
Pain?
Fear?
Guilt?
Shame?
Things you don’t like talking about yet they already have a name. It’s rising.
Now let me be straight up with you real quick. And I want you to be completely honest, too. You ready?
Do you love yourself?
I ain’t talking about bein’ all cocky and boastful about havin’ it made.
I’m talkin’ about feeling worthy enough and accepting yourself no matter how many mistakes you’ve made.
Vision.
Sure, there can be times in life when all the clicks and likes and views really seem to flatter.
But when you think about it, though, you can have all the health, wealth and success in the world-but if you don’t love yourself, then what else . . . really . matters?
Growing up I felt different … insecure … and ugly.
And no matter how well I dressed or cut my hair, I thought no girl would ever love me.
Been teased. Been bullied. And even called “freak.” I felt extremely self-conscious everyday of the week.
“What’s wrong with me?”
That was the question.
Blindness.
I couldn’t see the love. And for the longest time what I didn’t have … got in the way of me seeing all that I already was.
Flip it.
What about you?
Ever been
called stupid?
Wished you were never born?
Compared yourself to others?
Or had your heart ripped out and torn [a/part] …
A part of our lives is what we show the world.
‘Cause that’s what we do.
We keep the hurt inside.
Pretend every things OK
Then go away and hide. . (It’s dark in here!)
But trust me, that’s not where we wanna dwell.
So let me ask this question to all of us: Do we love ourselves?
Society tells us what to eat, what to drink, what to wear and what to drive … driving us crazy ’cause we just wanna feel alive.
We hear things like “you’re supposed to be this” and “you’re supposed to be that” … blah, blah, blah.
Then we end up even more broken, more empty, and with more stains … stuck in an endless cycle with no real substance ever gained. We’re lost!
Only wanting to find our way . You see, we don’t really wanna end our lives … reality is … we only wanna end our pain.
So how do we try fixing ourselves?
Money. Sex. Power.
Now are these things wrong, in and of themselves? No! But here’s the question of the hour: Why do you do what you do?
Think about it.
Are your pursuits stemming from self-love?
Or are they ways for you to try to attain love?
Big difference.
‘Cause if you ain’t lovin’ yourself first, the pursuit happiness … is nothin’ but a hindrance.
Go for it. The results are the same again and again. What it comes down to is: Do YOU treat YOURSELF as your own best friend?
Love.
You can’t give away what you don’t have, right? Listen.
Truth is, despite your mistakes, failures, and shortcomings … none of those things define you.
They never have, and they never will. So move on which your life and stop standing still . Keep going
The past is the past. Learn from your mistakes . Forgive and give yourself another chance .
You see, once you start loving yourself, life … suddenly starts loving you back.
I’m not saying it’s gonna be perfect, but you’ll stop noticing the lack. . Life’s flowing.
YOU . are a gift to the world.
And like with any gift, it’s what’s inside that ultimately matters.
Know … your … worth.
‘Cause if more people looked within, the world would stop perishing.
You don’t believe me? Then try loving yourself .
‘Cause loving yourself … changes … everything.
Are some of the superpowers described in ancient legends, science fiction, and comic books actually real?
Telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition–are these inherent supernormal mental powers?
Is it really possible to perceive another person’s thoughts, influence objects with our minds, and envision future events?
In this episode, I interview Dr. Dean Radin. He is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. For three decades he has been engaged in frontiers research on the nature of consciousness. He was featured in a New York Times Magazine article; and he has appeared on dozens of television shows ranging from the BBC’s Horizon and PBS’s Closer to Truth to Oprah and Larry King Live. He has given over 350 interviews and talks.
Dean is author or coauthor of over 250 technical and popular articles, three dozen book chapters, and three books including the award-winning The Conscious Universe, Entangled Minds, and the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award winner, Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities.
IN THIS EPISODE, DEAN ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING:
• Is it possible for us to have super powers like those in science fiction and in comic books?
• What do you mean by “supernormal”? Why not use the word “supernatural”?
• Why is there a big difference between Western culture and India concerning psychic phenomena?
• Are telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis real?
• Why are a lot of people cynical and uncomfortable about the possibility of “something more”?
• How has technology played a factor as to why supernormal abilities have devolved?
• Does everyone have these psychic abilities?
• Are supernormal abilities able to be developed?
• Have you had any experiences that would be considered psychic phenomena?
• In the West, yoga is very trendy. But what’s the essential goal of yoga?
• What are some of the benefits of yoga and meditation?
• How has Quantum mechanics falsified many of the current assumptions of science?
• Are miracles in violation or in contradiction to nature?
• Why are many scientists and scholars hesitant to address the idea of miracles?
• Are mystical experiences hallucinations or do they reflect a truthful picture of reality?
• What are some cases of levitation you can share?
• Can you tell us about any precognition experiments?
• Can you tell us about your psychokinesis experience?
• Is there one experiment that stands out in particular that convinced you supernormal abilities?
• Can practitioners meditating on peace and nonviolence literally lower crime and violence?
• What are some of the limits of the scientific method?
• How has the scientific community accepted you and your work?
• Where do you see science headed concerning embracing psychic phenomena?
Thanks for chillin’ with me again this week. Have a question or some feedback you’d like to share? Or you wanna just show some love? Leave a comment below!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.
Also, I’d really appreciate it if you can leave me a REVIEW and RATING on iTunes by clicking here.It helps the podcast a lot and allows more people to discover it as well!
Then follow these steps:
1. Click “view in iTunes” button
2. Go to Ratings and Review.
Finally, don’t forget to SUBSCRIBEto the podcast on iTunes to get automatic updates so you’ll never miss a show!
Thanks again. Peace!
(Image Description: Supernormal book cover & Dean Radin)
Is there life after death? If so, what is it like?
In this episode, I interview Dr. Eben Alexander. A renowned academic neurosurgeon for over 25 years, he thought he knew how the brain, mind and consciousness worked. But in 2008, all of that changed.
What seemed to come out of nowhere, he went into a coma for a week and had an out-of-body/near-death experience into another realm that transformed his life forever.
Eben is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife, and his latest book is called The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife.
IN THIS EPISODE, EBEN ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING:
• What happened on November 10, 2008?
• You’re a pretty healthy guy who didn’t really get sick. So what happened?
• Back in the day you considered strange NDE stories to be “pure fantasy”. Why is that?
• What did you experience in these other realms?
• Was it a physical experience, or more of a dreamlike, ghostly appearance?
• You talked about not having a body during your experience? What did you mean?
• You said that “Language, emotion, logic: these were all gone”. How did you communicate?
• “Seeing and hearing were not separate in this place”. What did you mean?
• Did you see and meet “God”? If so, what did He/She/It look and sound like?
• You claim to have seen heaven, but is hell real, too?
• Can you describe the Realm of the Earthworm’s-Eye View?
• What about reincarnation?
• You talked about a girl and a butterfly. Tell us about that experience.
• What were the powerful and moving words the girl said to you?
• What do you say to the skeptic?
• Doesn’t the brain create consciousness?
• Can you share a little bit about your new book The Map of Heaven?
Thanks for chillin’ with me again this week. Have a question or some feedback you’d like to share? Or you wanna just show some love? Leave a comment below!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.
Also, I’d really appreciate it if you can leave me a REVIEW and RATING on iTunes by clicking here.It helps the podcast a lot and allows more people to discover it as well!
Then follow these steps:
1. Click “view in iTunes” button
2. Go to Ratings and Review.
Finally, don’t forget to SUBSCRIBEto the podcast on iTunes to get automatic updates so you’ll never miss a show!
Thanks again. Peace!
(Image Description: Proof of Heaven and The Map of Heaven book covers & Eben Alexander)
Starting from March 19 (US & UK) the kindle book will be priced at only $0.99.
Then the countdown begins.
After a few days the book will go back to its original price of $8.62.
So if you want to take advantage of this great deal, you need to act fast! Remember, it’s only for a few days.
Now, if you already have the kindle version of the book, why not buy it for someone else? If you know someone whom you think might need (or want) it, Amazon gives you the option to give it as a gift (it’s near the purchasing button).
So there you go! Please help us get this book into the hands of as many people as possible during the next few days. Just SHARE, TWEET, LIKE, and all that other shhhtuff to help get the word out.
Also, let us know how the book has touched your life in any way by writing a review on Amazon. It only takes a few minutes. My wife and I love to hear your stories! Oh, it brings us joy!
And last, but not least, don’t forget that the book is now in 3 formats:
RSS
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
YouTube
