Making your resolutions stick

We do it every year, but how many of us actually make those New Year's resolutions stick?

A lot of it comes down to the individual really meaning it when they made the resolution and his or her persistence. Do you really want the thing your are resolving to achieve? Are you willing to persist if you hit a few barriers?

Well assuming you do want it and you are willing to persist then the only way you could fail is if you don't have a workable method of achieving your resolution.

Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but that final excuse for failure is gone because a highly workable way exists for you to make your New Year's resolutions come true.

You can read about it online: Targets and Goals

Apply that and your chances of making your resolutions stick will be much improved.

Scientology: How is it a religion?

JR said in a comment ... it doesn't seem like a "religion" to me. It seems more like a philosophy, or a self-help program. So where does the "faith" come into the equation? (the full comment is here)

Hey JR,

You ask a really good question.

Most people in the West were brought up in the Judeo-Christian tradition and so they quite naturally think of religion in Judeo-Christian terms. This tradition revolves around two fundamental concepts — a belief that there is a personal creator God separate and distinct from man, and that man’s highest activity is the worship, supplication and veneration of this god.

So when a religion comes along that isn't like that, people raised with those concepts have a hard time seeing it as a religion.

Luckily for Scientology there are plenty of existing, recognized religions with long histories, that don't follow the Judeo-Christian norm. In the East there are religions that don't have any god and some that have almost no belief structure. Examples would be Zen Buddhism, Hindu Bhakti, Theravada Buddhism and Jainism. The last two have no supreme being yet predate Christianity by five centuries.

So Scientology is more comparable with Eastern religions than Western religions. In fact most Scientologists regard Buddhism as the existing religion most similar to Scientology, and most religious scholars agree with that.

If you want to get the full concept of what I'm talking about above then there is an entire book on the subject online here:

- Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion (HTML)
- Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion (PDF)

Valkyrie and Germany

A fellow blogger just saw the movie Valkyrie and had something to say about its message and present day Germany: Valkyrie

I very much agree with her that a re-evaluation of discriminatory government policies is needed in Germany.

What the world needs now: Spiritual Values

Here is an awesome news story. Not anything to do with Scientology, but a story that shows the sort of spirit that could make this world a paradise. And I'd like you to notice that the people who did it were religious people. Religion, incorrectly and unfairly, gets a bad rap for "causing wars" and other horrors, but the truth is that truly religious people of whatever faith with spiritual values are what this world needs a lot more of.

So now read this heart-warming story: Cheering for the other side

Scientology: Making the able more able

Jim Gatos asked a good question:

Grahame, I just thought of a question.. Hope you can find a minute..

One of L. Ron Hubbard's quotes is pretty profound. I believe it went like this..

"A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights."

My question has to do with those LESS FORTUNATE than those who are "able".. I'm sure I know what the answer will be only by looking @ the volunteer ministers, but here it is....

What about those NOT ABLE?

How does Scientology handle them?

Thanks Grahame. Happy Holidays...

The quote you quoted is from The Aims of Scientology.

The simple answer to your question is that everyone is able to some degree. For example, I have a friend who has a son who is autistic. She has used various Scientology processes and techniques to help him. The kid could talk a little and now he can talk a little more. He could walk with difficulty and now can walk better.

As long as a person is alive and breathing they are able to some degree and we can help them.

I hope that answers you question, and Happy Holidays to you too!