This I Believe

This I Believe Bob Salminen

In order to explain what one believes, one must first discover what he knows,and what Confuscious described as “The Knowledge” ; to know that what you know is what you know and what you don’t know is what you do not know. Needless to say, the list of what I do not know is a long one, but what you do know is key to discovering what you do not.

About eight years ago, shortly after I had turned forty I had an indescribable experience. I am an electrician and we were restoring an old house. It was an ordinary day and I was about to announce that it was time for lunch, when I had this flash. It was not a vision. There was no burning bush, there was no booming voice from above and moreover there was no identification i.e. Jesus or Buddha etc. It was simply a split second in which I went from not knowing to knowing. I liken it to that split second in a car crash. Theres realization of danger the reorganization of your life and the exceptance that you are going to crash and you are powerless to do anything about it. You say goodbye and I love you to all your loved ones, then you crash, then there time realigns itself with reality.

Here are some of the things I’ve always believed, that I knew after that moment;

1.There is a “god” or force that is greater then us that directly effects our lives. Direct communication to this god is achievable through prayer.

2. Life continues after death. Our souls are real and tangible, and have mass, and can’t be disipated. Einstein believed that life must continue because atoms do not go away. We can manipulate them and we can change them, but they don’t just disappear.

3. Life on this earth, in our time is precious, and we will miss it. We must all start to work together on a global basis or we will lose it.

4. Something is going to happen that is going to force the world to work as one. I don’t know when, or what, or how.

5. Love is real, it is a force that is slightly stronger then hate, but it takes an effort that is not inherant in normal human behavior to overcome it. It takes prayer. It doesn’t matter to whom you pray. Pray to yourself. That you care, that you sincerely care, is all that is necesarry.

6. Violence is wrong. It nevers solved anything, and is always counterproductive.

7. There is a fourth demension that we don’t know about. We haven’t even started looking for it.

8. I’m must share what I know with anyone who will listen.

9. I must love all and hate no one. This is a tall order becuase there are those who are very difficult to love, nothing says that I have to “like them”. I must seek out whatever there is to love about them, and there is always something, at least one thing about this person that is good. There is always someone, or something that they care about if there is that glimmer of hope, then there is hope for that person. It is up to you and me to see it but it is always there maybe that person doesn’t even know it him/herself you must help him/her to discover it for himself.

10. Everything and everyone are good, or they mean to be.

The basic message that I recieved is this:

Go about your life as you would have were you not spoken to, only spend a little more time praying. Pray for others not for yourself, pray for guidence, patience, and strength.

It comes down to the golden rule, and the scout laws, you must be trustworthy, loyal, courteous, kind, obediant, brave, friendly, clean, and revrent.

We must all strive to posess these traits.

This I Believe

-By Bob Salminen.