When I began to teach classes on spiritual principles, I devoted some time at the end of each class meeting to pray for students and their loved ones. One woman asked the group to pray for the continued health of her sister, who had had cancer, but the disease was now in remission. At that time I had not heard the term “in remission, so I asked her what it meant.

“It means that the disease went away for now, but it might come back,” she explained.

The explanation made no sense to me then, and it makes even less sense to me now. The idea is that the disease is here and real, a prevalent condition, but it has temporarily gone behind a curtain and may pop out again. The notion was jarring to me because my understanding is that health is our prevalent condition and our natural state. When a disease occurs, our health is temporarily in remission, and will return when the temporary condition of the disease has been alleviated.  

 From the Heart            

As we proceed into 2012 we must be clear on our vision of who we are, the goals we hold most sacred, and what we deserve. In the Jewish religion, at the outset of the New Year adherents offer each other the blessing, “May you be inscribed in The Book of Life,” meaning, “May you live healthfully and joyfully during the coming year.”

The Book of Life contains a chapter called The Book of Deservingness. Its appropriate blessing might be, “May you know deep within your soul that you deserve to have all the good things your heart desires.”  Abraham-Hicks explains that there are two key elements to achieve any manifestation: desire and deservingness. When you seek to attain any goal, Abraham suggests that you focus on two questions:  “Why do I want this?” and “Why do I deserve this?” When you are clear on those two answers, all the good that is yours will come to you. 

Here are three true stories from The Book of Deservingness:

You have a very real relationship with God, a Force that responds to your every thought.

I went to perform a wedding for my Goddaughter on the island of Hawaii. In order for me to return home to Maui that evening, I had to book the last flight out of Kona. The airline reservation agent informed me that I would have to change planes in Honolulu, and my connection time would be an illegal 25 minutes. If I missed my connection, the airline would not be responsible for me. Okay, I thought, I’ll take my chances. I love my Goddaughter and would not miss this opportunity.

Alan Cohen

While presenting a seminar in Japan, I asked for a volunteer to tell the group why he or she deserved to have good things.  A woman named Sachi rose and explained in English that she is bilingual and bicultural. Sachi had spent years living in America and had just returned to Japan.

    I have a new favorite cartoon. It’s a rendering by James True (www.jtrue.com) that’s both humorous and profound.  The cartoon shows a tomato stalk with several tomatoes growing on it, at various stages of development. One tomato is large and ripe. The tomato stalk says to the ripe tomato, “We have to let you go.”  The title of the cartoon is Layoffs at the Plant.

We have all encountered people whom we feel we must protect ourselves from. Yet there is a way to keep ourselves safe without hurting others. It is the strongest way to protect our peace.