HEALING STORIES AND SCRIPTS
By CHAPLAIN PAUL G. DURBIN, Ph.D. 

EAGLES AND CHICKENS WITH TWO ENDINGS: 
(which you choose is your choice) A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chickens did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked, cackled, and would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle grew to adulthood. One day he saw a magnificent bird high above him in a cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. (First ending) The eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of birds," said his friend. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth--we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was. (Second ending) The eagle looked up in awe and said, "Who's that?" His friend answered, "That's the eagle, the king of birds. He belongs to the sky. We belong to earth--we are chickens." The eagle went through the day thinking of the eagle flying high. The next day the eagle went down to the pond. When he saw his reflection in the water, he noticed that he looked a lot like an eagle. He began to test his wings, flying further and further each day. After a few weeks, he was flying high and gliding just as if he were an eagle. He realized that he was an eagle. He realized that he was an eagle and not a chicken. With that thought he flew above his past and his environment.

THE GREAT AS IF: 
(I use with stop smoking script especially if the client test for high response to indirect suggestion) This is the story of a young prince who was destined to be the king of his country. Now, this young prince had some concerns about being king, for he was worried about his ability to be a leader. One day, he got out of bed waddling and quacking like a duck and refused to eat anything but duck food. The king was greatly upset so he called in the wisest man in the kingdom. When told of the situation, the wise man said, "Give me three days with the prince and he will be cured." The wise man went to the door of the prince's room, knocked, and was invited in. He waddled into the room and quacking like a duck. The prince and the wise man soon became good friends. That night the wise man slipped out of the prince's room and told the king to have clothes placed on the chairs for the next morning. When morning came, the wise man got out of bed, waddled across the room quacking like a duck, and put on his clothes. The prince said to him, "You can't be a duck...ducks can't wear clothes." The wise man replied, "Where is it written that a duck can't wear clothes?" The prince said, "Well, I guess you are right." And he, too, put on his clothes. That night, the wise man again slipped out of the prince's room and told the king to put duck food on a plate and put the plate on the table. The next morning, the wise man got out of bed, waddled across the room quacking like a duck, put on his clothes, sat down at the table and began to eat from the plate. The prince said, "You can't be a duck...ducks don't eat from a plate." The wise man replied, "Where is it written that a duck can't eat from a plate?" The young prince said, "I guess you are right." And he began to eat from the plate. That night, the wise man told the king to put human food on the plate, and place a fork by the plate. The next morning, the wise man got out of bed waddled across the room quacking like a duck, put on his clothes, sat down at the table, picked up the fork and began to eat. The young prince said, "You can't be a duck...ducks don't use forks." The wise man responded, "Where is it written that a duck can't use a fork?" The prince said, "I guess you are right ." And he, too, picked up a fork and began to eat. Later that day, the wise man said to the prince, "I must return to my own barnyard today, but I would like to leave you with this advice: Remember that our national holiday is coming up next week and as you know our nation's favorite food for the holiday is duck. If you don't want to end up as someone's main course for the holiday meal continue to act as if you were a prince." The prince did such a good job of acting as if he were a prince that he eventually became the greatest king his country ever had. (Act as if you are a non-smoker and you are because a non-smoker does not smoke.) 

THE HEALING TOUCH OF JESUS: 
(For healing and pain relief) I have the patient close his/her eyes, take three deep breaths while thinking "breathe in relaxation, exhale tension." Following the deep breathing, the patient is told to count silently from 1 to 5 and say "deeper and deeper." I then have the patient visualize a place where he likes to go to relax. Allowing the patient to choose where he wants to be, I say "Take in as much of the area as you can, landscape or walls... things you would normally see, hear, smell." As part of their visual imagery, I have the patient lie down on a comfortable blanket or bed. Progressively, the patient is led to relax beginning with the top of the scalp and having the tension flow down the body and out of the soles of the feet like water flows down a stream. When the relaxation is completed, I suggest that the patient feel as if they are comfortably floating on a cloud in the air and that they are comfortably floating down. "9, 8, 7, - deeper and deeper -6, 5, 4, - deeper and deeper - 3, 2, 1, 0, - deeper and deeper." I now begin to use religious imagery to help the patient reduce his discomfort. I suggest that the patient visualize Jesus standing beside the bed. Jesus places His hand on the painful area. I begin, "You feel the hand of Jesus on the area of discomfort. You feel that His touch is very warm and the warmth is drawing out the discomfort. Slowly but surely, the discomfort is being reduced, slowly the discomfort is being pulled from your body by the healing warmth of Jesus' hand. His touch is reducing the discomfort and bringing healing to the area." I repeat this thought in various ways and then suggest that the physical presence of Jesus is becoming a spirit and is slowly fading from view, but they will continue to feel Jesus, His presence with them. I conclude by saying, "I will count to three and you will come out of hypnosis. You will come out of this experience very relaxed and comfortable. One. You can drift off to sleep, but you awaken when appropriate or when someone wakes you up. Two. You can follow this procedure whenever you need to do so. You will come out of this feeling stronger, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Three." 

THE TURNING POINT: PRINCE ANDREW AND THE OLD OAK TREE: (For working with someone who is experiencing depression, grief or other such experiences.) Sometime ago, while visiting a book store, I saw a book titled, THE TURNING POINT. Though I did not buy the book, it brought to mind that each of us face many turning points in our life. You are facing a turning point in your life today and you have the chance to make a positive change in your life. There is an interesting incident in the book WAR AND PEACE concerning Prince Andrew. The Prince had gone through a long period of grief and depression which had sapped his strength. He thought that his life had no meaning or purpose. As he traveled over his land in the winter, he passed an old oak tree which was bare of leaves and looked dead. He thought to himself, "I am like that tree." It was not until the following spring that he traveled back across that same route where he had seen the old oak tree. Feeling as old, as tired, as meaningless, as depressed as ever, he came to the old oak tree. To his surprise, he noticed the oak tree had come to life. It had new leaves and new growth. The tree, which had appeared dead and hopeless and with which he had identified himself was new, green, growing, and beautiful. It was a turning point for him as he realized new life, new meaning, new hope and new purpose was available for him as it was for the tree. New hope and purpose can be yours. 

CRUTCHES: 
(I use this script as releasing technique for releasing the conscious and subconscious reason for smoking, being over weight, or many other problems a person may have.) There was a man (or woman, depending on the sex of the client) who lived in a strange country. Now, this was a strange country because most of the adults walked with crutches even though they had no physical handicap requiring crutches. It just seemed the thing to do and most teenagers started using crutches because it seemed to be the mature thing to do and most of their peers used crutches. Now there were disadvantages to using crutches. They slowed the person down and caused them to interfere with the safety of others as they might bump into another or accidentally trip another person. One day as this man was walking several blocks from his home, he found the little boy who lived next door to him. The little boy, who was about three years old, was by himself and he was crying. He apparently had wandered away from home and was lost. Without thinking, man dropped his crutches, took the little boy and walked him home. The mother was overjoyed that her son was home and the little boy was happy. Later that night, the man all of sudden remembered that he had left his crutches on the street where he had found the little boy. His first thought was to run down the street to see if he could find his crutches. If not, he could go to a convenience store and by a new pack. The man said to himself, "I have gone without my crutches this long, I can go without them the rest of my life." He did, and so can you. 

THE POWER OF IMAGERY: 
Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, had imagery in mind when he said, "Sing, O heavens: and be joyful, O earth: and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on the affected." (Isaiah 49:13 KJV) Isaiah suggested to his people to change their vision and their imagery. These words of Isaiah were spoken more than forty years after the Jewish people had been exiled from a destroyed Jerusalem. Each year since their deportation, their hope of ever returning to Jerusalem became dimmer and dimmer. Eventually, hope began to disappear and self pity took its place. In spite of their situation, Isaiah gave them an amazing message of comfort and hope. In the midst of their hopelessness, Isaiah invited them to celebrate, to have a vision of their return to Jerusalem. He said to them to see the walls of Jerusalem before their eyes and suggested that God is saying to them "thy walls are continually before me." (Isaiah 49:16) Keep this before your mind's eye and the walls will be rebuilt. The exile will end and they will return to Jerusalem. See it as already happening and it shall indeed happen. History tells us that the Hebrews did return from exile to Jerusalem and the walls were rebuilt. Isaiah's message for us today is simple, Whatever you want to see happen in your life: be it health, overcoming an undesirable habit, achieving a goal; visualize yourself having accomplished the desired end and then wait and work for its fulfillment. As you use your imagination, be positive, be motivated, use the present tense as if what you are visualizing has already happened. Repeat the visualization often and expect it to happen and your subconscious mind will begin to work to bring the imagery into reality. I should point out that imagery and daydreaming are different from one another. Imagery motivates one to accomplish that which is visualized. The day dreamer is satisfied with the dream and is not motivated to accomplish the goal. Imagery is not wishful thinking, but believe it to reality 

THE WINDS OF CIRCUMSTANCE: 
To those who feel they have no choices because of their situation, I say, "As long as you have mental capacity, you have a choice." You may be living with an illness or injury which has greatly limited your life. You may be living in a very trying time, faced with problems in your work, in your home, in your finances. You may feel that you are an innocent bystander in a world of conflict over which you feel you have no control. The winds of circumstance do blow, and they may not always blow in the way you want to go. Though you can't regulate the wind, you do have a choice. Ella Wheeler Wilson sat by the East River in New York years ago reflecting on the fact that people coming from the same home environment turn out so differently. Inspired by some boats sailing on the river, she wrote, "One ship drives east and the other drives west with the selfsame winds that blows. Tis the set of the sail and not the gales which tells us the way to go." Consider Abraham Lincoln. The winds of circumstances could have blown him in the direction of mediocrity or ignorance, but he set his sails properly in the gale winds of circumstance. Every gust of wind became for him an opportunity to educate and improve himself. He had a vision of himself as a leader of people, and so he made the adjustment necessary to live out that vision. He prepared himself properly to become a fitting person for the responsibility of sailing the great America ship of state during the great storm of the Civil War. You, too, can have a new vision of yourself and use the winds of life to help you realize that vision. 

LIGHT A CANDLE: 
Aldous Huxley said, "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you." We can always choose what attitude we take toward about almost anything that comes into our life. We can hate or love, we can resist or run, we can worry about it or we can pray about it. We can accept it as a crushing blow of defeat or through faith, we can move in a different but positive direction. No matter how dark a situation may appear to be, one usually has the choice of turning on the light. The Christophers have a saying, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." Eve Butterworth tells the story of a young girl who lost her eyesight. She was very bitter about her loss. Everyone felt sorry for her and even felt that the tremendous turmoil of fear and bitterness she went through was justified. After all, she was blind. She seemed to be in an hopeless situation leading to a life of bitterness in a world of darkness. One day something happened to change her thinking about her life. She said, "I may never again see light, but I can think light." She regained a sense of control over her life, for she realized that she did, after all, have a choice. Now she goes about everything she does with an attitude that is an inspiration to all who know her and it is amazing how many things she has discovered she can do. You, too, can change your attitude toward life. 

S. T. OR YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY THE WAY YOU ARE. YOU CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS: The determinist in religion, philosophy, and psychology contends that this statement is true, not only of dogs, but also of people. The determinist in religion says that our lives are predetermined by God to be what they are. We do not have any say in the matter, for we are simple puppets who are played by God's manipulations. The determinist in philosophy and psychology says that we are determined by our instincts, heredity and/or environment. Any of these schools of determinism leave a very hopeless and dismal picture for us to complete. If we are determined to be as we are, then we have no responsibilities of a better world, and God, heredity, instinct, and/or environment are the causes of our problems. We can say, "The devil made me do it; God made me do it; my determinism made me do it; I am not responsible." On the other hand, if we believe that if a person can change out of his or her free will as children of God, then there is hope. Two young men stole some sheep. They were caught and brought to trial. The punishment for the crime was the branding of the initials "S.T." (sheep thief) on their foreheads. One boy left the town and was never heard from, but the other remained. As the years passed, he became a man of faith and gave his life to people in love and service. Many years later, a visitor came to the town and asked an old man, "What does "S.T." stand for on the head of that man down the street?" The old man knew the story, but answered, "It happened a long time ago, I have forgotten the details, but for those of us who know him now, it is the abbreviation for the word "Saint". Yes, change can take place. We do not have to stay the way we are. "I wish there were some wonderful place called the 'Land Of Beginning Again', where all our mistakes and all of our heartaches and all of our selfish grief could be dropped like a shabby coat at the door and never put on again." Faith says that there is an opportunity to begin again, for through faith you can change as you accept a new vision of what life can be for you. 

BREAKING THROUGH SHELLS: 
A few years ago, the cover of the April issue of the religious publication, Daily Word showed a fluffy golden chick that had just stepped out of a broken shell. As this was the Easter edition, several people wrote Daily Word saying that they did not think the cover was religious enough for the occasion. Yet, I wonder if there is anything more religious than a broken shell and a new life rising out of it. Is there a shell you need to break through today? (You may mention the shell by name.) Sometimes these shells are caused by physical limitation, sometimes emotional limitations, sometimes spiritual limitations and sometimes a combination of any or all three. The fertilized egg begins to develop a baby chick. By an inner action, growth and development, the chick begins to grow. It begins to pick at its shell until it breaks and the chick is freed. We have within our mind the ability to grow and develop beyond what we had thought possible. By your mental unfolding, you can leave your hurts, disappointments and failures behind and break through your shell. Think again of the chick breaking out of its shell: a soft, helpless chick begins to pick at the fixed and rigid limits of its world and keeps picking until the limits give way and it is able to stand erect and free. If a little chick can break through such a shell, you can break through your shell. 

NO PARKING AND CHOOSING YOUR OWN COLOR: 
You can see them in a number of places: in front of hospitals, bus stops, fire hydrants, loading zones, and at various places along the highway. You cannot go far without seeing the familiar sign meaning, "No Parking." One of the most persistent warnings in traffic or in life is the danger of parking in the wrong place. In traffic, the results of parking in the wrong place may mean a ticket or an accident. In life, we pay the penalty in arrested development, in stunted personalities, in narrowed vision, and in limited lives. Your errors, mistakes, and failures can be used as stepping stones in the growth process or they may be a stone wall blocking your progress. When you continually dwell upon your failure, you are parked in a "No Parking" zone. Parking does not help and it sets us up for continued failure. The minute you start using your mind in a positive way, you start to move ahead and the past with its failures loses its power over you. A beautiful young woman lay in the hospital with a painfully serious injury. A friend came by to visit her. The friend had a sorrowful expression on her face. She placed her hand on the young woman's hand and said, "Honey, I'm so sorry for you, for you are experiencing so much pain. I don't know why you have to go through it, for suffering colors one's life so much." The young woman smiled at her concerned visitor and said, "Yes, I know, suffering does color one's life but I shall choose the color." She refused to park by her injury. Each of us, including you, can choose our own colors. You can choose the dark color if you like, but you can choose the brighter color also. You can refuse to park in your "No Parking" zone and move on to a more healthy, productive, meaningful life. 

THE PAINTING WORTH THOUSANDS: 
Within you is the power to overcome, for "The Kingdom of God is within you." Use it for the healing and change you need in your life. H.C. Haney tells the story of cleaning out the basement. As he was discarding this and keeping that, he came across an old painting. The painting was dirty and unattractive, so his first thought was to throw it in the trash, but he remembered it hanging above the fireplace in his parent's home. He decided to have it cleaned and it was found to be a painting by Thomas Gainsborough, the artist who painted the famous painting "Blue Boy." Instead of being a piece of trash was worth several of dollars. If he had thrown what looked to be worthless in the trash, he would have robbed himself of the privilege which the painting brought to him. Each of us has a spark of greatness within us. We are made in the image of God. We are of great worth. You are of great worth. I once saw a little plaque which had engraved upon it, "I'm me and I'm wonderful, because God don't make no junk." The grammar of that statement may be shocking but it is marvelous, isn't it? You are the handiwork of God and God does not make junk. Allow that greatness within to be realized as H.C. Haney discovered the value of the painting and, as the plaque states, that you are of great worth. 

STAR WARS: 
(I use this story to help a person see the great worth of imagery.) One of the most popular movie series to come out in recent years has been the "Star Wars" movies. I would like to focus on the second one, "The Empire Strikes Back." Perhaps you saw that movie. If you did, just nod your head "yes." (If "no," I say, "well, let me tell you about it." If "yes," I continue). You may remember in that movie, we continue our involvement in the heroes and villains of the first movie. Once again, we find ourselves engaged with Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Princess Leia, Cheubaca, and robots Artoo-Detoo and See-Three-Pi-O, as they do battle with Darth Vader and Legions of Dark Empire. One of the most fascinating new characters of "The Empire Strikes Back" is a strange little fellow named Yoda. The short, odd-looking little individual is the master teacher of the Knight Jedi. The Jedi Knights are commissioned as universal agents of goodness and righteousness. Luke Skywalker is sent to Yoda for training to become a Jedi Knight, but the training does not always run smoothly. When Yoda tries to teach Luke to raise his space ship from a swamp through the force of thought and imagery, Luke fails. After Luke's failure to move the ship, Yoda then levitates the space ship up and out of the swamp by thought alone. Luke watches in amazement, saying, "I don't believe it!" Yoda responds, "That is why you failed." The "Star Wars" movies are fictitious, but the story of Luke Skywalker and Yoda can be looked upon as a parable. Imagery is a powerful source of healing, overcoming unwanted habits, increasing self-worth, and making positive changes in your life. Imagery consists of vividly picturing in your conscious mind a desired goal of objectives, and holding that image until it sinks into your subconscious mind, where it releases great untapped energies. Imagery is based upon the principle there is a deep tendency in human nature to ultimately become precisely that which one images himself to be. The wise old man of proverbs states that whosoever a person thinks in his heart, so is he. Jesus said, "Whatsoever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." 

FREE FROM JAIL: 
I use this sometimes to help smokers release the conscious and subconscious for smoking and for to help release other problems.) You find yourself in a jailhouse and you are behind bars. As you look about the jail cell you realize that you are in a prison of your own making. (A prison of guilt, a prison of fear, a prison of inferiority, a prison of anxiety, a prison of cigarettes, a prison of weight.) As you feel the desire to be freed from this jail cell of your own making, you notice a key is in the lock of the door. You can unlock the door, move out of the prison cell and be free. If you are ready to be free from this prison cell, in your imagination, turn the key and unlock the door, and allow one of your fingers to rise. There it is, your first finger of your right hand is rising, as you unlock the door and free yourself. You are happy, you feel released, you feel free. You are free. 

THE SOWER AND THE SEED:
(I use this story to illustrate that within us is the power to change.) Jesus once told a parable of a sower who went forth to sow seeds for a harvest. This parable speaks of a sower, seeds, soil, and harvest. A man went out to sow seeds in his field. Some of the seeds fell on the pathway that runs between the fields, but because the earth was very hard, the seed could not get a hold in the ground, and the birds ate the seed. Some of the seeds fell on the thin soil and though the plants came up quickly, they soon died because the seeds could not develop deep roots. Some seeds fell on the soil where it could grow, but there were so many weeds that the new plants were choked by the weeds. Other seeds fell on good soil. When the plants came up, they produced many times over. I am aware that this parable is usually interpreted to show that the four types of soils represent four different types of people. I would like to suggest another interpretation that the four types of soils mean that within each person is the possibility of responding in four different ways. You can allow the positive suggestions given to you today to fall on hard ground where they are not allow to grow. You can allow them to take hold, but not firmly committed to change, you do no allow them to take root. You can allow them to be choked out by other thoughts or doubts. But, if you are ready for changes, you allow them to fall on good soil and sink into your subconscious where they are allowed to grow and bear fruit. Within you is the good soil, so let the suggestion grow and develop so that you can make the changes you want in your life. 

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNELS: 
I remember the story of a woman who wrote of her daughter's fear of tunnels as a child. As they traveled, the child would cling to her mother and press her face against her mother the moment they entered a tunnel. She would raise her head only after being assured that they had passed through the tunnel. Several years later, they were traveling down the Pennsylvania Turnpike and approached a tunnel. The daughter had been gone from home for years, so her mother wondered how her daughter would react to the tunnel. As they traveled through the tunnel, the girl did not seem upset and maintained a pleasant attitude. The mother reminded her daughter of her childhood fear of tunnels, and asked her what brought about the change. The girl replied, "Mother, I found out that tunnels have light at both ends." When you were a child, you responded to a situation out of the context of a little child, you can look at those events from a different perspective.

THE LITTLE FISH IN SEARCH OF WATER: 
(Working with a woman who had difficulty experiencing God's presence, I told her this story.) There is a modern parable of a little fish which I would like to share with you as you remain relaxed and at peace. The little fish was swimming near the edge of the river and he heard a teacher speaking to his students. As the teacher and the students were sitting on the banks of the river, the little fish could hear the teacher tell his students, "Water is absolutely necessary for life. Without water, we would perish in a few days." The little fish thought, "If what the man said is true, I better find some of that precious substance called 'water' or I shall die in a few days." The little fish found other fish and asked them where he could find water, but none of them knew where he could find water, for none of them knew. From stream to stream, the frightened fish searched for this life-sustaining water. The little fish found the wisest fish in the river and said, "Please, where can I find the precious substance called 'water' that will give me life." "Waters" replied the wise fish. You were conceived and born in water. Water is your environment, water supports your very life. You are surrounded by water." You ask, "Where is God?" You are surrounded by God's loving spiritual presence right now. You are conceived in it. You are born in it and your life is sustained by it. You are immersed in God's loving presence. You can now feel his presence all about you as the little fish felt the water all about him. 

GRANDMA AND DANCING AND SNOOPY AND DANCING:
(I use this story for a person who has trouble enjoying life. This is especially effective with those who seem to fear that enjoying life is somehow wrong.) My Grandma Sanders was one of the most reflective persons of the love of God that I have ever known, but Grandma had her hangups. I remember spending the night with my grandparents many years ago, for during that visit my grandpa played his French harp. It was a very special evening and it stands out in my memory. During the evening my grandpa played a snappy little tune called, "Soldier's Joy." When he completed the song, my grandma said, "I don't like that song!" I quickly asked, "Why grandma? It is a beautiful song." Laughingly, she responded, "I have seen it danced to too often." I don't resent my grandma for that statement, because she was joking, and in a way she was reflecting 65 years of her cultural history. It does bring to mind how much some have missed because they could not dance. We live in a world where there is hunger, war, crime, sickness, and alienation. Yet in spite of this, we believe that life is worth living and that life is meant to bring love, friendship, understanding, and joy. Contrary to popular belief, the life which God desires for us is not one of denying worthwhile pleasure or of despising basic human satisfaction, but rather one of enjoying our earthly life. We honor God not by renouncing life, but by joining our spirits with God's Holy Spirit to know and live life at its best. Then, we can give thanks in offering our faith to God, in sharing of fellowship with people in work and play, in laughter and in tears, in health and in sickness, in everything. Through faith, we can dance the dance of joy. David wrote in Psalm 30; "O Lord, Thou has turned my lament into dancing, thou has stripped off my sack cloth and clothed me with joy." The Snoopy of Peanuts is often leaping and dancing for joy. On one occasion, Snoopy begins to dance about and shouts, "To dance is to live." In the next frame, he says, "I feel sorry for people who cannot dance." In the next frame, he goes on dancing joyfully and says to us, "If you can't dance, at least be able to do a happy hop." I would like to add one more frame, which shows Snoopy continuing to dance and saying, "If you can't dance with your feet, at least be able to dance in your heart." That to me is a picture of wholesome living. I hope you will join me in the dance of joy. The dance is a movement with God. It is becoming the person you can be and were meant to be. It helps you reach your potential as a person, therefore you can dance the dance of joy. 

IS THERE A GOLD MINE IN YOUR ATTIC? 
A few years ago, a large daily newspaper carried a news item under the title, "Is There a Gold Mine in Your Attic?" The story that followed was very interesting. With memories of yesteryear, an elderly woman was looking through her collection of the years, which she had stored in her attic. In an old bureau drawer she found a faded yellow envelope containing some valuable-looking documents. She looked at them for while and then decided to take them to the bank to see if they were any value. You can imagine her astonishment when she was told that her bonds were worth $60,000 on the current market. The author concluded the article with this statement: "There may not be a gold mine in the attic of your home, but as Russell Conwell once said, 'There are acres of diamonds all around you that have not been discovered.'" In the attic of your mind is a gold mine, for when you learn to use your mind correctly, change can take place for good in your life. 

STEWED PRUNES: 
(I use this story with a person who had grown up with an opinion of God as a very judgmental being.) As I listened to your description of your upbringing and early religious training, I am reminded of the mother who served stewed prunes for desert one night for her family. When her son balked at eating his prunes, she said, "God does not like that, God doesn't like little boys who don's eat their prunes. God will be very angry." In spite of his mother's warning, the boy refused to eat the prunes, so she sent him to bed, saying, "You have been a very bad boy and God is very angry with you." A short time after he went to bed, a terrible thunderstorm broke loose - lightening flashed, thunder clapped, the wind whipped the rain against the windows. The mother thought that the boy would be terribly frightened so she went up to comfort him. When she entered the room, he was standing at the window with his face pressed against the glass, saying, "My, such a fuss to make over a few prunes." You have often heard that God was angry with you and so it has been difficult for you to feel comfortable with yourself and life. Keith Miller in his book, A Second Touch, tells how he was caught in the rules and regulations of the religious life. He writes that he felt that God was recruiting a sort of "spiritual trumpet corps" and that all the members were supposed to act alike, and respond in the same way, or God would be angry with them. Through an understanding of God's love, he came to see that God did not want a trumpet corps, but an orchestra. We are not all supposed to sound alike, because each of us is a different shaped instrument. You don't have to be like everybody else, but just play your own part in the orchestra. Know that God's loves you and that Jesus said, "I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." 

YOU CAN LET GO OF THE GARBAGE OR RESERVATION FOR A TRIP TO THE MOON: 
A group in New York City once advertised that they were taking reservations for a trip to the moon. Prospective travelers were warned that the moon was a cold and arid place where movement would be difficult and conversation without radio transmission would be impossible. In spite of these drawbacks, over 18,000 people requested reservations. Those making reservations were asked to explain why they wanted to go to the moon. There were a number of reasons given, but two reasons emerged as leaders. Many stated that they wanted to go because of the adventure involved, but most wanted to escape the earth and their own problems. The trouble is that those with that attitude would take their biggest problem with them. They would likely be like the man who went to the other side of the world to get away from his problems, only to find that he had brought his biggest problem with him - himself. You don't need to run away from your problem, but to use your mind to help you overcome or endure your problem in a constructive way. You can do this by a change in your attitude from defeat to hope and meaning. You are carrying a lot of baggage which you can get rid of. A woman with a heavy suitcase boarded a bus. Once on the bus, she continued to hold her baggage. The driver said to her, "You can put your baggage down, lady, the bus will carry it for you." You can let it go. Suppose we tried to keep our garbage in our homes, hiding the scraps and litter away in various parts of the house: day after day and week after week. Think of the smell and disease that would poison the entire household. The simple principle holds true in our emotional life as well. If we let the garbage of life keep piling up inside us, it will eventually work us harm. Let the garbage go. Feel good about yourself. As you do, your self-confidence increases and you grow emotionally and spiritually. You can change your mind and change your life. St. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:8-10, "But now you also put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth...since you laid aside the old self...and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him."

Copyright © 1998 to the author. Reprinted with kind permission