This week and last, we watched the video of a lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled, “The Laws of Living”. In this lecture Dr. Ryce points out the dramatic difference between a natural law and the laws of man. A natural Law is simply a description of how things work. When we function with the knowledge of natural Law and keep our behaviors in accordance with those Laws, we flourish. When our behavior deviates from those described by the Law, the Law does not get broken, we get “broken”, or “injured”.

The laws created by man, on the other hand, are often in conflict with the natural Law, and therefore result in a very conflicted and dysfunctional society. For example; the natural Law states that your body is an energy system and that there are only two types of energy relative to that system. Integrative energy which builds the system up, and dis-integrative energy which tears the system down. The positive, loving, integrative energy which comes from the positive emotions and Love, are what the energy system is made of, and what it is designed to contain and expand with. The negative, fearful or hostile emotions are energies which disintegrate or tear down the energy system.

Now, our current legal system is based on holding other people responsible for what happens in one’s own life. We are encouraged to “press charges” against others, and “sue” others for things that happen in life. Then while the legal process is churning away, the negative emotions are also churning away in my mind and body. I will be angry at the other and feel justified in my anger. I will want revenge, or financial compensation, and again feel angry or hurt if I don’t receive it. The longer I hold these negative emotions in my body and mind, (my energy system), the more damage there is to that energy system. I am the one who gets hurt, in any way that really counts, when I choose to blame others for what I am experiencing. “The vessel in which anger, fear and vengeance are stored, always sustain more damage than the object upon which they are poured.”

This lecture starts with the question about what is the greatest commandment. The answer to that question is that we need to hold the condition of Love in our minds, whenever we think of God, neighbor, or self. In this context the word neighbor means, anyone we think of. So the first and most important law for healthy living is that we hold the condition of Love in our minds whenever we think of God, neighbor or self. This is a Law. The result of not acting in accordance with the Law is not that the Law gets broken, it is that we get “broken”, or damaged or injured, because we are not acting in our own best interests.

Whenever I hold any energy in my body, or my mind, other than Love, I am putting negative and dis-integrative energy into my system and it begins breaking down my energy system. This is not helping anyone else, but most importantly, it is hurting me. This is why we are encouraged, not to just “let go” of negative energy, but to actively dismantle the thought structure and belief system which creates the emotion and the intense negative energy which damages our minds and bodies. This is the reason for all of the tools Dr. Ryce teaches and makes available for free on his website, http://www.whyagain.com

The discussion after the video was once again very lively and wide ranging. There are several group members who are coping with health challenges and others who are coping with relationship challenges. There were a number of different book titles mentioned by different members related to the nature of physical and spiritual health and healing. The crux of the conversation for me was whether one puts more emphasis on the belief of themselves as being a physical being or a spiritual being. We emphasized yet again in the group that we support people in reading and doing any work which leaves them feeling Love and compassion for themselves and others, since that is the energy they need to hold in their system to get and stay healthy, physically and spiritually.

Next week we will watch the lecture titled, “The Circle of Life and How to Play it.”

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false.