The Official Website of Michael Corthell

  by Michael Corthell There are two primary ways of trying to live a good life. The first is living a life of Faith, that is believing in God and the other is living without belief in God. A secondary to this is, of course, being agnostic, which is still living without Faith—by not being committed to the Creator. ''The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.'' —Bertrand Russell Our relationship to the world is colored by whether or not we think there is a creative purpose for our lives. Looking past the theological belief how can we a achieve a good life in a practical, step by step way? Life Plan What do you value most? List all the people and things that you value. Prioritize your list. Take a good amount of time thinking about the things without which you couldn't live without. Determine your moral compass. What are your core values? Freedom, justice, altruism? Kindness, courage? Determine...

  ''If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.'' ― Henry David Thoreau COMPENSATION    'One man is rich, but bored and another is poor, but happy'. 'One achieves great fame and fortune but then dies young, another is average but lives a long happy life'. A wealthy man can afford steak and lobster, but has a tender stomach, while a poor man eats plain foods with hearty appetite and enjoys good health. Or, a person may receive a huge salary, but has no time to spend with family. These compensations are called 'trade offs'. ''Senators and presidents have climbed so high with pain enough, not because they think the place specially agreeable, but as an apology for real worth, and to vindicate their manhood in our eyes. This conspicuous chair is their compensation to themselves for being of a poor, cold, hard nature.'' ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The ultimate cause of matter must be immaterial. The ultimate cause of entropy must be free of entropy. The ultimate cause of time must be outside time. The ultimate cause of space must be outside space. The ultimate cause of temperature must be without temperature. The ultimate cause of physical motion must be without physical motion. Why? Because everything on the left belongs to the temporal and contingent while everything on the right belongs to the eternal and necessary. Only the latter can explain the former. The former cannot explain themselves. The latter belong to the order of eternal truths.” ― Thomas Stark, God Is Mathematics: The Proofs of the Eternal Existence of Mathematics There is a common source for all things. The One. “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this c...

All effects in the Universe lead back to the creator: 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The Universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the Universe had a cause. 4. The first cause, can have no cause, and therefore is eternal and is known by its creation as  GOD . by Michael Corthell There is a famous historical idiom , ''All roads lead to Rome.'' In the same way, ''All effects lead back to God'' is a pithy way to describe the first cause argument. ''Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?''    ―Aeschylus One of the most famous arguments for the existence of a Creator were given by Saint Thomas Aquinas, called the "five ways". One of the five ways, the last, is the argument from design, which you can study here . The other four are versions of the first-cause argument, which we will look at briefly in this teaching. The argument is basic and...

“Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions. I'm so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them-- that's the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.” ― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables Ambition is a strange creature. It creeps up when you least expect it and keeps you running even when you want to stand still. 

Each person carries a  doctor inside their own mind.

“A man who can't bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them.” ― Stephen King, The Dark Tower No one is more miserable than the person who makes a habit of being indecisive.

  Forests and animal agriculture are vying for the same land and our Earth is dying. Meat producers  can pay more than those who work to preserve or restore the forests.   Doesn't this concern you?   See: VEGANISM PLUS THE RESOURCE-BASED ECONOMIC SYSTEM

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny  and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell For propaganda to work and work well it must be pared down to a very simple message. The propagandist then must pound on that message until the last person in the target audience understands what you want them to understand. A current example is MAGA.

The truth is that you already are what you are seeking. You are a single water molecule in the ocean of the Universe, which contains within itself the entire Universe. ''No man is an island'' English poet John Donne, writing in the 17th century, famously wrote that “no man is an island,” comparing people to countries, and arguing for the interconnectedness of all people with the Universe.

''The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure.'' ―  Sigmund Freud Marketing uses this 'reward myself for suffering' tendency in people very effectively in it's taglines: ''A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer and the best cold beer is_________!''  “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” ― W. Somerset Maugham, Books and You  

  “Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.” ― George Carlin However, everyone has the right not to tolerate the intolerant among us. Anyone teaching or preaching intolerance places themselves outside the law(moral and criminal).

What we owe future generations is NOT open for debate any longer. We owe our children clean air fresh water, a healthy planet -- a secure future. 

“Pursuing your passions makes you more interesting, and interesting people are enchanting.” ― Guy Kawasaki Charisma only gets people interested in you. Once you have their attention, you need to have something to keep their attention.

“But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise.” ― Stephen R. Covey Your life is(are) your choice(s).

“If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.” ― Albert Einstein The best ideas are like a hydrogen atom... the simplest.

Occam's razor -  examples of Occam's razor  include the following: One of the fence posts is broken. Of possible explanations a) An albino moose, lost on its quest for its squirrel best friend, crashed through the fence in despair, or b) An old nail rusted through, "b" is more likely. _________________________ by Michael Corthell In 2021 it is a pretty safe bet that most people are sick of the 'simply stupid' things we have seen day in and day out -- with much of it  yielding tragic results. Let's get back to some basic truths. Let's get back to reality. Below you will find 30 'simply smart' quotes by a famous person who lived in the 20th century. As you read them try to guess who said them. Simply genius!   __________________ ''Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.'' ''Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.''   ...

  “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” ― Charles Dickens,  A Christmas Carol Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies this improves your resistance to disease.

by Michael Corthell There is  a real power in laughter. No matter how you are feeling inside, a good belly laugh will change your mood. Isn't that true? You simply can't feel bad when you are smiling and laughing. Can you stay angry?  I can’t. “Laughter serves as a blocking agent. Like a bulletproof vest, it may help protect you against the ravages of negative emotions that can assault you in disease.”  – Norman Cousins Have a philosophy to love who and what you are and what you do, as well as laugh at yourself and at life in general. And why not? You're here for a short stay, enjoy this wonderful journey. I'm not saying, not to take life seriously, but you have to accept your life on life's terms—with the right attitude. So laugh and enjoy yourself, it will not only make life more fun, it could even lengthen it.         So, what do a positive mindset and g...

  ''And if one member suffers, all the parts share the suffering;  if one member is honored, all rejoice with it.'' 1 Corinthians 12:26 Let me practice kindness, let me practice compassion, let me be joyful, and let me sing a song of love. Let me change one life, let me change the world. “A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ― Albert Einstein

Everything is possible in the Universe, because the Universe is the 'infinite possibility' with everything contained within itself. "If there is a God who created the entire universe and ALL of its laws of physics, does God follow God’s own laws? Or can God supersede his own laws, such as travelling faster than the speed of light and thus being able to be in two different places at the same time?’ Could the answer help us prove whether or not God exists or is this where scientific empiricism and religious faith intersect, with NO true answer?'' ― Albert Einstein

  Love yourself enough to live a healthy, happy lifestyle. “I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.”  – Voltaire

Not everybody is super-smart, but every body is. And it will heal itself if you let it. “Everything is within your power, and your power is within you.” ― Janice Trachtman,   Catching What Life Throws at You: Inspiring True Stories of Healing  

  ''For every day that you are angry, you lose 24 hours of happiness.'' When you are peaceful and happy, when you say yes to your life, when you are having fun and projecting positivity, you become a bright star at the center of your universe. “A flower blossoms for its own joy.” ― Oscar Wilde

by Michael Corthell We all complain. We sometimes don't even know that we're complaining. Sometimes a common complaint can help bond two people, but too much complaining may just break down the relationship.   ''Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns,  be happy the thorn bush has roses.'' —Abraham Lincoln Again, a positive mindset. Thank you Mr. Lincoln. We've all known people who complain long and loud, they are the ones who constantly gripe about their health, their family, their relationships, their job, and the list goes on and on. They are never happy with anything. (because they are not happy with themselves) And every time you hang out with them you are left feeling drained. No matter what you say or do, it never seems to help. There may be no arguing that they are going through a tough time, but their negative attitude certainly makes matters worse and is probably the cause of their cycle of ...