The Official Website of Michael Corthell

“How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?” —Paul Sweeney Patience is not only the art of waiting. Patience is to be at peace no matter what happens, and being ready to take action and having faith that it will all work out in the end.

Be a Lamp “There is a LIGHT in this world. A healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometime lose sight of this force when there is suffering, and too much pain. Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call and answer in extraordinary ways.” ― Richard Attenborough There is an ancient tribal proverb from India. It says, ''Before we can see properly we must first shed our tears to clear the way.''

  “You know, an old man like me can teach a young boy like you all the good things in life. But it takes a young boy like you to teach an old man like me to appreciate all the good things in life. I guess that’s what life’s all about.” ― Wilson Rawls, Summer of the Monkeys Your life is meant to be fun, and joyous, and fulfilling. There is nothing wrong with that.

  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 your moral code and ethics.

  ''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.