INTRODUCTION

The Creator made us for the purpose that we might learn to become happy and full of love. If we do such, we can qualify for the best possible life in this world and in the future Spirit world (where we go after death).

We cannot progress much without The Creators help, which He wants to give. He is all knowledgeable, wise and loving, and thus, we can depend on Him without any fear. We can trust Him. He will never do or counsel anything that harms us.

THE PATH TO HAPPINESS 

Realize the Creators love and wisdom

The first step on this path is to realize how much your Creator loves you. When you realize this, His love strengthens you and gives you the desire to learn and live His (the Creators) way, the wise way.

How do you feel His love? You pray that He will let you feel it. With sincere prayer, you will feel it, unless you do not have a willingness to live the moral way the "Good Way". If this is the case, you need to pray that He will help you develop such willingness. Once you obtain such, you can then pray for the Creator's (Great Spirit's) love.

You become convinced of the Great Spirit's wisdom as you learn and practice His ways. You will observe that He leads you to happiness and success. Also, he provides wise answers to your problems and helps you to meet your challenges.

The nature of your walk

The second step on the path is to understand the nature of the walk. You, as all people, start as a person with numerous shortcomings. This does not decrease the Creator's love for you-- he knows all mankind has this problem. He loves us even though we do many wrong things.

What the Creator asks is that we are willing to work to overcome our shortcomings. He realizes that improvement will be quite gradual, perhaps even slow, and that for every few steps forward, we may take several backward. What is important is our attitude to changing and our effort if these are good, He will help. To obtain His help, we need to ask for it then we know where the help comes from. Also, we need to express gratitude for it. This process helps us to understand where all good comes from, whom we are dependent on, and keeps us from becoming prideful (and helps us to be humble and teachable). The Creator decides if we live or die, decides to protect or not protect us and whether or not our daily needs will be provided, when we get inspiration, etc.

You need to understand that the Creator does not force us to change. He will never violate our sacred right to make our own choices. You, yourself, decide whether you will or will not live the "Good Way". What the Great Spirit does is give us experiences, promptings, etc. that encourage us to make wise choices.

In summary, the path to personal improvement may not be easy, but the results are worth it. Do you not want to feel confident and good about yourself, to feel the love of your Creator, be peaceful, receive inspiration, to more effectively love and help others, have the best after death life in the spirit world, etc.?

How to proceed

You proceed to advance in the following manner:

1) Since most people aren't effective if they try to improve in many areas (or overcome many shortcomings) at once, pick one or two areas you will concentrate on (it is wise to pick them with the help of prayer).

2) Be humble and pray for help in those areas that you are working on-- the Creator wants to help and frequently asks you to change in ways you cant without His help.

3) Work on an area chosen for improvement for 3 weeks plus before you take on a new challenge-- your improvement needs to become a habit or you will slip back into your old ways.

4) After about a month, pick another area for improvement and proceed as above.

5) Do not become discouraged if you sometimes slip-- this is the normal pattern. Pick yourself up and proceed on. Ask for the Creator's help to over come your problem.

6) As you improve, you feel better about yourself and life, and you are more effective.

7) Keep up this pattern of personal improvement throughout your life-- this is what the Creator asks. He does not appreciate laziness or those who turn their back on what is beautiful after experiencing it. The path becomes easier the longer you walk it.

8) Remember the Creator wants to help and that you need His help-- don't be to proud to ask.

9) Give thanks when you receive help-- if you don't do this, it will be harder to get future help.

In what areas does the Creator want improvement-- what does he want of us?

The Creator wants us to improve and advance in the following areas:

1) Learn to love your Creator and trust His ways (this is faith).

2) Develop faith and humility so that the Supreme Being can help you and answer your prayers. This includes having faith to know that the Creator will support and help you as is appropriate (in His wisdom).  There is little faith when there is fear and worry (the exceptions are when you are concerned whether you have done enough to warrant help, are worthy or what you ask is wise). * When faith is lacking, the Creator cannot help much. To get help, pray and then do all you can to accomplish your goal, leaving it to the Creator to do what you cannot do (the Creator seldom helps lazy people).

3) Become the person the Creator wants you to become. This includes working toward becoming loving, dependable, humble, forgiving, long suffering, patient, and honest. The Creator also wants you to be grateful for your many Blessings-- the help He has given, and to be respectful. Becoming this good person requires that you are prayerful, asking for guidance, help and strength. Finally, you are to live what we call he Ten Commandments and are to be moral.

4) Realize that you must have help from the Great Spirit to over come many weaknesses and to accomplish goals. Don't hesitate to ask the Creator wants to help, such as to help us get over anger.

5) You are to use no drugs or alcohol, and preferably you do not take tobacco into your body.

6) You must live morally.

Though much is asked of us, the Creator realizes that self-improvement takes much time, some of it will only be accomplished in the Spirit world. What is expected is that we seriously work on improving ourselves, one step at a time as described above.

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* A person with great faith does not need to know his future challenges he knows that the Creator will lead him in a wise way and protect him.
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How the Creator helps

The Creator helps in many ways. We need to recognize when this help comes and respond:

1) We can feel the Creators love, which motivates and creates self-esteem.

2) We can receive inspiration, insights, dreams, etc. on how to solve a problem, what action to take or path to proceed along, of pending danger, of what may happen in the future, etc.

3) You can receive strength to handle a problem, such as to endure the criticism of others, the strength to lift a heavy object, the confidence to handle new challenges, etc.

4) We have and/or are given experiences that teach and strengthen us. We need to be able to recognize these and what is being taught. For instance, if you are not dealing with anger, you will realize consequences, such as rejection, fights, etc. If you are slow to learn, you will be put into tougher and tougher situations to encourage you to change, situations that may threaten your marriage, job or life! The Creator does this because we are on earth to learn and improve. When you realize what is happening, respond, don't fight it!  Give thanks that your Creator wants to help you learn. If you have a close call while driving, you may need to pay more attention. If you are frequently impatient with your kids, what can you do to over come this?

5) A friend or family member may discuss a difficulty with you, listen with an open mind, don't get angry, and if there is truth in the concern, give thanks and respond in a positive way.

6) We can learn from the experiences of others-- this will save you later trouble.

7) For every bad action, there are negative consequences. Don't blame the Great Spirit for them-- they are part of the natural order of things. When you make a bad choice, such as hitting your wife, and the police charge you, you made the choice and the police intervention is a consequence of that choice.

8) Always express gratitude to your Maker for the help you receive.

EXAMPLES OF THE CREATOR'S HELP

Example 1: Failure to recognize the Creators help-- A man was trapped on the roof of a house as the floodwaters rose. He prayed for rescue. Along came a man in a boat who offered help. But the trapped man said that he didn't need help, the Creator was going to help him. The waters raised more. Along came a helicopter but the Creator was going to rescue him. The floodwater drowned the man. The Creator often helps us through other people don't turn this help down.

Example 2: Failure to respond to evidence and beware of pride-- A man was having family problems, particularly with his wife. He didn't respond. He had a dream about the problems, but again, there was no action on his part. His wife in desperation, tried to talk to him about matters. Again, there was no positive response-- the husband still blamed his wife for the problems, she held the key to solving them. The oldest son approached his father but to no avail. Finally, the wife and kids left. The man became remorseful-- he had lost that which was most precious his family. He had ignored the increasingly strong signals it was now too late to solve the problems and save the family. The husbands pride and stubbornness had caused him to ignore his part in the troubles he had insisted they were his wife's fault. Almost always when there is a problem between people, all affected persons, to a greater or lesser degree, are part of the trouble. In these situations, you need to do what you can, that is, eliminate your contribution to the problem. Often others will notice your better attitude, and they now will be willing to change.

Example 3: Asking for something that is not wise-- A righteous person asked the Great Spirit for wealth. But the Creator was slow to respond-- He knew that great possessions would corrupt the then righteous person. However, the person persisted and eventually his prayer was answered. Once the person was wealthy, he forgot his Creator. The Lesson: Be careful what you ask for-- you may get it to your condemnation!

Example 4: When a prayer was not answered-- A man was afflicting a woman. She prayed for help but got none. She didn't have enough faith to qualify for the Great Spirits assistance. She lacked faith because she made no effort to live the "Good Way".

Example 5: A consequence of failing to express gratitude-- A student was having trouble with math. She prayed for help. She obtained inspiration and dreams that gave her understandings of and solutions to her math problems. Her marks much improved. But she failed to express gratitude. Soon this help no longer came.

Example 6: Failure to learn from the experiences of others-- A young man observed the negative consequences of drugs and alcohol. His Elders advised him against using these substances. Yet when his peers pressured him, he gave in.  In his pride, he thought that he wouldn't become addicted. He soon learned otherwise.

Example 7: With sufficient faith, we can forgive-- After World War II, a Believer who had been imprisoned in a horrendous Nazi concentration camp, spoke to a group of Christians. Then a former cruel guard at the camp, came forward to congratulate the speaker. He had recently been converted to the "Good Way". At first the speaker could not accept him-- she remembered his cruelty. But she knew that she must forgive him. She prayed for help. Her faith was sufficient that the Creator could remove the hate from her heart-- she was able to forgive and accept the former guard as a brother.

Example 8: A lack of courage prevents us from receiving blessings-- A man needed more income to support his family. He asked the Great Spirit to provide a means of earning more. Soon his boss offered to pay for further education, which would lead to a promotion. But the man reasoned that he was a poor student, and thus, would fail the training. Later, his boss offered another promotion with higher pay without the need of schooling. Again, the man hesitated, the new position would be hard on his nerves. The man went without the pay raise he needed-- he didn't have the courage and faith to realize that the Creator would have helped in both circumstances. The Creator would have assisted with his schooling and to overcome nervousness, and would have increased his abilities.

Example 9: A strong commitment leads to a Blessing-- The parents of a sickly child, prayed for the child's health. To show their sincerity, they told the Creator that they would visit sick children in the hospital and would work to stop gossiping. The Great Spirit was impressed--  their child was healed.

Example 10: The trials of life can lead to growth-- We all face trails sickness, criticism, difficult tasks such as a challenging assignment, bitter cold working in the bush, disappointments, death of a loved one, family quarrels, etc. If we are willing to face these challenges and pray for help, we can overcome and we will develop patience, understanding, abilities, inner strength, faith, sympathy for others, etc. Every challenge is an opportunity for learning and growth.

Example11: Comfort at death-- When a loved one dies, the grief can be great. Prayer can bring assurance that the departed one is well and comfort to us. This also works when you are confronted with a major challenge, such as illness, you can know that your Creator is aware of your struggles and He can give you strength to face them.

There is special comfort for those that loose a young child. Such a child is a high quality spirit that did not need an adult life experience. This child is assured the best in the Spirit world-- you have been Blessed to be the parent of such a fine spirit.

Example 12: Blessings are sometimes delayed-- A righteous man prayed to feel the love of his Creator. But nothing happened. He persisted. Finally, he felt his Creator's love and how wonderful it was! The patience he had developed and his persistence increased the intensity of the experience. The Creator answers our prayers when it is wise sometimes a delay is wise.

Example 13:  The Creator often gives challenging experiences to spur us to live the "Good Way"-- A man who knew about the "Good Way", was not living it. In these situations, the Creator frequently gives difficult experiences to persuade us to make the right choices. But he will not force us to change against our will, a person's Creator given right to make his own choices.  This is a sacred principle, even if we make the wrong choices. In this example, the man occasionally drank heavily and had a quick temper. At first, the Great Spirit let the man experience some mild consequences of his drinking and anger He let the man look like a fool. Still, the man didn't change. Next, the man got into trouble with the law, but again he did not change. Then as a drinking driver, he hit a pedestrian and assaulted the police officer that attended the accident. He spent one year in jail but continued to deny the need to change. Finally, he was killed in a drunken fight. When he faced His Maker, he was upset that he was assigned to an unpleasant place in the Spirit world. He complained: "Creator, why didn't you change me? Why did you let me do all those dumb things?" His Maker replied: "Son, people are free to make their own decisions. I do not help change people unless they request it. What I do is give people experiences and teachings, hoping they of their own free will, will learn and change. You knew the teachings. I never violate a persons liberty to choose his own action. When you, yourself, decide to change, your attitudes improve. If I changed you without your consent and understanding of why the change was desirable, your attitude would not have improved. I gave you increasingly difficult experiences with increasingly negative consequences, hoping that you would learn. But you were too proud and stubborn. Now you must suffer the consequences of your poor attitudes. You do not have the humble and teachable heart required to enter into my rest!"

Example 14: The future of a person who refuses to learn of the "Good Way"-- A person who refuses to learn of the Creators ways, must suffer the consequences of his decision-- he has denied his Creator! Because of his hard headedness, he must suffer as the person who knows the "Good Way" and does not live it-- he cannot dwell near the Creator but must live with other lower spirits.

Example 15: Help with physical, sexual and emotional abuse-- Mary and Paul had been abused all three ways. As a result, they could not feel or express emotion, had low self-confidence, did not trust people, were depressed, and felt guilty in regard to the abuse. An alert Elder noticed them and became determined to help. She slowly gained their trust by doing kind things, listening, never criticizing, etc. She helped them understand their situation and they begin to feel hope. The Elder helped them feel the love of their Creator and that they were very special to Him. His love and that of the Elder, and His assistance obtained through prayer, helped Mary and Paul gradually heal, and in time, to become emotionally alive. They realized that they were not guilty because of what happened (that sin rested with the abusers)-- their only wrongful acts were what they did, and if they worked to improve, the Creator would forgive.

Example 16: Prayer and fear-- A coupe was driving on a stormy winter night and their fuel was low. They were afraid that either the storm or the low fuel would prevent them from reaching home. They prayed. But the woman continued to worry. Then a strong impression came to her: "Quite worrying!! You prayed and thus, your fate is now in my hands". They reached home safely.

Example 17: Alcoholism and drug addiction-- These are very hard to overcome. The people who are successful, get help from recovered addicts, such as those in AA. To recover, one must completely turn his life over to his Creator no reservations.
 
SUMMAY

The Creator is all wise and loving. He knows the way to happiness, to becoming loving and forgiving, to being effective, and how to obtain the best after death life (in the Spirit world).
The Creator wants to help us learn the better way of living, the "Good Way", so that we can become happy and effective. This is the case despite our many shortcomings. The Great Spirit still loves us and will help us improve. To obtain His help, we must trust Him (have faith).
 
The "Good Way" asks us:

1) To be humble before our Creator and to trust him, asking for help and expressing gratitude for the help and Blessings He gives us.

2) To live the Ten Commandments.

3) To become loving, forgiving, patient, helpful, long-suffering, dependable, honest, respectful, and again, humble.

4) To live a moral life.

5) To not use drugs or alcohol, and preferably do not take tobacco into our body.

To help us learn, the Great Spirit gives us experiences from which we can learn and grow. We need to be open to these experiences and grow, giving thanks for them.

If we put forth a good effort to improve, we will feel the Creators love, have His guidance and protection, we will improve and be happy and confident, and have a good after death life in the Spirit world. Remember, don't rush at self-improvement make it a measured, steady walk one step at a time.