“Transform Yourself” is the name of my blog but those words also represent the heart of our Spirit-Centered Revolution.   However, unlike our culture’s narcissistic preoccupation with self, I am talking about the “self” in a totally different context.  I’m talking about “self” as that confluence of body, mind and spirit.   We are a spirit being housed in a fleshly body.   We can either allow the world to define who we are, our “self”, or we can allow God to define who we are.  

 

Here is one of my all-time favorite passages of scripture, the one that inspired me to create a blog called “Transform Yourself”.   “Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).  

 

Transforming yourself begins with choosing to be a non-conformist, to purposely go against the grain, to swim upstream, to buck the tide of this world’s system.   We should choose to live our life according to God’s time and timing, not our employer’s, not our spouse’s, not our children’s and not our parent’s time table.  God must take precedent over them all. 

 

But the sad truth is that the world has us all by our pockets.  The only way out, the only way to “Be not conformed to this world”, is first to get out of debt, and second, to gather with others of like mind, so we can empower one another.   There needs to be a long range plan to create a God-centered community and a God-centered work place.   Then, if God’s power comes upon you during your work day, you can have someone else take your place and find out what God is trying to say. 

 

There is another element to unraveling our dependence on the world’s system and that is receiving of God’s power, God’s glory power.  I speak of this “Glory to glory transformational process” in my book, “$ecret$ - 12 Principles of Prosperity for Spiritual Entrepreneurs”.   Here’s the quote:

Glory to Glory

In this book you'll truly find some “things kept secret from the foundation of the world”.  But as with most secrets, it's not that they were hidden on purpose.  Rather it is mankind who has been too dense to see and hear and understand what was there all along.   I am not some genius for discovering these prosperity secrets. I am just someone who went through great hardship and believed some good would come out of it… after all, I had this promise in Romans: Ro 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  Throughout my times of suffering I refused to believe it was all for naught, believing instead that there was some lesson to be learned, if only I could see it.  That is why my first BIG lesson was so important.   It is THE foundational principle that led to all these revealed secrets.  

In 1983, having been a Christian for 10 years, I was forced by circumstances beyond my control into homelessness.  Although there have been many miracles leading to my eventual success, suffice it to say that at this time in my life I was at rock bottom!  I was living in my car, in the mountains of the west, and when I wasn’t looking for work I would drive to my favorite place, a quiet rarely used road that led to a cliff overlooking the Goat River. 

One day at the river I read a passage of scripture that seemed to leap out of the bible and impress upon me its great significance.    Jesus had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane, to ask God to remove the great burden of having to suffer upon the cross.   His agony was so great he sweat great drops of blood.  Three times he came out of the garden to check on the three disciples, whom he had asked to watch over and pray for him.  Each time, he found them sleeping.   Finally he said to them, “Could you not pray with me but one hour”?  In a sudden flash of insight I realized that Jesus was telling them an hour was the minimum he expected and that it was but little to ask.  

By example Jesus revealed to the world this simple truth, that if we desire to pray with power, unto victory over those things that sidetrack the vast majority from their intended purpose, we must spend sufficient time alone with God.  So, I put it to the test.  I began to meditate/pray for one hour minimum, seeking to listen and understand what God would have me to do rather than just read off a mental list of requests.  The results were nothing short of astounding.  Each time, about three quarters of the way through my praying, the usual mental disturbances of thought would suddenly be quieted and I would feel this intense connection, this “peace that passes ALL understanding” (Php 4:7) and a joy like no other.  

What I had tapped into was nothing less than God’s glory, infusing me and empowering me in ways I could not have dreamed.  This was made clearer when I read this passage in II Corinthians: 2Co 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  I realized that when I meditated, I was letting go of all the social masks we are made to wear (“with open face”) that there is this process, akin to looking in a mirror (“beholding as in a glass”) but instead of seeing myself, I see the Lord (“beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord”).  This causes me to change (“are changed into the same image”) with the Lord’s glory being transferred to me, all by the power of the Spirit (“from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”).   There was no turning back and from that day to this I go before the Lord to seek his guidance each and every morning, for at least an hour, before I enter into my daily activities.  To say that it is extremely refreshing would be an understatement, for in truth I find it as important as life itself, no less important than eating or breathing.

That was my first and most important secret, the one upon which all the others have been built.  This is the secret that every person seeking spiritual growth and success in life, should know.  Too bad that those who do not read prefaces are going to miss this one… hidden yet in plain sight, just as so many of life’s little mysteries are! 

As far as I know, at least in this day and age, I am the first to discover many of the truths contained herein.  However, understanding somewhat the nature of mankind and mankind’s history, I would have to believe that someone somewhere has seen these truths also, either now or in times past.   If that is the case then I can at least lay claim to re-discovering them and making them available for the benefit of all.   May they inspire you to reach ever greater levels of success, not just for yourself, but for your family and community as well.

There are eleven additional “secrets” contained $ecret$, one for each of the following eleven chapters.   I call these twelve secrets the Twelve Principles of Prosperity™ because their focus is primarily on prosperity, not just on making money.   Within those Twelve Principles of Prosperity™ there are “Seven Steps to Breaking the Rich/Poor Barrier”™.  Some are so simple you might wonder aloud, “Why didn’t I think of that”.  The truth is, you probably could have.  Others are so profound, so complex in their ramifications for all of one’s life you might consider them to be beyond man’s natural reasoning ability.    

But isn’t that the nature of wisdom, that God reaches down into our heart and plants a divine seed of understanding; profound truths which seem so simple once revealed but which had remained mysteries for thousands of years?  You will find such profound truths here, within this book.

[All new members receive a free copy of my book, “$ecret$ - 12 Principles of Prosperity for Spiritual Entrepreneurs”]