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New Day Herald

Q&A with John Morton: Devotion, Creating Positively…and More

 

The following article was first published in the New Day Herald in July of 2011. It includes highlights from a November 2010 interview with John Morton.


What can you tell us about dreams?

JOHN MORTON: There are dreams that we have while we’re sleeping, and there are waking dreams. With waking dreams, it’s important to dream positively. It makes a difference how we focus our dreams. So focus positively and dream about what you want more of.

Some dreams could be just fantasies. However, people who have done great things in the world often first had a dream about what they were going to do. They first imagined what could be. Sometimes they experienced obstacles, challenges or tests. Through those tests, they often discovered how much they truly wanted that dream to be true. Many people have done great things by never giving up on their dreams.

How can we transform a negative thought into a positive dream?

JOHN MORTON: I like to encourage people to start simple. Start right here with asking yourself, ‘How can this day be better?’ Dream positively about this day. Maybe dream about a happy day or a peaceful day.

Perhaps you can enjoy the ride to work rather than complaining about the traffic or the weather. Enjoy the traffic by listening to music, thinking about a child you love, or noticing something beautiful in nature. We can enjoy the day regardless. The imagination is very powerful to help us see things in a positive way that we hadn’t yet noticed or realized.

Once while I was in the airport in Cairo, Egypt, I went to use the restroom. As I walked in, I saw a man dressed as if he were a colonel in the army. He wore a hat and full uniform with brass buttons and tassels on the shoulders. He came to attention and saluted me. Then he welcomed me into the restroom and gave me a tour. He took me around and showed me the beautiful soap and towels, clean toilet, and fresh toilet paper. He was absolutely proud of the restroom.

I found that restroom to be one of the most beautiful restrooms in the world because of that man’s attitude. I actually had tears come to my eyes because I understood how this man was genuinely proud. He loved his restroom, and he loved welcoming whoever came in there.

From that experience, I saw a reference point for abundance and prosperity. If we can have an abundance of joy and be prosperous with a smile, then we can see the sky as our roof. We can see all the land as our own land. We are here to share. So abundance and prosperity is most powerful when it’s shared, and sharing is a blessing.

Can you talk about attracting to us what we don’t want?

JOHN MORTON: We are creators, and we create with our thoughts. John-Roger who founded MSIA said that energy follows thought. So be careful what we think because there is energy in our minds.

In the Bible, there is a passage that says that as a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes (Proverbs 23:7). It’s very important what kind of thoughts we hold true. We magnetize our life to attract the things we think about. It’s very simple. If we think sad, we attract what’s sad. If we think positive, we attract what’s positive.

There’s a saying that misery loves company. Our misery attracts other misery, and that attraction can become having friends who are miserable or a miserable family. However, we can attract happy friends or a happy family by looking at the good in each moment and experience. There is always good present.

I see that the greatest good comes from God. So it’s important for us to attract God’s goodness. We do that by appreciating God’s creation first as it is. We do this through our acceptance and cooperation. That’s not always easy to do.

When we see poverty, injustice or violence, it may be difficult to see the good. We may find ourselves judging rather than accepting and cooperating. At those times, the good can be seen in a vision or dream that things can be different and in our knowing that we can make things better.

If you and I have been opposed to one another, we can become friends. To do that, often we need to look in the same direction. Then we can see that every person needs food, healthy water, shelter — simple things. We can share those things. By cooperating with each other, we all benefit. By fighting, we all lose.

What is the seed that you are bringing to the world?

JOHN MORTON: There are many seeds, and they are all good. The most important seed I know is love. My intention is to love everyone and everything.

I’m humbled often because I have a critical mind. I can find fault. If I’m not careful, that’s where my thoughts tend to go. Then before I know it, I’m not really having a good time because my mind is going into negative thinking. So I practice what I teach.

I don’t represent myself as the expert. I’m practicing too. I have my challenges. I have moments when negativity confronts me. However, I find that the most difficult challenges are from within. How can I teach about peace if I don’t experience it myself? I need to find my peace first in order to give you peace as well. So that’s the most important place to begin — inside.

What can you say about devotion?

JOHN MORTON: Devotion is whatever we determine is most important. Devotion could be negative or positive. My devotion is loving. I find that’s the most important aspect of my life.

Everybody needs to love and to be loved. If we were all experiencing that we’re being loved and loving, today would be a grand celebration in the world. I can imagine that. I can dream and envision that. So I know the loving begins within me.

Again, I’m humbled because often I don’t feel the love or feel like loving. But those are just my feelings. I find that in my heart there is always loving present. I consider that in everyone’s heart there is loving present. Some hearts are hardened so the love seems shut down. But the love is not dead. It’s still there. It’s more like the heart is sleeping, like in the story about Beauty and the Beast. When someone loved the Beast, he was transformed into a beautiful prince. Some people may think that’s just fantasy, but it can happen. Through loving, we can transform to beauty and goodness.

Consider what kind of world we want. I say a loving, caring world. So be devoted and dedicated to that world. Be the first one to stand up for it. We don’t have to wait for others to be loving. We can take our devotion and dedication and move forward in love towards what we want to create.

Gratitude is a way of seeing the value in each moment. It’s important to be grateful for the opportunity to do good. Even if I’m the only one in the world doing good, I’m grateful. I trust that the positive will overcome and reign. I’m grateful that we can sit down and enjoy each other’s company. There’s appreciation when we take interest in one another. It’s not just to look and decide we know each other, but to ask so you can tell me and we can share.

What can you tell us about higher consciousness and service?

JOHN MORTON: I see higher consciousness as about gaining more wisdom, more understanding, and more ability to see how to work through challenges so we know the blessings more fully. It’s a consciousness that wants to do the most good. I consider service is the highest consciousness.

Service is first to yourself. So take care of yourself first by serving yourself. Then you can be of better service to others for the highest good. When we fly on a plane, they give us a demonstration of service first to ourselves. They tell us that if we need to put an oxygen mask on ourselves first before we put it on a child. If you pass out before you put it on yourself, then you might not be able to help your child. So you need to get the oxygen to yourself first and then get the oxygen to your child.

In order to serve in the highest way, you need to be free to serve. In MSIA, we teach to take care of yourself, your family, and your community before you go out and take care of the world. Bring forward peace in your backyard first, before you attempt to take it to another neighborhood.

In MSIA, we consider ourselves non-religious. We’re not with a mission. We’re more philosophical and educational. The interest with MSIA is to learn who we are spiritually by going within. Our contact with the Divine is first within ourselves. So we teach meditation and worship inside.

There’s also fellowship in MSIA. We invite people to be of service, so we have ordained ministers. People often minister privately so they don’t need to go to meetings. However, we have ministers’ meetings throughout the world to support us in our ministries. Involvement in MSIA doesn’t require anyone to join an organization. We don’t consider we have membership. Involvement with MSIA is open.

MSIA is educational to help people have direct experience of their divine nature. We offer many study materials and classes to support our learning of ourselves as divine. That divine nature we refer to as the soul.

Each person has a soul consciousness. When we are more aware of our soul, we can experience a much more blessed life. Through Soul Awareness, we can realize that we don’t need the world to change. We know that the change is first inside. Then we can minister to the world from our overflow by doing things to help. We teach about serving for the highest good of all concerned.

Every one and every thing is a concern of God because out of God came all things. We teach that God loves all of Its creation. Not one soul will be lost. Every one of us is going to return to the soul. That’s what we practice in MSIA. We are teaching ways to wake up more fully to our souls, our true nature as God’s beloveds.

God has an equal willingness to be patient with each one of us. There’s no urgency in our individual movements of spiritual inner awareness. Each Soul’s awakening is going to happen whether it is in this life or the life to come. My attitude is that we might as well awaken in this life right now.

God bless you all.


WATCH A BLESSING BY JOHN MORTON ABOUT CREATING

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