Giving Thanks

In the spirit of this Easter holiday and the Golden Rule, I would like to recognize and give thanks to certain individuals in my community who have dedicated their lives to making a better life for others. Following, are individuals who have a burning desire and definiteness of purpose to serve their community with passion and faith. Their individual missions have influenced many other lives through their positive example.

Pastor Dr. Christopher Curry – I was retained by Dr. Curry to design the website for his church, Ezion Fair Baptist Church in Wilmington, DE. During the course of two months I was blessed with the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and giving man. I observed the willingness and action of his church to feed the community with physical and spiritual sustenance. The joy and happiness of his congregation was bestowed on my fiancée Elizabeth Sutor and me when I came to videotape his service one Sunday morning. I was truly blessed watching this man preach. His passion and fire for God is unique. He has been preaching and helping his community since he was 8 years old! To find out more visit the EFBC website.

Justen Wright, City Councilman at Large – I was retained by Justen Wright to design his website during his campaign for City Council. Justen made me aware of the pressing issues in Wilmington concerning our youth, seniors and neighborhoods. He won his council seat at age 25 and has a bright future ahead. His dedication at his age to his community is unparalleled. Justen and his family runs the House of Wright Mortuary in Wilmington, DE. To find out more about Justen, visit his website or his business website.

Pastor Dr. Benjamin “Twin B.” Brown – I have been aware of Dr. Brown’s Spiritual Revival Hour program on Local Comcast Channel 28 for some time. This program has been alive for over 46 years! I was recently introduced to Dr. Brown and have made several appearances on his program. His dedication and service to the Wilmington community and their youth is extraordinary. He has conducted free video workshops for inner city youths for many years. His motto is “Making the Positive Outshine the Negative.” I have recently joined forces with Dr. Brown by designing Wilmington’s first Web TV Station called Channel CCC. Community programs are being run 24/7 and can be viewed at CCC Media TV.

Earl Woodlen – Earl runs the Harriet Tubman Safe House on the East Side of Wilmington. Many prisoners when released from prison haven’t anywhere to go. Earl provides a safe haven where these former prisoners can be integrated back into society. I met Earl at a Mastermind Group discussing “The Secret” hosted by Sue Davis, Nancy Lopez and Mitch Dugan. His energy and passion to help those who have paid their debt to society is very stimulating. Earl has spent most of his own money on providing a safe house for those in need. To learn more about Earl and the Harriet Tubman Safe House visit their website.

Tammy Curry, Life Success Consultant – Tammy Curry is Dr. Curry’s sister. She had contacted me after I designed the website for her brother’s church. I invited Tammy to “The Secret” Mastermind Group and she volunteered to teach the group the 8 week course of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.” Her focused insight into the teachings and inner passion about manifesting your dreams are most refreshing. Her personal story of rags to riches inspires the group at every meeting. Her lofty, yet reachable goals have awakened our group to the possibilities we all have. Tammy has volunteered to teach the men at the Harriet Tubman Safe House about “The Secret” and “Think and Grow Rich.” For more info on Tammy Curry, please go to her website.

The individuals listed above are some of the movers and shakers in the Wilmington community that, as Dr. Brown says are “making the positive outshine the negative.” If you know of others who have dedicated their lives to positively affecting our community, please contact me by email and I will be glad to interview them and feature them in upcoming articles. Being spiritual is not just about praying and meditating, it is also positively affecting and serving your community with the blessings you have received.

For more info: Download my free Wilmington Spirituality Examiner toolbar. “Life is a gift. Be thankful for it and it will be replete with abundance. Encourage others to express creativity, release negativity and embrace pro-activity." Dean A. Banks, MCIWD, DD can be reached at webproducer@hotmail.com or banksnet.com.

The Path to the Golden Rule

In the previous article I talked about how daily practice of prayer, meditation and service can help you finely tune your perception of reality to experience what exists beyond our sensory world. What parallels exist to help support this assertion? Jesus said in Luke 11:19, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Prayer, in essence, is asking God to give you something you perceive you do not have. Since God has created this abundant universe, then asking Him for something shouldn’t be a problem, right? But there’s more.

The second part of Jesus’ statement is “seek, and ye shall find.” How do we seek what we want and find it? Through meditation. The outer world is rampant with distractions and misguided focus. Only in the peace and stillness of God are we removed from the distractions and chaos of the outer world and we can listen to the still small voice of God giving us instruction as to where to find what we seek. Again, there is more.

The final part of Jesus’ statement is “knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Taking action and moving your feet are performing service. When you are blessed with the awareness to ask God for what you want, and you make the time daily to practice listening to God, you must get up and do something about it. Do you remember the joke about the man in the flood who drowned while waiting for God to save him? When he got to Heaven he told God he trusted in Him and God let him drown. God responded, “I sent you a rescue truck, a boat and a helicopter and you refused their help.” God’s response to our prayers often comes in natural means through other people and not supernatural means as some expect.

Prayer can come in many forms. It can be a simple request of God, a visualization, an affirmation or an undoubting focus on an expected outcome. Meditation can be a simple undisturbed quiet time, a relaxation response to a repeated mantra, or even peaceful observation in nature. Service can be following through on your goals, spending your time helping others or contributing to life in subtle ways without expecting recognition.

In many instances Jesus told us exactly what to do, yet our spiritual leaders often focus on what his disciples’ interpretations tell us to do. For example, Paul is revered as one of Jesus’ most intense proponents; and he was. Yet, many of his own personal feelings are injected into his writings which were interpretations of what Jesus had said and done. Paul’s wisdom came from, as James puts it, asking. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Paul was familiar with what the Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee.” Trust is key here. Some of Paul’s writings were done in a cell exposed to raw sewage. In this environment Paul accepted his current situation, prayed for something better, accepted God’s word in peace, and continued to serve his fellow man. He was a big proponent of the laws of God summing them up into what Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Romans 13:9).

If you truly love yourself, then you respect yourself by thinking, listening and giving your best. Performing good service is treating your neighbor as you would treat yourself. This is known as the Golden Rule; “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). Simple enough to say, but it requires daily practice to implement.

For more info: Download my free Wilmington Spirituality Examiner toolbar. “Life is a gift. Be thankful for it and it will be replete with abundance. Encourage others to express creativity, release negativity and embrace pro-activity." Dean A. Banks, MCIWD, DD can be reached at webproducer@hotmail.com or banksnet.com.