44th Live Stream with Carlton Pearson - Joy and Happiness

About this sermon

"Joy is not the result of getting what you want; it is the way to get what you want. In the deepest sense, joy is what you want." Alan Cohen Joy, simply put, is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Everybody on earth, perhaps including most animals, desire those two experiences. How often, if ever, do you experience them? And how often is it experienced for long periods of time? Is joy really an experience or just a temporary or occasional feeling? Happiness can be described as having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with a person, arrangement, or situation. How often does that occur for you; when, how and why is it important or is it? If there is an alternative to it, is that what you experience most? How much do you have to do with your own happiness or is it in the control or influence of others, including your God or that which you deem as such? Do we want food, or the feeling we have when we eat? And what about nutrition, in comparison to a particular appetite? We often confuse or mistake the experience for what caused it, or what it caused. Both are indeed interrelated, but not the same. It's like the difference between symptom and source. A symptom is a sign of the existence of something. It is the Greek word sumptōma and translates "chance." Is life as you experience it more of a chance or choice? Source is a place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained. Where there is fruit, whatever kind, there is root. Pay more attention to the source than the symptom, be it joy or sadness. Source is never outside you. You create what you experience. You are not just created, you are creative and indeed you are creating constantly everyday of your life and all day as your life. Be aware and as deliberate and intentional as possible. No one is responsible for what you create but you. Same is true of all of us on this planet, both individually and collectively. The beliefs we carry, mostly about ourselves, inspire and generate what we create and experience. Living on purpose and with it, is the most dynamic awareness you can have. Embrace your truth, own it and honor it. Carlton Pearson After college at the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa Oklahoma he served for 15 years on its Board of Regents, and two years as Associate Evangelist of The Oral Roberts Association, (ORA). In 1977, Pearson founded Higher Dimensions Ministries (now New Dimensions ), in Tulsa, which grew to over 5,000. Bishop Pearson was consecrated to the office of Bishop in 1996 thru a College of Bishops headed by Bishop Charles E Blake, presently the Presiding Bishop of the Churches of God In Christ, the denomination he was raised in and through whom he was ordained in 1971. In 1993, Carlton married the former Gina Marie Gauthier who is a professional Life Coach and Yoga teacher. More recently, he has felt a passion to proclaim the "Gospel Of Inclusion" and has written a widely acclaimed book by that name, published by Simon and Schuster. It confronts the Christian church's exclusivism as being inconsistent, in spirit with the teachings of Jesus. Pearson's frank and often controversial take on a number of different subjects has earned him appearances on television programs such as NBC and MSNBC's Dateline, ABC's Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley, The Edge with Paula Zahn and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The Monique Show on BET, and a number of other television, radio and print media outlets. Bishop Pearson was recognized as one of America's 10 Most Influential Black Ministers by Gospel Today and Belief.net. He has received several honorary doctoral degrees. Bishop Pearson recently served as the Interim Senior Minister at Christ Universal Temple in Chicago. He and Gina now host New Dimensions of Chicago, building a local multi-cultural and radically Inclusive spiritual community that emphasizes expanded consciousness and Self Actualization. His newest book, God Is Not A Christian, Nor A Jew, Muslim, Hindu...God Dwells With Us, In Us, Around Us, As Us was published by Simon and Schuster and released in the spring of 2010. Visit our Youtube Channel for more video! Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/bishoppearson Website: http://www.bishoppearson.com Join Email List: http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?llr=cqgwpvn6&p=oi&m=1011112155650

Topics

• Joy