Hi Friends,

Here we are again with our 30th edition of Dear Burt!

Before we get into it, have a quick look at the the painting behind me. I painted it at my daughter's house; the animal is a baby llama, which she raised herself

This time, I’m going to address only one question regarding one of the 7 principles. A lot of you have been asking me to address them one by one in more detail. So today, we will talk about mentalism then.  As it’s such an important principle, I decided to put the entire text above the video as you may want to read it over once or twice to really let it set in.

The principle of Mentalism, that says the universe is a mental creation of God, is perhaps one of the most inexplicable and mysterious of any principle as it involves the unknowable.

God, or as the followers of the teachings of Hermes say the All, is absolute and beyond understanding; all we can do is guess; and the guesses I can safely say will all be wrong. God is infinite, and eternal; meaning God had no beginning but has always been, and will have no ending but will always be.

That alone is beyond comprehension. How can anything have no beginning? That my friends is the divine paradox. But allow me to address the fact that God is infinite. Being infinite he is in and of everything. I use the term ‘he’ loosely as God would have to be genderless and perfect. You can neither diminish nor add anything to him.

The universe is a mental creation. That goes along with the infinite nature of God. Allow me to use a metaphor as that is the only way to get even close to a comprehension of   what I am attempting to say.

You can create a being, or an event in your mind. Every play, every book, every motion picture is a created fantasy, not real, but created by the mind of a person. An infinite being creates infinitely. In other words, all that is, all that was, and all that will be has been created in the mind of God. That is infinity. I touch on this in Quantum Jumping because if the universe is infinite everything imaginable, and much more that is unimaginable has already been created. Every being, every animal and vegetable, every grain of sand, every molecule and every time period, past present and future is already there…in an infinite universe.

If that is difficult to understand how about eternity? Many faiths believe that after death they will awaken in heaven, paradise, glory. That would be nice for ten years or so of perfect living in a perfect world. But how would you feel doing the same thing for a hundred years, or a thousand, or ten thousand. And after ten thousand years of paradise with the perfect woman, or man, or place to reside you can look forward to another ten thousand. Wow. Twenty thousand years of doing the same thing. How about a hundred thousand years, a million, a hundred million years of paradise with the same person, the same perfect events. And after a hundred million years, even though you may be a bit tired of all that perfection you can look forward to a hundred million more, and then another and another. After all this is eternity.

Logically, something here is amiss.  But God didn’t create us to suffer or to prosper. He didn’t create us to be bad, or good. He created all types and then gave us free will and created the law of causality, commonly called cause and effect. What they do with that resolve is up to the individual.  When a writer writes a play he directs the characters and is the puppeteer; a writer is the obvious cause. But what if the writer had the ability to create the cast of the play, and the setting, and then allowed the characters to go their own way, to do their own thing, to allow the characters to create cause themselves. Might be an interesting play, but the writer would have to be an infinite being to do that so we can only guess at what the outcome would be.

As I only have ten minutes to get this point across I can only hope to stimulate your mind and get you to using more of it, to think. God must be immutable. He cannot be changed, nor added to or subtracted from nor become greater or lesser in any respect. He must have always been and will always remain, what he has done in the creation of all these creatures of the universe is to experience. Now God does not need experience, he doesn’t ‘need’ anything. He is, all that is. Why did God create the universe? We can never know that. We can only use the concept of the universe being a mental creation of God in our own lives. We are also mental creators. Every thing, every dress, shoe, tie, suit, car, pencil, house, building, everything was created by the mind of a human being. In that we are all imitators of the creator of all things.

Know that you too are a creator. Get to understand your mind a bit better and you will find the way. The universe is a mental creation of God. Your world is a mental creation of yourself. Many of you know that I’ve used this concept over and over again during the thirty and more years I’ve been teaching personal development. Your world is a mental creation.

Where do you find yourself, where are you at present? You may not realize it, it may seem that forces beyond your control put you there, but the fact is, you did it. You did it with your attitude, your beliefs, your actions and your mental creations. You too are a creator, a mental creator. The great principle of Mentalism states, the universe is a mental creation of God. You are part of that creation, but you have free will. You have the ability to change, to progress, to grow, to evolve. To be a better person. To be a better and better person.

My advice to you, should you be interested is to be the best you that you can be. But know that through the dynamic use of your mind you do have the ability to be a better person, a better you. How about starting now, right now. What can you do if you made up your mind to be a better person? I can’t tell you that. But think about this, what would your life be like if you were a better person?

Only you can take the first step. Do something today, or if it is late in the afternoon or evening when you’re reading or hearing this, do something tomorrow that you will be proud  of, something that will please you. I can’t tell you what that is, only you can. Sit quietly for a few moments, meditate and call on your higher self, what would that self tell you to do to make you a better person, a person you will be proud of—a  person your ancestors will be proud of? And then, do it.

There is a road ahead of you with many forks in it. Each one involves a choice. Your reality is the result of the choices you made in the past. Your future life will be the result of the choices you make in the future.

Make good ones. Each choice is a cause for an upcoming effect. Good luck, and may God smile on you.

Here is the question that I have addressed this week:

Dear Burt,

Thank you so much for your work and your love!?The Principle of Mentalism has always been a mystery to me. If everything is a result of God’s mind, then we must be too a result of God’s mind. Or are we a fragment of God, the same as He is? We are far from perfection, so how could we be a fragment of God? And how could we be a creation of God with such defects? (I’m thinking in war, genocides, pedophilia and so on)?Would you say something about this topic??Bless you.

Helena Martins

Here is my video:

I really hope you enjoyed Dear Burt this week and you can look forward to me elaborating on the other principles in the coming weeks.

Please, as always, don’t forget to voice your opinion below.

Sincerely,

Burt

Dear Friends,

Can you believe we have been doing Dear Burt for over 6 months now! Wow - I sure hope you’re continuing to enjoy my short weekly vignettes.

First, have a look at the painting behind me. I call it the “Red Wall.” It’s from my Museum Series

This week,  “Dear Burt” is a little bit different as I will be addressing only ONE topic. That topic is “The 7 Principles.” The reason for this is that over the past few weeks I have been getting quite a few questions asking for my take on the subject. I hope everyone will get something from this.

Why are The 7 Principles so important?

Because they affect everything in life and have an interesting relationship with each other.

The 7 Principles are:

1. The Principle of Mentalism
2. The Principle of Correspondence
3. The Principle of Polarity
4. The Principle of Vibration
5. The Principle of Rhythm
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect
7. The Principle of Gender

I. The Principle of Mentalism

"THE ALL IS MIND; The Universe is Mental."

This principle states that the world, universes, cosmos... are simply a mental creation of God. This is a subjective observation of creation that explains all the different mental and psychic phenomena and the nature of energy, time, and space.

II. The Principle of Correspondence

"As above, so below; as below, so above."

According to this principle, there is always a correspondence between the phenomena of the various levels of being and life.

III. The Principle of Vibration

"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."

This Principle embodies the idea that everything vibrates; nothing is at rest. Note that new scientific discovery tends to verify this. It explains that the various manifestations of energy, spirit, mind results from varying level of vibrations.

IV. The Principle of Polarity

"Everything is dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes bond; all truths are but partial truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."

This fourth Principle embodies the idea that everything has two opposing sides. So, with that in mind, it explains that opposites are really only the two extremes of the same event, with many varying degrees between them.

Let’s take an example: "love and hate." They look different, there are degrees of hate and degrees of love, and a middle point in which you use the terms "like or dislike," but their boundaries are often blurred which can make it confusing as to whether you like or dislike something.

V. The Principle of Rhythm

"Everything flows out and in; everything has its season; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing expresses itself in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates."

There is always an action and a reaction; an advance and a retreat; a rising and a sinking.  This law is established in the creation and destruction of worlds; in the rise and fall of nations; and finally, in the mental states of humans.

VI. The Principle of Cause and Effect

This principle states that there is a cause for every effect; and an effect from every cause.

VII. The Principle of Gender

"Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all levels."

This Principle embodies the idea that there is gender expressed in everything -- the masculine and feminine principles are always at work.

Here is my video where I explain The 7 Principles in greater detail:

I hope to hear from you below. Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Burt

Hello Friends,

Here we are with “Dear Burt” number 28!

Let me tell you a little about the painting behind me. It is a forest scene and is kind of my representation of The Daisy Pond. Let me know what you think.

In this video, I will talk about the subject of dealing with change.

Before going any further, I would just share a couple quotes with you:

“If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.”  - anonymous

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” - Alan Cohen

If you want to deal effectively with change, you cannot fear it or let it frustrate you. You cannot attempt to minimize or avoid change. Instead, you have to learn how to deal with change, and use it to your advantage.

In life, we all have our own “security blanket” - something that’s comfortable for us. But, remember, without change, there is no growth and growth is the only evidence of life there is.

So, how can you accept change? Develop the habit of welcoming and working with change instead of resisting to it. Go to a meditative state and view the changes in your life as positive events. See yourself incredibly happy with these changes and trust me, you will get over your fear.

Now, here are the questions I will get to this week:

Dear Burt,

I always look forward to Friday! Your videos are very helpful and I am planning to purchase the Healing Triangle next month when I get paid. I have a question. We hear so much about hormones and additives in the food and there are people who have the destructive habit of drinking soda, if we take a minute to bless what we are eating and have the intention that it feed our body, can that prevent the harm that usually is associated with the chemicals we are ingesting?
- Jane

Dear Burt,

This blog is one of the high points of my week, just about every week! Today you addressed one of the questions I have, yet in my case there seems to be a different kind of twist on it–procrastination. Sometimes, I’ll be so excited about a project that for some reason, I think I need to put the brakes on it. Alas, it then stalls, and momentum is hard to re-establish. As a result, all too often I’m surrounded by too many unfinished projects. How would you deal with this kind of self-sabotage? It seems like a sort of procrastination, but also different.
- Jeanne

Dear Burt,

Thank you so much for your wonderful advice and awesome videos. I love the barn picture! Can you tell me how to get the courage (or how to change my thinking) to move from a safe and secure job that I have had for 20 years (as a teacher) to a better paying and more exciting job (as a school administrator). I am highly qualified for the job and I think I could help a lot more people as an administrator, however, I am afraid to change. I know I could do the job very well and everyone wants me to move up but I just don’t want to make a mistake and regret it later. I feel stuck. The problem is that I am scared to change and leave my comfort zone. Do you have any suggestions on how to get out of the comfort zone? Thanks so much and GOD bless you Burt!!
You are AWESOME!
- Misty

Dear Burt,

You mentioned unconditional love for children — what about conditions for adult relationships? For example I can “love” someone but not want to continue a relationship at the same depth unless they meet a few ‘reasonable’ conditions — such as; no drug use, monogamy, willingness and ability to pay their share of the bills, etc — is that out of line? This subject confuses me as much as forgiveness used to confuse me. What’s your view point?
Your biggest “fan”
- Marilyn

Dear Burt,

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information and techniques you share! I am always comforted and reassured of my wonderful life when I watch your videos and listen to your audios. My dog, the beautiful golden retriever Teddy, had several lumps in his skin which have been examined and removed, tests showed negative to cancer but might be kidney disease of some sort. My question is: What methods/techniques can I implement to Heal him and bring him to his most BEAUTIFUL AND HEALTHY SELF? What is needed of me and my family to ensure his magnificent health and well being? I would appreciate your advice so much! I am a reiki/yoga practitioner are there any tips where I could utilize these things for his optimal and perfect health?
Thank you Burt! I love you.
- Hannah

Here is my video response:

Please let me know how you liked this edition of “Dear Burt.” I always enjoy hearing your thoughts. Also, make sure to leave questions for next week!

Sincerely,

Burt