God's Top Ten List: The Cosmic Code for Enlightened Living

By Lorna Bright

God’s Top Ten List is the first book to reveal how one of the most revered ancient scriptures can help us live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives today. Far beyond what seems to be a loose list of unrelated decrees, the Ten Commandments are actually a sequential system for successful living, a Cosmic Code of ten life-changing principles. At times irreverent, yet straightforward, God’s Top Ten List provides a lively, witty, and relevant refocusing of what it means to be both spiritual and human. Through probing questions and real life personal stories, the author takes the reader on a journey beyond conventional religious teachings to reveal how the Ten Commandments can feed and nourish every single aspect of our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781619274716

Book preview

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CHAPTER ONE

THE FOUNDATION OF LIFE

You would think that the Ten Commandments would be strategically placed on the very first page of the Bible - right there at the beginning, front and center, with an ornate border around them - each decree written in a beautiful old style calligraphy. But, instead, you have to wade through pages and pages of stories about the beginning of the world, the destruction of the world, the rebuilding of the world, dividing territory, stealing territory, birth, death, treachery, intrigue - lots of good movie fodder. So, contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments are not even prominently displayed in the Bible. They're actually kind of buried in and amongst all of that other human stuff.

But, if you're the kind that likes to hold the map and you want to follow along in our discourse on the Decalogue, this list of God's Top Ten Credos for All of Creation is found in the twentieth chapter of the book of Exodus in what some people refer to as the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. Others call it the Torah. Just start thumbing through the beginning - past the birth of Moses, the burning bush story, the slavery episode, and then all of the pages about the plagues. When you get to the part about the Red Sea being divided, you're almost there. I'd love to give you a specific page we could all turn to, but because there are so many different versions or, I guess you could say, translations of the Bible, that would be impossible. I'm using what is called the New American Standard version. actually. Here's what it says:

Then God spoke all these words, saying,

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you

out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me."

There it is. I know you would have thought that these important edicts from the Most Excellent would have been introduced with a thunderous, Hear ye! Hear ye! Here are the Ten Commandments that I have for thee! But, no. It's almost as if God was having a fireside chat and reminiscing about the past. Remember when you were slaves? Remember how I got you out of there?

That's the beginning of The Ten Commandments. In the opening lines of what has come to be called Commandment Number One, God, like any good storyteller, sets the scene by reminding the Hebrew people of where they had been. For more years than they cared to remember, they had lived and worked as slaves in the strange and exotic land of Egypt. They must have been pretty good workers, too, because Pharoah did not let them go without a fuss. Moses would show up at the king's palace and, with a deep Charleton Heston sounding voice say something like, God says to tell you to let my people go. Pharaoh wouldn't do it, so plagues with bugs and frogs and all kinds of yucky stuff began to happen.

The point is, this infamous list of ten things God really wanted the people to know begins with a clean slate. It's as if The Almighty was saying, You're not stuck back there in your old lives anymore. You're not in the same place. You're not the same people. You're starting fresh. Life is totally brand new for you. You're free!

How about that? The Ten Commandments were given because the people were now free.

Divine Freedom

This First Commandment lays down the universal truth upon which all of life is built – The Principle of Freedom. It tells us that the first thing on God's mind is the same thing that's first on our minds - our freedom - inside and out. It assures us that we are not intended to live in bondage or slavery of any kind. The divine plan for life truly is one of freedom.

We all have an innate desire to live freely on all levels of life and that spark or desire within us must have come from The Source Of All. If God were some evil tyrant, some big meanie in the sky, there would never be any release from slavery. No leading the people out of bondage. No relief. No thought of liberation. They could dream about a vacation in the Tropics, but it wasn't going to happen. Not then, not now, not ever. It would be: Just stay there and accept your lot in life because that's the way it is.

But that's not the way it is. What The Grand Designer of All Life is saying in this primo principle is, in essence, I have a plan for you. And that plan begins with realizing your freedom.

Express Yourself

Everyone wants to be free. Free to feel how we want to feel. Free to express ourselves however we want to express ourselves. Dance like over-excited ostriches if we want to. Sing like screaming banshees if we want to. Live free or die, as New Hampshire people say. Just the thought of freedom makes me want to stand on a street corner in Minneapolis and, ala Mary Tyler Moore, throw my beret into the air and say, Hip-hip-hooray! No more beret!

Speaking of articles of clothing, how about being free not to wear tight shoes? Now that's freedom. And whoever invented neckties? Oh, my gosh, having something tied in a knot around your neck. I wonder if they wear neckties in New Hampshire.

Of course, freedom means so much more than wearing neckties and tight shoes or even birkahs for that matter. I'm sure that if we took a poll right now we would all come up with different ideas about what freedom means to each of us. And those are just the things that we're willing to talk about, the things that quickly pop up to the top of our busy minds.

What about the deeper yearnings for independence that we only allow ourselves to think about in our non-working hours? What about the more personal freedoms that only we know about – the secret, unspoken desires we have for ourselves - or the conscious or unconscious demands that we personally make on life?

Because it's in our interior life where we really experience freedom, isn't it? Where, in our dreams and imaginations, we can be whatever and whoever we want to be, do whatever we want, and have whatever we desire.

Swing The Doors Wide Open

But, think about it for a moment. What would it be like to finally be released from bondage after, oh so many years, and, all at once, be free to be, do, and have whatever your little heart desired? Actually, it might be kind of frightening, a tad bit disconcerting, possibly a little intimidating for some, and probably scare the bejeebers out of most of us. Like in the movies when the old guy that's been serving years and years and years in prison for a crime he didn't commit finally gets released. We watch him walk outside the prison gate for the first time. You can tell that he's thinking, Ah, freedom! Ah, now what do I do?

Maybe you've felt that way in your own life. I know I have. The desire to break free from an unpleasant situation might be strong, but the fear of not knowing what could happen once the chains have been broken is even more powerful. If I walk out the door, where will I go? If I move out of an uncomfortable relationship, I'll be alone. Then what? If I let go, then what will I have? The feeling of being trapped by uncontrollable events may be devastating, but to be liberated from the familiar can be just as overwhelming and fear-provoking.

The only way of life these generations of Hebrew people had ever known was slavery. Now, standing in the doorway of their newly found freedom, they were probably going through much the same feelings of trepidation and anxiety that we all go through when we've finally broken free from whatever was controlling or constricting us. If all we have ever known - our environment, experience or upbringing - has been that of limitation; if we have lived our lives being imprisoned by our thoughts, beliefs, or feelings - how then do we learn to live in freedom?

The Freedom Party

Well, first of all, living in freedom begins by realizing the truth. The intention of the Universe is one of freedom. Not freedom from God, but freedom with God and in God. Being free, totally free, doesn't mean that we're all alone, defenseless, fending for ourselves in this world. Commandment Numero Uno is essentially The Infinite One's way of saying, I support your freedom. I want it as much as you do. I'm with you. I've got your back - always have, always will.

This emancipating edict goes on to basically say, "Because you are now free – here's what I want you to do – or not do – actually:

Don't have any other gods before me."

That's interesting. It sounds like it's saying, Now that you're free, we'd better put down a few rules. Wow. What a way to ruin a party. But – was that really why The Deity felt the need to declare these Top Ten Decrees? Were they partying? Were they out of control and running rampant? Maybe acting too much like rambunctious children and getting a little too rowdy?

Who? God's Children?

No, not at all. Thumb back just a few pages in the Bible and you find it says that the people said, All that the Lord has spoken, we will do. They were cleaning themselves up and washing their clothes. No longer in servitude, they were now getting it together and becoming a community. A brand new life was spread out before them - a fresh opportunity, a totally different way of interacting with the world. The Ten Commandments, then, were the guiding principles that would help them to successfully move forward in their new lives. And the first block that was laid was The Principle of Freedom, reminding the people that they are no longer slaves. They're free! Totally free!

So, why would The Great Maker throw a damper on the freedom party by saying what sounds like an I gotcha? Like, Now that you're feeling good about life and about yourselves, here's the catch. Really. What does the bizarre idea of 'having no other gods' have to do with freedom? That reminds me of a story.

Here She Goes

I remember one time many years ago when my dad, Papa Charlie, took me aside like, Come 'ere, kid. I got somethin' to tell ya. He led me out the front door and around to the side of the house. He was acting as if he had some big secret project to show me - like he was building a spacecraft in the garage or something. Then he suddenly stopped at one of our many lawn ornaments. (Where I'm from we're known for our taste in high-class lawn ornamentation and lots of it.) Anyway, then he leaned over and whispered in my ear. If you ever get locked out of the house, he said as he hoisted up one of the ceramic seven dwarfs, here's where the key is.

I had to bite my sarcastic seventeen-year-old tongue. I wanted to say something like, Couldn't you just give me a key? Or No need, my window is always unlocked. I'm sure that would've gone over really well.

But he was a man with a plan. A complicated one, but a plan nonetheless. I'm just happy that I never did get locked out of the house. I could see me tipping over every one of those plastered dwarfs in my search for the key. Good thing we didn't have Snow White. She would have been way too heavy for me to topple.

The Simple Life

My point in telling this sweet, little story is that this first decree is not difficult, convoluted, or demanding in any way. It simply says to us that, in order to live freely in every area of life - don't get yourself all tangled up. Don't complicate things. It's as if God was saying to them, It's simple. Here you are. Free people. And here I am. The one who protects you, guides you, and obviously loves you enough to want you to live freely. That's what it's all about. You – Me - and Freedom.

Now that speaks to me. I like that. It's honest, straightforward, simple and to the point. There's no need to jump through hoops - no need to erect a bunch of lawn ornaments and then try to figure out where the key is.

Our relationship with God is one that is direct, simple and clear with nothing standing between it. And, if something is between God and us, it's because we put it there. Not the other way around.

Hurdles And Hoops

When you start to complicate things you get yourself so twisted up you can't even think. It's like insurance policies, tax returns, or even cell phone contracts. There are so many pages to them. Sign here. Initial here. We'll do this and you'll do that. And if you don't do that then we'll do this, this, and this. Whew! Your head starts spinning off. So you just sign the thing, telling yourself you'll figure it out when the bill comes. Right.

God, Inc.

I'd much rather be doing business with God, wouldn't you? God says, I don't have a pen to put in your hand that has the name of my business on it. But, if I did, the business name would be GOD. Just God - no one else. No middleman. If you have any questions, call direct. Not even 1-800. Just call God. And you don't ask for Mr. God or President God. We're on a first name basis here. It's just God."

In fact, there's not even a contract. No stacks of papers to sign or initial. Not even one - just a handshake agreement. But, God is Spirit and doesn't have hands so it's more like God says yes and I say yes and there you have it. Simple. Straightforward. Honest representation by both parties. Direct communication. Clear connection. Now we're talking.

Hold My Place

Just in case you might have forgotten, the commandment we're discussing is Commandment Number One. You shall have no other gods before me. The operative word in this decree is the word before. The idea is not to have anything between you and God.

Like standing in line at the bank and waiting for the next available teller. The people ahead of you in line are before you and are standing between you and your important business. Keeping It Clear With God means not letting anything come before God. It means not letting anything stand between you and your most important business - otherwise known as God & Company - the most prosperous, progressive, socially responsible, financially healthy, consumer friendly, and productive business in the universe.

Get Rid Of The Chaos

It's that simple. In order to experience a life of freedom, keep the channels of communication clear of any kind of chaos. Any disorder, confusion, or turmoil - whether it's physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual, can keep you from living freely in body mind and spirit.

Physical Chaos

Physically, chaos shows up as disorder. You might not want to hear this, but things, material things, can block the channel between you and God. Stuff can restrict your path to what's really important. It can hold your attention to such a degree that it keeps you from being where you can reach out and touch God, so to speak.

Obviously, the material object or the thing isn't keeping you from having a clear connection with The Supreme Being. Physical objects don't have any power within them as such. It's only the power that we give to them (more on that in the next chapter) - like the attention, or reverence, if you will, that someone might give to a car, for example.

I knew a guy back in high school that loved – absolutely loved – his car. He spent more time polishing his car than he spent polishing his manners, if you know what I mean. One time someone rear-ended him and you would have thought the world had stopped spinning. We all know people like that. Not us, of course. We wouldn't obsess over a silly car now, would we?

But how about a closet full of clothes that you haven't worn for, say, about ten years? How could that possibly clog the lines of communication between you and God? Well, let me ask you this, why do you keep them? Memories of the past? Hope for the future? What if you got rid of them? Hmmm. There go your memories of the past and your hope for the future. What would you have then? Quite possibly, if you were to symbolically clear out your closet and all of the accompanying memories, you just might have a clearer view of the fullness of each and every present moment.

Or, how about a pile of unopened mail that we know is mostly junk mail but we devote an entire afternoon to going through? After all, sometimes there's free stuff in there. And, even though it might take us hours to go through it, we wouldn't want to throw away a free refrigerator magnet or more – even more – return address labels that we never use. What if you dumped that stack into the recycling bin? Not only would you have more time by freeing up an entire afternoon, you'd have more space on your counter and more latitude in your heart and mind.

Stuffed With Stuff

Sometimes material clutter, in whatever form it takes, can keep us stuck. It can keep us from feeling good about ourselves and about life. But most of all, it can disrupt the free and flowing fountain of all that is good, perfect and lovely between little ol' us and the Great Big Giver of Life.

Let's get honest about our true priorities when it comes to the material stuff. Yes, you want to be focused. Yes, you need to pay attention to the little things like the dishes piled up in the kitchen sink or the lawn that's looking more like pampas grass. And, yes, you want to spend time and energy on paying bills, taking care of your car, your house and your job - those things are all well and good. But they can also keep part of you wrapped up in the material, bound to the physical, when you could be basking in the vastness of an infinite universe. Stuff, yes, stuff can become a logjam in the River of Life, restricting the stream that flows easily and effortlessly between you and The Supreme Source. Why paddle frantically through life when you've got such a mighty force flowing through you?

Now, if this conversation has you feeling a bit overwhelmed with a nagging notion that your inner peace hinges on whether or not your closet gets cleaned out, let me direct you back to the point of this principle: freedom. The essence of this edict is that the Creative Force that holds the planets in place has given you a heads up about how to have an easy-breezy life. Just how do you do that? By keeping the stream clean, clear, and uncomplicated between you and the Eternally Flowing All-Knowing.

Financial Freedom

Commandment Number One states, in a very antiquated way, not to have any other gods. In order to really understand what that means, we need an honest, as well as, contemporary answer to this question:

What is a god?

Well, a god is something that one looks to for security and protection. It's something that is called upon when one feels like they need to be rescued or supported. A god is an object, person, or entity that is revered for it's ability to supply what is needed...like a credit card company.

The Temple Of Legal Tender

As many of us have painfully found out, life can become a taxing burden when our financial situation gets out of control. It's no coincidence that here we find The Goddess of The Empty Pocketbook, or when described in masculine form, The God of Lack. This deity gets a charge out of the way we bargain for our good. Oh, please, Goddess of the Empty Pocketbook, if you'll only help me to win the lottery I'll give ten percent to charity...after taxes...and after I buy that new Lexus...oh yeah, and after I pay off my credit cards.

The God of Lack wreaks all kinds of havoc in our lives when we dare to turn away from the altar. But how can I live? Where will I get the money? What about the future? What if something bad happens? Oh No! Woe is me! I'm drowning in a sea of unpaid bills! Save me, Goddess of The Pocketbook! Meanwhile, The One God, The God of an Abundant Universe, continues to richly supply all of creation with all needs met.

It's not exactly accurate to say that when we're under financial strain, we are worshipping money. But we can definitely state that we ourselves have complicated what is intended to be a bountifully contented life. The simplicity of this sacred statute gets lost among the hubbub of our fears about money, our impatience with our dense physical world, and our doubts about whether The Divine will really deliver and supply all of our needs. The answer? K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid. Although, God would probably say K.I.S.M.D.L.O. - Keep It Simple My Darling Loved Ones - because that's more the way God would talk, don't you think? But, basically, this first command instructs us to remember that The Force Flowing Through All Things intends for us to live freely in every area of our lives. All we have to do is to maintain a clear connection between little ol' us and the true source of our fulfillment.

All Present And Accounted For

Just how do we do that? Well, some people refer to Keeping It Clear With God as being present with God. For me, that kind of conjures up memories of taking attendance during elementary school. Since I was the good little girl, I was always there to answer crisply but quietly, present. I was always present in my seventh grade history class with old Mr. Rush, but just because you're present doesn't mean you're really there, does it? And being present sure doesn't mean you're enjoying the party either.

Being present is a good step forward but, surely, our relationship with God is intended to be much more intimate than just showing up. Keeping It Clear With God is like being tight with each other. But just how do you do that with the Supreme Power and Presence of The Universe?

Well, how do we keep it clear with anything or anyone? Think about it. When you have a friend that you're really tight with, you know where they are, what they're up to, and where they're headed - all the time. And the same is true coming right back at you too. Your friend knows where you are, what you're up to, and where you're headed – all the time.

So, first of all, Keeping It Clear With God means being where you can see God. I know that might sound strange because God is Spirit. Spirit is basically pure energy and anything that is pure energy is transparent. So, you can't really see God. We all know that's just a figure of