Letters of Life

By William Doyle

Through a series of letters, the author offers readers some aspects of the spiritual bankruptcy facing society today and ways of increasing well-being and a discovery of our true selves.
In these letters, addressed to individuals seeking answers to perplexing problems, the Reverend Doyle shares his insights gleaned from a lifetime of ministry to people from all walks of life. Responses to mails have been kept precise as possible, without glossing over important issues and in obedience to our Lord’s command: raise wounded hearts to the Deity in glorious and noble prayer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781728380117

William Doyle

William Doyle has written or cowritten seven books, including PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy and American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms (with “American Sniper” Chris Kyle). He served as director of original programming for HBO and was coproducer of the PBS special Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story. He lives with his family in New York City.

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© 2018 William Doyle. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/27/2018

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8012-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8013-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8011-7 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Website

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Contents

Preface to this Edition

Introduction

1.     Happiness

2.     Meaning Making

3.     From darkness to light

4.     Rare Flowers in Earth’s Garden

5.     Empty Pews in Church

6.     Divine Intervention

7.     Religious Education

8.     The right use of the imagination

9.     The Changing Scenes of Life

10.   The tempests in our lives

11.   Suffering

12.   Facing difficult times

13.   Help in times of trouble

14.   Living the life of Faith

15.   Resting in the Bosom of God

16.   Waiting on the Lord

17.   Wonders, signs and miracles

18.   Shadows of the mind

19.   Foundational guidelines to living

Truth

Unity

Justice

Service

20.   We can make a difference

21.   Feeling unwell

22.   The Quest for truth

23.   Everyone has a mountain

24.   Leadership

25.   Divine Economy

26.   Dealing with Doubts

27.   Loneliness

28.   Encourage Yourself in the Lord

29.   Searching for God

30.   My Child

31.   The Good Shepherd

32.   The Greatest love story in the world

33.   A house divided against itself.

34.   Ageing

35.   Adjusting to Ageing

1.  Removing nagging thoughts

2.  Negative Attitudes

3.  Renewing the mind

4.  Living with our true self.

5.  Meditation

36.   Self-management

37.   The Unity of God’s People

38.   Faith

39.   How well do we know ourselves?

40.   Embedded and deliberative theology

References Cited

Books that inspired my personal journey

Preface to this Edition

The letters which make up this publication have lay dormant for many years, mainly to protect the identities of correspondents and because of ministerial pressures. Since retirement however, there is more time to devote to writing. Although presented in book form there has been no infringement to the original correspondence that passed between recipients and myself, save acknowledging the numerous changes that have taken shape in recent times.

Whilst the world is changing, the questions raised during my ministerial vocation have burdened the minds of people for eons of time and will continue to do so, all the time humankind fails to acknowledge that agreed upon religious guidance is the means by which order is established in any society, revealing the true nature of the human status, as the apex of creation. It is to the age-old truths that people from every nation will turn when all else fails; unity will then become a reality and all people will live in a more peaceful environment. There are signs of its appearance as the old traditions give way to the new emerging order, but there is some way to go before hate crimes and other atrocities burn themselves out.

Humankind has the same needs and desires, the same hopes for peace, tranquillity, education, happiness and harmonious relationships; we enjoy sophisticated technology, in science and medicine, yet there is an increase in depressive ailments and other mental aberrations, inflicting this generation, some of whom are driven to end their lives. These issues will be addressed.

Introduction

Each of these letters written in answer to challenging questions from parishioners, colleagues and strangers, explore how lives can be improved and enhanced by having a greater understanding of spiritual qualities and physical needs, thus improving self and the lives of others.

The world is in strife and separated by a ‘them and us’ mentality. Furthermore, we humans have developed a system of competition rather than cooperation; cruelty to animals is widespread and there is a growing disregard for ‘lower’ life-forms. This is a stain on God’s creation and demeans man’s behaviour. We are all part of Divine Creation, an interconnectedness threads its way through it all and no one part can flourish completely whole if even one is injured or destroyed; for example, the photosynthesis of plants is essential to human life, therefore earth’s foliage must be protected. If this is true of plant and animal life, then our care for one another demands greater attention and effort. Letters of Life touch upon these issues.

Throughout this enterprise, the name of the Almighty, All-Knowing, Merciful God will be referred to as He. But in reality God has no gender and loves everyone equally. He has no favourites and expects all His children to treat each other fairly and with respect. The more we learn about God, the greater our understanding about ourselves. From this treasure of self-knowledge we discover the power to transform our lives and make this world a better place for ourselves and everyone.

These Letters also draw attention to the crisis of meaning that is emerging in this generation and which has contributed to the malnutrition of the spiritual life. When the Christ image is adopted and followed in love, compassion and commitment, our communities will be a place where everyone can flourish, providing an environment which will encourage Religious Education in our schools and colleges; this in turn will direct the aspirant towards greater spirituality, improved human behaviour, unity, tolerance of other religions and service to each other, leading to a more peaceful and thriving environment.

These letters reflect how the light of spirituality dawns on the soul seeking truth and an improved way of life. They mirror phases of my own personal journey and how I dealt with the human tragedies revealed in the numerous counselling sessions as a psychiatric worker and clergyman in both community and church environment.

*     *     *

I am grateful to the many parishioners who assisted me during my ministry and those who kindly urged me to write this book.

William Doyle.

1

Happiness

… Everyone wants to be happy, but not everyone is. There are hidden reasons for this, such as mental or physical aberrations and widespread poverty. The underlying source of true happiness is joy; but there is a huge difference between the two. Happiness depends on what happens, whereas joy does not. Happiness isn’t found by intellectualizing its meaning, i.e. we do not find happiness by seeking it. Happiness emerges when we are engaged in unselfish service and sensing the love of God or someone dear to us and doing things for them. Happiness is a by-product of enjoying what we do. When we allow it, the Divine Mind within gives us the power to achieve a measure of it, which will eventually establish happiness as a pattern in our lives.

To put it another way, we find happiness when we truly believe it can be achieved, by affirming each day that it is already ours, with the same passion that a lover tells his beloved, ‘I love you.’ Say to yourself: ‘I am happy and complete, for within me is the Spirit of Life, which is perfection itself and this energy flowing through my body energises my being. This helps me to taste the fruits of inner harmony, radiating joy and happiness.’

The nemesis preventing us from achieving this sublime state is our own despondent thoughts, lustful passions and desires. These tend to lead us far from the mark of who we truly are and what we can become. It is only when the pure flames from the fire of love burns in human hearts that it is fuelled by the Oil of Gladness and exudes the Perfume of the Holy Spirit. This is the paschal mystery celebrated throughout the ages and in this new dispensation everything points to the Higher Mind of Christ, which is attainable to all who follow in His way.

Praise be to God the ancient law has given way to the Word made flesh and has revealed the reality behind the shadow. The commandment has become grace and humanity has entered into the divine life helping us to choose to be joyful. If we want to be happy we do well to be a light to those who walk in darkness, bringing joy to those who sorrow. Having a relationship with God will cheer the heart that attempts to be pure and will help to ward off the dark shadows present in this world. On the other hand many human beings have searched for this elusive prize all their lives and remain miserable.

Happiness is in the taste of things, not in the things themselves. If we can be content we shall have gone a long way to having a relationship with the elusive union known as happiness. Contentment with things makes a poor man rich, but the rich man is poorer without it. Furthermore, no one can make us feel less than how God sees us; we can do that for ourselves! God sees us as His child.

There are two ways of looking at happiness. The way the world views it and the way God sees it, both bring results, but one will outlast the other. Many people are happy without God, because happiness doesn’t depend on a right understanding of things. Indeed, God’s Word has little, if anything, to say about being happy, but much about being joyful.

Children have a right to be happy because they are unaware of the facts of life. Happiness can be produced fairly quickly, by doing certain things, how long it lasts is another matter. The pursuit of happiness may bring satisfaction, but that is not happiness. Happiness comes and goes; holiness brings repose.

The hour of sacrifice and sorrow comes to us all, but the raging storm will cease. I trust that my thoughts, poor as they are, will help you find the bedrock of happiness and so bring joy and peace to your soul …

2

Meaning Making

… There is a crisis of meaning present in this generation, which is not surprising since we are complex beings. However, we are wise if we find meaning to life’s difficulties and that to my mind is possible only through service to others in brotherly love. In my experience this helps us to more readily accept what has happened. The experiences of the Austrian Neurologist Victor Frankl are a supreme example of courage and application of the intellect in seeking to discover meaning