Saving Our Living & Breathing Souls

About the Book

There are two critical questions we will try to answer in this book. 1. How do we understand the present state of our living & breathing souls? 2. After that, what do we do about the current state if we do not find it satisfactory? This world order attempts to deal with the soul with psychology. Psychology is the study of the soul. It comes from two Greek words: psuche = soul, and logia = study. Nearly any psychologist or psychiatrist will tell you that your heart, or as we call it, core [values & beliefs], is in your head, between your ears. Psychology has pretty well established that your core [values & beliefs] leads to your living & breathing soul’s reactions to the situations and events that you face in life. Now, we look at pneumatology. Pneumatology is the study of the Set-apart Spirit and his relationship with us ruddy humans. Just like psychology is taken from the two Greek words psuche and logia (seen previously), pneumatology is taken from two Greek words: Pneuma = spirit and logia = study. We will see what the Set -apart Spirit offers to deal with our faculties. A faculty is an empty vessel that only Almighty, through his Set-apart Spirit, can fill.

About the Author

I was born at the height of World War 2, to a sharecropper who was totally in bondage to his landowner masters. I spent most of my pre-adult life in extreme poverty, partially due to the size of the brood, twelve siblings, and partially due to the greedy and manipulative overlords. Often, I was forced to go shoeless, in hand-me-downs, doing the chores of feeding pigs and chickens, and milking cows by hand, on the clay-nob farms of my childhood. I suffered malnutrition to the point that my belly was bloated and distended, looking more like a starving urchin in a war-torn land. Where was Almighty in this? I had no clue, other than that he seemed to have saved my life from utter destruction a number of times. I was the runt of the litter in physical dimensions. Therefore, I was continually picked on, pummeled, and harassed by siblings and schoolmates. I learned protective defense mechanisms early on, like isolation and avoidance. I took to manipulating teachers who felt sorry for me, facetiously submitting to them for errands during recess, as the teacher’s pet, in order to avoid time on the playground. I soon calculated that this submissive demeanor had long-term benefits, like drawing favors and attention during class, and receiving elevated grades in the process. This provoked a cycle of increased jealousy and hatred from classmates, but increased attention and protection from under-appreciated tutors, who relished my willingness to heel to my masters. Where was Almighty in this? I suspected that he was just another authority figure to manipulate. I wept to somehow get to know him. This obeisance to authority figures worked admirably throughout home life and primary and secondary schools. It failed miserably in the larger world of higher education and corporate wrestling for promotion. There were far too many unscrupulous competitors, with better looks, better talents, and familial resources to charm the ever-so-hungry academics and bosses. A new strategy was needed. That strategy was perfectionism. It first showed up in rote memory of all the professor’s enunciated whims; then, in attention to every nuanced detail of the desires of the superior. Unfortunately, this backfired when the superiors took all the credit for comprehensive research and profitable innovation. A crisis of resentment against authority and self-loathing followed. I had taught them to take full advantage of me. I felt abandoned by Almighty, another disappointed and disappointing superior. The mismatch between striving for gains, and watching them being snatched away, prompted a new, entrepreneurial spirit. I was able, as an independent contractor, to truly develop better mousetraps. There was a marketplace for these in the form of creative solutions and efficient processes which satisfied the needs of management — who saw the needs (in many cases it was obvious) but did not have either the will or ability to take on the challenges themselves. As a consultant and contractor, I was able to travel to sites where management needed results, quickly; and were not so concerned with academic prowess. Word-of-mouth was the only marketing tool. Finding and filling this expanding pool of deficiencies became an exhaustive job of travel and work that soon consumed an average of 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. It could not continue. After nearly 25 years, the rat race came to a shattering end. I had exhausted my energy and my pride. I realized that my works did not make a lasting impression on my clients, nor a worthwhile impression on the Supreme Authority of all. I spent several years with fill-in assignments and part-time agreements. However, in the spare time that these temporary distractions afforded, I was able to begin the search for wisdom. I began to find it concealed, where it was supposed to be, hidden in the word of Almighty. Applying the lessons of analysis and measurement I had learned over the years; I started to piece together the secrets of life. It seems Almighty had always had a plan and He, the real Supreme Authority, was more than willing, by his grace, to share this plan freely with anyone who would attentively hearken. Digging out, piling up, and organizing these pearls of great value has resulted in The Meaning Bible (TMB) and these Learning Modules that you see. It is with great joy that I offer them to you. I hope you learn from them; and give him all the glory. Your humble servant, Freedman Thune.