We Did It forms part of a global intention to restore order and balance to our planet Earth that seems desperately in need of healing. It speaks to the deeper contours of our human awareness and challenges everyone to elevate to higher levels of consciousness; to operate effectively at the level of expected dominion and to embrace the challenges of personal responsibility needed in order to make the world a better place for all of humanity. We Did It is a purposeful review of a life's journey. It delves deeply beneath the core tapestry of some of the greatest challenges of its generation, including homosexuality and HIV/AIDS, and appropriately offers an opportunity for the cleansing process of restoration, tolerance and transcendence. We Did It is about promoting peace, about love; it is about attaining your highest expectation and uncovering possibilities as productive co-creators on the planet. A positive response is likely to make manifest an evolution with greater understanding and offers the promise of a journey back to perfect alignment with source: life, love, and nature; a resulting brotherhood and an awakened oneness of spirit in a very diverse and complex world that now must learn to co-exist both peacefully and consciously for its own survival.

We Did It

Personal Empowerment and Awakening Triumph Over Perceived Obstacles and SetbacksBy Foster Sampson

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2012 Foster Sampson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-6507-1

Contents

Introduction..................................................xiiiOverview......................................................xiiiIntention.....................................................xviiChapter 1 - Spiritual Evolution...............................1Chapter 2 - Childhood.........................................9Chapter 3 - Homosexuality.....................................13Chapter 4 - Consciousness.....................................21Chapter 5 - Marriage & Hiv/Aids Diagnosis.....................27Chapter 6 - Divine Appointment................................31Chapter 7 - Life In New York..................................35Chapter 8 - Life In Baltimore Maryland........................41Chapter 9 - Hiv Revealed......................................49Chapter 10 - Evolve...........................................61Closing.......................................................67Acknowledgements..............................................69Created to Make His Praise Glorious!..........................71Biography.....................................................73Notes.........................................................75Samples of HIV Laboratory Test Results........................81

Chapter One

Spiritual Evolution

ONENESS

Allow me a moment to point out that in my pursuit to achieve higher levels of spiritual growth by digging deeper into my faith while reading the bible (King James Version) I ran into some sudden apparent confusion. Conveniently I eventually got clarity from one of my bible scholar friends. He like the great teacher he is, explained that the Bible as we know it is not in its original language and may be subject to loss in meanings due to language interpretation. He then suggested as a good idea to investigate other translations whenever in doubt.

That realization I strongly suppose, freed me mentally to explore beyond what I have been thought. My desire to explore was further ignited when I realized that my approach to what I was dealing with in my attempts to find solution was not producing the desired results. In retrospect I decided to search for more and would take the risk of embracing a much wider range of spiritual perspective as they appeared relevant.

I was particularly surprised with my discoveries. In fact it seems apparent that Jesus, Buddha, I Ching and many other spiritual leaders including spiritual writings essentially emphasizes the same things using different expressions or at least seem to project the same intention for a life of peace, happiness and service. Just to mention a few, Jesus said "Take no thought of tomorrow", Buddha said "Be in the present now." The Bible says "All things are working together for good to them that love the Lord" I Ching said "The universe of which you are would never harm it self". Essentially this detection clearly made me questioned whether the religious teachings established and judgments of false and truth are just perhaps a fiction of the human imagination. It should bare great relevance to consider the propensity and subjectivity of the human mind.

"The mind seeks and invents all kinds of theories. It works with concepts and words. It discusses and analyses everything and is restricted to it's own content" ~ Remes Sasson

I think generally most people, at least those within my limited frame of reference, refuse to explore anything that seems different from what they believe or have been taught. For some reason I perceive there is a fear of being swept off one's feet by the false prophets or more so, afraid of being consumed by an angry and jealous God. In response to those fears I would say know thy self and know thy God. I advocate that one's own spiritual compass is there as a guide but of course that guide could inadvertently be limited by its own beliefs. I am of the distinct view that no one perspective or no one text could possibly encompass the full vastness of who God is or how he operates.

It is virtually impossible to define the unlimited universal mind of God. Let's just think for a moment of the splendid sun and the precision of sun rise and sunset along a specific path, the flow of the tidal waves of the ocean, the efficient evaporation cycle, the seasons and even the largest to the minutest atom, they all express the silent power (God) in infinite ways. I therefore contend that for every definition or condition we can mentally conceive as God, God could be expressed as always greater than; much bigger than; or perhaps all that and more!

In retrospect I perceive it to be possible that like with the issue of race, which is essentially just a minute variation of the human construct for contrast, humanity has once again, this time from a religious perspective, given greater meaning to marginal differences than to the larger fraction of oneness in message all religions share. Essentially, I am of the firm conviction that a person's rightness with God, rather than the path taken or choice of assembling, has to be a measure of the quality of life lived and the fruits produced. Whether or not those fruits are consistent with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22&23 KJV).

Ironically I would like to emphasize that it is a fact that most people don't quite enjoy the luxury of choosing their paths to God but are expected and perhaps obligated to learn to live life where and how they are and to bloom where they are planted. Our unwillingness to appropriately embrace beauty in diversity has only resulted in a higher level of unhappiness on the planet; evil suppression and unnecessary wars. Our obsession with domination has obviously obscured our vision. The different flowers in a rose garden express such enchanting and captivating beauty and clearly offer an opportunity for us to conceptualize the enhanced beauty that accompanies difference. I am of the view that every culture and religion represents a defined expression (a fragment) of the universal mind of God, and needs to be celebrated for its richness as an Olympic of ideas.

It is evident that our worlds have merged and therefore demands inclusion and tolerance in practice. I perceive we are way beyond the generation of the naive days of Christopher Columbus and his supposed claim to have discovered the West Indies, as he journeyed due south of the Atlantic ocean, even though he was forced to engage in initial battle with the original inhabitants of the land; a different people of a different social construct. I therefore think that for us today rather than blindly resist differences, we could spend time developing greater understanding of each other and learn to appreciate all people for what they bring to the planet. I would also emphasize that I firmly believe that our purpose on earth is beyond our religious identities and therefore supports the notion that maybe for this moment in time we could ignore the distractions of our differences of thoughts and focus on collectively restoring order for the good of the human existence on the planet.

My point of view is that the underlying intention of religion in general seems primarily in the same pursuit. They take on different forms like people do but are essentially the same or they essentially seek the same things. With that in mind I would rather suspect that these words of Buddha may hold great promise for us as a whole as we together seek to evolve and preserve the human integrity in the context of universal love:

"Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings–that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide".

As a consequence of my own Christian upbringing I would willingly acknowledge that I too have been previously part of the dialogue of the obvious religious conflict by embracing the notion that Jesus is the only path to God as seemed so fervently expressed in the scripture "I am the way the truth and the light no man cometh to the father but by me." (John 14:6 KJV) Interestingly, as I would later observe, there are several rational arguments for different points of views of the said statement, even within Christian circles. One interpretation emphasizes that he spoke to his way of living; that Christ conscious way of existing in the perfect niche between flesh and spirit. Another understanding claims that the 'I' was referencing his cosmic self which is spirit; the same spirit that resides in us today; the essential identity in every life form in general. This understanding also seems consistent with the language of Jesus when he expressed that he came as a stranger, a child, naked and in prison in the New Testament. Conversely I was taught that the intention was that you accept Jesus as Lord into your heart and only through that process can we, fallen humanity, reconnect with God.

I would rather suspect that there is room for further thinking on the subject but in acceptance of my own naiveté of theology I willingly submit that the argument is not my forte, or maybe not one I am willing to engage in at the moment. However it suffices me to once again conclude that the disagreement seems to underscore the reality of the subjectivity of the human mind. Why do we even need theology to explain the things of God when in Him we live, move and have our being! I therefore think it great wisdom to humbly surrender to the position of the observer of the debate. More importantly I consider my experiences as universal issues that affect humanity across the globe and purport that they should be given the appropriate level of conscious engagement of all people.

With that being said this book, I implore, is not in any religious pursuit but intended as an opportunity for humanity as a whole to consciously reconsider and reevaluate our positions on the stated issues; to ultimately unite for the greater good of all mankind and to possibly alleviate the inexcusable and unnecessary sufferings in the human experiences of today. Therefore respectfully, you may observe that I am using different expressions for God like: The Universe, Life and such likes or expression like consciousness, energy and spirit to express my ideas, I encourage that you either ignore the chosen linguistics or feel free to substitute your preferred choice of word but from the perspective of purpose I would recommend that you stay focused on the stated intent. Additionally I have learned in time that great wisdom could come from multiple and unexpected sources. I acknowledge also that my choices of references may be subjective to my own limitations as a result of my school of thought and scope of review. With that in mind, I therefore think it necessary to emphasize as you read that you focus on message rather than messenger.

Unapologetically I hold fast to the understanding that we are all conscious participants in the dance of life, having a living, breathing, spiritual experience with the divine. On that note I am of the view, generally speaking that the entire concept of spirit has been so mystified and perhaps harnessed only by special groups, that people are literally apprehensive of the word itself. I define spirit to be simply the invisible life energy that exists in the universe. Love, thought, power, having a sound mind; are all creative energies and dimensions of spirit. Hate and fear, on the other hand, are energies or spirits with destructive outcomes. Having said that I am not sure how logical an argument it is to conclude that one is not spiritual. I perceive that without spirit we simple would cease to exist as we are. The more relevant issue I would suppose is whether or not one is conscious of their own innate spiritual essence.

BROADER PERSPECTIVE

From my various readings I was able to expand on my own awareness and draw plausible conclusions as I journeyed. A little quantum and matter physics, books on spirituality and natural cures, other readings on the power of thoughts and human biology; I essentially took what I felt I needed to know. More significantly in the process of my own awakening I started to redirect my attention from praying to God who I envisioned was somewhere separate from me to the God within me and part of the environment; placing emphasis on the universal oneness that appears to be more conscientiously practiced in the eastern cultures than in the west.

"Only by much Searching and Mining are Gold and Diamond obtained Man can find every Truth Connected with His Being, if He will dig Deeper in the Mind of His Soul." ~ James Allen

Considering all things wasn't it Jesus, who in the Bible said "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21 KJV) and Paul who declared that "The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead resides within you." (Romans 8:11) I have also heard the saying "Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world" (I John 4:4KJV) preached about and sung in songs on so many occasions but these same individuals, me included, still conscientiously sang Come into my heart Lord Jesus or Welcome holy spirit. Clearly at some point I would assume we should conclude a definite location in residency. I questioned whether there is an expectation that the divine comes and goes. Respectfully I still have not been able to comprehend a logical rationale as to why this intimate reality/relationship has not been more purposefully emphasized.

As I continued to evolve I also embraced some yoga and conscious meditation practices. That too was despite my previously informed prejudices. I now see it as a good practice to learn to achieve higher levels of consciousness and find inner stillness; a practice that I also consider to have much greater usefulness as I will discuss later in Chapter 3. Here again I discovered that my fears were not necessarily factual. Objectively I would unequivocally conclude that most, if not everything, have possible alternative outcomes but incidentally I would also further emphasize that results are determined by intentions: how you use it and who is in charge!

For clarity, it should be noted that both water and fire, just to name a few, are perfect examples of the possibility of positive and negative outcomes. Even God, as Deepak Chopra (the world's renowned mind body healer pioneer) expressed in his book War of World Views, can be used for both good and evil; feeding the poor and fighting holy wars. Hmm! Well for sure I presume the jury might still be out on the Deepak's' idea but I seriously consider it food for thought! Lol! However as a point of greater relevance I reasoned that since the kingdom of God is within, as Jesus is recorded to have said, then practicing meditation exercises serve well to take you there; to that place of inner stillness and conversely potentially make way for the occurrence of greater connectivity to the invisible; spirit, who is God. They that worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth! (John 4:24KJV)

Certainly it seems rational to conclude that welcoming stillness allows for more intuitive communication (conscious awareness); higher thoughts, as being at the cusp of both visible and invisible; access to God. Hence I started to seek divine guidance and revelation from within; from my own internal dialogue. Considering the fact that this practice was a foreign concept to me, I had to realign my thinking accordingly. I became more opened to the idea of committing to true authentic living as Eckhart Tolle solemnly encouraged in The Power of Now. I also became more aware of the emerging consciousness in my daily activities and eventually I arrived at full awareness that within the process of my experiences resided the light that is to be seen.

I caution therefore, as you proceed in your reading that you be mindful to note that none of the experiences were without purpose and as a consequence should not be viewed in isolation. They are all connected and have all contributed, in part, to finding truth and respective freedoms as are relevant. Let's take the journey!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Chapter Two

Childhood

I had a very interesting childhood! I should highlight briefly that prior to me emerging my dad had had many relationships including a failed marriage. During his senior years he met my mom while hanging out with friends at a liquor parlor where she worked as a waitress. My mom has had a difficult life of her own. She was a born country girl who had subsequently moved to the city to live. She had lost her own mother when she was just 3 years old, didn't have the chance at having a formal education and at the time left to fend life for herself and five kids. My mom is a very discipline woman. She gave due diligence to her responsibilities. She took on some of the toughest jobs, just to make ends meet. Fortunately she had acquired her own wisdom; she was informed through life's experiences and was an effective manager of her available resources.

She made things happened for my siblings by opening their worlds to opportunities she never had. As I understand everyone had a chance to become their best self as much as was possible. I could picture that the appearance of my dad on the scene was a great relief and really, allowed for added support. He was a very nice person; never shy in giving but notably showed kindness to many. My mom bore him two kids; my little sister and I. We were the only two children he had and I feel sure he gave to us the best of himself. As a child I always felt very much loved by my dad. He was passionate about the idea of having a son and he showed it too. Unfortunately I would argue that the fullness of what that union was capable of producing was significantly limited; he was a visitor! His visits of course were always full of excitement but still too limited. Nevertheless I would agree that I was raised in a very loving environment. My mother always referred to me as the love child; obviously her world had begun to look considerable brighter at the time.

It still amazes me how I have such vivid memories of my journey through life beginning since my early childhood years. I remember events and sceneries even before I was age one. I remember living in a house with a black battery operated radio. I remember a mint green shop across the street that seemed to have everything. No I don't think I was knowledgeable of colors then but my imagination still paints the perfect picture. Ironically, I do not remember the time when one of my father's many lady friends came by to visit, while I was left with a guardian in my mother's absence, to validate whether it was true that my father had gotten a son. For years he had been trying to have kids and did not succeed until I came along, he was at the time 47 years old. I only learned of the incident through the expressions of my mother on several occasions who still to this day, I believe, regrets not returning in time to meet the visitor. I am extremely happy she didn't! From the way she still pumps her fist, as she recollects the incident, I could have easily been the causality of a mother in rage feeling the need to protect her child. I guess I should say the wisdom of the universe was at work; I am still here! Hello!

(Continues...)

Excerpted from We Did Itby Foster Sampson Copyright © 2012 by Foster Sampson. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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