What Is Your Spiritual Temperature?

Our body temperature reflects a balance between the heat created by the body, and the heat lost to the environment. Various factors affect temperature such as illness, stress, environment, exercise, and even the time of day (temperatures of the body are usually lower in the mornings). A one-degree deviation from the normal temperature is enough to imply that we are too cold or overly hot. For example, 98.6 are normal, but below 97.6 are too cool and above 99.6 are heated. From here, we ask the question, what is your spiritual temperature? The divinity of our inner being is the thermometer monitoring the temperature of the soul. The balance between our union with the source of all goodness, spirit of life, and inward fruitfulness, and the decency lost to the environment is our spiritual temperature. If the surrounding circumstances cause us to lose our affability, and become indifferent to the deity that resides within us, we become cold in our responses to others. Likewise, if day-to-day situations cause us to lose our cordiality and oppose the divine inner presence, the temperature will be hot with aggression. Alternatively, we welcome the Supreme Being that lives within, and we respond to the society around us with the spirit of goodness, love for life, and fruitage. That is how we balance our environment with the divinity of our soul to generate a warm spiritual temperature. The blossoms of the spirits fruit are the soft moistness, or lifeblood, that flows through our soul. The balance between the fruitfulness of our inner being, and the fruitage lost to the environment is our spiritual temperature. Our surrounding social environment might be hostile to our smiles, decency, and the desire to do well, which affects how far we deviate from inner warmth. Being too hot or cold is destructive to the softness that lives within and hardens our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. A heated temperature is like a fiery volcanic rock where aggression mixes with hatred, violence, hopelessness, evil intent, and uncontrolled belligerence while inducing quick endings. A freezing temperature is comparable to a hardened iceberg where indifference causes unwillingness, cagey harshness, pessimism, ambiguous cruelty, stuck-up arrogance, and evasive impatience. A balance of the fruitfulness in us with our surrounding environment keeps us warm. That is when our lifeblood flows with meekness, gentleness, peace, patience, self-control, perseverance, joy, goodness, faith, goodwill, love, and kindness. HEALTH The balance between fruitfulness in our health, and the health lost to the environment affects our spiritual temperature. Sometimes we are in

situations where external influences decide how we fulfill our daily needs. That does not always correspond to the healthy intentions we have for our bodily processes. We begin to develop a heated spiritual temperature in the process of inputting undesirable substances into our body. With every bite of food and each sip of fluid, there is spite and hate towards those who decide the meal. In addition, with every breath inhaled within a smoky and pollution filled environment hostility begins to creep into us. When there should be provisions for sanitization of our body, and surroundings, there is filth. That fills us with fiery pessimism. Furthermore, when our body wants to rest to rejuvenate there are abrupt noises keeping us awake, and inciting agitation within us. We become like a hard fiery rock within our soul. We might also become cold in our spiritual temperature when the input of the body is undesirable to us. When a person gives us a distasteful meal we become indifferent, or unfeeling, to the offering we detest. During the hours set aside for rest, there seems to be all sorts of sounds depriving us of sleep. However, we lay there apathetic to comfort and rest. With breathing toxic substances that come from the habits of others, our thoughts, emotions, and reactions freeze in listlessness. In addition, we sit in a pile of filth like a hostage, or a stone cold rock, unmoved to the need for cleanliness. Our inner being becomes cold like an iceberg. Our spiritual temperature is warm when our inner fruitfulness responds to external influences from the softness of our soul. Through the spirit of peace, we respond to undesirable foods and drinks in a manner that keeps warmth within us. We feel a concern for the consumption of those around us. When the air around us seems unfit for inhalation there is a tenderness that enables us to respond with self-control, to maintain the compassion of the soul. When the environment seems to breed disease, we feel a spirit of goodness within us for the welfare of health conditions. When we experience and witness the tearing down of the body through weariness, we realize the depravity. That inspires a concern for tranquility and rejuvenation. Our inner being remains warm with compassionate motivation for the welfare of bodily health. SAFETY The balance between fruitfulness in our safety, and the security lost to the environment affects our spiritual temperature. External influences will often cause confrontations with dangers and hazards of various types. Those situations might affect the warmth that lives within our soul. Our spiritual temperature becomes hot when external influences disturb the protection of our body, shelter, or stability. We become angry, hostile, or arrogant when an unsafe act or insecure structures comes near to, or

causes us bodily harm. In a similar way, when the home we live in becomes shaky and threatens our safety, we might become enraged with uncontrollable impatience at the realtors, or whoever. In addition, when our life becomes unstable, making our method of living unpredictable, we lash out with cruelty, hatred, and despair at decision-makers. We become hard like a fiery rock of aggression to those we feel owes us a safe and secure life. Our spiritual temperature becomes cold when outside sources agitate the protection, shelter, or stability we desire for our living. They might posture themselves in a threatening manner that induces a fear of bodily harm coming to us. Our response becomes petrified with indifference to our welfare. Various influences might seize our shelter through foreclosure, eviction, or domestic hostilities, but we respond with apathy to what our fate might be. They snatch every sense of stability from us socially, in employment, financially, or whatever, but like dead wood we appear unresponsive. We become cold like a hard glazier, uncaring to whatever happens. Our spiritual temperature remains warm when our inner fruitfulness keeps a balance with environmental influences. We realize that the source of our protection, shelter, and stability originates from the fruitage in us. Although there are threatening influences around us, the spirit of peace, meekness, and gentleness regulates our response. There is an enlightenment that shelter comes through love, goodwill, and kindness, wherever that may be, not abusive homes. We comprehend that the source of a stable life is through self-control, patience, and perseverance in goodness, not through contradiction. We remain warm because the fruit of the spirit is our security amidst wavering external opposition. SOCIAL The balance between fruitfulness in our social mingling, and our belonging lost to the environment affects our spiritual temperature. There are influences in the environment that hinder our acceptance among others. That hindrance might cause us to lose the warmth of love that exists within. Our spiritual temperature becomes hot when external influences cause us to be isolated, without a place of belonging. Within that rejection, we develop hatred with ill intent to those who push us aside. There is conflict within social encounters that incite a harsh and aggressive response to those who refuse our friendliness. We communicate hopelessness, pessimism, and evilness to anyone who fragments our desire to bond. Because we are not feeling acceptance, our urges are full of impatience, uncontrollability, and desires to end efforts to socialize. Our inner being

becomes hard like a red-hot rock with rage to those who have discarded our companionship. Our spiritual temperature becomes cold when outside sources discourage our socialization. We turn away from acts of charity that might contribute to a society we have dismissed. Adding to that, we become indifferent to tranquility within a population that had a role in our rejection. There is apathy for the future of a people who does not welcome us into their fellowship. Furthermore, expecting consistency within relationships is lost within a lack of interest for acceptance. Our inward being becomes like the hardness of an iceberg with no desire for friendliness. Our spiritual temperature remains warm when our social fruitfulness keeps a balance with societal rejection. Although people confront us with meanness, we respond to them with the spirit of love, goodwill, and kindness. They will attempt to incite social violence, but from within is the divine qualities of a meek and gentle aura of peace. Those who reject us will try to bring us to hopeless despair, but we respond with faith, joy, and goodness. We believe in the divinity of one another. We persevere with patience and self-control as we continue to bring smiles, hospitality, love, and belonging to everyone. We remain warm because the fruit of the spirit provides a loving welcome to all who accepts the spirit of goodness in relationships. WORTH The balance between fruitfulness in our sense of worth, and the esteem lost to the environment affects our spiritual temperature. There are influences in the environment that humiliate us to make us feel worthless. Those degrading experiences might cause us to lose the warmth of divine inner qualities. Our spiritual temperature becomes hot when external influences ridicule our sense of self-worth. Some people want you to think that instead of having worth, there is only hatred and cruel intent for the person you are. They build their egos and quest for dominance by instilling discouragement, pessimism, and evil regards within the soul of others. They want you to lose all respect for yourself and to quit trying to accomplish any goodness. That could cause you to lose your self-respect as you fall into a heated rage against anyone who speaks disrespectfully to you. You become a rock full of fiery fury with aggression toward anyone who wounds your esteem. Our spiritual temperature becomes cold when outside sources disgrace our sense of worth. We come to a point where the opinions of others is of no importance, we are unfeeling to their ridicule. In addition, we turn out to be uncaring to the demeaning and false reputation that is set before us. In

a similar way, we grow to be insensible to the worth or value of others, not communicating esteem or respect to them. Our inner being is cold like the hardness of ice to mutual respect and repute. Our spiritual temperature remains warm when fruitfulness in our sense of worth keeps a balance with mortifying experiences. We might suffer the abuse of verbal hostility as various influences attempt to lower and destroy our self-esteem. However, within us are the fruit of faith, joy, and goodness that makes us feel an overwhelming sense of optimism for who we are. Alternatively, various forces will physically abuse us for the purpose of exerting dominance and crushing our egos. Even then, there is an inalienable feeling within our soul of love, peace, kindness, and perseverance from the divinity in us. The spiritual temperature within our sense of worth keeps warm as we feel loved from within, and are able to respect the value of others life. EXPRESSION The balance between fruitfulness in our self-expression, and the communication lost to the environment affects our spiritual temperature. The influences that surround us might oppress the goodness of our words, deeds, and attitudes. It is then that we lose the warmth in what we say, do, and feel. Our spiritual temperature becomes hot when we cannot communicate the tenderness that lives in us. The oppression of the softness in our words induces agitation as we lash out with words that are cruel, hateful, and incites conflict. Similarly, the goodness in our behavioral responses to others is repressed. That results in irritability and harsh violence to one another. The hardness within us becomes like a fiery rock hurling explosively at those who mute us. Our spiritual temperature might be cold when those around us shut the fruitage of our self-expression tight. When we fear to speak words of kindness, then we refuse to speak at all, making us indifferent to exchanges in communication. In a similar way, when the love within our actions suffers repression, then we refuse to respond to others at all. Apathy develops in our desire to interact with those around us. The hardness within us is cold like a lone iceberg, not engaging in verbal exchanges, and not making ourselves available in the presence of company. Our spiritual temperature is warm through the spiritual fruit that lives in us. When others refuse to let us open to allow tenderness to flow through us, we retain the spirit of love, peace, joy, and perseverance. That is when our non-verbal aura passes on a compassion and hospitality. That speaks more convincingly than words. Likewise, when oppressors block our

behaviors from extending goodwill to others, we still have our bodily presence. We are able to posture ourselves in a way that gestures our noble intentions through the fruitfulness of the spirit. Our inward temperature remains warm through the spiritual fruit, even though there are hindrances to physical aspects of communication. THE CYCLE Our spiritual temperature has a cycle beginning with believers accepting the divinity of the inner being as the thermometer of the soul. They monitor their heat so that anger does not become a response to agitating influences. Peace regulates them. Likewise, the coldness of pessimism, and the icy resentment within depression, dissipates by the warmness of joy. These harbingers bargain within themselves to exchange the hardness of their coldness and hotness for the soft warmth from the fruit of the spirit. These believers accept that the spiritual thermostat within their body is of a supreme deity, the producer of the spirits fruitage. The believers grow within reservoirs of people who monitor spiritual temperature through the blossoms of inward fruit. Words, deeds, and attitudes flow from the reservoirs with warmness of being loving, peaceable, people of faith, and persevering in good deeds. That warmth transfers directly through people who experience the lifeblood of the spirits fruitage. Likewise, indirect transference of divine qualities come through those who witness the temperament of kindness, goodwill, and joy within a cold or hot environment. The warm temperatures enter us because we feel esteem and worth for ourselves, other than the degradation of being known as an iceberg, or hothead. We want to belong among people whose spiritual thermometer registers with goodness, patience, gentleness, and compassion. The people likely to host the warmness of the spiritual fruit in their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors reject the hardness of their inner being. They rebuff the cold iceberg and disallow the spark of fiery rock within themselves. Their desire is to place the thermometer of the soul within the moist, tender, softness that lives within them. That temperature reading is full of warmth, within one degree of the spirit of goodness, life, and fruitfulness. The cycle of our inner warming continues when the temperature of our soul reflects a balance between the divine fruitage in us, and our response to the influences around us. We can assess that a divine presence resides in us, the spiritual thermostat of our soul. The diagnosis is that the warmth of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors come through the qualities of the spiritual fruit. We plan to read our temperature from the divinity of our soul, the source of the spirits fruit. The implementation of that plan comes by balancing the softness of the fruitage within us with our interaction to the

surrounding environment. Reading the thermometer of our soul gives us an evaluation of our spiritual temperature. When the blossoms of the fruit of the spirit appear from our mind, feelings, and deeds, we know we are warm, not hot nor cold.