Christ and Positive Thinking

Christ is giving the Sermon on the Mount in this painting by Carl Bloch done in 1877.

Christ said, “Come unto me all that labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give ye rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in spirit, and you shall find rest unto your souls, for my burden is easy, and my yoke is light.” He wanted people to live calm, serene, joyful lives. Jesus also said, “I have come so that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

I wish I knew Jesus’ time and date of birth. It has been the subject of much guesswork. There are many speculative horoscopes at the Astrodeinst website. He’s shown to be an Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, and Pisces.

Norman Vincent Peale, the famous minister, met with many distressed congregants. [DOB May 31, 1898] He realized he did not have the training to help them all so he formed the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry with noted psychiatrist Smiley Blanton. [DOB May 7, 1882]

Anxiety, stress, anger, hate, depression, and fear are common feelings in our modern world. Companies downsize. People lose jobs. They do not see eye to eye with their supervisors. They’re fired. They go through bitter divorces and fight over alimony, property, possessions, and child support. They become irrational over perceived slights and kill their colleagues in the workplace. They make mistakes on the roadways and injure and kill others, for they are unhappy and/or driving while intoxicated or on drugs.

Norman Vincent Peale saw the Bible as a tool for people to turn their negative thoughts into positive ones. That then gave them the ability to generate ideas and actions which would solve their particular dilemmas. He was fond of this Biblical quote: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He wrote the bestseller The Power of Positive Thinking. It has sold over five million copies.

Peale was a Gemini with the Moon in Libra. In the chart at hand on the internet, Cancer 8 degrees is the Rising Sign. The Rodden Rating is C which means the original source of the time is not known. Keys to the nativity include a Sun/Pluto conjunction in Gemini opposed by limiting, restricting Saturn in Sagittarius.

Norman had an inferiority complex in his formative years to his early adulthood. That is shown by the above opposition. With an opposition the planets are at loggerheads, and things just do not work right. Saturn in a chart shows what we lack.

When people are off the rails and their minds are full of worry and fear, they cannot think straight. Peale provided them with a way to regenerate their thoughts so they could think of ideas which would solve their dilemmas. [Sun conjoined with Pluto, the planet of regeneration and growth]

The Bible is more than the story of Christ dying on the Cross to save us from our worst selves. It is a study of the foibles and frailties of human nature. One apostle, Thomas, needed to see physical proof to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Peter grew fearful when Jesus was arrested and denied he was a follower. “Before the cock crow thou shall deny me thrice.” (Matthew: 26:34) King David arranged to have a soldier killed so he could have his wife, Bathsheba, after he saw her bathing. (2 Samuel 11) Caine murdered his own brother, Abel.  The Pharisees constantly tried to trick Jesus and get him into trouble. 

Paul said, “I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.” We must accept our present circumstance no matter how unpleasant and try to better ourselves even if it can only be done sporadically and incrementally.

Smiley Blanton’s birth data was garnered from his tombstone at the website www.findagrave.com. His chart was most interesting. Five planets and Chiron were in Taurus. [Saturn 15 degrees, Sun and Neptune 16, Chiron 22, Mercury 23, and Pluto 28] Neptune in Virgo was trine the Sun and Mercury. Venus and Jupiter together in Gemini probably made him somewhat charming and outgoing. The Mercury Pluto conjoining would have given him considerable depth of thought, and the trine of Mercury would have added kindness. The relationship of Chiron to the Sun and Mercury suggests Blanton, like many psychologists and psychiatrists, was initially trying to heal his own wounds. However, turned outward, it probably helped him help others by talking with them and aiding them in interpreting their emotional gashes. To complete the picture, Smiley’s Moon was in Capricorn and Mars was at 29 d Cancer.

Blanton was trained in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins and at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in London. He was a patient of Sigmund Freud—I thought Blanton even looked like Freud—both were Taureans—for about 10-11 months mainly in 1929-30.

Blanton and Peale opened the Religio-Psychiatric Clinic at the Marble Collegiate Church on lower Fifth Avenue in New York City. Free assistance was given to people suffering from anxiety and depression. The clinic trained clergymen of all denominations to help people with their emotional problems. (Encyclopedia.com, article on Smiley Blanton by Alain de Mijolla)

I repeat Bible verses to myself when I feel worried or distressed. I like these: “My spirit is not a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) “Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for I am with you sayeth the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) “Peace, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) Readers, I hope they provide you with succor as well.

Brian Hill, blog writer