I saw the film "The Help"last week. I sat in the theater after it ended for a bit feeling a feeling I had had when I finished watching "Dances with Wolves" many years ago. Confused Anger. What is it about being white that makes us feel like we're superior?
In Hawai'i, I learned that over and over again white people have gone into a culture and demanded they should be more like them -- and if they're not, because of the color of their skin or their religious customs, they refused to let them continue their customs - they treated them as if they were not human.
I believe I wrote about seeing the two young people of color in the back area of the townhomes where I live, and noticing they were looking up at the decks as they were walking by. I shut and locked my deck door, thinking they might be checking us out ... and then felt really stupid when I realized they were part of a team replacing the gutters on my neighbors home. I wondered why I automatically assumed they were up to something? Cultural conditioning.
When I was young, my parents were world travelers. For years we had an English governess, and then she retired suddenly just before my parents were leaving on an extended trip. My Mother had to take who the agency sent. It was a black woman and her teenage daughter, who just happened to have the same last name as ours. I can remember my Mother freaking out, giving us all sorts of instructions about not talking with the daughter at school, or playing with her at home, etc.. I couldn't understand why and even though I knew I would get in trouble when my parents came home, I made friends with the daughter. How could I live with someone, ride on the bus to and from school with them and not befriend them?
Years later, I asked her why she was so prejudiced. She didn't think she was. She talked about how she'd had a favorite black bartender during their parties, and Japanese gardeners, and Mexican cleaning ladies. Cultural conditioning. The whole time she was talking I could hear that she still felt she was better than they were. It saddened me, yet this was the way she was raised. She never really got it that things could be different.
I'd felt like we've come far beyond that, probably because of the circles I move in, yet in speaking with one person of color recently I discovered that they feel invisible in one of those circles.
We are the ones that can break the cycle of cultural conditioning. It's time. We do it by truly recognizing we are all One. Ernest Holmes writes: "As a person realizes their Oneness with Creative Mind, they are released from the bondage of false thinking. They see, too, that freedom means liberty but not license." (Glossary, p. 595.2) We don't have the right to treat anyone as if they aren't all that they are - Spirit made manifest.
If I have harmed anyone through my cultural conditioning, - by my acceptance of a race consciousness that denies anyone their good - I apologize. I will do my best to end this way of thinking and living right here and now.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Spirit is absolutely all there is. Everything and everyone is a personalization of The Divine. There is nothing but God.
Remembering this, I declare that I have released my cultural conditioning. I am open to a deeper wisdom about all people. I know they are One with me. There can only be One, because all is God.
As I live in this Truth, I lift up the consciousness of humanity - We are all recognizing our spiritual magnificence, and this is good, very good.
I am so grateful to be part of the breaking of the cycle of cultural conditioning. I am free!! and so is everyone else.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they have been embodied. And so it is.
Friday, September 02, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
An Invitation to Prove Principle
Maryland and other states along the East Coast are preparing for the worst. Hurricane Irene is heading for us.
In the Declaration of Principles of Religious Science, Dr. Ernest Holmes writes:
"We believe in the control of conditions through the power of this Mind."
This is not something new. The ancient Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples believed their Shaman, Medicine Man or Holy Person could control conditions. Weather is just a condition.
I went out to get cat food at noon. I was so surprised to see the amount of traffic! The market had long lines. A lot of the shelves, especially with water and batteries, were empty. The energy is thick with fear. We're afraid of a condition.
If you read these Friday Messages, I know you believe in the Truth of the Principles we teach. So I'm going to ask you to participate in an activity with me. Every time you hear or think about the hurricane, imagine it swirling its way out into deeper water. Maybe you could even imagine standing with thousands of others, blowing the hurricane out to sea.
Am I saying don't prepare? No, we have to work at the level of our belief. However, I am reminded of the story of the Midwestern town that hadn't had rain in months and months, and the Pastor was asked to lead an outdoor prayer service. One little girl brought an umbrella - she believed.
The weather maps we see on TV are projections, based on past experiences -- no one really knows what will happen in the long run. Holmes also wrote "Principle is not bound by precedent." Just because something happened a certain way before, doesn't mean it has to happen that way again.
So I am going to be like the Kahunas of old - I'm going to stand on Principle and declare we are all safe. I see the hurricane weakening and heading out to the sea. The State Fair, the weddings, the parties, and yes, church on Sunday morning will still be held. I ask you to join me.
And again, we all have to work at the level of our belief. If you can't imagine the hurricane swerving off course, please join in this Spiritual Mind Treatment written by Dr. Arlene Bump of the Ft. Lauderdale, FL Center for Spiritual Living:
"This is what I know: There is an Infinite Intelligence in the Universe that is everywhere present and in action at all times. We know for every person, place or thing in the path of Hurricane Irene that they are in perfect alignment of wholeness and unity which expresses as safety, balance, harmony and community with everyone using their inner wisdom as a guide for their action and activities.
We affirm that all governmental agencies are functioning quickly, safely, efficiently and on time to fulfill every need and want in order and ease. There is perfect alignment and clear communication as everyone comes together as ONE to be guided, guarded, directed and protected in rightness and wholeness during this time -- not only before and during the Hurricane, but also in the aftermath as each one is mindfully conscious of their inner guidance, safety and support as creation and re-creation takes place. Divine Infinite Intelligence functions perfectly, on time and in order for everyone and everything.
I know this word is being joined with all prayers everywhere as we hold a high watch for the unfoldment of this word in every way and in every place. Each one is mindful of their spiritual wholeness and this conscious awareness guides all in a path of safety. This word manifests as a perfect experience as we send blessings and affirmations of our heart into the energy of each one. This word is released now to the law of Mind that knows what to do and how to do it. We know, accept and take the action of that acceptance for all."
In the Declaration of Principles of Religious Science, Dr. Ernest Holmes writes:
"We believe in the control of conditions through the power of this Mind."
This is not something new. The ancient Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples believed their Shaman, Medicine Man or Holy Person could control conditions. Weather is just a condition.
I went out to get cat food at noon. I was so surprised to see the amount of traffic! The market had long lines. A lot of the shelves, especially with water and batteries, were empty. The energy is thick with fear. We're afraid of a condition.
If you read these Friday Messages, I know you believe in the Truth of the Principles we teach. So I'm going to ask you to participate in an activity with me. Every time you hear or think about the hurricane, imagine it swirling its way out into deeper water. Maybe you could even imagine standing with thousands of others, blowing the hurricane out to sea.
Am I saying don't prepare? No, we have to work at the level of our belief. However, I am reminded of the story of the Midwestern town that hadn't had rain in months and months, and the Pastor was asked to lead an outdoor prayer service. One little girl brought an umbrella - she believed.
The weather maps we see on TV are projections, based on past experiences -- no one really knows what will happen in the long run. Holmes also wrote "Principle is not bound by precedent." Just because something happened a certain way before, doesn't mean it has to happen that way again.
So I am going to be like the Kahunas of old - I'm going to stand on Principle and declare we are all safe. I see the hurricane weakening and heading out to the sea. The State Fair, the weddings, the parties, and yes, church on Sunday morning will still be held. I ask you to join me.
And again, we all have to work at the level of our belief. If you can't imagine the hurricane swerving off course, please join in this Spiritual Mind Treatment written by Dr. Arlene Bump of the Ft. Lauderdale, FL Center for Spiritual Living:
"This is what I know: There is an Infinite Intelligence in the Universe that is everywhere present and in action at all times. We know for every person, place or thing in the path of Hurricane Irene that they are in perfect alignment of wholeness and unity which expresses as safety, balance, harmony and community with everyone using their inner wisdom as a guide for their action and activities.
We affirm that all governmental agencies are functioning quickly, safely, efficiently and on time to fulfill every need and want in order and ease. There is perfect alignment and clear communication as everyone comes together as ONE to be guided, guarded, directed and protected in rightness and wholeness during this time -- not only before and during the Hurricane, but also in the aftermath as each one is mindfully conscious of their inner guidance, safety and support as creation and re-creation takes place. Divine Infinite Intelligence functions perfectly, on time and in order for everyone and everything.
I know this word is being joined with all prayers everywhere as we hold a high watch for the unfoldment of this word in every way and in every place. Each one is mindful of their spiritual wholeness and this conscious awareness guides all in a path of safety. This word manifests as a perfect experience as we send blessings and affirmations of our heart into the energy of each one. This word is released now to the law of Mind that knows what to do and how to do it. We know, accept and take the action of that acceptance for all."
Friday, August 05, 2011
These are the times ...
“These are the times when we stand humbly and boldly in the presence of our own great promise. These are the days when through our decisions and actions, we determine our legacy for those to come.” --Jean Houston
The other day I was reading an e-mail from someone who was feeling absolutely overwhelmed. They were afraid to open anymore e-mail -- they just couldn't handle getting another letter requesting funds for yet another disaster in our world. They felt they couldn't do enough for all the people that are suffering.
I've been there, haven't you? Lately it seems that crisis after crisis is rolling over us - whether it be in our personal or global lives.
Yet, we in the New Thought teaching can offer a lot more than money. We can offer a new vision. We can focus, not on the awful, but on the awe full.
Paul writes in Phil. 4-8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honourable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
I sit on my deck in the mornings, looking out over greenness watching the various wildlife interact. There is peace in my world. I sat in a outdoor restaurant in a mall tonight eating a delicious dinner, listening to great music and people watching. There is prosperity in my world. I walk into our Center on Sunday mornings and observe the people interacting. There is Love in my world. I am in awe of the good that flows through my life.
We might ask ourselves, 'Why do we have so much, when so many have so little?' There is a simple answer -- it's consciousness. We have the consciousness to be in the circumstances we are in, otherwise we wouldn't be in them.
Rev. Michael Beckwith once said the 'news' is a call for prayer. Let me ask you -- do you really want to perpetuate a legacy of fear? Or do you want to stand humbly and boldly in the Presence of our own Great Promise?
So we pray, knowing there is a Greater Vision being birthed in this time we're living in.
Spiritual Mind Treatment
There is only One Life, that Life is God's Life, and that life is the life we are living right here, right now. I accept this as my Truth and as the Truth for everyone.
I declare we are now opening up in deep surrender to the Powerful Presence within us. This Power is a Power for good. We release all our attachments to the events of our past that kept us stuck in fear. We breathe deeply and celebrate our freedom!
In this freedom we make new choices. We let Infinite Intelligence guide us into right action, and let Love support us in our decisions for our lives.
We choose unlimited happiness, peace and harmony on all levels of our being. We know who we are - Spirit in form, and this is good, very good.
With a grateful heart, I know these words are words of Truth and have been embodied in the collective consciousness. And so it is.
The other day I was reading an e-mail from someone who was feeling absolutely overwhelmed. They were afraid to open anymore e-mail -- they just couldn't handle getting another letter requesting funds for yet another disaster in our world. They felt they couldn't do enough for all the people that are suffering.
I've been there, haven't you? Lately it seems that crisis after crisis is rolling over us - whether it be in our personal or global lives.
Yet, we in the New Thought teaching can offer a lot more than money. We can offer a new vision. We can focus, not on the awful, but on the awe full.
Paul writes in Phil. 4-8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honourable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
I sit on my deck in the mornings, looking out over greenness watching the various wildlife interact. There is peace in my world. I sat in a outdoor restaurant in a mall tonight eating a delicious dinner, listening to great music and people watching. There is prosperity in my world. I walk into our Center on Sunday mornings and observe the people interacting. There is Love in my world. I am in awe of the good that flows through my life.
We might ask ourselves, 'Why do we have so much, when so many have so little?' There is a simple answer -- it's consciousness. We have the consciousness to be in the circumstances we are in, otherwise we wouldn't be in them.
Rev. Michael Beckwith once said the 'news' is a call for prayer. Let me ask you -- do you really want to perpetuate a legacy of fear? Or do you want to stand humbly and boldly in the Presence of our own Great Promise?
So we pray, knowing there is a Greater Vision being birthed in this time we're living in.
Spiritual Mind Treatment
There is only One Life, that Life is God's Life, and that life is the life we are living right here, right now. I accept this as my Truth and as the Truth for everyone.
I declare we are now opening up in deep surrender to the Powerful Presence within us. This Power is a Power for good. We release all our attachments to the events of our past that kept us stuck in fear. We breathe deeply and celebrate our freedom!
In this freedom we make new choices. We let Infinite Intelligence guide us into right action, and let Love support us in our decisions for our lives.
We choose unlimited happiness, peace and harmony on all levels of our being. We know who we are - Spirit in form, and this is good, very good.
With a grateful heart, I know these words are words of Truth and have been embodied in the collective consciousness. And so it is.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Butterfly Mysteries
I've been sitting on my deck in the mornings lately. My neighbor has a beautiful 'butterfly' bush. I'm not sure that's the true name of the bush, but it's large and lovely and attracts butterflies.
I was watching a large yellow and black one as it flitted from flower to flower when I noticed other movement in the bush. As I focused, I discovered a tiny brown and white butterfly. I have never seen this type before. As I watched it, I noticed there were others, and the more I watched, the more I saw.
It reminded me of laying on the grass at night, looking at the stars, and how the more you look, the more you see.
Now, I've sat on my deck many a morning enjoying the wildlife that appears -- (a multitude of birds, coyotes, deer, a ground hog, and lately a tiny bunny) - and I've seen lots of large butterflies on that bush, but never the small ones -- and yet, every day since I first noticed them, they've been there. Just like the stars.
What else am I missing in my life because I don't focus? How much of the abundance of our world am I missing? How much love am I missing? How much good am I missing because I am just looking at the surface of things? What are you missing?
We truly live in a multilayered universe. Let's open our eyes wider by opening our hearts to all the beauty around and within us!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
"The eye of the Spirit cannot be dimmed, neither can It be limited in Its ability to see." ~Ernest Holmes
We live, move and have our being in a great field of Source Energy. This Field is multilayered. It has everything in it that we could possibly imagine and more. This Field is here for us to play in - we are apart of It, as It is a part of us.
I choose now to see with the eyes of Spirit. I see beyond the surface into the center of all things - and what I see is Spirit looking back at me in all It's many forms. Spirit shows up as Life Itself -- it shows up as beauty, harmony, peace, love and Truth and so much more.
As I see these things, I am so grateful to be able to see them. I am grateful to be living in a physical body so I can experience this world. I am grateful to know that what I see isn't all that is. There is always more to be discovered.
I rejoice in knowing this Truth, and I release these words into Spiritual Law, letting it assist me in maintaining the consciousness I have declare for myself and all others.
And so it is.
Friday, July 22, 2011
You Are Creating NOW!
Earlier this week I celebrated my 63rd birthday. I'm so grateful for all the acknowledgment I received. Someone much younger said "WOW, you have less years left than you've already lived" and that sent me into reflection.
I remembered being in a class Anne Wheeler and Joy Tuttle in my beginning years in the Glendale California Church of Religious Science. I think it was called Living from Inside Out. In the first class, we were given a folder, and and told to decorate it the way we wanted. It ended up being my first treasure map. I had a picture of a man and woman walking the beach in some place tropical -- I liked it because it said something about husband & wife team ministry. (yes, I knew immediately I was going to be a minister. I had pictures of jewels, and tigers, and a fantastic car and images of travel.
I also found a piece in a magazine that I thought should be my epitaph:
"She lived her life better than most people's fantasies." As I glued that on my folder, I had no idea how true it was going to become! I manifested that husband and wife ministry - in Hawai'i. I've had wonderful jewels, petted live tigers, had a couple of fantastic cars, traveled the world and met many amazing people.
These reflections brought me back to the present with something I've been thinking for awhile - I LOVE MY LIFE!! Do I have regrets - a few - don't we all? I've had my sorrows too. Yet, I have so much more to be grateful for. And it's not over yet!
I love our teaching. It works whether we're consciously activating the Law or not. I didn't know anything back in that class in Glendale, yet I set something in motion that has been awesome.
I've also been working on a couple of new Visions. One with physical things I want to do and have, and another with qualities I want to continue to experience - JOY being the major one!
Yes, I love the way Spirit works!! I had gone away from this writing for a few moments, and when I came back, I checked my e-mail. Rev. Janet Kingsley of the Center for Positive Living in Sedona, AZ has been using some of the Spiritual Mind Treatments from my blog as "Spiritual Vitamins" in her weekly newsletter -- and this one is perfect!! (Those who were at our Center last Sunday will know why I'm giggling!!) I share it with you here -- and remember you are creating your life right now -- make it a magnificent one!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Oh Great Spirit of Joy, fill my heart with laughter!!
I celebrate the Joy of The Divine today, and allow myself to recognize this aspect of my own Being.
Regardless of what is happening around me, I smile and I declare "I am a gift of Joy that God gives to a wonderful world." I let go of the need to be serious about my spirituality. I let go of the need to be serious about my life and the world. I know I am co-creating everything I am experiencing, so I choose to create more Joy.
As I experience more joy in my life, it clears the undercurrents and ripples out to do its cleansing, healing work in places I am not even aware of. The silent peace within me is revealed, and that too is revealed in our world.
How I adore the Spirit of Joy in me!I am so grateful to experience and spread joy and laughter. And So It Is!
I remembered being in a class Anne Wheeler and Joy Tuttle in my beginning years in the Glendale California Church of Religious Science. I think it was called Living from Inside Out. In the first class, we were given a folder, and and told to decorate it the way we wanted. It ended up being my first treasure map. I had a picture of a man and woman walking the beach in some place tropical -- I liked it because it said something about husband & wife team ministry. (yes, I knew immediately I was going to be a minister. I had pictures of jewels, and tigers, and a fantastic car and images of travel.
I also found a piece in a magazine that I thought should be my epitaph:
"She lived her life better than most people's fantasies." As I glued that on my folder, I had no idea how true it was going to become! I manifested that husband and wife ministry - in Hawai'i. I've had wonderful jewels, petted live tigers, had a couple of fantastic cars, traveled the world and met many amazing people.
These reflections brought me back to the present with something I've been thinking for awhile - I LOVE MY LIFE!! Do I have regrets - a few - don't we all? I've had my sorrows too. Yet, I have so much more to be grateful for. And it's not over yet!
I love our teaching. It works whether we're consciously activating the Law or not. I didn't know anything back in that class in Glendale, yet I set something in motion that has been awesome.
I've also been working on a couple of new Visions. One with physical things I want to do and have, and another with qualities I want to continue to experience - JOY being the major one!
Yes, I love the way Spirit works!! I had gone away from this writing for a few moments, and when I came back, I checked my e-mail. Rev. Janet Kingsley of the Center for Positive Living in Sedona, AZ has been using some of the Spiritual Mind Treatments from my blog as "Spiritual Vitamins" in her weekly newsletter -- and this one is perfect!! (Those who were at our Center last Sunday will know why I'm giggling!!) I share it with you here -- and remember you are creating your life right now -- make it a magnificent one!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Oh Great Spirit of Joy, fill my heart with laughter!!
I celebrate the Joy of The Divine today, and allow myself to recognize this aspect of my own Being.
Regardless of what is happening around me, I smile and I declare "I am a gift of Joy that God gives to a wonderful world." I let go of the need to be serious about my spirituality. I let go of the need to be serious about my life and the world. I know I am co-creating everything I am experiencing, so I choose to create more Joy.
As I experience more joy in my life, it clears the undercurrents and ripples out to do its cleansing, healing work in places I am not even aware of. The silent peace within me is revealed, and that too is revealed in our world.
How I adore the Spirit of Joy in me!I am so grateful to experience and spread joy and laughter. And So It Is!
Friday, July 15, 2011
What Do I Want?
Lately I've heard quite a few people say "I'm not praying for what I want anymore, I'm just praying that God will show me what's next."
In one respect I really honor that statement, because it denotes a sense of spiritual surrender -- the "not my will but Thine" consciousness. if you're really ready and willing to go on an amazingly mystical, mystery tour, you will. Be advised: Sometimes it won't seem so amazing or mystical and it will certainly bring up everything that needs to be cleared for the journey! So if this is what you really, really want, here's a hint: Be really clear on the qualities of the God you believe in! IE: If you have any vestiges of the old judgmental Father God, you will be judged and faced with various authority issues. If you truly believe in a Loving Presence, then ahhhh, you will be loved beyond measure. Believe me, surrendering certainly shows you the God you really believe in!!
And yet, Ernest Holmes writes: If someone should ask whether or not God has any intention for them, the answer would be that the only intention God could have,if one is an individual, would be to let the individual alone to discover themselves. In this discovery of the self, we impress the Law (which is sensitive, creative and can deduce only) with the images of our own belief about ourselves, and the Law creates a form around these images.
This means that not only do we have to be clear about the God we believe in, we've got to be really, really clear about what we believe about ourselves as well! We've also got to have a Vision of who we are becoming. We've got to know what we want.
We're taught in the Science of Mind, to treat (affirmatively pray) for the consciousness of the thing we desire. If we want God to show us our next step - then we have to treat for the consciousness of knowing there is an infinitely intelligent and unconditionally loving Mind within us that is guiding us ..... but we also have to know where we want to be guided to. It could be greater love, inner peace, true intimacy, a feeling of abundant living, divine health, fulfilling our purpose, etc. We create the mental mold, setting the Law of Attraction in action, and the Universe goes to work!
We've got to know what we want!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I know there is a Power for Good that is working in, through and as us, to fulfill Itself as us.
This Power is infinite -- this Power is Love.
Therefore I declare I am ready and willing to create the life I have always wanted to live. I imagine myself feeling a deep peace in every area of my life. I see myself experiencing The Divine in ways I had not thought of before. I feel Divine Love as it radiates through every cell of my body, and every thought of my mind.
I choose gratefully. I choose wisely. I choose with a great joy at being able to choose. I am moving forward with grace and ease, and I celebrate Life!
I release these words into the Law of Mind knowing they are so now, and so it is.
In one respect I really honor that statement, because it denotes a sense of spiritual surrender -- the "not my will but Thine" consciousness. if you're really ready and willing to go on an amazingly mystical, mystery tour, you will. Be advised: Sometimes it won't seem so amazing or mystical and it will certainly bring up everything that needs to be cleared for the journey! So if this is what you really, really want, here's a hint: Be really clear on the qualities of the God you believe in! IE: If you have any vestiges of the old judgmental Father God, you will be judged and faced with various authority issues. If you truly believe in a Loving Presence, then ahhhh, you will be loved beyond measure. Believe me, surrendering certainly shows you the God you really believe in!!
And yet, Ernest Holmes writes: If someone should ask whether or not God has any intention for them, the answer would be that the only intention God could have,if one is an individual, would be to let the individual alone to discover themselves. In this discovery of the self, we impress the Law (which is sensitive, creative and can deduce only) with the images of our own belief about ourselves, and the Law creates a form around these images.
This means that not only do we have to be clear about the God we believe in, we've got to be really, really clear about what we believe about ourselves as well! We've also got to have a Vision of who we are becoming. We've got to know what we want.
We're taught in the Science of Mind, to treat (affirmatively pray) for the consciousness of the thing we desire. If we want God to show us our next step - then we have to treat for the consciousness of knowing there is an infinitely intelligent and unconditionally loving Mind within us that is guiding us ..... but we also have to know where we want to be guided to. It could be greater love, inner peace, true intimacy, a feeling of abundant living, divine health, fulfilling our purpose, etc. We create the mental mold, setting the Law of Attraction in action, and the Universe goes to work!
We've got to know what we want!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I know there is a Power for Good that is working in, through and as us, to fulfill Itself as us.
This Power is infinite -- this Power is Love.
Therefore I declare I am ready and willing to create the life I have always wanted to live. I imagine myself feeling a deep peace in every area of my life. I see myself experiencing The Divine in ways I had not thought of before. I feel Divine Love as it radiates through every cell of my body, and every thought of my mind.
I choose gratefully. I choose wisely. I choose with a great joy at being able to choose. I am moving forward with grace and ease, and I celebrate Life!
I release these words into the Law of Mind knowing they are so now, and so it is.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Vampiric Fascination
A long time ago I was fascinated by the Anne Rice Vampire books, and then a few years ago, picked up the Twilight series to see what all the teens were reading. This series seems to have generated a whole new genre -- paranormal romance. My niece told me about the Sookie Stackhouse stories, and now that's become the True Blood series on TV, which I'm hearing about from many.
I'm enjoying it all and yet I wonder ... what is it about being immortal that fascinates us?
The funny thing is that we are already immortal. Chapter 23 in the Science of Mind is on immortality. Ernest Holmes writes "It would seem that we have a spiritual body now, and do not need to die to have one. We now remember the past, and have outlived many physical bodies during this life. So it looks as if we were already immortal and need not die to take on immortality. If there are many planes of Life and consciousness as we firmly believe, perhaps we only die from one plane to another. This thought makes a strong appeal and seems reasonable."
Jesus made himself known after death to his followers. Hindus and Buddhists believe we will recycle and work on ourselves until we finally reach enlightenment and don't have to reincarnate anymore. Many other world religions believe in immortality in one way or another.
I believe our fascination with the idea of vampiric immortality is the "never dying" part -- and that comes from an innate fear of death. Why are we so afraid of something that is a natural part of this earthly experience? And why do we want to hang on to these bodies?
In this chapter, Dr. Holmes also writes that "we should learn to trust Life." Yes, there's a time limit in this dimension. Knowing this, let's remember there is nothing in the universe - or in us - except Life Itself and Life can be trusted. As we trust, we can embrace life fully and gratefully. We can live immortally now.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I celebrate Life -- It is everywhere, in me and around me. It is complete in Itself. It is the source and substance of all things. It is infinite intelligence. It is unconditional love.
Knowing this Truth, I recognize my immortality. I do not long for anything, and I am not afraid of anything. I am pure Spirit, my thought is God thought. My thought leads me into wondrous adventures - experiences with my physical senses that remind me how wonderful it is to be Spirit incarnate. I am confident and satisfied and filled with potential. My Life is God's Life and it is good.
With a grateful heart I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are already so. And so it is.
I'm enjoying it all and yet I wonder ... what is it about being immortal that fascinates us?
The funny thing is that we are already immortal. Chapter 23 in the Science of Mind is on immortality. Ernest Holmes writes "It would seem that we have a spiritual body now, and do not need to die to have one. We now remember the past, and have outlived many physical bodies during this life. So it looks as if we were already immortal and need not die to take on immortality. If there are many planes of Life and consciousness as we firmly believe, perhaps we only die from one plane to another. This thought makes a strong appeal and seems reasonable."
Jesus made himself known after death to his followers. Hindus and Buddhists believe we will recycle and work on ourselves until we finally reach enlightenment and don't have to reincarnate anymore. Many other world religions believe in immortality in one way or another.
I believe our fascination with the idea of vampiric immortality is the "never dying" part -- and that comes from an innate fear of death. Why are we so afraid of something that is a natural part of this earthly experience? And why do we want to hang on to these bodies?
In this chapter, Dr. Holmes also writes that "we should learn to trust Life." Yes, there's a time limit in this dimension. Knowing this, let's remember there is nothing in the universe - or in us - except Life Itself and Life can be trusted. As we trust, we can embrace life fully and gratefully. We can live immortally now.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I celebrate Life -- It is everywhere, in me and around me. It is complete in Itself. It is the source and substance of all things. It is infinite intelligence. It is unconditional love.
Knowing this Truth, I recognize my immortality. I do not long for anything, and I am not afraid of anything. I am pure Spirit, my thought is God thought. My thought leads me into wondrous adventures - experiences with my physical senses that remind me how wonderful it is to be Spirit incarnate. I am confident and satisfied and filled with potential. My Life is God's Life and it is good.
With a grateful heart I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are already so. And so it is.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Stop Complaining - Start Imagining!
You can never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. -- Buckminster Fuller
Whether listening to politicians, the news, my neighbors or sometimes my own thoughts, one thing comes across quite clearly. Most people don’t want to do the work to create the “new model.” We just want to complain about the old, point fingers and expect someone else to make it all better.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone that could make it all better? Well, there is – and that someone is US!! What ever we’ve been complaining about lately, it’s in our face because it’s up to us to do something about it. The time of passively sitting by is over.
And where do we do the work that must be done? In Mind, of course. It’s up to us to get our underused imaginations back to work and create the new models. It’s up us to set clear intentions, and give them to the Universe. It’s up to us to trust that Infinite Intelligence knows what It’s doing. And it’s up to us to stop telling the stories of the old models!
Steven Covey writes: "Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change."
What a great message for Independence Day!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
God - the creative intelligence in and behind all things, including us, is urging us to move out of our littleness and step into a greater field of possibility.
Knowing this, I open my heart to Divine Love. This Love fills me with a greater sense of Self than I've ever had before. This Love points the way for me to go, and the Law of Mind makes the way possible. I am ready and willing to let go of all I believe is wrong in my world, and return to the Divine Center where peace resides. As I feel this peace deep within me, I realize I am ready to move forward in my life. I have the courage to do that which is mine to do, and I do it with a willing heart and mind, knowing that as I make this choice, the whole Power of the Universe is behind me. I am making a new model of how to live in and as Spirit, and this is good.
How grateful I am to know that I can speak my word and have it be so. How grateful I am to live in a country that is filled with and encourages possibilities.
I release these words, knowing they are the Truth of my being, and I live from this new vibration with a great sense of joy - the joy of service, and the joy of being served. And so It is.
Whether listening to politicians, the news, my neighbors or sometimes my own thoughts, one thing comes across quite clearly. Most people don’t want to do the work to create the “new model.” We just want to complain about the old, point fingers and expect someone else to make it all better.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone that could make it all better? Well, there is – and that someone is US!! What ever we’ve been complaining about lately, it’s in our face because it’s up to us to do something about it. The time of passively sitting by is over.
And where do we do the work that must be done? In Mind, of course. It’s up to us to get our underused imaginations back to work and create the new models. It’s up us to set clear intentions, and give them to the Universe. It’s up to us to trust that Infinite Intelligence knows what It’s doing. And it’s up to us to stop telling the stories of the old models!
Steven Covey writes: "Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change."
What a great message for Independence Day!!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
God - the creative intelligence in and behind all things, including us, is urging us to move out of our littleness and step into a greater field of possibility.
Knowing this, I open my heart to Divine Love. This Love fills me with a greater sense of Self than I've ever had before. This Love points the way for me to go, and the Law of Mind makes the way possible. I am ready and willing to let go of all I believe is wrong in my world, and return to the Divine Center where peace resides. As I feel this peace deep within me, I realize I am ready to move forward in my life. I have the courage to do that which is mine to do, and I do it with a willing heart and mind, knowing that as I make this choice, the whole Power of the Universe is behind me. I am making a new model of how to live in and as Spirit, and this is good.
How grateful I am to know that I can speak my word and have it be so. How grateful I am to live in a country that is filled with and encourages possibilities.
I release these words, knowing they are the Truth of my being, and I live from this new vibration with a great sense of joy - the joy of service, and the joy of being served. And so It is.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Notes from my Cruise
Notes from my cruise:
One morning, while saving our table by the window for breakfast on the ship, I sat watching the ocean. Around me swirled the sounds of different languages. It was an experience of multiplicity in unity. The calm, everywhere presentness of the ocean, with the diversity of communication.
For a moment I saw the ocean as The Divine, and the sounds as all of Its expressions, and even though I couldn't understand much of what was being said, everything was in harmony.
Life can be like this. No matter what is going on around us, we can be in harmony. It's about consciousness.
One afternoon I stood at the aft of the ship, and watched the trail we left in the water. It seemed to stretch back into infinity. I thought about how everything we do leaves a trail like that -- an energetic trail. A trail that makes a difference.
The ship is continually moving, and one evening, while in the elevator, I had the oddest feeling of being on a space ship. Shades of Star Trek! It was very easy to imagine the elevator doors opening and I would be on the holodeck. Going to the theater on the ship was a lot like that. Every night was a different experience - one night we were at a Broadway theater, one night at a Jazz Club, one night at Circe-du-Solei. This experience made me remember that we're making it all up as we go along - and it is very nice to have made up such a first class experience!
What are you making up?? What trail are you leaving? Are you in harmony with it?
As you move through your space, remember thoughts become things, and it's our responsibility to keep our minds working for the highest good for all. We are co-creating this life. We're the one's assigning value and meaning. We're the ones leaving a legacy that will stretch back into infinity and beyond. Let's choose to do this well!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is One Infinite Energy that is the Source and substance of all -- It is Life Itself. It moves upon Itself as Love and becomes physically manifest through the Law of Mind. It became me and lives in, as, and through me.
This Energy is everywhere present. It is in all areas of my life. As I think, the Law of Attraction is activated and I draw to me all I need to experience my own divinity. I choose to think responsibly, and creatively. I enjoy Life as It expresses as me. I am in harmony with It. I know that what I do makes a difference for many others, without my even being aware of it, so I pay attention.
All there is, is God, and It is done unto me as I believe. I am so grateful to know these Principles and to be able to use them consciously. I am so grateful to be alive at this time, in this space on this ocean of The Divine. And so it is.
One morning, while saving our table by the window for breakfast on the ship, I sat watching the ocean. Around me swirled the sounds of different languages. It was an experience of multiplicity in unity. The calm, everywhere presentness of the ocean, with the diversity of communication.
For a moment I saw the ocean as The Divine, and the sounds as all of Its expressions, and even though I couldn't understand much of what was being said, everything was in harmony.
Life can be like this. No matter what is going on around us, we can be in harmony. It's about consciousness.
One afternoon I stood at the aft of the ship, and watched the trail we left in the water. It seemed to stretch back into infinity. I thought about how everything we do leaves a trail like that -- an energetic trail. A trail that makes a difference.
The ship is continually moving, and one evening, while in the elevator, I had the oddest feeling of being on a space ship. Shades of Star Trek! It was very easy to imagine the elevator doors opening and I would be on the holodeck. Going to the theater on the ship was a lot like that. Every night was a different experience - one night we were at a Broadway theater, one night at a Jazz Club, one night at Circe-du-Solei. This experience made me remember that we're making it all up as we go along - and it is very nice to have made up such a first class experience!
What are you making up?? What trail are you leaving? Are you in harmony with it?
As you move through your space, remember thoughts become things, and it's our responsibility to keep our minds working for the highest good for all. We are co-creating this life. We're the one's assigning value and meaning. We're the ones leaving a legacy that will stretch back into infinity and beyond. Let's choose to do this well!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is One Infinite Energy that is the Source and substance of all -- It is Life Itself. It moves upon Itself as Love and becomes physically manifest through the Law of Mind. It became me and lives in, as, and through me.
This Energy is everywhere present. It is in all areas of my life. As I think, the Law of Attraction is activated and I draw to me all I need to experience my own divinity. I choose to think responsibly, and creatively. I enjoy Life as It expresses as me. I am in harmony with It. I know that what I do makes a difference for many others, without my even being aware of it, so I pay attention.
All there is, is God, and It is done unto me as I believe. I am so grateful to know these Principles and to be able to use them consciously. I am so grateful to be alive at this time, in this space on this ocean of The Divine. And so it is.
Friday, June 10, 2011
June 10, 2011
People keep asking me "What was the best thing about your holiday?" I keep answering "I don't know - it was all so good!" and that's the truth.
What an amazing adventure! Not only did I get to experience a top-of-the-line cruise ship for my first cruise, and attend a class on Joseph Campbell and Myth, I also got to explore locations where democracy, art, philosophy, spirituality and beauty were revered. As we toured the ruins of ancient Greece, Turkey and Italy, looking at what was left of buildings that would have towered above us, I was in awe of the creativity of those grand civilizations.
In Ephesus, Turkey, I was walking down a dry, dusty, marble street and was amazed to see a single bright red poppy growing from under a piece of an ancient marble pillar. It started me thinking about the people living in those times. I thought about their daily lives, and realized they weren't any different than us. They played as children, grew up and got married, shopped, took care of their families, went to work, enjoyed the theater and various cultural events. They became laborers. merchants. politicians or priests. They went to war and won or lost ... and no matter whether it was war or the environment that destroyed their civilizations, Life went on.
I'm sure you've received various internet pieces that come though about "the good old days" and how it would be wonderful to be back in a simpler time again. One of the earliest philosophers, Heraclitus, was born in Ephesus, and is known for saying "An individual can not step into the same river twice." Yes, what went before is gone, and Life moves forward.
The poppy's message was to let go of thinking "things could have been better if..." and to continue to revere beauty, wisdom, democracy, art and spirituality. Together with countless unknown others, we are creating a world that years from now, tourists will visit and wonder "Who were these people? How did they live?" Let's leave them something to be in awe about!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is only One Mind -- that Mind is the Mind of God. We are all using this Mind at every moment. Life Itself is flowing through us, guiding us, nurturing us, to the degree that we acknowledge and allow It.
I declare with this word, that I am ready to see the past for its beauty and value, and let go of everything else. I step out on the Path of Life ready to co-create magnificence. I do this by being conscious of my actions, thoughts and feelings today, and by being responsible for my contributions to this world. Everything I do, I do for the good of all humanity and this beautiful planet we live on.
I am so grateful for all I have experienced, and all I am now. I know that together we are creating a living library for future generations to experience. This is good, very good.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.
People keep asking me "What was the best thing about your holiday?" I keep answering "I don't know - it was all so good!" and that's the truth.
What an amazing adventure! Not only did I get to experience a top-of-the-line cruise ship for my first cruise, and attend a class on Joseph Campbell and Myth, I also got to explore locations where democracy, art, philosophy, spirituality and beauty were revered. As we toured the ruins of ancient Greece, Turkey and Italy, looking at what was left of buildings that would have towered above us, I was in awe of the creativity of those grand civilizations.
In Ephesus, Turkey, I was walking down a dry, dusty, marble street and was amazed to see a single bright red poppy growing from under a piece of an ancient marble pillar. It started me thinking about the people living in those times. I thought about their daily lives, and realized they weren't any different than us. They played as children, grew up and got married, shopped, took care of their families, went to work, enjoyed the theater and various cultural events. They became laborers. merchants. politicians or priests. They went to war and won or lost ... and no matter whether it was war or the environment that destroyed their civilizations, Life went on.I'm sure you've received various internet pieces that come though about "the good old days" and how it would be wonderful to be back in a simpler time again. One of the earliest philosophers, Heraclitus, was born in Ephesus, and is known for saying "An individual can not step into the same river twice." Yes, what went before is gone, and Life moves forward.
The poppy's message was to let go of thinking "things could have been better if..." and to continue to revere beauty, wisdom, democracy, art and spirituality. Together with countless unknown others, we are creating a world that years from now, tourists will visit and wonder "Who were these people? How did they live?" Let's leave them something to be in awe about!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is only One Mind -- that Mind is the Mind of God. We are all using this Mind at every moment. Life Itself is flowing through us, guiding us, nurturing us, to the degree that we acknowledge and allow It.
I declare with this word, that I am ready to see the past for its beauty and value, and let go of everything else. I step out on the Path of Life ready to co-create magnificence. I do this by being conscious of my actions, thoughts and feelings today, and by being responsible for my contributions to this world. Everything I do, I do for the good of all humanity and this beautiful planet we live on.
I am so grateful for all I have experienced, and all I am now. I know that together we are creating a living library for future generations to experience. This is good, very good.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday the 13th
Whoo Hoo, it's Friday the 13th!! There are so many stories around this date. This year, I'd like to give you a new story: The Festival of Wesak begins today.
Wesak is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May - which is May 17. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his enlightenment and death.
When the Buddha start to wander around India shortly after his enlightenment, he encountered several men who recognized him to be a very extraordinary being.
They asked him, "Are you a god?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a reincarnation of god?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a wizard, then?"
"No."
"Well, are you a man?"
"No."
"So what are you?" they asked, being very perplexed.
"I am awake."
Buddha means "The Awakened One". How to awaken is all he taught.
In the early '40's, Alice Baily, a renowned Theosophist, initiated a Western celebration of Wesak -- a week long celebration of the enlightened ones who came before us - such as the Buddha, the Christ, and Kuan Yin. According to Baily, there is a sacred valley in Tibet where thousands of pilgrims gather yearly to watch the Buddha return and experience his interaction with The Christ and other great masters as he blesses the world.
The more modern Wesak festivals, for instance, the one held at Mount Shasta, in California, are for the purpose of helping our planet move into Light and Love.
Instead of falling into the fear of Friday the 13th, this can be a time of recognizing our own potential for enlightenment. For Buddhists enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering. I see this as a release from 'needs' and fear. What would your life be like if you didn't have any needs? Or if you were fear free? What would it be like and how would it feel to be able to say "I am awake."?
The Truth of us is that we are already awake, we just don't think we are. There is That Within Us that has never been asleep or mesmerized by the worlds ideas of needs. This week let's honor Wesak by recognizing the Truth taught by the Great Masters that have gone before us and open up to our own Divinity.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Today I acknowledge the powerful Presence within me that is infinitely intelligent and unconditionally loving. It is Source Energy and not only fills the universe with Itself, but IS the universe and everything in it. How grateful I am to be able to recognize It.
I now liberate my mind from lack and suffering with Truth Consciousness. No longer do I sleep through my life. I am awake in each moment.
Every area of my life is blessed beyond measure by my awakening. How grateful I am to be able to know that as I do this, I create a ripple of Truth that spreads throughout my circle of influence and far beyond. The whole world is waking up, and this is good, very good.
I release these words of Truth into the Law of Mind, enjoying their manifestation. We are so blessed. And so it is.
Wesak is the most important of the Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the full moon in May - which is May 17. It celebrates the Buddha's birthday, and, for some Buddhists, also marks his enlightenment and death.
When the Buddha start to wander around India shortly after his enlightenment, he encountered several men who recognized him to be a very extraordinary being.
They asked him, "Are you a god?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a reincarnation of god?"
"No," he replied.
"Are you a wizard, then?"
"No."
"Well, are you a man?"
"No."
"So what are you?" they asked, being very perplexed.
"I am awake."
Buddha means "The Awakened One". How to awaken is all he taught.
In the early '40's, Alice Baily, a renowned Theosophist, initiated a Western celebration of Wesak -- a week long celebration of the enlightened ones who came before us - such as the Buddha, the Christ, and Kuan Yin. According to Baily, there is a sacred valley in Tibet where thousands of pilgrims gather yearly to watch the Buddha return and experience his interaction with The Christ and other great masters as he blesses the world.
The more modern Wesak festivals, for instance, the one held at Mount Shasta, in California, are for the purpose of helping our planet move into Light and Love.
Instead of falling into the fear of Friday the 13th, this can be a time of recognizing our own potential for enlightenment. For Buddhists enlightenment is a blessed state in which the individual attains Nirvana - the transcendence of desire and suffering. I see this as a release from 'needs' and fear. What would your life be like if you didn't have any needs? Or if you were fear free? What would it be like and how would it feel to be able to say "I am awake."?
The Truth of us is that we are already awake, we just don't think we are. There is That Within Us that has never been asleep or mesmerized by the worlds ideas of needs. This week let's honor Wesak by recognizing the Truth taught by the Great Masters that have gone before us and open up to our own Divinity.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Today I acknowledge the powerful Presence within me that is infinitely intelligent and unconditionally loving. It is Source Energy and not only fills the universe with Itself, but IS the universe and everything in it. How grateful I am to be able to recognize It.
I now liberate my mind from lack and suffering with Truth Consciousness. No longer do I sleep through my life. I am awake in each moment.
Every area of my life is blessed beyond measure by my awakening. How grateful I am to be able to know that as I do this, I create a ripple of Truth that spreads throughout my circle of influence and far beyond. The whole world is waking up, and this is good, very good.
I release these words of Truth into the Law of Mind, enjoying their manifestation. We are so blessed. And so it is.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Thoughts
There's been a lot of talk about the recent events in the Middle East. The perpetrator of the USA's 9/11 experience has been killed. People rejoiced, and people got mad because of the rejoicing. Conspiracy factions got busy posting reports that the man's been dead for years, or isn't dead at all, and morality factions are either decrying the way it was done or saying it's about time.
I've been silent except for a Facebook status line saying I felt sad because of the rejoicing.
I'm one that picks up bugs and puts them outside. I have a hard time with the idea of ending life.
And yet - spiritually, life never ends - it just transforms into something else. What it transforms into we don't know, nor do we know what happens after we leave these bodies. We have ideas and beliefs, and I think we'll experience those beliefs to a certain degree after bodily death.
What I do know, is that the experience that everyone's getting excited about, has already happened, and we can't do anything about it. We can check in with how we feel, and if there's something we are led to do, then we can do it, otherwise we need to stop complaining or allowing ourselves to get scared and get on with our lives instead.
Martha Beck sent this piece this morning in her "Daily Coach Tips" ...
Holding on to anything as it is in this moment is the equivalent of hoarding. Let everything change - it does anyway.
What are we hoarding emotionally? Anger, resentment, envy -- what ever it is, it boils down to fear. Why hoard fear? There is nothing constant in this Universe except God. The way It expresses through the physical world is constantly changing - constantly transforming - we might as well go with it.
I'm so grateful we have the teachings of the Science of Mind, so that while things are changing around us we can still live in peace - using the energy of change to co-create a world that works for everyone!
And now to totally change the subject:
This SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT is for Mother's Day
There is that within me that is the Divine Mother. It celebrates my life, as It is the cause and the source of my life, and lives through me, as me. It is unconditional Love. This Love is always giving Itself to me.
I now say YES to this Love. I feel it deep within my being, and allow myself to experience It without any conditions. I am the Beloved, loved beyond measure. I accept this. It is my Truth.
This Love fills me with the strength and courage to live my life magnificently. It constantly reminds me I have nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of. I am the child of Love made manifest, and this is good, very good.
I am so grateful for embodying the consciousness of Divine Love. I celebrate the Divine Mother with joy. And so it is.
I've been silent except for a Facebook status line saying I felt sad because of the rejoicing.
I'm one that picks up bugs and puts them outside. I have a hard time with the idea of ending life.
And yet - spiritually, life never ends - it just transforms into something else. What it transforms into we don't know, nor do we know what happens after we leave these bodies. We have ideas and beliefs, and I think we'll experience those beliefs to a certain degree after bodily death.
What I do know, is that the experience that everyone's getting excited about, has already happened, and we can't do anything about it. We can check in with how we feel, and if there's something we are led to do, then we can do it, otherwise we need to stop complaining or allowing ourselves to get scared and get on with our lives instead.
Martha Beck sent this piece this morning in her "Daily Coach Tips" ...
Holding on to anything as it is in this moment is the equivalent of hoarding. Let everything change - it does anyway.
What are we hoarding emotionally? Anger, resentment, envy -- what ever it is, it boils down to fear. Why hoard fear? There is nothing constant in this Universe except God. The way It expresses through the physical world is constantly changing - constantly transforming - we might as well go with it.
I'm so grateful we have the teachings of the Science of Mind, so that while things are changing around us we can still live in peace - using the energy of change to co-create a world that works for everyone!
And now to totally change the subject:
This SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT is for Mother's Day
There is that within me that is the Divine Mother. It celebrates my life, as It is the cause and the source of my life, and lives through me, as me. It is unconditional Love. This Love is always giving Itself to me.
I now say YES to this Love. I feel it deep within my being, and allow myself to experience It without any conditions. I am the Beloved, loved beyond measure. I accept this. It is my Truth.
This Love fills me with the strength and courage to live my life magnificently. It constantly reminds me I have nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of. I am the child of Love made manifest, and this is good, very good.
I am so grateful for embodying the consciousness of Divine Love. I celebrate the Divine Mother with joy. And so it is.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday/Earth Day
When I look at all that is happening with our planet, the fact that Good Friday and Earth Day are the same day this year is a fitting message.
Metaphysically the crucifixion is symbolic of an initiation into higher planes of consciousness. The symbol of the cross has been used in many of the worlds spiritual traditions, even before the time of Jesus. There are many types of crosses, however, generally, the cross is seen as the linking of an upright line with a horizontal line. For me, it's the active (I) principle of Spirit connecting with with the receptive (-) principle of this dimension. Where these two lines join is often associated with the Heart Chakra -- the place of creative power - Love.
I've written before that I believe the events of our world, whether environmental or man-made, are opening the Global Heart. An initiation that seems to be global in scale, but is really a journey each of us must make alone.
Jesus, a Master Teacher, was an example for all humanity to follow. And what did he teach? Love.
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:36-40)
Good Friday is reminding us to live in our hearts as well as our heads - to BE LOVE.
What would it be like if we really honored these commandments? What if we not only loved our families, our friends, and yes, even our enemies -- and loved the earth as well?
What would your life be like? What would the planet's Life be like?
Granted it seems like there's a lot to be done - yet we can start with just one thing. I posted a different sort of flashmob video on Facebook the other day. In the film someone placed a plastic bottle on the floor of a mall, quite close to the trash cans. Many, many people walked by, and even stepped over it. Finally someone stopped, picked it up and put it in the recycling bin. At least a hundred people then stood up and cheered.
I decided I would be more conscious. I got the opportunity to practice in Giant's parking lot yesterday. There was a plastic bottle right by my car. I picked it up, and for just a moment, I wanted people to jump out from behind cars and cheer! Which made me think: I want acknowledgment for doing a good deed - and I know I'm not the only one! Is that one of the reasons we don't pick up litter? One, that someone else left it there, and two -- what's in it for me? How juvenile is that!!! What if picking up after our brothers and sisters is part of our initiation into higher consciousness!
The combination of Good Friday and Earth Day is an excellent time to become more spiritually mature. To BE LOVE and BE RESPONSIBLE.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
God is Love and they that Love shall know God.
God is Pure Source Energy - absolutely everywhere, including within us. It is Love working through Law, creating constantly.
Today I choose to Be Love. I let go of everything unlike Love, and move into my heart with a feeling of gratitude. I celebrate this wondrous world I live in. I am so grateful for the colors of nature, for the different weather patterns, for the animals and insects and plant life. I am grateful for how Mother Nature nurtures me through many different avenues.
In my gratitude, I choose to pay more attention to how I treat the planet and its inhabitants, including myself. I recognize the gift of The Divine called Life and how It manifested Itself as me.
I am responsible for my actions and reactions. I choose for them all to be in Love, as Love.
I know God is Love and therefore that is what I am.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they sink deeply into my subjective, becoming the builder of my universe. And this is good, very good.
And so it is.
Metaphysically the crucifixion is symbolic of an initiation into higher planes of consciousness. The symbol of the cross has been used in many of the worlds spiritual traditions, even before the time of Jesus. There are many types of crosses, however, generally, the cross is seen as the linking of an upright line with a horizontal line. For me, it's the active (I) principle of Spirit connecting with with the receptive (-) principle of this dimension. Where these two lines join is often associated with the Heart Chakra -- the place of creative power - Love.
I've written before that I believe the events of our world, whether environmental or man-made, are opening the Global Heart. An initiation that seems to be global in scale, but is really a journey each of us must make alone.
Jesus, a Master Teacher, was an example for all humanity to follow. And what did he teach? Love.
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:36-40)
Good Friday is reminding us to live in our hearts as well as our heads - to BE LOVE.
What would it be like if we really honored these commandments? What if we not only loved our families, our friends, and yes, even our enemies -- and loved the earth as well?
What would your life be like? What would the planet's Life be like?
Granted it seems like there's a lot to be done - yet we can start with just one thing. I posted a different sort of flashmob video on Facebook the other day. In the film someone placed a plastic bottle on the floor of a mall, quite close to the trash cans. Many, many people walked by, and even stepped over it. Finally someone stopped, picked it up and put it in the recycling bin. At least a hundred people then stood up and cheered.
I decided I would be more conscious. I got the opportunity to practice in Giant's parking lot yesterday. There was a plastic bottle right by my car. I picked it up, and for just a moment, I wanted people to jump out from behind cars and cheer! Which made me think: I want acknowledgment for doing a good deed - and I know I'm not the only one! Is that one of the reasons we don't pick up litter? One, that someone else left it there, and two -- what's in it for me? How juvenile is that!!! What if picking up after our brothers and sisters is part of our initiation into higher consciousness!
The combination of Good Friday and Earth Day is an excellent time to become more spiritually mature. To BE LOVE and BE RESPONSIBLE.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
God is Love and they that Love shall know God.
God is Pure Source Energy - absolutely everywhere, including within us. It is Love working through Law, creating constantly.
Today I choose to Be Love. I let go of everything unlike Love, and move into my heart with a feeling of gratitude. I celebrate this wondrous world I live in. I am so grateful for the colors of nature, for the different weather patterns, for the animals and insects and plant life. I am grateful for how Mother Nature nurtures me through many different avenues.
In my gratitude, I choose to pay more attention to how I treat the planet and its inhabitants, including myself. I recognize the gift of The Divine called Life and how It manifested Itself as me.
I am responsible for my actions and reactions. I choose for them all to be in Love, as Love.
I know God is Love and therefore that is what I am.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they sink deeply into my subjective, becoming the builder of my universe. And this is good, very good.
And so it is.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Fear Not!
April 15 2011
Oh boy - April 15th -- a day that strikes fear in the hearts of many in the United States. The last few days I've heard quite a few people talking about money! Not only about taxes, but gas prices, food prices, and other things that are rising. The conversations have had an underlying fear - fear of not having enough.
I found myself participating in the fear as well. I'm going on a amazing journey a month from now. I am going on a Mediterranean Cruise!! There's a group of us who will be studying Joseph Campbell and seeing the places myths were born. I am really excited, and yet nervous, as it seems like I'm going to need more money than I thought.
However, I'm reading "Practicing the Presence" by Joel Goldsmith. Dear Joel -- such an absolutist - and just what I needed at the moment. I read this statement on page 60:
"God fulfills Itself as our individual being. If we can lose concern for ourselves, for our welfare, and for our destiny, God takes over and God fulfills Itself by providing us with the necessary wisdom, activity, opportunity, and prosperity that It may be fulfilled on earth as It is in heaven. Earth becomes heaven to the degree which we let God fulfill Itself as our individual experience."
In other words, The Universe is constantly giving of Itself to us, through us. God is Good, so It is constantly giving good. The only thing that prevents us from experiencing this good, is our worry or 'concern' about how we're going to make ends meet, or keep healthy or get the right job, etc., etc. Dr. Holmes called worry 'negative prayer.'
When I'm asking myself "How am I going to come up with the extra money?" I'm forgetting that I'm not - Spirit is!
We are to direct the Law, and let the Law do Its work. Let yourself imagine what your life would be like with no worries, no concerns! How does it feel? Breathe into it! That's letting earth become heaven!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I recognize the Power of the Divine right here and now. It is in every corner of the Universe and beyond. It is within everything including me. It is - and that is all there is.
Knowing this, I now let go of my doubts and fears. I no longer worry about anything. I am no longer concerned about anything. I know the Truth of all things - and that Truth is God. The Truth sets me free to experience my life in a magnificent and fulfilling way. Spirit now works through me unimpeded and this brings me great joy.
I am so grateful for the richness of my life. I am grateful to be able to let go and let God work through me in wondrous ways. I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are now so. And so it is.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Nature
April 8, 2011
What is it about Nature that thrills the soul? We all feel it, especially in the Spring. All of nature seems to be coming awake - including us.
Yesterday I saw a bird I'd never seen before and with the help of a Facebook friend discovered it was a Grackle. I sat and stared at the iridescence of the purple and blue colors of his feathers. The other night as I was closing my bedroom blinds, I saw four deer walking through the trees in the moonlight. I stood and stared at their beauty and quiet grace. A short time ago I saw two foxes playing in the snow. I watched them chase each other and play fight - and the next morning I was delighted as I saw the tracks of their play in the snow. I saw hawks very close while walking and stood and watched them swoop on the wind. Each time a frisson of excitement went through me. It was like a peek into another world. A world of freedom and grace and play.
You might think I live in the country, away from other houses, but I don't - I live in a townhome in a rather populated suburban area. It has a lot of green space in back and a brook.
Maybe Nature thrills us, because of these things:
Nature demands a stillness to observe it. We have to stop and pay attention. We have to let everything go and just be with it.
Nature soothes us - it doesn't hurry, yet everything is accomplished. It reminds us that everything really is all right. Everything is happening just the way it should.
Nature refreshes us. Taking a problem outside, after breathing good air and being in nature, especially in trees, we get a new understanding.
Nature honors us each time we honor it. Seeing wildlife up close is like being given a great gift.
Nature brings peace to our soul.
George Washington Carver wrote: "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
This is what Spring is to me -- a reminder to tune in.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is Peace is our Universe. Peace is God. It is serene and calm and Divine Right Order is everywhere. This is true about Nature and true about us. Nature is the body of God and we are part of Nature.
Today, whether I get physically outside or not, I allow myself to contemplate Nature and all Its beauty, Its grace, Its rhythms. I let these be integrated into who I am, and what I am doing and I breathe deeply and feel the Peace.
How grateful I am to be able to say like e. e. cummings: "I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes."
And so it is.
What is it about Nature that thrills the soul? We all feel it, especially in the Spring. All of nature seems to be coming awake - including us.
Yesterday I saw a bird I'd never seen before and with the help of a Facebook friend discovered it was a Grackle. I sat and stared at the iridescence of the purple and blue colors of his feathers. The other night as I was closing my bedroom blinds, I saw four deer walking through the trees in the moonlight. I stood and stared at their beauty and quiet grace. A short time ago I saw two foxes playing in the snow. I watched them chase each other and play fight - and the next morning I was delighted as I saw the tracks of their play in the snow. I saw hawks very close while walking and stood and watched them swoop on the wind. Each time a frisson of excitement went through me. It was like a peek into another world. A world of freedom and grace and play.
You might think I live in the country, away from other houses, but I don't - I live in a townhome in a rather populated suburban area. It has a lot of green space in back and a brook.
Maybe Nature thrills us, because of these things:
Nature demands a stillness to observe it. We have to stop and pay attention. We have to let everything go and just be with it.
Nature soothes us - it doesn't hurry, yet everything is accomplished. It reminds us that everything really is all right. Everything is happening just the way it should.
Nature refreshes us. Taking a problem outside, after breathing good air and being in nature, especially in trees, we get a new understanding.
Nature honors us each time we honor it. Seeing wildlife up close is like being given a great gift.
Nature brings peace to our soul.
George Washington Carver wrote: "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
This is what Spring is to me -- a reminder to tune in.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is Peace is our Universe. Peace is God. It is serene and calm and Divine Right Order is everywhere. This is true about Nature and true about us. Nature is the body of God and we are part of Nature.
Today, whether I get physically outside or not, I allow myself to contemplate Nature and all Its beauty, Its grace, Its rhythms. I let these be integrated into who I am, and what I am doing and I breathe deeply and feel the Peace.
How grateful I am to be able to say like e. e. cummings: "I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes."
And so it is.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
We Are Amazing
April 2, 2011
Last night I watched the film "Seabiscuit." Seabiscuit was a small horse with lots of issues, who, with his jockey, (who also had lots of issues), ended up being horse of the year in 1938, and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression.
For me, the message of this film is: No matter how small we are, (or think we are) or how much we've been through, there is no reason to give up, and our willingness to keep going empowers others to do the same. We are valuable to this world!
As I thought about events in our world today, and even in our personal lives, I went into deep gratitude for the resiliency of the human Spirit! We are so amazing!
We are amazing because of Spirit. No matter what we've gone through, or what our background is, or what anyone thinks about us, or what we think about ourselves, there is That Within Us that knows our True Self. It is our True Self and in that Self, we are always whole and holy.
Marianne Williamson wrote, and was quoted by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech:
"You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others."
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I recognize the powerful Presence of The Divine that is absolutely everywhere and in everyone. This Power works for us, by working as us, through us. It is a Power for Good.
Knowing this, I now declare that I am finished with thinking little. I know who I am - an expression of the One Heart/Mind. I release the past and stand proudly in this moment, ready to do what is mine to do. I have all the Power of the Universe behind me, ready to serve at every moment. Nothing is impossible to those who believe. I declare that I believe in the Glory of God within me and within all others. I am liberated, ready to let my Light shine. I rejoice as I see this reflected around me.
Gratefully I celebrate the resiliency of our Spirit. I breathe deeply and say YES to the Universe and it is good. I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are done. And so it is.
Last night I watched the film "Seabiscuit." Seabiscuit was a small horse with lots of issues, who, with his jockey, (who also had lots of issues), ended up being horse of the year in 1938, and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression.
For me, the message of this film is: No matter how small we are, (or think we are) or how much we've been through, there is no reason to give up, and our willingness to keep going empowers others to do the same. We are valuable to this world!
As I thought about events in our world today, and even in our personal lives, I went into deep gratitude for the resiliency of the human Spirit! We are so amazing!
We are amazing because of Spirit. No matter what we've gone through, or what our background is, or what anyone thinks about us, or what we think about ourselves, there is That Within Us that knows our True Self. It is our True Self and in that Self, we are always whole and holy.
Marianne Williamson wrote, and was quoted by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech:
"You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others."
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
I recognize the powerful Presence of The Divine that is absolutely everywhere and in everyone. This Power works for us, by working as us, through us. It is a Power for Good.
Knowing this, I now declare that I am finished with thinking little. I know who I am - an expression of the One Heart/Mind. I release the past and stand proudly in this moment, ready to do what is mine to do. I have all the Power of the Universe behind me, ready to serve at every moment. Nothing is impossible to those who believe. I declare that I believe in the Glory of God within me and within all others. I am liberated, ready to let my Light shine. I rejoice as I see this reflected around me.
Gratefully I celebrate the resiliency of our Spirit. I breathe deeply and say YES to the Universe and it is good. I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are done. And so it is.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Turn Away from the Condition
It seems like every day I get a dire warning about radiation, or tainted food and water, or GMO's, or you name it. These can be very scary, and sometimes it's hard not to buy into the "ain't it awful" consciousness!
Yet as students of New Thought, our responsibility is not to fall under the miasma of fear driven thinking, but to do what we can in consciousness. We change our thinking and change lives. How do we do that? The best way I know is with Spiritual Mind Treatment (affirmative prayer)!
Dr. Holmes, the founder of the Science of Mind, writes, "In treatment we turn entirely away from the condition, because as long as we look at it, we cannot overcome it. By thinking upon a condition, we tend to animate it with the life of our thought, and thereby it is perpetuated and magnified. (SOM, pg 164-3)
As long as we're watching the news, reading the e-mails, and listening to people tell us how awful everything is, and buying into that consciousness, we're perpetuating the problems. You might say "But, Rev. Angelica, I want to know what's going on!" I understand that, so let me give you three ideas to practice involved detachment:
Watch the TV or read the reports this way ... every time there is something dire on, instead of going into fear, think of it as a call to prayer - and do one.
Use the Power of No. Let's say the newscaster is saying that the reactor in Japan has been breached, and things are very serious. Say out loud "NO, that is not our Truth!"
Use the power of your imagination. See Japan in its loveliness and its people serene. See Libyans living in peace. See women everywhere feeling like the Goddess. See our inner cities filled with creativity and kindness.
What I know is that as we do these things we are setting them into Spiritual Law, and the Law always works. Let's release the fear and be a conscious part of the solution!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
All there is is God. It knows all, is all powerful, and everywhere present. It is within all things, including us. Therefore, right now I use the Power within me to do good in my world.
I stop looking at what's wrong and move into an attitude of gratitude for what's right. I allow myself to bless everything with my conscious awareness that we are all participating in an evolutionary process that will bring greater good to all. It gets better regardless of appearances.
I commit to doing my part. Honoring all of life with my thoughts and feelings, I open my heart and use my mind to co-create a world that works for everyone. We are living in a Field of Infinite Creativity, and this is good, very good.
Gratefully I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.
Yet as students of New Thought, our responsibility is not to fall under the miasma of fear driven thinking, but to do what we can in consciousness. We change our thinking and change lives. How do we do that? The best way I know is with Spiritual Mind Treatment (affirmative prayer)!
Dr. Holmes, the founder of the Science of Mind, writes, "In treatment we turn entirely away from the condition, because as long as we look at it, we cannot overcome it. By thinking upon a condition, we tend to animate it with the life of our thought, and thereby it is perpetuated and magnified. (SOM, pg 164-3)
As long as we're watching the news, reading the e-mails, and listening to people tell us how awful everything is, and buying into that consciousness, we're perpetuating the problems. You might say "But, Rev. Angelica, I want to know what's going on!" I understand that, so let me give you three ideas to practice involved detachment:
Watch the TV or read the reports this way ... every time there is something dire on, instead of going into fear, think of it as a call to prayer - and do one.
Use the Power of No. Let's say the newscaster is saying that the reactor in Japan has been breached, and things are very serious. Say out loud "NO, that is not our Truth!"
Use the power of your imagination. See Japan in its loveliness and its people serene. See Libyans living in peace. See women everywhere feeling like the Goddess. See our inner cities filled with creativity and kindness.
What I know is that as we do these things we are setting them into Spiritual Law, and the Law always works. Let's release the fear and be a conscious part of the solution!
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
All there is is God. It knows all, is all powerful, and everywhere present. It is within all things, including us. Therefore, right now I use the Power within me to do good in my world.
I stop looking at what's wrong and move into an attitude of gratitude for what's right. I allow myself to bless everything with my conscious awareness that we are all participating in an evolutionary process that will bring greater good to all. It gets better regardless of appearances.
I commit to doing my part. Honoring all of life with my thoughts and feelings, I open my heart and use my mind to co-create a world that works for everyone. We are living in a Field of Infinite Creativity, and this is good, very good.
Gratefully I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Silence
I know this isn't a 'fact' yet it seems like we've had a constant barrage of environmental and man-made crisis starting with the events on Sept. 11, 2001.
At that time I saw those towers like a gateway - a gateway that opened the global heart. As I reflect on the last 10 years, I see our hearts open, then get complacent, then open again with each new event.
Witnessing the pain, suffering and loss from each event is overwhelming. We are reminded that life changes in an instant. We ask ourselves, "What can I do?" We keep opening our wallets and praying and that is all we can do, unless we're really guided to be a part of a rescue effort.
I have a friend who belongs to the Red Cross, who is ready to go at a moments notice and has seen the worst of the worlds events. Knowing that he's in the trenches sometimes makes me feel guilty because I'm not doing more.
Then I read something like this and know this is my gift to give:
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Today I sit in Holy Silence, fully present for all those who are suffering in this world. I let Love use me in ways that I will never know. I keep my heart open.
I am grateful I can do this work. I am grateful for my ability to transmute pain into Love and to know that Love is the greatest healing agent in the universe.
Today I sit in Holy Silence, fully present for God.
And so it is.
At that time I saw those towers like a gateway - a gateway that opened the global heart. As I reflect on the last 10 years, I see our hearts open, then get complacent, then open again with each new event.
Witnessing the pain, suffering and loss from each event is overwhelming. We are reminded that life changes in an instant. We ask ourselves, "What can I do?" We keep opening our wallets and praying and that is all we can do, unless we're really guided to be a part of a rescue effort.
I have a friend who belongs to the Red Cross, who is ready to go at a moments notice and has seen the worst of the worlds events. Knowing that he's in the trenches sometimes makes me feel guilty because I'm not doing more.
Then I read something like this and know this is my gift to give:
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
Today I sit in Holy Silence, fully present for all those who are suffering in this world. I let Love use me in ways that I will never know. I keep my heart open.
I am grateful I can do this work. I am grateful for my ability to transmute pain into Love and to know that Love is the greatest healing agent in the universe.
Today I sit in Holy Silence, fully present for God.
And so it is.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Getting off the Roller Coaster
WOW! What a roller coaster I've been on! The Integration Conference was amazing -- the two Center for Spiritual Living organizations (United and International) are now one. It was an extremely emotional experience for many of us. I then came home to a week of serious flu & torrential rains. From high to low.
This morning I woke up with the sun shining in my window and felt so much better. I got up feeling high again, only to discover that Japan had had a 8.9 earthquake, setting off a tsunami that was heading for Hawai'i. A really serious tsunami. The image of the wave washing cars, boats, trucks and houses before it as it moved is seared in my mind. My heart went out to the people of Japan. I have a lot of friends in Hawai'i - and even though there hasn't been any tsunami damage in years, in 1960 the whole downtown area of Hilo was destroyed. Another low.
Whew!!
Well, it's true that the one thing we can count on is change. Things change in all sorts of degrees, but they change, and the world around us is never the same. So how do we deal with these highs and lows? I start by taking a deep breath and centering myself. And then I go into prayer and if I'm too frazzled to really feel my prayer, then I like to chant ... and my favorite chant is "Be still and know I am God." This works for me every time.
In the meditations section of the Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes wrote:
"Be still and know that I am God."
I am still in thy Presence.
I am quiet and peaceful, for I put my trust in Thee.
A great stillness steals over me and a great calm quiets my whole being as I realize Thy Presence.
The heart knows of The, O Most High within.
It is still in Thy Presence, and it puts its whole confidence in Thee alone. In thy Presence I am still.
And so It is.
No matter what we're going through, "Be still and know that I am God" is an amazingly calming and strengthening prayer.
Blessings to all of us as we move through our world.
This morning I woke up with the sun shining in my window and felt so much better. I got up feeling high again, only to discover that Japan had had a 8.9 earthquake, setting off a tsunami that was heading for Hawai'i. A really serious tsunami. The image of the wave washing cars, boats, trucks and houses before it as it moved is seared in my mind. My heart went out to the people of Japan. I have a lot of friends in Hawai'i - and even though there hasn't been any tsunami damage in years, in 1960 the whole downtown area of Hilo was destroyed. Another low.
Whew!!
Well, it's true that the one thing we can count on is change. Things change in all sorts of degrees, but they change, and the world around us is never the same. So how do we deal with these highs and lows? I start by taking a deep breath and centering myself. And then I go into prayer and if I'm too frazzled to really feel my prayer, then I like to chant ... and my favorite chant is "Be still and know I am God." This works for me every time.
In the meditations section of the Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes wrote:
"Be still and know that I am God."
I am still in thy Presence.
I am quiet and peaceful, for I put my trust in Thee.
A great stillness steals over me and a great calm quiets my whole being as I realize Thy Presence.
The heart knows of The, O Most High within.
It is still in Thy Presence, and it puts its whole confidence in Thee alone. In thy Presence I am still.
And so It is.
No matter what we're going through, "Be still and know that I am God" is an amazingly calming and strengthening prayer.
Blessings to all of us as we move through our world.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Ready for Change
This Sunday, I join almost a thousand people arriving in San Diego to attend an historic meeting between the International and United Centers for Spiritual Living. After 57 years as two organizations we are integrating into a new organization - we are becoming One.
I've been hearing about this happening for the 25 years I've been a minister. We have prayed and talked and argued who was better, and prayed and talked some more, and finally the time has come.
Today I received this e-mail from Dr. Carol Carnes and share it with you:
I am in San Diego attending Board meetings prior to our very historic Integration conference when two organizations become one. It is rather like a wedding. The two “families”of the bride and groom have been planning and preparing the details for several years. Everything is ready for the big day when all the relatives will get to vote on the details of the “pre nuptial.” Like a real wedding, once we have agreed on the details and signed on the dotted line, the real work begins.
Getting there is exciting and fun and demands our attention and diligence. Being there is a whole other thing. Then we begin the deeper work of oneness, of real relationship, of letting go of old attachments and alliances, of being open to fresh new ways of togetherness. With real focus and intention very soon we will forget we were ever apart. It will seem as if it has always been “us” as one entity.
Like any couple starting out, a new venture has as bright a future as those involved are willing to create. It does not just happen. Nothing does, really. The turns of events in our lives are fashioned from the human mind, from what we deem to be possible, from who we believe ourselves to be and what we think we deserve. Most of all, our greater good requires us, in every case, to surrender our old ways of thinking, being and doing. If we are not renewed by shifts in consciousness, our lives will be repetitious and predictable, two elements which contribute to failed relationships.
Love will not keep us together but a shared vision and a willingness to work towards it every day will. May the happy couple live long and prosper.
Peace is ours now,
Dr.Carol Carnes
www.positiveliving,.org
Last week I got an e-mail that the two Unity organizations are now talking about integration.
I see our organizational integration as part of a larger picture. I love looking at microcosm/macrocosm patterns. The actions in Egypt show us that integration is happening on a much larger scale. And thought it looks like various countries on our planet are not doing it so peacefully, there is still action towards the greater good for all.
We are living in exciting times!!
Where are you coming into integration in your life? If you feel out of balance, now is the time to jump into these cosmic energies and regroup! Scientists studying Chaos Theory, say that a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Believe this!! As we butterflies flap our wings, we see the change we want in our world.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is one infinitely intelligent Mind in this universe. It is the universe. It is the Source and substance of all there is. There is nothing but Divine Consciousness everywhere.
I am an expression of this Divine Mind. It is, and always has been, and always will be, working through me, according to what I feel and believe.
So today I stand proudly and say "I'm ready to participate in the Divine Marriage. I am an agent for change." The desires of my heart are for peaceful coexistence, and a celebration of everyone's gifts and talents. I believe this is happening now. I am excited to see this happening in my life and in the lives of those in my circle of influence. We are causing ripples in the Infinite Field of Creative Potentiality, which move out into our world, and change happens, and the manifestation is good.
I am so grateful to be living in these amazing times. I am grateful to be one who knows the Truth and stands in it proudly. I am grateful to know there is only One Life, that Life is God's Life, that Life is perfect, and that Life is the Life I am living now.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are done, and so It is.
I've been hearing about this happening for the 25 years I've been a minister. We have prayed and talked and argued who was better, and prayed and talked some more, and finally the time has come.
Today I received this e-mail from Dr. Carol Carnes and share it with you:
I am in San Diego attending Board meetings prior to our very historic Integration conference when two organizations become one. It is rather like a wedding. The two “families”of the bride and groom have been planning and preparing the details for several years. Everything is ready for the big day when all the relatives will get to vote on the details of the “pre nuptial.” Like a real wedding, once we have agreed on the details and signed on the dotted line, the real work begins.
Getting there is exciting and fun and demands our attention and diligence. Being there is a whole other thing. Then we begin the deeper work of oneness, of real relationship, of letting go of old attachments and alliances, of being open to fresh new ways of togetherness. With real focus and intention very soon we will forget we were ever apart. It will seem as if it has always been “us” as one entity.
Like any couple starting out, a new venture has as bright a future as those involved are willing to create. It does not just happen. Nothing does, really. The turns of events in our lives are fashioned from the human mind, from what we deem to be possible, from who we believe ourselves to be and what we think we deserve. Most of all, our greater good requires us, in every case, to surrender our old ways of thinking, being and doing. If we are not renewed by shifts in consciousness, our lives will be repetitious and predictable, two elements which contribute to failed relationships.
Love will not keep us together but a shared vision and a willingness to work towards it every day will. May the happy couple live long and prosper.
Peace is ours now,
Dr.Carol Carnes
www.positiveliving,.org
Last week I got an e-mail that the two Unity organizations are now talking about integration.
I see our organizational integration as part of a larger picture. I love looking at microcosm/macrocosm patterns. The actions in Egypt show us that integration is happening on a much larger scale. And thought it looks like various countries on our planet are not doing it so peacefully, there is still action towards the greater good for all.
We are living in exciting times!!
Where are you coming into integration in your life? If you feel out of balance, now is the time to jump into these cosmic energies and regroup! Scientists studying Chaos Theory, say that a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. Believe this!! As we butterflies flap our wings, we see the change we want in our world.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
There is one infinitely intelligent Mind in this universe. It is the universe. It is the Source and substance of all there is. There is nothing but Divine Consciousness everywhere.
I am an expression of this Divine Mind. It is, and always has been, and always will be, working through me, according to what I feel and believe.
So today I stand proudly and say "I'm ready to participate in the Divine Marriage. I am an agent for change." The desires of my heart are for peaceful coexistence, and a celebration of everyone's gifts and talents. I believe this is happening now. I am excited to see this happening in my life and in the lives of those in my circle of influence. We are causing ripples in the Infinite Field of Creative Potentiality, which move out into our world, and change happens, and the manifestation is good.
I am so grateful to be living in these amazing times. I am grateful to be one who knows the Truth and stands in it proudly. I am grateful to know there is only One Life, that Life is God's Life, that Life is perfect, and that Life is the Life I am living now.
I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are done, and so It is.
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