Daily Spiritual Tools

Living in Prosperity

2012-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I need inspiration I open one of my favorite books and let a chapter speak to me, knowing that the right words will appear. Recently I opened Florence Scovel Shinn’s The Game of Life and How to Play It, and was again awed by her vast understanding of the unbounded creative power that we all have. What an amazing teacher she was!

My husband and I have had more than the usual amount of money going out lately, and I’ve been feeling limited in our finances, so I wasn’t surprised when the chapter on The Law of Prosperity caught my eye. I appreciate Shinn’s perspective on creating abundance in finances, and in all things.

Reading that short chapter reminded me that I choose what truth I will serve. Holding on to worry about the possibility of not having enough money for everything we want to do is not me expressing the highest I’m capable of. I know this (on some days, at least!), but thank Goodness that life provides me with as many opportunities as I need to keep remembering the truth.

Shinn puts it well when she says that, “getting into the spiritual swing of things is no easy matter for the average person. The adverse thoughts of doubt and fear surge from the subconscious. They are the ‘army of aliens’ that must be put to flight. This explains why it is so often ‘darkest before the dawn.’

A big demonstration is usually preceded by tormenting thoughts.

Having made a statement of high spiritual truth one challenges the old beliefs of the subconscious, and the error is exposed to be put out.

This is the time when one must make his affirmations of truth repeatedly, and rejoice and give thanks that he has already received. ‘Before ye call I shall answer.’ This means that every good and perfect gift is already man’s, awaiting his recognition.”

The simple truth is that God is my supply, and there is a supply for every demand.

Financial prosperity is a vibration, a reality that I consciously choose to call to myself. What is mine to do is acknowledge what I need, and then give thanks for it, knowing that it is mine and will come to me at the perfect time, and in the perfect way.

I can do that! Thank you, Florence Scovel Shinn!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Allowing the Noise

2012-01-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from Unity told me recently that he is never able to quiet his mind. One of the problems that this is creating for him is that he feels completely unable to meditate. I felt a lot of empathy for him because it seemed that he felt like he should be able to quiet his mind, and wanted to, but for reasons unknown to him just didn’t have the ability to.

His feeling that he lacks something that is intrinsic to all of us as part of our spiritual nature moved me to jump in and suggest another possibility. And his comments prompted me to think more about the idea of the importance of quieting the mind.

I agree that it can be difficult to hear the quiet voice of spirit within when our minds are busy with life’s many details. And I do believe that we are better able to live from our highest and most conscious intentions when we take the time to slow down and detach from the world on a regular basis so that we can access our own deep truth.

But the reality is that minds like to be busy. Our busy minds are the things that create our individual experience and expression, and that provide our humanness. And through our humanness we uniquely express God within. Our minds are a powerful and sacred tool in God’s expression.

I know there are those very special people who have practiced long enough that they can spend long amounts of time with a completely empty mind. But what about the rest of us seekers who are doing our best to find the divinity in all of our experience, including the noisy mind that defies taming?

I have found in my own meditation practice that it’s not the level of emptiness of mind that matters but just that I’m paying attention to what’s moving through. At times my mind has been so busy that successful meditation was setting a timer so that I could make myself just sit quietly for a prescribed amount of time. That doesn’t happen much anymore, though, because I’ve learned a little better to not fight what’s happening when I meditate.

Just stopping to notice the mind’s activity is a meditation. When we can notice and acknowledge a thought it loses its hold and we can let it go. In unconsciousness our thoughts spin unchecked and we feel unable to quiet the mind’s din. And what we resist we give energy to, so fighting the mind’s noise just makes it noisier.

But when we allow our meditation to be an opportunity to just sit with ourselves and be with ourselves, in awareness of what is real for us in that moment, the mind will often quiet on its own, without any effort needed. (Or not, depending on the day, but even that is a meditation as we learn to watch the noise and see it for what it is, thoughts passing by that we can choose to attend to or not.) We gain mastery by watching the mind’s pandemonium, and seeing our thoughts for the fleeting things that they are.

So take regular time to be the watcher of your own divine mind, and honor its role in helping you define what you will hold as true, and what you will allow to move past you.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

The Perfection Underlying All

2011-12-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

During this time of year, as many are honoring the growing light of God consciousness being born within each of us, I offer up my humble blessing.

May you find more of those moments where in the middle of whatever is happening your mind is content and your heart is full because you know that all is well.

May you trust more, and laugh more, as you turn over your expectations about how things are supposed to be and make more room to just enjoy the ride.

May you know the peace of being born of a perfection so absolute that all you need ever do in this life is rest in it.

May you move ever closer to that sacred but tricky balance of knowing your own eternal divinity within this precious, bumbling and often chaotic human life.

May you notice the blessing that you are and the blessings that you receive in the year to come.

And may you stand tall and be peace on earth as you remember who you are, and may the bright beacon of your remembering shine brightly over those around you.

You are the light of the world!

Learning From Conflict

2011-12-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

A teacher many years ago told me that the people we have the most struggles with are our biggest gurus. The word “guru” is a telling one, as it means “spiritual guide or leader.” How difficult it is to think of the people who get under our skin as the people best able to help us find part of the truth we seek.

It is through interaction and relationship with others that we have a way of defining ourselves and our place in the world. Human interaction provides the base material for our ability to choose who we want to be, and for remembering ourselves through those choices as divine expressions of never-ending good.

It amazes me when I think about all of the human interactions that I have resisted. I have spent countless hours of my life wanting people to be different. I’ve been so wrapped up in processing some kind of misunderstanding or conflict that I missed out on all of the other good that was going on around me.

Not only does spending my mental energy spinning about what others are doing that I don’t agree with rob me of the joy in my days, it also separates me from my most precious truth, which is that perfect good is behind all that happens.

How can I find the good behind the circumstances in my life when people did not have my best interest at heart? How can I reconcile those times when I was diminished, betrayed, manipulated, or just plain forgotten?

What those times have taught me and continue to teach me is that how I am affected is never about the other person, but about me, and how I choose to show up. What others say, or think, or do is their choice and their expression in that moment. The gift in the struggles I’ve had with other people is that no matter how unfair things are or how pushed I feel, I am provided with an opportunity to choose the truth that I will serve.

That most holy gift of choice allows me to strive to understand where another person is coming from, to stay or to walk away, or to take a clear and open stand to address a change that I feel is important. I can choose to remember that all is happening for good, and to be the best “good” that I can be. In those moments, when I can remember, I am God reveling in her own remembering.

Allowing interpersonal struggles to help us grow spiritually means getting past right and wrong, and finding a way to accept what is. Given the very different lenses that people see things through, we will never completely understand what drives other people’s actions. When we can trust that challenges are happening for an as-yet-unseen purpose, we step back from blame and make room for the best and highest outcome.

I’m learning, in my most challenging interactions with others, to entertain the possibility that there is something important in it for me, something I’ve likely been waiting a very long time to remember!

May you find all-encompassing good in your struggles, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

What Do I Need to Do to Take Care of Myself?

2011-11-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

I’ve found a great deal of help in this tool, which I teach in my stress management classes at work. In any moment, the simple act of asking ourselves, “What do I need to do to take good care of myself right now?” can have a very powerful effect on our experience, our clarity and effectiveness, and even our health.

In the middle of our busy days, we tend to place our awareness “out there” for long stretches of time, concentrating on what needs to get done next. Because those to-do lists are never really finished, we can become stressed, tired, anxious, worried, or many other things without even noticing, because we are so focused outside of ourselves. Human beings are pretty adept at losing touch with our deepest feelings and most honest needs because we don’t practice paying attention to them. Our own truth gets lost in all of the “noise” around us.

We need time, and a space, for body and spirit to speak to one another, because without that communication our whole system can get out of whack. This can manifest in many different ways, such as having trouble sleeping, getting sick, or feeling like our emotions are out of control.

The spirit needs to hear the body’s deep emotions, to process the body’s experience in the way it seeks to. And the body needs to hear the spirit’s gentle voice to remember itself as whole.

Taking the time we need for meditation, prayer, writing, or whatever other technique we practice to experience our wholeness is not always possible when we’re in the middle of something. But we can always take the time to ask what we can do to take care of ourselves in that moment.

I notice whenever I do this that my body immediately breathes easier, even before I answer the question. Just the act of asking validates my own precious existence, and both body and spirit are healed in that instant. I cease being a human “doing” and again recognize my being, which is perfect in and of itself and requires nothing else.

It’s amazing to me how after I’ve considered how I can best take care of myself, whatever I do in response is so delightful and appreciated, no matter how small. I woke up this morning tired and definitely not wanting to get out of bed to get ready and drive to work in the winter’s dark. I grumped internally for a minute, and then asked this of myself. The question assumes that we always have the perfect answer, which of course we do when we remember to ask.

What we focus on grows, and so after I asked what I needed to do to take good care of myself, I created space for more good in my experience. I got ready for work in a much lighter energy as I stopped to grab some bags of my favorite hot teas to take with me. I really enjoyed settling in to work this morning, considering which tea sounded the yummiest and getting it steeping while I turned on my computer and started to get ready for the day ahead.

I love how little things can become such big gifts! That cup of hot pomegranate tea helped me let go of my resistance, find my enthusiasm, remember my blessings, and bring the energy of gentleness and peace to every cell in my body. It was the answer to my prayer.

Considering what we need to do to take care of ourselves in any moment can be a wonderful way of reconnecting body and spirit, and a simple and powerful healing.

May you always take the time to focus on your own self-care, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being of Service

2011-11-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have heard it said that it is in giving that we receive. I can see the truth of this on a number of levels. When we are reacting from fear of not having enough ourselves, we won’t feel like we can spare anything for others. Everyone loses with this type of belief because what we hold as true we create in our lives.

In other words, we get what we expect. In the midst of the world’s current challenges it’s pretty easy to believe in dwindling bank balances, eroding resources, and maybe even the possibility of financial collapse. But I’m learning that the most loving and spiritually creative thing I can do is hold fast to the truth I want to perpetuate in the world, regardless of all appearances to the contrary, no matter how convincing they may be.

The truth we hold, individually and collectively, dictates our outcome. When we’re sorely tempted to hold on to every bit we have because we aren’t sure when the time will come when we really don’t have enough, our experience can do nothing except reflect back to us the belief that we lack. And when we do that, we close the door on the infinite ability of divine consciousness to work through us to create all the good that we can imagine.

In giving we affirm the truth that we live in abundance, always able to create what we need and more. And there are so many ways to give! In our busy world our time is a treasure that we can give in ways that will make a big difference to a loved one, a stranger, or a worthy cause that speaks to us. Being of service to others is a validation of the deep truth that there really is no reality in lack. It is a celebration of all that we’ve been given, and of our own precious and abundant lives.

My father-in-law is a shining example and my inspiration about being of service. He’s 84 years old, has had two hip surgeries, and is affected by many of the limitations of growing older. I’ve watched him continue to give, even more as the years have passed. He takes food out to a 94-year-old friend who is housebound. He drives other friends to doctor’s appointments. He cares for an aging family member with dementia with infinite kindness and understanding. He loves his family, always asking about his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

My father-in-law recently gave my husband a book he made about his life, complete with old pictures and explanations about where he’s been and what he’s done. The book is a treasure, and he titled it, “My Life Has Been Good.” And if you ask him about his life, that’s what he’d tell you. Not fancy or exciting, maybe, by other people’s standards, but my father-in-law is a man who recognizes the love and the good in his life, and gifts it back to all of us who are lucky enough to be close to him.

I’ve said many times that I write to remember, and so today I will remember not to get so caught up in what I have to do that I forget how much I have. And I will remember that slowing down and giving my time is probably the most precious gift of all. God's perfect abundance expresses through me, and as me, and as all of us.

May you know the limitlessness of your own abundance, and give of it freely. And may this tool be a blessing. .

Blessings From Strangers

2011-11-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

Air travel these days can be stressful, and because people are rushed, cramped, and often frustrated, it has the potential to bring out the worst in travelers’ interactions with each other. My husband and I took a quick trip across the country last weekend to visit our daughter and her family, and meet our new grandson. The adventure was another example for me of the innate goodness in all of us.

It had been bumper-to-bumper traffic approaching the toll plaza to cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, even at 6:00 in the morning. The thought had crossed my mind that we might miss our flight. When we finally got to the toll booth, the woman inside took the money from my husband and said “You have a really great day today, OK?” What a blessing her words were, especially since she stands there for hours at a time taking money from one car after another, but still took the time and energy to reach out with what felt like very sincere good wishes.

At the airport we realized that not only were all of our flights full, but we had been assigned to middle seats, one in front of the other. As luck would have it, the only passenger who didn’t make the first flight had the seat right next to me. There were many more bags being stowed in the overhead compartments than there was room for, and the flight attendants were harried, to say the least. I asked one busy attendant about my husband taking the empty seat, and she told me we’d have to wait and see if the other passenger arrived. That made sense, of course, and I thought she’d forget all about my mentioning it with everything she had to do. But right at the last minute she came up and shifted people around, moving my husband up next to me, and asking everyone to do it quickly because we were going to take off. With all of the demands on flight attendants today, she did everything she could to make things a little easier for the travelers in her care. I really appreciated that.

On the second leg of the flight, from Denver to Atlanta, we were again assigned to seats one in front of the other. I was passing a book behind me, to my husband, and the lady in the aisle seat next to me asked how we ended up sitting apart. She offered to trade places with him so that we could sit together, even though it meant giving up her roomier aisle seat to be squeezed in between two others in the row behind. She did that without being asked, just because it was a kind thing to do for a perfect stranger.

I watched a young man grab bags from the overhead compartment for a small, older woman who was traveling alone. People helped mothers with strollers and stepped aside so that others could pass. The last leg of the trip left late, and people cheered and clapped when they announced overhead that no one would pay for in-flight movies.

It’s easy for us to overlook the small things, especially when we are harried and hungry and worried about reaching our destinations when we’re supposed to, but these small gifts happen all the time. We just need to pay attention. Human nature is the embodiment of love, generosity, and kindness.

It could be that I felt these blessings from strangers more strongly because they were strangers, and under no obligation to one another. The action of a stranger reaching out in love is that much more special for its generosity. I watched over and over as people in frustrating circumstances rose to the occasion and tried to do their best for their fellow travelers, knowing that we were all in it together.

May you notice the divine love expressing in the strangers you share a moment with, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Friendship

2011-10-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”

I attended a costume dinner party last week with a group of dear friends. We call ourselves the Ya-Ya’s (borrowed from the wonderful movie “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”), and it’s a perfectly fitting name because it's a truly divine sisterhood.

For me, the Ya-Ya’s are divine in part because we celebrate all the time, birthdays, big events in our lives, our similarities, our differences, and for no reason in particular. I just looked again at the pictures from last week’s dinner party, which were posted on facebook, and they made me laugh and feel silly all over again. Our times together are a celebration of being female, of middle-age challenges, lessons learned and dreams realized, and of our interconnectedness with each other and in our own divine lives.

I have heard it said that it takes a long time to grow an old friend. I’ve known one of those ladies 20 years, and some others almost as long. It takes that kind of time to create relationships that honor the best and worst in each other. In more ways than I could ever list or even remember, my friends have seen through my scared, stuck times, and have sung for me the song in my heart when I needed it most. I like to think I have sung their songs to them also, when they’ve forgotten.

Kahil Gibran said that friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. Creating and maintaining relationships is not always easy, but nothing good in life is created without our conscious attention to it. We need to remember to find time for and nurture the things that are most important.

So here’s to you, dear Ya-Ya’s. You are treasures.

May you always get by, like John Lennon, with a little help from your friends. And may this tool be a blessing. . .

Seeing Beyond the World of Our Making

2011-10-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

I believe that I am growing in my awareness of God living here right now as me, not just as a mental concept but as a miracle that opens my world in indescribably heart-felt ways. But the pull of forgetting is strong! I honor it as a tool for transformation, but divine tool or not, I much prefer remembering! Forgetting is so automatic that most of the time I am lost in this world of my own making, this delicious and dizzying reality where I rather ironically get to re-create a truth that has never ceased to be - God living here as me.

I see fear on the news, and feeling unsafe becomes what is true for me in that moment. In a meeting or gathering when I could share a perspective that might benefit all, I am quiet because my view is not the popular one, and in the world of my own making I must be mistaken if so many feel differently.

I feel slighted by someone, and that disregard becomes my truth for a time as I experience being unworthy. In a store I see a frustrated mother slap her young child, and my staunch truth in that moment is the unworthiness of another, because this world of our own making often reflects the short view. How deeply I believe what I experience outside of me!

But as strong as forgetting appears to be, I know it is made of very thin fabric. It is only strong to the degree that I resist it. I’m remembering more of the time not to fight my experience in the world of my making, but to let it be as it is. Instead I turn my attention to the quiet knowing within, and the world “out there,” exciting as it is, loses its authority over what is true.

It’s an interesting practice, denying what seems obvious in exchange for believing in something unseen. But the truth of us does not exist in the world of forgetting that we’ve created outside of us, but rather in the quiet place of our hearts where God resides. It’s not always easy to keep our focus on God’s gentle voice when the world beckons with so much urgency. But no matter how many times we get distracted from owning that we are all perfect expressions of goodness, we can reconnect with the truth in an instant by seeking the ever-present voice of God that speaks within our hearts.

May you acknowledge the presence of God within you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being God

2011-10-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

I wrote a few days ago about being luscious, and what a wonderful characteristic that is to own about myself. The idea of being is central to our existence in human bodies because I believe it’s the part of ourselves, individually and collectively, that we’re all seeking. Bringing more awareness of “being” into our human experience is, to me, what this whole wild ride is all about.

We live comfortably (or not so comfortably depending on the day) immersed in the unique circumstances of our lives as we know them – the roles we play, our responsibilities and preferences, who we are in this world. We are comfortable or not to varying degrees with the belief that we are separate from God. We believe that God exists, and we are profoundly grateful for the existence of that infinite good in our lives, but we have made ourselves comfortable knowing that greatness as outside of ourselves.

But slowly the tide is turning, and in our minds we’re starting to hope that perhaps it isn’t true, and in our hearts we’re daring to know that it’s not true for the briefest and most fleeting of moments. I’m all for daring to know more of the time.

What would life look like if I walked through my day being God, really being God, and experiencing myself in that way? I mean, how hard can it be? If it is true, if God really does live as me (an idea that my heart fairly screams at me if I stop to listen for just a second) then what am I waiting for?

If I believe that as a child of God made in her image I can choose to “be” anything in my imagining, can I not just as easily choose to be God herself? Yes. If I believe that I exist as limitless creative possibility able to express any or all things, all I need to do is decide.

The question for me then becomes how much faith do I have in what my heart is telling me? And can I dare to own it in my day-to-day experience?

Have you ever sat quietly and let the truth you think become the truth that rests in your heart and in every cell of your body? It is luscious beyond description. God lives as me, and right now I choose to be God. Within this body, with every step I take and in every situation I encounter, with each thought and with all of my tumultuous emotions, God lives and breathes, and I feel God’s laughter deep within my heart, and I am a body of light. God is experiencing me knowing myself as God, and feels his own deep joy.

I feel that joy in my heart when I am choosing to be God; it bubbles and percolates through me, and I am free. I am infinite and perfect good. OMG!

I love the quote, “Be still and know that I am God.” But what about “Be still and be God?” There’s a wonderful state of being to try on.

May we all find the “being” in our humanness, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Luscious

2011-10-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently began facilitating Unity’s fall book study program, which this year is focusing on a book called Who Have You Come Here to Be? by Kelly Isola. With this outwardly simple but thought-provoking book, we have an opportunity to explore 101 different states of being, identifying which most strongly speak to our hearts, and why.

The first chapter focuses on attributes which she associates with the element “fire.” (In later chapters we will explore states of being that correspond to earth, air and water.) I have to say, it was an interesting exercise. I don’t think of myself as particularly “fiery,” but I noticed that I admire many of those attributes, and would like to express more of them. Many people in our group noticed how much they identify with certain characteristics to the exclusion of others. We tend to become comfortable with our way of expressing ourselves in the world, learning over time what “works” for us. Consciously choosing to exhibit characteristics other than what are typical for us can be a very scary prospect.

For example, what if someone who strongly identifies with and expresses more quietly and peacefully (me) decides to incorporate an uncharacteristic level of “fire” in her personality. Well, I decided to try it.

The attribute that jumped out at me was “luscious.” I hadn’t before thought of luscious as a state of being, but to me it describes living life with passion, so I decided to “try it on” for the week. It was fun hearing what other people were drawn to, and what they envisioned life would look like if they were expressing that particular quality.

What I’m finding so far is that I love “being” luscious. As I expected, it has so far been a very conscious intention to find passion in the small moments of my life. With the intention of not just living a luscious life but “being” luscious, I stop and really see the sunrise, or enjoy the moments petting my funny old dog. This morning I noticed the lusciousness of the purple color I am wearing, and I’m enjoying being aware of that bold color today. Each time I am more aware of these small things is a celebration of living.

I’ve also noticed that choosing to be luscious pulls me back to the present, because I can’t be luscious if I’m not right here in the moment living it fully. Luscious is a right now kind of thing.

When I’m choosing to be luscious I don’t sweat the small stuff as much, because it’s overshadowed by all of the delicious and truly magnificent details that are right here waiting to be experienced in every moment of this sacred life.

I love being luscious, because I’ve decided that nothing is more important than being present and having all of it, as much as I possibly can. What I do doesn’t matter nearly as much as remembering that I am.

In choosing to be luscious I honor my precious life, and am a blessing to the world, and to myself. It is where my inner light burns most brightly. I guess I can be fiery! So, today I choose to live lusciously, openly, passionately, and with tremendous gratitude!

May you celebrate the luscious in your life, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Guest Post: Ancient Holistic Options for Modern Cancer Patients

2011-09-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

From time to time I have the opportunity to share a fellow blogger's work. Melanie Bowen writes on two blogs, Miladay and All About Health. Following is a post she wrote to share here. May this post be a blessing...

"The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure but from hope to hope." -Samuel Johnson from tinybuddah

Many cancer patients -- whether they are dealing with breast cancer, leukemia, a disease like mesothelioma, which is triggered from asbestos exposure, or another malignancy – they are all looking for a new perspective. Integrating Eastern or Oriental therapies with traditional medical treatment may give them the answer they are looking for.

Many modern cancer patients are turning to ancient holistic therapies to supplement conventional therapies, like radiation and chemotherapy. Standard cancer treatments, while effective, can cause pain, low energy, and other side effects. Holistic therapies can combat these side effects.

Holistic healing such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved over nearly three millennia, into a set of practices to treat illnesses and promote wellness. Cancer is viewed differently by TCM practitioners than Western oncologists, partly because holistic healing is based on the belief that everything in the universe is connected.

Eastern and Oriental medicine view the body as an energy system, with a life force that flows through invisible channels called meridians. Many TCM therapies are energy therapies that unblock the energy flow to promote balance and healing.

Cancer patients today have a number of holistic options, including several energy therapies. Yoga, acupuncture, and acupressure are some of the more common therapies. But modern cancer doctors also recommend therapeutic massage, healing touch, intuitive bodywork, and EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique).

A report by the American Cancer Fund takes a serious look at holistic options for cancer treatment. According to Lorenzo Cohen, director of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Integrative Medicine Program, energy therapies are, “focused on keeping the body balanced, to keep the [energy] flowing through the body and stop blockages … from happening.” In TCM, this is what leads to illness, including cancer.

Integrative energy therapies work to unblock the accumulations that cause tumors, and bring balance and harmony between a patient’s mind, body, and soul. EFT tapping, healing touch, and other energy therapies can be used before, during, and after cancer treatment to alleviate the side effects.

As more patients turn to integrative therapies, more research is being conducted. The result is a better understanding of how holistic care can be useful in the fight with cancer. Various clinical trials have looked at the effects of complementary medicine on nausea, dry mouth, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, and mood of cancer patients.

So far, studies have been conducted on patients with breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, and other malignancies. The findings, which are promising for these cancer types, can mean good things in the future for people with other forms of cancer, including late-stage cancer and those going through mesothelioma prognosis.

Holistic care focuses on the body as a whole: body, mind, emotions, and spirit. From energy therapies and mind-body approaches to biologic therapies, nutrition, and special diets, holistic options are many for cancer patients today. The results -- from reduced pain and stress to an enhanced quality of life -- speak for themselves.

Melanie Bowen is an advocate for natural health and cancer cure initiatives. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialty in Psychology and Medical Research, you will often find her highlighting the great benefits of different nutritional, emotional, and physical treatments on those with illnesses in her efforts to spread awareness. To read more of Melanie’s articles you can visit her at Milady the blog.

Not Having to Know

2011-09-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

What a blessing it is, not having to know. Knowing the answer to things has kept me feeling safe for a long, long time, but it’s also sustained a level of mild anxiety that became so familiar I didn’t even notice it.

For people who've grown up in chaos, feeling like we know how to conduct life in a productive and stable fashion might seem to keep the demons of childhood at bay, but it doesn't. What I’m finding is that feeling driven to maintain control of the circumstances of my life really just feeds the old fear that things are going to fall apart and become dangerous. That is, of course, not the truth of my existence as I now understand it.

Having to know how to be a good enough employee, spouse, parent, friend or any other of life’s roles is demanding and stressful. It ultimately just gets in the way of divine intelligence within taking the right and perfect step in any situation in which we find ourselves.

The chief of medicine in the clinic where I work has a poster in her office that shows a cartoon picture of a chicken looking up frantically that says, “What if Chicken Little was right?” It’s so easy to fall back into those old fears that are sure in any moment something bad might happen, so we need to stay ever-vigilant and know what to do to head it off. But we might not know exactly what “it” is.

I know that when I do not feel the need to be in control of what my future holds, what people think of me, or even how my loved ones will fare in their circumstances, a weight is lifted that I’m not even aware of carrying. I can breathe easier.

When I don’t feel pressured to always know the right thing to do or the best way to act, I can just be. And that is enough.

And so I release it all to God who lives within me, the fear, the uncertainty, the knowing, and the not-knowing. There is nothing I need to force, and I do nothing alone. Into every situation of my life all I need do is shine the light of my deepest truth, which is that through it all, God lives as me.

May you release all to the light of God within you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

A Case for Logic

2011-09-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

A teacher once told me that you can’t intellectualize spirit. I agree with this statement for the most part, because certainly spirit is experienced in the present moment only. As soon as we apply a label, our awareness of spirit becomes a construct of mind rather than the pure experience of being.

But we are human, and in this physical form we are self-aware, and we learn. We use the mind to process our experience and choose who we want to be. We are divine mind in action.

Most of you know that a favorite spiritual practice of mine is writing letters to God. A recent letter to God about forgetting caused me to make a case for logic as a spiritual tool.

God responded to me, in part, that “whether you’re remembering or forgetting the truth of who you are in any moment doesn’t change the truth. But the question becomes, ‘How do you experience your own expression in the world as infinitely good enough when earlier experience tried to teach you otherwise? How do you trust the truth of God within you when others can’t trust it either?’

“The truth stands unchanged in the midst of all; therefore, you need to question the voices that say you are anything less than God. Think about it – you are light, or you are not. You are perfect, or you are not. I live in and as you, or I do not. Since both cannot be true, which truth do you choose to serve? Your heart knows the truth and speaks it to you in countless different ways. “

Thank you, God, for appealing to logic when that was what I needed!

I’ve been facilitating a spiritual weight loss support group at Unity, following a book by Marianne Williamson. In a chapter on the importance of feeling our feelings in order to learn from and process them, she makes another strong case for logic as a spiritual tool.

Following is a delightful excerpt from her book, A Course in Weight Loss. She is talking about feeling overwhelmed as a natural consequence of failing to recognize a divine hand upholding all things.

“If you feel you must control everything by yourself – if you don’t feel you can ask for God’s help with the details – then no wonder you feel absolutely overwhelmed. You can’t exactly hold up the stars in the sky, but obviously someone does. So couldn’t that someone hold and harmonize the circumstances of your life? (I love this! Logic at its best. . .)

She goes on to say that “In fact, the entire universe is held safely in Divine hands. Planets revolve around the sun, stars stay in the sky, cells divide, and embryos turn into babies. Embryos don’t exclaim, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do this! I don’t know how to cell-divide!’ The embryo doesn’t have to know. An order bigger than the embryo moves it forward as part of nature’s blueprint.”

If that’s not a strong (and logical) argument in favor of God in all things, I don’t know what is!

Thank you, Marianne Williamson, and may this tool be a blessing.

It's Here!! Daily Spiritual Tools, the Book

2011-09-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that Daily Spiritual Tools is now available as an e-book. I received feedback from many of this blog's followers that they would appreciate these tools in book form, and am happy to say that it has come to fruition!

Daily Spiritual Tools celebrates the existence of the divine in all human experience. It’s a compilation of 79 meditations and simple practices that open our awareness to perfect and divine order within all things. As humankind moves from a truth of spirituality “out there” to one of God expressing as each of us and in all things, the tools contained in the book help us accept that truth and know it as our own. In doing so we help elevate others and our world.

I've said many times that I write to remember, and Daily Spiritual Tools has been a labor of love, and remembering, for me. Through this blog I have had the opportunity to connect with amazing people from all around our wonderful world. It's uplifting to know that there are so many like-minded souls working to raise the consciousness of the world one person at a time. I am sincerely grateful for your kindness, insight and love.

Copies of Daily Spiritual Tools, the Book, are available through Amazon.com and smashwords.com. If you know someone who might enjoy reading my book, I would appreciate your spreading the word in any way that seems appropriate.

May this book be as much a blessing to you in reading it as it has been to me in writing it...

Joy in Small Things

2011-08-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Let me always find joy in small things! The everyday things that might easily have gone unnoticed are special gifts.

I've never noticed birds a great deal, but lately I'm learning how delightful they are. Last month when we were backpacking there was a very bold red-headed woodpecker who was quite comfortable right out in the open in our campsite. He kept an eye on us like the guardian of the forest, and we enjoyed his company.

There's a group of birds that congregate in the mornings to bathe in a big puddle that forms at the edge of the grass outside the window where I work. What a delight when I'm starting my day to stop for a minute and watch them. To say that they are bathing is an understatement; it looks more like a raucous dance as they change positions and get completely down into the water and shake for all they're worth.

And what a hoot watching the birds in our backyard, oh my goodness! We hung a new bird feeder closer to the house, which is suspended by a string and able to spin around freely. It has six little holes and posts for the birds to perch on as they eat, and it's really funny watching them holding on and spinning around like they're on a thrill ride at the fair. Centrifugal force pushes some off, but they come back for more. And there's that one determined soul who's sometimes left spinning around and around by himself like king of the hill. What beautiful and fun moments, and all I had to do for them was stop and notice.

I'm learning to acknowledge small things, and be grateful for them. I was looking for an important piece of mail recently and realized that it had probably been taken out by mistake with the recycling. When I went to check there it was, right where the recycling had been, and it had either slipped out of the pile or had been on the bottom. Little serendipitous things that seem random or like blind luck are gifts from heaven.

There are so many examples of perfect good at work, a much-needed break in traffic when we're late, a song on the radio with exactly the lyrics we'd been needing to hear, or a stranger getting to the door at just the same time we do and opening it for us, because our arms are full.

I'm remembering to say thank you now when these things happen. When we are grateful we make room for more good things in our lives, large and small.

May you always notice the grace in small things, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Full-Out Loving Life

2011-08-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

I had dinner the other night with a dear friend of mine named Jeri. In the 20 years I've known her, I've always admired and appreciated her loving acceptance, her openness, her unfailing concern, and the bright light she shines in the world.

It's fitting that Jeri forwarded to me the following wonderful quote from Neale Walsch. We cannot be conscious of something that we ourselves do not possess, so I'm not surprised that this quote spoke to Jeri. She is God, and love, in expression.

"It is the full-out loving of life, and all that life presents in every moment, that is the expression of Godliness."

I think I'm maybe just starting to get it, at this time in my life, on the far side of middle age but definitely not old yet, that I can trust God.

It's a tall order, I think, to approach every situation without worry or fear, and trust that perfect good is at work in all things. I know it in my head, and often feel it in my heart. I write about it and I believe every word I say.

In a moment, though, my trust is quickly replaced by fear when something happens that feels threatening, or like it should be different. It happened this morning, reading in the paper about people struggling against oppression and famine, the worldwide economy, and democracies flailing.

I can visualize a world where all people move through the circumstances of their days with an open heart and an abiding love for being there in the middle of all of it. But we can only do that when we surrender our need to understand and control, and begin to trust a perfection that we have no way of really understanding anyway, while in this physical form.

And so we choose, and choose again. In each moment, when we notice we are afraid, we affirm, as Unity teaches, that fear has no power over us, and that there really is only one presence and one power, God the Good.

We acknowledge our fear and our resistance and then we choose the truth we will serve in that moment. There will always be circumstances that shake our truth, but that doesn't change it. All of the things that flame our fears provide divine and holy opportunities to remember that we create this world according to what we hold as truth.

It's a huge leap of faith, but we can do it. We are doing it.

In the middle of situations that shake our faith to the core, and in the midst of all evidence to the contrary, we trust, and we choose, perfect Good. And for me that's the crux of the matter, because when I trust that there is a much larger good at work, even though it can't be understood with my limited human thinking, I can embrace all of it. I can love life. And I am brought full-circle, by allowing God, I experience my own Godliness.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Just Listen

2011-07-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

My husband and I recently returned from a wonderful backpacking trip, where I was reminded of the simple tool of just listening. When we’re backpacking listening is easier, without clocks or cell phones or anything we have to do except be there.

Sitting quietly surrounded by nature’s beauty is a perfect time to ask of divine intelligence, “What would you have me remember right now?” We are always answered when we think to stop and ask.

I have had some wonderful conversations with God sitting on a log overlooking a little alpine lake at 9,000 feet, and although nature does help our connection with the divine, we can stop to listen anytime.

The quiet voice of God within us, while ever present, often goes unnoticed when our minds are too busy with the details of life. So it’s helpful to cultivate strategies that allow us to stop, and hear the voice of the larger truth that imbues all life experience.

One thing that helps me hear is to write. My journal-writing has transitioned over the years into part journal, part letter to God, and part God’s response to me. My journal entries have begun “Dear God” for awhile now, and as I spill my thoughts and feelings onto paper God’s perspective begins to come through in what I’m writing, as direction or validation or loving acceptance.

Of course it’s all God. As I write to God I write to myself, and as God’s responses come through in what I’ve written, I know that God within me has all of the answers that I will ever need. There is nothing I lack.

Certainly prayer and meditation are important ways to listen to the highest within us, whether we seek to know what our best course of action might be, or just want to hear what God is wanting to say to us in that moment.

We can also just take a minute and stop. When we pull our awareness back from the racing thoughts of the day, God is there, in the voice of loving wisdom that lives in our hearts.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Peace

2011-07-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Our physical bodies are designed to process spiritual energy. All thoughts or emotions, every decision, the dynamics in relationships, are at their core vibrations of spiritual energy. These myriad vibrations of energy are divine consciousness in action, creating all of the experience available to us in remembering that we are God.

It is important to remember that experience can be conscious or unconscious; sometimes we are aware of the vibrations passing through us, and sometimes we are not, but we are still affected by their presence. There are countless examples of this, but a very common one might be feeling peaceful, and then walking into a room with one or more people and having your mood quickly fall to a lower vibration, such as competition, self-consciousness or contention. While we would most likely own this lower vibration as something within us that we have created, it is actually us absorbing a vibration moving through that is not us at all.

On a minute-to-minute basis we are being affected by, and responding to, vibrations of spiritual energy. With awareness, spiritual energy is something that we can manage more consciously. Not only can we choose to accept, or release what is "going by," we can also "set the energy" in our bodies to any vibration that we prefer. It is our spiritual birthright, as unlimited creators made in God's image, to design our best life.

There are a number of ways to consciously design our bodies' energy. Lately I've been choosing to set my body's energy at "peace." Because we create that which we focus our intention upon, simply choosing peace, owning peace, and remembering and affirming that "I am peace," makes it so. By doing this we reset the vibration of the body.

An even more powerful technique for setting the vibration in the body is to use the clairvoyant ability that is innate in all of us, which can be found in the mind's eye, and in our imagination. The idea of peace, and any other thing we can imagine in this lifetime, vibrates at a certain frequency, and that frequency can be seen as a color. Because we all see color in our own way, there is no right or wrong way to do it.

Today, in my mind's eye, peace is light yellow. Now I decide, how shall I fill myself with peace? The simpler the better, so I am back in kindergarten. I see a big yellow ball of peace above me, and I bring it down into the top of my head and watch, in my imagination, as it moves through me and fills every cell of my body. Or I "see" the air around me filled with peaceful yellow light, and I breathe deeply. And now I watch, in my limitless imagination, as I fill a giant pitcher with the color of peace, and pour it out over the top of my head and it washes over me, releasing anything I hold on to that is not peaceful.

I find new joy in coming as a child, as I remember that I am peace.

May your life be a rainbow of colors of your own design, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Welcoming All

2011-07-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

A favorite quote, from Rumi:

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival,
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your home
Empty of it's furniture.
Still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be cleaning you out
For some new delight.

May you cherish every moment of your amazing life, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Caring for the Body

2011-06-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

For a very long time, our awareness of God has been of a deity out there somewhere, exerting his influence based on criteria we don’t understand, leaving us always looking outside of ourselves for some philosophy that can help us know what we need to do to earn his favor.

At this point in human evolution many are being guided toward a much broader awareness of God, one that recognizes the very real presence of God right here in this physical realm, in the middle of every part of being human. We are just beginning to consider the magnitude and ramifications of the truth that wherever we are, God is, in every situation, every thought and every emotion we’ve ever had or ever will have.

Most importantly, we are realizing that for this to be possible, God must reside within every one of us. Regardless of how we choose to perceive that mind-boggling notion, the bottom line is that we are living God’s life. God is experiencing her God-self through our own experience.

Most of us have heard the much-known maxim that our bodies are temples of the soul, but I’m not sure we’ve caught up with the utter truth of that enough to care for them as sacred expressions of God’s life. Many of us find joy in following a spiritual path and finding a deeper meaning for our existence, but don’t fully consider the role of the body on that path. We seek spiritual truth “out there” without even realizing that what we’re seeking is right here. We live in it 24 hours a day. In body, mind and spirit there is no separation; it is all God.

I’ve realized that caring for the body is a spiritual practice unto itself. I can sit for an hour of meditation and prayer, and connect with divine intelligence within me. I can also choose to eat a meal of healthy food, and honor and validate that divine intelligence that created me. When I choose to exercise or move my body in some way that is fun and healthy, I celebrate God’s life within me.

When I love my body enough to consider what is best for it, and honor it by following through with its needs, I am the embodiment of the holy trinity; I am the lover, the loved, and love itself.

All acts of self-care are ultimately acts of love. They are our prayers of gratitude for our ability, through these precious temples, to be God’s life.

May you practice random and frequent acts of self-care, and may this tool be a blessing. .

Present Time

2011-06-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

Lately I’ve been renewing my love affair with present time. It’s always been a very one-sided relationship; present time being right here with me, always waiting to be savored, me gallivanting off to who-knows-where in my mind, unable to resist my two-timing obsession with the future or the past.

I’m always amazed by how tough it is to stay centered in the now. No matter how aware I am of the added quality and depth of my moments when I focus on what’s happening in this moment, the pull to worry or reflect about future or past is often irresistible. I know it’s all perfect, part of a plan that is divine beyond understanding in helping me remember my truth about being human. I like to think of it as part of the total entertainment package, the perfectly-orchestrated challenges that allow us to choose our best selves.

Playing with being in present time as much as I can is a wonderfully satisfying and creative endeavor. When my attention is pulled back from future or past, I can place my full attention on being; now I experience what it is like to be a teacher, as I choose to be fully present in that expression. Now I delight in being female, as my attention rests in what that feels like and how I express it. Fixing my hair and choosing jewelry is sure a lot more fun when I’m in present time, with my attention on enjoying my femaleness rather than what I I'll be doing at work later.

As I sit here, present in the now, I find joy in very simple things. My feelings are a validation of myself, being me. There is no judgment or resistance, only what is. I am grateful to be able to experience, period.

I have hands that type these words, and do countless other amazing things. In present time having a body is a celebration, not always easy or painless but an unspeakable gift nonetheless.

May you be present in your moments, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Not I, But God Within Me

2011-06-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

So many times I've despaired over things that I don’t do well enough, or despite my best intentions still manage to get stuck on! Human experience being what it is, we all have challenges; some of them are pretty easily solved and some take years and years to navigate through.

In the middle of our own particular challenges, we can feel unsure about our ability to find a solution. Whether it’s something new or something we’ve been dealing with for awhile, challenges are challenging exactly because they require us to dig deeply within ourselves and change how we’ve been thinking. Challenges are opportunities to let go of old patterns and open up to new ways of seeing our experience that better reflect the truth of who we really are.

Still, slogging through difficult and confusing situations is uncomfortable, especially if they’re those “core” beliefs that seem to take an act of God to finally see the truth about. But I’ve learned, and keep remembering, that an act of God is exactly what’s needed.

In each act of remembering and in every moment of grace, it is not I, but God within me, who does the work. In my most sad, confused or frustrated moments, when I feel like I’m going to feel this way forever because I just can’t seem to figure out how to do it differently, if I can place my awareness back to God within me, I no longer need to figure anything out, because there is nothing that I lack. Any sense of lack or forgetting is swept aside by a much larger truth that perfect and divine consciousness guides my thoughts and actions, and I know just what to do.

When I remember that God within me is doing the work, my burden is light and my path is clear. I realize that in each moment everything I require is available to me, and I am whole and complete. All I need do is claim it!

The change in thinking that I sought today was this: I know what to do because there is no idea or answer that I lack. It can be no other way.

And as is the case when I get back to remembering, I was brought again to heaven, right here on Earth. I love that we can do that!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Celebrating!

2011-05-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

There is always something to celebrate. Celebration is a form of gratitude; it's a way of acknowledging our unlimited ability to create and opening ourselves up to our best and highest expression. To me, celebrating is a form of prayer, a way of saying “Thank you, God” for the gifts we’ve been given. It’s a validation of the goodness and God-ness that makes up our human experience.

I’m a fan of the happy dance. When my mom recently got good news after having trouble getting her car smogged, I did the happy dance. When my husband got a bonus check yesterday that was unexpected, we did a big, loud high-five in celebration. In my family we often toast each other over dinner, with our glasses of water or whatever we are drinking, just to celebrate sitting there eating, and being together. “Tuesday” is a wonderful reason to celebrate. Random acts of gratitude can be large or small in expression, and they reconnect us with the truth of all that we can do, be and have.

Today is my birthday, and that is something to celebrate. I don’t think grown-ups have nearly enough permission to celebrate their own birthdays. This morning driving to work I danced to the radio, sitting there behind the wheel looking very foolish, I’m sure, to others driving by, happy in the awareness that I have experienced another year being me. Happy, too, knowing that today begins another year growing in my awareness of the perfect good from which this existence is created.

As my family sang happy birthday to me last weekend over the lighted candles on the birthday cake, I felt tremendous gratitude, for all of them, and for my precious life. The happy birthday song was a celebration of all of us, for being here now, filling the world with our own unique voices.

May you celebrate all of the large and small things in your life (especially your birthday!), and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Finding the Life in Your Life Situation

2011-05-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

I love the wisdom of Eckhart Tolle. I am currently reading for the second time his book, "The Power of Now," and am discovering some wonderful insights that I somehow missed the first time through.

Tolle, and many others, teach that the ego-driven mind is the basis for all that separates us from knowing ourselves, and all others, as God. It's an interesting and powerful idea. The mind, which is the cause of all suffering, is also our most powerful vehicle for getting out of suffering. It is through the fearful thoughts of forgetting that we are provided the grace of remembering who we are.

In the Now all is well, for in this very moment, what is lacking? Lack exists only as a construct of time, in the future or from the past.

What delights me and puts it into great perspective is that regardless of life circumstances, regardless of what we've carried from the past or are concerned about in the future, underlying all is that we are here. We live.

Situations exist in our thinking, and are subject to change from moment to moment depending on the random places our thoughts travel to. In the middle of all of those engrossing thoughts we could spend an entire lifetime so focused on the details of living that we forget that we are life.

That mysterious, vibrant being is us, as we move through our days choosing our course and experiencing the effects of our decisions. In every moment our unique voice adds its resonance to the harmony of ongoing creation. The whole is forever changed because we are.

Underneath life's situations we breathe; we feel and learn and grow. Time moves on and situations change, but through it all, God sings her song of infinite joy through our beating hearts.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Hearing God's Whisper

2011-05-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

As we move through this blessed life, growing in love and wisdom and in truth, the situations we encounter to help us along on our path can be complicated, confusing, and sometimes painful. These challenges provide our perfect opportunities to remember the highest in ourselves.

In the middle of our biggest challenges it can be pretty tough to see that we are being given exactly what we need to choose our best selves. We work hard to find an answer so that we can be comfortable again.

We give the issue at hand a lot of energy by trying to reason our way through it, talk our way through it, or worry our way through it. We get stuck in what happened in the past, or what might happen in the future. Whatever the issue is, it grows stronger with all of the attention we place on it.

By grace, and through divine order, the profound answers we seek make their way through the clamor, often in the most gentle ways. Sometimes in the middle of chaos our answers come from unexpected places, a few sentences in a book, words from a friend, or the quiet voice of our own deep knowing.

I was reminded this morning of a song that I heard at Unity recently, sung by our very talented music director, David, whose music is always an inspiration and a healing.

The song is entitled “More Like a Whisper”, by Scott Krippayne and Steve Siler.

“Sometimes the mountain moves and is thrown into the sea,
Sometimes the lightning strikes and a vision comes to me,
Sometimes the waters part and the path ahead is clear,
Sometimes the angels sing and it’s music to my ears.

Sometimes it’s more like a whisper, quiet and gentle, peaceful and still,
When questions rain down like thunder, sometimes the answer is more like a whisper.

Sometimes one candle burns and a light glows in the dark,
Sometimes a flower blooms, bringing hope into my heart.

Lord, help me listen whenever You speak,
If the river runs wild or is silent and deep.

Sometimes it’s more like a whisper, quiet and gentle, peaceful and still,
When questions rain down like thunder, sometimes the answer is more like a whisper.”

May you know the ever-present grace that provides all of the answers you seek, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Seeing Yourself Through the Eyes of God

2011-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

I haven’t written in a few weeks, and I have missed it. After some suggestions from friends, I took a short break to begin the process of turning Daily Spiritual Tools into a book. I’m excited by the prospect of having these tools in one physical place where a person can actually flip through the pages of something solid. Wish me luck!

I discovered a new tool a few weeks ago, when I was feeling very cranky. I think all of us go through times when nothing seems right, and it was my time. I was feeling worn out in my job and out-of-sorts in my relationships. I felt like I was struggling with the same old things that I’ve struggled with for years, and not getting anywhere. It was a pretty depressing state of mind.

I know that what I think is not always the truth, and I’m learning to loosen my attachment to the thoughts going by in my mind. Still, sometimes they take on a life of their own, grab me and take me down a very unhelpful road.

I sat down in my favorite spot to meditate, with the intention of settling myself and finding my way back to the truth. At first, I just sat and let myself hear the pessimistic dialog that was taking place in my head. In that moment, everything was a problem. Nothing was right with my life, or with me. So I sat there, reminding myself to just notice what I was thinking and feeling without trying to talk myself out of it.

As I focused my attention on the thoughts and feelings that were moving through me, I noticed how my grumpy thoughts were feeding the jangling emotions, and the emotions in turn were continuing the negative thinking. What a vicious cycle. Somebody, stop me!

Thank Goodness for awareness, for as I continued to focus my attention on where I was without trying to change anything, a thought came to me in the form of a question, which was “If my life is an expression of God, if this is really God in the middle of these thoughts and feelings, what does God think about living as Sherry?”

God laughed, a big belly-laugh of delight, and I experienced again the miracle that comes every time the light of truth finds a new way to shine on me, and to remind me of who I am, and who we all are.

I knew in that moment an all-encompassing love that I truly have no words for, and I felt God’s joy in every single thing that goes along with being me. I was reminded of the unfathomable depth of love that created this existence, and guides and supports us throughout every breath we take. We are perfection in every moment, in every thought we have and every emotion we feel, and in every single experience we have.

To remember this always (or at least as often as possible), and to help others remember it too. . .That is my quest!

May you see yourself through the eyes of God within you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

What Would My Best Self Do?

2011-03-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's a tongue-in-cheek name for a spiritual tool, but also a simple guidepost for living our days in as much harmony as possible. Even though I know that God lives as me just as she did as Jesus, I find that asking what my best self would do seems more relevant. It also feels much more attainable.

It's interesting to consider that we even need to ask the question, because we could assume that we are always doing our best. But I've noticed lately in practicing this that it brings forth a better best, as I connect with the higher truth that is always there, waiting to be acknowledged.

I'm grateful for the powerful simplicity of this tool. In the midst of my mind clamoring from one problem to the next, asking "what would my best self do?" brought immediate peace as I realized that my best self would not give so much importance to the worried side trips that my mind often takes. What I had thought needed alot of my energy to solve actually needed none, so I had all of that energy to focus on experiencing joy in my day.

In my rising frustration with a patient at work, asking "what would my best self do?" helped me in an instant regain my compassion and my ability to allow that person to be without my judgment. My agenda lost all importance as I realized how much more I could bring to the interaction by just being open to whatever the other person is bringing me in the moment. I'm realizing that being present for someone out of judgment is the best thing we can give anyone.

I've noticed that asking "what would my best self do?" takes me out of the very automatic place where I am just reacting from old fears and beliefs. As I focus on choosing my best I don't need to make anyone else less in my thinking, because my best self sees God in myself and in all things.

Considering what our best selves would do is a prayer, and always answered when asked. I'm always surprised and grateful, delighted actually, by how easily these answers come when I do think to ask. My highest lives right here within me, as me, always accessible. All I need to do is say hello.

Asking, and then choosing to follow through with the answer that we get, allows us to live from our deepest integrity. From that place of truth and wholeness, we do our best work in the world, and more fully express the glory of our own sacred lives.

What would your best self do?

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Releasing, Revisited

2011-03-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was speaking with my husband this morning about how important and useful it is to have tools that help us to release. Being human is by its very nature a process of being surrounded by countless different variations of spiritual energy. Spiritual energy can be thought of in this context as the circumstances and vibrations that spirit creates to assist us in remembering our true divine nature.

Human beings are extremely sensitive, energy-processing machines. We process the energy that we encounter with varying degrees of conscious choice, depending on our level of awareness. With awareness we are able to affect, rather than become the effect of, the thoughts, moods and beliefs that we encounter on a moment-to-moment basis.

Knowing how to release is critical because as sensitive beings, we pick up a barrage of energetic “input” all the time. We are affected by what is going on around us, even though it may have nothing at all to do with us. When this happens our own life force can get “bogged down,” and we may feel less enthusiastic and clear about our path. It becomes harder to stay grounded in our own truth.

Once we’ve picked something up in our energy field, its vibration becomes active in our own awareness until we’re able to release it. And vibrations of energy can stay with us for a long time, especially if we’ve accepted them as true.

Thankfully, we can release them. A favorite tool of mine for releasing is a grounding cord, which I described in this blog in January, 2010. With a grounding cord we use our clairvoyant ability, or “seeing,” to visualize a line of energy between our first chakra and the center of the planet to let go of what we are holding on to that does not serve our highest. You can take a look at the January 18 post for more information.

Another favorite tool is simply turning an issue over to God. When I notice that I am worrying about something beyond my control, I consciously release it to be handled by divine consciousness. In these moments, I find peace reconnecting with the truth that there is a higher consciousness at work in the situation. And with that acknowledgement, I bring light to the situation, even as I step back from feeling the need to solve it myself.

Prayer and meditation are powerful tools for helping us release. Prayer is for many a way of letting go, and letting God. The act of focusing on our breathing in meditation allows us to surrender the worries of the world, and reset our own vibration to our deepest truth.

Many simple and fun things help us to release. Journaling, singing, playing music and even dancing allow us to shake off the energetic vibrations that can overshadow our truth.

Our Unity services often close with a very catchy song about releasing that goes, in part, like this. . .

I release with ease and grace,
What no longer serves me,
And open up to God’s abundant good!

May you release with ease and grace, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

The Healing Energy of Mary

2011-03-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

There are countless beings, spirit guides, angels, or whatever name we want to give these points of divine consciousness that very greatly affect the vibrational quality of our human experience. These beings of light, who from beyond the reality of form exert their benevolent influence for good, are available to each of us in raising our own vibration to align with the truth of who we are, and what we are capable of as physical expressions of the divine.

Mother Mary has been an important guiding light in my life for many years. When I studied hands-on healing at the Aesclepion Healing Institute, Mary was one of the guides whose energy we called upon to bring forth spiritual healing. The influence of spirit guides' energy is available to each of us, regardless of our religious or spiritual background.

These helpful spirit guides exist as pure energy, and they hold a very high and unshakeable vibration of truth. All we have to do is place our awareness on it, and then allow ourselves to "match" it. Just as we can hold our awareness on Jesus, or Buddha, or on any of our other wayshowers, we can hold our awareness on Mary, say hello to her very high vibration of truth, and then let it fill us. That is all.

What I notice in saying hello to Mary is that hers is an immensely powerful vibration of healing. I cannot acknowledge Mary's vibration without being filled with immediate peace, and the sense that I have her complete attention as I am held in light and love. Fear subsides in that strong presence of mother/protector, and my human frailty and forgetting are blessed. I find renewed joy in coming to my experience as a child, delighting in my toddler's steps as eternal spirit expressing as. . . me.

My son's girlfriend, Camille, an amazing young woman, beautiful and talented, sang for us recently a version of Ave Maria arranged by Noa. It touched me deeply, both listening to Camille's angelic voice which brings tears, and to the lyrics which speak well to the vibration of Mother Mary.

Ave Maria, where have you been hiding?
Don't you know we need you!
Things are looking pretty bad down here.
I know that there is beauty, gentleness and laughter.
These are things you always stood for.
Help us find them too.

Ave Maria, where have you been hiding?
Don't you know we need you!
Things are looking pretty bad down here.
I know you hear the fighting, see the torch we're lighting,
On our quest for peace and freedom.
Help us see this through.

The energy of Mary is available to us at any time, to help us find peace, and to remember especially that we are never alone. Mother Mary reminds us, by holding her eternal vibration of truth, that we are children of the divine, forever loved and safe.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Surrendering

2011-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

I have said that I write to remember, and this morning I stopped everything I was doing to put words to paper, so that much like taking a photograph of some beautiful scene in the high mountains that I love so much, I could capture my awareness of the gift of surrendering.

Not that I can ever really capture spiritual awareness through my words, because spirit is a state of being. As soon as I begin trying to define my experience, labeling it in the mind's way, I am holding it static. Already I am out of present time, because spirit just continues being, and creating anew.

But I continue writing, because just like with a picture of a beautiful scene in nature that I can go back and look at anytime, I am reminded of the truth of what is always there, even if I am not seeing it in any particular moment.

In my meditation this morning, I decided to acknowledge some of the things that I am grateful for. As I saw things in my mind and said thank you for each of them, I realized how long that process took. And I was only focusing on things that are happening in my life now. My gratitude list is long!

It led me to ponder how all of this could have come to pass. How, in the middle of living a very ordinary life, filled with forgetting and confusion, worries about money, misunderstandings, working and raising kids and being so busy I didn't have time to even think about tomorrow, let alone being an unlimited creator made in God's image, immensely good things came to me anyway. What is the source, and the purpose, of those gifts that seem to have come from somewhere beyond my conscious intention?

Much like the gift of the breath that keeps coming, unbidden, filling us with life even while we are completely unaware of it, unimaginably good opportunities and situations come unbidden, too.

What I realized this morning was that during all of those early years, when I was doing so much and just trying to get through my days with a little bit of grace, I somehow knew to surrender. Somehow I knew, even before I embarked on a more conscious spiritual journey, that when I bumped into something I didn’t understand or couldn’t change, I had to let it go and move on. And along with that came the awareness that things would happen in their own perfect way and time. The wonderful realization is that I can look back and see that somehow they always did!

Even when I wasn’t completely clear about what I wanted, I knew to surrender what I didn’t want, and that made room for infinite intelligence to work through me to create many things in my life that exceeded any expectations I would have had if I had held on and continued struggling.

I realized that choosing to pull my energy out of a situation when I felt stuck has served me well countless times. It gave me time to rest and regroup, while unlimited good was at work behind the scenes. I was reminded yet again that my good will always come to me no matter how stuck I get. I just have to surrender to the infinite wisdom within me.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Owning Your Abundance

2011-02-27T18:12:00.000-08:00

I am struck sometimes when I consider the magnitude of the abundance that upholds this human experience. Abundance is an inherent part of the divine consciousness that conceived of and maintains all of existence.

We could never be less than wholly abundant beings. Life in its infinitely perfect way provides the challenges and the forgetting that support us in choosing to claim the abundance that is our birthright. Our abundance expresses in our unlimited ability to create our experience. What we envision, and hold as truth, we will manifest. It is very hard for the human part of us to grasp the creative power of that.

That we are unlimited creators made in God's image, and can bring into being anything that we can imagine, is a miracle and a great joy. It is also the guidepost for my own life's journey, as it is for many.

In my fledgling steps toward realizing the absolute truth of our human divinity, I think the most grace-ful thing that I have learned is that, paradoxically, creating is best done out of effort. In fact, the less effort there is, the better it works. I am very good at pushing, forcing, exerting my will, and worrying and fussing until I make something happen. It is the habit that I fall back to when fear takes over and I begin reacting. It's my default position, and also a very big waste of energy. And it gets in the way of creating.

We are meant to envision our dreams, and then allow them to manifest; that is all. That means trusting and letting go. The things that I've most doubted I could create, but did, are the ones that I had to release to God within me, over and over and over again. From many great teachers I have learned that it is not I, but God within me, that does the work.

In the end, abundance is having complete faith in the truth that as we ask we will be answered. We likely won't be able to predict exactly each step of how it's going to happen. But our intention is a knock on the door of infinite creative consciousness, and it is always opened unto us.

Abundance in this life comes from believing that we already possess that we desire. There is nothing that separates us from our dreams. Once we decide what it is that we really want, all we need do is step back and let it come.

This truth sits squarely in the middle of my most fundamental beliefs, but that doesn't mean I remember it always. But I remember it often, and every time is a gift. Every time I fear that maybe this is the time it won't work, maybe this is the time when I've come to the end of what I can do, or be or have in this life, but it does come to pass because I've released the limiting beliefs to the light of creation within me, my trust grows stronger for the next time.

So tonight I am, as always, grateful for the forgetting that allows me to remember.

May you own the limitless creative consciousness within you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Taking Risks

2011-02-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

I am grateful to spirit's infinite wisdom for guiding me, repeatedly, off the path of least resistance. I am not by nature a risk-taker. It seems that I would be perfectly happy settling in to what I know and what I do, and enjoying my peaceful and relatively stress-free life. That would all be fine and good, if not for the small voice within me that keeps pushing me out of my comfort zone. Darn that voice!

The voice within has a habit of insisting on change, and growth, and pushing me forward when I really just want to coast for a bit. I can ignore the voice for awhile, but while the voice is small, it is also very insistent. For only so long can I disregard the urgings of that voice, which is the best and highest within me, the voice of God's expression. After a time thoughts of "I can't," "I'm not ready," and "I don't know how" seem to give way, despite my repeated protests, to a new direction.

I've learned by now that I wouldn't actually be happier just settling in and maintaining the status quo. The biggest gifts in my life have come when I've felt most uncertain that I had the ability to actually live up to what my heart was so strongly prompting me to jump into. There have been wonderful dreams that seemed out of reach, but then some as-yet-untapped well of faith kept the dream alive while my personality caught up with what my spirit knew was right for me.

Follow your heart seems like trite advice, but there is profound wisdom in it. From our hearts God speaks. Oftentimes our hearts lead us into uncharted and seemingly-dangerous territory. And our minds, always on guard to keep us safe, try to talk us out of going there. But divine wisdom always knows which risks are worth taking.

I know the voice of my spirit's urging because it is, like all truth, steadfast. It speaks over and over again until I"m ready to listen. For as many times as I discount its gentle guidance in an attempt to stay secure in what I think I know, divine wisdom answers with another knock on my heart's door, reminding me of who I really am.

May you hear the gentle urgings of your spirit to risk all you thought you were, and may this tool be a blessing.

Healing in Nature

2011-02-14T20:33:00.000-08:00

I spent the weekend recently with a group of dear girlfriends for our annual beach trip. We rented a perfect little cottage overlooking the ocean to enjoy spending time in nature, and with each other.

I love being at the ocean, but it turns out that I’m the only one of the group who actually loves the mountains even more. It doesn’t matter if I’m spending days there, or just driving through on my way to somewhere else. My spirit hasn’t yet found a more sacred home than California’s high mountains.

My family teases me when we drive up there, because at some point I always stick my head out of the window like a happy dog and let the smell and taste of the tall pines and the forest floor fill my senses.

The sound of the wind whooshing through the treetops washes over me and through me, and for a time nothing else exists. I am at peace, in reverence of the complete perfection of this life that is beyond adequate words to describe it.

I don’t get up into the high country as much as I’d like to, but thankfully there are many ways to bring the healing gifts of nature into our lives. We can always find some aspect of nature’s beauty expressing itself, even in the middle of the concrete of the city. If we take just a few minutes to stop and notice how the leaves on a tree dance in the sunlight, or how the storm clouds race past in deepening colors, we know the majesty of this precious planet. We are reminded of the sacred miracle of this life we are born into, and of the deep privilege in our being here.

The powerful healing that we get from being in nature comes, I believe, from its ability to remind us of what is most true. The divine consciousness that created nature’s infinite splendor reveals that same splendor moving in and through us with every breath we take. And nature’s amazing beauty in all of its forms reflects the never-ending perfection in all of it.

May you take time to see all the good things, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Matching

2011-02-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Matching is a wonderful tool that I learned about during my years with the Berkeley Psychic Institute. Matching is a way to align ourselves with the energy of something that we would like to create more of in our lives.

We live in a creative universe. Not only do we live in the midst of unlimited creative potential, we embody that potential. Anything, any thing, that we focus our intention on, is made manifest in our experience. Sometimes we are conscious about our choosing, and sometimes we are not. Matching is a tool that helps us create a conscious outcome.

Matching is a very simple but powerful tool. Let's say you are attending a class or a workshop on a topic that you are interested in. As you listen to the instructor speaking, you really wish you could be so knowledgeable and at-ease with the topic. In that moment the instructor is personifying what you want but do not yet have, and it may trigger feelings that you could never be that good. In your mind you may try to find something about that other person that brings him down a bit.

None of us probably wants to acknowledge that we sometimes think this way, but this type of competition is common enough in human interaction. The thing is, it isn't helpful for anyone in creating our best outcomes. In this dynamic the person being "brought down" to the level of what another person hasn't yet been able to own feels invalidation. And the person who doesn't feel "there yet" just reinforces his erroneous belief about what he can't have.

Enter the tool of matching! When there is something we want but don't yet have, maybe something that we envy in someone else, matching can allow us to bring into our awareness our own ability to create it.

It works, as all spiritual tools do, by aligning us with the vibration of what we want to own in our experience. All things, all thoughts, emotions, interactions, material things, are at their core a vibration of energy that can be sensed, and also "seen" as color. Our ability to "see" the energy of a thing, called clairvoyance, is an ability that we all have. It comes to us naturally as spiritual beings experiencing a physical reality. Our clairvoyance takes no special skill or training, and is easier to engage than most people realize.

To try this tool:
1. Begin by taking a few minutes to close your eyes, breathe deeply and comfortably, and quiet your mind a bit.
2. In your mind's eye (also known as your 6th chakra), allow yourself to "see" a color that corresponds to the thing that you want to create. There is no need to second-guess the color that you see; go with what you see and trust it.
3. Then, see yourself using that color to "paint" the top of your head, or the "crown" or 7th chakra, which is our connection with our deepest knowing. See this happening but don't get stuck on it needing to look any certain way. What you see is perfect.
4. Thank the creator within you, for you have now asked and will be answered.

What I love most about spiritual tools is that they provide different ways to commune with the divine consciousness that lives within us, and in all things. Spiritual tools are prayers.

So if there is anything that you're wanting to create, match it! What you see yourself having is yours, so let it happen.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Silence

2011-01-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

In the space between our words and thoughts exists oneness with all that is. In the silence, we find the vast creative consciousness that breathes life into our world of form, the world we know. God is there, in the silence.

It is, for me, an amazing exercise to allow myself to notice all that is contained in silence. Until recently, I interpreted silence as a void, a place where something is lacking. I was always listening for something. But if we just listen without expectation or preconceived notions of what is supposed to come next, we can hear in the silence an unlimited opportunity for creation. In the silence, and in our openness to it, all things are possible.

In my meditation practice I have watched my thoughts come and go, and I've gotten better acquainted with the constant chatter that is my mind. I've even learned to quiet that chatter to a certain degree. But I have been so focused on watching my mind's activity that I never thought to really notice what exists in its absence.

Between one thought and the next, I am. That's all. There is no identification with the external circumstances that I thought defined me. Being part of the ongoing miracle of creation, and experiencing the perfection of that, is the only truth in that flickering moment.

What I am left with is a tremendous sense of joy in being here, and a deep peace that stems from knowing that whatever happens in this world of form is perfect, holy, and fleeting. In the space between the noise, there is a rightness to all things.

I think musicians must be aware of the grace inherent in the space between sounds. I have noticed it listening to my son performing with the orchestra that he's a part of. In the silence between two beautiful notes, I have been achingly aware of the creative potential of what's to come, delighting in the beauty when it comes but not holding my awareness on that one beautiful note, because that would mean not being completely open to the next one. I want to live my life like that.

We can take a pause in the moments of our days to listen to the silence. During the brief rests in dialogue we can notice the gift of choosing how to create the next moment. In the quiet between the sounds we hear in nature, we can know our oneness with all of life. And in the quiet between our own harried thoughts, we can feel God consciousness living through us.

In the silence, may we hear the sound of eternity, may we see with eyes that know only beauty, and may we feel the immense joy of our being.

May this tool be a blessing.

Hope

2011-01-24T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hope springs eternal. I’ve heard this saying countless times, but never stopped to consider the profound truth of it. There is always hope. As long as we live to create another day, we have the opportunity to witness outcomes that may have previously seemed impossible.

It’s human nature to base our expectations on what we see on the surface. We tend to make assumptions based on things that seem important but really aren’t in the bigger scheme of things.

What happened in the past has no bearing on how things will turn out now. We are much bigger than that, as limitless expressions of divine consciousness. In each moment we can find ourselves creating something really great, something that never felt quite within reach before. With each breath there exists the possibility of a door opening that had been closed to us, a change of heart, a new direction, or an answer to a nagging question or problem.

In my life I’ve watched things that didn’t seem possible happen. Many times. I still get stuck in worry and limiting beliefs, but I’ve realized that I’m meant to see the truth, even if it means getting smacked in the head with it over and over.

The highest good prevails, always and in all ways. We can attract our good, be it more time, more joy, a more fulfilling job, or the relationship of our dreams. We just have to be grateful and get out of the way.

Having hope is believing in miracles. In our small challenges and in the darkest of days, it is holding on in shaky trust to that whisper that says “There will be a way through.” We don’t need to know when, or how; we just need to acknowledge that gentle voice of truth within us. And we can trust that the light that exists in all things waits with flawless timing to illuminate our profound good.

May you have the very highest of hopes, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Charter for Compassion

2011-01-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

As caring beings having a human experience, we all are born with the capacity for compassion. Someone once said the difference between sympathy and compassion is that the one who sympathizes, can see and feel what another is experiencing, but does nothing. The one who has compassion, sees, feels and then acts on what is seen.

In 2008 a charter was developed with input from over 150,000 people from over 180 countries. It was called the "Charter for Compassion." An amazing experience produced this world-changing document. Watch the embedded video below to hear people breathing life into the words from the charter. We change the world by changing ourselves and you can act by making a commitment with others to live the charter. Visit the website here, Charter for Compassion, and sign on. If this speaks to your spirit, tell someone else about this movement.

May you practice compassion daily and may this tool be a blessing...

The Gift of the Breath

2011-01-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

I had a delightful “aha” moment last weekend at a workshop that I attended. The insight actually came from the meditation that the facilitator led us through at the beginning of the session.

As a practice, I remind myself as often as possible to connect with my breathing. Many people from all types of spiritual practices focus on the breath as a way to quiet the mind and bring attention into the present moment, thereby reducing stress. It is an important part of many wellness practices.

In being conscious of our breathing, we are able to reconnect with the part of ourselves that is eternal, always whole, an integral part of ongoing creation. We remember that through our breathing God lives as us, and so we can never really make a mistake; we are not only in the light, we are the light.

At last weekend’s workshop, as we were beginning to pull our attention back from the external things that demand our attention to the quiet within, I began to become aware of that now-familiar communication between body and spirit. I felt the lightness that comes as my thoughts move into the background and my soul expands with gratitude into the temple of experience and sensation that is my physical body.

As the group leader led us in meditation, he suggested a perspective that was new for me - that we notice the breaths coming, unbidden, for the gift that they are. As I sat there, probably for the first time in my many years of meditation, delightfully watching for each breath, and feeling each one filling me, every single breath became another hello from God.

I was humbly and very gratefully aware of doing nothing for this gift, of needing to do nothing; life just kept pouring into me in wave after wave of grace. I am, and I am again, and I was a child being given a new present to unwrap each time the breath of life filled my lungs. My body knew no separation from God and never-ending good as I welcomed the gift of each and every breath.

I don’t even begin to understand the source of this inexplicably vast goodness at work in our Being. The more I experience it, the more I realize how much I don’t understand. But I'm fine about that because that's part of being human. Even as I recognize my mind's inability to make sense of the miracle of creation, still I try to put it to words. It's my own way of honoring the gift.

May you find delight in unwrapping your life’s gifts, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Playing

2011-01-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of mine suggested to me yesterday that I write a post on play. We've known each other a long time, and she knows that playing is definitely one of my favorite topics. Friendship would be another wonderful topic today, as I am aware of the amazing gift that my friends are in my life, spiritually and otherwise. But I think I'll save the very worthy topic of friendship for another day, and today celebrate the importance of play as a spiritual tool.

One of the things that I recommend to people who need to reduce their level of stress is to find a way every single day to play. It's a pastime that we tend to do much less of when we become all grown up, and start taking our lives more seriously than is probably good for us. I know that's pretty true of me.

Still, I do make it a point to find ways to include the energy of play in my life as much as possible. Engaging in pleasurable activities, things that just make us happy for their own sake and delight us in their spontaneity, are good for body and soul. The cells of the body heal when we are happy, laughing, or just thinking positive thoughts. And when we engage wholeheartedly in some act of rebellion toward our adult deference to responsibility, propriety, and keeping our clothes clean, spirit within giggles and says, "more, more!" In all types of play, and in life in general, a good rule is the more childish the better.

When was the last time you jumped on the bed? I can't tell you how many times my husband has in fun scolded that I was going to break ours. Even jumping up and down on my knees in bed is enough to bounce him around, and that definitely tickles me.

He and I take swing dance lessons, and even though we have a lot yet to learn, we have a whole lot of fun doing it. And I have to say, attempting those anchor steps and underhand turns standing up in bed is a hoot. I always feel like we're living dangerously because I'm afraid that any minute an overly-enthusiastic rock-step is going to land us on the floor.

Have you looked lately at a rain puddle as the amazing opportunity that it is? Why not indulge the child within you and go ahead and jump in it? Kids really do know a lot about what's important in life. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the splash is so worth having to dry out your shoes.

How about trying a bout of last one up the stairs is a rotten egg? Or to the car, or that fence, or . . . anywhere? When we play like this we are so caught up in the moment that we are able to fully enjoy being alive.

There is no end to the ways that we can play. There are child-like ways and grown-up but still hugely fun ways. Sing at the top of your lungs driving in the car (that's the only time I'll do it). Play solitaire instead of loading the dishwasher, or Twister instead of doing the budget. Dance alone in your living room. Try your hand at juggling using the fruit in your kitchen. Blow a raspberry, or blow some bubbles! Who says that freeze-tag won't get your heart rate up as much as the treadmill?

(Shhh...My husband is napping. I think this would be a good time to get in some serious spiritual practice using a tried-and-true tool mentioned above. . .)

May you cultivate many playful moments, and may this tool be a blessing.

Seeing Things From a Distance

2011-01-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

In the middle of the trees, it’s hard to see the forest. And oftentimes while in the midst of our life’s circumstances it’s hard to see the bigger picture playing out. Getting caught up in the details that are apparent on the surface is part of being human, and sacred because it allows us to fully experience our humanness. It provides the opportunity for us to struggle with challenges, and learn from them. Through our humanness we are graced with forgetting, and then blessed with remembering that all is for our good.

Still, sometimes it feels like we struggle more than we need to, and we long to find a way to access the awareness of perfection at work in our human experience.

Lately, when I’ve been caught up in circumstances, I have chosen to step back, and view them from a distance. And just as if I had been able to take a glass elevator up from the forest floor to a space high above, my limited view opens up to take in a broader perspective.

We can do this on a spiritual level any time we want to step out of a situation and view it from a more neutral place. All that it requires is to be aware of pulling your energy back from it, and then watching what enfolds.

One technique I learned many years ago during my years with the Berkeley Psychic Institute is to “go to the corner of the room.” Start by spending a few minutes in relaxation with your eyes closed. Then allow your energy (or whatever you would like to call it - your spirit, the observer, God within you) to move up to a corner of the room. From this perspective, look down at yourself, and let spirit within you see from a higher vantage point.

From this distance, you may want to notice what thoughts and emotions are moving through your body. Because you are not in that moment caught up in the situation, you are able to see it more completely. As the observer you are able to be more neutral and less reactive.

As moving our attention to this observer's perspective becomes more comfortable, we are able to shift to it in an instant, eyes open, by pulling our energy out of a situation just enough that we are for a time not part of it, but watching it without judgment.

We can use this tool any time we want to approach something from a less reactive and limiting outlook. In any moment that we choose to become the observer of our experience rather than caught up in unconscious reaction, we are brought directly into present time. And from our perspective as fully-present in this moment, we connect with the truth of our being. We align with what is. For that moment we are timeless, and we live in the miracle of ongoing creation.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Walking the Labyrinth (revisited)

2010-12-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

My husband and I rose early this morning and walked the labyrinth, as we do every New Years' Eve. Along with treasure mapping, walking the labyrinth is one of our traditions for acknowledging the gifts of the past year, and for creating our vision of the year ahead.

I love walking the labyrinth! It really is a sacred space. We now have one in the city where I live, which is handy because in past years we've had to drive about an hour to get to one. I'll be able to use this very gentle but powerful spiritual tool more often now.

I've reprinted below my post from last January on walking the labyrinth. You can use this link to the World-Wde Labyrinth Locator to find a labyrinth near you; I hope the post spurs you to try it. And if so, I'd love to hear your comments.

After a year of writing this blog, I want to say thank you for your support, and for your very positive and insightful comments. I am grateful for the light you shine in the world.

Sharing the song in my heart has been a huge gift. I look forward to celebrating daily tools for the spirit in the coming year.

Many blessings in the New Year!
Sherry

*****

I walked the labyrinth today with my husband, Mike, and my son, Eric. Bless Eric for driving the hour it takes to get there, just because he knew it was important to his parents.

I love walking into the labyrinth and having the strong awareness of myself as eternal spirit, at the very same time I hear the traffic going by, see workmen moving around and the cracks in the sidewalk, all of the countless small details of inhabiting a body. I love knowing myself as eternal spirit as my path passes by Mike's or Eric's on the labyrinth and I am aware of sharing space with them for a moment, then moving on on our own paths, but each of us always contained by that bigger circle which contains all perfect paths.

While walking the labyrinth, no matter what direction I'm heading or how many twists and turns I take along the way, I'm always moving toward the center, where I know in the center of myself, in my heart, that I am God in expression. In the middle of all of the twists and turns of the labyrinth, the center stands.

Each experience I've had in the labyrinth has been different. I've been guided each time to remember just what was important for me at that time. This last time, I was reminded that All Is Well. In the middle of all of the big issues facing humanity in general and all of us individually, I can be glad for all of it because there is a mighty purpose behind it. All paths lead to an awareness of ourselves as God, without exception.

I remembered that pain is part of the dichotomy that we live in, and aids us in knowing joy. We can never really grasp and own for ourselves one side of a dichotomy until we have fully known the other.

Best of all, for me, was remembering yet again that there is nothing I need to do, no burden I need to carry to fix things. We are all the light of God. We can be nothing else. Everything we experience is contained by and part of that light of God, just like the circle of the labyrinth contains all paths leading to our knowledge of ourselves as God, and light.

What that means for me practically, in this new year, is that I don't have to suffer over what is. What is, is, and it serves a mighty purpose, one that I can trust. It's not easy to see the light in the middle of the darkness, but this year I choose to look for the good in all of it. I am grateful for the light that contains it all.

(In case you're interested, Mike read a book on labyrinths recently. It's called "Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool." I haven't read it yet, but he liked it alot.)

Here's to the light!

Honoring Your Gifts

2010-12-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

During this time of year, many of us are aware of all that we have to be grateful for. Some may have had more time to spend with family and friends. Those who celebrate Christmas likely had presents waiting under the tree, and exchanged gifts with important people in their lives.

It is a time of many gifts, but the truth is that we live all of our lives in the midst of a legacy of treasure. It’s easy in a busy life to let much of this amazing bounty go unnoticed, so that we miss out on the true magnitude of what we’ve been given.

Every single day, we wake. We breathe. The sun rises. Whether we revel in these things or not is a choice we’re given to make. Our ability to choose what we hold as real, and what we attend to, is probably the biggest gift of all.

We are here, luminous expressions of perfect consciousness, bringing that light to physical form. When we wake, God has the experience of beginning another day. When the sun rises, God delights in the goodness of her creations. And when we breathe, God is awed by her body’s perfect dance through all of it.

When we turn our attention to all that is right in our lives, and in the world, we help make it so. As we honor all of our many gifts, we create space for our own, and others', abundance. It is our conscious acknowledgement of and gratitude for the limitless good that we're a part of that creates it in our daily experience.

So in the new year let us appreciate and nurture the gifts we've been given. Look for the good that hides behind your most challenging situations. Take care of what’s important, and remember that awareness is the goal, not perfection.

Choose as often as you can to see the light of God expressing in everyone you encounter. Make a list every day of all that you're grateful for. Take time to notice the small things that bring joy. Do what you need to do to take good care of your body, that most holy temple of the soul’s expression. And find a way every day to connect with the light of God within yourself.

May you dance through 2011 in joy and abundance, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Joy!

2010-12-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

It’s impossible for me not to be touched by joy during this time of year. I love every part of it. From Halloween on, I am deeply aware of the days becoming shorter and another year coming to a close, creating time for rest, and for the amazing grace of being reborn into a new and hallowed cycle of ongoing creation.

I feel the energy of this time of the year in my body, as a sense of settling in to the peace in my heart. My body somehow feels more connected and alive as I begin to release what has transpired in the past year to make room for the new. Even in this period of winter’s rest, my body responds in anticipation as I begin to open to the miracles that will manifest in the months ahead.

Every year for many years, on New Year’s Eve, my husband, my kids, and their significant others sit together around our dining room table and create treasure maps. Even in those years when our kids aren’t at home, my husband and I always end the year by creating our treasure maps for what we envision creating in the coming year, and it’s become a tradition in our family. (I wrote a post on treasure mapping back in January in case you’ve never done one.) It is a time of fun, connection and creativity, and of great joy.

Through all of the ups and downs of the last year, I’ve done my best. I’ve embraced this precious year and experienced so much good stuff I can’t even put it into words. I’ve loved and laughed and felt emotions that ranged from deliciously giddy to achingly painful. I’ve raced around in non-stop motion and surrendered to the regenerating power of sleep. I’ve taught quite a bit, but learned much more.

I find myself in this 12^th month of the year looking at all I have created, and it is good. So now I rest for just a bit to enjoy it, and the season helps me do that. And spirit within me celebrates another sacred year of being here, as one unique expression of the divine.

I am, and there is no bigger joy than that.

May your heart know the joy of your Being, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Solving Problems From a Higher Level

2010-12-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite universal truths is that we can’t solve a problem from the energy of the problem. It has helped me countless times manifest a higher outcome by getting out of my own way, and allowing divine intelligence to work its magic.

Solving a problem from a higher place means first acknowledging, and then trusting, that within us resides the perfect solution to any issue that reflects less than our perfect good. It helps to remember that we are created of the same vast consciousness that created all perfect answers, every loving act, and every moment of inspiration or guidance. Vast and unlimited awareness of good is not only something we can access in moments of need, it is who we are, at our core, when the veil of human forgetting is gently swept aside. We are never separate from divine intelligence; it lives as us.

Deciding to manage a problem from a higher vibration can take a good deal of faith, and perseverance, because sometimes it can be very difficult to surrender our worry about a problem. Every bit of human programming we have tells us that we need to stew, and fuss, and worry, until we solve the situation. In some cases, a great deal of fear can be involved, which makes turning over the problem to divine intelligence within us even harder to do. When we are in a lot of fear, we identify with that, rather than divine intelligence from which we are created.

When we turn the details of a problem over and over in our minds, we are stuck in the energy of the problem. When we continue to relive a conversation or situation in our thinking, expecting that we will somehow get a handle on it, what happens instead is that it just grabs more of our attention. More and more of our awareness is sucked into a problem vibration. This is not helpful.

What is helpful is remembering, when the what-ifs and oh-my-God’s that fear speaks are getting me nowhere but upset, that I always have a choice in what truth I will serve. Even when the voice of fear is loud, I choose to serve the truth of God’s infinite good, living as me.

And as my heart fills with the grace of remembering, I am connected with all that I need to create my own highest good. My decisions are aligned with a rightness that I not only sense but feel in my heart, and right down to my bones. My burden is light, and I am blessed beyond measure.

May your burden be light, and your blessings many. And may this tool be a blessing.

Bringing the Crown Chakra to Gold

2010-12-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

The 7th chakra, or crown chakra, at the top of our heads, contains the seat of our knowing. It is the energy center from which we connect with our deepest truth. When we pull information seemingly “off the top of our heads,” the crown chakra is being accessed.

The crown chakra, like the other chakras and layers of the aura, can be affected by external vibrations of energy that don’t necessarily belong, but become “stuck” there, so to speak. When outside energy affects the crown, we lose our clarity, and we can feel like we’re having a hard time finding our way. We can lose our certainty in our ability to create the outcomes that are truly worthy of us as unlimited creators made in God’s image.

One simple tool for clearing the crown chakra is to “bring it up to gold.” The color gold is to many the vibration of our highest truth, the hand of God in all things. To me, it represents that vibration that overrides anything that is less than perfect good.

Bringing the crown chakra up to gold resets that spiritual center to the awareness of the best and highest that we can imagine. Within this vibration is our deepest peace, our most profound joy, abundant health and limitless creativity.

To bring your crown chakra up to gold:

Sit quietly, close your eyes, and allow yourself to relax by breathing deeply and comfortably for a few minutes.
In your mind’s eye, begin to picture the top of your head, and visualize in any way that you’d like the 7^th chakra that resides there. (You might see this as a cone shape with the point toward your feet. I usually visualize it as a spinning sphere, just because that’s how I started seeing it. Or you might just picture the top of your own head and know that your chakra is there.)
Then, in your imagination, which is our most important tool for creating, picture yourself taking a paintbrush in hand, dipping it into a bucket of bright gold paint, and thoroughly painting your 7th chakra in gold.
When it feels complete, take a few more deep breaths and notice any changes in how you feel. Open your eyes to a new awareness!

I love this tool! It's simple, and silly, and an infinitely powerful expression of God within us. Every time I practice it, I am reborn in truth. In any moment, we can make the choice to reset our experience to a much higher vibration. And in that moment, we are reborn to the spirit of God within us.

May you create your experience with a child's wonder, and may this this tool be a blessing. . .

Being in Present Time

2010-12-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

I’ve said that for every challenge there is a spiritual tool that will bring us back to the light of truth. My tool for today is being present!

Right now, in this moment, I sit watching the lights on our Christmas tree twinkle on and off in random patterns, and I remember another December evening 21 years ago watching these same lights twinkling. I was very pregnant and peaceful, and joyfully aware of how immensely right things are in the world.

In this moment all is well. There is no way to know exactly what the next moment will bring, but right now my feet are up, my tummy is full, and there is nothing I need do but enjoy the peace that those familiar lights, and ornaments, bring to me.

In this moment I breathe; my heart beats. I am, and that is all I need. The concerns of the day may arise in another moment, but that moment is not now.

Only in present time can we fully experience the magic of this beloved existence. It isn’t always easy to keep our focus on the current moment, because life is full of needs and wants and what-ifs that take us out into the future, or back into the past.

A dear friend forwarded me an email recently that said, in part, “There is no situation too big to handle; just put one foot in front of the other.” What a perfect sentiment for being in present time.

The past is gone, and I don’t know what the future will bring. But I can be here right now, with this next step, and the next. One step at a time, I create my own perfect dance, in time with the twinkling light of my soul.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Learning From Our Children

2010-11-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

I like to think that I have imparted some important and valued life lessons to my children. I know that I have, and can think of no accomplishment in my life that is more worthy.

As much as I have taught, I have learned from them as well, and the things they have taught me are valuable beyond measure. From my daughter, Mara, one of the really wonderful things I have learned is the importance of saying what I mean, and not shying away from speaking my truth. That’s not to say that I do this all the time, but as someone who’s always been pretty reserved, I’m making good progress. Mara is a very brave woman, and I admire her very much.

One of the treasured lessons I have received from my daughter, Brittany, is to look for the good. Brittany is one of the most positive people I know, moving happily and gently through life, seeming to always look for the silver lining in every cloud. What an amazing gift that is.

The lessons I learned from my children began almost immediately. They didn’t need to be grown up people to be wise beyond measure. I remember one night when my son, Eric, was two. I was tucking him into bed, as I did every night. I had recently started clairvoyant training, and was experiencing one paradigm shift after another as my awareness was being expanded to a much larger reality than I had previously known.

I had been doing past life readings at the Institute where I studied, and it was rocking my world, to say the least. I’d never really thought too much about past lives, or what eternity really meant in terms of a spirit’s expression. My believing was trying to catch up with what I was “seeing”.

Enter my wise and very verbal two-year-old son, who said that evening out of the blue, “Mommy, do you remember when we were babies together, and we were laying on that blanket on the floor touching each other’s faces?” There was my sacred lesson and my instant answer, that the past lives I had been seeing were real, and more importantly, that I could trust this new awareness of the clairvoyant space in the center of my head.

I’m happy to say that the lessons from my children continue. I’ve been struggling with a personal issue, and feeling pretty reactive to it. This morning I was “chatting” via text message with Eric, who is now almost 21, and he was telling me about how he is doing. It made me infinitely happy to hear that he “is just very conscious of setting the energy to how I want it to be every morning.”

His profound and simple words of conscious creativity were just the ones I needed to hear, to remember how to proceed in the face of a challenge. I helped teach him that, and today I learned it again from him.

We continue to teach, and remind each other, of truth, and of the best in life. I am deeply honored to know God through her perfect expression as my children.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

The Gratitude List

2010-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine explained to me that one of her spiritual practices, each night before bed, is to write a list of everything that she is thankful for. She calls it her "Gratitude List." I love this idea, and when I practice it my body immediately feels lighter as my awareness expands to include all that is possible. It is a perfect tool to consider as we celebrate Thanksgiving today in the United States.

The state of being thankful increases our capacity for good things. It allows us to validate the positive and make room for more of it. Studies have shown how gratitude affects our bodies, easing the tension brought on by worry, lowering blood pressure and enhancing our immune system. I have begun talking about a gratitude list as a tool for some of the people I work with around stress-related illness. I notice how quickly their breathing slows and their faces soften, as they realize they can stop fighting what's wrong in their lives and acknowledge that they have a choice about what in their experience they emphasize.

Thankfulness or gratitude is a choice. A person I know who often struggles with not having enough money had been telling me that he was about to be homeless because he couldn't pay the rent. A short time later, he told me about getting some money unexpectedly, so he was able to stay. He then went on to talk about how bad things are for him, barely making it by the skin of his teeth. His thoughts of lack are creating alot of difficulty. What he didn't even see was the tremendous gift he had just been given, in getting the money he needed! What we put our attention on, we cause to grow in our lives.

Our lives are meant to glorify the creator within. Holding on to limiting beliefs does not honor what is most true about us. In any situation of seeming lack, whether it be not enough money, not enough time or love or recognition, we are able to change our perspective and the course of our lives. Cultivating a feeling of gratitude instantly changes our experience from one of disappointment and wanting to one of creativity and abundance.

My gratitude list is long, and tonight I plan to rewrite it. I don't mind that when I rewrite it many of the same things come up each time, because I can appreciate and validate them yet again. In acknowledging the good in my life, I make room for more.

Be thankful for your gifts, large and small. Don't let them go unnoticed. Just behind every belief in lack lies our ability to consciously look for the good. That is our birthright, and worth being thankful about. Through it all, we live. We laugh and cry and strive and wonder. Our hearts beat on, allowing us the miracle of expressing the divine through our own unique humanness.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

(reposted for Thanksgiving)

Pulling the Aura In

2010-11-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

I was reminded recently about the tool of pulling the aura in. This tool can make our spirit much more comfortable navigating through the physical body. Thank Goodness for spiritual tools!

The aura contains one's spiritual energy. It is often thought of as the part of the spiritual energy that spills over outside of the body. The aura has seven layers, and each of them corresponds to a chakra, or energy center, in the body.

Our energy centers are sensory in many ways. Through them we experience feeling emotions, "seeing" energy as colors or pictures, or just "knowing," among other things.

The layers or the aura, and our chakras, can become overwhelmed with information if our aura becomes too big. In general, keeping the aura pulled in to about 18 inches or so from the outside of the body is comfortable. Consider the idea that we are affected by all of the energies going on around us to the degree that our aura is "taking it in." The larger the aura, the more we have to take in, and then manage energetically.

Most of the time we don't recognize that all of the energetic "input" we receive really doesn't have anything to do with us. We feel or sense something within ourselves, and assume that it must have to do with us. Often that is not the case.

If we have inadvertently let our aura become as big as a room, or the entire house, we will be affected by all of the energies that are active there. If someone is feeling frustrated or angry or depressed, we will pick it up and feel as if we need to do something to fix it. Sometimes it doesn't feel like there's any other choice because we feel those emotions as if they are our own.

That is not to say that we don't want to be sensitive to what others, and our world, are going through. But there are much more comfortable and healthy ways to heal what is going on around us, if we choose to.

First of all, ground your body and allow yourself to release. (I wrote a blog called "Releasing" which describes this in detail.)

After you are grounded, allow yourself, in your mind's eye, to see, or with your knowing, to sense, how far out from your body your aura is. If it encompasses a room, or your neighborhood, or your entire work environment, or someone else's environment, try pulling it in closer around you, so that it is about 18 inches from your body.

After we have pulled the aura in, we can set our intention, and create in any way that works for us. By doing so we are able to be less affected by the vast barrage of energy that we encounter in a day, and to remain more clear, healthy and grounded as we create in the world.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Blessed Be Your Name

2010-11-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

I wrote recently about fighting the good fight, and about faith. The following beautiful song from Unity seems fitting. This morning, for me, it's a prayer. . .

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Visualization

2010-11-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

What we think, our bodies perceive as real. What we hold in mind affects the body very directly, on a moment-to-moment basis. We’ve moved beyond the spiritual awareness of a deep connection between mind and body to a point where science is able to confirm what we have known intuitively for some time.

Our thoughts create vibrations of energy within the body which the body immediately responds to. The energy of our thoughts then manifests from the inner universe of our bodies out into the greater physical world around us. In essence, we are what we think.

Consider sitting at home watching a very scary movie on TV. The things we watch on TV create thoughts that gear the body up into fight-or-flight mode, but we’re not really threatened. We’re sitting there safe and comfortable in the living room, where our thoughts alone are creating the dramatic change in our body chemistry, and causing the fearful response.

Our bodies react to our thoughts in this way throughout every moment of our lives. Worry or fear-based thoughts trigger a stress reaction in the body which can have long-lasting effects on our health and well-being. Over time these effects can become chronic.

In the same way, we can use our thoughts to trigger a relaxation response in the body. Our thoughts can actually be a vehicle for health and healing, and for enhancing our quality of life.

One very effective way to use our thoughts to positively affect our bodies is through visualization. When we make a conscious choice to hold in mind thoughts that are peaceful, grateful, joyful, or whatever we want to have in that moment, our bodies respond automatically. When we can add a picture in our imagination to our thinking, the effect on the body is enhanced.

A simple visualization technique is as follows:

1. Sit quietly with eyes closed and begin to focus on your breathing. Take a few minutes to allow your breathing to become comfortable, deep and regular.
2. In your mind’s eye, begin to visualize yourself in a place that is very peaceful and relaxing. It can be a place that you have been before, or some place that you would like to visit someday.
3. See this place in your mind’s eye as if you are there, filling in all of the details that would make it even more relaxing and enjoyable. Notice what is under your feet and above your head, and all around you.
4. Allow your senses to take part, noticing any sounds or smells that are there, or the feel of the wind blowing across your skin if you are outside.
5. Stay there in your mind’s eye for as long as is comfortable, and then open your eyes feeling at peace.

I teach this much-used technique in the stress management class that I lead at work, and also use it myself. Yesterday, as I sat for a time visualizing myself sitting on the shore of a small mountain lake where we backpack in the summer, I found my body responding to the incredibly peaceful feelings I have when we go there.

We are what we think, and we can use the powerful connection between mind and body to create peace in any moment.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Fighting the Good Fight

2010-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Although this phrase originated as an evangelical call to believe in and spread the Christian faith, I have heard it recently used in a broader spiritual context. There are apparently also Greek, Norse, East Indian and perhaps other viewpoints about the meaning of the phrase.

It led me to wonder what, exactly, fighting the good fight means to me. The original term, fighting the good fight of faith, is fitting, because it can sometimes feel like a fight to remain in faith. Even the most faithful among us encounter times when we question all that we hold true, and those times of doubting everything that we’ve believed about our very existence can leave us deeply shaken. This is as it is meant to be, for in those times we are forced to release our preconceptions and open our hearts even more to the truth of our being.

Fighting the good fight could simply mean holding on to faith, no matter what. It might be a dogged determination, regardless of what’s happening in the world, how capable we’re feeling in the moment, or what others' opinions of us are, to remember God’s light expressing in and through all that we experience.

I read an interesting take on fighting the good fight based on the book Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho, in which Veronica apparently decides to attempt suicide in order to escape a life of every day being the same as the one before. In doing so, she damages her body enough to have only five days left to live, and regrets her decision after realizing that she had never really made any choices to fully live her life. I haven't read the book, but plan to, as I dearly loved his book, The Alchemist.

In this context, fighting the good fight is consciously choosing to fight complacence. It is deciding on a life abundantly lived, in which we accept the added risks of failure and loss in exchange for a bounty of delicious experience.

It makes me think of that fun email that comes around every now and then: “The purpose of life’s journey is not to arrive at the end with a well-preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, completely used up, yelling, ‘What a ride!’” I like this way of thinking about fighting the good fight!

Fighting the good fight can also simply mean choosing at all times to do our best, whatever that is in the moment. For me, doing my best does include choosing faith in God’s good in all that comes to pass.

It means living in a way that creates few regrets. Fighting the good fight, and doing our best, is being someone who encourages others to do better and be better, and striving to be the kind of person who others are better for having known.

May you always fight your own good fight, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

More Synchronicity

2010-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

I love the idea that synchronicity is playing out around us all the time, as part of the divine intelligence that moves us ever forward toward our awareness of ourselves as human expressions of God’s perfection.

Synchronicity works through us, and for us, in ways we often don’t even notice. Seemingly unfortunate events lead to unforeseen positive outcomes, and seemingly random events that are really part of a bigger plan connect us with our good.

An auto accident, after all of the inconvenient details of working with insurance companies and searching for a new car are finished, ends up providing us with a nicer, more reliable car. A conversation with an acquaintance we bump into in the supermarket ends up planting a seed in our awareness about how we can move forward with a long-held dream we’ve had.

Many people have read the stories of people who for some reason were supposed to be in the World Trade Center on September 11, but because of a sick child, or even a broken heel on a shoe, were kept away on that day. For those people those simple events were not random, but part of their perfect path in ongoing creation.

Like all things having to do with learning to navigate as spirits through these physical bodies, the more aware we are of the synchronous nature of our universe, the better able we are to harness its power in guiding us to create our best lives.

Listening for the gentle promptings of a perfect universe can be enlivening, and fun! It is at the crux of our connection with the purely creative essence that guides all of life. We have to be sitting squarely in the present moment to even notice synchronicity playing out in our days. And we definitely need to be fully present to be able to hear where divine and perfect order is guiding our next steps.

Some people experience their connection with synchronicity by trusting their sixth sense. With practice, we can become more adept at noticing the subtle messages we receive in our bodies when that six sense seeks to guide us toward our greater good.

In my own life, I’ve experienced synchronicity by heeding a gentle hunch to do something in a different way than I had planned. At those times, it would have been very easy to disregard my quiet intuition in favor of following the track that my much louder thinking was stuck on.

I’ve said before that I write to remember. So today I remember to let my moments unfold one by one. And I will listen for my heart’s quiet direction as I walk my path this day. I will pay attention as my heart says, “no, not that way, go here,” in its soft voice that is almost a whisper, part voice, part feeling. I will listen as my spirit’s voice speaks through the quickened feelings and gentle voice of my heart.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

A little Synchronicity from a Friend

2010-11-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

Corine, from Everyday Gyaan, had her own experience with synchronicity and I thought you might like to read about it. Blessings, Sherry

Non-Doing

2010-11-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I love the statement by Jon Kabat-Zinn in his book, Wherever You Go, There You Are, that “it takes great courage and energy to cultivate non-doing, both in stillness and in activity.” I would add that it also takes lots of practice!

I recognize the gifts inherent in cultivating non-doing, but in our doing-oriented world, it is often difficult to just be. One would think that ceasing doing for awhile would be the easiest thing in the world, a simple choice to make. It is a choice, but one often fraught with repercussions when things are expected of us.

It does take courage to keep reminding ourselves that the panic to get things done is part of the world, but not who we are. And it can feel like a big leap of faith to fully accept things exactly as they are, and with ourselves as we are, trusting that all is as it should be. It always takes courage to place our trust in a higher, unseen truth.

It also takes a lot of energy to stick with it, to be in the world, and immersed in our days, but constantly remembering to reset our reality to one that for the most part doesn’t mesh with what is around us. As Kabat-Zinn says, “The doing mode is usually so strong in us that the cultivation of non-doing ironically takes considerable effort.” Sometimes, rather than going with the flow of life's hectic pace, we need to make a conscious decision to just stop.

When we do choose to stop and just be for a moment, the awareness that nothing else is really needed but our presence in our experience can bring immense joy and clarity. It is a great paradox that we can also choose non-doing in our activity as we take our steps throughout the day, fulfilling our roles and being the people who we are.

According to Kabat-Zinn, “Non-doing doesn’t have to be threatening to people who feel they always need to get things done. They might find they get even more “done”,” and done better, by practicing non-doing.” “Non-doing simply means letting things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way.”

Words to live by! And I am, as always, grateful for the reminder.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

I Am Not I . . .

2010-11-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

A beautiful quote, worth sharing, from Juan Ramon Jimenez:

I am not I. . .
I am this one walking beside me whom I do not see.
Whom at times I manage to visit, and at other times I forget.
The one who remains silent when I talk, the one who forgives, sweet, when I hate.
The one who takes a walk when I am indoors.
The one who will remain standing when I die.

May you know the one who walks beside you, and may you be blessed this day.

Being Willing

2010-11-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are in the midst of Unity’s yearly fall book study program, spending treasured time once a week with a group of spiritual seekers and kindred spirits. While willingness isn’t a specific topic in the book we’re studying, the idea of being willing came up last week, and I was grateful for the reminder about this important spiritual tool.

All forms of unforeseen assistance result from a decision to, if nothing else, just be willing. In life we face many different situations in which we are unsure how to proceed, or are not sure that we know how to accomplish what is expected of us, or what we hope ourselves to be capable of. There are times when what we envision is so very different from what we’ve known ourselves or the world to be that our seemingly lofty hopes can seem like pipe dreams. In all of these times, being willing opens our hearts and our minds to divine intelligence that will find a way for good regardless of how things appear on the surface.

The limitless creative potential that exists in each of us is quickened by our willingness. In those rough times when we feel stuck or lost and can think of no appropriate course of action, being willing to just consider the possibility that there is a perfect answer to our need can allow the universe to work its magic on our behalf.

Being willing to suspend our judgment and preconceived notions for just a moment makes room for the seeds of a higher reality to take hold. An example might be feeling deeply unable to forgive someone, even though we might want to. A decision in that moment to just try to be willing to forgive creates a subtle but vast shift in what we are capable of, and who we know ourselves to be. We can change the world by just being willing.

In making a decision to be willing, we don’t have to be perfect. We don’t even have to trust that we will be able to do what we’re hoping to do. We can be ever so gentle with ourselves, and honor our humanity, by acknowledging that even when things seem the most fraught with limitation, we can stop fighting and surrender to our willingness.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Spontaneity

2010-10-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

My husband and I had planned to spend last night taking care of some financial planning details, but on a whim we decided to put our Halloween costumes together instead. We’re going to be superheroes, in blue sweat outfits with red boxer briefs over the top, and red capes. We’re going to look completely ridiculous, which of course is what we’re aiming for.

I’m grateful that he and I are both pretty comfortable with changing plans. We definitely don’t get the “need to’s” done as quickly as we could. And sometimes I do feel like we just need to dig in and spend a few weekends checking off the items on the to-do list. But in the end what really needs to get done on any given day always manages to get done.

There will always be chores to do, lists to write, and any number of small tasks to finish. We could spend an entire long life focusing on details, and miss all of the opportunities that come from following our hearts and being spontaneous.

My husband has taught me a lot about being spontaneous. He’s always been good at it. I tend to be much more linear, and used to believe that I should get my work done before goofing off. But I’ve learned that the moments I spend doing what I “should” do won’t be the ones I remember. I’ll remember the nights we decided on the spur of the moment to walk up into the nearby hills with a bottle of wine to watch the sunset, or to run fully-clothed through the sprinklers in the park when we were out walking the dog.

I find that it’s a tricky balance, making time to take care of the necessary details, deciding what can wait until later, and then really letting go of what I thought had to get done so that I can enjoy the adventure of the moment. What’s different now is that I err on the side of enjoying the adventure, and I’m fine about that!

May you find joy in unplanned moments, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Handling Problems From a Higher Vibration

2010-10-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me how when I make a spiritual discovery, I often have to forget and then remember it countless times before it becomes ingrained as the truth that shapes my expression. I am reminded of a spiritual truth that I have known for many years, but tend to easily forget when it really counts, which is that “you can’t solve a problem from the energy of the problem.”

Our human tendency is to approach any type of problem in terms of the challenges that it’s causing, and then respond with frustration, anger, resistance, or whatever seems warranted at the moment. It’s difficult to think our way through to a solution, because in focusing on everything that’s wrong, we actually breathe more life into the problem, and cause it to persist.

It is said that what we hold in mind manifests in kind. Managing a problem is a great example of how this plays out as we move through our experiences. As long as I am reliving in my mind the problem at hand, I am holding it in my awareness, and there is no space for resolution.

Part of our journey here in physical form is to forget that we are part of a divine intelligence that creates all that happens for our good. Our gifts come from the choices that we make about how we respond to what we are faced with. Our most holy gift is our ability to choose.

We can choose to repeatedly focus our energy on the details of an issue and what we need to do to make it better, or we can handle it from a higher vibration, by turning it over to the perfect intelligence of God within.

There is no issue, no worry, no problem large or small that we can’t turn over to God within. In doing so, we get out of our own way and make room for the best and highest outcome in any situation.

When I am aligned with this truth, my moments are filled with a deep peace and life-affirming joy. I remember then that all is as it should be, and there is nothing that I have to do. Just being here, and experiencing my moments, is all there is. I am aware that everything, absolutely everything, in my experience is happening for good.

May you raise your burdens to the truth of God’s light within you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Sitting With Discomfort

2010-10-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

It is human nature to try to avoid discomfort in all forms. We learn early on in life to be careful with our physical selves, keeping our hands away from fire, or walking carefully down stairs so we don’t fall down. A little later on, we learn to minimize emotional pain by perhaps not speaking up when we should so we don’t feel rejected, or maybe agreeing with something that is not our truth in order to feel accepted.

While it makes sense to want to minimize pain, we can do this to a point where we end up shutting ourselves off from our deepest feelings, and also our greatest opportunities for growth.

It isn’t easy to sit with confusion or disagreement or disappointment, let them exist, and just experience our reactions to them. I know I always want to jump in and fix the issue as quickly as possible so I’m not uncomfortable anymore. But I’m learning that many of the things that cause me discomfort are due to things beyond my control, and I need to let them be. In my striving to change the energy of a situation, all I end up doing is getting myself off center.

One way we shut ourselves off from fully processing our experiences and receiving their gifts is by placing our focus outside of ourselves. When I am spinning about circumstances around me, who said this or did that, I cannot be sitting with my own experience. Sometimes it’s more comfortable to focus my thinking on what others are doing. While it may be frustrating and painful, thinking and spinning about what others are doing is often less frustrating and painful than actually deeply feeling my own feelings about what is taking place.

If I try to think my way through something uncomfortable, I may stew for awhile and then feel as if it’s over, but really I’ve just pushed it under the surface. Over a lifetime we can build up so much unacknowledged emotional pain that we begin to see everything through its lens.

I really like the idea that the only way through something is through it. Avoidance doesn’t help, and as they say, resistance is futile. When we start shutting off our uncomfortable experiences, we shut down our ability to feel all emotions, the painful stuff and the joyful stuff. Uncomfortable things will always happen, and the experience of them provides the impetus we need to open our hearts to the profound miracle in all of life’s ups and downs.

An interesting example of this that I heard about recently involves a group of people who were studied regarding their response to the discomfort of holding a hand in extremely cold water. One group was instructed to focus their attention on what they were feeling in their hand. The other group was asked to focus their attention on something pleasant, such as a warm beach in Hawaii. The group that stayed with the pain they felt actually processed it more quickly and easily.

If I sit with my discomfort and give it the space it needs to be fully experienced, I can eventually let it go. In the meantime, while I am in that process of integrating what I need to learn from the discomfort, I validate it as part of what it means to be human. And I remember the hand of God in all of it.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Prosperity

2010-10-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

In these challenging economic times, it can be tough to stay centered in the truth that we can live in prosperity. I’ve noticed how easy it is for me to get caught up in the fear of the day, and I start wondering how bad things will get, or if our financial future is secure.

It helps to remember that prosperity, like all other possible experiences in this life, is a creative choice. It is, at its core, a vibration of energy. We attract things to ourselves based on what we believe to be true about us. We can “vibrate” at prosperity, or at a lack of prosperity. Interestingly, what we believe we can have, do or be often comes from parents, teachers, our community, or other people we’ve encountered along the way, and is not our own deepest truth about ourselves.

As with all things, our thoughts and beliefs about prosperity form what transpires in our experience of it. When we acknowledge the truth of ourselves as empowered to create our heart’s desires, always connected to the flow of divine intelligence, it is made manifest in our lives.

We can live abundantly in many ways. We can enjoy good health, joy, wisdom, or wealth, among other things. Financial prosperity and abundance have long been seen as non-spiritual, and not in alignment with expressing our Godselves.

We are meant to experience ourselves as unlimited creators manifesting all of the good that we can envision for ourselves and our world. We glorify God when we live in alignment with that ideal, doing our best, creating our highest, and then blessing it as good. We bless it as good with our gratitude.

I was reminded of the power of gratitude in a recent article on the DailyOM website. It spoke of a practice that I intend to start in my own life, when I do that seemingly-mundane activity of paying my bills. Paying bills can feel like a chore, and can also lead us to feel less-than-prosperous if we have a bit too much month at the end of the money. The DailyOM article provided a great way to look at it:

“We may not always recognize simply paying a bill as prosperity in action, but it is. We can make it a spiritual practice and align ourselves with the energy of giving and receiving when we give thanks for having the ability to pay for it. We can then extend our view far beyond the horizons of our own lives to imagine all the employees whose paychecks are paid from our resources. We can imagine all the bills they can pay and how they support their families and share with their friends.

This exercise gives us an idea of how far our financial energy reaches out into the world. When you can envision every financial transaction as a grateful act of generosity today and every day, you cannot help but attract more abundance into your life.” Amen!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Laughter

2010-10-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

I’m not talking about a chuckle, although that’s great, too. I’m talking about the giant laugh that catches you off guard in its volume and delight, the laugh that leaves you wiping tears from your cheeks and feeling wonderfully spent.

It is said that “a smile starts on the lips, a grin spreads to the eyes, a chuckle comes from the belly, but a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, overflows, and bubbles all round.” That is the laughter that makes us, and everyone around us, happy to be alive.

Another old saying holds that laughter is the best medicine, and that has to be true, especially considering the effect that our thoughts and moods have on our bodies. Surely the glee that we feel after a good laugh affects us physically. Every cell in our body is healed when we experience positive emotions, and laughter overflowing is the physical expression of positive emotions that are just too delightful to hold inside.

I dearly love having my funny bone tickled. Once in awhile one of the stand-up comedians on the comedy network will deliver just the right brand of comedy, and I can’t get enough. I’ll stay up late, not even minding that I’ll probably be tired in the morning. Watching my husband sitting next to me laughing adds a whole lot to the total entertainment package.

There are certain people in my life who I laugh a lot with. My sister is one of them. Maybe it’s because we grew up together and know each other so well. But laughing is one of the things we do often, and well. Other people watching us would probably think we’re loopy, and I’m sure they wouldn’t think that the source of our amusement is at all funny. When we get in that mood it doesn’t take much, and then it’s all downhill to unbridled hilarity, which can be a whole lot of fun.

I’ll end with another saying about laughter, which is that it’s like aerobics for the soul. In our joy and laughter, our souls recognize themselves, and we are home.

May you laugh loud and often, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Sending Them On...

2010-10-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I heard a quote the other day from Unity's Daily Word that touched me, but before I share it with you let me explain why I liked it so much. The day before, at work, I had facilitated a support group that I do regularly. It's a support group for people with diabetes, and I've been leading it for almost 10 years. It's grown alot in that time. I've always loved watching as the participants grow comfortable enough to share their feelings, and how they inspire and learn from each other.

Leading that group is a joy and a challenge. There is a huge discrepancy in people's needs, perspectives and awareness. Creating an environment in which such a diverse group all feel welcome and accepted tests me, and at times wears me out.

Part of what I do leading groups is consciously set the energy. I set my own vibration at being open and accepting, and model that. I set the energy of the group at being inclusive, effective and positive. Mostly it works! It's a pretty successful group.

Even still, in all groups that have been together awhile, there are some participants who others resist. One particular man last week was annoying the others, interrupting, being negative, falling asleep and snoring loudly when others were speaking, which he does fairly often.

I noticed myself beginning to resist this man, as I got stuck in feeling like I had to control the situation, and him. I felt the familiar frustration that comes with resistance, and the invalidation that comes with feeling out of control. When I got home I still felt frustrated and invalidated.

And so I finally get to the point of the story: the quote, and how we leave people. The next morning, as I was getting ready to go to work with very little enthusiasm, divine intelligence provided my answer to me in a gentle and perfect way, as it always does. My husband often reads me the daily word in the morning, and it had a quote from the Bible, "You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God." (3 John 1:6)

I remembered then that when I fall into judgment or resistance, I can choose to be my best self. I can encounter people in my day in a manner befitting my Godself, by being the best I can be in the moment. I'll never be perfect, but I can choose to lead that group affirming that in that little corner of creation, there is ample space for God's love in all of its expressions.

I choose to send them on in a manner worthy of God. And in doing so, I am blessed beyond measure.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Living Your Purpose

2010-10-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

I believe that the purpose of life is, simply, to live it. Really live it. We are meant to live our lives fully, experiencing all of our moments as deeply as possible, and thereby knowing what it has meant to be uniquely, and completely, us.

To live our lives fully, we need to be in present time as much as possible. It’s easier said than done, but important because we can’t really know all of the richness of being here when our minds are in the future, or in the past. There really is unimaginable power in cultivating being right here, right now.

Living life fully means being present for all of it, the highest highs and the lowest lows. It means not hiding from our deepest emotions, and accepting those feelings that make us uncomfortable and we wish we didn’t feel. It means accepting the parts of ourselves that are still stuck in forgetting.

When we are in touch with the present moment, we are aware of what we are feeling, and can make more conscious decisions about how we want to show up. We design ourselves with clear intention.

I have heard it said that our purpose in life is to pursue what makes us happy. Yes! We are meant to create the best and highest expression of ourselves in all ways. Sometimes, though, creating our highest in this human form means pushing through the pain and confusion of forgetting. That too, as uncomfortable as it can be, is our purpose, to be fully present with our experiences, learn from them, and ultimately appreciate their lessons as they lead us to knowing our Godselves.

For me, the crux of living my purpose is consciously creating myself and my experience, and then being aware enough to appreciate the creation. In doing so, I am God, knowing herself.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Co-Creating With God

2010-10-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was reminded at Unity this morning of a spiritual question I've been pondering for quite awhile. A guest minister was talking about surrendering, and using the prayer "thy will be done." For many years I have accepted the premise that the universe, God, our higher selves, however we choose to state it, will provide as we ask, and as we believe. In a nutshell, ask, and it shall be given unto you, has been my truth.

It is still my truth. I believe that we are limitless creators with the ability to manifest all that we can see ourselves being, and having. It has been my experience that the clearer we are about what we want, the more likely it is to happen. I also believe that turning anything over to God's will creates the highest outcome, because God sees so much more clearly than we do our heart's desires, and our deepest needs.

So my question to myself has been, in creating this life in the best and highest way, where do we stop being specific about what we want, and turn it over to God's will for us?

What I realized today was a great answer for me. In thinking about what I have experienced in my life so far about creating, I realized that both are equally important. It doesn't matter so much whether I feel like I am choosing, or God is choosing, because God exists as me. We are one and the same. What matters is the energy that the choice is happening in.

I have many times in my life felt certain about something specific that I wanted to have happen. I saw it clearly in my mind, turned it over to God, and then let it go. And sure enough, it did happen. The important part was always that I turned it over to God, which is another way of saying "thy will be done."

I ask for specific things, but I also acknowledge that first and foremost I want what will bring the best and highest for me and all involved. Often what I want does. Sometimes, for some reason that I cannot see, it doesn't, and in that case I can trust that the best and highest is served in another way.

I remembered today that it is part of my birthright as an unlimited creator made in God's image to seek the best that I can be and have in this life. And when I do it in an energy of surrendering to the divine intelligence of God's highest good, then all the good that I can imagine, and more, will come to pass.

May you create always with God as your copilot, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Getting Behind the Mind's Chatter

2010-10-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

I saw a sign many years ago at the Aesclepion Healing Center in San Rafael that said, "Don't believe everything you think." At the time I thought it was funny, and also knew that while it was profound, I didn't quite get it. I imagined an existence where we have all types of random thoughts and live as if they are true, but most of them are not. It would be rather like being actors in a play, pretending. At the time I couldn't get my mind around that.

I've seen since that life really is like that. We pretend that what our minds tell us is true, so that we can pretend, for a time, to be less than God. Because of this, we are provided with our most holy of gifts, that of remembering our Godselves. It is funny, in an existential kind of way. And I'm still trying to get it.

The thing is, I'll never "get it" with my head, because we can't intellectualize spirit. Truth doesn't happen in the mind, but in the heart.

The ego-driven mind's purpose is to maintain the illusion that we are separate, and that there is need to fear. And so my thoughts can take me on a very convoluted path that becomes a slippery slope to a really unhelpful perspective. The more I stop to notice where my mind is taking me, the more I realize just how frequently my thoughts turn to worry, and that worry sets the emotional tone of my experience.

When we decide not to believe everything we think, we can consciously choose which thoughts to attend to. The rest we can notice and release without any concern about them at all. And that is the tricky part, the letting go without concern, when the thoughts would have us believe they are hugely important in the moment. How do we trust that the sky won't fall, finally, as everyone's been threatening, if we refuse to entertain the voice of fear that our thoughts can be?

I've found that first I must stop. I must stop and acknowledge that my thoughts are running loose, and that I can choose which thoughts I want to nurture. I then focus on my breathing, and watch in my mind's eye as I breathe into, and out through my heart. In doing so I reconnect with the truth that resides there. And I remember then to turn it all over to Father/Mother God, as I've been encouraged to do over and over, and in countless ways. God is there, always there, just behind the mind's chatter.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Taking Good Care of Yourself

2010-09-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

As a spiritual tool, consciously choosing to take good care of ourselves is crucial. It's easy to forget to do it in the middle of our busy lives. We tend to think of giving to others as being the more spiritual act, but taking really good care of ourselves is the best way of honoring these precious lives that we've been given.

Our sensitive, unique and wonderful bodies really are miracles, these magnificent temples of the soul. They allow God to not only know but experience herself, through us. Our bodies deserve our utmost care.

As I write this, I'm sitting with my feet up, looking out the window at the green grass, beautiful tall trees and the long rays of light from the setting sun. The low light sparkles on the leaves that dance in the breeze. Stopping to really notice scenes like this is one of the ways that I take good care of myself.

There are many ways, individual to each of us. If we listen, we will hear what our bodies and our spirits need. One tool I use often is to simply ask myself, "What do I need to do right now to take care of myself?" Stopping for a moment to ask the question shifts our attention from details and busyness to remembering the truth of our own innate value and importance in the world.

Focusing on doing what we need to do to take good care of ourselves helps relieve stress, and makes us more effective in our roles and in our lives. When we are good to ourselves, the world can dish out what it will, and we remain our own best advocates. No matter what, we can find deep joy in nurturing our own hearts' desire.

I believe that the more often we choose to act in a way that honors our own needs, the healthier we can be physically and emotionally. Our bodies and minds relax as they become accustomed to being treated with care. We learn to trust ourselves.

Self-care may come in the form of spending time in nature, or practicing a creative hobby. It may be found in getting more regular physical activity or eating foods that nurture our bodies and feel right for us. Taking good care of ourselves may mean saying no, even when someone else is disappointed or angry, or making sure that we honor our need to spend time alone.

Splurging a little on the perfect pair of shoes or on some article of clothing that we feel great in could be a way to cherish ourselves. Or it might be in planning a schedule for our days that includes time for our spiritual practice, or for other kinds of self-care.

We glorify God, and our blessed existence, when we remember to consider what we need to do to take good care of ourselves, and then do it.

May you find many joyful ways to cherish yourself, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Calling All Angels

2010-09-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

Most people go through life with no awareness of the immense level of support and love that’s extended to us from the realm of spirit. In my own life, I have been aware of the profound healing energy of Mother Mary, providing comfort and easing my pain during some of my more difficult times. I’ve become familiar with her vibration and recognize when she is at work in my life; her energy always brings the same feelings of deep peace and security when I’ve needed them most.

Many people are aware of having a guardian angel, which is a being that has made an agreement to step in and assist us in creating our good. Countless sensitive and intuitive people have come to know the work of a guardian angel in their lives, and even call on them in times of need to help with things they feel incapable of managing in the moment.

Vast numbers of people all around the world pray to Jesus for help and guidance, or seek the teachings of Buddha or Lao Tzu, or any of the other very capable way-showers who were our guides in their lifetimes and who as spirit continue to influence our lives for the good of all mankind.

Connecting with these benevolent and loving spirits can be done in prayer. It can be done in the quiet of meditation by listening to our own inner knowing about the beings who assist us. I have many times chosen to see in my mind's eye a color representing the vibration of one spirit guide who works for my good. There are many.

I see all of these beings as wonderful angels of light who have agreed to help us navigate our biggest challenges as we’re working to remember that we, ourselves, are angels of light. They assist us by reminding us that we are not alone, and that we are always connected to the divine light of God’s endless good.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Being a Blessing

2010-09-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day about living my life with purpose, and what the most important considerations are for me in choosing who I want to be in my life right now. It's interesting how the answer to that changes over time, as my priorities change with increasing experience.

My perspective as a middle-aged woman is certainly different from when I was younger, raising kids and working hard to make ends meet. All of those experiences helped shape my ideas of the world and my place in it; now it feels like I have time to really hear the quiet voice of spirit within me, and design the remaining days of my life from my own deep purpose.

I recognize that the priorities I feel now will change in time, too, as I've had a chance to experience and assimilate the lessons I'm learning in present time. But I've noticed that the older I get the more important it becomes for my life to follow guideposts of my own conscious choosing.

One of my present-time guideposts is simply to be a blessing. In choosing to be a blessing, we automatically make our decisions from the part of ourselves that is connected with truth, and we are able to transcend judgement, resentment, or any other things that can come up when we're acting from a more fearful place. We are able to do, and be, our best.

By making a conscious decision to be a blessing, we affirm our good, and let our awareness of God expressing through us shine through. We validate what is true of us. And when we raise our own vibration to awareness of God at work within ourselves and in all things, we raise the vibration of the entire world and everyone in it.

Being a blessing is like a prayer. When we choose this day to be a blessing, as we ask, we are answered. We give our best to the world, and are provided for in kind. And as we live in the truth of our own divine nature, our own voice is God's voice in the world.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Breathe

2010-09-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Through it all, we breathe. Each and every breath we take provides us with another precious moment of being. Breathing is life itself.

Our breath contains the essence of all that has ever been and will ever be. The divine intelligence that created all experience, all history, our collective hopes and dreams, and our deepest fears, lives in the breath. With our breath we connect with spirit, and with our own place in eternity.

At any moment that I stop and become aware of my breathing, whether it is just stopping in the middle of a busy day to notice that I do breathe, or sitting in meditation for a longer time, I am reminded of the miracle of my own sacred life.

In noticing my breathing, I am brought back to that most simple and absolutely profound truth, that I Am. The large and small details of the day take on new meaning, because regardless of their relative importance, I am here. My choices around those details weave threads into the fabric of who I am, and who I choose to be. My thoughts, words and actions contribute to the essence that all will breathe for time neverending. I Am. There is no bigger gift.

There’s a song we sing at Unity that I love which says it beautifully:

O, spirit, sing in me.
Breath of God, dance in me.
Let me be your song of love,
O, spirit, sing in me.

May the breath of God dance in you today, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Ordinary

2010-09-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

I believe it is human nature to want to excel, to know that there are things that we do especially well and that we are special in our own unique ways. But in our fast-paced, constantly-productive, competitive and ego-driven world, it’s easy to forget the grace that comes from being just plain us.

In remembering that we are expressions of divine creation and therefore innately special, there is nothing we need to do. Our birth into the human family is an automatic guarantee of greatness in this whole delicious scheme that is the miracle of ongoing creation.

In our greatness we are quite ordinary. For all of the seeming uniqueness of our experience, in the bigger picture all people move through life experiencing most of the same things that come along with being human. Like all others, we live and breathe, we love and hurt and struggle and rejoice. We remember our divinity, and we forget.

An awareness of being ordinary allows us to open our hearts to other people without judgment, because we recognize that we are all expressions of what is commonplace in people. We become less divided when we notice that our differences really are insignificant compared to the vast similarities that we share.

In being ordinary we can reduce the stress in our lives, because there is nothing to strive for. We don’t create goals or make decisions based on comparing ourselves with others’ goals or accomplishments. We can put our attention on the things that bring our own intrinsic joy.

Being unexceptional is a very nurturing state of awareness. It allows us to live more fully in the present, because there is nothing additional we need to do. We are just us, and it is enough.

May you delight in being ordinary, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Greeting the Day

2010-09-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning with a prayer of gratitude, as I do on most days. It is one of the ways that I say hello to the gift of another day. Greeting the day in whatever way feels right is a wonderful way to consciously set the energy for what awaits me.

It can take my breath away, and did this morning, acknowledging the bounty that is mine in each day, in the middle of living my very ordinary but utterly phenomenal life. In those moments there sometimes aren’t adequate words, but I can feel my immense gratitude for being, and say “Thank you, God, thank you.”

The awareness of gratitude changes our perception and our experience as we open to the light of God within us. Let us cultivate gratitude!

It doesn’t matter if I’m tired or had an upsetting dream, or have a busy day ahead of me. Beginning the day by connecting with the profound truth of the perfection that I am born of puts things in perspective. I have another day on this earth, and I want to spend my day appreciating it.

There are many ways to welcome the day. My husband spends time in the early morning hours in our hot tub, doing his meditation and prayer as the sky lightens and the birds awaken with their song. Some people have specific rituals that validate being alive for the coming day, lighting a candle, or just sitting in the silence. Whatever you choose to do to greet the day, cultivate gratitude.

May you revel in each precious day, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Approaching Your Feelings

2010-09-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

A wise person reminded me recently of the importance of not overriding my feelings. In my focus on maintaining my thoughts in a healthy and productive place, I often try to think through the emotional issues that I’m facing, rather than really, truly feeling them.

Feeling feelings can be inconvenient. It can be painful. In the short run it can stir things up and make us less comfortable than if we had just chosen to let them go. It can also feel very unproductive, especially around situations that are past, or that we cannot change.

I deeply believe that choosing how I think about the ongoing events of my life, expecting good, and trusting God’s divine hand in all of it, mold my experience in a way that reflects my expectations, and my trust.

I’m finding, though, that some things have an emotional life of their own. My good intentions and positive thoughts help to a very large degree, but the only way through emotions is through them. And that means being fully present not with my thoughts, or how I want things to be, but with my honest feelings, messy as they might be in the moment.

When I approach my feelings rather than think them away, my body is healthier, and I am more at ease. There is a big sigh of relief when I touch on what is really going on, deep within me. Sometimes just acknowledging the depth of my feelings is all I need. That makes sense to me, because I always find that touching truth is a healing.

There is a technique called C.O.A.L., in which we approach a situation that is having an emotional impact on us by being curious, open, accepting and loving. With it we are not judging the fact that we are having an emotional reaction, but being ever so gentle with ourselves as we seek to understand and honor our feelings about it. I am finding it helpful.

I am, as always, grateful for the many tools that I’ve learned to help me embrace the miracle that is my life. And today, I remember to approach and honor my feelings.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Adjusting Your Sails

2010-09-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes from unexpected places! I did a post a while back on some words of wisdom that I found on the foil wrapper of my Dove dark chocolate. It made my day to bump into the simple words that were just what I needed to hear. I’m happy to report that it happened again today.

This morning's foil wrapper reminded me that while we can’t control the ever-changing winds that blow through life, we can control how we move through them. Rather than doggedly holding firm to our expected course, doing our best to hold on as the rolling waves threaten to swamp our vessel, we can adjust our course.

The winds of change have been blowing through my life lately, and I’ve realized that trying to stop that change is much like trying to keep my boat steady on a course that threatens to overtake it. As much as I might like to keep my status quo, change is going to barrel through anyway.

Things are going to be different, and in some ways that scares me. I like things the way they are. I let myself become afraid of vague what-ifs that haven’t even happened yet. I’ve worked hard to construct my world into one that is peaceful and nurturing, and stable.

It’s sometimes easy to resist change, but without change our creativity would be stifled. We would never have the opportunity to move beyond our outdated concepts of the world and our place in it. We would not be challenged. Without challenge everything remains static, and that stands in the way of growth.

There’s no way to really know what unanticipated gifts will blow in with these changing winds. But I’ve learned that life unfailingly provides me with the experiences that I need to grow into my best self. So bring on the wind.

I might not be able to control it, but I can adjust the sails. And for that I am grateful.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Filling Up With a Gold Sun

2010-08-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

Filling up with a gold sun is a simple tool that I use often to reset my body’s vibration to my own truth. It is yet another way to take advantage of the connection between the mind and the body, and also of the effect that our intention has on our life experience.

In the middle of just about anything, I can stop and fill up with a gold sun. For me, gold represents the vibration of God’s love expressing in all things. In filling myself with golden light I am making a conscious choice to align my body with what is highest within me.

What we think, our bodies respond to as if it is real. This happens on a moment-to-moment basis, and is the reason why our thoughts have such a dramatic effect on our physical well-being. So as I picture in my mind the color gold enfusing every cell in my body, my body responds by relaxing into an awareness of peace, remembering that all is well and there is nothing my body needs to work against.

Also, because what we expect tends to show up in how our lives play out, our clear intention to align our bodies with awareness of God consciousness at work in all things allows that to be what we ultimately call to ourselves, and experience in our lives.

To fill up with a gold sun:

1. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and quiet your thoughts as much as possible.
2. In your mind’s eye, picture a large, bright, shining gold sun up above your head.
3. Acknowledge your intention that the color gold represents the truth of God consciousness in all things.
4. Watch in your mind’s eye as the gold sun comes in through the top of your head and cascades down through your body, bringing every cell of your body to gold.

This simple and powerful tool helps us remember that there really is no limit to what we can create as unbounded spirit having a divine in-the-body experience!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

It's Just Energy

2010-08-27T14:28:00.000-07:00

Choosing to remember that it's just energy has saved my biscuit countless times. Every single thing that happens in life is at its core an energy vibration that is moving through our personal space. The choices that we make about which of those energies we attend to, and which we release, very much create our life experience.

One important way that I use the tool of "it's just energy" is in my relationship with my husband. There are times in our very harmonious partnership when we get really annoyed at each other. Thank Goodness for experience, that most effective teacher, from which we have both learned that when we are fighting, it's rarely about us. When we are in conflict, it doesn't reflect at all on the amount of love, commitment or happiness we experience together. It's a reflection of how much we're being caught up in the energies around us.

We have learned over time that when one of us can remember that simple truth, and then remind the other, we can step back, take a deep breath, and wait for the flurry to pass. It's not about us. We may be stressed over something that happened at work, or stirred up by something unresolved from the past, or many other things, making us more grouchy or sensitive. But grouchy and sensitive are temporary states of affairs. They are vibrations passing by, and not the truth of us. We have agreed to believe in the face of whatever is passing by that our relationship is sacred, and our belief makes it so.

Someone once told me that it's all energy mechanics, and I'm starting to understand the truth of that. In seeing a situation as the fleeting and mutable vibration that it is, rather than a solid thing that we are forced to endure for as long as it chooses to stick around, we are able to choose to be proactive rather than reactive in our response to it. We can manage it rather than let it control our experience.

How do we manage the energies that we encounter in our lives, and turn them to our good? Meditation is one way, but there are many others. Prayer, affirmations, turning it over to the God within us, or choosing to see God within another; probably all of the tools discussed in this blog and elsewhere help us change the energy. Anything that helps us take a step up from the problem, and connect with our higher truth, allows us to remember that we are unlimited creators of our life's divine melody.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Sympathy vs. Empathy

2010-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

I’m finding a lot of help lately in remembering to be more empathetic than sympathetic in my interactions with others. The subtle but important difference in the intent that these two words convey impacts how I feel, how much help I can be to others, and how centered in my own truth I am able to be. For me, responding with empathy is infinitely more healthy and productive.

A number of my family members and friends, like so many others in the world, are facing big challenges in their lives. I help them as much as I can, but there is only so much that I can do, and I feel sad about it. I have realized that my sadness doesn’t help them, and it certainly doesn’t help me. My husband reminded me yesterday about empathy rather than sympathy. Bless him.

Both sympathy and empathy express how we deal with the feelings of others, and there are numerous ways to define both words. I view sympathy as sharing the feelings of another, especially in sorrow or trouble. I have noticed that people can sympathize with another enough to actually take on their physical symptoms. Empathy, on the other hand, is more recognizing or understanding the feelings of another but not sharing in their suffering.

I can, and have, been brought to my knees by sympathy. My truth takes an automatic back seat to how badly I feel about what someone else is going through, and I suffer, and it doesn’t help. My knee-jerk reaction is to forget my most basic truth, which is that God has it all. I can't always see how, but it's covered, end of story. I’m not sure where that deeply-heartfelt truth hides when I’m suffering for someone. I just know that I have to dig it out from behind some very old, pervasive fear.

I believe that all that happens is contained in a divine order so perfect that we can just barely imagine it. Only with faith can we even begin to accept into our hearts the love that designed our being, with all of its ups and downs.

Through all of their struggles and changing circumstances, my loved ones remain who they are, eternal expressions of perfect love. Temporary challenges create the dichotomies that allow us, by first experiencing darkness, to know ourselves as light.

When I choose empathy rather than sympathy, I am able to offer my support in a way that serves the truth of their highest selves, instead of validating perceived limitations. Rather than succumbing to the fear that their circumstances are bigger than they are, I can support them in recognizing their dominion over their own lives. In empathy I can let them know they are loved and not alone, and capable of more than they may be able to recognize in the moment.

May we all have people in our lives who understand what we're going through but also see the true power that we embody. And may this tool be a blessing. . .

Knowing Your Power

2010-08-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

I read recently that "Our personal power is a direct reflection of our own sense of compassion and inner voice." This very much describes power as I've experienced it in my own life, but I don't think it's commonly thought of in this way.

Power is found in our connection with what is highest within ourselves. It is that place that allows us to respond with compassion to all that we encounter, because we know that nothing can diminish the truth of infinite good within us. When someone treats us less than kindly, we can respond with power in our compassionate and honest communication back to them. When bad things happen or when circumstances cause us to feel vulnerable, we can respond with power in affirming that we are calling to ourselves an opportunity to know fully the loving and divine order that steers all of life.

People often perceive power as the ability to override others and by sheer will get our own way. We wrongly believe that in most situations someone wins and someone loses, and so power comes from exerting enough force to win. But the truth is, power is not born of competition but of communication. Only in communication can we understand and cooperate, and thereby raise the energy of our interactions with others to one that serves the best and highest for all. In doing so, we express God within us, and that is true power. Living as our Godselves is the highest power there is.

We are often taught that power comes from living with a good offense as our best defense, remaining ever-vigilant and always ready to respond to another's jab with an even stronger punch. Within this dynamic, the over-riding lie that controls communication and prevents any type of harmony is that we are not safe, therefore we have to spend a good deal of energy warding off what other people might do to us. We end up creating, through our own false belief, our own victimization.

Power has nothing to do with how others perceive us, but with how we stop to hear the quiet voice of spirit within us. It is not a reaction to what we fear will be invalidated in us, but rather a decision we make again and again to share the truth of who we are, and all that we have to give.

I am reminded of a prayer from Unity: "There is only one presence and one power in the universe and in my life, God the Good." That, to me, is what power is all about, in our ability to know the truth of our own limitless good.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Honoring Your Humanness

2010-08-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe it’s just my own perception, but it seems to me that spiritual philosophy is moving away from placing more importance on acknowledging our spiritual nature, to honoring our human nature. I used to hear more of traditions that sought to overcome the baser aspects of being human, in favor of being continually connected to ourselves as perfect spirit, and above petty human stuff.

From the perspective of spirit, we are of course holy and perfect in all that we create, but what about the perspective of mind and body? Can we honor those as completely as we honor spirit within us?

In our bodies, we are vulnerable. We experience emotions that bowl us over in their intensity. We feel anger and shame and grief, more than we can handle sometimes. We get really sick and feel terrible. We age, and try to adapt as our bodies feel foreign to us in their increasing fragility. We worry and try and then try some more, to find happiness and meaning, and somehow get our lives right. Sometimes, life is just plain messy.

Who wouldn’t want to transcend this human condition and live in awareness of themselves as pure spirit, as much of the time as is humanly possible?

I wouldn’t. The older I get, the more I’m learning to settle in to the intensity of being human, riding the peaks and valleys of my experience not without fear, but with as much grace as I can muster up. Some days that works better than others.

I’m finding that the intensity is what being human is all about. In truth, I live for the petty human stuff. I could spend all of my waking hours in quiet contemplation of my spiritual nature, but I know myself well enough to know that divine intelligence would still find big ways to challenge me.

I am here, in this vulnerable body and with this mind that sometimes gets confused or overwhelmed, having a glorious human experience. As my husband says when we’re backpacking, when his knee hurts, “I have a knee,” and he is grateful. I have a knee, and therefore, I am. It’s like that with every part of being human.

I embrace my mind that forgets things a little more than it used to. I have a mind, therefore, I am. I embrace my ankles that take a moment in the morning to lose their stiffness. I have ankles, therefore, I am. And I walk, and am grateful. I embrace every part of this delightful, turbulent, scary, exhilarating, confusing and enlightening ride that is being human. In doing so, I experience as completely as possible, the gift of being me.

Thank you, God, for such a gift. May this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Your Best Self

2010-08-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

I’m learning that doing my best does not happen passively, but is a very deliberate act. All my life I’ve assumed that I had always been doing my best. I guess I had been, based on my awareness at the time.

Something changes when I approach as many of my moments as possible with a very conscious decision to do my best. It’s difficult to describe it adequately. I end up much happier at the end of the day no matter what happens, because my focus has shifted from reacting to listening to myself and choosing who I want to be. It doesn’t matter what happens in the world around me; what matters is that I am creating my world.

I've noticed that when I’m intentionally choosing to just be my best self in the middle of whatever I encounter, it really doesn’t matter how well I do or how much I accomplish. What I’m aware of is that I designed the moment in the highest energy I was capable of, and that is more than enough, it is a joyful act of creation.

When I’m choosing to be my best self, I am naturally more patient. I am less rushed and more peaceful. I am very present in the moment, and there is ease in what I’m doing. I am happy to be here, in my body, contributing my own unique light to the situation.

I believe that my best changes on different days, depending on many variables. But that doesn’t really matter either. When I consciously choose to do and be my best in any moment, whatever that may be at the time, I am embracing my life's purpose, as I help elevate the energy around me, and create a world of my own making.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Amusement

2010-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

I learned about amusement as a spiritual tool at the Berkeley Psychic Institute. It took me awhile to understand the value of it. I still have a hard time remembering to use it as the very helpful tool that it is.

In the middle of our biggest challenges, it’s not easy to be amused. Challenges, by definition, are not amusing. We are much more likely to feel confused, frustrated, hopeless or angry. But consider the benefit of finding just one morsel of amusement in a really difficult situation.

What I notice is that the effect the situation is having on me changes. If I can muster up even one thought about how silly the whole thing is, suddenly its power over me is diminished. It no longer sets my emotional tone. The situation is instantly put in its proper place as a temporary problem. I guess the biggest thing for me about finding a little amusement is that it puts me back in the space of truth, when I remember that I, not the situation, am the creator of my experience.

I have chosen (when I remember) to find a smile within myself for what other people do. More often, I’ve needed to smile at the things that I do, and how I react. A little amusement helps me not take myself, or life in general, too seriously. Oh, to remember this always!

I have tried to find some amusement in the small challenges, and in big ones. As one would expect, it’s easier with the smaller things. But even with the bigger things, our perspective, and our ability to believe that our ultimate good is unfolding, always affect our experience.

We are gloriously human, in an ongoing process of remembering that all is well, we are safe, and God’s good contains all. When I remember that, the world can be a very entertaining place!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Stepping Off the Path of Least Resistance

2010-08-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

My husband and I went backpacking last weekend, up into the high Sierra, to a little alpine lake that we love called Lake Sylvia. For us, it would be a pretty good hike even without the packs. With the packs, I can tell you that I was whining toward the end, and today my legs are as stiff as the pine trees I spent so much time admiring.

It occurred to me, as I was sitting up there at lake’s edge, watching the fish jumping and taunting my husband the fisherman, and allowing myself to gently come back to present time and listen to whatever God had to say to me that morning, how very worth the effort the trek was. It is a beautiful hike in, beyond description really. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many wildflowers, or butterflies, anywhere. But for as amazing as the hike is, when I started getting tired, I kind of stopped seeing it. My attention shifted to putting one foot in front of the other and just getting there.

I can think of quite a few examples in my life that are like that, when I stepped off the path of least resistance and took the hard road. I didn’t do it specifically because I wanted to take a hard road, because honestly I don’t. I chose the hard road in those instances because I knew I needed to, that’s all. It felt like the right thing to do. In truth, I couldn’t not have taken it.

Stepping off the path of least resistance has brought me the biggest gifts in my life. Deciding that I wanted something, and then sticking with it even though it kicked my rear-end, has given me the life experience that I’m most proud of, and that I’ll remember at the end of my life as what has defined the best in me.

Working my way through college is one example. Another is the direction I’ve taken on my spiritual path. The path I chose has at various times ended friendships, had my family doubting my decision-making ability, and nearly cost me my marriage. I questioned myself plenty during those times when it was hardest, when it felt like what I believed, and where I was headed, had to be wrong because I was out on a limb all by myself, and no one else could see the rightness of it.

I can look back now and validate the good that has come from working my way down the hard road, prompted by a voice that only I could hear. The rewards have always been worthy of the effort, and have become the gifts that I’ve been happiest passing on to others. My heart smiles in thinking about it, because I get to know the grace of heeding the quiet voice of God within me, and I am grateful.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

No Worries

2010-07-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

I noticed during my recent vacation that they say "no worries" alot in Hawaii. I really liked that. When we arrived at the airport on Kauai, it was just after 10:30 p.m. I asked the rental car agent what time they close, and she said, "We close at 10:30."  When I responded with, "Oh no, we're keeping you," her instantaneous and chipper "no worries" put me immediately at ease. I can be a pretty good worrier, so her genuinely kind response turned what could have been a grumpy start to the vacation of two weary travelers into a very welcoming one.

It's always interesting for me when in the classes that I teach I ask people how much time they spend worrying about things that never happen. We often don't even realize that we do this, so people in classes are usually surprised when they think about it. I am aware that I worry at times without even having proof that the situation warrants it; but awareness or not, I still worry. It's one of those things that does seem to get better with age, as I experience that the sky never falls, but somehow stays right where it belongs.

I happened upon a quote that's fitting: "Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere." How true. People in my classes often say that a large percentage of the things they worry about never actually occur.  In the meantime, that worry creates stress, diminishes our quality of life, causes illness, and steals our moments.

Worry is borne of fear, and as such I see it as forgetting - that the outcome is never in question, that we are the sole creators of our experience, and that all exists as part of a divine consciousness that is flawless in its design.  We experience so much more joy when we put our energy into affirming all of the good that exists in this moment.

There are many ways to develop a "no worries" outlook. Certainly the spiritual tools discussed in this blog and elsewhere help bring us to truth, where worry is unnecessary. Some people actually spend 10 minutes or so every day worrying about every single thing they can imagine, in order to get it over with, so to speak. I've heard that this can be helpful. For me, meditation, and turning it all over to God, help me remember that God within me is the only truth. My husband likes to point out that when we keep our attention in the present, we really can't worry. Worry is usually over something out in the future. And in this moment, right now, all is well.

I teach to remember, and so I was grateful in this morning's class to again be able to present to others the possibility that living without worry is not irresponsible, or dangerous. Living without worry, or fear, is allowing divine intelligence to work though us and for us. In doing so, we give others permission to do the same.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Attracting What You (Really) Are

2010-07-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to watch a great film the other night, called "The Shift" with Dr. Wayne Dyer. I'm new to Dr. Dyer's work, and found the movie to be very gentle and healing in its message, and also profoundly simple. I highly recommend it.

One idea from the movie stuck with me, that "you attract what you are." I'd never heard it put that way before, and it prompted me to ponder the idea.

That we manifest what we hold as true, and put our attention on, is for me a basic spiritual "law." But attracting what we are is a different slant. Certainly the law of attraction is at work; we call to us what we believe to be real in our experience. Does it follow that the core of who I am is revealed in what I am attracting? I don't think so.

If I am poor, and I believe that my lot in life is poverty, then I am attracting what I believe I am. If I am lonely, and have come to believe that's how things are going to be for me, then I attract more of the same. If I have a hard time trusting and believe that no one has my best interests at heart, then I will attract situations that make me feel victimized. Bur what I believe is far different from who I am.

If for just a moment we can place our full trust in ourselves as whole and perfect expressions of divine consciousness, unable to ever fail at our purpose of knowing ourselves as unlimited creators of good, that is what we are.

So I will attract what I believe myself to be, part of the miracle of ongoing creation, and joyfully watch my life's course; I am an embodiment of God's love, wisdom and peace, and I am grateful.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Amazing Grace

2010-07-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

". . . how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see." There are many versions of this beautiful hymn, which is known around the world by people of many different faiths.

I've heard the hymn countless times in my life, but today I heard it differently, and that brought a touch of grace to me. I attended a very moving funeral for a coworker's husband, at the beautiful Catholic church they belong to. He died suddenly last Monday at the much-too-young age of 52. They were married for 33 years and had the good fortune of being best friends through all of them.

I've never been a traditionally-religious person, but I deeply honor all paths to God. And I realized today that on my path, I'd never had the opportunity to really hear this hymn beyond the first couple of lines. But as often happens, my answers come at times and in ways I don't expect, and that hymn had something I needed to hear today.

It's a simple explanation, really, for the big struggles my heart faces at times, with remembering what is mine to do, and what is not. In this time of accelerating growth and change, I have a hard time watching people struggling, hurting, and in fear, and staying in trust myself. I become fearful about others' fears. It doesn't help matters, and doesn't serve my truth. Sometimes it's hard to just remember my own truth in the middle of everything.

The hymn reminded me, in the part I'd never really heard before, that "'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace, my fears relieved." Of course! At times I feel like bonking myself on the forehead; yes, I know this. Thankfully, I get to hear the truth countless times in myriad different ways, through an infinity of life experience, to remember.

Grace (from the dictionary), that "influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate them," provides the gifts of struggle, hurt and fear, so that in overcoming them we discover, or more accurately remember, the truth of who we really are. Fear is the forgetting, and in each and every instance of remembering we are reborn into our Godselves.

Both fear, and love, which can be thought of as fear's absence, are weighty dichotomies indeed. Both are brought to us in love, through God's grace. All are held in divine consciousness. Not a new concept, certainly, but I'm grateful for it being brought to me today, in the perfect way.

May you know the amazing grace of your highest self, and that of others', no matter how it may look in the moment, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Being Open to Receive

2010-07-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

I write this from the island of Kauai, where from our cottage in the middle of lush green foliage and tropical flowers we can see a volcano in the distance. The weather has been amazing, 85 degrees and humid, of course. My skin soaks it up and my curly hair goes all frizzy, which is part of the total entertainment package.

Yesterday morning it rained, hard, that kind of tropical rain that I love. As it pounded down on the metal awning covering our lanai, it soaked everything in a few minutes, and then the sun broke through and the whole world sparkled. Thank you, God, for the opportunity to experience another tropical rainstorm. It really is a wonderful world.

I am reminded of a great spiritual tool that I learned a few years ago, at a Unity book study group. We were reading The Creative Life by Eric Butterworth, and discussing how in creating this life, we need to reconnect with the truth that we are expressions of divine mind, made in God's image to manifest all that we conceive as truth. We are the light of the world, and our lights shine brightly when we seize that most holy birthright and trust in who we are.

One way to help remind our subconscious that we are one with universal creative energy is with the affirmation, "I am open to receive all of life's riches." When I say this a few times, and let myself know the truth of it, I feel the subtle shift of energy in my body as I reconnect with the rightness of the moment. Doubts and details are replaced with trust that as a child of ongoing creation, my will is God's will, and our will is for good. I need only accept that as truth, or at least be open to the possibility of it. The really wonderful thing is, just being open to the possibility is enough. We don't have to know our Godselves completely, in every moment. A mustard seed of faith comes with just being open to the possibility that we could really be all that we imagine.

It was recommended in the study group that we repeat the affirmation, "I am open to receive all of life's riches" 100 times a day. I don't normally do affirmations as a regular part of my spiritual practice, but during those six weeks I tried it. The process was interesting. I noticed that at first it just felt boring and repetitive. Then it started to feel like maybe I was connecting with something bigger than how I usually think. At times I knew I was talking to God, and she to me. It became a mantra, and a prayer.

The energy of the affirmation changes depending on what word you emphasize in the sentence: "I am open to receive all of life's riches," "I am open to receive all of life's riches," "I am open to receive all of life's riches." All are parts of a larger whole, the truth that we can have, do or be all that we can imagine. We could never be any less, as children of God.

Mike, and I with big hair, are off to seize the good this day brings!

May this tool be a blessing. . . Aloha!

More Forgiveness

2010-07-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

God answers my questions, often before I even know I have a question. So I wasn't surprised when an answer came to me through Rev. Ken's message on forgiveness this morning. I was grateful for his perspective. His definition of forgiveness spoke to me: "Forgiveness is letting go of our belief in sin and guilt."

When we remember, and accept, that nothing exists outside of God consciousness, there is no sin, only expressions of that divine consciousness. There is nothing we need feel guilty for, and nothing we need to hold on to. Forgiveness itself becomes unnecessary.

I learned long ago that there are no villians, and no victims. Every challenging person or situation is a mirror we call to ourselves to reflect what remains hidden in darkness, so that we may heal, and grow. All is constructed for us to learn to live as light.

We have all at times been subjected to others who did not have our best interest at heart. We have also interacted with others in ways that didn't reflect our best. These interactions are opportunities to choose and choose again; they prompt us to think about who we are and who we want to be on our path toward expressing our highest light.

Forgiveness creates freedom. When we live without blame, or guilt, we trust the loving and divine intelligence that created this process of life. We don't dwell on the small stuff, and instinctively turn the big stuff over to our own never-ending good. We are free to use our life force in creating that good, and our joy sends ripples throughout humanity. Forgiveness helps us heal ourselves, and our world. It allows us to be part of the solution. In each choice to forgive, we set ourselves, and our world, free.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Creating With Intention

2010-07-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

I am always fascinated by the process of creating. I have come to absolutely believe in our ability to manifest anything at all that we can envision ourselves having, but I also recognize the ongoing challenge of forgetting who we really are, and what we are capable of. This is, to me, at the very core of being human - growing in our remembering that we are spiritual beings first, unique sparks of unlimited creative consciousness, experiencing physical form. I believe that each one of us has the ability to change the entire world with our simple intention, if only we knew how to step out of the race consciousness that says we are far, far less than that.

It seems that the big question would be, then, "How do I possibly find that much faith?" We all have within us seeds of the very same faith that Jesus knew, and the Buddha, and all other great spiritual teachers. As Jesus said, "These things I do, and more, you shall do." That is the simple truth.

I believe that there will be other way-showers to enlighten our path; maybe they are here now. But in the meantime, what is a spiritually open, seeking, very grateful, but otherwise ordinary person to do? How do we take that immense leap of faith that allows us, in the middle of countless indications to the contrary, to step up and create in totality as the expressions of God that we are?

It's hard enough to figure out how to do that in my own life when limits seem pretty darn real, let alone stepping up and deciding that I can change the whole world. Thankfully we don't all have to remember completely, as Jesus did, who he was. Our own remembering, moment by moment, is enough. But that doesn't mean that we have to hold back from claiming our highest as children of God. I read an interesting perspective by Wayne Dyer in his book, Manifesting Your Destiny, recently. He says, "If you wait for everyone else to learn how to manifest their hearts' desires, you will not have enough time in this lifetime to even begin your journey. You must unplug from your conditioning and know in that private space behind your eyes that you can and will take on the challenge of manifesting your destiny."

(I was given Wayne Dyer's book, which I'm enjoying immensely, by a fellow blogger, poet and very kind person and bright light in the world, Sandra Hendricks. Her blog, This Should Help, is filled with all kinds of spiritual and uplifting stories and resources, and I highly recommend it.)

I was thinking this morning about a few of the big things that I have created in my life, things that meant alot to me and didn't feel at all attainable for a long time. I realized that at the time I did very consciously take on the challenge of creating them. In looking back, I remembered that even though I could picture these things and even put some effort into making them happen, they didn't. I started to fear that they never would.

What changed for me, each time, was my level of intention, and commitment. One noteworthy example is my current job, which I have loved for the past 10 years. I had been applying for similar jobs for about a year, but had been out of the job market raising my kids, just doing some part-time work. I wasn't getting any bites at all and was starting to believe I just wasn't going to get hired. I decided to make a commitment to my career, and spent the next six months doing alot of soul-searching, meditation, and looking at not only what I could do but what I'd love to do. I went through an amazing book by Maria Nemeth called The Energy of Money that helped me release limits on what I could have.

As a result of all of that, I decided on a career, and company where I wanted to work. I wrote a list of important factors I wanted to create, including income, proximity to my house, and other things that were important to me, like being a valued member of a good team and making a contribution in the world. Then I submitted my resume. I'm still amazed when I think back to how easily it came together. They called me in for the first interview, which went well. The second interview didn't go as well, and I went home and lay on my bed and cried. Then I turned it over to God, saying "I can't do this on my own. I've been failing for a year and a half. I turn this over to You. Even though it seems like I completely blew it, I know there are ways I can't even see to let my good come to pass."

And it did. I got the job offer shortly thereafter, at the location close to my home, and at a higher salary and with better benefits than I had intended. Every single thing on my list came to pass. I believe that the important part of this creation is that first of all I made the commitment to do my part to become very, very clear about what I wanted. When I was waffling, the universe waffled, and nothing concrete can grow from that. And then I turned it over to the unlimited creative consciousness that lives in all things. Even when appearances looked like it was going to blow up in my face, again, I believed that God would find a way. And she did.

Landing that job was my first unforgettable experience of how I can create, despite all appearances, my heart's desire, through active faith - committing to do my part, stating my intention to the universe, and then getting out of the way no matter what happens and knowing it will happen. It was my first experience of true faith that God works in and through me. And I haven't ever forgotten what that kind of unshakeable faith feels like.

May your faith in your unlimited creativity grow strong and tall, and may this tool be a blessing.

Optimism

2010-07-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” This quote, which we discuss in the stress management class that I teach, is to me a great argument in favor of optimism. Our beliefs are the raw ingredients that simmer up into the smorgasbord that is life as we know it. Whether we find the meal disappointing, or a feast of delicious flavors that get better with every bite, wholly depends on what thoughts we dump into the stew. The tricky part with this analogy is that while in actually cooking a meal we are conscious (hopefully) of the ingredients that we are adding, we are not as conscious of our thought patterns, and so ingredients can end up in the stew that don’t taste very good.

Negative thinking is insidious. It stems from fear, which is pervasive in human nature. And while I do honor the gift that fear provides us in our human evolution, I believe that we are here to learn the truth of how very unnecessary it is.

When I get caught up in fear, and so negative thinking, I hardly notice it at first. It builds over a few days, and then suddenly I become aware that I am more distracted, and worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet. As our Rev. Ken at Unity says, I get caught up in “awfulizing.” Instead of being easy my life becomes a series of issues that I need to power through, and it’s just no fun.

Optimism is a simple and effective tool for counteracting negative thinking. Rather than standing by and letting the unproductive thoughts feed on themselves and grow stronger, optimism shifts our focus to make room for our good. It helps redirect our attention to the truth that is always waiting for us to embrace, that what we expect we always find, without exception.

Count your blessings. Journal five things that you are grateful for every day. Laugh. Some of these tools for increasing our optimism can seem fluffy and unhelpful, but to me they are the very crux of creating the life of our dreams. In counting my blessings my eyes open to see that all things are possible. With my attention strongly on all that is worthy of my gratitude, the universe cannot help but respond in kind with even more expressions of grace. And in laughing my body finds its ever-present vibration of joy.

May you laugh often and be grateful for your blessings, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

I Remember! A Prayer of Gratitude

2010-07-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you, God; I remember. I remember! Suddenly I am filled with unspeakable grace. My fear is replaced with the peace of knowing your presence in all things. I remember that all who are lost and hurting are held in love. Nothing happens that doesn’t hold an opportunity for remembering. All experience leads us down our path toward knowing you.

I remember, God, and release my concern to your hands, for all to be held in perfect love. Today’s struggles are like a drop in a vast ocean, but serve us well on our course toward the never-ending light.

There is no amount of confusion that cannot be sorted out, no amount of pain that cannot be healed. There is no amount of darkness solid enough to extinguish the light that exists in every thought, every action, and each and every breath we take. We can never make a mistake, for all choice serves our remembering. Even when the breath leaves this body we live on as you, in the soil, and the sun, and the wind, in all that is, and all that ever will be.

The challenges we encounter today are all part of divine order. Heaven is right here in my heart, when I remember.

May this prayer be a blessing. . .

Being in the Center of Your Head

2010-07-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

There is a spiritual space in the center of our heads from which we are better able to filter out much of the noise of the world, and more easily focus on consciously creating our experience. Over the years, I've found the center of my head to be a very peaceful and enlightening place. It is at once quiet and filled with all the colors of existence.

Being in the center of my head is a much different space from being in my heart, which I perceive as communion with God in his many faces, and all being right with the world. Communion with God also exists in the center of my head, but it is a more personal communion where I find the steps of my own unique path in this lifetime. It is where I go to be alone with my truth.

Because our attention is most often focused outside of us, on whatever situation we find ourselves in the middle of, we do not often go to the center of our heads. It usually takes a conscious decision to do so. The center of your head is located behind your eyes, and between your ears.

The center of the head is also where the sixth chakra sits, and so our clairvoyance. It is where we can "see" the vibrations we or others experience in the form of colors or pictures. In bringing our attention up into the center of our heads, we detach from the survival of the first chakra, or the struggles of the third chakra, to a more neutral place that to me often feels like a respite from the rest of the vibrational input of being alive. In the center of my head, I can just be, and watch as all of creation is opened to me.

Following is a simple meditation on being in the center of your head:
1. Sit quietly for a few minutes, breathing deeply and comfortably, and allowing yourself to relax.
2. Bring your attention first back to yourself, and then to the center of your head. To help direct my attention to this place, I sometimes place my finger on my forehead, and then allow my attention to come first to that spot on my forehead, and then from that spot further in to the very center of my head.
3. Just breathe, and be, and notice what you notice.

Being in the center of one's head is much like sitting in an airplane's cockpit. It's a spiritual space where we are able to see not only where we are, but where we've been. It can also help us see a clearer path to where we're going.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Meditation

2010-07-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm fairly sure that meditation saved my life, or at least my life as I know it today. Meditation has for many years helped me discover that there is so much more to this existence than what I can see taking place in the world outside of me. It has revealed to me the sweet truth of where I fit within creation. I know that I will always seek, but my seeking is gentler now, without the frantic feel it had years ago, before meditation helped me find the quiet place within, where truth resides and the big questions are answered.

I learned to meditate at the Berkeley Psychic Institute, and have practiced its very helpful tools of grounding and running my own life force energy, among many others, every day since. I'm grateful that I listened to the urgings of my spirit and walked in the door that first day. I had been seeking answers in various places, just trying things out. BPI was very different from anything I had experienced, and the idea of just walking in was more than a little anxiety-producing.

I had been spending the day in a city about 45 minutes away from where I live, and was just about ready to head home. I was driving down a street and saw a sign, and on a whim stopped and went in. In looking back it feels like I wasn't making conscious choices, but acting on a very strong impulse that I didn't understand. It just felt like I had go in. I've since learned to trust that spirit leads me to the right doors; I just have to quiet my mind's nay-saying and cross the threshold, as scary as that can feel at times.

I have a quote on my desk at work which says, "If I don't go within, I go without." I'm not sure who wrote it, but for me that play-on-words pretty much sums up how meditation has been for me in my life. If I don't go within, on a fairly regular basis, I most definitely go without. I lose touch with the deeper truth of who I am, and the issues of the world become the biggest reality in my existence. In a sense, I become what I see outside of me.

When I go within, I am reconnected with awareness of myself as a spiritual being. I am reunited with the light of the God of my heart shining brightly within me. I am renewed in my appreciation of my body, and my soul is brought back into communion with it's beloved temple. In going within, there is nothing I go without, for all that is good and true reflects in and through me.

I have heard it said that prayer is talking to God, and meditation is listening to God. In my own practice it seems that the two blend so that I don't know where talking ends, and listening begins. I'm often not sure if it's me talking and God listening, or the other way around. In my truth it is all happening simultaneously. It is all God, experiencing her Self.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Practicing Kindness

2010-06-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

I heard a heart-warming story today from one of my coworkers. A relative of hers had two small dogs which escaped through a hole in the fence while she was at work. She contacted the animal shelter with no luck, and posted signs around her neighborhood with the dogs' pictures and her phone number and address in hopes of finding them. A day later a stranger came to her door, telling her that he had some bad news to give her, and he relayed the following story.

It turns out he had seen the dogs running onto a highway, and saw one get hit. He stopped and was able to pick up the injured dog, but the other one ran way after apparently also being bumped by a car. He took the injured dog to a vet, who was unable to save it. He then went back to try to find the other dog. He did find it, took it to the vet, and left it there for care. At that point he started driving around the area where he had seen the dogs, hoping to see a sign of some kind. Sure enough, he did, and that's how he ended up at the woman's door, explaining that he wanted her to know that although one of the dogs had died, the other one was doing well.

My coworker went on to tell me that the stranger in this story first spotted the dogs at around 9:00 a.m., and didn't end up at her relative's house until late afternoon. He spent his entire day trying to help the dogs, and then trying to find their owner.

I thought this was a really amazing story. I hope all of you will join me in sending this hero your love and blessings. In addition to really appreciating him, and being grateful for the goodness of the human spirit, I noticed my coworker's reaction to hearing the story, and my own.

My day was brighter and more hopeful because of hearing about that event, and I suspect yours will be, too. Even though we don't know the people involved, that man's actions elevate us all. Each of us has a choice with every thought, word and action about what truth we will help bring forth. With his choice, he helped create a truly wonderful world.

There are countless examples every single day of people doing extraordinary things for no reason other than it being the world they choose to create. The great thing is, no act of kindness goes unnoticed, or unreciprocated. We get what we give, many times over. We can rest assured that every act of kindness will be returned to us, even as its ripples spread to all of humanity.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Believing in Miracles

2010-06-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about miracles this morning, out walking my dog. I am a big, BIG believer in miracles. Miracles can be described as extraordinary events bringing good outcomes that could only be possible with God's intervention. I expect miracles to the point that I sometimes take their occurrence for granted. It's a helpful thing, trusting good enough to expect that it's just the way things are meant to be. And while I do expect good, I always want to validate and nurture its limitless power in my life. The following miracle story is, to me, worthy of sharing.

Last July I was delighted when my daughter and grandson came from Georgia for a visit. I hadn't seen them for awhile, and my grandson, Oliver, got very heavy when I wasn't looking! One evening I bent down and scooped up all 45 pounds of him, to show him something he wasn't tall enough to see. I didn't bend my knees or consider my back at all, because I'd never had to before. By the next morning, I knew that had been a big mistake.

It took a chiropractor, a number of physical therapy visits and six months for my back to get better. I'm alot more careful now about how I move, but it got tremendously better. About three weeks ago, my symptoms started returning and worsening. The most distressing part of it was noticing my left leg weakening, especially since I enjoy backpacking and dancing and other active hobbies. I stopped my activities, even walking, was icing it and being extra careful, but it seemed to be getting worse. I was scared.

My favorite tool lately, when I'm scared or discouraged or feeling most in need of help, is to write a letter to God, and a few nights ago that's what I did. I told God that I knew there was a way to fix my back, but I didn't know what it was. I asked how I could think about the issue in the healthiest way.

I believe that there is always a spiritual cause behind illness or dis-ease, and God helped me remember the spiritual basis for the mechanical issue with my spine. God responded in loving and simple language, in part, as follows:

"Responsibility is affecting your back. Every time you begin to worry about someone's circumstances, remember your truth, and release it immediately into my hands. Visualize a healing color coursing up your spine and through your entire body (today that color is light green). Visualize your spine as perfectly aligned and cushioned, straight and whole and able to support you easily throughout your long, healthy life. And then give thanks that it is done. That is all you need to do, sweet one. And you can do it. I'm in your corner, cheering you on. Love, God."

Tears come to my eyes in typing this, for the grace and love and simplicity of God's response to me. It really is that simple. All are perfectly held in their own life's creation, and we manifest what we envision, always. We are infinitely and lovingly supported in this. Thank you, God.

You can probably predict the outcome of my miracle story. I did the simple things that God asked of me. None of them was new to me, but in my increasing concern I forgot to do the things that I already know: to ask and allow myself to be answered, to picture my intention and to turn over to God all that is not mine to handle. The next morning (which was yesterday), I woke up with all of my back symptoms gone, and they've been gone since.

Some might say that it was just coincidental timing, but I know differently. The physical healing was dramatic, yes, but also, I just know. These types of miracles happen all the time, coming to us with our challenges, and in many different ways. The situation with my back reminded me yet again of who I am, what I am capable of, and the profound benevolent goodness that directs our existence.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Just Breathe

2010-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

Our most gentle and powerful spiritual tool is available to us in every moment. It is our breath. With our breath, we live. By just acknowledging that we breathe, by stopping to become aware of the continuous flow of our breath, in and out with regularity whether we notice it or not, we validate being alive. In getting down to that very basic idea of “I breathe,” we are reminded of the preciousness of being. The vast and perfect consciousness that created all of life moves through us. I breathe, and I am.

There are many wonderful awareness, relaxation and meditation techniques that help us focus our attention on our breathing. As with all things, I don’t think one technique is best, or right for everyone. The important thing is to find what works for each of us.

I have the opportunity at work to teach a class on some of these techniques, and it is always a delight and a privilege to witness people finding, often for the first time, the quiet place within them that resides in the breath. It is a gift to learn that such quiet exists within us in the middle of a busy world. Once we have accessed the place where everything is quiet enough for us to hear the soft but constant voice of spirit within us, there really is no turning back. For me, it was a feeling of “I knew it.” I knew that there was a deep connection with something bigger than what I had known, but didn’t know where to find it. Focusing on my breathing helped me quiet my thoughts enough to hear my own gentle truth which had been there all along.

I enjoy watching people soften on the outside and lighten on the inside, as they recognize the quiet within them. I recognize the joy of it. There is a peace that comes from being reminded that “all you have to do right now is breathe.” All we really have to do, ever, is breathe, and be. As my son used to say, the rest is all gravy.

I wrote a post awhile back on focused deep breathing, which is one technique for connecting with our breathing and quieting the mind. A great thing about becoming more connected with our breathing is that it is helpful whether we sit and spend a half hour or just stop for half a minute. By doing so, we are able to remember that in the middle of all of the changing details, the one unchanging constant is that we breathe.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Finding God at WalMart

2010-06-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

How absolutely amazing are the myriad ways that human beings work together to perpetuate our forgetting who we are. As a group, we have entered into an agreement with each other to support our tremendously limited view of ourselves.

We are raised by parents who themselves were raised by people who could not see the greatness in themselves, and so could not impart that truth to their children. We grow up feeling a need to struggle for a place here, to know that we are good enough, and worthy of being loved fully for all that we are. For most people this dynamic continues throughout life, when in school and in careers and in our dealings with others we experience a world that doesn't always accept us just as we are.

As we internalize the pain of rejection, we learn to lessen it by judging others, and the cycle continues. In this way, we create an entire world of people who don't trust each other, who expect others to think unkindly about them without even knowing them, who can't communicate effectively with each other, and don't feel comfortable standing tall in the truth of who they are, which is the embodiment of divinity.

This may seem a sad dynamic in human interaction, and on one hand it is. But on the other, it is an excellent opportunity for remembering. There is tremendous grace in moving beyond judgment of another to acceptance. There is a huge gift in learning to see past another's judgment of us to recognizing the pain of forgetting who they are that prompts it. When we can see the person who is most different from us, the one who embodies all of the attributes that push our own buttons and make us feel defensive, the one who can't see our greatness, in all of her greatness, the light of truth shines on everyone involved, and the entire world.

I think I've lived my entire lifetime just to learn not to take another thing someone does personally, but instead to keep my eyes open to the light of God shining through their eyes. It's hard sometimes. It's painful to watch people who have deeply forgotten the truth of themselves. It's painful when we ourselves forget.

We won't always remember that everyone is a perfect expression of a loving God, but every time we make that often difficult choice to do so, the world sings.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Blooming Where You're Planted

2010-06-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Bloom where you're planted is another very wisdom-filled saying of my grandmother's. We are here. We can waste a lot of energy and miss a lot of life wishing we were somewhere else, doing something else, but that only accomplishes stealing our moments.

My husband’s elderly aunt died this morning, and he said it makes him remember that he doesn’t want to wait to live. It’s much too easy to live in the future, waiting to find the real enjoyment of our lives when the kids are grown or we’re retired or we find the perfect job or partner. He and I catch ourselves doing that now, fantasizing about how things will be when we retire. We’re both very clear about not wanting to live in the future, but get caught up in that thinking sometimes.

When that future comes, there will be another future, and something new to look forward to. In the meantime, life is lived now. It seems such an obvious notion, but I find that I need to remind myself often, in many different ways, to stay in present time. When my thoughts are in the future, or the past, I miss all of the delicious possibilities that are here to experience now. I don’t think there’s anything more important than at the end of our days, having fully experienced being here.

When we bloom where we’re planted, right here in the present moment, we are exercising that most holy of all God-given human attributes, the ability to choose who we will be in the middle of all of it. Right now, I am here, having an effect on this world as my own unique expression of God.

The Berkeley Psychic Institute teaches that it doesn’t matter what we’re doing; what matters is the energy that we’re in when we're doing it. We can be miserable in the world’s most glamorous and high-paying job, and happy as a clam in the lowliest job, depending on how we choose to experience it. We can express God within us in the middle of anything.

This takes a great deal of pressure off of making perfect decisions in life, because they are all perfect. In the present moment, we can bloom, resting in the knowledge that who we are is enough. Being present in each moment as our own bright light is all that is expected of us. The only variable is how we choose to feel about it. When we choose to know ourselves as God, we bloom.

Life’s path will take its twists and turns, and we may end up in some places that we didn’t expect, but the destination is never in question. How we get there is sometimes a mystery and always a mighty adventure, so we might as well bloom along the way.
May this tool be a blessing...

Rewriting Your Story

2010-06-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

We all have a personal history. We've encountered countless situations, and have labeled ourselves and our lives based on who we were in those situations. How we've labeled our experiences has created our personal stories, which are basically who we believe we are and what we believe our lives are all about.

Having a story gives us a place, a way to belong in this life and know ourselves as unique and truly here. But in some cases our stories, based as they are on events that are often long past, don't serve us in creating our highest vision for ourselves. If a part of my story is that I'll never have enough money, that belief will play out. If I believe that I'm not worthy of loving relationships, that, too, will find a way to become my experience. And so it is with creating a life.

What we believe is what we manifest. This is a simple spiritual truth with tremendous power. What if we are holding on to a story that we have outgrown? What if we are capable of expressing a higher vision of ourselves than we'd ever imagined?

I don't mean to say that we should deny the events of our lives, and the effect that they may have had. Some of life's circumstances may have been painful, or tragic. But we can have the courage to rewrite those stories, too, and find the pearl of wisdom, or compassion, or light that has come from having walked through the experience and come out the other side. Our wisdom, compassion and light are important parts of the new story.

If we need to have a personal story at all (and of course we do), then why not make it a best-seller? Why not craft a story about the things that we do especially well, or how amazing and perfect our bodies are for allowing us to experience the large and small miracles of a lifetime? Why not tell the world a story about the love we've given, and received? Why not be, in our own story about ourselves, blessed and lucky?

It's our story. We're the authors of our lives, and we're making it up as we go along. Holding on to old concepts is no more the truth than boldly claiming all that we have learned and done to become the masterpieces that we are, in this moment.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Empathy

2010-06-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Everyone we meet is doing the best they can in any given moment. Their best, and ours, varies depending on many things. Some days we’re rested and happy, and full of enthusiasm for our day and well wishes for the world. Other days we forget that we have the power to create every moment of our experience, and we’re unconscious and reactive.

It can be very difficult to be empathetic toward someone who is stuck in forgetting. When people act in ways that are contrary to our best interest, or are hurtful to us or others, it’s easy to become angry and judgmental toward them. But the truth is that we all get stuck in forgetting. All of us put our worst foot forward at times, often without meaning or wanting to, when old belief systems or unconscious habits take over.

We can never solve a problem in the same energy as the problem itself. Meeting anger with anger makes it grow; meeting competition with more competition only succeeds in creating invalidation and shutting down communication. We need to take an energetic step up to move out of the negative cycles that can happen between people. It’s not easy, especially when we’re feeling attacked in some way, to take the higher road, but it is ultimately healthier for us and more productive for all involved.

If someone is angry at or jealous of someone else, but the other person meets it with understanding or empathy, or even love, there is nowhere for the anger or jealousy to go. It does not become bigger and more powerful by moving from person to person. When we meet difficult situations in this way the buck really does stop with us. Not only are we consciously choosing how we experience our world, we are leaving the energy with the other person to manage in a way that will work best for him. And this is at is should be.

Human beings are an incredibly complex and dynamic mass of shifting energies that can be at times clear and centered and at other times lost and grasping. People do small-minded things sometimes, and those same people also do very noble things. I’ve realized how easy it is to label someone based on one action, but that really isn’t the entire picture of who they are. Ultimately, what others do has nothing at all to do with us, but everything to do with how much of the truth of their own greatness they are recognizing in the moment.

My grandmother was full of sayings, and one was to turn the other cheek. That’s not to say that I think we should allow others to treat us unfairly or inappropriately. But turning the other cheek, with empathy, and striving to understand that there is more to someone than what they might be expressing, is a step toward living in the light of truth. Even though someone may not be loveable in this moment, they remain the embodiment of love, just temporarily stuck in forgetting who they are.

May we all be met with empathy in our forgetting, and may this tool be a blessing. . .