Come as a Child

I think I’ve mentioned, maybe a time or two, that I find myself too busy at times. It’s a tendency I learned in childhood, taking on too much responsibility for things to try to keep my world safe. I’m not complaining; I’m definitely not the only person in the world who believes at times that she can hold it up single-handedly. That particular part of my personality has provided me with a good deal of compassion, and a desire to make things better in my own small way, among other things. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn what I learn from it, and continue looking for balance in my life.

Last night I came home from work feeling stressed, and really looking forward to my meditation time. I was aware that I needed to stop for awhile, but more than that I also felt that I needed some help with all of it. I was too burdened, in that moment, to even know what kind of help I was seeking. I was eager to just sit and rest, and let the answers come.

As I closed my eyes and grounded my body, the voice of God within me reminded me clearly to keep it simple, and come as a child. I felt instantly eased as my body caught up with the fact that I could be very gentle in my attention to myself, because there was nothing else to be concerned about. As I sat in communication with the God of my heart, I was able to be the center of my own universe, knowing that all existed for my good, much like a child involved in some kind of wonderful, creative play. In my simple meditation, I watched as my own electric blue life force energy coursed through my body, aware at the same time of Father/Mother God standing over my shoulder, watching over me, shielding me, and orchestrating everything for good.

I know myself as a child of God, made in her image, creator without limit of my own sacred life. But I don’t think I’d ever perceived myself as God’s child, beloved, precious and safe, seeing myself as God does, without the need to do anything to earn my place here. I sometimes think that all human worry stems from the very common but flawed thinking that if we could just fulfill some role a little better we just might be allowed to stay.

There’s a part in Neale Walsch’s Coversations With God in which God says, “You can’t hear my truth until you stop telling me yours.” I believe that’s what happened last night in my meditation. When I finally released my own agenda, stopped trying to control the outcome of everything in my thinking, and just sat quietly waiting for the truth I sought, the voice of my knowing reminded me that we are, all of us, held in the benevolent hands of infinite good. I know in my head that I am safe, and that divine intelligence is at work. But I really appreciate those times when I know it in my heart, and my body, as well. It’s balm for the soul of the scared child that exists as a part of me, and for the fairly capable grown-up who sometimes needs a very solid reminder that she, and the rest of this planet, are safe in the perfect design of ongoing creation.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

In This Moment - A Meditation

In this moment, all is well. As I pause in my activity I realize that right now, I am just where I am supposed to be. My unique life experience and perspective have brought me here, expressing myself in the best way I know how.

My thoughts and actions create the unfolding of my life, but the future is not here yet. The delights and challenges of the future I will live when I get there. There is no need for worry, or regret.  What happened in the past is done. I carry it with me as I learn and grow, but it is not now.

Right now, all is well. Health and vitality course through my body, and I am happy to be alive. The world is my oyster, and I joyfully anticipate the pearls of love, wisdom and adventure waiting to be discovered. I am at once peaceful and expectant of the good that is sure to come my way.

In this moment, and in this one, and this, the worries of the world fade as I know the ease of just being. As I breathe in the light that transcends time, I am larger than life itself and creative beyond measure. In this moment, I am one with the God of my heart.

May this meditation be a blessing. . .

Know Thyself

I think that knowing ourselves may be the most important spiritual tool. When we truly know ourselves, there can be no room for doubting our own precious value to the world. As unlimited creators made in the likeness and image of God, we could never be any less than perfect. And in fully accepting this truth, we cannot help but shine brighter in the world, living in awareness of the grace, intelligence and love that we embody.

Our existence provides much room for questioning the perfection of ourselves and our world, but that is as it should be, for we know something much more completely by first experiencing its absence. We are given anger so that we may know forgiveness, pain so that we may know peace, and fear so that we may know faith, and ultimately love. The dichotomies of our world give us divine experience in choosing a higher truth to live by. All is such that we may grow in forgiveness, peace, faith, and love for ourselves.

Know thyself doesn’t mean complete awareness of our own goodness in every moment. I believe that it means knowing just as thoroughly those parts of ourselves that are disconnected from the truth.  The less-than-perfect stuff is harder to get to know, because we tend to push it out of our awareness.  But both the darkness and the light are God within, expressing perfection through the finite, physical form that is us.

God is there, in our resistance to the parts of ourselves that get stuck and forget. God is also there watching our resistance, and knowing its temporary nature, a wave rolling by atop the vast ocean of our eternal selves.

In making friends with both the darkness and the light in our thinking, we find the courage to let go of the small stuff that captures our attention and holds us back. In our loving acceptance of ourselves, ripples of loving acceptance move out into the world, serving the highest good for all.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Love

I read a quote whose author I don't remember that said our reason for being here is to grow in love.  I remembered the quote, at least in paraphrase, because it was so simple.  There has been so much written over eons on the subject of loving - wonderful, insightful, inspirational things, some of which have provided me with raw material to mull over and see what feels true to me.

That we are here to grow in love has felt true to me for a good long time, but that truth came to me in a deeper way today.  I hadn't talked with the God of my heart about the "Why am I here?" question in quite awhile, and was feeling like I wanted a clear sense of it, in present time.  I have done many of the things I've intended to do, and was feeling the need to consider a next step.  It's pretty easy for me to get caught up in "OK, what next," which is not a bad thing entirely, because it allows me to focus on things that are important to me.  Sometimes, though, I think the tendency sort of clouds the big picture.

I asked God why I chose to be me, now, in my current situation, with my unique perspective and particular life experience.  And God answered in my heart, with eloquence and grace, as always:

"You wanted to learn about love, in the biggest sense of the word.  For loving yourself unconditionally, you sought a difficult childhood.  For knowing a mother's deep and profound love, you have your children.  You have created a healthy and joyful marriage.  You are learning about love by loving people at those times when they are less-than-lovable, and when they are at their best.  And in your life you strive to see the love of God expressing in all things.  Can you see how completely you are living your life's purpose?"

As I always am when I talk with the God of my heart, I was struck.  The meaning of life became simple all over again, and for that I am filled with even more gratitude (if that is possible) for being here in the middle of the countless, amazing miracles that are part of my very ordinary life.

I would love to some day remember this truth in every moment.  That probably won't happen.  But as I've said, I write to remember.  Writing at times is like taking a photograph of a breathtakingly beautiful scene I've witnessed and then having it to hold and go back to.  When I look at one of those photographs I am brought right back to the truth of the beauty that we are part of.  In writing I also feel as if I hold the beauty and grace of this life in my hands.

So the big question is answered, yet again.  Tonight I'll be comfortable being just where I am, in the peace where love is enough.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

The Miracle of Being in the Body

Beverley at Dragon Intuitive kindly asked me to do a guest post for her called The Miracle of Being in the Body, which I was happy to do.  Dragon Intuitive brings together an amazing amount of information on many different topics relating to spirituality and mysticism.

My son is home from college this weekend for Mother's Day.  I'm really looking forward to his visit!  My thoughts today are on being very much in the moment, and creating joyful memories.

May your Mother's Day be joyful as well, and may this post be a blessing. . .

Twenty Words to Change Your Life

I found this video when I visited a fellow blogger's site, Journey to Perfection, and I had to share it. It's a wonderful and  uplifting video that left me dancing!  Enjoy!



May this video be a blessing...

Healing the World

A tool that I want to use more frequently in my life is to help heal the world. People are floundering now, struggling to keep up with personal and global challenges that are unsurpassed in our experience. I believe that the great chaos in the world today reflects the growing pains of humanity taking a big step. Circumstances are forcing us to stop and take a stand, to make different choices, to consider the effects that our actions have on others, and to choose to live more intentionally in expressing the best in ourselves.

But it’s tiring, I think, and more than a little bit disheartening for people, faced with an intense amount of negativity that seems insurmountable. It wouldn’t be hard to succumb, and accept that the world really is “going to hell in a handbasket.” But in extreme challenge also lies the push we sometimes need to get out of our unconscious and habitual ways of thinking, and recognize that we need to choose a higher road. The truth is that everything happens for good. And our planet and its people can surely benefit from our focused healing energy as we move along on our individual and collective paths toward that good.

I learned a simple technique for healing the world at the Berkeley Psychic Institute called "hooking it up to the Supreme Being."  This is similar to the post I did recently on setting the body's energy, but on a bigger scale.  Visualizing our intention helps make it come to pass by giving our thoughts even more creative power.

1. Close your eyes and get comfortable. Breathe deeply and quiet your mind as much as possible.
2. In your mind’s eye, visualize the planet out in the dark universe.
3. Create a connection, in your mind’s eye, between God and the planet. I picture the connection as a thick cord, and I picture God as a bright golden spark of light further out in the dark universe. Please see this in any way that you are comfortable with.
4. Allow the golden light of God to shine down through the cord and into the planet, and watch as the planet becomes suffused with bright golden light.
5. The planet is now hooked up, and all are elevated to the vibration of love, peace and divine order.

It really is this simple to change the world, and we have the power to do it!  We can do this for the planet, for a group of people, or for someone individually. I hook people up to God fairly often, and the process is the same. Just see them connected to God by a golden cord, and then watch as the bright gold of divine light moves into and through them. As I do this, I notice that any concern I might be feeling for someone dissolves as I release them to infinite wisdom, and affirm their perfect path.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Saying Yes

Saying yes is that magical state where we accept what is happening in any given moment without resistance.  Saying yes to the present moment is an even more vitalizing tool than acceptance, which is a very powerful tool in and of itself.  But saying yes can elevate our experience from acceptance to enthusiasm.

It is inherent in the dualistic nature of our existence that in our minds we label our experiences as good or bad, or the people we encounter as right or wrong; our thinking tends to be very black and white.  This is part of divine intelligence at work, and serves us in our coming to know ourselves.  But we tend to oppose the "bad" things, and the "wrong" things, and that opposition shuts down the joy of just being here, alive in this moment and open to all that is good and right.

Work has been very busy lately.  Yesterday I counseled 15 patients, which is alot for one day.  By yesterday afternoon I was starting to feel like "enough, already."  When I get into that kind of resistance, I'm just trying to get through, and not doing my best for myself or the patients.  I'm definitely not enjoying my moments.

By God's grace I remembered to change my mind, and say yes.  Yes, I am here in this moment.  Yes, I'm doing my best, and that is good enough.  Yes, this job that I have loved for many years makes me crazy sometimes.  Yes, I am an ongoing contradiction of wants and fears and perfect knowing and peace.  And yes, it is all here for me to express myself within.

I felt my body take a deep breath, expressing its own perfect knowing.  And in that second I smiled, as I was filled with gratitude for all of it.  I am repeatedly impressed by how instantaneously and completely changing my mind changes my experience.  Changing my mind is a prayer answered.

The best part is that I finished my work day feeling alot of enthusiasm about having the opportunity to be doing what I love, interacting with interesting people, and making a difference in my own way.  It really is amazing what happens when I stop fighting what is.

I love how Eckhart Tolle puts it in his book, Stillness Speaks.  "How often each day, if you were to verbalize your inner reality at that moment, would you have to say, 'I don't want to be where I am'? What does it feel like when you don't want to be where you are -- the traffic jam, your place of work, the airport lounge, the people you are with? . . . Acceptance of the unacceptable is the greatest source of grace in this world."

We can't change what comes to us; people will do what they do and situations will come up as they must.  That really doesn't have anything to do with us.  But we can bring ourselves fully to where we are, and know that within everything is a seed of grace.

Here's to being here, and all that comes with it:  yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Setting the Body's Energy

Everything we experience in this world is vibration.  Our thoughts and words, our interactions with others, and the interactions between groups of people all produce a certain vibration.  Our bodies, too, experience vibrations of energy, and are very sensitive to the energy happening around us.

An example would be answering the phone, and after hanging up noticing that you feel very different than you did before the conversation.  You may feel down and tired, or you may feel energized and uplifted, depending on the energy of the conversation, and of the person you were speaking with.

There are many tools we can use to influence the energy we experience within our bodies.  All begin with first choosing what you want to create, in your present experience.  It's not difficult to do in practice; probably the hardest part is remembering that we can choose how we want to experience our moments.

The other day I wanted to change the energy I was experiencing, to a higher level.  I wanted my body to match the vibration of my highest good.  At the Berkeley Psychic Institute, they sometimes use a technique called "bringing yourself up to gold."  Gold is often seen as the color, or vibration, of God, or truth, or our highest.  It is the color of clarity.  So I decided to use that tool to set the energy in my body.

A great thing about BPI is that they really focus on keeping spiritual growth like being in kindergarten, so many of the techniques are simple, and profoundly powerful in their simplicity.

The other day I practiced it in this silly way, in the energy of kindergarten:
1. Get comfortable and close your eyes
2. Breathe deeply and focus on yourself
3. Affirm to yourself that the color gold embodies the vibration of your highest good
4. In your imagination, see the color of one cell in your body (I used the tip of my nose) change to gold
5. Watch as the adjacent cells in your body match the gold one, and the gold vibration of your highest good spreads from cell to cell down and through your entire body
6. Feel yourself as gold, and expressing the truth of your highest good

You can use this technique to bring into your body any specific energy you'd like, such as peace, or enthusiasm or self-acceptance.

If you choose to try this, remember that it works best when we don't try too hard, so just have fun with it.  Our intention to have it be so is enough.  As we watch this manifest in our mind's eye, we enhance the strength of bringing it forward as our truth.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Embracing This Life

We embrace this amazing existence not by doing more, but by focusing on what is truly important.  We are probably more similar than dissimilar in the things that are most dear to us.  We all want to be happy, and to have loving relationships that are mutually supportive and nurturing.  We want to have strong, healthy bodies that can waltz (or boogie) us through our life's dance.  And we all want to be seen, and known, openly and honestly, for all that it has meant to be our unique selves.  I believe this is true for most of us. 

Thank Goodness for the challenges, for they help us find those rather elusive answers about what has the greatest value to us.  It's pretty easy to get caught up in the demands of the day, and end up spending long amounts of time separate from what is meaningful.  At times, I remember to ask myself, "At the end of my life, is this what I will remember?"  There are things that fall quickly down the priority list when I view them in this way.  Ultimately, a life spent involved in what provides meaning infuses our lives with joy.

It is said that happiness is not in having what we want, but in wanting what we have.  It's tempting to focus on what is still lacking.  But the life of our dreams comes from finding the good that is always present, standing right there next to the distractions and concerns.  We embrace our lives, and our good, when we recognize the gifts we've been given.  How sweet life is when we cultivate a joyous dance of unfettered gratitude, not only in our thoughts, but in our prayers and in our hearts as well.

So today, I embrace my life with an amount of gratitude that has no limits.  I am here, in this healthy, strong body that is infinitely capable of walking me though all of the adventures of my making; in the middle of a glorious day filled with unlimited possibilities for me to experience wonders of all sizes, shapes and colors; and for as long as I am here this is my daily legacy, as a child of God.  Today is the day that my heart beats, and I choose how I want to show up. Today I am.

May you embrace the gift of living another precious day as your unique and perfect self, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Peace

We all want peace, between nations, between strangers, and in our close relationships.  We want peace within ourselves especially.  It often seems that if only circumstances outside of us were different, our lives would finally be different, and we could get some peace.  If my family members were all doing well, if the economy weren't such a mess, if there were different politicians running the country, if my kids were grown and out of the house, if my boss (or my spouse) weren't such a lunk-head, if drivers weren't so rude (the list is endless), then I might find a tranquil moment in my life.

But the world we experience is an ongoing reflection of what is taking place within us.  The amount of peace that we are able to find is directly proportional to the nature of our thoughts and beliefs.  Awareness of this truth really can set us free.

If I accept that all I see in the world is mirroring my beliefs, then I can challenge my thoughts and change  my experience.  I exercise my power in designing my reality when I choose to live in peace.  Every less-than-peaceful person or situation I encounter is a perfect teacher, once I get past the resisting and fussing over how the world is not behaving according to my expectations, for me to choose how I want to show up.  At some point, hopefully more sooner than later, I remember to stop and ask myself, have I done or am I doing something similar?  And I try to work on that.  Our interactions with others provide a mirror in which to see the still-learning places in ourselves that we would not necessarily see otherwise.

It is said, as within, so without.  I'm learning that it's never about the other person.   It's always about me, and what I have yet to remember about choosing my best and highest expression of the God within.  I try to be grateful for the events in my life that seem to rob me of my peace, because they provide such perfect opportunities for me to remember that I can at any moment choose the peace that is the truth of me.  I may have been waiting many years, or many lifetimes, to come to just this moment, where I can stand in opposition to another's choices or expression, and then choose instead to forgive us both.  Even when we are expressing less than our highest, we are all heroes.  Our armor may at times get dented and rusty, but it never stops reflecting the light.

Peace stems from the decisions that I make every day about how I label my experiences in the world.  As those decisions nurture peace in my heart, they promote peace in the world as well.  Let there be peace in my heart.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Spirituality and Health

I was asked by Catherine at Continuum Wellness to do a guest post on spirituality and health for her site, which covers many great topics on natural and alternative healing methods. Catherine is a homeopath and holistic coach with alot of very useful information to share.  You can read the post, and check out the Continuum Wellness website, at the following link:   guest post on Continuum Wellness.

I've wondered a few times if and when I'll run out of tools to share.  I have many rolling around in my head, and jotted down in my notebook, and life presents more ideas on an almost daily basis.  So it's not going to happen for awhile.  Thank you all for reading, and for your uplifting comments, and for sharing yourselves.  We are all a part of creating heaven on earth.

Blessings,
Sherry

Dancing!

Dancing as a spiritual tool?  You betcha!  My husband and I have taken swing dance lessons on and off for years.  We're not very good, but it's one of the things we do that brings a huge amount of joy.  Something absolutely, positively magical happens when I start to dance.  It doesn't matter what's been going on previously in the day.  When my husband starts spinning me around, and I'm trying to anticipate where he's going to lead me next, before I know it I'm grinning ear-to-ear like a nut!  It's exhilarating, and fun, and well, funny!  It's not uncommon for us to laugh out loud when we're dancing.  Not very dignified, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  We're starting swing lessons again next month, and I can't wait.

My husband teases me sometimes about unexpectedly breaking into dance.  It's a wonderful way to move my body, and be spontaneous, and express happiness in being alive.  And as much as I love dancing with my husband, I don't always need a partner.  I have been known to turn on some fun music and dance in the car on long trips (seated, of course).  More often than I should probably admit, I've put some funk on the radio driving home after work, and car-danced my way down the freeway (after making an agreement with myself that I'm not going to worry about what the people driving near me think!)  Turning on some music and dancing after I get home from work is a great way to release any stress I'm holding onto.  And dancing my way through a day of housework makes the job a whole lot more fun.

Dancing can be a spiritual tool, because it takes me out of my head and squarely into that delicious space of just enjoying expressing through my physical form.  When I dance, my spirit dances, too!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Self-Acceptance

The divine purpose of having our wondrous physical bodies is to know ourselves as unique expressions of God.  In order to expand into our awareness of the truth of our God nature, we must first experience ourselves as less.  Being human is rife with opportunities to forget who we really are.

Throughout life we face situations that challenge our ability to see ourselves as whole and perfect.  We are always striving to "get it right."  The trick is to remember that it's always right, even when it's all messed up.  In all of our struggling and striving, it helps to remember that it is meant to be this way.  Without knowing doubt we would never have the certainty to grow into our best selves.

I was reminded of this today talking with my son, Eric, who is a very talented 20 year-old musician.  He has been feeling alot of joy in expanding his musical abilities, and feeling confident about his path.  About a month ago, he hit a wall.  A few things happened that shook his confidence.  Instead of  feeling joy in his music, he began to doubt his decision to pursue that course of study.  He couldn't stop the voice in his head that kept telling him he wasn't good enough, and actually found himself playing worse than he had in a long time.

He spoke to my husband and me about it, and I like to think that our gentle reminder that the voice is not the truth, and to just acknowledge it and let it go, helped a little.  I know that he didn't really need any advice.  But in the middle of things like that, it's hard to keep our heads up, let alone know ourselves as anything even close to God-like!

My son told us that everyone hits times in their lives when they don't feel good enough.  He wasn't sure exactly how to restore his shaken confidence, but he knew that he would.  He said he was glad it happened early in his life so that he can get past it, and then next time he'll know that he can.  What wisdom from a very capable young man, recognizing the gift in a very unwelcome situation.

I recently bumped into a prayer on self-acceptance, written by Robert and Janet Ellsworth, which spoke to my heart:
"Help me to admit mistakes without feeling shame, and to recognize that they come to teach me.
Help me to find my own voice, to say what I mean and mean what I say.
Help me to see the good and laugh at myself and my life more.
Help me to discover my gifts and honor the uniqueness of others.
Help me to accept who I am, a beloved and special being in Your eyes.
And above all, help me to remain patient and gentle with myself."

I think Eric did a good job of that!

May we all be gentle with ourselves as we compose our life's melodies, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Looking For the Good

It's a test of faith, or at least a very big stretch, to embrace the idea that there is a positive way to view everything.  I'm not talking about the more everyday things that we by habit react to.  I'm talking about the huge, life-changing, don't-know-if-I-can-make-it-through-this stuff that we all face at times in our lives.  I am a heartfelt believer that all is for good.  But sometimes, when we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the big things, it's hard to see how.

In my work as a clinical health educator at a large HMO, I don't teach spiritual ideas because that wouldn't be appropriate.  But it's interesting to me how they slip in, because truth is truth.  Teaching the stress management program is one place where I notice that this happens quite a bit.  I mention in that program how our outlook is shaped by how we label things, and the physiological effects of positive thinking.  I touch on the practice of cognitive restructuring, which is really just a clinical term for becoming more aware of what your automatic thoughts are and choosing to replace negative ones with more productive ones.  And as I've noticed time and time again in classes, choosing to look for the good can work for people who are experiencing an overload of normal daily stressors. 

But what about handling the real crises, such as loss of livelihood, marital separation, or illness or death of a loved one?  Can we somehow find good in that?  In my own life, when I've hit those times, I most definitely have not been able to see anything positive about what was happening.  But looking back, I realize that I was able to accept that I would get through, and some day be able to recognize the gift in the experience.  Maybe even when we can't find the good in the moment, we can look instead for that place of knowing that the best and highest is taking place, even if we can't see how just then.  I got through one very difficult point in my life quite a few years back, with the very frequent prayer, "Let the best happen for all of us."  At the time I didn't know how it could, but it did.

I love the Unity belief that everything that happens to us is an answer to a prayer.  Everything.  All that we call to ourselves is an answered prayer, or will help us release something that keeps us from manifesting a prayer.  In either case, our heart's desire can never be thwarted.  The soul's purpose is to always be moving us to the light.

In the worst of times, loss of a job can mean finding inner resources or outward support that we never dreamed existed.  The separation of a couple can mean an opportunity to recreate a more joyful and healthy relationship, or to move beyond one that no longer serves both people's highest expression.  And love never dies, but changes, and then finds itself again.

In every moment of our lives, the perfection that we embody is working to illuminate our path.  All we need do is trust that it is there for us.  When we look for the good in what we experience, we affirm the limitless creative power of the God within.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Loving the Body

I realized in beginning to write about validating the amazing miracle of our bodies, that one post wouldn't be nearly enough!  I'll begin with some thoughts today, and add more at a later time.

These wonderful vehicles that our souls have created to have their human experience are worthy beyond measure.  Our society is so body conscious, but in a way that actually harms the relationship that the soul has with the body.  We are taught to focus on the body as a way to conform to the norm, and to judge our value based on its size and shape.  We all know that the incredible expectation for our bodies to fit within a narrow range of appearance is unrealistic and unhealthy, but most of us are driven to conform to that expectation nevertheless.  It's amazing how powerful that influence is on us.

When we are trying to fit a mold, communication between spirit and body is diminished.  Spirit becomes much less able to hear the messages that the body is sending out, and the body becomes unable to hear the soul's validation of its creation.  I believe that learning to listen to the body is a lifelong process, and not something that we always do easily.  We need to be present to hear our body's gentle messages.  With our thoughts in the past or in the future, we will not be aware of our bodies at all.  When our minds are very busy, we usually take our bodies for granted.

There are many downsides to taking the body for granted.  One very big disadvantage is that when we are not present and choosing to sense and feel what is happening in the body, we miss so much of the delicious experience of living.  Some of those feelings are wonderful beyond words, and some are very difficult, but they all create the depth and texture of our experience.

We are not present when we are caught up in thought.  I really believe that thinking is overrated!  We think too much.  We could accomplish just as much, probably more, if we consciously chose to review data, make decisions, and then put thinking aside and experience!  There are for me no moments in my life more exquisite than the ones spent squarely in the present, using my senses, feeling my emotions, aware of my body's being.

We are also much better able to care for ourselves when we pay attention to our body's needs.  In our performance-driven world, it becomes easy to focus on completing tasks and completely ignore our bodies' gentle urgings.  If we do that for too long, our bodies may need a more forceful way to communicate, which sometimes happens though illness.  Our bodies always let us know what they need, we have only to listen.

If we take the time to allow the gentle communion between body and spirit to take place, we find truth.  In hearing the soul's infinite regard, the body knows its own sacred nature and is healed.  Without that space, our bodies are disconnected from the truth and we feel invalidated.

Creating a space for body and spirit to connect can happen in many different ways.  It can be something we choose to do quickly, or a practice that we dedicated more time to.  A really simple way to find connection with the body is to breathe, consciously and into the body.  Breathing grounds our awareness into the body.  Another thing I will practice is to consciously pull all of my energy into my body, so that none of my awareness is spilling out, and I am aware of the physical space that I occupy.  (I will write more about being in the body in another blog.)  Another thing I have done, when I notice that I am caught up in some judgment of my body, is to just quiet my mind for a moment and ask my spirit it's opinion.  This is a great tool!  There is no media-driven demand for thinness strong enough to budge my spirit's infinite love of my body, just as it is, in all of its perfect ability to walk me though the days of my life, as a light-filled expression of God.

When you find yourself having a hard time appreciating your body, remember that that opinion does not originate with you, and then let your body listen to the eloquent wisdom of your soul.  Love is there.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is the energy that turns the moments of our lives into magic.  Enthusiasm isn't something we must wait to feel; it is something we can cultivate as often as we remember.  I am always amazed by the incredible creative power we have, in each instant, to choose what we will experience.  In any moment, there are countless different things that could capture our attention.  We tend to focus on what we expect, based on past experience or what we've been taught.  In this way, experience can limit the flexibilty in how we see things.  We will always see what we expect, if we don't resist the temptation to believe everything we think.  Much of that thinking is old, outdated, and never originated with us anyway!

In order to be as fully open as possible to the gifts of this life, we must claim our power in creating a world of our own making.  We are not seeing the world as it is, we are making the world we see, based on our thoughts and beliefs about it.  Experience is not hard-wired, it is infinitely variable depending on what we decide to accept into awareness.

Right now I am delighted by the possibilities.  Am I struggling to find the right words, or am I writing with ease the thoughts that come from my heart?  This moment is an incredible gift in choosing my experience, and I send the vibration of that choice outward into ongoing creation.  How much importance and immediacy will I place on my awareness that my office is messy, and needs dusting?  There is no judgment here, for me just a decision about whether to deal with that now, or not.  Is needing to get ready for work soon an interruption in my enjoyment of the peace and warmth of the morning, or a valued opportunity for learning and growth, hearing the wonderful stories of my fellow travelers, and making my own contribution in the world?  In each moment there is the potential for any and all possibilities, but what I focus on dictates my experience.  It also creates the habit by which I begin to experience similar situations in the future.

Life is a struggle when in our awareness we are always responding to unwelcome situations that are thrust upon us to deal with.  When we choose to create our own experience instead of respond to the world according to a programmed set of expectations, it is so much easier to live in gratitude, enthusiasm, and ease.

So work awaits!  I will take the warmth of the sun, and the peace, with me through my day.  I will hold it in my awareness as I teach, and learn, and enjoy hearing the stories of the people I meet today.  And I will thank God for the ability to find the right words to gracefully convey the truth that I hold in my heart.

Today is the day that the Lord has made; rejoice and be glad in it!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Declaring Yourself

When I was studying spiritual hands-on healing and clairvoyance at the Aesclepion Healing Institute, we practiced a technique called declaring yourself.  I was aware that this exercise creates more space to validate our unique expressions of being.  It is in effect a way to claim the space in creation to be our own extraordinary selves.

From that place where we are aware of being all that is, but also aware of being a unique person inhabiting a finite body, we declare ourselves using our names.  For me, it is "I AM, Sherry."  After spending some time quieting your thoughts and bringing your attention within, breathe deeply, and declare yourself to creation as many times as you feel comfortable with.  In this way, we bring our awareness of the vastness of our spirit into our human experience.

Eric Butterworth in The Creative Life explains a similar exercise of declaring our intention for ourselves in ongoing creation.  This exercise focuses on consciously denying our automatic negative thinking about who we are, and aligning with the truth of us, as expressions of all that is.  Habits of negative thinking are never the truth of us.  They come from ideas we've accepted throughout our lives, from various sources, all stemming from fear.  We can recognize our truth, though, because it always contains our highest thought.  When we are aware of a thought that comes from a lesser place, we can choose love, for the thought's source, and for ourselves for our forgetting.  In that moment we consciously create heaven on Earth.

Declaring yourself, from The Creative Life, is as follows:  "Take an inventory of negative or limiting declarations you have claimed for yourself.  You know your own list.  Recognize this is the conscious mind (the intellect) that judges by appearances and is not in tune with the creative flow.  Now turn them around using the words 'I AM.'  Identify yourself by the name of the Lord, I AM:

'I AM Life, vibrating as perfect health in every cell, organ and function of my body.'
'I AM the radiant Light of pure knowing.'
'I AM established in the divine flow of substance.'
'I AM protected.  I live under the shadow of the almighty.'
'I AM Love, and I AM secure in the energy of all true relationships.'

This is your creative genius, which knows its oneness with the Source (Infinite Mind, or God), and the words are powerful -- they are the spoken word of creation."

We always have a choice in the expression of ourselves that we paint onto the canvas of ongoing creation.  What picture of yourself do you want to bestow upon eternity?  Some of my declarations are that I am safe and protected as a blessed child of God, that I am a perfect and beautiful expression of light, and that the power of God the creator expresses in and through me.

Declaring yourself is claiming your best and highest as a being of light created in the image of God.  May your declarations always be worthy of you, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Dignity

I have been thinking lately about dignity. There are so many things in this life that are antithetical to living in dignity; discrimination or abuse in our current situation, or limiting beliefs about ourselves that we've accepted from somewhere in the past. We can think of countless examples of circumstances that rob people of their self-respect. In some ways self-respect is very hard to maintain, especially when we are taught to hold ourselves up to so many different guideposts about what it means to be whole and healthy. Comparing ourselves to others, we can never be enough. But as with all things, divine purpose is providing us with the opportunity to remember who we really are.

As children of God, we can revel in the glory of our own existence. Being born to this earth is the only credential we need to be part of the kingdom. I notice that when I choose to express my dignity, when in my interactions I consciously come from a place of acknowledging first my own intrinsic worthiness, I cannot help but recognize in all other people that same measure of immense value. I did not always know that I needed to focus within first, but I am remembering. In owning the truth about myself, I see the truth in others.

When I am living in my own glory, the world feels like a very magical place. I am here, in the middle of limitless possibility, and all is for good. Everyone I meet is an angel, doing their own perfect dance.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Happiness

I came across a wonderful quote today by a man named Denis Waitley that started me thinking about cultivating happiness: "Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. " How true.

Many people use benchmarks outside of themselves to decide whether they can claim happiness. Is my partner meeting my needs, is my job validating my abilities, do I have what my peers have, or more? These markers for happiness are fleeting and don't fulfill us on a deep level.

That's not to say that we need to adopt a life of poverty and isolation to be happy. It seems that many believe that creating material things is shallow and meaningless, or in some way against our spiritual nature. Material things don't provide lasting happiness, but provide myriad ways for us to express ourselves as divine creators. Expressing my birthright as a creator in God's image does make me happy! I believe that God wishes for us all of the good things that will help us relish a complete and full life.

Although material things can't create lasting happiness, they are not contrary to expressing the highest in ourselves. The difference is our intention. Are we working to buy a bigger home because it's expected, or because it would be a healthy and peaceful place for our growing family? Are we working nights to get through school because someone expects us to do something more with our lives, or because we are drawn to a new career as a way of expressing more of our true talents in the world? Are we saving money for a special vacation because we're trying to keep up with someone else, or as a way to connect lovingly with our partner, experience joy and more of the wonderful places and people on this planet? We are meant to experience all that we want to do, be and have as expressions of the highest within us.

If material things can't provide lasting happiness, what does? Can we cultivate happiness, consciously, as a practice? I believe we can. The beautiful quote above provides good insight. Happiness is a spiritual experience wherein we are present in our moments with these three things: love, grace and gratitude. Having our moments in love is allowing others their path as we walk our own, and remembering that each of us is uniquely expressing the God within. Having our moments in grace is having an awareness of ourselves and others as being worthy of God's highest favor. Having our moments in gratitude means simply acknowledging the tremendous gift in all of it. As complicated as life gets, these three things we can do.

True and lasting happiness comes when we accept the truth of who we are, and are glad of it. When we know ourselves, God rejoices!