Hearing God

Early this morning I had a conversation with God in our room at the Howard Johnson's.  I was really glad for that conversation, because I've had some important things to discuss.  I've been busy for the past few days, traveling to Georgia to be with family for our grandson's third birthday, and so this morning was the first opportunity I've had to be still and listen.

I sat down and quieted my mind, asked my question of God, and then focused my attention on that space that is everything, where it feels like I can hear the hum of our collective being.  In that place, I wait to hear God's voice from the air, from the glow of the streetlight, or the paint on the wall of the motel room.  God's answers come to me from all of those places, and everywhere, all at once.

I sat and waited, and God's voice did not come.  I continued to quiet my mind, and listened, but the familiar dialog didn't start.  What came instead was a strong sense that God was busy, and not available just then.  For a moment I felt quite disheartened, until I realized that that was not possible.  God is everywhere present, and in every moment of my life. 

I recognized that it was I, not God, who was too busy.  My mind had been too busy.  I am never separated from the voice of God, but it felt like that was true, for a time this morning.  I remembered that my experience of God is reflected in how I am experiencing myself.  And with that remembering, my dialog with God resumed; my questions were asked, and answered, and I was reconnected with my truth.

I have found that hearing God's voice is a matter of shifting my attention, from the details at hand, to a softer focus on being, where everything just is and the details are not important.  The God whose voice I seek speaks to me from all that is, from outside of me but also from within.  Because my experience out in the world reflects what is taking place in the universe within me, when I find peace in my thoughts, there is no end to the peace that I find in the world of my making. 

This morning I remembered myself as God, choosing again to hear herself.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Cultivating Humor

My husband told me last night that he'd love for me to do a stand-up comedy routine, just for him.  Just picturing it made him chuckle.  It made me chuckle, too.  I can see us in our living room, him sitting at a make-shift round table with a glass of wine, and me standing with a wrench or some other pretend microphone, saying "Did you hear the one about. . ."  We've done sillier things.  We tend to laugh alot.

I'm a true believer in humor for healing all types of ills.  In the stress management class that I teach at work,  one of the things that I discuss with people is the idea of actively cultivating humor.  I enjoy watching people who have come into the class very burdened by the demands in their lives light up at the thought that maybe something as simple and uplifting as laughter could help ease those burdens.  Research has proven that laughter lowers blood pressure and stress hormones, and increases immune function and the release of endorphins.  It really is good medicine.

Humor unites people, because laughter is the universal language.  Sharing a private joke or a moment of happiness with another creates a bond of good-feeling and lifts the heart.  I remember when my son was about 18 months old, he would pick up his play telephone, hold it up to his ear, and laugh and laugh.  I realized early on that he was imitating what he thought a person did on a telephone.  I looked like that, talking on the phone with my sister.  I am pleased to say we still do that.

Many times, when my husband or I, or both of us, have had a tough day at work, we decide to do something funny.  We've gone to the park to swing and slide, which is very humorous, especially to the kids watching us.  We've batted the wiffle ball at the park in heavy wind.  We've worn big wax gummy lips to the dinner table.  We've eaten cake with my son, not using utensils, and then taken pictures.  Not too long ago, while paying bills, my husband donned his slippers that look like rainbow trout, and I wore a bow tie.  Recounting these times, and remembering so many more, makes me smile.  Humor is even great years later, with the remembering.

There is no limit to the ways we can create humor for ourselves.  Rent a funny movie or choose to read a silly book.   I have a couple of sites bookmarked on my computer at work that I can go to for a quick joke in the middle of a hectic day.  Make a mental note of something that really tickled your funny bone, and then remember it when you need to smile.  Most importantly, choose to find amusement in the little things as you go through your day.  To quote that very articulate author, Dr. Seuss, "From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere."

Celebrate your sense of funny.  Each of us has our own brand of humor and our own way of expressing it.  Mine is more quiet, which makes the whole stand-up idea all the more comical.  I'll let you know when my routine is finished.

Humor, and laughter, bring us into step with our highest joy, and open us to fully celebrate being alive.  Here's to laughing loud and often!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Fear Not

I asked God what I should write about today, and She said, "Fear Not."  I thought that a fitting topic, because while finding ourselves in fear has always been a necessary part of remembering who we are, there sure does seem to be alot more of it banging around lately.  It's not always easy in the middle of some fear-based reaction to stay calmly centered and tell ourselves that we're much bigger than it is.  In the moment, all we see is the monster's big teeth and we know we're just seconds from being lost for good.

I remember, way back in my early 20's, reading a book that changed my life.  It's called Emmanuel's Book, A Manual for Living Comfortably in the Cosmos, by Pat Rodegast and Judith Stanton.  Pat Rodegast channels a being named Emmanuel, and his teachings cover many topics.  At that time in my life, before I had begun my search for truth, and before I had any tools for understanding the events of my childhood, Emmanuel's words were, quite literally, a balm for my soul.  The words gave me hope where, looking back, hope was so lost that I didn't even know it was gone. 

Emmanuel's Book sparked in me a sometimes difficult, but mostly joyous quest for truth that has lasted since.  And the words that hooked me are, "You are safe, you are safe, you are safe."  I read that and even though it took me many years to finally own that truth for myself, the words opened a possibility in me that grew stronger and stronger, gradually opening me to a truth that gets sweeter every year I live.

We are safe.  If we could but remember that, God within would dance alot more.  When I remember that I am the creator of my experience, and that I have chosen fear as part of my path to knowing my own greatness, it is transformed to a gift I give myself.  Fear is created by me, and through me, and for me. 

Fear is a choice, and that is a powerful perspective.  In any moment we can choose fear, or faith.  Fear is just being temporarily stuck in a lie.  Faith, and love, are truth.  We say in Unity that fear has no power over me, and I know that is true because even though I get temporarily stuck, I created all of it as part of my divine path of forgetting and remembering.  I can get unstuck!  Even in the middle of the most trying circumstances that life can dish out, we are safe, we are safe, we are safe.

I am, as always, profoundly grateful to the many teachers I've been blessed to encounter in my life.  If in writing my truth I can give back even a bit of what I've been given, I am happy.

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. . .

Guarding Your Mind

Unity is a big source of inspiration for me, as I'm sure you've noticed reading my posts.  Reverend Ken mentioned today that  "you need to guard your mind," and it jumped out at me as an important spiritual tool.  As I took it, guarding my mind means being the sentry at the gate, protecting my mind from any thoughts that diminish me, or others, or the world.  It is choosing to be that ever-vigilant, benevolent guardian that always serves the truth.

I am very aware of wanting to be the crafter of my own thoughts, and thereby bring my own dreams to light.  But it is so very easy to get caught up in speaking or thinking in ways that I don't even really want any part of.  I catch myself doing it all the time.  It's an interesting place, that moment when I recognize that I am holding something as true that I certainly don't want to perpetuate into the future.  But habit, or the old need to please others by not disagreeing with them, or some other form of unconscious, fear-based response kicks in and there I am again on auto-pilot.

I like the idea of being my own benevolent protector guarding my experience and serving truth.  To do that, I realize that I need to be more committed to being watchful of the words and thoughts that I don't want to give life to, and deny them, regardless of who might not agree, or understand.

As probably happens in many workplaces, among my coworkers the conversation lately turns fairly often to the economy, job losses, cities needing to eliminate emergency personnel, programs in public education being cut, the world going to hell in a handbasket.  I have many times joined in with the tsk-tsking, and nodded my head in agreement.  Surely, it is sad.  It is scary.  But that is not the reality I wish to seal our future with.  I am no longer in agreement to acquiescing, not even to a nod of the head.

I spoke to my dad a few days ago, and he was worrying about my husband's job (he's a public school administrator), and talking about how bad things are getting, people wanting to carry guns, and other things that the fear-promoting media is so adept at focusing on.

I am happy to say I didn't buy into the fear of the moment.  I told him that we trust the outcome and that the best will happen.  I told him that we are choosing not to participate in the recession, and that we will continue to look for the gift in all of it, because this life is nothing if not an amazing, enriching and wonderful gift.  At the end of the conversation my dad, who is an avid follower of the television news, said he was going to do something else with his time, and we both affirmed the perfection and divine order that we are part of, each in our own way.

That conversation could have gone a very different way, had I not been guarding my mind, and very consciously choosing the truth I wish to serve.  It would have been easy to just agree.  But in making a conscious decision to choose the reality I see and speak of that, his perspective was lifted, and mine, and the planet's.

I am grateful yet again for another tool in remembering the unlimited potential we have in creating the world we choose to see.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Enlighten Up!

Most of us know at least one person who has the uncanny timing and ability to lighten the mood in a group of people, to raise the vibration when things start to get too serious. David, our music director at Unity, is like that. We can always count on him to keep things light with a spontaneous quip that gets us chuckling. He doesn’t take himself too seriously.

It is easy to regard ourselves and our life path with too much seriousness. I know I often do. It can seem like hard work at times, moving forward, trying to be the people we know in the deepest part of ourselves that we are, striving to be our best selves. We are taught that hard work brings results, and we apply that maxim to everything, including growing in our spiritual understanding. On the physical plane, hard work may accomplish results, but as unlimited creators of our experience, no more than our intention is needed to bring a dream to fruition. I need to enlighten up!

For me, there is absolutely nothing better than remembering that I don’t have to try so hard. We really don’t have to try at all. What a delicious truth, that perfection exists in and through everything, and we can just relax and bask in it. In our most peaceful, or most chaotic, days, divine order guides all. We can let go into the experience of all of it, comfortable or anxious, light-hearted or totally stuck. We have designed all of it as part of our soul’s playground.

I spent some time last night being incredibly grateful. I was thinking about some of the experiences I’d had yesterday, and became aware of the absolutely perfect way they provide me the opportunity to choose who I am, and who I want to be. In that moment, I knew myself as the designer of those experiences, every part of them, and I was God. There was no effort, because I knew that all that comes to me is good. I felt larger than I’ve ever been as I reviewed lifetimes of experience, and knew it was created not only by me, but though me, and also for me. It is all done for me. And I knew for just a few moments the profound love that called forth my being. I am forever changed.

May you know the lightness of being God’s love, and 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. . .