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. . .

Being in Your Bubble

It takes all kinds to make a world, as one of my favorite sayings goes. There is room for humanity to express itself, individually and collectively, in absolutely any conceivable way under the sun, in order for us to know ourselves more fully as God. There is no limit to how a life can declare itself, or to the circumstances that it can create in finding its path to the truth.

I honor and appreciate the profound grace inherent in our ability to choose a life of our own making, but that doesn’t always mean that I want to be part of what other people think, or create. As sensitive spirit inhabiting physical form, we are all affected by the energy of others’ creations in both positive and negative ways.

If you bump into someone who is in the middle of creating a very accepting, love-filled day and you get a big smile or a hug from that person, you will likely be affected by that reaction in an uplifting way. Similarly, if you encounter someone who is in the middle of nurturing a belief that they are not good enough for some reason, they may feel angry about seeing someone who appears to be doing better than they are, and that anger may cause you to walk away feeling like you somehow failed, regardless of how you had felt previously. These exchanges of energy happen to all of us on a moment-to-moment basis.

One reaction to finding ourselves affected by another in an uncomfortable way is to resist the person. Resistance doesn’t tend to help. It causes communication to break down and negative feelings to grow. A very helpful and proactive way to limit how much we are affected by where others are is a simple technique called being in your bubble, which goes as follows:

1. Spend a few moments with your eyes closed, quieting your thoughts.
2. In your imagination create a bubble all around you that is about a foot out from your body. I like to picture this as a big soap bubble that is clear but indestructible. Picture this in any way that works for you.
3. Notice yourself within this bubble, and acknowledge that any type of energy you don’t want to experience in your own body will be unable to get through the bubble, and will just bounce off.
4. Walk through your day within your bubble. Take a look at the bubble periodically just to affirm that it is there, and recreate it whenever you want to.

There are some really great reasons to use this tool to manage the energy that bounces around us all of the time. A big one for me is that it frees me up to create my own experience the way I choose, as I leave others free to their own expression. I don’t need to get into the struggle and discomfort of resisting what others are doing or thinking, because it happens outside of my bubble and doesn’t need to affect me.

Being in my bubble allows me to stand quietly and witness, and even admire the myriad ways that my fellow humans choose to express their greatness, and still be true to my own experience.

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. . .

Seeking Out Your Blessings

I was inspired to write today by a piece of chocolate – specifically by one of the Dove dark chocolate promises that have the little messages on the inside of the wrapper. I’ve always wondered why they’re called “promises,” but to me it implies that I will be receiving some type of special gift, and dark chocolate is definitely that! I would buy it even without the inspirational messages, but the spiritual tool that came with today’s after-lunch bite was (chocolate) icing on the cake!

My chocolate promise reminded me today that “Blessings only come to those who notice.” Such profound words of wisdom from a snack food! It is very easy to allow our blessings to go by unnoticed, especially when we are distracted by what we need to accomplish in a day. If we are too busy to take heed of the little things, we miss out on that delicious feeling of receiving gifts for no reason other than just being here.

I’ve noticed many blessings already today, both large and small. The alarm was set an hour early for some reason this morning, so when it went off, I had an extra hour to sleep! A man I didn't know held the door for me after lunch with a big, bright smile. I also got a very clear answer today from the God of my heart about an issue I’ve been pondering, and that was an even bigger blessing.

I had originally thought to title this post “Receiving Your Blessings,” but I changed it because I think the real spiritual tool here is the “seeking out” part. It isn’t that our blessings are lacking; they are ours for the taking. Spiritual “law” tells us that what we seek, we shall find. What we expect, we will receive. And what we focus on, we will create more of in our lives. Actively searching for the blessing inherent in each moment allows us to live more fully in well-justified gratitude, and honors the glory of our being.

May you find all of the sweet blessings your heart can hold, and may this tool be a blessing. . .

Prayer

My husband was dedicated today as a chaplain at our Unity church.  It got me thinking about the many different ways that we pray.  For years I was uncomfortable with the idea of prayer, because whatever special connection people I knew who prayed had with God, I didn't seem to have it.  It seemed to me at the time that prayer was all about someone asking God for something, and then having it materialize.  But the people I saw never seemed to be getting anywhere in the things they prayed for.  When they didn't get what they had asked of God, they explained it as "God's will," and left me wondering why people prayed in the first place.  I wasn't sure what talent or skill a person needed to have God not only hear them, but also answer.  Whatever it was, I knew I didn't have it.  It didn't seem like the people around me had it either.

As I've moved along on my own path, I've come to see prayer much differently.  I see now that because God lives in all things, she expresses not only through me but as me.  There is no separation between the God who hears my prayers and, well, me.   And so it is for us all.

Prayer for me now is ever-closer communication with the God within.  When I pray to the God outside of myself, I am praying to myself as well, to that all-knowing, ever-perfect and light-filled part of me that is God.  God and I are co-creators in this game called life, so I am in constant connection with divine order, perfect intelligence, and love that knows no bounds.  All that I choose to be, I am.  Prayer is saying hello to that.

I have always resonated with the way it is described in Neale Walsch's Conversations With God:  "The correct prayer is therefore never a prayer of supplication but a prayer of gratitude.  When you thank God in advance for that which you choose to experience in your reality, you, in effect, acknowledge that it is there . . .  Thankfulness is thus the most powerful statement to God; an affirmation that even before you ask, I have answered.  Therefore never supplicate.  Appreciate."

I recognize now that it is not about a God outside of me who answers prayers, sometimes.  We are part of a much more flawless reality.  There was a quote in the service at Unity today whose author I don't remember, but it went something like, "When God sees me in prayer, he sees me through the same eyes that I see him with."  The kingdom of heaven is within.

My husband has learned to pray with people, helping create a space where the truth of their own heaven within can come to light.  I still get down on my knees, sometimes, when I most need the comfort of feeling held by a power greater than myself, although I recognize that I exist as that power, too.  We can pray out loud, or in our heads.  A favorite form of prayer for me is writing letters to God, which I've described in previous posts.  I love writing, and for me the act of grounding my thoughts on paper, and then waiting for my hand to know what to write in response, is very clear and direct.

Prayer can be out loud, or silent.  It is not only speaking to God, but listening also.  Sometimes that's all I do, just sit and listen.  In truth, every thought we have is a prayer.

May you be grateful for prayers answered, and may this tool be a blessing. . .