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. . .

Letting God

I have often heard the saying “Let go and let God.” I so very much agree with this statement, and when I hear it I think, “Yep, that’s important.” It is important, and simple in theory, but not at all easy in practice. More and more I am aware of how much I hold on to worry, and fear, and trying to control the outcome of things. It doesn’t matter how much I know in my head that my fussing isn’t needed or helpful, I end up fussing anyway.

It seems that the more I intend to let go and trust the divine intelligence that drives everything in my experience, the more I notice where I’m not letting go. Life is always providing opportunities to shine some light in the darkness. I am here to remember, and I am grateful.

When I do remember, in the middle of being troubled by some situation that is out of my control, that God has all of it, things get very quiet, and much simpler, in my body. My jumbled thoughts become peaceful, and I am aware of a rightness that leaves nothing for me to fight against. All is as it should be. That awareness is a huge gift.

That we can just let go are simple words to say, but the reality behind the words is powerful beyond measure. When we seek to fully grasp the truth that there really is nothing stronger than the endless, all-encompassing love we’re born of, overcoming any concern we could ever conceive, the human mind can't contain the immensity of it.  But spirit knows, and speaks quietly to us throughout all time that nothing less is true.  We are remembering that all that happens is designed for our ultimate good, because goodness is what we are.

Things will evolve in their own perfect way, as we remember that where we are, there is always light.

May this tool 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. . .

Sound Healing

I was blessed today to experience the profound healing that can come from sound.  I don't know a whole lot about the subject, because sound isn't the type of healing that I have focused on in my life.  But I understand the importance of changing vibration in order to initiate healing, and sound is, of course, vibration.  In my own meditation, I have experimented with my breathing and allowing myself to release by sighing with the outbreath, and I have noticed that it creates a deeper sense of connection and softening within my body.  I know many of you have experience with sound healing techniques and I hope you share them here.

I am frequently healed by music.  I have a playlist on my IPod called "spirit songs," which has many of the songs that help me feel connected to the peace and truth that is the God within me.  Today, I was healed watching my son's final concert of the season with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.  I was enraptured by the first piece, called The Chairman Dances, composed in 1985 by John Coolidge Adams.  My son tells me that I prefer minimalism.  I don't understand much about that because I'm not  a musician, but I did notice that the pace and starkness of it allowed me to feel as if I could almost taste each sound, and was left waiting expectantly for the next one.

The concert brought me to tears, listening to those young people making such perfectly exquisite music.  That a fellow human being had the talent and vision to conceive such beauty to begin with, and the musicians had the commitment and passion to pour their hearts into the beauty of it, and that they can all come together and weave each of their parts into such a heart-rending, exquisitely beautiful whole speaks to me of the never-ending good that is us, expressing our greatness.  There can be no real ill in a world where that can take place.

I received another sound healing earlier today, at our Unity service.  A woman by the name of Denise DeSimone spoke about a video she created called "Pray Peace," which is a compilation of prayers for peace from all around the world, set to moving images and music.  Denise had stage IV cancer and was given a very short time to live.  She now coaches other cancer survivors and has created a program around sound healing, which includes chanting, breath and sound techniques, and specific combinations of tones (my son would understand more about this).  She also has a CD available called "Make a joyful noise - a meditation using sound."  I'm really grateful that I was able to learn about the amazing work she is doing in the world.  You can visit her website here.

Edgar Cayce is quoted as saying that the medicine of the future is sound.  May we be open to its healing vibrations, and 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. . .

Don't Take Anything Personally

The second agreement in Don Miguel Ruiz' book, The Four Agreements, which I introduced in a post a few weeks ago, is to never take things personally.  I found the ideas in this book to be simple, and I can very much see the value in them.  None of them are easy to maintain, though.

It is important to remember that what people do really has nothing to do with us.  People come in to their encounters with others with a combination of assumptions, expectations and beliefs about the world that are theirs alone.  Each of us interacts with the world and with each other based on the reality that we see, and for each of us it is different.  That each of us holds a unique perspective is obvious, but I think it is sometimes easy to forget when we don't understand another's motivations.   It's pretty natural to make assumptions based on what we hold true, but that may not be true for the other person at all.

In his book, Ruiz says that, "Nothing other people do is because of you.  It is because of themselves.  All people live in their own dream, in their own mind. . . Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you.  What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds.  Their point of view comes from all the programming they received during (their life)."  I can imagine how much misunderstanding could be avoided if people could make this simple, but challenging, agreement with themselves.

He goes on to explain that it is best to not take personally even positive things that people say or do, because those are really not about us, either.  "Whatever people do, feel, think, or say, don't take it personally.  If they tell you how wonderful you are, they are not saying that because of you.  You know you are wonderful."

This really is powerful stuff, couched in simple language.  For me, it is another way to hear my own truth, and create my own outcome as I allow others to create theirs.

Finally, Ruiz says that, "As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won't need to place your trust in what others do or say.  You will only need to trust yourself and make responsible choices.  You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you."

For me, this is one of the most important truths.  As unique expressions of God, each of us lives and breathes intelligence beyond measure.  Each of us is choosing our steps along our own perfect path to remembering fully who we are.  They are our steps.  People won't always agree or understand, just as we won't always understand others.  But there is a sacred place for all of life, in its infinitely varied expression, and for its own sake alone.

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. . .

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. . .

All Is Well!

My husband and I had a sailboat for a few years; we didn't take it out much and never got very good at sailing, but we enjoyed having a little cabin on the water.  I wanted to rename it All Is Well.  He thought we should rename it All is Swell.  He's clever like that!

I believe that some of the best spiritual tools are the simplest ones.  Reminding ourselves that all is well, in the middle of whatever temporary setback is occurring, can help put things back into proper perspective.  Circumstances affect us to the degree that we accept them as truth.  We are infinitely powerful in creating any outcome we choose, by what we believe.  If we remembered that, what a different world it would be!  I think our dear Reverend Ken at Unity illustrates this beautifully when he says that yes, there is a recession, but I choose not to participate!  He is affirming that all is well in his world, specifically with his financial resources.  I love the affirmation, "The light of God surrounds us, the love of God enfolds us, the power of God protects us, and the presence of God watches over us.  Wherever we are, God is, and all is well."

I had a conversation with my daughter recently and we were talking about the health of the planet, global warming, and issues with availability and safety of the food supply.  At first glance, these and so many other topics in our world seem almost insurmountable.  At times we can believe it is too late to turn things around.  It is never too late.  We can turn things around in an inkling, with a conscious intention that all is well.  Fear has no real power over us, except to the degree that we decide it is warranted.  My part in our conversation was to remind myself, and her, that things do appear in many ways to be heading in a direction we can't turn back from, but as limitless creators made in God's image, we have within us every answer we need.

I acknowledged that day that my perspective probably sounds like I am a pollyanna.  I choose very consciously to be just that!  To change this world, we have to believe that there are answers and resources available to us that we haven't even considered yet, and that all we need is provided to us by simply asking, and believing that it will come to pass.  We hear this, and want to believe it, but often can't.  Ask, and we are answered.  Knock, and all is opened to us.

In the face of our current challenging circumstances, I can imagine perfection unfolding and it is done.  The destination is never in question, but how we arrive is our playground.  Maybe today I'll sail, on a boat named All Is Well.

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. . .

I See the Christ in You

Christ consciousness is the awareness of that most basic truth, one that Jesus lived and taught, that we are limitless creators, bringing into being all that we imagine. Christ consciousness, living in each of us, reminds us of our infinite power expressing through our finite human form.

Although we are limitless beings, we are on a path of remembering. In forgetting the truth, we are provided with the holy opportunity of remembering, and then owning our birthright as God in expression. We live in forgetfulness, remember, and then forget again.

Reverend Ken, our Unity minister, talks of something he does to help him in his dealings with people - that is to say, "I see the Christ in you." This doesn't need to be said out loud; other people do not even need to know you are acknowledging it about them. When someone you encounter is most stuck, when they act in a way much less than loving, saying to yourself that you see the Christ in them breaks the cycle of fear by affirming truth. They, and we, are free. The pull of fear and judgment is released as threads of truth are woven through our ongoing creation for all to experience.

We can choose to see the Christ in anyone at any time. It is a wonderful way to acknowledge the divine truth of all those we share this planet with, regardless of circumstances.

I sat on a warn Friday evening last summer in a park with hundreds of other people, listening to a concert. There were families picnicking and couples dancing. All different types of people were gathered together in a small grassy corner of the world. I chose in that moment to shift my awareness to acknowledge Christ consciousness within each of them, all at once. I was filled with awe and joy as I saw God's eternal spirit expressing in so many unique and perfect ways.

We lift up the vibration of all of humanity when we see the truth of each other, unlimited creators, all-together expressing the light of God.

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Spiritual Hands-on Healing

I spent five years studying at an exceptional place called the Aesclepion Healing Institute, where I learned spiritual hands-on healing. At Aesclepion, we spent many hours practicing on others. I've found that hands-on healing is also a wonderful way to heal myself.

There are many different methods for doing hands-on energy healing. They are all intended to heal the spirit in the body, with the idea that physical or emotional dis-ease begins on a spiritual level. When we are holding on to something that is not our truth, it can be seen as color, and directed to release. At Aescleption, we moved our hands over a person's body, and sometimes directly onto a portion of the body, in order to help that release to occur, and to help the person get their own healthy, vibrant spiritual energy flowing through their body.

An important part of Aesclepion's teaching is that we do not use our own energy to heal others. We don't need to do this, and it actually gets in the way of another's healing. They, and the God within them, know the best course for healing. We do not need for our intention to get in the way of it. Instead I let go and allow the healing energy to come through my hands. Most of us have had the experience of giving too much of our own life force energy away to someone else in an effort to help them, and being depleted by it. This is not helpful or necessary.

When I have a knowing about where energy is being held that needs to be released, and I place my hands just above that area of the body, the light of God is brought to that part of the body. A place that had been out of awareness is brought into light. That is how we heal.

When I was in my early 20s, I had abdominal surgery, and spent a few weeks recovering. I remember spending alot of time with my hands on my belly, directing healing energy to the area. At the time I hadn't yet studied hand-on healing, so it was more instinctive. Even so, it worked beautifully! I helped me trust my body and get out of worry, and I was healed and back to my daily activities much more quickly than would have been expected. Intention is infinitely powerful!

I don't have the opportunity to do as much hands-on healing work as I did before, and I miss it. It is one of the most gratifying things I've ever done, and I look forward to doing more in the future.

Recently I decided to give myself another hands-on healing. I placed my hands over the area of the body to be healed, took some deep breaths and quieted my mind, and allowed God consciousness to come through my hands. When my mind wandered, I gently brought it back to what was happening. Intention is the important part of this process. When my mind wanders, healing is still happening. As I intend for divine consciousness to heal me, it is done, with more perfection than my ego or will could create. At any point in time there is perfect healing on a spirit's path, and God consciousness will manifest it. As I had my attention on the process, I noticed slight resistance at times, places where the healing energy had to remain a bit longer, then an awareness of lightness, and release. All we need to do is allow it to happen.

I believe we are meant to glorify our existence in joy, abundant health, and prosperity in any way that has meaning for us. Thank you, God, for my healthy body, through which I experience all gifts, large and small!

May this tool be a blessing. . .

Compassion

Compassion is an immensely powerful spiritual tool. I believe we could change the world with more attention on choosing compassion. Developing an understanding of what compassion really means has been a very personal journey for me. I remember a teacher at the Aesclepion Healing Institute telling me that I have more than my share of compassion. It's been one of my life's most valuable learning experiences, because in the family I grew up in, being sensitive and compassionate was seen as weakness, and was not validated. I always felt very wrong and out of place. It provided me with a very challenging but ultimately perfect opportunity to look deep within myself and choose exactly who I want to be.

As the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, wrote: "If you think that compassion is passive, weak, or cowardly, then you don't know what real compassion or understanding is. If you think that compassionate people do not resist and challenge injustice, you are wrong. They are warriors, heroes, and heroines who have gained many victories. When you act with compassion, with nonviolence. . . you have to be very strong. You no longer act out of anger, you do not punish or blame. Compassion grows constantly inside of you, and you can succeed in your fight against injustice. Mahatma Gandhi was just one person. He did not have any bombs, any guns, or any political party. He acted simply on the. . . strength of compassion. . ."

Deciding on compassion toward another allows healing to happen. It allows ruffled feathers to settle, stirred-up emotions to quiet, and understanding and communication to begin. Compassion can right many wrongs. Certainly things happen in life that we are justified in feeling anger or resentment about, and we need to feel those things. We need to look closely at those situations in order to learn and grow. At some point, though, we need to get to that place that acknowledges God expressing as each of us. We are all on a path of remembering. We all have bad days, and we all wear blinders around certain situations. The truth is, everyone is doing the best they can with what they have in any given moment. It does no good for us personally or for our human evolution to hold on to judgement.

I learned awhile back that the thing I dislike most in someone else is the thing I most resist acknowledging in myself; a bitter pill to swallow, indeed. That other person is a perfect book to read, to learn about myself, if I choose to put that energy of judgement to its best use. I think it's well said in John 8:7, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone."

When I am in judgment of others, and I hold on instead of feeling it and then letting it go, I open the door for that energy to grow in my life. Peace and balance become elusive, as I find more to judge in myself as well as in others. Like forgiveness, compassion is not something we do only for the other person, but very much for ourselves as well.

We cannot solve a problem by being in the same energy that created the problem. We have to take a step up. Raising our vibration to one of compassion in a situation allows divine order to design a perfect resolution benefitting everyone.

A friend this morning told me about a quote that she uses from her 12-step program, which I plan to use often. It's simple, and a great way to remember the power of compassion: "Bless them, change me."

May this tool be a blessing. . .

A Prayer for the People of Haiti

I found this prayer for the people of Haiti from Unity's "Silent Unity" blessings. The link to the website is below.

"Friends, with situations like the one today in Haiti, we may ask ourselves, What can we do? While we'll soon learn of the many ways we can be of assistance, one thing we can do immediately and jointly is pray. We invite you to join us in prayer for all those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

As you pray, know that God is present in the midst. Envision each and every person in Haiti surrounded in this divine presence of love, comforted, strengthened and guided in next steps. Hold an image of divine love in action as individuals assist in recovery and relief by providing food, water, shelter, clothing and medical aid.

There is energy in prayer that touches the minds and hearts of all involved. United we make a difference."

Unity: Your spiritual resource for positive living.

Remember, our thoughts and intentions are prayers.

Courage

It takes alot of courage to live in awareness of who we are. This duality that we live in is set up to compel us to mostly forget the truth, but also to provide the opportunity for us to choose, again and again, whether we will express the highest within us, or something much less. Every day we are confronted with impressions that we are less than what we really are.

If it weren't for the fear created by those appearances, it wouldn't be hard to live as Gods. We could choose our best and highest expression without feeling the doubt that stems from a world seeming to hang in the balance. But we do live in duality, and our biggest fears usually speak much louder than the quiet, deep knowing that all is created from perfect consciousness.

I believe that God experiences herself more fully through our choosing to experience our own Godselves. And we can't really experience something that just is. If something just is, we have no sense of it in relation to anything else, so the depth and breadth of it is lost. To fully experience something, we have to have experienced its opposite. Without knowing hate, we couldn't get a sense of the unfathomable complexity of love. Never having encountered darkness, we would be unable to perceive the full meaning of light.

So here we are in the duality, with all of the things that come flying at us that say everything's a mess, you're not good enough, maybe you should worry instead of trust because surely this wouldn't be happening if everything really were OK.

Be grateful for the appearances of lack; they're sacred teachers on our path. It takes exceptional courage when every past experience you've had says this can't be good, and everyone around you is in fear, when the planet seems a very scary place, to stand and say, I choose something else. I choose to be an expression of God with complete dominion over my reality. I choose to see the grace in the opportunites that all of us, individually and collectively, have to grow into the truth. I choose to hold on to my truth like the holy grail, even when, especially when, those around me are most afraid and expect me to be there, too. As compelling as it is to get swept up, we always have a choice. I choose a world of my own making.

What if we created a world where no one chose fear?

Listening to the Silence

This morning, I felt drawn to listen to the silence. Not just the quiet of the morning, but the deeper silence that resides within me. I was drawn to listen, and was surprised by the strength of the pull. It was really hard to quiet all of the distracting thoughts, but I did, for moments at a time, and started to become aware of the quality of the space between my thoughts. My truth resides there. In that profound silence there could be no doubt that we exist within divine order, expressions of a God that sees only perfection. In that deep quiet, I understand God's joy. In the space between my thoughts, I am.

I let the truth that is much larger than my thoughts heal me, and it heals me now, as I remember. All of the things that seem so hard in my thinking are only hard while I hold on to them. I let go and see that it was just a choice, the letting go or holding on. When I let go, the sky doesn't fall. The world doesn't burn out because I've stopped thinking about everything, all the time, to be safe. My world expands to include every inkling of joy I've ever had.

In the silence God smiles, and I take a picture and hold it in my memory.