Holidays - 2013

Have a fabulous Christmas.  Make the myth of Christmas the best holiday you have ever had.  As you go into the following week, claim all of the good and then some of this last year, acknowledge all that you have created, relax, and allow the rest of it to fall away.  Declare this year complete.

Happy New Year!

Home for the Holidays

Having traveled for several weeks, I have a new appreciation of home, bed, kitchen and warmth.  We bought a motor home and took it on a trip to the gulf coast where it was raining and cold.  Motor homes are not very well insulated and so every time the door was opened, a blast of Arctic air entered and about the time, it felt as though we were about to get warm, the wind would start up and you could feel a draft of cold air blowing through the vehicle. 

Having three dogs, plus cages, and two adults in a 30-foot motor vehicle fills up quickly.  Just to make more room, I stacked the cages into the shower when we were not in motion.  But then, I was snuggled under an afghan with one or two dogs snuggled with me.  Nice way to vacation when cold.  Plus, a good book helps with a insulated mug of tea.

Everything is done in miniature in a motor home.  The kitchen galley is small so there is not much space for prepping anything.  Fortunately. I equipped us with enough frozen food so that the most we had to do was microwave, or toast bread for sandwiches.  Easy.

It is my firm belief that one of life’s greatest gift is the pleasure of warm, running water during the winter months, or the cool, refreshing water on a hot summer’s day.  I remember traveling through Mexico on early spring day, we came along a winding river and saw women washing clothes on the rocks, bathing children and generally basking in the warm sun while sitting on the river bottom.  I wanted to be in the water with them until I realized that they didn’t have running water at home.  They were there to do laundry, to get clean and to have a moment of socializing before other chores intervened. 

I complain that I have to vacuum the floors when on that same trip, we saw a woman sweeping out the dirt on her hard compacted dirt in her one room house with no door or glass in the windows.  Most of the houses had none of the amenities that I was use to.  The women had to go to the shops every day to get what they needed because they didn’t have refrigeration or stoves for cooking – only the small braziers sitting in front of their houses.

This is a time to appreciate all I have.  I have a washing machine and dryer so that I have time to write, to read, to, yes, clean my house, surrounded with warmth, even though it is 31 degrees outside.  I am so grateful to be surrounded in affluence, luxury and space.  Plenty of space so that all of us have room to move, stretch and relax.  Home for the holidays is the best ever.

In the Midst of Change

There are times when I am stunned into stillness!  This is one of those times.  Awhile back, I asked for something new and different.  I got it in abundance.

Not that I thought my life was boring, it was just that seemingly nothing new was happening.  It all changed when I asked for something new and different to show up.

We went out to “look” at Recreational Vehicles while checking out what we could rent to see if we would like to do some traveling in this manner.  We ended up buying a semi-new model.

Since we have three puppies, boarding them each time we want to travel is expensive.  Having an RV allows them to travel with us but presents us with a whole different set of issues. 

Having three dog crates in a thirty-foot vehicle with two adults is crowded.  We ended up stacking the empty crates in the shower just to get them out of the way while we were parked.

Yes, we have had our “shake-down” trip to make sure that all worked as it should and for us to decide what else we can cram into it.  We drove to a casino close to the Texas border and spent the night.  We came home with a list of necessities to get before the next trip, which is coming up at the end of the week. 

Now, we are talking about taking a months long trip into Alaska and seeing parts of Canada on the way home.  There isn’t enough room in the motor home for my new sewing machines, computer, knitting paraphernalia, books, Lego sets, gig saw puzzles and all else that I do to keep busy.  Thinking about all of the projects I want to do, I want to stay home.  And I am sure that when I am at home, I will want to be on the road seeing new sights and exploring new cities.

Ah, the fun of choices.  I am certainly grateful that I have lots of choices and that having this motor home proves to me that I am living my dream. 

Life is good.

Creating the God Consciousness

This is a class I created for a group of Spiritual Leaders to assist them in creating a higher consciousness of the Presence of God within themselves.  I now use it as a reminder for myself to take what I know to a higher degree.  I encourage you to do the same.

You are starting out on a great adventure, a wonderful journey.  You are guided by love, inspired by truth, and your future is what you make it.  Ernest Holmes

Ignite your energy with your genius.  What sets you apart from all others?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy with appreciation.  What do you appreciate in your life?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

I,  ____________, commit to creating a magnificent life.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy with gratitude.  What are you grateful for in your life?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy with keeping your word.  Where do you need to “clean up” your life?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by seeing abundance all around you.  How can you become more aware of all that is around you?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by being SUPER positive in thought, word and deed.  What do you need to do to give up complaining?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

I,  ____________, commit to living a life filled with self-acceptance, delight and joy.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by loving and accepting all that is in your life.  How can your life get even better?  I wonder how that is possible?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

How much more magnificent can my life become?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by loving yourself – warts and all!  Here is how I can accept myself to a greater degree.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by Spiritual Mind Treatment.  Here is how I can “up” the power of my words.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by giving value to all around you. 

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy with study. 

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by recognizing more good in your life.  Here are another ways of doing that.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Spiritual tools make life easier and more rewarding.  Louise Hay

Ignite your energy in solitude.  Here are some ways in which I can get quiet.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy in exercise.  What are the benefits of moving the body?

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

The indispensable first step in getting the things you want out of life is this:  Decide what you want.  Ben Stein

Ignite your energy with deciding what you want.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

To live in a state of grace means to be fully in tune with your Spiritual nature and a higher power that sustains you…you trust in yourself and the universe.  Cherie Carter-Scott

Ignite your energy with making everything “sacred.”  Here is how I can do that.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Ignite your energy by trusting yourself, the Universe and God. 

Allow, accept, relax and release the process. 

Your nature is God.  Your possessions are power, wisdom and substance.  Emma Curtis Hopkins

Here is how I can demonstrate my powers.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Life is free.  All you have to pay…is attention.  All you have to spend…is time.  Dr. Cindy Flor-Lambert

Ignite your energy with completion.  Here is how I can clean up my life with completion.

1.  ______________________________________________

2.  ______________________________________________

3.  ______________________________________________

4.  ______________________________________________

5.  ______________________________________________

Indulging in Personal Development

This week I started a class in German cooking.  Wow!  The instructor came in speaking German and our recipes were in German. 

This is a real challenge for me.  Even though, my first language was German. I haven’t used it since pre-grade school days. 

I finished the first class with a headache, feeling stressed and with a strong desire to quit the class thinking that I didn’t have to put myself through this nonsense that this stage of my life.

The second class was actual cooking.  Again, I wanted to quit.  I had forgotten how bland and unappealing German cooking is.  Get this, chopped cabbage, covered with hot water, with fried bacon bits and the all time favorite, vinegar!  Blah!

The roast pork was different because of the spices - but edible.  Since taking other cooking classes, I have learned that I like a little more taste and accomplish it with using stronger spices.

Went to a bookstore and found a German and English dictionary along with a workbook on basic language skill building.  Now, I have to discipline myself to work through the lessons to see if they will assist me in understanding the dialect of the German our instructor is using. 

Back to the actual cooking…did find out that whipped heavy cream doesn’t need a lot of sugar to be tasty.  She used just a bit of sweet currant jam that was folded into it and then used as a filling and topping on what she called a cake.  It was very tasty.  But the “cake” was labor intensive and I would never make it unless I had a lot of time to devote to it. 

As with most cooking, everything is made from scratch.  The difficulty is translating the recipes and thinking metric instead of the English system (imperial).  Now, I have to brush up on my math skills too.

At this point, I am willing to go to class three…beyond that…who knows.  At least I am working on building brain skills that experts say is needed to ward off Alzheimer’s disease.  I can see me now, 105 years young, chattering away in German that no one but me understands.  Very gratifying.

Journey on the Spiritual Path

This month marks my 34^th year of being on a spiritual path.  Even as I write this, I wonder what I could have been thinking when I got started.  This is a path that can be very rewarding but also one of the most difficult ways of being.

Why I thought that doing what I started doing was going to be easy is way “beyond” me now.  There is nothing easy about keeping your word, staying positive, being honest all the time, especially with yourself, always staying with the possible solutions, being “true” to yourself, encouraging other people and always giving something of value to all you meet.  And this is just the beginning list.  It goes on and on and on.

Being a follower of a non-traditional religion is even more challenging especially around the Christian holidays.  I love having a live Christmas tree up but I don’t believe that Christmas was the birth of Jesus.  Easter is even more of a challenge. 

I remember the last year of ministerial school, our assignment was to “mind map” the Easter sermon.  I figured there could not be that much difference between “Easter” years since the story is the same, so I did one of the sermons from previous years.  I then talked some of my classmates to join me in going to an amusement park for the day.  We had a grand time but every year thereafter, I wanted to skip out on Easter. 

Right now I seem to be on a path of ordinary.  It is very restful and it allows me to read, nap, craft my creativity in various avenues that truly feed my soul.  As I write this, my puppy is having a very vocal dream and his feet are moving as though he is running.  When truly busy, I never had the time to enjoy hearing puppy sounds or tuning into my own listening.  Now, I am able to tune into what is my next best thing to do.  It is truly a time for me to be grateful for my life – all of my life.

It All Matters

“In the immensity of consciousness, a light appears – a tiny point which moves rapidly and traces shapes, thoughts, and feelings, like a pen writing on paper.  And the ink which leaves a trace is memory.  You are that tiny point and by your movement the world is ever re-created.”  Sri Nisargadatt

This explains to me how everything we think, say and do leaves an imprint in life – how everything matters.  How we think creates our feelings.  Feelings create habits.  Habits create a life. 

Recently, I had a session with an elderly person who took up the whole time complaining about some childhood experience.  While this was going on, my thought was, “It is time to get over it.”

More than ever, I want to reach my end time feeling good about what my life was like, the decisions I made, the accomplishments I experienced, the people who I allowed into my life, and the puppies who have adored me. 

The biggest event I want to cherish is the ability to learn new things and the talent I had to turn interesting thoughts into interesting creative endeavors.  I want to know how many more gifts I have within me and how will I get them all used up before my end life?

Regrettable times were when I took me too seriously or the situations I was in too seriously.  I should have learned earlier how to laugh longer, louder, or seen the humor about what a cosmic joke life can sometimes be. 

Enough!  Life is wonderful and I am truly grateful for all of the lessons I learned and those yet to show up.  I smile as I say, “Thank you God for all because I am truly blessed always.”

Economic Challenges

During these economic challenges with the government thinking that opposition is the solution to all of our problems, it is necessary sometimes to just shut all of that out of our consciousness.

Politicians think that they are getting paid to be leaders when what they are accomplishing is not close to leadership but more like standing in the way of progress.  I am not even sure I know what progress on a national level even looks like.

What I do know is that I need to keep my thoughts and mind in a place of higher quality and to know that God is my supply, substance and source of all the good in my life.  I know that with God in charge of my life, I don’t have to depend on anyone, let alone the government, for my sustenance and living.

Remembering that I am in charge of my life and that my thoughts create what shows up, is all important.  I again commit to creating the most magnificent life I can possibly imagine.  That means that I stand for who and what I am and that I am grateful for all of what life has presented to me.

I think that we have more choices than we allow ourselves to think about.  When I look around in nature, the abundance of it sometimes overwhelms my senses.  With that in mind, I need to remember that I have far more choices than what I have before me.  Maybe we need to support each other in the abundant choices that show up for us.  

Ah! Cooler Weather.

It has been very hot in recent months with the humidity being in the high double digits.  I remember telling someone in San Antonio when I first moved there that the heat felt like it was going to last forever.  She replied, “Yes, it does.  But one day it is just cooler and it keeps getting that way.”

Today is the day at it got cooler.  It was 58 degrees when I got up this morning.  It felt so good that we took our two puppies out for a walk around the neighborhood.  When we got home, I took my coffee out on the patio and savored the hot and cool at the same time. 

I realized that what I was experiencing was the magnificence of life.  Life gives us the varieties in order to keep us interested and engaged in what is going on.  If it were all the same, I know I would have this tendency to quickly fall into what I am going to call being “asleep.”  For a long time, I walked through life asleep – not really paying attention to what was going on or where I was going.

Consequently, because of that, I have huge gaps in my memory of what my life was like during those periods.  I can’t remember if I was happy, sad, or who my friends were or what I was interested in during that time.  How sad.

Not only do I want to pay attention to the weather, but to pay attention to my life; the ups and downs are here for a purpose and I want to experience all of it.  I invite you to join me.

What's Next?

In the book, The Greatest Secret in the World, by Og Mandino, the author writes out in the Scroll Marked IV, “I am nature’s greatest miracle.  I can accomplish far more than I already have.  I am on this earth for a purpose and that purpose is to grow a mountain and I strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”

In thinking about my life, I know that I have more to accomplish and that I have never, to my knowledge, strained my potential.  I wonder what my life would have been now, had I strained my potential a little earlier on?  I drifted through my 20’s figuring out what I was “purposed” to do.  Plus, during that time, because I had little education, I couldn’t do much in order to support myself.  I was more concerned about food, clothing and shelter than what did I want to do the rest of my life.

I can also remember not making some very good choices about my life.  In a lot of ways, my 20’s were a time of figuring out life and my role in it.  I didn’t know how to “do” life or how to make the most of what I had at the time.

On our recent trip, we visited Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, and I was amazed at how much he accomplished during his life, the languages he spoke, and that he designed and was instrumental in building the University of Virginia.  Talk about leaving a lasting legacy.

Now, I truly feel as though I am better equipped and prepared for more of what life is and how to “do” life on a greater, grander scale than ever before.  I know that I have more potential to strain and I think I would like to know how that feels.  I would also like more experiences in which I astonish myself.  Those times in my life are rare but memorable.  I want more of them.

Since all of us are nature’s greatest miracle, there is more for all of us to experience.  What will be your “lasting” legacy?

Vacation Time

We are planning and getting ready to travel to the East Coast for about ten days.  Since I have never been there, I am looking forward to the scenery and visiting new places and seeing friends and relatives along the way.

We have stocked up on several books on CD to listen to since we will be having some 10-hour days in the car.  True to form, I will probably sleep most of the trip. 

There is something about a moving car that is comfortable that puts me into slumber land within minutes.  The last trip we took, we got up very early and when I commented on the pre-dawn hour, my partner very cleverly informed me that it made no difference since I would be asleep within minutes anyway.

We usually take some intermediate roads rather than the turnpikes in order to get a feel for the countryside.  It is really fun when in driving through a new area because you never know what you will find.  

So, since I will be out of pocket for a period of time, enjoy your end of summer and get ready for the cooler weather.  Whatever your plans are, make the most of them.  Blessings on your journey.

Being Grateful

I am recovering from a protracted illness.  It knocked me off my feet for more days than I want to admit.  But it gave me a chance to reflect on my life and how grateful I am to be where I am and all that I am experiencing.

Recently, at a Sunday church service, we received a card that says, “Love Every Step.  The place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you.”  Hafiz is credited with the quote.

I didn’t pay much attention to it when I received it but since it has made me think about my life.  I have to admit that I have created a magnificent life.  What a relief to finally recognize it.  No more yearning, searching, and looking for something that needs to be added.  It’s done!

I am really grateful for all that I have, all that is still in the process of showing up and all that life is to make every day one to be truly grateful for in every aspect.

Notably, I am in a position now to take the classes I want (including but not limited to learning how to use a Singer Overlock Sewing Machine and taking German cooking lessons) that are fun, engaging and will stretch me into new and different avenues of being.  I can’t wait to meet the new people that this direction will take for me.  Certainly, I will be able to add to my wardrobe and extend my cooking capabilities.  How fun is all of that?

Decide how to make your life magnificent and step into it as quickly as you can.  It is so much more satisfying.

Creative Thinking

One of my teachers says, “The greatest power available to us as individuals is the power of our own minds, the power of our own thoughts.  In the creation of a personal life worth living, the action – the essential action – must be mental.  Remember, all thought is creative, even goofy thought.” 

It is easy to forget that life goes on based on what we are thinking.  When things don’t go right, in my estimation, I conveniently forget that I did the “goofy” thought or no thought at all. 

J. Kennedy Shultz goes on to say, “But if we can bring ourselves to the point where we think well enough of ourselves, believe enough I ourselves, and in life, and in God, so that we can stand face to face with the universe and know that all the good we seek is at hand, we will have the consciousness that easily fulfills our desires.  If we can announce that we are open, receptive, and entirely worthy of our good, if we can proclaim with growing faith that we expect our good, our good will come forth.  Because that is the consciousness that heals, blesses, and prospers all life.”

This thinking is the way God thinks.  This is the way God creates, demonstrates and manifests life.  And since you and I are a part of God, it stands to reason that we can elevate our thinking to that level and create our lives exactly as we were meant to be.  We need to know what it is that we want in life, because if we don’t, life creates for us the mundane, ordinary, and sometimes, a very mediocre life.  Who wants just that? 

Decide what you want, write it down, and tuck it away somewhere and watch how what it is that you want just shows up on the path of your life.  As a friend of mine told me this morning, “It is like what I want just comes flying through the air at me.  That didn’t happen until I figured out what my goals were.”  Yes, that’s how it happens.

Keeping It Positive

In various readings this last week, I have noticed that four authors tell me to “keep a positive attitude” no matter what is going on in my life.  Staying positive is more important than what I am reading no matter what the authors are implying.

Staying positive keeps us in the “highest” centers of our minds and hearts.  That is where the “miracles” of our lives happen.  Getting past the miracles, it is a place where, when I can remember to stay there long enough, life shows up with wondrous gifts and places them on the path of my life.  This is the place where you don’t have to ask for anything; what you need just shows up.

I have been experimenting with this mind set for several years.  What started me on the process was something I read that implied, “use the same mind that God uses in manifesting,”  Needless to say, that statement kept me thinking long and hard as to what state of mind God is in when It manifests the good for all people. 

It made me remember to “get into my “God” mind” when I was asking for whatever it was that I wanted to demonstrate in my life for the better.  And whenever I was thinking about that demonstration, to always think that is was present now, that I already had it, and how thrilled I was that it was already here.  Several times, I was ecstatic when the demonstration showed up. 

To shorten the process, staying in the “ecstatic” state of mind works wonders.  More advantages are feeling great most of the time, staying in a healthier state of mind and body, being able to sleep better, and, what I like best, is feeling upbeat and inspired. 

I encourage you to think about this process and chart how you are feeling for a certain period of time and see if this is something you can incorporate in your life.  I just wish I could have realized this process earlier in my life – what a difference it would have made.