Multitude and Solitude

Recently, I have been studying the life of William Blake.  One of his peers is quoted as saying, "He had multitude and solitude."  What would it be like to have the faith that all is provided in abundance and that we could have the solitude to contemplate all of it?  Blake appreciated himself and called himself a genius.  His parents appreciated him and catered to his needs in order to allow him to step into his potential.  

His parents were unusual, in my estimation.  When I see adoration in the eyes of the parents, I am astonished.  Most of us were not raised with love, admiration or adoration.  My parents were more concerned with having to survive and were overwhelmed with providing food, clothing and shelter for all of us.  There was nothing else to give.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I figured out I could have a childhood that was made for my dreams.  I was now able to afford the "toys" I wanted as a child and I got them for myself.  Somehow, during that time of my life, I was able to fill in the "empty" spaces that I felt were within me.  I also figured out that the "love" I needed was going to have to come from me.  

In tracking the areas in my life that I appreciate the most, I started a list of accomplishments and things I was able to do, and with some, mastered.  I tracked qualities as well as achievements, accolades and attainments.  There were many things I had to admire about myself and the more I studied and delved into myself, the more I realized, I was a genius in my own right.  Wow!  That was an accomplishment!

In thinking about the new year and some of my intentions, I want to add multitude and solitude into the mix.  I want to appreciate what I have, all that I have accomplished and be open to the new and different in order to use what I have and aim even higher than before.

I send you all the blessings of the New Year and I know that as we journey forward, life just gets better and better for us.  I look forward to all of it with you.  Wagons, ho!  

Everything Is Covered

 ...we were born to be happy, to be abundantly supplied with every good thing, to have fun living, to consciously unity with the Divine Power that is around us and within us and to grow and expand forever.  Dr. Ernest Holmes

Those who are more highly developed will find in these methods the secret through which their attainments and achievements will constantly verge on the borderline of the marvelous.  Christian Larson

All I require med into place in the most efficient and inclusive way.  I am in the flow of Creation and Life knows what I need right now to fulfill my intentions.  Dr. Carol Carnes

At the end of my life, I want it described by me as marvelous.  Can you imagine a marvelous way of living that is filled with joy, supplied with every good thing and happy?  Since this is our birthright, what is it that most of us do everything in our power to not allow the Life Force to flow through us and to supply us with all we need?

This holiday season, I relax into knowing that all is well with me, that there is nothing that needs to change, and that all is truly well within and around me.  I know that God has my back and that I am in perfection right action and harmony.  

Years ago, I read this quote from Marilyn Austin, which said, "The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts!  The safest place to be is in someone's prayers!  The best place to be is in God's hands!"  

Join me in placing ourselves in God's hands.  In the process, let's include all of our families, friends, fur babies and this wonderful planet we all live on.  I know you have the best of all the season's blessings.

Holiday Merriment

"Oh, come let us adore me," says Jeffy on Family Circus.

For a lot of years, I was so focused on "getting it all done on time," that I didn't have time to enjoy the process.  I think the reason for the season is for us to slow down, take in the wonderful holiday songs, enjoy the activities of the holiday, take time to enjoy the fireplace, hot chocolate, and eat peppermint candy canes.

In this morning's newspaper cartoon series, the Family Circus, Jeffy (I think that is what the red-headed little boy is called) is sitting on his bed in his pajamas singing, "Oh, come let us adore me."  I love it.  I have been singing since.  

That is the other thing I seem to have lost in my years of "getting it done" - a sense of humor about the season.  Somewhere along the line, I forgot to enjoy the process of what winter time is all about.  Now, I see it as a time to truly slow down, stay cuddled up with fluffy afghans in front of the fireplace, and use the time for deep contemplation and planning.  

In years past, I would use this time to reflect on the year and figure out what needed to be completed so that I could start the new year off on a clean slate.  When you have multiple projects in process, completion may not be feasible.  

As I look out my office window to the tree outside, it's beautiful yellow and red leaves are being blown off by the tremendous wind.  What else I notice about the wind, is that it is clearing the leaves by blowing them down the street.  

One part of nature is changing and getting ready to rest, the other is already in hibernation for the winter.  It is all part of the process.  My lesson in all of this is to flow with the order of things.  It is time to rest, enjoy the lights, the music, the slower pace, developing patience in standing in lines at the stores, keeping a cheerful attitude and being kind all the while singing under my breath, "Oh, come let us adore me!"  Sing with me?

Sending lots of season blessing to you.

Gifts, Talents and Skills

We are here to do a great work because the Mind that created us knew what It wanted us to do when It created us.  Raymond Charles Barker

I have often wondered if I did what God intended me to do in my lifetime.

Granted, my life is not over, but wonder... I have.  Since it is not over, what is left for me to do? 

A relative was expecting a baby and she related a conversation she had with her Pediatric doctor.  She mentioned to him how apprehensive she was about having the baby because she didn't know what to do when she got to the delivery process.  Her doctor chuckled and replied, "Your body already knows what to do because it is hard wired and was at the beginning to know how to handle having a baby."

When we question what our purpose of life is, I think we are hard wired for that also.  When I made my decision for ministry, it was the most natural thing for me at the time and it seemed "right" once I came to that conclusion.  Everything in my prior life lead me to that.  

For example, to supplement my early income, I sold Avon products for years, then sold Princess House Products.  All the while, I was doing accounting and bookkeeping work.  I took classes in business, but it seemed boring to me at the time.  Later I managed an office building and interacted with many different firms and businesses.  I was pulled to learning how to speak in front of groups as I joined Toastmasters.

Little did I realize that something bigger than me was prodding me forward.  I needed the business experience to do ministry.  I was still "selling" only this time it was an intangible - God.  I used bookkeeping and accounting to keep tract of what was happening weekly in the business of the church.  

As my former husband told me once, "You would have had to be deaf, dumb and blind not to do what you are so good at." 

We all have gifts, talents and skills and I think they are not only interchange but that they expand as we use them and lead us into different areas of being and doing.  Who knew that when I was working a group of attorneys as a bookkeeper that that experience would land me in the ministry?

What is left for me to do?  Maybe write, and through writing teach.  While teaching and sharing my wisdom, maybe assisting others to have the confidence to move forward in their lives.  While moving forward, maybe realizing that giving value, being an inspiration and a good example is what is next for me.  I invite you to be bold and live your life out loud in whatever it is that you were destined to do.  

Perplexities

Several things have me perplexed.  When checking in with the weather channel, it gives the temperature of whatever area you want.  For example, this morning my city in Oklahoma, it is 37 degrees and "feels like 30 degrees."  Who determines the "feels like?"  It may be a mathematical compilation, but someone has to determine it.  How do they do that?

Einstein talked about "the refinement of everyday thinking."  What does that mean?  Refinement is defined as the act or process of removing unwanted substances from something: the act or process of making something pure: the act or process of improving something: an improved version of something.  How do you know when your thinking is up-leveled or improved?  It has got to be how our lives improve.  That means, paying close attention to everything that is going on at all times.  That, to me, is very difficult at times.

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people.  Forget yourself.  Henry Miller.

Hard to forget yourself when you are focused on growth - be it mental, spiritual or otherwise.  The watchword here has to be "balance."  Life is a balance of all good things.  

Something deeply hidden had to be behind things.  Albert Einstein

I have spent most of my life focused on the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - food, clothing and shelter.  Hard to focus on developing an interesting life when work takes up most of your time and family uses up the balance. 

Now that I have the time, I am finding that I could have used a lot of the information I am finding much earlier in life.  I didn't know how to find balance early on.  I am determined to find that something that is deeply hidden in me whether it be talent, skill or otherwise.

Where is my "hidden splendor" and how do I define it for me?  And once I find that hidden splendor, is affordable?  

See what I mean about perplexities?  The invitation is open, but think twice about joining the journey.  Right now it is bumpy, overgrown and hard to navigate.

What Constitutes Contentment?

"...we discover that it is life's enrichments rather than the riches of life that bring us true contentment."  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Enrichment?  What does that mean?  According to the online Merriam- Webster, it means to make rich or richer especially by adding or increasing some desirable quality, attribute or ingredient to something - to add, increase, enhance or improve something.  

Thinking about the idea of enrichments, It's adding something of value to an experience, or your surroundings, and to your life in order to increase or reach that wonderful concept of "contentment."  It seems to me to be that added something that makes life interesting, wonderful and adds to the wonder and joy of just being.

Putting this concept into practical use is a challenge.  How do you add to whatever is going on in life?  It's like the idea of a long southern tradition of adding a surprise element to a dinner, a gift, or an experience in order to bring an element of stunned delight.

Being sure that delight leads to contentment, it means being vigilant and in the present all the time in order to catch those moments that can be enriched.  

Delighted contentment.  How wonderful is that?  Join me in a new adventure of living.

How can I turn this into Practice?

Living the spiritual life is the attitude you hold in your mind when you are down on your knees scrubbing the steps.  Evelyn Underhill

For those of us celebrating Thanksgiving soon, the dread of dealing with family is the worst anticipation of all.  The quote above gave me a sampling of what is needed with dealing with people you don't like, or being in a place you don't want to be, or having to do what you hate doing.  

The quote is having the "attitude" of spiritual life.  She doesn't say you have to be mindful or aware or practice the Presence.  Limiting yourself from family is hard to do.  Or as Philip Goldberg tells us, "It ain't always easy, but it's worth it if they force you to ground your spirituality in real life.  What could be a better spiritual practice than to make them an offering of yourself on Thanksgiving?"  Who are these people in my family?  Why is it when all of my good intentions fly out the window when I see these people?  "How can we take "real life" seriously and yet live it lightly," Philip tells us?  He goes on to say that, "Perhaps the most important step of all is to recognize that "real life" is the sacred life."  

Even though I want to get away from family, I know that I would miss the camaraderie at the holidays. This year I will playact the greatest drama of my life with serenity, stillness, and a smile of goodwill.  Can I really use this time to recognize that all of life is sacred to me and that all who show up are my teachers?

Okay, I will show up with a smile, well-being and love in my heart even if...

I declare this time as sacred time and will stay in the moment remembering that I am in the Presence.  Turkey, dressing, gravy...all the wonders of gourmand presentations.  Thank you for the abundance of it all.  

Wrap yourself into a wonderful experience of the upcoming holidays with family or not.  Enjoy as much as you can.  

Back to the Questions

...instead of resolutions, write down your most private aspirations.  Those longings that you have kept tucked away until the time seems right.  Trust that now is the time.  Ask the question.  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Be patient toward all that unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.  Do now now seek the answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything.  Live the questions now...  Rainer Maria Rilke

This is my birth month and as my usual, I take the time to evaluate what's going on in my life and rather than wait for January to make some new resolutions, I do a deep search and discovery during this month.  

What is it that I am longing for?  Yearn for?  What are my aspirations?  What changes do I need to make to create the life of my dreams?  How and where do I need to begin?  How patient do I need to be?  What is unresolved in my heart?  How do I live with the questions?  Uncertainty?

When I think back to my life four years ago, I realize that I am now living most of my dreams.  I have a wonderful life partner, we have more than enough money, we are able to travel when we want to, have a fabulous motor home which I have named MOW - Mansion on Wheels - and live in an area that is more than affordable even with the tornados and earthquakes.  What else could I possible want? 

Most of my life is filled to the brim.  I "want" for nothing.  But there is something within me that keeps asking the question, "What else is there?" So I know that there is something that needs to be expressed, discovered or created, experienced or what represents more in my life journey.

During this month I pay attention to the whispers of my heart and soul.  I am ready to take the journey I am again destined to take.  Being open and receptive to the greatest yet to take place, there is an element of excitement in wondering and being curious as to what that is.  I trust that my time has again come and I pay attention to the nudging of my inner aspirations.  Journey with me?

Be Impeccable with Your Word

Be Impeccable with your word is the first agreement in the book "The Four Agreements," by Don Miguel Ruiz.  He goes on to say that, "Through the word you express your creative power.  It is through the word that you manifest everything.  Regardless of what language you speak, your intent manifests though the word.  What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will be manifested through the word.  Your word is pure magic, and misuse of your word is black magic."  

He goes on to say that, "Impeccability means without sin.  A sin is anything you that you do which goes against yourself.  When you are impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions..."

"Black magic?"  I couldn't get what he meant by that statement.  I had never been exposed to such language and couldn't get my mind wrapped around it.  But I did get that a "sin is anything you do which goes against yourself."

But where does it go?  Memory?  Can you ever get rid of it?

In my reading of the books in my library that I am culling (Alan is convinced that the books are breeding and multiplying faster than I am reading them), I picked up Charles F. Haanel's book and a workbook called, "The Master Key Workbook" by Anthony R. Michalaski and Robert Schmitz.  They quote Haanel as saying,  "If you do not intend to do a thing, do not start.  If you do start a thing, see it through even if the heavens fall; if you make up your mind to do something, do it; let nothing or no one interfere.  Every time we set ourselves to do something and we accomplish it, no matter how great or small, we are depositing currency in our spiritual checkbook.  When we fail to accomplish something, we are withdrawing currency.  If we withdraw too much, then we bankrupt ourselves.  It is it vitally important to see thorough what we intend to do."

That is where it goes.

In thinking back in my life, during the times that I was doing something new and different, even if it didn't turn out the way I wanted it, the fact that I finished it and went on to something else, provided the energy needed to get through the project and on to the next one.  Each success built on the next one.  The "sin," if there is one, is that it depletes the energy needed to carry on with your life.  When too depleted, it is almost impossible to get it turned around and back on track.  

I remember after my former husband passed away, I was in such a funk that nothing seemed to work.  I had taken a class on "How to Become a Better Knitter" about a year before he died.  I knit though all of the emergency room visits, hospital stays and I knit while sobbing by heart out and I knit when I couldn't sleep past the midnight hour.  Knitting kept me sane.  I finished the sweater I was working on and hated it.  Probably because of all the memories I knit into it and I gave it to the Goodwill.

Several months later, my sister asked me about the sweater and I told her that I had given it to the Goodwill and she smiled and said, "I have done a lot of sewing for them too."

Keeping your word and your agreements are most important to yourself.  The really sad part about it is that most people can see though you even if your words are different.  I have learned that in order to feel really good about myself, I keep my word.  If I can't, I will call and renegotiate the agreement or renegotiate my intention with myself.  My self-esteem is on the line and I need to feel really good about myself from this point forward because it keeps my life simple, fun and easy.  

Looking...

In exchange for the promise of security, many people put a barrier between themselves and the adventures in consciousness that could put a whole new light on their personal lives.  June Singer

A friend of mine lives in a community of 800 people high in the altitudes of Colorado.  She is a painter, life coach, visionary success and leads meditation classes.  She thrives on trust and faith.  She lives day to day not knowing or seemingly not to care where she lives, what's next on the agenda, or where her source, substance and supply comes into her life.

On the other hand, I need the permanent nest, somewhere I can feel a sense of security even if I don't have it.  I love being surrounded with affluence, luxury and warmth.  My friend doesn't have a permanent residence - keeps stuff stored in public storage and lives out of a suitcase for the most part.  

Even when we are traveling, I have a nest.  We have a 40' motor home that comes complete with the necessities of what I have gotten use to in my life.  I love having a bed, heat, air conditioning, refrigerator, recliner, and my books around me.  That is my security.  However, usually when we are traveling, we are exploring and discovering a new part of the country where both of us or at least one of us hasn't been before.  We hike, explore the countryside, experience new food, and I think, allow the surprise of having an adventure each time we leave home.  

In my quest for increasing my consciousness, I use nature or whatever is going on to question, search and be open to new ideas.  When it is cloudy, I look to see what is clouding my vision, my answers, or what it is that is holding me back.  When it is sunny, I allow the light to move through me to open the places within me that need to be cleaned out, aired out, and, sometimes, just put into the trash, or saved.  Mark Nepo reminds us to "...think about the storms in your life that are churning up in your mind." By making a new choice, we can experience the peace that is within us.  

Thinking in new ways allows us to have an adventure in consciousness.  I am always willing to think differently.  How about you?

What IS This?

How often do we turn down the path presented like a gift because it's not exactly what we're dreaming of?  Mark Nepo

What is this?  This is not what I bargained for in my life.  How interesting that the twists and turns in life bring us to where we are and I have noticed that for some of the turns, I have not been exactly grateful for.  

For example, several weeks ago, we decided to buy some fold up bikes to take on our travels.  Great, I thought.  Wait!  How long as it been since I have been on a bike?  Way to long to even want to remember.  So, I amped up my courage and confidence and decided that once knowing how to ride, it would now be easy, cheesy, peasy!  So wrong on all counts!

I pulled a groin muscle the first ride out and have been in agony most days since then!  Back on the pain relievers and anti-inflammatories.  Hard to be grateful when in pain and just struggling to move, walk and stand up straight.

All of this reminds me to be more cognizant of my upper aging even though my head tells me that I am still 18.  I forgot to stretch.  I forgot that there have been some muscles I haven't used for a while.  A while?  Maybe even years!  

So, during my healing process, I have been grateful for the "time off" and the ability to sit in a recliner and read to my heart's content.  It has given me the opportunity to rid myself of more of my accumulated library and I am now in the process of down-sizing.  

There is "good" in the twists too!  Can you find yours?

New Stories

Telling ourselves stories helps us navigate our way through life because they provide structure and direction.  Your life is your story.  Your story is your life.  The Power of Story by Jim Loehr

Since deciding to step out of active ministry, I realized that I needed something else to define who and what I was.  I needed to be able to "tell a new story about my life" and what it was that made it satisfying and fulfilling.  With all of my training, I am struggling to figure out what is next on my life agenda.  In other words, coming up with a new story at will make life exciting and compelling.

Jim Loehr makes some interesting points in deciding what it is that is makes for a good story.  1.  Will this story take me where I want to go in life (while at the same time remaining true to my deepest values and beliefs)?  2.  Does the story reflect the truth as much as possible?  3.  Does this story stimulate me to take action?

Then, once the new direction is decided upon (this is like figuring out how to incorporate a new habit into your life), how to internalize the new story into your life.  We need to get the new story into our subconscious in order for it to serve us well.

He says that the most effective way to embed the new story is to:  1.  write about it and rewrite about it - using a journal to remind yourself what it is that you like about your new story.  We tend to think that an idea is so good that we will remember it for all time.  Not true.  Allow a week to go by and you will have difficulty remembering what was so wonderful about the idea you had.  This is why when writing it down, you don't have to remember it - just look it up.  2.  keep rereading it and revising it until it is what you want and something that truly reflects the above rules for a good story.  3.  thinking about it.  4.  visualizing it.  5.  talking about it privately to yourself to make sure this is something you really want to internalize into your life.  6.  deliberately acting it out and see if it fits into your life and your behavior.  

Changing your habits and changing your life is equally as difficult - you really want to want to do it.  Talk is easy.  Walking your talk is something else.  

If you have been keeping up with this series of blogs, you know how long I have grappled with this process.  I have gotten close several times and I thought I had it locked into my system of thinking only to find out, this is not fitting the way I meant it to be.  More work.  More processing.  Having to dig deeper into what it is that I truly want to experience for the rest of my life.  

Time to make and set new goals.  Time to think about how to make this period of my life truly different and exciting.  I have also been thinking about how to take full advantage of my affluence so that working all the years I did pays off.  

Much to think about.  I invite you into the process with me so that when you get to this point in your life, you will have most of it mapped out and ready to take the journey of a lifetime.  Make it an adventure.

Loving Experience

I do not want.  I love into my experience the things I desire.  I wrap their expression to me in love so that they come harmoniously and easily.  Ernest Holmes

Noticing in my life that when I "want" it just adds more "wanting" in my life and no expression or experience of what it is that I want.  Going back to the original concept that "we are of God," we have the qualities of God and so all is available to us at all times.

Opening up to the consciousness of God in our lives, opens up all sorts of opportunities and possibilities.  I know that right where I am is all of what I need because I am sustained, maintained and sorced by God all the time.  This is all part of the good that surrounds us, fills us and creates the time and space for us to experience and enjoy our lives.  

I underwent more oral surgery last week.  Came home and felt great and went down the next day complete with numbness, pain and all else that goes with recovering.  Before I swallowed the pain pills, I reminded myself that I love my mouth, my healing gums, my ability to be in full comfort.  That process helped me to sleep longer, and to wake with more comfort than the day before.  

Right now I am getting ready to see my surgeon for a prognosis report and I know he will say I am doing well because I feel well.  I can't talk properly or eat solid food yet, but I am doing well.  

I am loving my experience of shrinking into a smaller, stronger, more vital body and I appreciate the side effects of all that it entails.  There is something good that comes out of the experience of every circumstance.  I invite you to take a deeper look into your life to find more good.

Where Am I?

Paradise is where I am.  Voltaire

We sometimes forget that wherever we go, we carry all of the universe with us.  That means that all of our beliefs, values and thoughts about the universe go with us all the time.  

Write a story; create a future, Stephanie Dowrich, tells us.  In writing my story, I can create anything my heart's desire is and in the process, I can make up some stuff to fill in the blanks.  

Somewhere recently, I read, "Make it easy."  That is part of my new story.  To make everything I think, say and do very easy.  My personal motto has always been, "Simple, fun and easy."  Parts of my life have not been simple, fun or easy.  Time to incorporate that into my story too.

Paradise is easily translated as our Kingdom within.  Paradise has a nice, healthy, luxurious and affluent ring to it.  Sometimes it is hard for me to realize that like Dorothy, Kansas is not a version of Paradise, but for me right now, it needs to be because I am here in Oklahoma. 

So, with writing a new story while creating a future, I am going to add, "or at least create a compelling present."  Thomas Edison, or someone as wise as he was said, "Do something that will astonish you." I know that in my compelling present, I can astonish myself into something great, grand and glorious.  I love the concept of astonishment!  It adds an element of excitement and certainly makes life more interesting and FUN.  

I invite you to join me in the exploration of our current Paradise.

Make It All An Adventure

Passion excites and compels you.  It makes your life rich and extraordinary.  Marcia Wieder 

Have you ever wondered what makes life extraordinary?  What could make your life extraordinary?  What does it mean to be extraordinary?

Marcia goes on to tell us, "...when you open up to the potential of having what you want, you allow wonderful people and events to appear in your life.  When  you clarify what you're committed to having, and when you believe that everything is possible, the results i your life will seem effortless and show up easily.  The key is to get in touch with what you feel passionate about, what excites and motivates you."  

So few people ever think about, let alone do something, that will move them into a place of excitement, motivation and passion.  I think that is what makes us extraordinary.  

Recently, I was looking for something I wrote out about what my purpose in life was.  Couldn't find it on my computer.  Where did I write that and what was it about?  I know it was short, compelling, and kept me focused for a lot of years.  

In my process of lightening up my life, I made the decision to release my 2,000 plus library of books and to pass them on to be treasures for someone else.  I would keep the ones that I still wanted to read but release the ones already read and those which no longer had an interest for me.

In picking up Marcia's book, Making Your Dreams Come True, I found what I was looking for.  Somewhere in my past, I took a marketing course and we had to write out our purpose - a directive that would keep us on track and would be something easy to reply to the question of, "What is it that you do?"  

I wrote, "I assist people in deepening their spiritual practices to create a higher quality of life."  What this means to me is that I add value, share information, inspire, encourage and support, see the spiritual magnificence in everyone, have fun, and make life an adventure.  And I am still doing that.  

I invite you to think about what it is that keeps you up late at night, wakes you up early in the morning eager to jump into your life, what is so wonderful and compelling that you can hardly wait to do it and what it is that keeps you doing it over and over, day after day.  Being extraordinary is inherent in all of us.  I want more of it, how about you?

Clear and Specific Language

Life delivers to us exactly what it is that we think, say and do.  Dr. Cindy Flor-Lambert

Reading a very well known metaphysical author, I was again struck by the use of language and how often we take for granted that what the authorities

say as gospel.  

Here is an example of what I am talking about:  I now command the forces of life to bring me abundance and prosperity and riches.  Those of us who are familiar with the teachings of how to use our minds to create what it is that we want, know that we already live in the Kingdom of God.  In this Kingdom, all is provided (at least in mine it is) in profuse amounts and is distributed everywhere and in every place.  

If we are not experiencing the abundance of the universe, then our thinking or language is off kilter and needs revision in  order to experience exactly what it is that we want.  So, let us read the above sentence again and then revise it to read:  I now command the forces of life to bring me in ever-increasing amounts of abundance, prosperity and riches permanently.

A subtle but important difference.  The key to all of this is to pay attention to what you are thinking, saying, and reading.  

Be careful of saying "will bring, is bringing or is going."  When?  The lesson is to stay in the "present" because that is what the brain/mind system hears.  

Another "All disharmony and conflict fade away."  Really!  Again, when? Rather than focusing on the negative, change the sentence to "All harmony and peace are reflected in my life now and forever."  

We know that what we focus on is what we get.  I have decided to get really picky and careful with what I want to experience from this point forward so I am tuned in and aligned only with my highest and best good.  I challenge you to do the same.

New Leaf Wellness

Choose the fine, truly kindly, rich, sympathetic, encouraging, vigorous words that go with your new "part."  Choose your words carefully, fastidiously.  Eliminate destructive words.  Throw them out one at a time.  Purify your speech as you would purify the water you drink.  get the deadly germs of all that is dispiriting and fatiguing out of it!  Margery Wilson

Since having had oral surgery several months ago and not being able to eat solid foods, I have released some major stored up energy.  I have decided that I am ready for a smaller body, more energy, vigor and strength.  I have decided that I want to turn over a new leaf - one that is filled with health and wellness.

My new "part" is one of a smaller body.  Do you know how hard it is to talk about weight loss without "waiting" and knowing that "loss" is not a reality and can easily be "found?"  Choosing the "right" words has been a challenge for me.  At first, I used the language of "using up stored energy." Not very motivating.  Since the focus is on language and the pictures it creates in mind, I have played with different ways of saying what it is that I want to create in my life.

What I have come up with is, "I am shrinking into my skinny body."  Meaning that I am shrinking into my ideal shape and size of what will make me feel the satisfaction and joy of a smaller body.  

The above quote can be used as a reminder that no matter what is going on in your life, we need to choose encouraging words that will foster our forward movement into joy and happiness.  I was reminded yesterday of a situation that occurred, that no matter what is going on, I am in peace.  

Part of my new speech is that all of the pleasure I am experiencing also replenishes my energy.  I volunteered my platelets this week and had the starch taken out of me.  Whew!  What an experience.  Not only was the experience long, but I had to sit still and pay attention to what was going on with the machine doing the work of filtering my blood and replacing it.  I had a great deal of difficulty finding the pleasure in it other than I knew I was assisting some people who needed the platelets in order to experience a healthier life after cancer or whatever.  

I know that the people receiving my platelets not only are healed but that they are receiving a "dose" of high consciousness that I placed in my donation while I was having to sitting still.  Thankfully, only I control my mind and what is taking place.  Choose well.

Answers Abound

There is an answer to your question when you ask it.  Before you can speak audibly, the desire creates the thing which produces the culmination of it at once.  If we could get out of our consciousness these things that hinder this omniscience from flowing through into objective recognition, we would like a life without effort.  Ernest Holmes

Living life without effort.  Grace Points.  Living life with the full trust that all is well, that all we need shows up, that life brings to us our deepest heart's desire without asking.  We know that everything is mind - your mind, my mind, God's mind.  What we put into mind individually, is put into mind universally.  All One Mind.  

The most difficult for me is to pay close attention to my thoughts because so much of what my Mother said is still there and comes out in the most interesting ways.  I question the thought and wonder if it truly is mine for something my Mother said and I accepted as truth at the time.  I have a feeling this is why my "trust" factor is a bit skewed.  I don't remember how old I was when I discovered that Mom couldn't be trusted with what she said or did because all she did was for her own benefit.  I do remember that after that discovery, I never fully trusted her and even now have to question some of my thoughts and how I feel about them.

Trusting that life brings what I need is a struggle.  Maybe it a controlling issue too.  Can I give up, fully release, and get into an acceptance that all of my life is truly well?  

Digging into consciousness is something that intrigues me because of some of the demonstrations I have had recently.  Several blogs back, I wrote that I was open to new ideas for what was new and different in my life.  Since I have retired from active ministry, I was feeling a sense of loss and of purpose.  I asked  how I could be of service to a great many people and still  have a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment.

I got my answer yesterday.  The idea came to me that I had not contacted our blood bank since returning from vacation and that I needed to do that.  I called and was asked if I would be interested in giving platelets.  Apparently, my body is a platelet manufacturing machine.  I said yes.  Made the appointment.  Then, realized that I found a way to be of service to a great many people and just thinking about that, gave me a felling of satisfaction and fulfillment.  

Releasing, letting go, accepting what is, relaxing.  I can do all of that.  How about you?

Grace Points

Grace is the logical result of the correct acceptance of life and of a correct relationship to the Spirit.  Grace is the livingness of Spirit to Its Creation and is not a special law, but a specialized one.  Ernest Holmes

Wonder what a correct acceptance and a correct relationship to the Spirit means?  Or that Grace is a specialized Law?  Dr. Holmes, what are you saying and what did you mean by the above statements?

My question in my thinking was, "I wonder what it would be like to live in Grace all the time?"  Now that I have looked it up, I am more confused than ever.  The dictionary is even worse.  Since I don't believe in regeneration or sanctification, I assume that grace is really about paying attention to those times in life when wonderful things just seem to happen.  

What would it be like to live with grace points?  What I mean is what would it be like to live to open, so aware, so grateful that grace showed up every step of the day.  

Ernest Holmes talks about "living in the Kingdom."  To me, that Kingdom would be surrounded by, immersed in, filled with, and centered in Grace.  What if we substituted the word Grace with the word Good?  It is easy to accept that we are surround with Good.  I think that Grace is like a step up on consciousness. 

Joel Goldsmith talks about grace as giving up needing or asking or desiring anything in your life and what shows up is grace.  Wonder what that would be like to just trust that all shows up on time and in the right time?  I am willing to give it a go if you are.

I am ready to experience more Grace Points in my life.  How about you?

Shake It Off

The problem is no one in school ever taught us how to enter a topic or gave us permission to write what really happened.  Write the truth.  "Keep going.  You're doing fine.  Don't think."  Develop a "sweetheart" inside yourself who whispers in your ear to encourage you.  Natalie Goldberg

Oh, to have had that sweetheart a long time ago when I felt like I was out in the wilderness alone, with no one to come to my rescue or to tell me that I was on the right track.  Even now as I contemplate my present, I wonder what is next for me, or what it is that I need to do in order to continue to feel fulfilled and satisfied. 

Life changes and as I continue to heal my mouth, a major side effect of all of that has been a reduction in body mass.  My body is shrinking!  And the wonderful part is that I was able to maintain the "shrink" while on a vacation trip contemplating my present.  

In the process of deciding what's next, I developed my sweetheart and the message for me is to just relax, stay in the moment, rest, look what's in front of me, and release it all into its higher and better good.  

Or as the song goes, "Pause and listen then shake it off."  I really like the shake it off part.  This has not been an easy spiritual lesson, but one that I think as assisted me more than anything else.  Shake it off.  

Another important lesson is to encourage yourself when things happen that are beyond your control.  I know we create the lives that we are living, but there are things that I know I didn't ask for.  I think that there are times when "stuff just happens."  

We have a motor coach that we travel in and every once in a while something strange happens to remind me that "stuff just happens."  I remember a story my sister once told about a car that they bought used and while driving down a city street, the back window just fell out!  Stuff happens.  Shake it off.

We don't plan on the stuff that just happens.  I think I would have been better equipped for my life is someone had just told me that you can't prepare for everything.  Stuff happens.  Shake it off.  

Ask For What You Want

Learn to make known our requests with thanksgiving and in acceptance.  And having done this, in that silent communion of your soul with its Source, believe that the Law of Good will do the rest.  Ernest Holmes

In a telephone call this week, I had another wake up call that almost brought me to my knees.  The person calling wanted to know how I was doing and what my prognosis was since my oral surgery.  After talking about it for awhile, she said, "Not to diminish what you have experienced, but another friend of mine in Texas was told she had bone cancer in her mouth and she had to have all of her teeth removed and some of the bone taken out."  

All I had was a decayed tooth that lead to other things and I am so grateful that was all it was.

No matter what life hands us, there is always someone set up as an example for our gratitude.  I know we all create our experiences but I want to create some that are less painful and more easily recuperative.  I remember reading in one of my journal exercises to, "Write a story; create a future!"  And I added, "Or at least a compelling present."  When I am in the midst of the experience, I forget that I am in charge of creating a compelling present.

I forget that I can enchant myself with my choice of wonderful details and that it is up to me to put the excitement into my life.  I forget that I am in charge of life and that it is up to me to attract and see my good.

In a very conscious effort of experiencing more excitement, of creating a life that is compelling, sweet, filled with joy and happiness, I am taking the next three weeks off in order to use the time to contemplate my present.  I invite you to do something similar in order to more fully enjoy the rest of your life.  Time is of the essence.

Paradise Where?

Voltaire understood that "Paradise is where I am."  Wherever we go, we carry the universe within us, feeling deeply connected to everything.  Alexandra Stoddard

Often wondering what the Kingdom of God looked like to me, I realize now that I never thought "big" enough.  I would come up with one good idea and I never went beyond that thought.  I now ask, what was I thinking that I thought only one idea was enough?  Where in the world did I come up with that so-called truth in my life?  Or, who told me that and I accepted it at face value?

And it is hard for me to accept that living in Oklahoma is "Paradise" for me.  Granted, we have had lots of great opportunities living here and certainly have improved the quality of our lives, but "Oklahoma"?  

There is also an element of fear of being here - nature is loud, in your face, with lots of variety.  Two weeks ago, we had a storm shelter installed in our garage.  It is a hole dug through the concrete, with a steel box set into the hole, lined with more concrete round the edges, with a sliding door on top.  When the door is open, there are stairs leading down into it with not a lot of room.  But when the next tornados are circling, it will be a comfort to have a safe place to go.

But what to do about the earthquakes?  Earlier, this week, we had 4.5 that reminded me of the quakes we experienced while living in California.  No where to go, no where to hide, and nothing to do, but ride it out.  

I realize that my Paradise Kingdom is filled with variety and that the only way to feel connected and safe is to open that doorway and allow Infinite Presence to hold me close and keep me safe.  I also realize that Infinite Presence will also provide me with wonderful discoveries that surprise and delight me.  Thank you God for all.

Digging Deeper

Understand that the smallest act of kindness, be it a kind work, a smile, a light touch of affection of simply an energetic presence can greatly alter the course of someone's life and, in fact, the world.  The shift in energy that occurs at these times is far-reaching and quite powerful, and so it is quite important for you not to withhold your energy from kindness.  Frank Talk

The 16th of this month, I had reconstructive mouth surgery.  I needed a tooth pulled that had decayed under the gum line and in the process of looking that what else needed to be done, we decided on implants to assist what teeth I had left.  Today is the first day I even felt close to my normal self.  What was so painful for me is that the dentist peeled back my upper gum tissue, smoothed out the bone into one straight line (which he was extremely proud of yesterday after viewing my ex-ray) and then covered it all again with gum tissue.  

Needless to say, being in such pain precluded anything including kindness.  It took all I had to just be civil.  I would get up in the morning, rinse my mouth with some really vile tasting bacteria killer, take a heavy duty pain killer, head for my favorite recliner and was asleep again in minutes.  Opiates created some other problems for me but are too private to disclose.  

The "good" that has come out of this is that I have easily released 10 pounds to date and I am sure more to come as I need another surgery in about 6 to 8 weeks.  

During my check up yesterday, I wished I had brought my little Yorkshire Terrier with me to have him bite the dentist on the ankle.  It is hard to be kind to someone who induces this much pain.  I know, this was my choice, but I didn't want all of the pain to go with it.  

My compassion level has certainly increased for others who are in chronic pain all the time.  I don't know how they do it.  Delighted that I am off the high powered pain killers, off the antibiotics, and finished with the vile mouth rinse, I can get my life back to a more normal way of being.  I am ready for health.

This experience has given me a greater sense of my health and what it is to feel fully comfortable.  Thank you, God and all of the energies and powers that be, that have assisted me through the process.  

I invite you to take full stock of your body and truly appreciate what you have.  I am sorry for me that I have lost some of my teeth, but I truly appreciate the technology that has produced the processes for the replacement of them.  Thank you God for all of the elegant blessings in my life.

Grief

Grief happens to us in strange and interesting ways.  For whatever reasons, I am losing another tooth.  The fact is, I have been losing teeth since my early 20's.  Having had a large space between my two front teeth, a dentist decided that the best thing to do was to put me in braces to move the teeth closer together.  In the process of moving them too fast, both died.  Out they came.  Gradually, over the years, more and more have had to be removed. 

The one that I am losing next week, has put me into a funk that is clearly different for me.  I am having four implants put in and a new upper appliance will be built for me.  

Doing lots of reading to "comfort" me and to give me the courage to face what I need.  This one reads, "Each moment gives us a fresh breath of air, an opportunity to take to heart, to face reality, and bravely move on."  Not much comfort in that!

How long will it take to get through this dark place and space?  Nothing feels safe right now.  But I do feel as though I am doing my best to move forward under less than desirable circumstances.  My faith seems to have skipped a beat in all of this.

What I have been doing is a lot of praying for peace, calm, courage and feelings of well being.  Several times a day, I turn my concern over what has to be done, into the heart and hands of God.  Intellectually, I know that all will turn out well.  My stomach doesn't feel it at all.  

In the meantime, I will keep praying and I invite everyone who knows me well to join in the process of my complete healing in comfort, ease and grace.  Thanks for all.