Category: blog

Crossing The Threshold

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As I reflect on the events and opportunities I experienced this year, I am reminded of specific angels written about by Brian Andreas (StoryPeople.com), “there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don’t get too comfortable & fall asleep & miss your life.” Like all years, this year has contained moments when I surely must’ve been dozing. There have also been many moments that I was glad to be wide-awake.

I gave myself the gift of time to read a novel over these last two weeks. The Promise, by Chaim Potok, is not a book I would select based on the cover art, or on the synopsis of the story-line, however it was a stunning coming-of-age story about a young man growing up in a culture that I had very little awareness of, and even less experience with. He finds himself at several difficult and uncomfortable crossroads, those proverbial ‘rocks and hard places’, where he faced no easy or pat answers, and no one could really guide him in choosing the most universally beneficial choice. While at times he seemed to be frantically flying by the seat of his pants, he thoughtfully and intentionally chose the path that ultimately led to the greatest good for himself, as well as for all others who were directly involved in the story. The story of this young man’s coming-of-age is everyone’s journey (also recognized as the hero’s journey or Joseph Campbell’s classic monomyth). According to Campbell, everyone hears the call to adventure, and everyone responds in the way that seems most appropriate, reasonable (or perhaps, safe) to them at that particular moment of time.

I remain very clear that life isn’t tidy like a novel, or a 60-minute drama on television, where every little thing gets wrapped up and there are no loose ends by the end of the hour. And I know a successful life doesn’t depend on a one-time only event, which means you can’t miss it! There are always opportunities to perceive our world with new eyes, make decisions about our place in it, and choose, and choose again, as we learn, have experiences and increase in our own awareness and sense of place. At the same time, a sizable dose of self-compassion remains in order. Self-criticism, flagellation, diminishment and deprecation provide no value. Always, and in all ways, we each do the best we can, with what we know, what we have, and what we believe we are capable of at the time. It is enough. It is always enough.

This past weekend we allowed space and time to engage in a very special, succinct, year-ending and year-beginning ritual, to take stock of our individual decisions around events, conversations and activities that had left us feeling diminished in some way, and those that had enlivened our lives. I got the chance, just like everyone else, to formally accept and allow that freedom and grace in the releasing and claiming rituals that we shared this past Saturday evening.

I trust you found your way through the events and activities of this holiday season and feel easy and comfortable with the choices you have made, and any intentions you may have set, about how your bright, brand new year will unfold. I also trust you to remember to be compassionate with yourself and others when things don’t turn out exactly the way you envision them.

Best blessings for 2017 as we walk this road of life together.

By Rev Janis Farmer

Selfless Service

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Reverend Janis recently sent me a You Tube video of a Sunday message by Dr Edward Viljoen, Minister of the CSL in Santa Rosa, CA. I’ve had the opportunity to meet him several times as my daughter used to live in Santa Rosa and attended his Center. His messages always challenge me to think differently and I thought I’d share this one.

I will summarize the points that hit home for me. The title of his talk was “Service to the World” and he spoke of the difference between a good deed and selfless service. Selfless service is a shift away from the self in me to the self in ‘thee’. The self in me is the smallest part of me. The biggest part of me is in you and you and you and you… If I focus on me I miss the beauty of life and feel lonely and disconnected, says Dr Edward. He likens it to the love of a parent for their child. Even when the child reaches the age of separation, the parent continues to love the child unconditionally the way the sun shines unconditionally because it is not about how the love is received that matters, the reward is in loving.

Selfless service is like that. The reward is in the giving, not in seeking acknowledgement, because without my giving I can’t feel my wholeness, he says. He tells the story of a congregation that organizes a three day festival annually. One of the biggest problems was the port-a-potties. You can imagine after three days they would be pretty awful. So a group of congregants scheduled themselves to clean and restock the potties every couple hours throughout the three days of the festival. The potties were the cleanest spot in the whole festival grounds! There were no banners of thank you, or names or accolades, this group of individuals just went about their task with no fuss. That is how the Divine works in the world as sacred action. The Divine has no hands or feet or eyes except ours. It is our nature to serve in order to feel our wholeness. How many ways do unseen hands deliver food, products, comfort, information, services to each of us every day that improve the quality of our lives?

He tells another story of a woman who over several years came to the Center irregularly, usually when she was experiencing difficulties in her life. Each time she came there was someone to hold the door open for her, greet her with a smile, serve her a cup of coffee, there was music and flowers and words in spirit. She assumed it would always be there and didn’t think too much about it. Some years later she took a class and learned about giving rather than just taking. She became a member and donates her share to help pay the bills so the Center will be there for others when they need like it was there for her when she needed it.

Selfless service is like that. It’s doing tasks that others won’t or can’t do, and doing them without complaining or blaming. Doing what brings relief with empathy, not pity. Dr Edward encourages each of us to look around. If someone is hurting, or dying or grieving or ill, take care of each other. Call and ask what you can do to help. Know how to listen, be quick to forgive, these attributes build strength of character. Get clear on what you are grateful for. You have the power to make someone else’s burden lighter. As I said at the start, his message gave me a lot to think about. If you want to hear the whole talk, and I highly recommend it, here is the link. https://youtu.be/rmSQR5mV0qA

by Sue Mason

Holiday Past, Holiday Present

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Now that there our days are getting longer…daylight that is, we are reminded by the passing of the Season of Light. The time of the Solstice has given us an opportunity to celebrate many holidays with family and friends, a time to “stand still” as the earth did on the 21st.

Now the daylight hours that are slowly extending beckon us to return to normality. As we move forward into 2017, we find new opportunities and challenges before us.

I’ve made a few changes in the Sunday evocation from New Year’s Day and offer these words to jumpstart your effort of getting back into your routine. I encourage you to bring the Light with you and radiate it to all you encounter.

Treatment adapted from the New Year’s Day Service:

I feel the light around me. I breathe in the light around me. I remain an integral part of that light, that energy called God, Universal Spirit, the One, the Higher Power. My awareness of this spirit augments and resides within me with every breath I take.

I feel great joy as the holiday ends knowing that I can bask in the afterglow of that God light just by breathing in the memory of that beautiful light that shone from every candle, every window, every holiday decoration, and each child’s joyful face.

I carry that light into the present. The Season of Light has given me a new comprehension, a new understanding. I bless all who shared it with me. I move forward to an exciting, healing and uplifting spiritual journey.

I feel great joy in this knowledge and with complete confidence turn these words over to Law. God Light lingers in this experience. I just stand here in Faith and witness the miracles. And So It Is

by Karen King, RScP

It’s All Me, Really…

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“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” 
― Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968

As we neared the Winter Solstice, in this month of endings and new beginnings and, as if to mirror the path of the sun, my world burst wide open flooding with a sudden brilliant light. What seemed like a sudden and unexpected but long-yearned for opening, followed months, maybe a year or more even, of feeling downright halted in my tracks. My way forward felt blocked, the path to the expansion I yearned for had seemed dead-ended.  I felt an urgent need to move myself forward but I couldn’t see the way. I told myself “I’m just not good at change. Change is hard for me. I just can’t see what’s next as easily as others.”

I knew I was done with being ‘here’ but I didn’t know the way to ‘there’ or what I wanted ‘there’ to be like. The vision for the path forward just wouldn’t form for me. My life had seemed to be at a stand still, forever grinding in place, gear on gear without movement or any ‘grease’ so to speak.  The ‘a-ha moment’ came in the form of what felt like ‘grease’. The vise grip that cramped my mind suddenly felt blissfully looser. I could finally move my chess piece, and in any number of directions. There was no need to wait in indecision before moving forward or to stay locked in the ‘checkmate’ or game-over position. I could see that the game was not over after all.

I suddenly saw all kinds of moves I could make and a sense of freedom and big relief flooded me. Fear mysteriously dissipated. For months, my biggest fear was that I couldn’t move my pieces, that I could not and would not EVER see how to move them.  I now saw that I could create support in the areas of my work which had seemed joyless and which I allowed to cause suffering for me. I saw that I could look and see all the other places in my life that lacked joy and that I can make shifts. I can trust myself to make the changes I can see I can make and once there, I can trust that I will see the next steps I can take.

I asked Reverend Donald for insight. What happened? Was this divine timing? Why now? He said I had finally “LET IT” and went on to explain that nothing outside of me had occurred. He explained that ‘letting’ is not something you ‘make’ happen. That sounded logical since letting and making seem to be polar opposites. I could see that. But why had I finally “LET IT” happen now when I had wanted this shift for so long?

I thought well, it must have been ‘Divine Timing” but that sounds like a force outside of me which Rev. D clearly stated was not the case. There is no ‘Divine’ controlling the puppet strings– it’s all me. So…. I feel blessed for this renewal of faith and trust, for this seemingly mysterious opening, which I’m told is not mysterious, after all, I let it. I continue to grow in understanding concerning the concept that I live as God, God lives as me and it’s all me… really.

by Holly Baker

“When you get to the end of all the light you know and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”  – Edward Teller

The Hours of God

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Not for the first time this week, I found myself at the end of a very long day feeling as if I had just crash-landed in time. It was one of my busy work days in which I’d skipped meditation time to get to the office early. From that beginning, I embarked on a series of meetings and appointments that left me without so much as a moment for a swallow of water. It was past 6:30 pm when I crashed, realizing everyone had gone home, that my head throbbed from 22 hours without food or water, and that I scarcely remembered what had occurred. This was no conscious one-pointed absorption in creative spiritual self-expression. This felt like a tedious slog through endless obligation and the expectations of others that left me drained.

I reached into my pocket for the stash of affirmations I carry with me from CSLT. The one I drew said “God makes my schedule.” At first I laughed. Then I realized that all day I had only been reacting to conditions around me, not consciously choosing to experience life as an expression of God. I am only able to remember God as my life when I am fully present in the moment to respond to events and choose my actions.

Believe it or not my next thought was about Benedictine monks. I was recently gifted a small book by Brother David Steindl-Rast, a scholar and monastic, entitled Music of Silence, A Sacred Journey through the Hours of the Day. In it, the author reminds us that time was not always equated with our modern linear 24-hour clock. Monks still seek to remember God through Hours of the day that are more like seasons of the year. In agricultural life, the seasons each bring their own call to action, whether for planting or reaping or rest. Likewise, the Canonical Hours like Vigils, Lauds. Prime and Vespers are calls to experience the seasons for waking, praying, working, resting and praise. Each Hour is an angelic Presence celebrated with bells and Gregorian Chant and offers an opportunity for awareness that we only really live in the present, here and now. To live according to the real rhythms of the day is, as Steindl-Rast puts it,

…to live responsively, consciously, and intentionally directing our lives from within, not being swept along by the demands of whatever happens. By living in real rhythms, we ourselves become more real. We learn to listen to the music of this moment, to hear its sweet implorings, its sober directives. We learn to dance a little in our hearts, to open our inner gates a crack more, to hearken to the music of silence, the divine life breath of the universe.

In 2017 I choose to stop more often, breathe, and be grateful for the gift of life and the Hours of opportunity and possibility it brings. I choose to seek the silence and in that timeless space of eternity experience my Oneness and even find clarity to tie vision together with action. Seeing the hours of my life from a higher viewpoint, beyond societal expectations and successes I find joy.

If you would like to experience the bells and Gregorian chant of the Hours, Steindl-Rast has an interactive website at http://gratefulness.org.

by Leah Hamilton

Heart of Gratitude

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by Shelly Dunn

About six weeks ago I had a definite, unpleasant, sorrowful experience when I received my cat’s ashes back from the crematorium. I knew in my gut that his ashes belonged in California where my mother’s ashes had been spread four years ago. This was a definite order from my Universe that this was what wanted to be done, seriously, and soon.

As a school counselor, I have a publicly-funded position. There was talk at work that none of us were going to receive back pay because of a vote that happened last May. So after pondering a bit about all of this, my prayer partner did a spiritual mind treatment with me for money to cover a plane ticket to go back to San Francisco over the Christmas holidays. I had been really clear that I didn’t know how the Universe could possibly supply me with cash for an airplane ticket and spending money, and knew I needed help in changing my mind.

I absorbed the treatment given by my prayer partner, and felt it resonate in my heart. Because I allowed this possibility, I felt so open and accepting. Then the very next day I was slammed with a few unexpected bills that had to get paid. Crap. So yes, I did do argumentative work (i.e. deny the impact or effect of the unpleasant and unwanted experience and claim /allow/accept the desired experience) with myself, saying “no” to feeling worried or fretting, and started saying to myself “I choose to trust my Universe because my Universe is gracious and bountiful!”

My “busy monkey mind” would randomly start chattering on and on, trying to force me to slip into doubt. It occurred to me I could counteract, or minimize, that Negative-Nellie by doing a gratitude list of ten things that occurred during the day, every day, that were blessings. It didn’t matter how small or inconsequential these blessing were, they still counted. I did this every night for a week right before bed. Within the week of persistent gentle self-work through the argumentative conversations with myself, continuously reaffirming my belief in the possibility of a positive outcome and doing my nightly gratitude list, I had a lovely surprise — a friend blessed me with a free round-trip airplane ticket!!! I feel such humble gratitude for this teaching and the BIG heart of my friend! I also found out that there would be extra money I had previously earned in my next paycheck!

This definitely goes into my demonstration log just to prove that THIS STUFF WORKS!

Note: Practitioner students have been asked to keep a written record (or log) of when they have, or see, demonstrations of answered prayer treatments. This helps them remember, and build their faith muscle around, the knowing and affirming that prayers do yield the life-affirming results desired. This practice is not restricted to practitioners and practitioner students, but is available to anyone who desires to prove to themselves that they have access to all the potential Good of the Universe.     — Rev Donald & Rev Janis

Living Love

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Ernest Holmes wrote, “The Truth points to freedom, under Law. We do well to listen to this Inner Voice, for it tells us of a life wonderful in its scope; of a love beyond our fondest dreams…” (The Science of Mind, 25.3-26.1)

In my experience, Dr. Holmes spoke truly. As I examined all that did not work in any previous relationships, I had to admit to myself the truth of my level of involvement in them was what didn’t work. I knew there must be another way, a better way, but what was it? I also knew that by using the Law, I could answer my own dilemma.

Carl Rogers defined love as “unconditional positive regard.” This is the essence of the love Holmes referred to above. This unconditional regard is what might be called Divine Love, which already lives in us, and when we allow it, it expresses through us and leads us beyond anything we can dream of.

In the first session of “Love, Relating & Relationships”, I offered a paraphrase of Lao Tzu: “To know, do. To do, be. To be, know.” That circular expression explains the principle of knowing and the method to access it. By doing love, by loving, anyone can access Holmes’ ideal of “a love beyond our fondest dreams.” By loving, we access the use of the Law FOR Love and experience more of It.

Everyone already lives in relationship with everything in the world, whether conscious of it or not. Each person shares the air available on the planet. For example, everyone here in Arizona inhales the blowings of the humpback whales in the Indian Ocean and shares their exhale with the whales. Whether it is relating to the clothes covering the body, the chair on which one sits, the ground on which one walks, everyone is in relationship with everything, including all the love there ever has been.

By shining light on what doesn’t support experiencing healthy relationships, anyone can stop doing what doesn’t work, which opens a space in which to allow all relationships to work. Literally, anyone can do this, because already human beings are designed to relate.

As social animals, relating is built into us. It is encoded in our DNA. Relating is natural for us. We have difficulty only when we have decided otherwise. Just like the fact that the sun still shines, even when we can’t see it through the clouds, or because we are standing inside a cave, or because it is on the other side of the globe, the sun is still doing what the sun does naturally: It shines. So it is with relating and with loving. We have to convince ourselves otherwise, in order to experience that we are not in relationship, or that we are not loved.

By relating, by truly relating, anyone can experience more love and better relationships in every area of life. By living as the innate Love within, anyone can experience more love in life. That is what living love really is, and to the degree that we let love out, we experience a love beyond our fondest dreams.

Live your love and love your living.

BestBlessings,
RevDonald

A Clear Plan to Wealth and Abundance in Just 30 Minutes a Day

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In today’s economy, it’s more important than ever to get clear about your personal and professional goals—and to commit to a plan that will get you there. Financial abundance can be a game of fun and prosperity, but only when you realize that you don’t have to do everything yourself. Spirit wants to help you. Following is an overview of steps that you can take to allow it to do so:

1. Welcome your new spiritual partner to your financial advisory team and give it a name whose advice you value. I affectionately call my partner the Chief Spiritual Officer, or CSO for short. Create your own name for God, Spirit, Divine Intelligence, etc. which describes the characteristic of the all-knowing power of the universe that gives you advice through intuition, hunches, and other means.

2. Set aside 30 minutes a day to have a meeting with your partner. Follow a clear agenda that combines the force of 3 G’s – goals, gratitude, and God.

3. Establish clear job descriptions for both yourself and your new partner. You will decide what you want with gratitude. The CSO will create the path to achieve your goals and give you one step to take at a time. You will either take the step or ask for another lead. Then, you’ll reach your goal and celebrate.

4. Through this process you will experience a complete shift in your thinking about how financial wealth and abundance is created.

In my book, The Path to Wealth; Seven Spiritual Steps for Financial Abundance, you’ll also learn to go deeper into the practice to gain insight about your purpose, gain tools to successfully navigate financial ups and downs, overcome the fear of failure, as well as eliminate old beliefs and behaviors that have kept you from experiencing the success you really want.

Best of all, you will learn how to develop your own financial intuition, which is key to noticing and pursuing the opportunities that will present themselves once you are on this path.

Your spiritual advisor wants to help you. Make the commitment to begin your new partnership today!

May will be our guest author at our booth (#160) at this year’s Tucson Festival of Books on Saturday, March 14th between 11am and 3pm and will be speaking on Sunday morning, March 15th, during our Sunday Celebration Service at 10:30am and holding a workshop at our Office and Education Center from 1-3:30pm. Tickets for the workshop are $20 and can be purchased by contacting the office.

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May McCarthy has cofounded and grown six successful companies over her thirty-year career, with the largest growing to over $100 million in annual revenues. She credits her success to the spiritual new thought principles described in her book, and firmly believes that financial success and freedom are available to anyone who is willing to apply them. Visit her online at www.maymccarthy.com.

“Stupid hurts, and it should.” (Graves’ Law #97)

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“This Is How It Works”

“Stupid hurts, and it should.” (Graves’ Law #97)

When we do something against the Laws of Nature, or against our true nature or values, we suffer… and we should. This valuable feedback gives us the information, and possibly the motivation we need, to change.

What’s interesting to observe is that the hurting escalates if we don’t pay attention.

Initially, we get feedback from our emotions and/or feelings. We feel emotional discomfort or upset, and this could be as vague as an internal “stirring” or something more specific as anxiety.

If we don’t listen, then it escalates, and we get feedback in our environment: in our affairs, at home, at work, in the world around us, etc. It shows up as “noise”, chaos, “failure”, defeat, resistance, etc.

If we don’t pay attention and listen, then it escalates further, and we get feedback in our body. It shows up as chronic and/or acute pain, disease, sickness, and/or with other physical symptoms. The body is the first and the last place where the Universe gives us both our first and our last chance to wake up to the thinking that is out of whack. If we continue and do not listen to the feedback of disease, we move into an even deeper phase.

Since the Universe “loves” us and gives us to ourselves so totally and continually, It is willing to kill the body and let us start all over again. The Universe escalates the feedback until we get it, up to and including our getting to “start over”.

Paying attention to this process can encourage all of us to pay more attention to the various kinds of feedback presented to us, and therefore, help us to find ways to live more congruently and joyfully.

I trust you will choose to enjoy your process.

Reverend Donald Graves
(Excerpted and expanded from Graves’ Laws: Aphorisms to Live By, by Donald Graves)

The Power of Receiving in a Season of Giving By Amanda Owen

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Cover_Power_of_ReceivingHalloween is the coming attractions preview of the holidays. Those little witches, ghosts, and goblins will soon morph into angels, wise men, and reindeer, and the candy you gave in October will give way to more expensive gift-giving in December.

While the old proverb tells us it is better to give than receive, countless people bemoan the absence of grateful receivers. Thank you letters seem to be a relic of the past and expressions of gratitude are often drowned out in a sea of complaints about what is wrong with the world.

When you get back nothing or little in response to what you give, it’s natural to feel mystified or even resentful. Interestingly, our culture spends a lot of time on the value of giving, while little attention is paid to receiving. Yet, for every giver there is a receiver. And when something is not received well—whether it is candy, a gift, or a compliment—we notice!

With a little time left before the holiday season arrives, it’s not too late to strengthen your ability to receive and help your children brush up on their receiving skills. Here are three simple steps that will help you receive as well as you give:

1. Notice what people do for you and thank them.
Don’t think for a second that a lack of acknowledgment or a refusal to receive is not noticed by the person who gave! When we don’t receive graciously, we thwart an opportunity for connection and prevent a mutually satisfying transaction from occurring.

The simple expression of gratitude is one of the ways that we give back to the giver. It feels good for our giving to be received and it makes us want to give again! Here are a few ideas to help you practice saying thank you:

• Thank the grocery clerk for putting the food in the bag.
• Thank the bank teller for saying, “Have a nice day.”
• Thank the driver who waves at you to go first at the stop sign.
• Thank the waiter for bringing you coffee.
• Thank your cat for using the litter box.
• Thank your coworker for saying, “Have a great weekend.”
• Thank your houseplants for their beauty.

2. Accept compliments.
When people pay you a compliment, do you downplay what they are saying about you? Or do you thank them? If someone wants to do something for you, do you say something like, “Oh, you don’t need to do that! I can handle it myself!”

Many people are uncomfortable accepting compliments and then wonder why people aren’t kinder or don’t help them out more. Receiving something as simple as a compliment is a huge statement about your willingness to receive the good things in life.

Even if you are uncomfortable accepting a compliment, kind words, or a gift, note that feeling and receive it. But still say, “Thank you.” Here are a few ways to graciously respond to a compliment:

• Thanks!
• It’s so nice of you to notice!
• I really appreciate that!
• How sweet of you to say that!
• It’s great to hear such encouraging words!
• How lovely of you to acknowledge that!
• You made my day!

3. Start a gratitude journal.
To be grateful is to be receptive to life’s abundance. Gratitude is a state of mind, a way of seeing life, of noticing and relating to life. There are those who have an overall attitude of gratitude. Conversely, some people are rarely grateful—even when people bend over backward to give to them.

Appreciation and gratitude come from inside a person as a way of looking at life, as a way of being in life. It is completely independent of external circumstances. Start a journal where you can record every day at least five things for which you feel grateful.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• I am grateful for my morning coffee.
• I am grateful for the beautiful tree in my front yard.
• I am grateful that my husband received a job promotion.
• I am grateful for the recommendation my friend gave me for a massage therapist.
• I am grateful that my sister is content in her life.
• I am grateful for my home.
• I am grateful that I have been feeling better

Someone once said, “Life is a marathon.” Through all of life’s peaks and valleys, there are people who help make the journey a little brighter and a lot more fun.

When you express your appreciation, when you respond graciously to compliments, offers of help, gifts (and candy!) you not only strengthen your relationship bonds, you create a life where people want to give to you as much as you give to them. You create a two-way street, giving sometimes and receiving at other times.

This holiday season, receive from the people who give to you. Listen to what they say, notice what they do, and most of all, respond with a sincere ‘thank you!’

Amanda Owen is the guest speaker at our Sunday Celebration Service on October 12, 2014. Join us. She is also the author of The Power of Receiving and Born to Receive.

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