Category: change

Places

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments….
                   In My Life by John Lennon

I first visited Lahaina, Maui in 1977. It was part of a one-week 3-island trip, a real bargain with flights out of LAX. I fell in love with Hawaii, eventually purchased a timeshare and visited one or more of the 4 major islands at least 30 times. On my first visit to Lahaina the town was small with no high-end lodging in town. The recommended restaurant, The Whale’s Tail, was tiny and upstairs on Front Street, across from the Banyan tree. This historically significant town was the filming location of several movies. It was destroyed by wildfire the week of August 7. We are friends with 2 couples who live on Maui full-time. The losses are immeasurable. In such situations my feelings of sadness eventually mature to acceptance.

I seem to form emotional attachments to places. Sometimes the connections are due to the beauty and atmosphere of the place itself; often places become special because of the activity and people involved. I know that change is inevitable and change over a long period of time can be major. I would prefer that my special places remain the same so that by revisiting I can recapture some of the magic I first felt. I have been shocked, angry, and sad at some geographical changes. One of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is to “take nothing personally.” Just like with any kind of loss, I can choose gratitude for the experience and love how it enhanced my life. So I will do that. My special times in Hawaii were numerous. None of my experiences were unique but they were personally intimate.

I once told someone that after cremation I wanted half my ashes to be sprinkled off the end of the pier in Hanalei, Kauai, and the other half around the base of Bell Rock in Sedona. I was sort of kidding. I first visited Sedona in 1984. Tlaquepaque was relatively new, and the population was a fraction of what it has become. In visiting in 2008, I took offense at the traffic circles and the new mall where Oaxaca restaurant had been located. The amount of traffic was another inconvenient change. Sedona is still lovely, and I enjoyed its beauty on several trips. Gratitude to the Source for the natural wonders.

In 1991 I spent 6 months on a temporary job assignment in Chicago. I met some amazing people and got to experience the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Chicago River being dyed green. Lack of familiarity and experience in city life caused some slight fears at the beginning but I am grateful for every minute I spent in Chicago and for the wonderful interpersonal experiences.

For a few years I traveled to Charleston, SC for the Spoleto Festival and shared a beach house on the Isle of Palms across the river. Details were all arranged and scheduled by a friend who grew up in the Charleston area. The food and music were phenomenal. Activities were fun. Another special place is San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a colonial-era city, declared a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its centuries-old Baroque and Neoclassical style architecture. A life-long friend of my husband is a resident and was full of useful information. We visited once for a week and a couple of years later we stayed for a month. I lack the space and vocabulary to describe this magical city and the joy I experienced on my visits.

In New Thought we know that positive expectation, believing what we are thinking, influences outcomes. In Creative Mind and Success, Ernest Holmes states “Wherever you go, know that the Spirit of Truth goes before and prepares the way, bringing to you every friend and influence that will be necessary to your comfort and wellbeing.” This language richly describes what is possible if we apply the Law to our planned experiences.

I likely will not travel to these places again, yet they are part of me, my tapestry. Thank you, Carole King.

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue An everlasting vision of the ever-changing view…. Tapestry by Carole King

 

–Linda Bullock

Falling into Place

In June I took a meditation retreat in Colorado Springs with Dr. Roger Teel, who led Mile Hi Church for 25 years. I have enjoyed watching his online talks and when he mentioned his mediation retreat, I knew I wanted to go. I looked online and when registra6on for the workshop opened, I immediately signed up.

The workshop was at the Franciscan Retreat Center in the foothills of Rockies. The setting was lovely, with big trees, old buildings, and lots of space to wander. There were deer roaming freely. One morning I went to get my journal out of my car and there was a deer five or six feet away from the driver’s side. I unlocked the doors with the remote and the deer lifted its head then returned to eating. I opened the passenger door and rooted around for my journal. When I looked out through the driver’s side windows there were three deer looking at me as if they were wondering what I was doing. What a treat!

The workshop consisted of lectures, stories and lots of time meditating using a variety of techniques, and free time to walk around the grounds and contemplate. It was liberating to have 3 days where I didn’t have to think about anything, as our days were scheduled, meals prepared.

Going to the retreat jump started my meditation practice. The app Insight Timer has kept track of my meditations and I have reached 60 days in a row. I have given myself the rules that I can’t have coffee or open my Fitbit app to see what my sleep score until I sit. Those boundaries are working for me. After sitting the rest of my day seems to fall into place and I’m more productive since I have been consistent with my practice. Taking the retreat, was a treat, an immersion I highly recommend. Here’s a little taste of the workshop: Affirmation Meditation for JOY – Dr. Roger Teel.

–Maria

WABI-SABI

After graduating college magna cum laude, a woman asked me in a job interview, “How do you handle being a perfectionist?” Was she implying that there was something wrong with that?

It got me thinking about the negatives I experienced by wanting to be perfect: I wouldn’t try something if I thought I might not be good at it; It took me longer to do tasks; I would throw out good projects because they had a minor flaw. While I still strove to be perfect, there were times Icould recognize this was holding me back and take steps to move forward.

Years later I discovered wabi-sabi. As Kiyoshi Matsuomoto describes it, “Wabi-sabi is Japanese acceptance of imperfections as both meaningful and in their own way, beautiful.” The philosophy embraces that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.

Kintsugi is a process of mending broken bowls with gold epoxy, which highlights the imperfection rather than disguises it. It is the physical demonstration of the wabi-sabi. It became so popular in Japan at one time that potters would intentionally break a piece of pottery they had just made in order to gild it in this manner.

Discovering this concept, and admiring the beautiful pottery, I have been able to incorporate it into my own experience. A fellow cardmaker, blaming her left-handedness, often makes a mistake on her card such as getting ink where it wasn’t intended. Instead of getting upset, she laughs and says, “At least the person I give it to will know it’s handmade by me.” I look at such mistakes I make as opportunities to add an embellishment creating the card into more than I originally intended.

Rev. Dr. Michael Gott wrote in a recent SOM Magazine, “We are human and we are divine. Can we finally…recognize and honor that our humanity is divine?” and, as John Legend sings, “love all your perfect imperfections.”

The student of Truth will maintain that they live in a Perfect Universe and among people potentially perfect. They will regulate their thinking to meet this necessity and will refuse to believe its opposite. At first they may be influenced by conditions, and they may appear to be weak, but as time goes on they will prove to themself that their position is a correct one, for that which appears imperfect will begin to slip from their experience. SOM 185.1

–Janet Salese

GOT INNER WORK

They say that everything you ever learned, you learned in kindergarten. If this is true, my memory brings me back to my first feelings of fear. It was 1967-68 and I was in kindergarten.

It was music time and my classmates and I were sitting in a row as the teacher was at her piano. She picked 10 of us and assigned us our number. I was number 3. We were lined up facing the other kids that weren’t picked. We were going to sing 10 little Indians. Each kid sings the number they are, as she accompanied on the piano. I don’t remember why, but I didn’t want to sing so I didn’t.

The first kid sang 1 little Indian; the next kid sang 2 little Indians; she continued playing but had to abruptly stop. In her stern voice as she glared over at me, “Madeline! You have to sing 3 little Indians.” I stood there and said nothing, but I remember thinking I did not want to sing. “If you don’t sing, you are going to have to stand out in the hall! Ok class let’s start this again.” She resumed playing and 1 & 2 sang but I kept my mouth shut.

The music stopped and she escorted me out to the hall! As soon as I hit the hall and she went back in the classroom, it occurred to me that Andrew, my brother may walk by and see me. Everyone knew if you were standing in the hall you were in trouble! If he saw me, he could tell our mom and dad and I would be in so much trouble (or so I thought). At that very moment fear of being in trouble kept me frozen by myself in my own thoughts. Andrew never saw me.

Jump ahead 55 years and I’m still that same little girl often frozen by fear, with the thought of being in trouble. I’m still doing some of the same actions. If I don’t want to do something, or don’t know what to do, I do nothing. I’m still carrying the fear of getting in trouble from my actions or lack thereof.

What can I do to release this fear?

The thought came to me to do some inner work. What is inner work? Google says, “deliberate and ongoing reflective practice that increases awareness of self, others, and the systems in which complex social problems arise. At its core, inner work is the process of getting to know yourself. It’s a form of introspective self-care where you can help yourself let go of harmful attachments, habits, people, and thoughts.”

Oh yeah, I need to do some inner work. I’ll start with prayer as written by Ernest Holmes:

LOVE DISSOLVES ALL FEAR
Greater than fear is Love.
Love dissolves all fear, casts out all doubt and sets the captive free.
Love, like the River of Life, flows through me and refreshes me with its eternal blessings.
Love cannot be afraid; it is fearless and strong, and is mighty in its works.
It can accomplish all things through the Inner Light of that faith in all Good,
Which fills my very Being with a Powerful Presence.
Love casts out all fear.

–Madeline Pallanes

Prayer Partners and Practitioners

I meet with two prayer partners and have a session with a Spiritual Practitioner once a month. Each relationship is unique and vital to my being. With one of my prayer partners we talk about spiritual principles, and our humanness. I shared an experience that activated my inner two-year-old and I didn’t want to play anymore. I could feel it and see it as it was happening. And learning to recognize limitations, I know that I am at choice with my feelings and behavior and don’t have to stay stuck, or in bondage, as Ernest Holmes would say.  As I talked about my humanness, I saw the humor, and both of us start laughing. In the lightness of laughter, I saw that the comment someone made, was simply data about something I didn’t do. At first, I took it as a criticism. Then I realized that my behavior (the data), was not the truth of who I am, and I can change my behavior to live my truth. It gave me a totally different way to look at those words that seem critical. It is merely an opportunity to get back to my Truth. It is God nudging me to choose a course correction.

In practitioner training we would get a new pray partner every 10 weeks. My first prayer partner and I decided we would continue meeting with each other. from class. At first we would talk a little and go directly into prayer. Now our conversations are an hour long. It has been wonderful to see our time together expand and see our lives grow and manifest our prayers.

My monthly meetings with a Spiritual Practitioner, anchor me in my practice. It is a time of emptying out and refueling for the next month’s journey.

These meetings with pray partners and practitioner are compass to keep me on course.

–Maria

GOT CHANGE

I’m sure you know, some things change and some things never change. But did you know there are different kinds of change? This is something I hadn’t really thought much about. Reversible change—melting of ice. Irreversible change—burning of paper. Desirable change—ripening of fruits. Undesirable change—rusting of iron. Natural change—changing of seasons. Slow change—growth of a plant. Fast change—occurrence of lightning during a thunderstorm. You get the idea. It’s all change. We all experience change.

As we all know, our beloved community is in the process of calling forth a new minister to serve us. Now that’s some change!

What hasn’t changed is the spiritual way CSLT offers solutions to life’s challenges. We offer principles and practices that aid in spiritual exploration and discoveries. Some of these practices include meditation, classes and affirmative prayer practiced by a community eager to learn and to live a life more abundant in all ways.

Our community amongst each other, and our individual relationships with each other, I have found to be such a blessing in my life. Our morning meditation group has evolved into such an important part of my daily life. It’s a practice that has grown to be immeasurable. I am sure others feel as I do, and it is open to all who want to join us.

Our classes and book studies expand upon our teachings, principles and practices. Most of the time I get my homework or readings done before class, but even when I don’t, I still show up and get so much out of the classroom discussion. The most recent Ernest Holmes book study, “A New Design for Living” may be one of my favorites now. From page 131 we pulled some affirmations and I’m saying them multiple times per day and am receiving positive results!

• Something new and wonderful comes into my experience today.
• Today I bless everything I touch and am prospered in everything I do.
• Today nothing but good goes forth from me, therefore nothing else can possibly return.
• Today, this day, I am happy and whole.

We all change. Everything changes, yet everything stays the same.
I’m so happy and grateful to be a part of this loving community. That never changes.

–Madeline

We Learn and We Grow

Our Interpretation of the world changes as new information is verified and added to the knowledge base. The list of changes is monumental because the experience of life is always changing.

We are explorers, innovators, inquisitors, and we adapt as we go. Because of all the advancements it is not advantageous for us to cling to outmoded concepts, rituals, and practices.

Like it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not we are bound to follow certain aspects of the universe. We may change our relationship with them. For example, cataclysmic events are not the result of an angry Deity. Or electricity in the form of lightning is not supernatural. Sure, it took us a while but today we have a better handle on these things than we did. Our application of electrical principles is expanding into other aspects of matter and energy.

Clinging to past logic loops and justifying them in any fashion will not allow for spiritual growth or expansion of our database. As they say in the computer programming world “Garbage In Garbage Out”.

I want to include in my present experience an element of zeal, which to me is kind of a mix of eagerness and energy. Particularly because our teaching releases me to experience unencumbered freedom like I never knew before. Now that I have Science of Mind, I want to step into the authentic version of me and feel the awesomeness of life.

Today is a great day. We are on a continually advancing adventure. Expanding into life learning and growing every moment. Our CSL is becoming and expanding. I am looking forward to the changes with excitement and anticipation.

–In shared growth, Chris

The Wheel of Time

By the time this newsletter lands in your inbox at 3am (MST) on Wednesday morning, I will have retired as the senior minister at CSL Tucson, and your CSLT board will have already begun taking the actions necessary to identify what CSLT desires in their next minister. I affirm that your next CSLT minister is already beginning to feel the pull to join this beloved community.

I thank you for the beautiful send-off that happened this past Sunday – for the applause after my talk, the party, the hugs, the cards, the gifts (you didn’t have to, and thank you!), and your words of encouragement about my next adventure. I also want to thank you for the things I learned as your senior minister, all the joys, the hard things and every single thing in between — all the growth that I personally experienced.

I meant every word I said Sunday about every individual already having everything they need to live as their full expression as their divine self – living out loud. God as you, right here and right now. This doesn’t, can’t, and won’t negate the Law of Cause and Effect, or choice and consequence, as I like to think about it, because we all get to learn as we go. Holmes wrote about life this way (The Science of Mind 384.1) “it leaves us free to work out our own salvation – not with fear or even with trembling – but with peace and in quiet confidence.” Each one of us gets to work out what gives us and our life experience more light, joy, delight, wonder, awe and life, or whatever qualities of Abundant Good each one of us chooses to experience in greater expression.

I also meant every word from that African proverb about being able to ‘go farther’ as part of a spiritual community that you support and that supports you. I know of no successful person who doesn’t have a community of practice. Give yourself that gift of community by participating.

I leave you with one final thought. Those of you who know me well, know I have a particular affinity for the Tao Te Ching, almost anybody’s translation. I came across a little book recently, called The Art of Pastoring, Contemplative Reflections, by William C Martin. He’s paraphrased the writings of the Tao Te Ching as guidance for ministers.

–Rev Janis Farmer

Me to We and Back Again

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” — African Proverb

I’ve realized in these past few weeks that I’m quickly running out of time to ‘speak about’ one of the ideas that I’ve wanted to share with you all for most of a decade. I still haven’t figured out how to do it, but here goes. It’s an idea that originates from the world of psychology, and business, and totally belongs in a conversation of spiritual evolution for individuals and communities.

You remember in the Four Kingdoms of Consciousness that Dr Michael Beckwith made popular, there are different levels of consciousness – Level one, Victim (Stuff happens to me); Level 2, Victorious (Stuff happens by my thoughts, choices, decisions & actions); Level 3, Conduit (Stuff happens through me); and Level 4, Mastery/As One In God (Stuff happens as me). If you don’t remember this model, look up Beckwith on YouTube. This model is worth a refresher if you don’t remember it.

One piece of this model that is easy to forget is that every single one of us moves between the different levels multiple times a day, depending on the state of our awareness, and our momentary physical, mental/psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Most individuals will have a level that serves as their home base – most individuals who have been around New Thought for a while and have embodied the principles tend to have their home base at Level 2 or higher. (I know of no human who walks on the earth at this time who lives primarily in Level 4. The best most of us can do is visit there, now and then.)

Another piece of this model that’s easy to forget is that it’s somewhat of a linear process – that is, you can’t skip over a step. Even if you don’t want to be materialistic, you still have to have the experience and awareness of being able to manifest your desires (level 2) before you can move into levels 3 and 4.

This other model that I want to introduce is called Spiral Dynamics. The article, “The Never-Ending Upward Quest” by Jessica Roemischer, gives a more in-depth introduction to the Spiral Dynamics model. The model’s basic premise is that individuals and groups automatically move up and (for short periods) down the spiral of social development. No level is bad or wrong.

Each level is appropriate to the social conditions that the person or group experiences, and what shifts each individual and group up or down the levels is their reaction to, or resistance to, change. (…more on that in a minute) Each level (stage) builds on the previous level, and you can’t skip a level because you don’t like it. Each one of us moves through different levels in different parts of our lives and in different situations, depending on our state of awareness, our reaction to changing conditions, and our momentary physical, mental/psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

The basic level, at the bottom of the spiral, is simple survival. The next level is ‘Paternalism’ aka tribalism, where there is an in-group that matters, and everyone else who doesn’t. This is the first level of group, or ‘we consciousness’. The next level
that naturally arises from the tribal consciousness is that of the Tribal Leader. Someone has to make the decisions, after all! (Think about George Orwell’s 1984, “All pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others.”)

The leader is not necessarily benevolent, but their presence and leadership does provide stability and structure that usually allows the larger group to flourish.

The next stage of social evolution is the ‘Rules-and-Regulations’ group or the Order-based group. An example of this group would be an organization, like the US Military or the Catholic Church. As long as an individual aligns with the rules of the group, then all is well. If not, and the organization can control or suppress the outlying individual, they will.

Sometimes, an individual will learn to work the ‘system of order’ to maximize their own benefit. This gives rise to the next stage of development, which on the spiral is shown as ‘Profit’. Richard Branson/Virgin Airlines and Elon Musk with his many ventures are examples of this stage of social evolution. When there is a reaction to individuals such as Branson or Musk, it can arise from within the ‘Rules & Regulations’ folks, or it can arise from the next stage of the model, which is shown on the spiral as ‘People’.

In this group — People — everyone’s voice matters, and it’s really hard to get anything done because no one wants to be the one in charge. This stage of social evolution looks a lot like the earlier Tribal model, except the tribe is massive.

Most modern ‘First World’ individuals live somewhere on the spiral between the Order-based group and the People-focused group. The individuals we think of as successful are often operating primarily from the individually-focused Profit-focused group. In general, ‘First World’ individuals and groups have moved past the level of social evolution associated with simple survival – though in situations of massive destruction like major fires, earthquakes or hurricanes, you will find people desperate enough to choose to serve their own survival needs, or their immediate family needs, over the community needs.

There are still more stages of the spiral beyond the People-focused stage. In the Spiral Dynamics model, the upward shift to the next level after ‘People’ is challenging, because not only is everyone’s contribution valued, but all the people at all the levels are seen as already providing value to the whole.

And so it goes, ad infinitum.

Next, I want to take a quick peek at this ‘Change Model’. The key idea is that we humans generally prefer to live in the ‘alpha’ state of stability and peace. But when stuff happens in our lives that pulls us off balance (the ‘beta’ state in the diagram), we have choices we can make. We can adapt/flex with that change, work with Reality as it is, or we can fight with it and stay in an upset or tension state.

 

In Science of Mind terminology, this is simply an expression of working beneficially with the Law of Cause and Effect. We can recognize when we are in resistance (arguing with Life). We can ignore Reality and stay miserable; or we can redirect our focus and attention and realign with Life, and return to ‘alpha’.

We always have the option of staying miserable. It’s a choice, and people do make that choice. Sometimes folks don’t know that they have another option, because they’ve accepted the cultural conditioning that says they are powerless. Until they choose to take responsibility for their life experiences rather than thinking they are victims, they are stuck. Their stuckness is evidence of living in First Kingdom mentality from Michael Beckwith’s Four Kingdoms of Consciousness model. Lots of people choose to believe they are powerless and stay stuck in that powerlessness.

While the Four Kingdoms model is entirely focused on the growth and maturation of the individual, the Spiral Dynamics model recognizes that we (humans) automatically can and will switch between the levels/stages and adjust our focus between individual’s success and the success of our group. Dr David Hawkins (author of Power Versus Force) said that historically change like this happened only very slowly through the generations. He also noted that the rate of change/evolution has increased in recent decades. This is good news.

If you want to learn more about the Spiral Dynamics model, there are several books, articles, and YouTube videos that discuss it. If you read the online publication Medium, check out the writings of Jon Freeman on the topic. For our newsletter, I’ve added an article, “The Never-Ending Upward Quest” by Jessica Roemischer from the journal What Is Enlightenment?, first published fall/winter 2002.

Dr Jim Lockhard has written Creating The Beloved Community introducing these ideas in the context of spiritual community and Being The Beloved Community which is about how spiritual communities can choose to deal constructively with change. Unfortunately, you can’t understand the second book without reading and digesting the first book. The classic textbook by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, Spiral Dynamics, Mastering Values, Leadership and Change, can give you additional background on the topic.

I know I’ve thrown a lot of information at you in these almost 1500 words. I think it is important to introduce you to this highly valuable, testable model that helps us recognize who/where we are individually and as a group. The good news — this progression to higher order thinking and awareness happens whether we know about it or not. But knowing about it, we can choose to direct our attention and focus toward greater consciousness. We always have choice in the speed, and ease, of our individual and collective transformation. Happy spiraling!

The link to “The Never-Ending Upward Quest” by Jessica Roemischer from the journal What Is Enlightenment?, first published fall/winter 2002.

Rev. Dr. Jim Lockard Creating The Beloved Community

The classic textbook by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, Spiral Dynamics, Mastering Values, Leadership and Change is available from various sources online.

A Thank You for Teachers and What They Taught!

Thank you, Reverend Janis!

We should never be afraid of change, never fearful of what will come. Instead, we should bring to bear on each new event the influence of the crea:ve nature of our thought—an influence that is founded on an inward calm, a sense of certainty and peace, which will reflect itself in the changing scene of our everyday lives. Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living, page 55.

When I first walked up to CSL Tucson at the Gregory School, I was early and looking for the meditation gathering. Reverend Janis (then a practitioner) was speaking with Keith Gorley. I interrupted them and Reverend Janis pointed me towards the entrance to backstage, where it was being held that day. After my first exposure to CSLT I felt that I had found my community.

At the time I was blessed to have a place to stay overnight in Tucson and could easily attend evening classes. A friend had moved to Hawaii and let me use his apartment on occasion while he was gone.

I attended all four of the Basics talks given by Reverend Donald Graves on Monday nights at the office. I showed up for Sunday services and took the next offered Foundations class. That was an awesome class of about 14 to 15 individuals, and I experienced a sweet closeness and camaraderie with several of them. Today at CSLT only Pat Masters and I remain as regular attendees.

I appreciated Reverend Donald’s manner of teaching Foundations. I enjoyed his Sunday talks, even some of the jokes. His energy and presentation of practical applications of Science of Mind principles helped this newcomer greatly. For a couple of years Reverend Donald was the face of Science of Mind teachings for me. I was living across the state when Reverend Donald retired.

Last year Keith Gorley made his transition. I participated in several book studies that Keith facilitated. I found him to be a dynamic model of wisdom and honesty and a genius at holding a safe space for participants’ vulnerability. Keith was special.

I have taken Foundations twice yet never got the degree of clarity I now have until being a student of Reverend Janis. Her instructions and practical exercises for Affirmations and Spiritual Mind Treatments have greatly benefited participants in her classes and workshops. She is a skilled teacher and mentor.

I was living part-time across the state for 5 years because in 2014 I became a grandmother. CSL in Lake Havasu City, AZ relied mainly on visiting ministers at the time. One Sunday the visiting minister was Janis Farmer!! I was so happy to see her that I shed tears of joy and took her to lunch where she filled me in on the changes and goings on at CSL Tucson. And now our beloved Reverend Janis is retiring. Personally, I will miss her.

Change sometimes brings sadness. Yet I must ask myself, how can my dominant feeling for these teachers be anything but Gratitude? They introduced me to Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, and a new design for living. So, I remain open and optimistic about our future at Center for Spiritual Living Tucson. I am trusting the process. Especially I want to be ‘be here now’ and enjoy the journey.

To Reverend Janis I say, Thank you; I wish you peace and many blessings in your upcoming adventures.

 

–Linda Bullock

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