Category: Spiritual Living

Co-Creation in Action

Back in March we began the co-creation process to call in a new minister after Rev. Janis retired. Dr Kathy Hearn started us off on the exercise with a community meeting from which we agreed “wholeness” was how we wanted Spirit to express Itself through our new minister. Dr Kathy then facilitated the process by which the Selection Committee along with all Board Members created the Sacred Covenant Prayer, every word of which was analyzed and agreed upon. Words become things and we wanted to be precise in what we were asking to be made manifest. On March 26th, this Covenant was presented to the congregation, and we began reciting it aloud together each Sunday since. One congregant told me this was exactly what she had been wanting. We put the intention into Law.

The Selection Committee worked then diligently to create a CSLT video and PowerPoint presentation which was uploaded to Open Pulpit on July 18th. Open Pulpit is a site where ministers can search for various openings and apply to the ones they are interested in.

After speaking as a guest on March 12, 2023, Rev. Rhonda Tretsven knew she wanted to be a part of CSLT in some capacity. She and her husband Charles Barfoot, began exploring Tucson and liked what they found. In January of this year, they decided to look for a house in the area and have recently closed escrow on a property November 20, 2023.

Rev. Rhonda had been the Senior Minister with CSL Hemet, in California, a position she held until December 2021 when she decided to get married and relocate to Tempe with her husband. She soon realized how much she missed having a ministry. Finding our call for a Senior Minister on Open Pulpit, and after getting the third nudge from Spirit, she applied for the position.

Just as we have been exploring her, she has been researching us: reading the newsletters and board meeting minutes, investigating our financial status, watching YouTube videos, etc. She impressed the Selection Committee and Board Members with her knowledgeable responses during extensive interviews. Her Reminders and Prayers as guest speaker here at CSLT over the past several months have been well received. We were excited to announce her as our CSLT Senior Minister Candidate.

There was some surprise expressed that many more did not apply for this position. I realized we didn’t need multiple applicants to choose from, only THE right one to apply. I personally see Rev. Rhonda as the joyful, vibrant community leader we have been declaring. I believe Spirit was guiding Rev. Rhonda to us as we were calling her to us.

The CSL theme for December is “Wholeness” and the talk title for December 10 is “Recognizing Wholeness”. Rev. Rhonda has a workshop prepared that she will be facilitating entitled “Revealing Wholeness”. More signs of Spirit working with and for us, and through Rev. Rhonda.

Now it is your turn to get to know her better. This Sunday, December 10th, there will be several opportunities to do this. (See first article for details.) Please let the office know if you plan on attending the workshop. A vote on Rev. Rhonda’s candidacy will be held on December 17th by Members in attendance in-person at Service and on Zoom.

–Janet Salese

GOT CLUTTER? Madeline Pallanes

Clutterers Anonymous (CLA) is a fellowship of compulsive clutterers who practice a 12-step and 12-tradition program modeled after AA (Alcoholics Anonymous.)

What is clutter? Clutter is anything we don’t need, want, or use that takes our time, energy, or space, and destroys our serenity.

I know I am a clutterer and I know I am not alone. I have created physical, mental/emotional, and paper/email clutter to name a few.

Physical: This is the behavior that results in the stacks piles and objects and unfinished projects that fill my home. Whether organized or thrown about, it is all so overwhelming. I have become owned by my possessions.

Mental/Emotional: This is the mental clutter I carry in my mind-resentments, unfinished thoughts, emotional baggage, worries about the future, regrets about the past. My mind and thoughts often are often filled with clutter. Paper/e-mail: Unprocessed mail, notes written on scraps of paper, endless books and e-mails not yet read all add to the clutter. It’s so overwhelming.

What I really want is to be in surroundings of beauty, order, and serenity; a balanced life; and harmonious relationships.

How do I achieve this?

By following the 12-step program of CLA along with the teachings from our Center for Spiritual Living.

They complement each other beautifully.

–Madeline Pallanes

Thanksgiving Becomes Gratitude

November and the holiday known to Americans as Thanksgiving rolls around every year. We reflect on many aspects of the history and the holiday. Eat variations of a feast. Often make statements to the effect that another year has flashed by. Then set our sights on the next holiday, Christmas. While I was preparing for this article, I checked the etymology of Thanksgiving. Then I looked at early American history and some of the stories that surround the initialization of events that led to the creation of the holiday. Interesting Site Here

The recovery communities often suggest gratitude practices to temporarily alleviate old attitudes and behaviors long enough to begin replacing them with healthier ones.

Gratitude practices can help you focus on the positive aspects of life, which can lead to a happier and healthier you. Gratitude is a powerful emotion that can have a positive impact on your overall well-being. Gratitude can be instrumental in centering yourself and helping focus into the present. There are many ways to integrate gratitude into your life, such as:

• Keeping a Gratitude Journal: This involves writing down three things you’re grateful for each day. It helps in focusing on positive aspects and cultivates a habit of noticing things to be thankful for.

• Expressing Thanks to Others: Showing appreciation to people, whether friends, family, or strangers, can strengthen relationships and spread positivity.

• Reflecting on Positive Experiences: Taking time to recall and appreciate the good things that happened during the day helps in acknowledging and being thankful for those moments.

• Noticing Abundance: Being mindful of the abundance in your surroundings, whether it’s nature’s beauty, opportunities, or other resources, and expressing gratitude for them.

• Attending Gratitude Events like “Gratitude Rainshowers” at Tucson’s CSL: Participating in events focused on gratitude can be a communal way to celebrate and practice gratitude. The next Gratitude Rainshower is Gratitude Rainshowers

• Don’t forget the apps. If a nudge is needed now and again or you prefer the digital realm there are quite a few apps that can facilitate gratitude formulation.

• For a quick set of gratitude prompts ask chatgpt “What should I be grateful for?”

Engaging in a practice of gratitude aligns with research that shows how gratitude positively impacts mental health, relationships, and overall happiness. Integrating gratitude into daily routines can gradually cultivate a mindset centered on appreciation and positivity. Gratitude becomes really easy with a small amount of practice.

–Chris Wheeler

Learning & Thinking

I learned today that Alexander the Great (yes that world conqueror) in a drunken argument killed a very good friend – killed a very good friend. After three days of bottomless mourning and grief beyond my imagining – he went on to do what he did.

One wonders what he might have learned from that experience.

What a way to learn a lesson.  One hopes we all are quicker studies requiring less violent instruction than he appears to have needed.

One hopes to learn and do in such a way as to create more good for ourselves and for our world.

“Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.”  Indian proverb

And the way of that has been available for a very long time to all who would study, learn, and practice.

“You Control how you respond to things.” – Epictetus

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.”  – Marcus Aurelius

And from our somewhat more contemporary teacher –

“Thought can be creative of my good and it can also be productive of things I do not desire, for all thought is creative.”  Ernest Holmes,  A New Design for Living  page 29

“We always succeed.”     “We need to learn to succeed in the right things.”  Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living page 149

A major project/goal for me in the coming months, is the whole “what am I thinking –  aka am I actually thinking right now – or have I backslid into letting my unconscious create my life with no direction.  Am I reacting without thinking or responding with care. The post-it in the kitchen reads:  “who’s in charge right now?”  Work in progress always.

And holding the following from The Text close to my heart and head:

 “We may change the trend of causation which has been set in motion at any time we decide to do so.” Ernest Holmes Science of Mind 128.2

Of course, on the preceding page he quoted Jesus saying, “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto you.” Going on to add Jesus did not say: “It  is done unto you as you wish.”

“Such is the power of right thinking that it cancels and erases everything unlike itself.”Science of Mind 128.4.

Do it with Power & Presence.

–In Peace, Mariann

Celebrating the Ancestors

Samhain, Halloween, All Saints Day, Día de los Muertos – it is the season when it is believed the veil between the living and the dead becomes thin. It is a time to celebrate and remember those who have come before, the good and the not so good, all of those who have contributed to who we are today.

I first became personally aware of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) when I moved to Bakersfield. Every year there was a celebration with food and music, shopping, and my favorite, ofrendas, the family altars remembering those who have passed. As a gringa I wondered if I could fully participate in what has become, for me, a blessed celebration. Worried about being politically correct, and sensitivities to cultural appropriation, I thought about how I celebrate my ancestors. First, a brief history of the holiday.

Indigenous people everywhere had and continue to have rituals honoring their ancestors. Samhain is a pagan festival that is centuries old and is still celebrated by Wiccans and Pagans around the world. As Christianity moved around the world, Samhain was appropriated as All Saints Day, celebrating the Catholic Saints. All Hallows Eve became Halloween (with its own origin story). When the Conquistadors arrived in the Americas they brought their Christian celebrations with them, overlaying All Saints Day on a centuries old Aztec ritual and celebration. This, over time, became Día de los Muertos celebrated through much of South America.

At the heart of the Día de los Muertos celebration is the ofrenda. On Saturday, I attended a workshop at a local Pagan/Metaphysical store on “How to build an ancestor altar.” They suggested several points on why it is important to honor our ancestors. First, creating an altar helps us build spiritual connection with those who have come before. Next, it is a beautiful way of honoring and preserving our cultural traditions of how we celebrate our loved ones who have passed. Creating an altar helps us to heal and have closure with those who have left with unfinished business. Our ancestors provide blessings and protection. Finally, they say honoring our ancestors helps to create balance and harmony between the living and the dead.

So this year, rather than carving pumpkins, I am creating my own ofrenda. I started with finding a space that I can dedicate for the week. I selected a cloth to ground the space and am gathering photos and mementos of those I wish to honor. I’ve already pulled a beautiful picture out of a photo album of my father and his father, my grandpa, that I am now looking at. It fills my heart with joy to see these two men together in my home.

From Ernest Holmes: “According to Unity of Mind, thought is everywhere present, and so long as it persists it will remain present. Time, space, and obstructions are unknown to Mind and thought. …If we persist after the body shall have suffered physical death (and we are convinced that we shall) this law must still hold good, for past and present are one and the same in Mind.” The Science Of Mind 352.

I invite you to set aside some time this week to thank your ancestors. We wouldn’t be here without them.

–Sharon Whealy, RScP

Friends

Friend [frend] (noun) – a person one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.

Due to recent events, I have been thinking a lot about friends and friendship lately. Just as there are different types of love, there are many different types of friends.

I celebrated my birthday last month. That always brings phone calls from friends I’ve known for a very long time, some of whom I may only talk to once or twice a year. The conversations flow as if we had just spoken yesterday. We catch each other up, talk about what is on our hearts or just chatter. An hour or two goes by before we finally say goodbye.

Last week I traveled to Prescott at the request of a dear friend to attend her party. To see her face light up when I entered was priceless and filled me with just as much joy. A long hug followed. Hopefully it won’t be years before we do that again.

The day after the party I stopped by the Unity Church I attended when I lived up north. I caught up to a girlfriend where we talked about our spiritual journeys that have led us both to CSL. Another familiar face just embraced me and smiled.

And there are the friends I talk to and see on a regular basis, sharing everyday events as they occur. We may chat about this and that or maybe simply sit in silence appreciating each other’s presence.

My acupuncturist and I have a unique relationship. I spend about 40 minutes with her every other week. We’ve come to know a lot about each other’s lives and likes/dislikes over the decade I’ve been seeing her. I count her as a friend also, especially when she came out of Covid retirement to treat me.

There’s the neighbor I wave to on my morning walk and the one I invite over for dinner. And the favorite barista who knows how you like your coffee without having to ask. They serve it to you with a smile as you wish them a good morning, enriching each of their days.

“If you are going to gain anything in life, gain a friend. They will always be there and that makes all the difference in the world.” finetofab.com

“Good friends are like stars: you don’t always see them, but you know they are there.”

“A silent communication takes place at all times between friends.” SOM 421.4

–Janet Salese

Got A Reverend? by Madeline Pallanes

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Ahh, now that caught your attention.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a pastor and a reverend? I have.

Many years ago, I attended a church and “Pastor Tom” went on vacation. While he was gone “Reverend John” filled in for Pastor Tom giving the Sunday talk. When Pastor Tom returned, I asked him, “what’s the difference between a pastor and a reverend?” Pastor Tom paused, thought for a moment, and said, “a pastor has his own church, a reverend doesn’t.” I think that was the short answer to what could be a complex answer that varies based on the religion. That settled my curiosity at the time.

Bing says “The key difference between a pastor and a reverend is the roles & scope. A pastor specifically leads a congregation and provides spiritual guidance, while a reverend is a broader title used for ordained ministers across different roles and denominations.”

Google defines reverend as, “used as a title or form of address to members of the clergy.”

As we call in our new minister, we see our new minister revealed before us as our joyful vibrant community leader. We know that they will be revealed in a way that will express Spirit and serve the highest and greatest good of all who are touched by their Presence.

You can strengthen our calling by reading the Covenant Prayer frequently.

There is only One Life! That Life is God’s Life! That Life is Perfect. That Life is my Life Now!

In knowing that I am ‘one’ with this Life that is God…I therefore know that I am ‘one’ with all of its blessed expressions, which includes the Presence of a New Minister for My beloved Spiritual Community.

Because I know that the highest Purpose of my New Minister is to express Spirit, I therefore know that my New Minister is a Revelation of Spirit as: Wholeness. I further know that my New Minister is the fulfillment of that which has been promised by God, for it is written:

Happiness and Wholeness fill my entire being with the realization of Love and Perfection.

As I stand in agreement with my beloved Community, I see my New Minister revealed before me as my joyful, vibrant community leader.

I now intend to experience my New Minister in full cooperation and agreement with my Community, knowing this Truth about myself, for …

I am inspiring and motivating the experience of wholeness and love

I am revealing the divinity and wisdom within me

I am leading in the realization of truth and love I am facilitating, supporting and expanding a diverse selection of classes

I am providing a nurturing, vibrant community welcoming all

As I now accept the highest expression of a New Minister into my life, I know that they will be revealed in a way that will express Spirit and serve the highest and greatest good of all who are touched by their Presence.

I am grateful God is gracious.

And so It is.

–Madeline Pallanes

Grow and Flourish

Tamara Morrison illustration

Sunday was our annual meeting. We have been without a minister since February when Rev. Janis retired. There are lots of volunteer hours used to make our center work. The full report will be posted on the CSLT website under “About” then “Organizational Documents.”

I love our little community. And I have to change my mindset about that. I love our growing community. It is necessary for our community to grow and flourish. As I am thinking about this finding the words not coming, and look to the SOM Daily Guide and find:

We must learn to trust the law of growth. We do not force a seed into a full-grown plant. There is a law of evolution or unfoldment in nature that does this in a logical sequence.

There is no mental coercion in using the law of mind any more than there would be in using the creative law of fertility of the soil. We plant a seed in it; it evolves a plant. To plant a seed of thought and then uproot it through doubt, denial, undo haste or anxiety is to neutralize our own effort. It would be like planting corn and then uprooting it every few days to see if it were growing. We must learn to trust this law of growth since it is a natural part of the order of cause and effect. Ernest Holmes, Lessons in Spiritual Mind Healing page 23.

I have been feeling a mixture of fear and love as we look for a new minister. The love of the community and the fear of funds. We are using our savings to keep going. I like that we don’t hard sell donating, but the reality is it takes funds to keep us running.

For a garden to grow it takes sunlight, rain, time to grow. For our center to grow it will take time, treasure and talent. And I, I will learn to trust the law of growth.

–Maria

Prosperity by Living As …

As we prepare the way for our new minister I was reflecting about our center as – Vibrant Thriving Prosperous Center.

“We believe that the Universal Spirit, which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind which receives the direct impress of our thought and acts upon it.” CSL Doctrine

“We enter into harmony with the Law of Increase by actually becoming a person of increase. A Person of increase is a person who leaves each person or situation they encounter better than they found it. A person of increase is a person who offers to be of service, a person who offers praise and a person who lives from gratitude. This type of person has the mindset of service. When you do this, you allow the increase to move through your life. –Mary Morrissey (modified)

“Giving is Better Than Receiving Because Giving Starts the Receiving Process” Jim Rohn

We are moving into October and October’s theme is prosperity/abundance. I began to reflect on my experiences and how they have changed. My fears and scarcity mindset were changing even as I was approaching my involvement with CSLT. My wife convinced me to enroll in Prosperity Plus II.

Mary Morrissey presents a convincing and compelling case to reconsider our relationship with abundance and prosperity. Mary relates many personal anecdotes from her challenging experiences. She speaks to her own challenges surrounding survival and money. And conveys principles and spiritual laws that allowed me to take up her challenges to give to CSLT the tithe amount of 10% of all my income and give of my time to the tune of 4 hours a week.

I had taken the course because I was hoping for more information on how to create wealth. As it turns out what I walked away with was a newfound relationship with giving.

“Giving doesn’t really empty our soul, it literally expands us” Mary Morrissey

–Chris Wheeler

Butterflies: Chaos and Change

You most likely have heard that a butterfly fluttering its wings wreaks havoc half a world away. But for me the question has become does it create “chaos” or “change”? The more I read and absorb teachings from individuals I trust and respect – the result is ours to create.

“There is a phenomenon in groups of ants that could teach us a lot: When a large community of ants is seeking something–some food, something to build with, or a way out of or around something–it seems that mass chaos breaks out with ants scurrying in all directions and even over one another. However, when a single ant finds whatever is being sought, this seems to be communicated almost instantly throughout the group consciousness, and all the ants converge on the discovery. A similar experience has been noted among bees. What this illustrates is that “chaos” in any situation, system, or group is actually a form of order we simply haven’t understood.” (emphasis added) Roger Teel – This Life Is Joy 229.2

How does one do that? That seems like an immense challenge and a great responsibility.

“There are things that are known, and there are things that are unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley

To practice seeing the “doorway” of opportunity within chaos–or more often within a habit or tradition–is to allow possibility and solution–accepting that opportunity as the way out of confusion.

Chaos or emerging order – Stasis or conscious growth? It seems the choices should be clear-cut, but when we are in the middle of a muddle it can seem ridiculously complex.

“We should be able to look a discordant fact in the face and deny its reality, since we know its seeming reality is borrowed from illusion, from “chaos and old night.”…. We should be able to look at a wrong condition with the knowledge that we can change it. The realization that we have this ability must be gained by the application of our knowledge.” Ernest Holmes – The Science of Mind 53.5

When my inside seems chaotic or confused, I know what I should do: stop, relax, allow, let be and trust what emerges.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

John O’Donohue – “For a New Beginning”-To Bless the Space Between

–In Peace – Mariann

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