I Just Don't Get Affirmations!

"I Just Don't Get Affirmations!"

I heard those words come out of my friend's mouth and I shuddered.

For years, affirmations have been a part of my daily life...

...I probably use them hundreds of times a day.

I believe in them so much that I even painted a "Today's Affirmation" chalkboard wall in my house.

I post these daily affirmations on Instagram and Facebook as it is my hope that the day's affirmation will serve someone else as it has me.

Affirmations are a powerful daily practice that are much more powerful than many think.

My friend went on to explain that she doesn't get  affirmations because she can't believe them enough to transform her thinking.

So, I explained that, even though affirmations may not be truly believeable at first, they are STILL more powerful than the limiting thought you are trying to change.

You see, our lives are based on energetic vibrations.

Although this may seem like a strange idea, you probably have noticed it through life experience.

For example, you walk into a room after a couple has been fighting and you "feel" the tension in the air...that's a lower vibration of energy.

On the other hand, you walk into a room where people are celebrating and the energy feels electric...that's higher vibrational energy.

Thoughts also carry a vibration.

When you have a thought that is on a lower vibration, being that you attract back to you the energy you put out, you will attract other lower vibrational experiences in your life.

So, it's important to up level the energy of a lower vibrational thought immediately, by replacing it with a higher vibrational thought...like an affirmation!

Even if you don't believe it, a higher vibration is much more powerful than a lower vibrational thought and it will help you attract a higher vibrational life experience. 

Also, every time you repeat a specific affirmation, you are also reprogramming your subconscious with a higher vibrational thought so it will become almost natural, over time, to believe your own affirmation.

The more you grow into your belief in an affirmation, the faster it manifests into your physical life, so don't delay on getting started!

Reprogramming our thoughts take spiritual practice.  

It takes a daily commitment to yourself and to your life to reaffirm you highest and best good.  

If you want a place to start, start with this powerful affirmation:

Today, I attract my highest and best good!

Letting Go

The artist in this video is Andres Armador. He creates art in the sand knowing it will always be reclaimed by nature. It is profound to me - this idea of creating beauty, putting my entire self into an idea and letting it go. Some of what he says in the video struck me -

"nothing else is on my mind when I'm doing the art work"

"I'm using my whole body"

"I'm not attached to the pieces when they are done...I can't hold on to them"

This is a great insight for any of us with the lesson of giving up control and a glimpse of what is possible!  I consider:  As I give my gift, I let go of my attachment to it and let it become all that it can be. I release my attachment knowing I have given freely and wholeheartedly. When I have given my gift and when the tide comes in with a fresh idea I am free from old patterns, old thoughts and ready for a new creation. I strive to give of myself 100% and let go of my good so that I can experience even greater.

It's not a new idea. Lao Tzu says quite eloquently "When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be". Is there something in your life that you can let go of so that it might become something greater, or you might become a greater expression of you? I

Balance is Natural To Those Who Know Their Perfect Wholeness

Our Natural State of Being

Our daily journal today is entitled Balance. In it the authors write on this day: 

"Spirituality is as strong as it is soft.There is a place for power and for surrender in your spirituality. Do not be fooled. Strength is required to say YES to our dreams and NO to our dysfunction.Unleash the power of Spirit as you!Let it flow through you and be the core of strength within you. "

Then they ask: "Where do you need to stand strong and firm in your life?Where do you need to practice flowing and yielding?" 

 Today I was gently reminded that it would be good for me to release some tasks so that Spirit could flow through me more easily. When I discussed this idea with my sounding board, Rev. Pattie Mercado, she suggested that I make a list of things I do in a week; then look  to see if there are tasks that don't need to be done by me. My first response was, "I don't have time for one more thing." 

Really? Even if that one more thing would not only help you but also would help our Center? What am I resisting? It could be that my day is filled with the urgent and unimportant rather than the important. 

The next question I ask myself is "Who arranges your day?" The answer is "I do!"

In that case, I likely have time to diarize my activities. I have time to evaluate each one to see if it essential and important or if it is reactionary and unimportant.

Synonyms for dysfunctional include flawed, broken, decayed, defective,unfit and sick. These words do NOT correspond favorably to someone who knows her oneness with Perfect Wholeness, Divine Mind and Perfect Love. I feel dysfunctional when I am reacting to situations rather than directing mt attention to Source.

So what practices could I embrace in order to have a greater experience of Wholeness in my life? I could relax with a perfect cup of tea and contemplate my unity with source. I could look lovingly at how I spend the precious moments and hours in my day. I could delegate tasks that do not need to be mine to someone else. 

When I put my attention on the Truth of my being such as Perfect Wholeness all pressures to "measure up" are released. To what could the Source of all Life, compare Itself ?

Saturday Photowalk With Arpad Petrass

Come explore Salt Creek on this months San Clemente Connected PhotoWalk with our featured photographer Arpad Petrass

Inspiration is Therapy 

Where Salt Creek Beach Park

33333 S. Pacific Coast Hwy. Dana Point, CA 92629
Date: Saturday- February 8th
Time 3:30-5:30PM
Click Here To Sign Up! 

• Lots of opportunity to take pictures here. 
• Large park for the kids 
• Practice portrait photography on the beach 
• Shoot the sunset 
• Take pictures from the golf course overlooking the beach 
• Take Pictures from the Ritz Carlton

Arpad says that “Photography should delight and excite the senses." There are so many magical moments in life that if you were to just stop, pause and look around, you could begin to experience life’s extraordinary beauty. "Just by giving ourselves the ‘gift’ of opening our eyes and be willing to see clearly, we will experience the wonder and magic on this planet like never before."

"Photography can be classical, whimsical, realistic, dramatic,breath taking or artistic. It can be created through the eye of just the photographer and his camera or enhanced and embellished in a lab. What really matters is not how the photograph was created, but what emotions that photograph invoked in you. Did you want to own it, experience it, taste it, be it or do it. After all, this is our life, what we experience and believe about the world , is our perception of it. “ 

If you don't already know Arpad come to "Not just another Wednesday Wisdom" here at our center tomorrow at 7pm

Beauty is a dynamic event that occurs between you and something else. Beauty is thus an altered state of consciousness, an extraordinary moment between poetry and grace.  And So It Is!  

Vow Renewal in San Clemente

Come renew your vows to each other.
Photo credit: Juli Isola Photography

For couples looking for a more meaningful way to celebrate Valentine's Day, the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley is hosting a Vow Renewal on Sunday, February 9, at 3:30 p.m. officiated by Rev. Pattie Mercado. Cost for the ceremony is free with a $20 per person charge for the reception.

"The power of love is to be shared!" explained Mercado. "Our ceremony welcomes couples who have been together for one year, five years, thirty years and more. It will be a fun, inspiring and beautiful event."

The Vow Renewal will include a non-denominational ceremony for people of all faiths and will celebrate the beauty of love and commitment shared by two people. An elegant champagne and hors d'oeuvres reception for the couples and their family and friends will follow the ceremony. Cost for the reception is $20 per person. The ceremony and reception will include live music.

"For most people the day they were married is one of the happiest of their life. Over time, that energy can fade and become a memory," said Mercado. "As we renew our vows we get to remember the love that brought us together, acknowledge our love today and inspire our love forever more."

For more information about the Vow Renewal visit www.cslcv.org and to register call the Center at (949) 240-6463.

Choices & Practices that Support My Unfolding

Today, I make conscious choices. I make choices based on hoe they make me feel and my heart overflows with joy. This, along with a conscious choice for daily spiritual practices, create a perfect unfoldment of my life.

Are we all Consciously Connected?

A device to transmit energy

Take a moment to attempt an exercise.

Concentrate on the cells of your body.  Start at your feet, and then move your way up throughout your entire body.  Feel your legs, stomach, heart, throat, and head.  Now imagine concentrating all your energy to your hands.  Place your entire focus on your hands. Move your hands around as if you are gently moving the air around you. Try to feel all the electrically charged energy that is in the air. Feel the electrically charged energy in your hands.  The picture above was taken in the exact same manner.  Place your hand up to the image of my hand.  Try to feel the energy that exists between our hands.  This is the energy that each and every one of emit on a day to day basis.  Because this is not a practice that we regularly subscribe to, the energy can become dormant.  Remember, it is always within us, it is up to us to awake that part of us that knows we are connected.  

This is Consciously connecting.

Each Sunday between 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm, at Center for Spiritual Living, Capistrano Valley, we have begun a Conscious Connection practice. An experience is offered to the participants to Consciously connect with one another. Each participant is then given a small card to write a word each day for the week to remind themselves of the experience, and to practice the experience on their own. Come for the Sunday meditation and service (starting at 10:00am), stay for the Conscious Connection gathering.

A Shark Attack a Prime Example of Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles

Bethany Hamilton was 13 years old when she had her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing.

You may already know this story, but I encourage you to watch this video as she shares some wise words about faith and values.  She speaks with an old soul, yet is so young, physically.

I believe we can all learn something about overcoming obstacles in our lives from this young, soul surfer:

Here are some highlights to look out for.

04:30 - The thing that gets her through every obstacle that appears in her life.
06:40 - How she deals with frustrating moments in her life
07:42 - What to do if you are feeling weak either mentally or physically
08:33 - Fight for the positive

Pretty inspiring, heh? 

I'll let you decide, but chances are, whatever our challenges are, we can find the blessings in them.  

They may not be obvious at first or even the first few days or weeks, but when we "fight for the positive," we find it.  

What challenges have you experienced that you eventually saw as a blessing?  Share in the comments below... 

Delay is not a Denial

Moving toward our dreams is not always easy. Sometimes we can feel lost at sea, unsure about which direction to go. The ego serves up fears and negative thoughts about our choices and then we find evidence to support "staying stuck" in our experience. The well-meaning friend who warns you of the unseen dangers, or the famous "how-to" author who cautions about mistakes to avoid. Then, of course, there is always your own past mistakes looming in the mind. Ego offers past failures and missed steps as reasons to stay right where you are and avoid moving forward.

This week the book "Joyous Living Journal" asked us to look at our challenges and obstacles and examine doubt, fears, and old beliefs. Sitting in meditation, a lot came up for me. Like cleaning out that junk drawer in the kitchen, I found thoughts and ideas long forgotten but useful in my growth. Although, I didn't know quite what to do with all these thoughts. My process and Spirit led me to this video where Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith talks about delays in realizing your dreams. He says, "A delay is not a denial." Beckwith believes that a delay simply means you are getting something you need to move forward. Wow! What a great new perspective!

Are you feeling stuck on the path to manifesting your dreams or maybe overwhelmed by the choices ahead?Check out this video. It might offer you a different perspective; a way to look at this time of perceived in action that empowers your dreams rather than negates them.

Spirit is Unlimited

Diane King Vann, me and Jimmy Vann 

On Sunday, our music director Diane King Vann, gave me the most amazing birthday present of a seven minute musical production of the Finale from  Les Miserables. Several weeks before my birthday, Diane asked me to make a list  of my favorite songs of all time for the purpose of playing something I love during the offertory the Sunday before my birthday. I made a long list but started with my favorite,the Finale from Les Mis and especially the inspirational ending with, Do You Hear the People Sing? I also included  A Thousand Years  by Christina Perri and Any Dream Will Do from Joseph's Amazing Technicolor  Dream  Coat, both of which she and the band played during the prelude. I also included an old standard from my parent's era, "I'll be Seeing You."

Evidently people had been sworn to secrecy about it all. One of my practitioners, Kim Province was assigned to keep me away from the sanctuary while the young people were rehearsing. She did an admirable job. (I admit I can be an irresistible force when it comes to my plans on Sunday mornings.)

Diane engaged ten high school students and three college students to surprise me. They really did! It started with Michael Garamoni, one of our favorite singers, began with Jean Val Jean's beautiful  prayer, Take Me Home. Then Kellianne Safarik singing the part of Fantine's spirit, and Ellie Wyman, singing the part of Eponine's spirit called him to heaven. Then the ten high school students rose from their seats and started singing the reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" It was very moving in every way. The music and harmonies were exquisite, the songs poignant and the gift that Diane gave me was priceless.

Evidently she had rehearsed with these young people on her own, paid them for their performances and given them directions to our Center. This was an amazing gift of generosity and love.

The following day, she surprised me again, when she asked her husband, Jimmy , to play "I'll Be Seeing You" on my old upright piano. He made it sound angelic. I know that the sounds that Jimmy got from my piano is his talent and I believe that my listening was love. 

Here is the thing I am learning: Spirit is unlimited. It is only limited by the restrictions we put on it. If I had chosen "favorite" songs that could easily be performed at the piano, I would have missed the exquisite experience of Sunday morning.Instead I told the truth and was greatly blessed. God can always make a way out of "no way!" 

Everyday is an Opportunity for Alchemy

Where is the world calling you to create something wonderful
with what's in your basket?

Have you ever shared a challenge or obstacle you were experiencing with a friend or colleague only to have them respond with one of the many popular cliches or platitudes?

"If Life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"It doesn't matter how many times you fall, just that you get up one more time."


Today's reflection on obstacles and challenges in the Joyous Living Journal talks about those cliches and platitudes.

Yes, they can seem like empty phrases in times of crisis. No problem can seem so staggering as our own when we're in "that place."

Recently I opened a fortune cookie to read "opportunity knocks on your door everyday."

You know what I did with that fortune? I threw it away. I usually put the really good ones in my wallet but this one kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

Now, even though I didn't keep the fortune it stayed with me, in the recesses of my mind, not willing to give up.

I don't watch much tv, but when I do you will find my machine tuned into the Food Network and one of my very favorite shows is Chopped.

Chopped is a competition among trained chefs. They are given a basket of wacky ingredients, a time limit and a course to prepare featuring those mystery ingredients.

It's everyday alchemy.

Alchemy usually refers to that ancient science of attempting to change ordinary lead into pure gold. I like to think of alchemy as taking anything, especially something you don't give a high value to and turning it into something precious and beautiful.

I'm starting to go so far as to think about my favorite cooking show as a metaphor for life. We are tossed ingredients that we may not have consciously chosen and we are called to add our talents, techniques and knowledge of principle to create something uniquely ours for the world to taste and savor.

Talk The Talk, But Walk The Walk

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King jr. A man who exemplified the adage "Talk The Talk, But Walk The Walk" with his marches and message of nonviolence, peace and love for all.

"A riot is the language of the unheard" ~MLKjr

Saturday night I sat on the Internet and watched the riots in Fullerton form the unheard regarding the Kelly Thomas beating. Some of the people there did not exactly exemplify the beings of light that I know inhabit our center. Imagine if we had shown up as a non violent peaceful force with our message of new thought and love for all sentient beings, as a buffer between the police and the unwashed protesters. What would the result have been then?

“Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people." ~MLKjr 

In the above video Ronald Reagan quotes Winston Churchill who said "The destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits -- not animals, and that there is something going on in time and space and beyond time and space, which whether we like it or not, spells duty." And again I hear "Talk The Talk, But Walk The Walk."

"Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals." ~MLKjr 

It is powerful to pray for change from Sunday, but it is even more powerful when we bring these values to the rest of the week. When We "Talk The Talk, But Walk The Walk. "

“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ~MLKjr

What we have learned from the great human rights activist of the world, is that we were given these bodies for a reason. We are here to be the change we seek in our world. To speak up for our fellow sentient beings, for those that have no voice, from the dolphins in Taiji Cove in Japan to the mentally ill homeless, the invisible people, on our own streets right here in the land of opportunity.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.” ~MLKjr

I have faith in the people of our world and home here at our center that this MLK Day will not be just another day off, but this day will be a day of inspiration and change for all who walk the path of truth, goodness and light.

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” ~MLKjr

MLK day is a reminder to awaken, to "Talk The Talk, But Walk The Walk."

Keep Moving Forward
And So It Is, Namaste. 

Overcoming Challenges and Obstacles

Today, I choose to birth something greater in my life. I understand that challenges and obstacles are simply me disconnecting from my 'power source.' When I plug back in to my Divine Power, I realize my lesson, refocus my intention and continue in the direction of my dreams. … And so it is!

A Head Start on 365 Days of Inspiration!

I just picked up my copy of "365 Days of Inspiration: Joyous Living Journal" by Petra Weldes and Christian Sorensen, and I am so excited! Seriously. It may seem a little odd to get worked up about a book of daily inspirations/quotes. After all, don't most of us have at least a dozen of them floating around our homes, cars and offices? If you've seen one, you've likely seen them all - the formula doesn't vary much...

This book, however, is special... Perhaps that is why Dr. Heather selected it as the book to take us through the year.

From the carefully selected monthly themes, that seem to flow effortlessly into each other, to the daily quotes, the book is well-aligned to the Centers for Spiritual Living philosophy. Considering the rather broad chorus of voices the authors assembled for the daily quotes, (ranging from Ernest Holmes to Friedrich Nietzsche, Mae West and Lao Tzu) it was refreshing to note the harmony that resulted from that combination.

I particularly love the Contemplation/Reflection prompt at the end of each daily message. It is an opportunity for the reader to reflect on what has been presented, to go within and see what bubbles up. A small space is allotted on the page, but Dr. Heather made the brilliant suggestion of using a separate journal to write your daily response. I love this idea. I allows you to share this book with family members without worrying about sharing your private thoughts, and it preserves the book in case you want to visit the pages again in a few years.

Though the passages are brief, if you open yourself to the process, and take a few minutes each day, the act of journaling can have powerful results.

Anyway, the bookstore just received another shipment, so they are well-stocked. I encourage you to stop by the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley and pick up your copy while they still have them.

I look forward to hearing Dr. Heather's insights each Sunday as she goes through this journal, and I look forward to revealing my own. It is going to be an amazing year.

Powerful Affirmations

In our Foundations class last night, we studied the power of affirmations. We use affirmations to change our consciousness for a particular experience or effect. Affirmations are reminders of the Truth within us.

Guidelines to help write powerful affirmations:

• Keep them in the present tense; e.g. "Right now I know I am tuned in to the highest frequency. Not I will be tuned in or I have been tuned in but in the present moment.
• Use powerful, positive, evocative language; e.g. "I am a highly effective artist, painting pictures of Truth at all times." 
• Use positive, affirmative language. Avoid saying what you do not want. Say what you do intend. Let's say you have had difficulty completing tasks on time. Maybe you have even called yourself a procrastinator. It doesn't do much good to say , "I am NOT a procrastinator." Not, "I am not a procrastinator," The Universe does not hear the negation. It would be better to say, "I complete all tasks in a timely manner."
• Use the first person. These affirmations are for you so use the powerful, "I AM in them."
• Keep your affirmations short and snappy so they are easy to remember.

How to Use Affirmations:

Repetition is the key to power for affirmations. Think about something that you would like to experience in your life but currently are not experiencing. Maybe you would like more ease with money, maybe you woud like a better relationship with your spouse, maybe you would like to be healthier or happier. Write at least ten affirmations, first in the first person (I am) then write it in the second person (You are) Lastly in the third person (She is.) Choose the one affirmation that speaks to you the loudest. Write it twenty times. Say it one hundred times twice a day. In your journal, write it several more times a day. Write it where you can see it often: as your screen saver, on your dashboard, your mirror, coffee pot, etc. Record it with passion and listen to several times a day.  Remind yourself of this idea. Let it become your identity.

When you follow these guidelines, you are planting seeds of a new idea which must take root in Subconscious Mind and produce a corresponding result. 

Most of my adult life, I have been a very poor gardener but I decided to change my mind about that. I purchased a paper white bulb at the Holiday Boutique. It grew tall and produced lots of blossoms. We all can do the same thing by using the spiritual tool of affirmations.

I am a great gardener!

Go To Oz, But Return To Tell The Tale

We might say that both the artist and the neurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an ex­ternal, active, work project...

- Ernest Becker

Lately I have been dreaming that I can fly, not in a movie kind of way, but in a visceral 4D,  touch taste and feel, first person kind of way. I find myself hovering over the trees, then floating down to meet with people on the ground, and loving this round world. I find myself so involved that I don't want to wake up. But in the end, Kate kicks, or the light comes. These dreams all seem to be connected in some way, like watching a TV show from one season to the next.  I have been sharing these dreams and the insight I get from them with my friends and family. It is a story that is better told than read.

What have you been dreaming of lately? Do you find yourself flying in your dreams? What is your unconscious mind trying to bubble to the surface of your experience? Are dreams our connection to a quantum multidimensional universe or just an escape from our everyday reality? That you must decide for yourself.

Want to know more about your dreams? Then sign up for our "Dream Interpretation Workshop" Sunday, January 26th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. We hope to see you there.

A Dreamy Little Waterfall

Taking Part in the Wonderful Wonderful Web of Life

We are all connected. Each of us taking part in the perfection of the whole.

One of the things about nature that always amazes me is it's infinite interconnectedness. The complex relationships betweens animals, plants, seasons, all of it, seen and unseen. How delicate, self-sustaining, ever self-correcting that balance is miraculously maintained.

If you have ever had a fish tank you learn pretty quickly that keeping an ecosystem in balance is no small feat. It takes a lot of conscious work. We've all heard of various ecological disasters that happened as a result of man trying to solve a problem by making changes to an environment and consequently throwing everything off because of his limited understanding of the interconnectedness of that environment.

It is truly a Divine Mystery.

It would go to follow that each of us is also created with that meticulous interconnected magic. Each of us different in our unique and special way. We are connected to each other, our environment, the entire world in this web of life.

Being true to our Divine nature, recognizing our gifts, honoring the gifts of others and curbing internal pollution strengthens that web of life and "all boats float higher."

I was thinking about this and how following our individual vision is far from selfish, as it strengthens and empowers all of us. Not being conscious of this truth sometimes leads to us not shining our light as strongly as we can. So I wrote this list of personal reminders to keep me on the right track and put ideas into action.

GET QUIET
“I don’t know if it’s truly inspiration or just mental chatter?” I wonder sometimes. Meditation has become a regular spiritual practice for me and at first I did think it was a bit self indulgent. I mean I have kids who seem to need something all the time. It’s like they can sense the second my full attention is not completely on them.

Taking time on a daily basis to get quiet has definitely enriched my intuitive listening. You have to turn off that television, drop the cell phone, and remove yourself from the day to day hustle and worries and not just when you feel a crisis but daily, as a practice.

If you are interested in a beginning or enriching this practice our center is hosting a fabulous meditation retreat in San Clemente January 17-19.

LISTEN AND ACT
To listen to inspiration and act upon it. You may not know why in the moment but your actions can resonate deeply throughout your web of influence. You must listen AND act, faith will grow, the muscle will strengthen.

And maybe that vertigo feeling of everything accelerating beyond my control will go away and maybe it won’t. No one said this was going to be boring.

SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY
Your creativity is your gift to the world. You may not be privy to the big picture but if you are called to create something you should create it. Divine mind LOVES having you as a creative outlet and that makes a positive difference in the world.

Acting upon inspiration is a creative selfless act which fills you with joy and strengthens the web of life. Sharing is helping others for the very reason that what is most personal is most universal. Maybe it all has been said before but it hasn’t been said by you, the way you do, at the time you do and maybe that will make all the difference for someone else.

STOP THE POLLUTION

Do you remember Smokey the Bear saying "only you can prevent forest fires?" Only we can stop our internal pollution. Stop the gossip. Stop listening to the criticisms. Judgement and criticisim real and imagined can stop us in our tracks keeping us stagnate and hurting.

When I feel criticized and judged my heart hardens and creativity drops to zero. It's not a good place. I don't want to be there and it's not good for any of us.

Give that smile, work on that forgiveness issue, be compassionate with yourself and others for we are all doing our best.

Namaste!

Unrepeatable You Sunday Service

Today I recognize my wholeness with spirit knowing that there is no one like me. I confidently and joyously live my life boldly, knowing the thread of joy. By doing so, I honor my uniqueness and inspire others to live life... full out!

And So It Is! 

Dancing on the Countertops in San Clemente

My seductive dance with an unknown
man reminded me of Ginger Rogers
and Fred Astaire
photo courtesy of Altfg.com

I was dancing on the countertops!

I couldn't believe it.

Not flailing around kind of dancing like I do in my living room, but dancing, Ginger Rogers style!

My hair was pulled back in a tight chignon.

I had on a crisp, button-down white shirt with the cuffs turned up.  My shirt was tucked into high-rise black pants and I had on Rockette's-style heeled dancing shoes.

I looked fabulous!

Then, I jumped down off the countertop, up some stairs and on to a stage!

And then, (cue the scratching record sound), a woman that I had known very briefly in the past was dancing all up on me.  She was in my space, I didn't like it.  She flitted away and did it to someone else.  She was pushing herself on everyone trying to be provocative in her dancing, not realizing that she was repelling everyone she danced with.

I wanted to flee, so I turned to run and ran smack dab into a very attractive man.

Not all physically attractive, but energetically.

I couldn't see his face but we started dancing...like Ginger Rogers / Fred Astaire kind of dancing.

I didn't know how I knew how to dance like that, but I went with it.

It was exhilarating, seductive and such a beautiful experience.

I flowed with him allowing him to lead me and I simply enjoyed the dance.

I woke up from this dream intrigued with the meaning!

Dr. Heather's topic last Sunday was about Joy + Vision = Your next dance

Did that tie into my dream of dancing like Ginger Rogers?

I got up immediately, headed downstairs and sat down with my trusty journal!

What came through as the true meaning of the dream was very pivotal for me.

Here is what my inner self explained my dream to symbolize:

(exactly as they were written in my journal)

"This dream represents life and the dance with God. 

When you try to force yourself into life and "make things happen," or attempt to make it something its not, like the woman dancing up on people represented in the dream, God pushes back. It gives you what you are giving and your life ends up feeling like you can't escape it. 

When you dance slowly with it and allow the movements to come naturally, it becomes a seductive dance of life. 

God, emulates your moves, what you think and do, in life, without even thinking about it.  When you are in the flow of the seductive dance of life, It becomes an energy-driven experience.  It happens naturally and you won't know how. 

My dear, this dream encourages you to dance in life. Allow your body, your heart- thoughts and your actions to lead you. Be an observer like you were in the dance of seduction.  You were not even thinking of what the next dance move would be. You simply followed the lead of your partner, which symbolizes God. 

Your partner in the dance of life is God. Allow yourself to follow  it's lead. Your dance moves are the one's that seem natural because they come from your heart. Close your eyes and listen to what your heart is saying. You may think, with your rational mind, that you don't know those dance moves, but when you allow yourself to flow with the idea, you naturally know how to do it.

Don't rush, or try to lead with the idea. Allow it to flow in Divine timing. Just as you flowed in the dream with your partner. You intuitively knew that you were not leading the dance, but flowing with it. 

This is a beautiful reminder to flow with the dance of life. Flow, don't try to make things happen quickly. Allow them to come. You will be provided for, my dear."

All I could think was, wow.

What a beautiful reminder of how repulsive it is to God when I try to make things happen.

What a gift it is when I allow myself to flow with vision and joy knowing that my flowing in life is my acceptance of life as a dance.

I have JOURNALS-full of dream messages that have helped guide me, transform me, and allow me to know a deeper side of myself.  

Dreams have been a pivotal part of my spiritual evolution.

I invite you to join us at an amazing event on January 26th where we will be hosting Paula Chaffee

Scardamalia as she teaches us how to interpret dreams and create conscious dreaming if we don't dream! 

CLICK HERE to learn more, and to join us, at this workshop and learn the powerful affects dreams have on living our best life!

Starting with the Ending

Here we are in the first days of 2014, a new year, a new beginning. Vision boards are still drying or are even still to be considered.  New Year's Resolutions have been made and forgotten, released, refined and some are already fulfilled.   Is it too soon to start completing 2014? Well, yes it is. However, it is my belief and my experience that if we practice conscious completion at the end of each day and at the end of the major events in our life we will experience a deeper peace and sense of well being in our lives and in the world.

Finding time to be still and complete can fell like just another to-do item on the never ending list. In today's fast paced life we move from activities so fast sometimes it makes us (literally forces us to) sit down and just stop. That is different than choosing to be still for a few minutes everyday to reflect on what has occurred, how I felt and feel now, who I connected with the aha's that I experienced. It does not need to take a long time and you might find yourself making more time for it as you get into the practice. Completion is not just a solitary experience and is powerful to share with your partner, children family and colleagues. 

I like completion because I believe it naturally leads to creativity. As I am complete with this activity, event or project I enter freely, uninhibited into whatever is next - even if that next is sleeping. As I consciously complete the events and activities in my life I find myself also completing with old beliefs, patterns and ideas that no longer serve me. I find that I am less inhibited with regret, disappointment and anticlimactic success. Completion does not automatically assume that we are happy with the way things are or have been left. It is the process of telling the truth about it and taking time to appreciate whats so. By giving ourselves permission to acknowledge how we are feeling we also give ourselves permission and the opportunity to move on with a clean slate. 

So, it might be too soon to complete 2014 but it is not too late to complete 2013 or any other past event from this year or years past. Sunsets lead to a sunrise and endings always mean a new beginning. Here's to the new beginnings that are being revealed for each of us!

Here are a few prompts that you might choose from for your completion process. 

Who and what am I grateful for?

Where did I feel separate from my good?

Where/how did I feel connected to Spirit, Life? 

How does it feel to be done with this activity/project/day?

What did I learn about myself?

What do I need to do, say, or write to be complete for this day?

The Universal Law of Cause and Effect

Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed;
For the effect already blooms in the cause,
The end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trust The Law

Joy in the Present with a Vision for the Future

The seed is the plant.

"Just as it is and just as it is not." Oh how those words said at the end of Service seemed to contradict each other.

I have vague memories of turning to my husband, eyes rolled and saying "well, that pretty much covers everything now doesn't it."

So it just seems fitting that today's entry in the "Joyous Living Journal" lands on my blog day.

"Could you live in joy and have a vision?"

Can you be in Joy over your life just as it is and still retain a Vision of how you want it different?

I know my days go much smoother when I stand in gratitude and joy over all the details of every day.

But when we look at the possiblities of what could be it can stir up a little discontent.

In 2014 I am exploring this idea more by keeping a Gratitude Journal as well as writing out my Vision in full, by categories with sensory details and the qualities I want to grow. What I am already finding is that the seeds of my Vision are already very much present in my Present.

It's An Agricultural Model
Knowing that Now is the only moment we have to make any change I will nuture these seeds with gratitude and joy knowing that they are the seeds which will grow.  Knowing that the plant is already perfect within the seed. I will enrich my Vision by learning where my Joy is found through acknowledging the Joy I experience everyday.

And So It Is.

The Dance Sunday Service

Right here and right now, I honor the gift God has given me... my Life. I know that the "fire in my belly" is God expressing Itself through me. I joyfully "dance" my way through each day, knowing that daily joy, vision and focused intention is my gift back to Spirit.

What Do You Give a Great Spirit Who Already Has Everything?

The Joyous Living Journal 

"Spirit has given you the greatest gift; it is the gift of your life.  What you make of it is the gift you give back to Spirit!"

This is the first sentence I read on January 2 in the Joyous Living Journal, our reading for 2014.

Pretty powerful words, aren't they?

I have always understood my life being a gift.

But what these words made me contemplate was that what I make of my life is a gift BACK to Spirit.

That isn't an idea that has ever become present to me and, for some reason, it packed a punch.

Am I making my life into a gift back to spirit?

My answer brought peace to my heart and a smile to my face.

If I would have been presented with this same question six years ago, the question would have brought sadness and maybe even anger.

Six years ago,  I certainly wasn't making my  life into something I would have viewed as a gift back to Spirit.

I was living for other people.  Doing what I thought would make others happy.  I was working a job I hated.  I was "buying" a life so, on the outside, my life looked happy and successful.

But, I was so sad and so unfulfilled on the inside.

It took a major, and heartbreaking, life event for me to take a true, honest look at my life and from what I saw, things needed to change.

Change they did and as I contemplated this idea in my morning reading six years later, I was pleasantly surprised by my answer.

I am living a life, that I believe is a gift to Spirit, and, it's getting more and more of a gift every day.

Why?

Because six years ago, I started living for ME...not from a selfish standpoint, but from the place of living from my inner Spirit.

That part of Spirit that lives within me.

I dedicated myself to being One with it and following the thread of joy everyday...not someone else's joy, not even my kids' joy, but mine.

It took me some time to get to that place.

As they say, it's a journey!

And, a journey it certainly has been!

Following my heartbreaking life event, I had to heal first.

I had to forgive.

I had to decide to live differently.

I had to  decide to let go of everyone else's happiness and choose my own.

I had to decide  to let the old me (and all her beliefs, paradigms, and thoughts) die and allow my soul to emerge from the dark depths I had buried it to.

...as my soul emerged,  I had to step aside and allow Spirit to express Itself through me  and as a result, I have found peace and more joy within than I have ever known.

The results of my spiritual emergence is still unfolding, but I can definitively say that I am a better mom because of it.  I'm a better person because of it, and I am certainly living as if my life is the gift I know it to be.

And because of that, I am making my life into a life that I know is a gift back to Spirit.

For that, I am living in joy!

Already two days in to 2014, and working through this daily "Joyous Living" Journal, I feel pretty certain that 2014 will be the best gift I have to give back to Spirit!

###

What about you?  Contemplate the words:  "Spirit has given you the greatest gift; it is the gift of your life.  What you make of it is the gift you give back to Spirit!"

Are you making your life into a gift that Spirit would be proud of?

No matter what your answer is, every day is an opportunity to decide to live life and give your gift back to Spirit!

Our Thoughts on New Thought in San Clemente

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that nearly every day in 2013 you were greeted with new-thought insight and inspiration from one of our 10 committed bloggers. As a group, we discovered that blogging can be a spiritual practice. With our intention and attention on principle, we shared our individual expressions of Spiritual Living. Throughout the year we opened our hearts and minds to what was coming up for us and how we were mindfully and attentively processing it. Perspectives shifted. Lives expanded. And, as a result, we noticed demonstration after demonstration of our power to co-create this beautiful life.

I personally loved getting to know each blogger. Each day of the week, I came to this blog eager to receive what each writer had to share, and there were so many "aha" moments!

So on this day...the second day of 2014...I honor my friends who walk this blogging journey with me ~ Dr. Heather, Rev. Pattie, Rev. Karyn, Darin, Lisa, September, Vidette, Melissa, and Robin.  I know we all sat at our computers often thinking,"What the heck am I going to write about this time?" We prayed. We noticed. And with faith we just started typing. Spirit never failed to come through with something wonderful, written in just the right way to touch others.

And I give thanks for all our guest bloggers who gave us the best of themselves. Thank you for joining our journey and come back often! You are always welcome here.

I acknowledge each one who read the words we wrote and discovered a little more love or courage or peace. We are all in this together folks; more alike than we are different. Our shared blogging experience proved that what one person has the courage to express benefits others.

We will continue in 2014. But for today, if you need a little inspiration, I encourage you to check out one of the many blog-post topics listed to the right in red. There is a lot of wisdom in those words.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Happy New You!: Revelations vs. Resolutions

A beautiful view for a New You!

Today is the day where many of us around the world are feeling the effects of starting anew.  It is a new year and we have a sense that something is going to change in us, things are going to be different. We will start to be resolute in an idea that has been simmering within us for some time. Our determination is palpable, we know things will be different.

Many of us use our intellect to make resolutions for this new year. We really are going to change something this year!  The question is to be asked: How will life change for us if we are still the same? This is a question that should be asked prior to having the determination for change. What if we take a new direction in this idea of New Year's resolutions? What if we decide on having New Year's revelations? A revelation has so much more of an excitement attached to it, than a tone of  "have to" when deciding on resolutions. If we are doing the same things as we always have done (New Year's Resolutions), and expect a change in our out-picturing of life, this is a time to become still.

Becoming still, as if in meditating, is entering into the Consciousness of Allness, of the Oneness of All life. For in this space their is a Knowingness that passes human understanding. It is a space, that when entering into, brings a peace that is so much deeper than just calming oneness with mental techniques. Finding a quiet place, sitting undisturbed from distractions, and imagine a connection with all of life, every single part of it. While imagining this, get to the feeling of it. Immersing yourself in what it would really feel like to be completely connected with each an every living being. This is the space where a True vision is held. This is the space where revelations come. This is the space to start anew. Ask yourself:

What is the True vision for my life? 

Where is my life best served? 

Finding answers to question of depth may be revealed in due time. Through this process we call visioning, answers may come by way of directly verbal, shapes may be noticed, and/or colors. Look for the answers to your questions in everyday life. If a color is revealed in visioning, make a point to notice it in everyday life. It is all about changing focus. Have fun with it, reveal your true self, start anew. 

Happy New You!!!