Through God's Eyes

W. H. Murray was a Scottish mountaineer whose love of mount climbing is evident in his life.  One of my favorite quotes comes from his book, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition. In it he writes:

 " ... but when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money -- booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but it is of great consequence.

Until one is committed, there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.
 Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),
 there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help the one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: 'Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.'" 

This quote contains a little more of the original quote than I had read before. Up until researching this, I thought Murray had scaled Mount Everest, but I came to find out that he could not get acclimated to the altitude. However, I also found out that he had been a prisoner of war during World War II, and that he had demonstrated the power of commitment there. While he was imprisoned, he wrote his first book, Mountaineering in Scotland. He wrote it on the only paper he could get -- toilet paper. The Gestapo found it and destroyed it and much to the disbelief of his fellow prisoners, he wrote it all over again! For Murray commitment wasn't just a great idea; it was a way of life.

I am so glad to have more details of this remarkable man's life. It has been helpful and instructive to me.

I must admit that I have become indecisive about my life. I have been feeling discouraged about the diminishing attendance in our Center. I have been wondering if it was time to retire. (Although I did not know how to do that!)

So I got clear! I reminded myself of what I am and why I am here.

I am committed to growing my own consciousness, to elevate it so that I am worthy of what one of my practitioners calls, "the best job in the world."  Indeed, it is an honor and a privilege to be in service as the senior minster here at the Center for Spiritual Living.

From that elevated consciousness, I am committed to growing our community to a place in which we  care for each other's well-being, we celebrate each other's successes and we are a place of safety and love, encouraging all who choose a path of oneness and compassion and forgiveness. My commitment is to live from possibilities, no matter what! Our community is about the people in it. It is not about where we are physically located.

We have not been working together toward a shared vision. Nor have I been clear about casting that vision. Of course, I cannot do this by myself. I will need the support and help of our members and friends.

 Just as the finale in the musical Les Miserables states:

"Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see? 

The world I long to see, is one in which we love the life we are living and live the life we love. In it we see each other through God's Eyes, with compassion, tenderness and conviction. Each one of us can live the life he or she came here to live.

You Are Invited to Participate

First Service in San Clemente 2013

Do you love the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley?

Would you like to participate in the success of this center?

Do you consider this Center to be your spiritual home?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, please join your spiritual family for a very special event.

On Sunday, November 1, 2015, immediately following the service, I will lead an inner introspective journey that will reveal your successes and how you have  risen to a more joyful way of living by being part of this beautiful spiritual family. I will then explain how your commitment to our Center benefits our programs, staff, and our community at large.

If you consider yourself to be a member of this spiritual family or if you would like to be a member, please join us in the Love, Community and Commitment that is who and what we are at the Center for Spiritual living Capistrano Valley.

We will break bread together, so you won't need to leave after the service. Both your souls and your stomachs will be fed. 

I am looking forward to seeing you there.

Our mission is to grow into our divine potential individually and collectively, revealing spiritual truth, and inspiring spiritual awareness in our community.

For those of you who join us virtually and cannot attend in person, arrangements will be made for you to Zoom in to be part of the ceremony. 

Checking Your Levels of Participation

It's time to level up!

In my Sunday afternoon class at the center we talked about attachment and your level of participation. We put it on axis and discussed quadrants … I always love a good graph. I love things I can measure and analyze.

“Level of Participation” kept ringing through my head … where have I heard that before. Once I got home I started googling and then when that didn’t work I went so far as to search the history on my internet browser. Long story short I found it. It’s a quote by LLewelyn Vaugh Lee.

“The work of connecting our light to the world does not need to be done through a mass movement or by millions of people. The real work is always done by a small number of individuals. What matters is the level of participation. Whether we dare to make a real commitment to the work of the soul.”

It’s a privilege to be here on the material plane. Sometimes we take things for granted. Our lives can feel mundane, uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. My new awareness that I am exercising is to imagine a button, a button labeled “mundane” and it’s on a dial and at one end it says profane and at the other end it says sacred.

It’s up to us to dial our everyday experiences to either the profane or to the sacred and with that choice we choose our level of participation.

If there is one quality I really admire and am drawn to in other is their capacity be “ all in.” To be present, to be bold, to be truthful, to be loving and to live. That’s what we are here for, to play all out.

The Commitment Experiment in San Clemente Begins

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!" ~ Goethe

Fall has always felt like a time of new beginnings to me. At The Center for Spiritual Living we are dedicating the month of October to recommiting to our spiritual practices, ourselves and our community.

This Sunday was our first week of The Commitment Experiment. We made our commitment to expand our spiritual practices to actively deepen our connection to God (Universal Intelligence, The Divine, Spirit, whichever word you choose).

Step One
Decide which spiritual practices you are committing to do (i.e., meditate, pray, read, affirm, journal).

Step Two
Decide how much time and when you are committing to these practices.

Step Three:
Write your sacred commitment (example: I commit to invest 20 minutes each morning and each evening to meditate and pray).

We are all starting where we are at and experiment adding a little more. Commiting to it. Sharing it. Discussing it. Supporting each other in our journey. Come join us.

It Takes a Village

Just as the old saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child,"

I believe it also takes a village to build a community of like-minded individuals spreading an impactful message. 

So, what happens when the village goes quiet?

When new ideas are generated, the village gets excited.  Everyone chips in their ideas and their efforts, but as time goes by, life gets busy, excuses form, and slowly but surely, the village gets quiet.  There is always a few die-hards that keep the ideas and efforts going, but they work harder making up for those who have decided to go quiet.

This very blog was an idea spawned by a dedicated few committed to spreading the message of our Center and truly discussing the transformations it has brought to our lives.  We started out strong, but little by little, the messages dropped off, until there was one silent blogger getting the message out.

What I have come to realize is "how you do one thing, is how you do everything."  It was a wake up call for myself.  I know I'm a doer, I know I'm an action-taker, but I dropped the ball on this blog, and I committed a disservice to this Center and to myself.   That said, I have known in the past few months that I have been quiet here, and that I dropped the ball, but I ignored that whisper. 

I have committed to this Center and to myself to "show up" in every aspect of my life.  So, I recommit my time and energies to the very things that I have committed to.  I call myself out. 

So, I turn the tables....where in your life are you not "showing up?"

What have you committed to that you know and recognize that you have dropped the ball?

When you identify it or are called out on it, it's never too late to pick that ball back up, gratefully reengage and honor your commitments.