The Christmas Wish

It's Christmas time! I love the hustle and bustle of people being in stores looking for gifts, shopping and planning for family feasts and intimate gatherings of close friends. Collaborating and negotiating time with family and friends. The lights, music, traditions and sacred moments in prayer inspire me.

The movies, commercials and stories are all aimed to inspire us to remember the Spirit of Christmas, 'the reason for the season' with tales of forgiveness, redemption, the power of love and self-realization. Billboards, songs and blogs are all reminding us that it is Merry (joyful, happy) Christmas. And it is! I love it when a good commercial, movie or song brings me to tears of joy and awe. It doesn't really matter to me if they are "true" or not. It's how they make me feel. If I could, I would share all of my favorite Christmas movies right here with you,but since that is not practical I offer the most recent inspirational video I have seen this year.

You may be one of the 30,409,928 viewers who have seen this video of the power of Christmas spirit and the power of  your Christmas wish. This year I am asking for beautiful connections with my family and friends, I am asking for an even greater capacity of my heart to give and receive love, and I am asking for my senses to be enhanced so that I see, hear, feel, taste, smell and intuit the beauty and perfection that this One Life is in an even greater way. It is my wish to be uplifting and to see the good in all as all. 

There's One Power working through Santa, parents, friends and all of us. If you knew without a doubt that your Christmas wish would be granted what would you wish for?

What inspires you?

Recently I was told that our Sunday service no longer inspired some people. That saddens me more than I can say. So I have been thinking about inspiration. I have been thinking that what inspires me may not inspire others. We all have different tastes; we may come from different cultures.

And I continue to think about it. Talent inspires me. Sundays our musicians dish up the best of the best and open our hearts and minds. Tonight I attended Michael Paul Smith's concert. I am inspired. The music inspired me because it was pitch perfect, powerful and passionate. The story of Paul Robeson, so beautifully told by Michael Paul, inspires me. Robeson was one-of-a-kind talent. He lived an amazing life, accomplishing more than any one person could possibly do. Then he was persecuted for saying that he liked Russia. He liked Russia because the Russian people didn't see a black man, they saw an incredible talent! He told the truth about his feelings about Russia when it was unwise for an American to speak favorably about anything Russian. There are a couple of other things that inspire me -- honesty and courage.

Whenever someone overcomes fear to speak what is true for themselves, I am inspired. Thich Nhat Hahn inspires me. Nhat Hahn is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who urged the Vietnamese people to stop the war and get along together. He did so with gentleness and compassion for all the suffering. His country exiled him for many years. I think that is an example of both courage and honesty.

Tonight, our friends, Michael and Joan Evans Fay were bubbling with excitement. Joan has just been accepted into medical school at the All Saints University in the Commonwealth of the Dominica in the Carribbean. Michael says he is excited about a new adventure! Joan says she happy to know her life's path. Congratulations! I am inspired that these two beautiful beings are ready to follow their dreams!

So what inspires me is Spirit. Beauty. Truth. Courage. Peace. Transformation. Love. Life. People Inspire Me.

What inspires you?

Planting Seeds

Happy happy happy are we

Happy happy happy are we

I love you, and you love me

Together we make a happy family!!

When my children were young and in the "Barney" stage of life we often sang this little ditty! We sang it to express our love, to feel better when we were down and we sang it because we were "in love" and we were happy! I loved this time of parenthood, my kids were so receptive to songs and, books with messages of character, kindness and creativity. I was keenly aware of the seeds that were being planted in my childrens mind and like a good gardener I was mindful of the crops, the seasons and the patient nurturing that was required.

Fast forward to this year when my children are now young adults and we see each other when they have time, and can fit their dad and I in to their busy schedules. We no longer sing silly songs or use the plates with the affirmations on them at dinner. They are truly the head gardeners of their lives. To prove my point I received a text from my daughter a few nights ago. All the text included was a link to a Huffington Post article. I followed the link and saw a title that made me stop. "How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps" I think 'she's been hacked' - can you hack a text? Surely this is not something my sweet daughter would send to me. And yet I continued on to read the article and was fascinated and excited! This was great stuff! This was really good and powerful and, and, and -- my daughter had sent it to me!  About the time I finished reading the article I received another text from my daughter. This one said "read it - you'll like it. And it mentions one of your favorite books!" And I thought, oh my god! My daughter is sharing her seeds with me -- the seeds she is planting in her mind, in her life as the gardener of her own life - and not only that she knows one of my favorite books --but wait which one was she referring to? I had to go back to the article (all of this on my phone) and read through it quickly to realize that she was referring to The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Yes it is one of my favorite books and yes, my 24 year old daughter is harvesting and experiencing the seeds we planted all those years ago. And, so am I!

The stage of this gardeners life has changed too. I no longer make up silly little songs - well not often. Everyday I plant the seeds in my mind for what I want to grow in my life. Today, I am planting seeds of acceptance and trust. And, like a good gardener I am planting them confidently in prayer, watering them with affirmations and trust, surrounding myself with other spiritual seekers who remind me that we are all gardening together.

Here is the link to that article that my daughter shared.

• Article: http://huff.to/1evSRA9

WISDOM FROM THE BEATLES?

The Beatles are unarguably one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Their music has infused the ears and minds of our planet for longer than I have been alive. But, how many times have you really listened to the music and contemplated its spiritual essence?

On Wednesday night, August 14, 2013, at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley I, along with fellow musicians Rick Dale and Dave Friedman presented a unique concert at our weekly Wednesday’s Wisdom service entitled, “The Greatest Metaphysical Hits of the Beatles: An Evening of Music and Inspiration.” The hour consisted of several Beatles hits, some very well-known and others somewhat more obscure, including a discussion of the metaphysical meanings behind each song. The enthusiastic audience not only enjoyed reminiscing and singing along with the music; they also were given a new awareness about each piece’s lesson on living a more expansive and satisfying life.

The evening opened with the profound “Blackbird.” Although Paul McCartney wrote this song about the civil rights struggle for African-American freedom after reading about the race riots in the US, we can take this song and apply it to our own lives today. The struggles we experience in life (and we all do) actually teach and strengthen us so we are able to move forward and realize our dreams. The lyrics “take these broken wings and learn to fly…” say that no matter how broken we may believe ourselves to be, we can still learn to fly, and when we fly, we shine light upon that darkness that once held us back; “Blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night.” The musical journey continued into the evening, travelling the long and winding road through laughter and tears.

The evening concluded with a rousing rendition of “Hey Jude.” Paul McCartney wrote this song as “Hey Jules,” intended to comfort John Lennon’s 5-year-old son Julian as his parents were divorcing. (The change to “Jude” was inspired by the character Judd in the musical Oklahoma.) For us, the meaning at depth is that of the human condition, both at its bleakest and at its most exalted. We indeed can take a sad song, or a sad life, and make it better by calling upon the divine power of love.

And as a very wise man once said, all you need is love.

WHAT BRILLIANCE IS TRYING TO EXPLODE THROUGH YOU?

“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer.”   ~Terri Guillemets


There It is...knocking at the door of your heart, tapping at the thresh hold of your mind, silently screaming from the depths of your soul, pestering you to let It in...What is this?

This thing is simply your own splendor urging to express itself through you.  It is your divine nature attempting to make its contribution to the world, and when it is blocked or disregarded, it can show up in life as discontentment, anger, depression, etc...


The beautiful artwork you see above was created by artist, poet and graphic designer, Eric Hart Samuelson.  I met Eric for the first time in 2009 when we took an extensive 2+ year long class together.  In that class of 12 students, we all spent numerous hours together learning, growing, and really getting to know each other (a life-long bond we will all forever share and cherish).  But most importantly, we began to learn and unleash things about ourselves that were  buried beneath old beliefs and shaded by the expectations of others.  During one of our class projects, I got to see, first-hand and for the first time, the brilliance that was Eric's artwork.  Not that we were competing with each other, but his project totally blew everyone out of the water!

Why am I writing about this?  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”  We all have a brilliance that is urging to express through us.  It may be deeply hidden away within ourselves or simply waiting to surface by means of our own receptivity to it.  Eric's calling laid dormant for a while and finally surfaced while doing some inner work.  Thank goodness he listened to his divine urges or we wouldn't be experiencing his exquisite artwork.  If you hear that knocking from your soul, open the door and see what's waiting to come through you.  The world deserves to see your gift!

Please check out the rest of Eric's artwork and let him know how much you appreciate his gifts:

http://www.onemindcommunications.com/paintings

http://www.onemindcommunications.com/mixed-media

http://www.onemindcommunications.com/photography