More Is On Its way

A Birthday Bouquet

I have long thought that being a skilled teacher would be an advantage in a ministry such as the Centers for Spiritual Living because there is a great emphasis on taking classes. I have had some wonderful teachers in my life -- great models of creativity, wisdom and love. One such teacher was my father, Gordon Clark. Gordon's major was in mathematics. he had an ability to take the most difficult concepts and simplify them. He was also very patient when students didn't understand quickly. He had a agreed to tutor my then husband every Saturday morning. He would be ready with humor and wisdom for the lesson even when his personal life had taken him "out with the boys until four in the morning." My dad inspired me.

I remember, years ago, a member of the congregation of a Center grilled me on my idea that being a teacher gave me an advantage in a Science of Mind Center. She said that people don't need a teacher because the truth is within them already. I know she spoke the truth and a great teacher helps students discover their own gifts. I believe that is the teacher's job to remind her students of their infinite potential and their worthiness, right now! It is true that we do not need a teacher to put ideas into students' minds. But it is very helpful to have a teacher hold up a mirror to for the student to see her magnificence. And with a good teacher the spiritual  awakening is more rapid.

Many years ago, I was led to see the vision of my future life, of what it could be. That vision has inspired me ever since. I saw myself being celebrated. In the vision, I was several decades older than my present age. I was living by the ocean near a port. there were palm trees all around. I heard people coming to thank me for helping them, for making a difference in their lives, helping them to see who they are and who they have come here to be. Basically I am living my vision now.

And in order to move into the vision, I have had to make many changes. I have had to let go of my present good to open to my future good. Resistance did not help at all it simply prolonged the experience. I simply took the next indicated step. When I have been able to do that, trusting that I live in a friendly universe and that the Source of All wants me to succeed, life has flowed with grace and ease.

For my recent birthday, I received three bouquets of flowers. Each one is beautiful and I did not compare them I simply enjoyed them. A gift of flowers is symbolic of the gift of transformation. With care, some of the flowers will provide beauty for a long time. Other flowers teach us to be in the moment. 

Doing right work for your soul is not the end of the story. You must keep growing and listening to the deep calling within you.

Is there something that is calling you to become? Have you been deeply listening and seeing with your inner eyes? Like me, you may be living your dream now, and get ready, more is on its way!

So Much to Be Grateful For

I love this video. The images are stunning by photographer Louis Schwrtzberg and the old man is Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk. He talks about how each day, each moment is a gift to us. I do not know who the little girl is but her very human actions of having an irresistible urge make the video even more heart-warming and authentic. I hope you like it as much as I do. 

This year take a moment to really look at the beauty around you. Look into the eyes of your friends and family. See and appreciate their unique beauty. Look at your environment. Feel the blessings that are yours. Whether you live in Southern California or any other place, notice the great beauty that surrounds you. Either by choice or chance you ended up living where you are. Give thanks for that. Give thanks for your health and for life itself. If you are blessed to be enjoying Thanksgiving with friends or family, be thankful for those precious beloved beings. Give thanks for your  mind with which you perceive beauty or ugliness. Give thanks for your ability to choose. Everything you are grateful for increases. Be grateful for the food you eat and for all the people who brought it to your table.

I am so grateful for my life. I am grateful for the work I have been privileged to do ministering to a wonderful community in San Clemente. I am grateful for consciousness that surrounds me with ministers and practitioners who truly practice the principles of a grateful life. I am grateful for the abundance of talented musicians whose gifts uplift and bless me. I am grateful for my experiences -- all of them, for without any one of them I would be a different person. I am grateful for my call to ministry, for that Spirit of God that guides and comforts me.

I am grateful for you. May this Thanksgiving be an experience of joy, gratitude and transformation for you.

The Gifts of Acceptance and Gratitude

gaining a new perspective on acceptance and gratitude

I’ve been all over the place this week … or at least that’s how I feel. Digitally and physically I’ve not been at home. Between housesitting and a dead harddrive I’ve been a displaced person.

The change of scenery, routine and habits has been a nice little shake up in how I experience life. We all get into ruts now and then. The lessons of Acceptance and Gratitude were the gifts. Enjoy.

ACCEPTANCE
Sometimes I find myself railing against the things that I don’t want and yearning for things to be different.

I know that this railing just adds energy to what I don’t want. But I do it anyway. You start to kind of fall in love with your pain, romanticize the wounds, you identify with them so much that you end up giving them energy to grow and fester.

Acceptance, sweet acceptance is like a soothing balm … the psychic aloe vera for our soul. It takes the burn out and lets us heal.

GRATITUDE
It’s an inside job but it’s also a reciprocal job.

And here comes Gratitude, flying in with it’s long red superhero cape, guiding us to acknowledge and feel all the good we are experiencing. Reminding us that we are co creators in that good and in the care and maintenance of that good.

In our eagerness to receive our good we forget that we are co creators and guardians.

I am just returning home after a week of housesitting. It is a beautiful residence but I have become aware of a big source of it’s beauty isn’t it’s location and structure, but the care, consciousness and creativity of the occupants. They co created this space and chose to fill it with beauty and creativity. It inspires me. There is a constant maintenance in keeping a home. We take out the trash, we rearrange the furniture, we apply our consciousness to create form, function and beauty.

Creation takes conscious attention and maintenance.

When I find myself railing against circumstance I am going to apply the soothing balm of acceptance, connect with my super power Gratitude and take care of what is mine gratefully, consciously, and lovingly.

That was my lesson this week.

Let Gifts Guide You to Your Higher Purpose

My gift of photography captures my daughter's gift of dance,
and we both live our higher purpose.

I've come to discover that when a concept comes to me in many ways...I hear, see or read it in a number of different places... it's a message from the Universe to pay attention; to look more closely at the idea being offered. So lately, the Universe has brought "gifts" to my attention.

Our culture offers many opportunities throughout the year for gift giving. Birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and graduation are just a few of the times each year we go online or to the store looking for the perfect gift for someone. For me, gift selection isn't my favorite part of the process. During a recent workshop regarding the Five Languages of Love, I discovered and came to terms with gift selection as a chore I would rather delegate to someone else who I deem more worthy because he or she has better taste or more creative ideas.

When I got home from the workshop, I told my husband about my discovery. And then, knowing me so well, he said, "You give lots of gifts." He went on to acknowledge the photographs I make and share on my personal blog and the joy and love those photographs bring my family and close friends. Aw man...he was right! My photography is a gift I give lovingly, joyfully and freely without worry about whether it will fit or if it will be appreciated. It is MY gift to give.

The concept of gifts continued to pop up in my experience and then the light bulb went on in my head when I was reading The Last Shaman by William Whitecloud. This fictional tale offers a highly imaginative and illuminating look at how we can open up to being guided along the path of our highest destiny. On page 95 the Last Shaman tells the main character the following:

"First, the being within: That means you are not just a carcass with some gray matter computing the most logical way to survive. There's a spirit inside, a pure creative spirit connected to everything through all time and space. This essence has a destiny, a purpose to fulfill, and many gifts and talents that support the expression of that nature. This is our greatness. The ability to own what we truly exist to serve, and the actualization of that, defines our personal sovereignty."

And then it dawned on me the message behind gifts. The gifts we give freely, joyfully and lovingly are the bread crumbs leading us to our higher purpose...our reason for being. It's not some great mystery but rather an invitation to do what we love, give it freely and live our highest calling on purpose.

What gifts of talent and treasure do you give joyfully and freely? Do that and live your highest destiny!

To download The Last Shaman visit Amazon with this link: