Praying for the Sick -- the Principle and the Practice

Ernest Holmes wrote that if you see a sick person in a hospital room, you should turn around and walk out. It doesn't seem like a very compassionate and caring attitude for the founder of our organization to have, but its meaning is profound. If you see sickness, you can never perceive health.

It is the same idea as turning completely away from the issue.

When praying for someone to recover from an illness, you must learn to look with your spiritual eyes and see the perfection, wholeness, vitality and life in the person. As practitioners we train ourselves to see with God's eyes, then we can only see God or Good. Think of what happens when you love someone. You notice everything about them and you describe it as good.

A similar thing occurs when a practitioner visits someone in the hospital. We have taught ourselves to see the Divinity in the person, even though they may be struggling to catch their next breath. The principle states that we learn to see their wholeness, not their brokenness.

This is a relatively easy principle to grasp, but, when it comes to practicing the principle, it may prove a bit more difficult.

Recently, I have made several visits to the hospital and there have been times when I was challenged to see past the physical manifestation to the spiritual truth of the person. Eventually I get there. It helps me to remember that the physical body is an effect of consciousness. It helps me to remember that each one of us is eternal beings but that the physical body will wear out. Death is the Universal Way to slip out of the physical body. Death of the body is inevitable. As the Buddhists say, "Everything is impermanent."

Something that has helped me over the years is to see the beauty and truth of the person BEFORE they are making that last journey.

And when the loved one passes, it is more than acceptable to grieve, to feel sadness and all the possible feelings that accompany grief. It would be strange if you didn't feel sad when a friend leaves us.

When we did Wise Women weekend, we almost always did some processes for self-love. Until you love and accept yourself, you will have a hard time really loving and accepting others. We often did a process using the words of the song, "How Could Anyone" written in 1988 by Libby Roderick.  Each woman would sing the song to her partner, and then she would pick up a hand mirror and sing to herself. As I was searching for the perfect version to share with you, I found this one, the San Francisco Gay men's chorus. My hunch is that many of these gorgeous men were told hat they were anything but beautiful. I need a tissue to watch it.

Honoring Mother Earth

This coming Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day!

National Geographic WILD wants you and me to see what a wonderful world we live in.

Maybe if we have more appreciation for our Mother Earth we will take better care of her.
We, as a species, have not been doing a very good job so far.

Did you know that plastics were invented in 1907? It seems that they have been around forever.

So here we are celebrating 100 years of the Science of Mind and 101 years of living with plastics.

When I was a kid, plastics bags were regularly re-used. My mom and grandmother could see how useful they were for storing food and taking lunches to school. We would wash and dry them, then turn the bags inside out and with a clothes pin hang them on the line. Later when I was a young, newly-married woman I took for granted all the time-saving conveniences. I was a typical consumer. When the lids no longer fit my plastic containers, I would throw them in the trash. (That was before we learned about recycling.) I believed that there would always be enough room in the dump and besides which we regularly burned our household trash. Throwing a "good" plastic bag was unthinkable unless it was unusable.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.

However, plastics is a huge issue. The story of three plastic bottles below:

After watching a few videos about plastics, I am committed to start refusing when I am offered any kind of plastic from bags and bottles to cups and clothing. I may need to recycle my tennis shoes. I already take reusable bags with me when I am shopping.

I also intend to watch the National Geographic Special on Sunday night so I can be reminded of the beautiful world in which we live.

I intend to be better at the commandment to honor my mother.

Prosperity Plus for You and Me

I love great prosperity classes. Whether I am the facilitator, teacher or student these classes inspire me. My life changes and improves. I am more aware of what I am grateful for. I am more aware of the current abundance in my life.

One of the best prosperity teachers I know is Mary Manin Morrissey. She is clear, compelling and authentic. She has proven these principles in her life and shares her experiences and struggles. Mary is  a gifted story-teller. Within her stories are gems of transformation.

I will be facilitating Mary's course, Prosperity Plus II: Harnessing Your Invisible Power beginning June 20 for 10 weeks. There is still room in this class and I highly recommend it.

Mary uses Chinese bamboo for the symbol of this course. Chinese bamboo is an interesting plant. After planting the bamboo seed, if you take really good care of it the first year, carefully watering and fertilizing it, it grows one inch. It continues to grow one inch per year for four years. Then in the fifth year, if you take good care of it, it grows an amazing eighty feet in just six weeks. What exactly has it been doing for the first four years? It has been developing a strong and powerful root system, ready to support its massive growth.

In the student guidebook, Mary writes, "Our dreams are sometimes like Chinese bamboo. We may nurture them for what feels like a long time with very little signs on the outside that anything is happening. And then,continue to nurture our dream with patience and persistence,  declining to be discouraged, it is as if overnight, everything comes together and we find ourselves living the very life of which we dreamed."

The course is an experiment in more expansive living, giving each student the opportunity to experience new levels of abundance in every area of your life.

The first thing we get clear about is what would we really love. You will be invited to think about what would you love in terms of your health, your relationships, your vocation and your time and money freedom.

There is room in the class and materials available. Call the Center today to reserve your spot. Our number is 949-240-6463.

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Your Responsibility to Thrive

Many of us were raised to believe that having our good would deprive others of their good. We were taught that we live in a world of limited resources. It may be true that the natural world has limited resources, but the creator of that world is unlimited. It seems to me that when we are living a principled life, we also need to remember to live a life that is an example of prosperity. I do not mean waste. I mean prosperity. I mean abundant living in every area of life.

What would prosperity look like in the area of  health? Do you know what you want? Before I started studying these principles, I often could answer what I DID NOT want. I was very clear about it. It was usually a long list of issues, problems and thinly-disguised complaints. I did not want to be sick. I did not want to struggle with debt. I did not want to have a spouse that couldn't be trusted. I did not want problems in my career.

Eventually I learned that the Universe cannot hear the word "not." It was as if I had been commanding the Universe to bring more of the things I did not want. When I look back at the results in my life, I see that there has been a perfect correlation between what I focused on and what came about. The more I focused on not wanting betrayal, mistrust, lack, poverty and deception, the more of it appeared in my life.

Finally, I learned to truly think about what I would love. I learned to focus on what I love as if it were happening right now. My heart was filled with gratitude and joy! Then my life started to look like I was living in paradise. (Of course, we ARE living in paradise now!)

How often do you ask yourself, what would I really love? 

This is the greatest, most powerful question anyone can ask: What would I love in the area of health? of relationships? of creative expression? of time and money freedom?

Once you have asked the question, listen to the answers. Write them all down. Some you might discard because upon reflection you don't really want that, but other things will surprise and delight you. When you have some awareness of what you want, write it as if you have already received it. Write it with energy and conviction.

It might sound something like this: I am so happy and grateful now that I am committed to honoring the health and well-being of my body and mind. I sleep soundly and  deeply; my sleep is restorative. I eat wholesome, nutritious foods in moderate amounts. I love to move my body and getting 10,000 steps a day is just a start. I get great joy from the many ways I am learning to keep my joints flexible and strong. I am so grateful for my toned body and smooth healthy, radiant skin. My real age is 20 plus years less than my biological age. there is a song in my heart and a smile on my face. My spiritual DNA is perfect, whole and complete. I am so happy to be alive now.

I am so happy and grateful now that my life is filled with love. I am so blessed to work with amazing, creative people who work in harmonious support of one another. I am so happy for my friends, old and new, with whom it is a joy to associate. I love hanging out with them. I love sharing fine meals together and I love celebrating them. I am so grateful for my sweet beloved intimate partner, who came into my life exactly at the right time! We love being together, every moment is one of joy!

I am so happy and grateful now that my ministry makes a huge difference in people's lives. I am grateful for the countless cases of physical, mental and emotional healing that have occurred by means of my prayers, my connection with Source. I am so happy and grateful for all the new ways I have been guided to make a difference in this world. I am so grateful for the wonderful beings who support our ministries, and that every ministry is flourishing! I am grateful for the energy of Spirit that moves through me each and every Sunday! I am grateful for the ever-increasing number of students who have sought me out to study with me.

I am so happy and grateful now that all my businesses are booming! What a joy it is to be financially free and able to contribute my financial wealth toward the advancement of Spiritual Living everywhere.

I am so happy and grateful now that my spiritual practices are continuously deepening.

And so it is!

Pure Joy! I am so happy & grateful being kissed by a Shepard!

Three Questions for Healing

Stories of Hope and Healing

The other week I found this book on my mother-in-love’s bookshelf. I was a little burned out on the books I was reading and it really called to me. She had picked it up from the used bookshelf at the CSLCV's  bookstore.

The book is called “Coyote Medicine” by Andrew Weil, M.D. It relates the journey of a medical doctor traversing the path of both western medicine and primal spirituality, digging deep to uncover the truth about what brings health and what heals us.

I devoured the book in a weekend. I couldn’t get enough, in fact I am going to go back for a second round because there were so many ideas and stories that deserve serious contemplation.

One of my juicy tidbits that keeps revolving around in my head is this:

“Before a person can be healed, one medicine man told me years after medical school, he or she must answer three simple questions: “Who are you?” “Where did you come from?” and “Why are you here?” This California elder believed that anyone who could give clear answers to these three questions would be well.”

Who are you?

Where did you come from?

Why are you here?

Who are you?
Just how far down the rabbit hole do they expect us to go I wonder?
How do we discover and articulate the answer of who we are?
I don’t think this is one you come to a definitive answer but is important to seek the ever evolving and revealing the question brings.

Where did you come from?
This question always receives more than a little resistance from me as my ancestral heritage is unknown, but at 45 I do have a personal history that I can reveal to myself.

In our Essential Ernest class one of our assignments is to create a personal timeline. I am fully committed to this assignment and already themes are being revealed. Sometimes it’s happy and sometimes it’s a little painful but it’s an exercise I would highly recommend to anyone.

Why are you here?
We all have “Work” to do here. And I mean work with a capital W. Julie Pellegrino really nailed it with her post on Thursday. Please read her post What is Your Sacred Work?

Have fun contemplating your three questions.

Turbocharging the Law of Attraction

What keeps you awake at night? Are you: frustrated, fed-up and tired of the way things are now? Tired of settling for less in your personal and professional lives?  Looking for solutions that work?

Since the movie The Secret, the Law of Attraction is a hot topic. The idea is that everything in life has a vibration frequency and that Like things attract other Like things. We give off our own vibration frequency generated by the sum total of our beliefs. Based on this concept, every experience in our life is invited by our own beliefs. There are books and courses taught by people calling themselves “Law Of Attraction Experts.” They teach that all you have to do is think about the things you want and they will start to show-up in your life.

There is more to it. To effectively use this law you need more information. There is a difference between believing and positive wishing. How do you go from want or wish to Belief? Beliefs (positive or negative) are called Beliefs because you believe them to be true!

Energy goes where the attention flows. As a licensed psychotherapist, I know about self-fulfilling prophecies. For example, if someone believed that he can’t attain a certain goal, it’s unlikely he would put much effort into it. Failure could result. Another person who believed that she could succeed wouldn't quit when obstacles are encountered. She would continue until she reached her goal.

The idea that our subconscious mind is the driving force in our lives is not new. There is evidence that we create circumstances in our lives that match our expectations. We generally get what we expect to get based on our beliefs, not what we hoped or wished we believed.

When studying spiritual beliefs, I found much the same idea, with an added feature. I learned that there is a creative power greater than just our own individual minds, and that we can use it. In fact, we are constantly using it whether we are conscious of it or not. This power is known by many names. Some call it their “Higher Power”. Others call it Universal Life Force. Some call it God. Many teachings claim that this power responds to our thoughts. For example in the Christian Bible, it says “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:23-25).  Other Spiritual teachings offer similar ideas.

Here’s the key! Life is primarily an emotional experience, not an intellectual one; your feelings reflect your beliefs. If you are feeling anxious, depressed, angry, or afraid, you aren't feeling safe. You then attract people and circumstances that match feeling unsafe.

The good news is that you can learn how to take personal control of your own inner emotional state. As you experience positive emotions you automatically Turbo charge the Law of Attraction in your favor to attract and accept every good thing life can offer.

~ by Bruce R. Fredenburg, a Staff Minister at the Center For Spiritual Living in San Clemente, a Licensed Marriage, Family and Child Therapist, and a Life Coach. Fredenburg will offer a workshop on Saturday, August 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley called Turbocharging the Law of Attraction, offering four steps to getting what you want plus the secret to activating the Law of Attraction. Cost is $97.

Reaping Big Benefits From Little Adjustments

Are you looking for the secret to better sleep, increased creativity, better relationships, and improved immunity?  Most people are…

Would you believe me if I told you that this amazingly, transformative product could be yours for free?

Oh, and did I mention that you probably won’t have to break a sweat to reap its benefits? Can you guess what it is?

Gratitude.

Yes, it all comes down to gratitude...

It turns out that your mother was right about the importance of saying “thank you,” but it goes much deeper than that. A quick Google search will reveal hundreds of pages of published research on the myriad health benefits of gratitude.

Actually, it makes perfect sense that people who express their appreciation would feel more connected with others. It also follows that showing gratitude would lower one’s levels of immune-suppressing stress hormones, causing the person to think clearer, sleep better, and catch fewer cold bugs; but it is nice to see the scientific community validate that thinking.

The best thing about gratitude is that it always seems to be followed by a little joy-chaser. That’s why it has so many positive health benefits. Think for just a moment about the last time you felt genuinely thankful for someone or something… Now, isn’t just a smidgen of happiness mixed in with those feelings of appreciation? Of course, the two go hand-in-hand.

Developing an attitude of gratitude is fairly straightforward, and you can start out small, if you need to. Begin by thanking the checker at the grocery store or the barista serving you coffee, for example. Just be sure the thank you is sincere.

You can also build the gratitude habit by taking a few minutes each day to appreciate yourself, your life, and those around you – perhaps record your thoughts in a journal.

As expressing thanks becomes a habit, it will become easier to show gratitude in less than ideal circumstances, such as when your kids are arguing, or not following directions. (That’s when you get to be grateful that you’re the parent, so you can bring some order.)

If you’re having trouble finding something to be grateful for in any given situation, take a few moments to get silent and pray about it. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of allowing yourself to see it through new eyes.

Every situation, no matter how bleak it appears, offers its own opportunities. I know from experience that those possibilities might not be readily apparent, and it can be tempting to throw a great big pity party. (I’ve got to admit, I’ve hosted some pretty spectacular galas for myself…) Of course, if you are in crisis, you need to take stock of your situation, and acknowledge your feelings, but then you need to move on. Lingering over the issue doesn’t serve you. Now, open your eyes to the opportunity.

The key is to always remember that you are at choice: You choose how you will view each situation, and you choose how you will respond to it.

Aware and appreciative that it is unfolding exactly as it should, I am grateful for my life, and all of the people who are in it.