Reflections

What a year 2017 has been!

It has been a year of endings for some of us, beginnings for others.

I am reminded of a song, "Everything Must Change."  If things don't change there would be stagnation and death. Intellectually, this is not a difficult idea to grasp, but emotionally it is hard for most of us, especially if those changes were unexpected or not according to our preferences.Often when there are changes in our relationships, our finances, our careers or our health, the changes are generally regarded as losses. (We often don't even notice the positive changes!)

It feels tough to lose a friend... or to end a relationship... or to be downsized out of a job... or to be replaced by a younger, prettier, more-desirable model in any area of life.

At this time of year, I am reminded that in nature there are answers. The changes of the seasons are more subtle here in southern California, but they are there. The deciduous trees have lost their leaves or the leaves have become brittle and dried up on the branches.  Some of those leaves remind me of the part of myself that resists change. They just won't let go. Gardeners cleaning up the soil are really preparing for lush new growth in spring. Winters  do not last forever.

The poet Percy Shelly wrote: "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"

This is such a great reminder that everything must change and ultimately everything is for the betterment  and greater expression of life. 

As spiritual seekers, we are called to view everything, expected and unexpected, as the evidence of the presence of God. We are called to trust that some greater good is always becoming known and present. Even the great good that we are experiencing is ushering in newness. Can we be observers of our lives with joyful anticipation? Can we notice the changes without judging them as unsatisfactory? 

We recently experienced Christmas and many of us gave and received gifts. Part of my joy in giving, is seeing the receiver's pleasure! I can imagine the angels clapping their hands in delight at my unconditional acceptance of what is.

When you give up your good for the greater good, you are proving your trust in the Divine Mind, the unconditional love.

This is a great time of year to consciously choose how you are going to view your life no matter what, as a brand new year is just days away. My intentions are: 

• to say "yes" to life no matter what
• to be rigorously honest and persistently kind toward myself and others
• to look for the good and praise it
• to take full and complete responsibility for my life just the way it is
• to stop whining, explaining or justifying
• to quit pining for what is not and what will not be
• to consistently and joyfully plant seeds of greater good for my body, mind and spirit
• to recognize that God is the Source of all good and that good is at hand

What are your intentions for the new year?

She Let Go

last weekend, our Board of Trustees was treated to a weekend retreat led by the amazing Rev. Dr. Petra Weldes, senior minister of the Dallas Center for Spiritual Living. It was an amazing weekend with brilliant results. The Board had decided what we wanted to focus on in the retreat. Then Fred Mercado and I had a telephone meeting with Dr. Petra. We wanted to have  a spiritual experience of connection and we wanted to evaluate our Board Commitment and we wanted to create a Mission Statement that moved us forward into our new home. We wanted to examine growth and expansion. We did it all. The Mission of the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley is:

 This vibrant spiritual center:

·        Teaches Science of Mind principles and practices for transformation and a deepening relationship with the Divine.

·        Creates affirming, inclusive gatherings of unconditional love and acceptance.

·        Contributes to the benefit of the greater community.

We were fairly sizzling with  enthusiasm and agreement when it was completed.

On Friday night, we made a cozy relaxed circle in the back of the all-purpose room. Dr. Petra led us in a meditation and then encouraged us to stay in that consciousness of receptivity to our soul's growth. Then one at a time we were encouraged to read one of the poems that she had brought for the purpose of our deepening. We had many insights from them, including a quote from Meister Eckhart,

"God ripened me

So I see it is true: all objects are wildly in love. "

Each trustee felt deeply connected and provided keen insights to whatever he or she had read. I was the last to read. I read the last poem. Rather it read me. I was sobbing by the third line. It speaks of deep surrender which is something I feel called to do now.

She Let Go by Safire Rose

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of fear. She let go of judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the 'right' reasons. Wholly and completely,

without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn't ask anyone advice. She didn't read 

a book on how to let go.  She didn't read the scriptures.

She just let go.

She let go of all the memories that held her back.

She let go of all the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of planning and all the calculations about 

how to do it just right.

She didn't promise to let go.

She didn't journal about it.

She didn't write the projected date in her day-timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn't check the weather report or her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn't analyze whether she should let go.

She didn't call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn't do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn't call the prayer line.

She didn't utter one word. She just let go.

No one  was around when it happened.

There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her.

No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle.

It wasn't good and it wasn't bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

Thoughts, Feelings, Beliefs, and Emotions

Releasing to make way for spiritual healing. 

The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained. - David Bohm


In this line of New Thought, Ancient Wisdom thinking, it is interesting when we enter into a relationship that has us puzzled. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we are communicating, voluntarily submitting to energy that we may not feel is in alignment with our "true" beliefs or ways of Being. Is this relationship showing up to teach us something, or are we in the relationship to teach someone else?

In the Joyous Living Journal, today's installment is titled Distribution Value Center. "You are a distribution center for the undifferentiated Life Force. It is directed through every aspect of your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and emotions. It takes form through your health, relationships, career, finances, and every aspect of the world you live in."

If a relationship is showing up in our lives that is not serving us, it is time to look to our spirit. "..your spirit starts checking out long before your body and world start breaking down." "The yearning of your spirit is stronger than your mind." Healing of our spirit will heal all aspects of our lives. When we take the time to connect with our spirit, our answers come from guidance.

Reevaluating our lives may take courage, it may mean releasing some relationships. Making time to journal through each aspect of health, relationships, career and finances may release some trapped thoughts or emotions that have been on repeat in our beliefs. Much like eating and eliminating the waste products. Thoughts may come into our bodies, produce certain emotions, and become ingrained in our cellular system. If we are not eliminating these thoughts, they may develop into some physical manifestation within our body. Eliminating through writing gives us the opportunity to release those toxic thoughts which have been building up in our bodies. Making a ritual for those writings is another process which can be incorporated. Burning, shredding, or praying over the writings can be a way to finalize the elimination. Sometimes keeping the writings in a journal can be a ritual as well. This is a way to reflect back on the progress made and to be used as a reminder of the courage it took to take this step toward release.

Affirmation: I am courageously reexamining the directives of my distribution center.

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