The Joy of Cause and Effect

The Joy of Cooking

I just had a funny conversation with our administrator Diane Hennessy about the talk title "Joy of Living." She said, "It makes me think about a cookbook." To which I replied, "It is a cookbook! I have it." Then she responded, "No, that is what I thought, too. The cookbook is titled "The Joy of Cooking!" We both have the cookbook.I must admit that I never really found joy in cooking. I have not used my cookbook for a long time, but it didn't change titles. 

Think about it: The Joy of Living! When I hear that phrase, I see Snoopy doing his happy dance. I think of someone who is deliriously happy!

Does your life feel joyful? Do you awaken every day and hug yourself because you are living your life? Do you appreciate your work? your family and friends? your health? Do you break into smiles for no reason other than you are deliciously enjoying being you?

My rigorously honest answer would be sometimes. Sometimes I am so happy, I smile all the time. Sometimes I appreciate my health and praise myself for the well-being I am experiencing. Sometimes I appreciate my friends and family. Sometimes I appreciate my life.

Yes, I am living a privileged, inspired life right now. I am living this inspired life not because of the color of my skin or where I am blessed to live. (Although they are both true as well.) I am living this inspired privileged life because I know who I am and how life gets to be the way it is. I know what causes things to be the way they are. Knowing who I am, automatically brings me joy. 

Pierre Teillard de Chardin wrote, "Joy is the infallible sign of the Presence of God."

Years ago I found some books by Danish philosopher, scientist and poet whose short, sometimes illustrated philosophical poems were called Grooks. His Grooks almost always made me smile.  The idea of cause and effect reminded me of this Grook: 

Rhyme and Reason

"There was an old woman

who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children.

She didn't know what to do.

But try as she would

She could never detect

which was the cause

and which the effect."

I smile when I read or even think about Hein's poetry.

Well, the old woman was puzzled about cause and effect on the physical plane. We can

   laugh about it now.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Like many other people of my era, I thought that life was something that just happened

 to me.

I thought that if I were lucky, I would have happiness, health and peace of mind. 

Now I have come to understand that we have  a limitless power which is always 

responding to us.

I understand that with this Power I am constantly creating the life of my beliefs. 

My deepest beliefs, including all the unexamined ones and the shadows, all of them are

coming into the visible plane through my consciousness.

If I do not like the result, I go back to my perceptions, and after determining what my

false beliefs are, I use affirmative prayer to change my mind, to create a new belief.

I am so grateful for knowing what I know.

Life is good now. Take a moment and let Life tickle you!

Feeling Joy With Baxter and Freddy 

Dealing With Conditions, Sunday Service

There is One Power, One God, One All, One Life, and that life is in me now. I am a manifestation of that One. And So It Is!

Being in Glorious Community

On Easter Sunday, Wade Wooldridge sang a song that I had come across on the internet several months ago, "Glorious" by David Archuletta. I love this song: it has meaningful lyrics and a beautiful melody. I was grateful that Wade learned it. It reminds me of the value of community, of being part of something greater than our individual selves, part of the tapestry of all creation.

It reminds me of our connectedness, our oneness. The saying that "when a butterfly flaps its wings in New York, it can cause a hurricane in Tokyo." It speaks of the interconnectedness of all life.

What it means to each one of us is that our lives matter. No matter what our actions are, whether big or small, what we do matters. Because we think the way we do, it also means what we think about matters.

Paul gave great advice to the Phillipians 4:8 with these words: " Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue,and if there be any praise, think on these things."

It is great advice for maintaining healthy-mindedness because it helps us to stay focused on positive thoughts. 

Another reason for staying positive is to keep the thought atmosphere around you wholesome. Dr. Ernest Holmes writes about how unhappy people can influence a whole room without ever saying a thing. Just imagine what happens if Debbie Downer happens to come into the conversation. 

But you and I can decide to be difference-makers. We can decide to take the high road with our thoughts, words and actions thereby creating an atmosphere of love and possibility. A smile can make the difference.

The administrator  in my first Center in Bonita was a difference-maker. She noticed that one of the tellers at our bank was usually cranky and wore a scowl everyday. She came back to the office one day and told me that she had a project which was to prove that like attracts like. She purposely chose the cranky teller and while she was making her deposit, she would ask how the teller was, give small compliments and be "nice" no matter what response she got or didn't get. It only took a few weeks until she was getting smiles in return. 

All of us can make a difference like that.

The song that Wade sang contains these lyrics:

There are times when/ You might feel aimless/ And you can't see the places/ Where you belong. But you will find that there is a purpose. It's been in you, all along/ And when you're near it/ You can almost hear it/ It's like  a symphony/ Just keep listening/ And pretty soon you'll start to figure out your part./ Everyone plays a piece and there are melodies in each one of us! Ooohh it is glorious! And you will know how to let it ring out, as you discover who you are. Others around you will start to wake up/ to the sounds that are in their hearts/It's so amazing, what we're creating..."

I am including a video of  the children's choir singing "glorious" for the movie Meet the Mormons. From this video and song, it appears as if there is a golden thread of truth between our spiritual beliefs.

It is glorious! We are glorious! You are glorious! And so am I!

'Awaken to the Christ Within', Sunday Service

Today I am transparent to transcendence. I am willing to be new and to love new life. I am open to the possibilities of renewal and rebirth because my life is God's life in me. And So It Is!