Ken Wilcox – A Personal Relationship With Spirit

by Lorna Bright

Setting aside a day to give thanks is a wonderful practice but, during this time of global upheaval when most of us are focused on what we don’t have, how do we genuinely and wholeheartedly observe a day dedicated to being grateful for all that we do have?

The origin of the Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated in the United States can be traced back to the Pilgrims of Plymouth. As the story goes, on Sept. 16, 1620, 102 people set sail from England on a pilgrimage in search of religious freedom. On Nov. 21, they anchored in Provincetown Harbor. Throughout the winter of 1620, most of the Pilgrims remained on board the ship where they suffered exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of various diseases, causing the death of almost half of the original settlers.

But when they moved ashore in the springtime, their hope was renewed. Samoset, an Abenaki Indian who could speak a little English, paid a friendly visit to the terrified colonists. He and other Native Americans taught them many basic things necessary for their survival, such as, how to plant crops, catch fish, extract sap from maple trees and avoid poisonous plants. Later he brought the great Indian chief Massasoit to the colony. Governor William Bradford and Massasoit made a treaty of friendship. Things were looking up. And, because of this harmonious alliance, their newly-acquired survival skills and a successful corn harvest, Dec. 13, 1621 was set aside as a time of celebration. More than 80 “friendly Indians” came to the feast — bringing wild turkeys and venison as their share. Tables were set outdoors and three days of feasting and prayers ensued.

It’s hard to even imagine what life was like for them. Their conditions were harsh. Their environment was most often terrifying. Life was difficult, for sure. But, even though life has changed quite a bit since then, this last year was pretty difficult for many people around the world. Conditions are harsh. Many among us are facing terrifying events in health or in finances. Even relationship-wise, on a global or individual level, chaotic emotions are bubbling into all kinds of unrest. So, this past year hasn’t been one of the easiest and, in all honesty, it hasn’t been one of my favorites either. But there’s an ancient scripture that says, “In all things, give thanks.” Interestingly, it doesn’t say for all things but, rather, in all things.

What does that mean? Well, what is in all things?

Life is in all things.

We can take a tip from the pilgrims. There they were — sitting at tables in the snow (and not folding card tables, mind you), surrounded by indigenous people with unusual customs and unfamiliar languages, and feasting on wild game and whatever the earth had provided for them. They didn’t have a lot of material bells and whistles to be thankful for. Most likely, their expressions of gratitude cut to the bottom line. Basically, “Thank you that I’m alive!”

You might not feel like there’s much to be thankful for in your life right now. But take a closer look, or should I say, deeper look? What is in the event, the condition or the relationship? Life is in it! The synchronicity, beauty, creativity, coincidence, intricacies, etc. — it’s all life moving through you.

How about giving thanks for the new adventure you are on? How about the “survival skills” you’re acquiring? Or the exotic and intriguing people around you?

The settlement at Plymouth was successful in many ways and became an example for others that followed. Why? Because they observed a day of thanksgiving? Well, that could have been part of it. But the first step, even before giving thanks, was that of letting go. They let go of the comfortable and familiar and opened to a greater vision for themselves. They let go of the individual sense of self and opened to a greater sense of community.

During this Thanksgiving season, may you unearth the essence of all things and celebrate the miracle of life in all of its fullness.

A grateful mind is a great mind. It eventually attracts to itself every great thing. – Plato

I am sure that you have seen one of the dog trainers who come on television and within moments can get their furry clients to do most anything. I feel that I should write one of them and ask what happens when the dog trains the human.

I’m not sure how it really happened, but somehow our little Sadie has taught me that she really enjoys a car ride most afternoons. All it takes is for me to grab my keys and put on my shoes and she is bouncing for joy. Once inside the car she is the perfect co-pilot. She loves to stick here head out the window to sniff the air and barks at any dogs or runners passing the car.

Through her joy she has added a fun adventure to her life. Now here’s the thing, she gets such enjoyment and shows such gratitude that I love taking her for a ride. It has reached the point where I purposely add trips during the week.

It makes me wonder how much easier it would b e for me to get the things I desire in my life, if I would only express a little bit more gratitude and enthusiasm.

Dr. Holmes wrote, “God never makes mistakes. There is nothing wrong with This Thing Called Life, for whatever seems wrong with it is the way we are living it and not Life itself. If we are not getting the most out of life it must be because we are not putting the most in it.”

We want to get to a place in our lives where we see the good in all people and in every situation. It is always there, but sometimes we fail to recognize it. We have to remind ourselves that regardless of the appearance, there is something good at the core of every situation.

Dr. Holmes wrote, “There is a Divine Presence at the center of things which responds to us and It ought to be so real that we feel it everywhere, in everyone and in every situation. Our starting point is to believe this, not as a theory or an idle dream, but as something to be recognized and entered into, here and now.”

Life unfolds for us according to our expectations. When we focus on the negative we give it energy to increase. The goal is to bring a positive affirmation to every situation. The promise of our teaching is that by doing this, the negative will disappear and our ability to see the positive will grow. In doing so, we create the gateway through which we will enter the Divine.

by Ann Brenoff

I have a friend who I use instead of Prozac. Whenever life feels overwhelming, I call her and ask her to lunch. Apparently, she’s the drug of choice for many people because her calendar is always heavily booked; I love that she squeezes me in when I use the secret emergency code words “It’s been so long since we’ve talked!”

I can talk to Jae Wu about anything and she hears me. Notice, I didn’t say she listens. Lots of people listen — my dog listens if I hold a cookie in my hand — but no, Jae actually hears. She nods sometimes when I’m speaking, but mostly what she does is hear me. Jae never feels compelled to rush in and fill the pause of a conversation the way I do. She also hears the silence.

Jae’s life is not without complications of its own. She owns a successful real estate firm on the Westside of Los Angeles — and holds the distinction of probably being the only top-producing real estate agent in LA who has never tried to get me to write about one of her listings. Jae is also mom to two boys, one with special challenges. When she learned of her son’s diagnosis, she did what Jae does: She kept breathing.

I met Jae quite by fate, since as Jae taught me, there are no such things as coincidences. Awhile back, I founded a women’s networking group for entrepreneurs. One month, our keynote speaker canceled at the last minute and someone suggested Jae as a fill-in. She came, she spoke, and nobody in the room budged from their seats for the next few hours. Jae not only hears; when she speaks, she speaks from the heart.

Once you meet Jae, you become part of her circle, one of her peeps. She “match-makes” among her minions, sending new and interesting friends your way. You need something? She knows someone who knows someone who knows someone.

And she means it.

From the day I met her, I’ve wanted to unravel the mystery of Jae. How is it that she carries such a full load and doesn’t let it weigh her down? I’m a spiritual person, and by and large a happy person — but Jae has this calmness about her that sets her apart. When Jae enters a room, she becomes its center. How is that?

Jae says she wakes up each morning and before moving from the bed, she mentally runs down everything she is grateful for. She makes lists in her head of all that is right with the world, all that she loves, all that she is looking forward to that day, tomorrow and the next. She thinks about how she can make all the people she knows happy. She does this every day. She starts her day with an attitude of gratitude.

Jae Wu’s life isn’t any less stressed or complicated than mine or yours — far from it. It’s that she knows something we know but don’t always remember. She knows that like beauty, happiness — dare I say inner peace? — is in the eye of the beholder. She knows it feels better to give than to get, to share than to hoard. She knows the difference between needs and wants. She knows that kind people trump mean ones, that your burdens are lighter when shared and that every day is a gift awaiting your unwrapping. She knows that even in the face of illness, there is life to be lived between the cracks.

I keep hoping that her attitude of gratitude will rub off on me. But for now, I am just grateful to be having lunch with her Thursday.

Follow Ann Brenoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnnBrenoff

Where in the world did October go? September sped by in a blur. And August was gone in a flash. How did that happen? Where did the time go? The weeks and months, it seems, just melted into each other. But each single day seemed endless.

Last week I bumped into my neighbors, Tim and Andrea, as I was out walking my pup, Poppy, in the morning and they were leaving for work. We stood around chatting for a few minutes, and then we each proceeded with our day. It was a long and tiring day — for me, at least. Filled with work and play, stress and pressure, spirit and pleasure.

Late that same evening, I was out with the dog for her bedtime stroll and once again saw Tim and Andrea as they were getting home from work, dinner and a couple of sets of jazz at a music club. Again, we hung around and talked. I said something like, “When I saw you guys last week… ” and Tim interrupted me saying, “That was this morning!”

How could that be? It seemed like forever ago. I did a bazillion things since I last saw them. Time is such a slippery scoundrel. It is impossible to pin it down long enough to grab hold of it. It just keeps slithering away.

Time is a paradox, at once temporary and permanent, external and internal, objective and subjective. And it is so confusing. Days that are weeks long and filled with 10,000 million things. Weeks, which seem like seconds, fleeting and ephemeral.

As Albert Einstein explains it, “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours. That’s relativity.”

Time is at once universal and intensely personal. It surrounds us and is, at the same time, deep within us. It’s surging rhythmic force moves the entire world and us, as well. The throbbing tempo of the universe reverberates in each beat of our heart.
Its clear cadence, the repeated patterns of light and dark, high tide and low, growth and death, evident in the natural order, is echoed in our own

“To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do. But I’m only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect.”
- Siddhartha –

It’s pretty easy to point out what’s wrong with the world, there are so many glaring examples. Some make quite a sport of it with scathing tongues and eloquent slams. It can be amusing to admit our collective frailties and absurdities.

It takes a much bigger heart and soul to love, to build, to encourage than it does to hate or tear down. When we hate or focus only upon what’s wrong, we are choosing to experience hate for ourselves, giving our energy an attention to what’s wrong and guess what gets reflected back to us?

Looking for the hidden gem of possibility, the redeeming quality that even the bearer may have lost track of, this is our highest calling in Life. For when we spend our time loving, searching and finding the best, we are choosing to experience love, and guess what gets reflected back to us?

The world is nothing more and nothing less than the collective consciousness of all of us and the resultant experience that consciousness creates. So when we desperately want to change the world, the first place for us to look long and hard is to review what we are contributing to the experience. How could I focus on love more? How could I find at least one wonderful thing about each person or situation that comes to my attention.

I don’t control the world, only how I respond to what is happening before me in this moment. I choose the quality of the energy I contribute and the energy continue to infuse into the idea and memory of the people and interactions. As I focus on love, remember the love found and promote love, my admiration and respect for all of Life grows and transcends everything else. This is my path to greater joy and peace, this helps me easily find beauty in all things and all people. I choose Love, now and later.

Life is truly wonderful!

by Rev. Larry King
of the Portland Center for Spiritual Living

http://www.pcsl.us

The Dow Jones Industrial Stock Average has fallen over 500 points in recent weeks. Representing the largest sell-off in several years, The New York Times reported it this way:

“Stocks Plunge on Fears of Global Turmoil. With a steep decline of 5 percent in the United States on Thursday, stocks have now fallen nearly 11 percent in two weeks. Investors sought safer havens for their money…”

But what is the stock market? It is a public forum for trading shares of companies. Shareholders own publically traded companies and a share represents a portion of the worth of that company.

So, if the stock market drops 11 percent in two weeks does this mean that 11 percent of these companies have gone missing or turned worthless? Does it mean that one in ten Safeway stores closed overnight? Does it mean that Costco misplaced 11 percent of its merchandise or that 11 percent of Shell’s oil was lost?

Of course not. As the New York Times’ headline indicates, it happened because of fear. Investors became fearful and decided to sell. The companies still have the same capital, the same workforce and the same products they always did. Nothing physical happened.

It is through our beliefs (our faith and our fear) that all things come to pass. Whether monitoring the stock markets or your own life—you will see it rise and fall with your own thoughts and emotions. If your thoughts are fearful, you will see a sell-off of your own good. Life cannot flourish when our minds are full of lack and desperation. When your thoughts turn to faith, this process reverses. The Universe showers you with every kind of good.

My investment counselor called me late in the day on Thursday to ask me if I wanted him to do anything. After he explained what had happened, I said to just leave things they way they are. I have faith in those same fine companies. I know that people will still buy groceries at Safeway and tires at Costco. I know that American companies are producing the same quality of goods today as they did yesterday. The stock market will rise to new heights as our faith returns.

I also know that my good is not dependent on the stock market! God’s Infinite Bounty is always present and in a variety of forms—just waiting for us to have enough faith to open our hearts, our minds and our hands to receive.

“I may not have gone where i intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” -Douglas Adams

What a wild ride it’s been so far and I wouldn’t trade it for anything because it’s all brought me to this point of awareness and understanding. Yes there were probably some easier ways to learn what I know, MUCH easier ways, but this more adventurous path has taken me to galaxies far, far away and provided wonderful experiences and memories to spur me onward.

When I look back at my original intention, whether that review is a week or decades, where I intended to go and where I ended up are usually completely different. But the more I wander, the more comfortable I get wandering, both mentally and physically. The art of adapting to change along the way keeps the journey both exciting and manageable.

The truth is that I am exactly where I need to be to express what I know how to express in this moment, in the way that I’m able to express it. Part of what I’ve learned along the way was my previous expressions were too reserved and less authentic than how I needed to express myself for my greater living. The journey continues because I have yet another opportunity to express myself, my true self, to whoever and whatever comes before me now in this moment.

What I figure out a little more each time is that by continuing the journey, by expressing just a little further outside my comfort zone, I am growing and expanding and reaching into places and experiencing things that I never could have imagined back at the beginning.

I may hitchhike across the entire galaxy or I may only go a little way from where I’ve been, but the greatest journey and accomplishment is not measured in light years, but in complete expressions of my authentic self. You do get bonus points for being authentic in more challenging situations. Points that will never expire and that you can draw upon for years, light years to come. You’re right where you need to be to flourish and thrive.

Carroll County Center for Conscious Living — http://www.ccccl.org/

In 1994 I found myself out of work due to a company close down. With it went a sizable income and the security of a pay check. I used up my savings and was beginning to feel quite desperate. I received a job offer from a company in another state and decided to take it.

What a scary time! I was stepping out in faith to move myself miles away from my family, friends, support system and my home. I never really grasped what was involved till after the move. I had no doctors, no haircutter, no friends, no neighbors I knew, no directions how to get from one place to the next—there was no GPS at that time. I had no income, no health insurance, and no savings left.

In short order, I found the people I went to work for were quite abusive. I have never been sick one day in my life. I have always had (and still do) a consciousness for health. Suddenly, I was very sick! I was constantly dizzy, light headed, unable to drive my car, unable to eat any food and keep it down. As an outside sales representative, driving a car was part of how I earned a living.

I called the fire department and the health department to visit my rental house to see if there was something in the air which was making me so sick. There was not. I began having severe pain in my side and wound up at the hospital emergency room, which was in the next town. With no doctor, no medical insurance, and no reserves in savings, I had no idea how I was going to even pay the bill I was racking up.

After several trips to the emergency room, tests were finally done and the diagnosis—Cancer! I had a huge tumor growing inside of my uterus that needed to be removed. I asked for a referral to a female GYN and made an appointment to see her. She was so kind. I told her I had no idea how I would pay her bill but I needed help. She informed me her concern was my health and wellbeing—not money. I told the doctor that I have faith in a higher power and the ability to use my mind to heal my body. She looked at me like I was from mars! She obviously was not a religious scientist. She wanted to set up a surgical procedure orchestrated by her and an oncologist. She told me this would take some time to work it all out. I had no idea how all this would happen, but I was trusting it would work out perfectly—in Divine order.

As it all unfolded, the hospital offered me their care and their facility at no charge and the doctor never sent me a bill.

Weeks went by as they worked on arranging the schedules of two busy doctors and a hospital operating room; I had much to do in my own mind. I began to KNOW the TRUTH for myself—each and every day. (I was just beginning my exploration of Science of Mind at that time)

The week finally came for the surgery. On Monday, I had been scheduled for tests—blood work, EKG, meet the anesthesiologist – all in preparation for my operation, which was to take place on Thursday.

When I returned to my GYN, I told her I felt the need for another ultra sound as I believed there had been changes in my body. She told me it was not necessary. However, after my persistent requests, she agreed and sent me to have the test done. On Tuesday, I got a call from her secretary. She was screaming on the other end of the phone line. Then she put the doctor on the phone. “Iris, I have not seen the X-rays myself, I am going to the hospital today to do that, but the radiologist called and said your X-ray is NORMAL! I can’t believe this, but I will call you later.”

So, at 7pm on Tuesday night, the doctor called. “Iris, I really have no explanation, I have no idea what has happened, but we are cancelling your surgery. The tumor is completely gone!”

“May I have the copies of my X-rays—the ones from when I was diagnosed and the new ones that were done this week?” I asked.

I still have them in my closet today —proof of the healing power of Spirit within us and the way consciousness works. We are so blessed to have such a powerful teaching, we are so blessed to have the gift of choice. I am so grateful for this wonderful, powerful philosophy to practice in my life. MANY, MANY have been healed by God through my prayer work. I get calls from all over the country.

I know that I know what I know—which is the Truth: we experience our lives by way of our consciousness. All life unfolds from the One Life—the Mind of God. And when we know this to be true and align with it, the unexplained is made manifest. I invite you to a deeper understanding and practice of this Truth.

For my birthday this year, my niece gave me tickets to the Dolly Parton concert at the Verizon Amphitheater. What a show that woman puts on. She sang, talked, laughed and played every instrument from the banjo, Appalachian Dulcimer and even her finger nails. Her great talent, beyond writing, singing and acting, is being able to make an Amphitheater full of strangers feel as though they are visiting with their best friend around a kitchen table.

Now, I’m not sure if Dolly knows the first thing about Science of Mind or not, but she’s certainly living it. I was surprised at the number of spiritual songs she sang, even adding a sacred theme to songs that I had never considered religious.

She said of her latest CD (Better Day) that she wanted to put together a collection of hopeful songs, and she certainly has. The first track on the CD is, I”n the Meantime.”

People have been talking about the end of time ever since time began. We’ve been living in the last days, ever since the first days.

Nobody knows when the end is coming, although some people say they do.

Well it may be today or tomorrow or in a million years or two

In the mean time, In the between time. Let us make time to make it right.

Faith should be your guide.

Think about life, think about living, think about love — caring and giving.

Drop the doomsday attitude and let Spirit flow.

These are wonderful times we’re living in.

Eden’s garden waits within, so let the flowers grow.

Not only does Dolly sing about making life better, she is also doing her part to make it happen. In 1995, she began the Imagination Library with a commitment to mail a book to every kid under five years old in Sevier County, TN (her birth place.) Her program has been so successful that it now sends over a half million books each month to kids enrolled in the program all over the world.

Years ago, Dolly played an angel on the Designing Women TV program. There are kids right now who have been born in circumstances where there is not enough time or money to show them the attention they need. For some of these children the only encouragement they get is a book each month from Dolly’s organization. With nothing more than a paperback copy of, The Little Engine That Could, many of these youngsters are going to find a way to overcome every obstacle life throws at them. And for those brave little souls, Dolly Parton is a true angel on earth.

That which is true for us in our heart of hearts; that which we think about ourselves, others, the world and our possibilities — that counsel which we keep only for ourselves – reflects back to us in our lives as the circumstances, people, places and things. James Allen wrote, “What we are is the result of what we have thought.”

If a person is having a happy, healthy and prosperous life it is because they have happy, healthy and prosperous thoughts. If a person is sick, poor or lonely it is because they entertain despondent and debilitating thoughts.

It does not matter if you are fearful or fearless, foolish or wise, troubled or as calm as you would be coming from a Buddhist retreat, within your thinking lays the pattern for your circumstance.

Now this doesn’t mean that conditions won’t affect our thinking, but we can say, that these conditions can only affect us in as much as well allow them to do so. And their voice is totally proven mute the moment we change our thinking.  

We allow ourselves to be uplifted or devastated by conditions because we have forgotten who and who’s we really are. That we forget our nature and the use and power of our thought allows the law of averages through race consciousness to keep rapping us on our spiritual knuckles until we awaken to our true nature and power.

In our fears we believe that outward conditions control our lives and in doing so we make ourselves into victims. We give conditions a power which they do not possess without our consent. We lay down the dreams and desires of our lives not to the conditions but to the gloom or gladness, the fear or hope, the strength or weakness as interpreted for us through the lens of our thinking

The surest way to assure your prosperity is by selecting the right career. Being in a job you hate is deadly. You can never earn enough to be in a job that you don’t love. And here’s a funny thing about people who are in the wrong careers, one of their major fears is losing the job. The reason that it is a fear is that they have an underlying knowing that one day their body is simply going to give out on them and they’re not going to be able to drag it back into an environment that they know is killing them.

Stay in a career or job that you hate and you will have to dull the pain of your life with alcohol, drugs, sex, spending, religion, over eating or any number of life numbing substances or habits. And none of it will make you happy or give you any security. Take a job that you love and regardless of how little it pays you will find yourself happier. Even if you have to live in reduced circumstances — even if you have to work another job. As long as you are doing something you consider worthwhile you will find the way to maintain yourself. And you won’t be killing yourself in the meantime.

We all have come to life with a purpose, but it’s very easy to allow our parents, education and society to talk us out of it. You know what it is that you have come here to accomplish. Now you may have buried it so far down your subconscious that you can no longer recall what it is, but it is still there. Ask any child what they want to do when they grow up and they will immediately tell you. You were once that child.

If you don’t know what it is that you want to do in life, first start telling yourself that there is something within you that does. And then watch for those things that interest you. Those things that when you’re involved in them, makes time seem to fly by. When you discover what it is that interest you, spend time on it. Begin to do research or take classes. Talk to people who are in the industry. Start to take baby steps and you will be amazed at how the Universe responds. There’s an old saying, “We take one step toward God, and God takes ten steps toward us.

When I encourage people to start this practice, they will often say, “But will I be able to make a living doing it.”
And the honest answer is that I don’t know. But I do know that far too many of us have been too worried about making a living when we should be more concerned about making a life.

Don’t put off making a life for another day. When you follow your passion the Universe will open a path for you. Now it probably won’t come without sacrifice, but those that you have to make will seem light. And the satisfaction you feel from doing what you have come there to do will outweigh any enjoyment you could have obtain from a fat paycheck through a job you hate.

The reason that most of us dread the idea of saving money is that we’ve been made to think hat it will take away from the things we enjoy doing and replace them with the security for a “Rainy Day.” Now first of all if you’re saving for the “Rainy Day,” you’re saving out of fear which will only increase your fear and emphasize you lack.

Save for a “Rainy Day” and you will most certainly have one.

Another reason not to save for a “Rainy Day” is because you will never have enough to satisfy the fear of the unknown. If you’re living from paycheck to paycheck you many think that when you save enough to buy a house you’ll feel secure. But once you buy the house, you’ll feel the need to save for the roof or for your retirement. fears. So don’t save for the “Rainy Day” save for the opportunities of investment. In other words, you wan tto put your money to work for you.

A wallet full of money stashed under your bed is just that, but an amount of cash you’ve invested is working for you in two ways. Not only, is it adding value to your investment, but as importantly, it is evidence for yourself that you’re an intelligent person with your money. When you feel good about your ability to handle money, you’re signaling the Universe that you’re capable of handling more resources.

For many of us who are uncomfortable with money, we grew up in a household that told us we were bad with money. Now our parents told us this hoping that it would make us more careful with money when in reality it only made us discount our ability to handle money.

With so much information available to us today, you don’t have to be a genius to figure out how to invest your money. As long as you don’t go for a get rich quick scheme, and invest in companies that you know, you can make a reasonable return over the long haul.

When you invest your money, you’re telling the Universe that you know how to handle the surplus of resources in your life in an intelligent way. And the Universe is always looking for a good investment.

Many people say they can’t save because all of their income goes out to their expenses. But here’s is a funny law; our necessary expenses will always grow equal to our income unless we make conscious decisions for it not to happen.

It’s the same way when you move into a bigger house. You think you’ll have lots of storage space, but suddenly all the extra room gets filled up, unless you make a conscious decision to get rid of some of your belongings.

The reason that we have many of us have trouble only covering what seems to be our necessary expenses is that we get our necessary expenses mixed up with our desires.

All of us have more desires than our income will cover. We get caught on a hamster wheel of desire thinking that if we had more income we could satisfy every desire, but it’s a false notion.

We are limited by time and by our physical nature on the number of desires we can fulfill. I mean even with all his money, who would want Donald Trump’s head of hair?

The goal then is to make sure that we’re enjoying every bit of resources we have and to cut away any expense that we’re not completely and totally enjoying.

It’s easy to add on additional expenses to our budget and keep them because we once through they would bring us enjoyment.

I have a friend who owned a vacation home. He purchased a cabin in the mountains and enjoyed the property for many years. But then he began to realize that he was spending his leisure time on the upkeep of the cabin. He came to realize that he could let go of the cabin and just rent one on those weekends he wanted to relax.

All of life is about becoming more conscious of our lives. When we become more conscious of how we are using our resources, the Universe will allot us more resources to use. When we start using our resources more intelligently, the Universe will increase the stream of resources coming into our lives.

We live in an intelligent Universe that does not waste one ounce of energy on foolishness. You might waste your time and energy on foolishness, but the Universe does not.

If you desire more resources, then the fundamental law you have to respect is to take better care of the resources you presently have.

This means that you can’t spend all that you have coming in. And trust me; there is a way for you to live enjoyably and in abundance and still manage to save something of your income.

In order to make this happen we sometimes have to make what appears to be the best of bad choices. I have a friend who had a job that paid commission, and over time the commission had dried up. He was soon forced with the prospect of having to get a part-time job. He dreaded this idea and felt that it was far beneath a person of his station and age. After almost becoming homeless, he took a job at a coffee house. He soon found that the loved his new job. It put him in contact with lots of young people and supplied him with health insurance.

I have another friend who has a large house. Her retirement income has gone down and she wasn’t able to make ends meet. Someone recommended that she get a roommate. The idea was appalling to her. She had lived in the house with her husband and had raised her kids there. She was very accustomed to her privacy. The idea of losing it was almost more than she could tolerate.

On a visit to her doctor she happened to hear that one of his nurses needed a place to move after getting a divorce. On the spur of the moment, she offered up her house. Not only has the extra income helped, but she’s become best friends with her new housemate.

We often box God in on how to get us the miracles of our life. We need more resources and think the only way they can come to us is through extra numbers in our bank accounts. Sometimes the miracles of our lives can come to us in ways that are unexpected and initially undesired – through a part-time job or roommate.

All the great teachers on abundance tell us that in order to attract greater good into our lives we have to feel wealthy.

Easier said than done when you can’t pay your bills, or you’re looking for a job, or thinking about your concerns that your investments won’t be enough to cover your retirement.

If you’re not feeling very abundant, the first order of business is to get your house in order.

As painful as it can be, go though all your bills and find out how much you own and to whom. If you’re past due call your creditors and make arrangement for payments.

Trust me, I’ve been in this situation and I understand how painful and embarrassing it can be. But I have also found that most creditors are willing to work with people. When you call your creditors don’t automatically assume that the person you’re talking to is your enemy. Remember the person on the other end of the phone is someone with a very stressful and low paying job. More than likely, they completely understand and can sympathize with your situation. By being honest and friendly with them you can enlist them as your advocate. While they can’t erase your debt, there are programs within the company that they can use to help you come up with plan.

Now don’t assume that everyone is going to be open and understanding. If you happen to get Stalin’s step-daughter on the line, then thank her for her time and hang-up. Go for a walk, fix a cup of tea or do a quick ten minute meditation and call back.

Keep calling back until you find the right person to work with.

Also, be sure to lose any resentment you feel. When you send a payment in, bless the payment and bless the company. You were grateful for the electricity or cable when you used it, so be grateful for it when you send in the payment. If you’re paying off a credit card bill be grateful that this company extended the credit to you.

Do not beat yourself up for bad decisions. Every purchase seemed like a great idea at the time. Some of your choices may seem wasteful in hindsight, but take it as a lesson learned. Beating yourself up about past decisions can only make you feel worse and feeling worse can only increase the likelihood of more poor choices.

A friend of mine works in a part of D.C. where there is a real problem with homelessness.

For months he had been going into a fast-food restaurant near his office.

He said the place was miserable. The manager ran it like a prison, constantly yelling at the homeless people and chasing them out of the restaurant. There was a general atmosphere of gloom that hung over the entire establishment. None of the workers were happy to be there and the food and service both suffered.

Finally, a new manger was brought in to run the operation. She came with a new attitude. The homeless were welcomed, but with a few rules. If they had some money, they were asked to pay what they could toward their meals. Those without money are given a burger. Loitering isn’t allowed and everyone is expected to mind their manners and clean up after themselves.

The new manger enjoys her work and tries to make working at the restaurant fun. The employees are in a better mood and both the service and product has improved. The customers have caught on and now there are friendly smiles and jokes rather than sullen people staring down at their feet waiting on their order. And of course, the homeless customers value being treated with respect.

The greatest byproduct of all is that a few of the homeless and regular customers have begun to get to know each other.

We sometimes think our world is beyond hope, but a little kindness is a miracle worker beyond our greatest imagination.

I love reading a good biography. I just finished Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin which I really enjoyed.

One curious thing I’ve noticed from my reading is that people with large amounts of money often end up being very poorly treated at the end of their lives. When they did an autopsy of Howard Hughes they found syringe needles broken off in his body. His story is not unique. There was suspicion that Doris Duke was killed by her butler while he wore her gowns and jewelry. Doris was so disgusted by the greed of the world that she said that when she died she hoped they would dump her in the deep sea in the middle off a shark feeding frenzy.

So if money isn’t enough to insure a comfortable end, what is?

My mom had a best friend named Mrs. King. She would always tell my mom, “Helen, see the best in others, and everything will work out.”

Mrs. King had been a child bride, raised five kids, widowed early, and in her eighties ran to become mayor of her small town. She was elected and happened to be the oldest person elected to office for that election cycle.

She was interviewed on national news by Matt Lauer who got her age wrong. She scolded him on national TV and from then on got a yearly birthday card from him.

As she became more infirmed, her family, friends and community turned out in droves to help.

People could not do enough for the woman who had seen and reflected the best of themselves.

The best insurance policy can’t be bought; it just comes from our willingness to see God reflected back to us in the eyes of those we see.

In New Thought teachings, we stress the affirmative nature of the prayers of Jesus. And it is an important practice to note. Why beg for our needs to be met by a distant and fickle deity? If we are true to the example of Jesus we will pray believing that it is the Father’s good grace to grant our needs and desires.

There is another quality of the prayers of Jesus that is often overlooked — he seldom prayed for himself. The overwhelming numbers of his prayers were for others?

It made me start thinking, how often do I pray for others?

Many of my teachers stressed that I should pray for things in my life – a life partner or abundant income. Praying with a personal goal is a great technique for seeing amazing changes in your life.

But I wonder if it would not be equally successful if I prayed for those around me. To take a moment away from my daily aggravations to see the love of God flowering for the people that make up my life.

A Prayer for Us All

I know God is good, so I know today will be good.

I have been created from Love and sustained by it. I see love flowing easily in my life. I love myself, and I love the people around me.

Love is the birthright of every inhabitant of the earth. It nurtures the best in us. So I know it is available to all.

We are one with this great source – collectively and individually. Each of us has a right to wisdom, health and prosperity.

Our divine assignment is to develop the faith to know we are supported. To see that there is more going on in our lives than what happens between the top of our heads and the soles of our feet.  To realize that our dreams and desires are important aspects of the unfolding of the Universe.

There is nothing of lack and limitation in the thoughts of God, and there is no need for any of us to experience them in life.

Today I accept the gift of freedom as part of this creation. I see a world that is functioning without fear and doubt.

My life and the world are working in testament to the Glory of God.

This is the truth in my life.

I rejoice in it and release it into consciousness.

And so it is.

Like any good best sellers, the Bible starts off with a bang. 

In the beginning, there was nothing. And God said, “Let there be light.”

And God saw the light, that it was good.

When we see and label that which is good in our lives we are aligning ourselves with original intent. Setting our possibilities into the creative flow of the universe allows us to become outlets for the evolutional life forces. There is a power in the universe, greater than you are, for your good.

Learning to label our good and then becoming co-creators for the manifestation of our greater good with that power is the sole purpose of our existence.

Prayer for Good 

Today, I see the good in my life. I see it in my health, in my creativity and the love which surrounds me. 

I know that having been created by God, I am here to experience the love of God in my life for my dreams and desires.

I see abundance in my world — in my health and finances. Opportunities and new ideas flow easily to me.

I am never stuck.

I make a promise to myself today that I will put down the old lies I’ve told myself. I’m neither lacking nor wounded.

I will whisper the truth of my soul to my heart – You are one with God, you are here to live in awe.

This is my truth. I celebrate this great knowing and I release this prayer into consciousness knowing that it does its good and perfect work and returns to me multiplied abundantly.

And so it is.

The first thing to understand about wealth is that it is good for us to have it, and that we should have no shame about our desire for it. We should never be ashamed of anything which brings us joy.

Unfortunately wealth alone will not bring us happiness.

As Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Wealth is not his who has it, but his that enjoys it.”

Now think of a person in your life that always made you feel good.  A person who enjoyed life so much that they naturally attracted people and events to them.  A person who inspired everyone they were with.  

That person is the wealthiest person you’ve known.  It doesn’t matter if they lived in a condo on 5^th Ave., in New York or a house on a cotton mill village in South Georgia.

Now why were they the wealthiest? Because they were living a life in unity with their Devine nature, and they were always going to be taken care of no matter what happened to them.

You can’t buy that type of life insurance policy….. you have to earn it.

Here’s a funny thing. People with lots of money often end up being abused when they’re no longer able to take care of themselves. Howard Hughes had more money than he could have ever spent and died with broken hypodermic needles in his arms.

The wealthiest person I ever knew was Annie Laurel King – a lifelong friend of my mothers, which in itself should have earned her an award. Mrs. King lived on a cotton mill village in Macon, GA. She made a beautiful home out of what had once been a worker’s shack. In her eighties she ran and was elected mayor of the village. That particular year she happed to be the oldest mayor in the nation to be elected to office and was interviewed by Matt Lauer. She talked about it for the rest of her life.

Now the wealthiest person I knew in terms of money was the owner of a company I once worked for. He thought he had everything figured out. He believed he was smart enough to run roughshod over those less intelligent. It worked for many years until his daughter stole the company from him. He lives alone and forgotten by an industry to which he gave his soul.

The ability to live well doesn’t come from money, but through your capacity to create joy and love.

I believe we have miracles occurring in our lives all the time. We are just too quick to ignore them or we write them off as luck. We don’t give much thought to them and let them disappear from our minds like a gallon of water on the hot sands of the desert. 

Have some bad news come along and we’ll dwell on it for weeks, if not months, if not years. We’ll tell everyone we know. We’ll Facebook, Twitter and chase down the postman to spread the bad news.

On the other hand, we ignore the small positive changes occurring in our lives. We’re like Fred Sanford on “Sanford and Son” waiting for the big one — for the clouds to part and on a throne in the sky, Charlton Hesston, with a rifle across his lap.

There’s a reason that doesn’t happen. You couldn’t handle it. You’d be running around quacking like Daffy Duck if you had that sort of experience.

 The wisdom of life comes into our lives like the poet said the fog comes into San Francisco, on cat paws, – through our intuition.

Here’s a simple yet powerful spiritual practice. Just try to focus more on your possibilities than your problems.

Just this simple practice can change your life from a problem to be solved into a miracle unfolding.

A couple of years ago I was taking a course in comparative religions. 

The instructor had asked people from different traditions to come to class.

One Jewish lady, whose name I’ve long forgotten, had a great story to tell.

It seems her great-grandmother had been born lame in Russia. With no medical care available, the mother had been told by her father, “What God gives you– you live with.”

The mother replied, “What God gives you — you work with. And set out to come to America to see better care for her child. They left Russia in the night crawling under barbed wire.

On the boat to America, they heard horror stories of the custom agents on Ellis Island who wouldn’t allow anyone with disabilities into the promise land.

On the same boat there happened to be a rabbi who heard of the plight of the young mother. He volunteered to write a prayer for the little girl which would blind the agents to her disability.

The mom tied the prayer on a string around the little girl’s neck.

The night before the ship landed, the mother suffered a abscess on one of her wisdom teeth and within hours her face ballooned with infection.

As they went through the line of custom agents on Ellis Island, the agents were so concerned about the mom’s tooth that they never paid any attention to the child’s deformed leg.

Our speaker said her family had accumulated much in the subsequent generations, but of all her inheritances, the one she would most value, if it had survived, would be a small piece of paper with a powerful prayer.

When we moved to our present home, I inherited a gold fish pond. Actually, it was more of a 300 gallon swamp, but we gradually turned it into a fish pond.

At first I stocked it with the expensive Koi until a local raccoon decided it was a cheap sushi counter.

After I declared Jihad on the raccoon, I decided to protect my scaly friends with netting. Unfortunately one day last week, one of the Koi jumped into the netting.

I realized this when I had gone out to feed the fish, and I saw one lifeless body on top of the net.

When one of the fish dies, it always really bothers me. I know it shouldn’t with my profession of a belief in the big circle of life and all, but it does. Thinking that I might feel better if I planted him among the azaleas, I got the net out for a quick ceremony. I had hardly scooped him up when I saw his back fin flip. In a flash, I dumped him back in the water, and he swam off.

This little gold fish reminded me that even when I get myself in a bind, if I will remain calm and wait for my opportunity, I can go from being potential azalea food to back at home within a flash.

My last post was about my friend, Joe, an older guy that I worked nights with in a psychiatric hospital while I worked my way through college.

While most of my college years were spent in mindless partying, I did have two professors who made a great impact on my life. One was a bitter old history professor who didn’t particularly care for me. I adored him, because even though he was considered a rather tough teacher, it was always a rather easy grade for me because of my love of the subject.

I was finishing up my college during the last years of the Carter administration when Mount Saint Helena erupted. Carter toured the devastation, and old professor sauerkraut came to class that day spitting and sputtering about our having a President so stupid that he would purposely go to a place of such destruction. He thought about his comments for a moment and then added, “But if it were Richard Nixon, he’d walk to the top.”

The other instructor who impressed me was a psychology professor with movie star good looks.  All of his students adored him. Only a few years older than us, he was smart, funny and had an Ivy League education. He would sit on his desk keeping us in rapture on how he was solving the problems of his client’s life one after the other.

He said, in his mind, the role of the therapist was like a hiking guide. With insight and observation in place of flashlight and rope, he was leading his clients up the steep, rocky trail of the mountain of life.

I took every class he offered.

His idea so impressed me that I shared them with Joe one night.

Joe thought about it for a moment, and said, “You know the best we can really do is just to know that we are all on a path. Some of us may be ahead and some may be behind. Some will catch up and others will fall back. I figure In all honesty, all we can offer to one another is that I’m here on this path with you and for me this looks to be the way to move ahead.”

Dr. Holmes wrote that wisdom comes from all over — sometimes from expensive Ivy League professors in college classrooms and sometimes from very wise, yet poorly paid orderlies on locked wards.

I worked my way through college by working nights at a psychiatric hospital. It was the perfect job, because it paid nicely and it gave me abundant time to study.

It was also supremely helpful in teaching me that a career in the psychiatric field was not for me. In fact, I had the perfect realization that I was likely to find myself a patient of said facility over being one of its workers.

I worked with many lovely, dedicated people, many of whom were in the right profession.

One, who was certainly in the right job, was an older guy who worked the night shift like me. If my memory is correct his name was Joe. He lived on the south side of the city requiring him to take an hour and half bus ride to get to the hospital- talk about dedication! I’m not sure if he had a degree in psychology or not, but all the patients and most of the staff flocked to him for counseling. More than a couple of the doctors could have benefited from Joe’s advice.

Now, another very obvious fact about Joe when you first met him was that he was suffering with scoliosis. His hips were gravely out of balance, and he walked with a decided limp. When people first met him, it was impossible not to give consideration to his handicap. After getting to know his indomitable spirit for awhile, you would become completely oblivious to his gate.

At this time in my life, I was attending Mercer University. I chose to go to Mercer because it was one of the few schools that had accepted me and had in fact the least requirement of math. The only course I was required to take was statistics, and I was as scared of it as I would be a baby rattler.

On my very first test, I blanked out. Not only blanked out, but freaked out. I was so disturbed the professor allowed me to take the same test the following Monday. I suspect he was grateful to have me out of the classroom in my agitated state.

Over the weekend Joe offered to do hypnosis sessions for me. The following Monday I went in and aced the test. I went on to make an “A” in the course.

Now all Joe did with his hypnosis was to get me to relax long enough to allow my mind to reproduce the information needed.

If you face a problem today that doesn’t seem to have a solution, take a deep breath and just relax. Take your mind off of the problem. Go for a walk, balance your checkbook or follow Eisenstein’s advice and take a nap. You might not have an answer, but Divine Mind does. Your only job is to stop your hamster wheel of worry long enough to hear it.

My last post was about my participation in a non-denominational communion service. Now this was a very different form of communion. The bread and wine was offered to each person who stepped forward, but they had to break-off their own piece of bread.

After the service, those of us who participated talked about our experience. Something which was common for all of us was the reluctance of people to break off a large piece of bread. They only seemed to want the smallest amount possible — as if they were afraid of taking more than their share.

Now of course, the bread is just a symbol, but how many of us are afraid of taking more than our share of Life.

Settling for what’s possible when we dream the Glorious.

The larger we live life, the more life there is for us to share. We manifest problems not by dreaming too large, but by dreaming too small.

When we give up on our dreams we become bitter. We then go around trying to convince everyone else that their dreams are impossible.

We think by living small we are protecting ourselves from disappointment. We can’t risk another heart break.

But just because you weren’t Momma’s favorite, or that you didn’t get in the school you wanted, or Betty-Lou walked out on you doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to handle the setbacks and challenges involved in starting a family, getting a business off the ground or going on a diet. You don’t think you can handle the disappointment, but what you can’t handle is the relenting years of, “What might have been.”

When we’re not living a life of aspiration we’re not allowing room for inspiration and Spirit.  If there is not some part of your dream that you don’t know how it will work out, then you’re not living large enough. Leave room for the wonder of Creation.

We have to be willing to step forward — to risk our hearts.

There is something that we have all come here to do.

None of us are an accident. There is a reason and purpose that you are here in this place in time. You are here to do something important. Something large enough so that you will have to break yourself open to Spirit. It may be healing yourself of an illness or addiction, creating a wonderful family life or writing an inspiring novel. But it is yours to do.

In the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus said that each of us has a light within. To bring it out requires courage and sacrifice. If you bring it forth, it will light the world. If you keep it hidden, it will consume you.

Today step-up to the Table of your dreams and aspirations and break off the largest piece you can handle. There is more than enough to share.

I did something last week that no Science of Mind minister is ever – EVER suppose to do! Not even in a dark, dank alley.  An act so diabolically opposed to almost every principle of how I was taught to commune with the Creator that I am sure it would have sent every teacher of mine sputtering in disbelief — if not disgust.

What was my scandalous act?  I not only partook of, but actually helped perform a communion at a Christian Church. I know it doesn’t sound near as juicy – pardon the pun — as I built it up to be, but it is still borderline scandalous in my teaching.

And I have to admit, I liked it! In fact, I’ll do it again, if performed with the same understanding.

The communion was part of a service, called The Gathering held at the Sandy Springs Christian Church in Atlanta, GA by Rev. Phillip Price.  The Gathering, organized by Laina Orlando and Rev. Price, is designed to bring common understanding to people of divergent faiths. I had been asked to be a part of the organizing council for this event. If you’d like to know more about The Gathering, click here:  http://thegatheringaspiritualexperience.com/

In organizing the first service, Rev. Price suggested we close the service, as he does in his Church, with communion. Some on the council worried that I might have a problem participating, but one of the primary teachings of Ernest Holmes, the founder of Science of Mind, is to remain open to any practice which might bring a closer experience with the Divine.

Except those done in a dark, dank alley.  For those you have to provide your own excuse.

I was totally on board after Rev. Price explained communion in terms of love and acceptance. “Communion,” he said, represented God’s table of life. That we’re all welcome and that no one has a right to deny anyone their place. But to partake, you must step-up.

I believe, we step-up to the table by being willing to live a life of our greatest dreams and desires — by our becoming co-creators with the Universe of our good. By our dreaming so large, that we have to incorporate Spirit in our plans.

If you have everything figured out on how you’re going to reach your goals, you aren’t dreaming large enough. You have to leave room for Spirit to provide a bridge. To prove to yourself that there is more to you than what’s between the top of your head and the bottom of your feet. Ultimately, that’s what you’re here in life to experience — a Power greater than you are, for your good!

 We all need each other’s support and encouragement. When we break ourselves open we become substance to the people of our lives. By being willing to step-up, either at a communion table or to our greatest lives, we risk showing those around us that we are human and at the same time allowing our lives to prove to us that we are indeed so much more.

I’ve been using Raymond Charles Barker’s book, Treat Yourself to Life as inspiration for the past couple of blogs.

In his book, Barker says life takes us at our own evaluation. Your mind determines your experience.

He also says that if you’re not happy it’s a sign, much like pain in the body, that there’s something that you need to do.

Now often when we are unhappy we want to blame someone and much of the times ourselves. We tell ourselves, “There’s something wrong with me so I can’t be happy.”  But if you have a sore throat you wouldn’t blame yourself.

So why would you blame yourself, or anyone else, for your unhappiness. There’s no need to place blame, there’s only a need to make change.

A funny aspect of our life is that it’s easier to identify happiness in the past than to recognize it in the present.

Colette wrote, “What a wonderful life I had, I only wish I realized it sooner.”

 An easy Spiritual practice is to simply identify when you’re happy. When you’re identifying happiness, you’re identifying God.

When you’re having a great time with friends, remind yourself – this is God. If you’re having a meaningful conversation with a love one, remind yourself – this is God, or when you find a prime parking space, remind yourself, this is God.

Your happiness is God breaking through your experience into the physical plane.

Dwell on your happy moments as long as you can. Share them with people. It’s amazing how quick we are to share our problems, but how reluctant we are to share our joys.

Now don’t expect to be happy all the time, unless you’re freebasing Prozac.

Happiness is not a constant, but satisfaction can be.

We’re going to have problems. But most of us give far more attention to the problems of our lives than to our possibilities.

Barker says people who have problems are suffering from spiritual amnesia. We’re forgetting who we are. Our natural state is one of well being.

The Infinite cannot hurt Itself, but the individual can and often does

We wake up in the morning feeling good and then what do we do? We turn on the news.

Now when you hear about a tragedy, say a plane crash, oil spill or bad economic news — please say a prayer. But don’t make the world’s suffering into entertainment. And unfortunately that’s what the 24 hour news channels are doing.

The energy it takes to be unhappy is the same energy which can make you happy.

Surround yourself as much as you can with happy people.

Barker says whatever you need to make you happy is at hand. You are seeking ideas and attitudes to create happiness.

You are only one idea away from happiness.

Create a Teflon consciousness not one of Velcro. Unhappy people have a tendency to dwell on their problems.

We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what has happen.

When you find yourself on a hamster wheel of worry, force yourself to do something to get your mind to another frame of thought. Go to a movie, listen to some music or look though old photographs.

People who are happy don’t need to figure out everything or be in control. They live in a flow trusting the Wisdom of Life. Knowing they are here to be happy and seeing their lives not as a problem to be solved, but a miracle unfolding.

The first thing to understand about wealth is that it is good for us to have and that we should have no shame about our desire for it. We should never be ashamed of anything which brings us joy.

Unfortunately most people equate wealth with money, and money alone will not bring us happiness.

As Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Wealth is not his who has it, but his that enjoys it.”

Now think of a person in your life that always made you feel good, the person who enjoyed life so much that they naturally attracted people and events to them, the person who inspired everyone they were with.  

That person is the wealthiest person you’ve known, and it doesn’t matter if they lived in a condominium on 5^th Avenue in New York or a house on a cotton mill village in South Georgia.

Now why were they the wealthiest? Because they were living a life in unity with their Devine nature, and they’re always going to be taken care of no matter what happened to them.

You can’t buy that type of life insurance policy.  You have to earn it.

Here’s a funny thing: people with lots of money often end up being used when they’re no longer able to take care of themselves. Howard Hughes had more money than he could have ever spent and died with hypodermic needles broken off in his arms through neglect by his own staff and nurses.

The wealthiest person I ever knew was Annie Laurel King – a lifelong friend of my mothers, which in itself should have earned her an award. Mrs. King lived on a cotton mill village in Macon, GA. She made a beautiful home out of what had once been a worker’s shack. In her eighties she ran and was elected mayor of the village. That particular year she was the oldest mayor in the nation to be elected to office and was interviewed by Matt Lauer. She talked about it for the rest of her life.

Now the richest person I knew was the owner of a company I once worked for. He thought he had everything figured out. He believed he was smart enough to run roughshod over those less intelligent. It worked for many years until his daughter stole the company from him. He lives alone and forgotten by an industry he gave his soul.  He had money and power, but he did not have wealth in life.

The ability to live well doesn’t alone come from money, but the love you create in your life.

Mrs. King was going to live well no matter what. My ex-boss will probably die alone with bank accounts overflowing.

In order to live in wealth, decide what it is you really want to do in your life. Raymond Charles Barker would ask, “What is the one thing you’ve always wanted to do? Cease the endless contemplation of where you are and start contemplating where you want to go.”

When you tell someone to pursue their dreams, they will usually reply, “But, I can’t make a living at it.”

You may not make a living, but you’ll make a life.

You may never make enough to get you in that 5^th Avenue condominium. However, if you do what you love and make it your job to love life, you will live in wealth no matter if you’re on 5^th Avenue or a cotton mill village in South Georgia.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer wrote, “We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.”

You can only imagine what the good Doctor would have made of cell phones, Facebook, or heaven forbid, blogs.

There is a strange down side to this wonderful technology. The miracle of connection has a nasty hangover in a heighten sense of isolation. Like all addictions, the once hopeful solution becomes life-draining. Yet we will dig ourselves into a hole before we are willing to consider change.

We’ve all seen couples at restaurants, each talking on their own cell phones. Or people going through a check-out never acknowledging the cashier. I know of a woman who wore her Bluetooth to the funeral of her mother!

The promise of this hyper-connectivity is that it will give us the meaningful interactions that we crave. And it does to a degree, but through a self-editing mask. For real communication and connection we must be willing to give our good attention to one another and show the unvarnished truth of ourselves.

Our isolation comes from a feeling of not being in the right place – a sense of, this is not my home.

We seek out each other, but for a variety of reasons often find our connections unfulfilling and sometimes downright painful.

We turn to the material world, which can have delicious experiences; however, ultimately we have a need to possess — like collecting fireflies in a jar we seek to capture magic.

The passing variety of physical experiences seeks to remind us that we’re in the world but not of it. Our isolation comes not because we don’t belong to one another, but that we don’t belong to the world.

So what’s the cure?

It’s so easy that most of us will never get around to it – just give more attention and appreciation to one another.

I love the idea of a gratitude journal. It is powerful to express gratitude for the things in our lives. It is even more powerful to express gratitude for the people in your life.

Want to change your world?

For the next ten days say a prayer each morning for the people in your life.

And if you really want to see change – for the next ten days go around letting people know how much you value them.

It doesn’t mean that we have to give up our cell phones, just be willing to ignore it when someone is trying to talk with you. Make it a point to try to have a real connection with at least one person a day.

When we recognize ourselves and each other as divine, Life cannot respond to us any other way, but divinely.

My mother was no June Clever. She was more Rosanne Bar, a little Peg Bundy with a huge ladle of Paula Dean thrown in. She smoked generic cigarettes one after another — lighting a fresh one from the butt of the other. She believed her opinion was truth and it always needed to be heard no matter how badly it hurt. And she only grudgingly tolerated anyone in her kitchen unless you happened to be unloading her dishwasher.  

There was much I needed my mother to be that that she wasn’t.

But the one way she did love, and indeed she was excessive about, was with her cooking. She made it her business to know each family member’s favorite dish. For my sister it was a pan of dressing, (stuffing would have never dared shown its face on my mother’s table), for me it was her fried chicken and for my niece it was Heavenly Hash.

Now if you’ve never been so fortune to have a piece of Heavenly Hash, it’s comprised of excessive amounts of butter, pecans and a complete box of powdered sugar. And like any true Southern dessert, it is devoid of anything healthy or fresh.

I always assumed that the Hash was a very difficult concoction involving Dutch ovens and specialized spatulas. This past week my niece has been visiting from Japan. I thought it would be fun to get Mom’s recipes out to make. Amazingly, Heavenly Hash proved to be extremely simple.

Mom loved extravagantly in the way she could. It wasn’t always enough for the people around her, but showing love the best we can is really all we can be expected to give.

If you haven’t noticed, we seem to be going through an exceptionally disruptive period of late. So if you’re feeling the need to show a little love to a family member, friend, or even to yourself — Let me recommend Heavenly Hash. It’s easier than it looks and as sweet as it sounds. And right now we could all use a little more Heaven on earth.

Mom’s Heavenly Hash recipe:

2 sticks butter
4 eggs
1 c. chopped pecans
Dash of salt
4 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar

Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Bake in foil-lined 8×13 inch pan. Grease foil. After cake is baked, take out place large marshmallows on top of the cake and put under broiler until melted. Pour icing over melted marshmallows.

HEAVENLY HASH CAKE ICING:

1 pkg. confectioners’ sugar
4 tsp. cocoa
10 or more tbsp. cream
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. melted butter

Mix all ingredients with mixer until thick. Pour over cake

I have a confession to make; I was a weird kid. I’m certain that if I had an adult in my life that cared enough to actually talk with me that I would have been quickly shipped off to a “Special Place.”

One adult in particular who didn’t have time or concern was my seventh grade history teacher, Mrs. Robinson. She was a teacher from the old school. She clearly favored the kids that came from the established families of Macon. This meant that she didn’t particularly care for me and most certainly didn’t think much of my potential. I’m certain that she never, in her wildest dreams, thought that she was having an impact on me.

On occasions when we had finished our work early she would read from an old travel book of hers. The writer and explorer had traveled the world having great adventures.

I was fascinated and determined that one day I would see these amazing sites for myself. I kept this dream along with many other of my notions to myself since my family thought of Atlanta as an exotic destination.

Of all the places that fired my imagination the descriptions of Pompeii stood out. I was thrilled by the dramatic story of the destruction of the city. Mrs. Robinson had visited the site herself and would editorialize that it was her belief that the pornography in the houses of the city had caused God’s wrath to befall the populous.

In Mrs. Robinson’s world view even pagans didn’t catch a break.

It took many years for me to save up the money to make my first European trip. Actually, I could have gone much sooner if I hadn’t wasted so much of my time and money in sleazy bars. The morning I woke up in my Naples hotel I was feeling not only excited about seeing the ancient treasures, but also vindicated in my self-worth.

The day was set to be perfect, until I reached the mirror in the bathroom. There pulsating on my upper lip was a fever blister the size of Mount Vesuvius.

I remembered thinking my day was ruined. Twenty years of planning down the tubes. If left to my own devices, I would have taken a Benadryl and crawled back under the covers.

Fortunately, my partner, Tom, wouldn’t hear of it and pushed me on the tour bus. Soon the sight of the ruins overwhelmed any pain or embarrassment.

We all hope to make life perfect, but as Gilda Radner’s character on “Saturday Night Live” Roseanne Roseannadanna use to say, “It’s always something.”

We have a choice to either focus our attention on those things which annoy us or look toward that which we find lovely, beautiful or inspiring. In whichever direction we gaze, our consciousness multiplies our ability to see more of what we’re seeking. A throbbing fever blister or a day spent surrounded by beauty. The choice is powerful and always our own

I sometimes wonder if we don’t have a sign over our house, “Neurotic Animals Welcome.”

About two years ago we adopted a Sheltie even though we knew she had been abused. Her previous owners had kept her for years in a pen of poured cement and chain link fence. She came to our house confused and terrified.

Over the months we did the best we could. But poor Sciena lived in fear. To get her to take a treat you had to sit perfectly still. The slightest movement would cause her to panic. Once during a bad storm, she yanked out one of her own teeth by getting it caught on the door of her kennel.

We didn’t know what to do. Finally a friend suggested that we might want to consider getting her a playmate. They suggested we try the Atlanta Pet Rescue and Adoption on 14th Street. It is a privately funded adoption agency run by volunteers with a real love for animals. The day we showed up, the volunteer on duty worked with us for hours trying to find Sciena a best friend. After much consideration, she decided on a Peek-a-poo — a cross between a Pekingese and a Poodle. Sadie is solid black with a little white tuft on her chin. Her bangs grown over her eyes making her look like one of the early Beatles before they found hard drugs.
She is exactly 10.5 pounds. And is in all truth an angel on four paws.

As soon as we got her home Sadie made it her business to become best friends with Sciena.

They’ve never growled at each other but share food, treats and toys. They play together for hours on end. At first we had separate kennels for them, but a few weeks ago Sadie began going in Sciena’s kennel so they could sleep with each other.
Sciena now gobbles up her treats with Sadie. She wags her tail as she barks at Sadie hiding in the azaleas. And best of all a couple of nights ago she snored through the terrific storms that came through Atlanta.

Sciena just needed to feel loved to face her fears. Once she did she awoke to a new life.

Dr. Holmes wrote, “Many people, asleep to their true nature, will automatically react to situations based on stored subconscious beliefs rather than consciously responding based on the presence of love. Every situation presents the possibility that we wake up to our true nature and choose life-affirming activity. “Principle is not bound by precedence.”

We stay stuck in our fears because we think we’re alone. We desperately wait on love to find us, not realizing that we always have love within ourselves. With our willingness to experience the world through love we can overcome the seemingly impossible and see life anew.

When I was a kid and was dragged kicking and screaming to the fundamentalist Church my parents attended, I was always confused by the way the minister prayed. He always spoke to God using old English. God was Thee and Thou. It was as if God had dropped out of human development sometime right after the Pilgrims.

The second thing which caused me doubt was the fact that the minister always described those he was praying for as worthless and totally undeserving of mercy.

It was not until I found the Science of Mind and attended Kennedy Shultz’s seminar Dare to Pray Effectively that the whole concept of prayer made sense.

Gone was the begging and pleading on bended knees. Kennedy taught that we should pray standing in our full measure of dignity announcing our desires to a Universe that was willing to grant them.

“Take your mind off the problem and put it on God,” Kennedy told us.

My problem was I only identified God with judgment and punishment. I had never been able to warm up to an old man in the sky who required the sacrifice of his only son for a sin which I had nothing to do with.

It took me a long time to realize that the joy and love in my life were not gifts from God, but were in fact God. Now that was a God I could work with.

Slowly, I began to turn my life around. In the beginning, I prayed as part of my spiritual practice. Then I began to incorporate prayer into my life at certain moments during the day, when I brush my teeth, sat down at a meal, was stopped at a traffic light or heard my wind chime outside my office window. Later on, I began to use prayer not to get things, but to help me with my reactions to life. Some of my most fervent prayers have been silently given in an excessively slow check out line at the grocery store.

My whole concept of prayer had changed. I no longer prayed for things, but delighted in my commune with Spirit as a refuge from the world.

More and more I find my prayers of today just a simple yet powerful, “Thank-you.”

We are instructed to pray believing, if we are to receive. Holmes wrote that the, “Results of any payer will always be equal to the inner belief of the one giving the prayer.”

Each of us has come into this physical plane to demonstrate for ourselves the love and support of God for our dreams and desires. God has simply given us the parameters to explore. It is up to us to decide to do it with joy and ease.

Our healing is never a process it is always a revelation — a revelation of our worthiness. Prayer can change our lives in fact it is the only thing which can bring real change to our world.

I have a wonderful friend who lives in D.C. I have known Joan for over twenty years. She is intelligent and caring. She’s one of first persons I call when I need level-headed advice.

I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Joan except for the fact that she lives in fear.

Now of all the things that keep Joan up at night, nothing terrifies her more than the possibility of retiring without enough money. For Joan, the site of an older worker standing behind the counter of a Burger King or McDonalds is as fearful as it would be for me to find myself seated next to Pat Robinson on an overseas flight.

Retirement for Joan has always been a major priority. In her very first job, she worked for a small radio station for meager wages. Even with limited funds, she was determined to fund her IRA with $2,000.00.

Working with a budget she realized the only way she could save the $2,000.00 would be to eat frozen fish sticks for the entire year! So for a year she ate them, every night, frozen fish sticks – the generic store brand.

Joan has traveled a long way from her early start. She has had a very successful career. Her house is almost paid for. She’s set to inherit a large sum from her mother, and Joan herself as been a very smart investor. While I’m not privilege to the details of her balance sheet, I suspect that her net worth is well into the millions.

Now you would think with those assets she would finally be free of her fears.

This week I got a call from her. She works out of her home and she was complaining that it was too hot to work. When I asked her why she didn’t turn her thermostat down, she replied that with the cost of electricity she kept her thermostat on the first floor set on eighty-five. She was trying to work on the third floor where the temperature was well over ninety degrees.

So, after all her hard work and accumulated resources, she’s still eating frozen fish sticks.

Dr. Holmes wrote that a problem of consciousness cannot be solved with a material answer.

When we feel unsupported no amount of IRAs will save us. But when we know we are a loved and valued member of creation, we will live in wealth and abundance in whatever circumstance we may find ourselves.

Now David Faber, one of the talking heads on the TV’s CNBC Business news channel, seems like a nice enough guy, but lately he’s been making a real pest of himself. He’s developed a habit of showing up in my bedroom at 3 A.M. whispering concerns about the Greek financial crisis. And if I pay a moment’s attention to him, I’ll find myself sitting in wide-eyed terror as the entire cast of Squawk on the Street debates the effectiveness of the President’s stimulus package.

After three of four hours of this, I find myself fresh as a piece of day old toast. As Fred Sanford on Sanford and Son would say about his hair, “fried, dyed and laid to the side.”

I know watching too much TV news can have this effect on me, but sometimes I indulge in things which I know don’t support my best good. Like scratching a mosquito bite. There may be monetary pleasure, but in the long run there’s a price to pay.

Now we all should stay informed, but we should also realize that the news is not so much in the business of informing us, as it is to sell advertisements. If you want to know who makes money on the news, check out their advertisers. Largely, the pharmaceuticals and the insurance companies – people who either want to scare you about the future or sell you a pill to get you through the present.

The news media have made human tragedy into a soap opera. We tune in to hear about the latest world calamity the same way we would tune in for an episode of All My Children. To expect that we’ll one day hear a newscaster tell us that the world is an abundant playground, is like waiting on Erica Kane to find true love.

It just isn’t going to happen.

So how do you shut-up David Faber, or whoever might be your personal boogie man, when he shows up with a basket full of worries at 3 A.M.

First see worry for what it is – the midwife to the problem. When we worry we’re giving that which we fear energy. “Low the thing I have feared the most is upon me,” Job 3:25.

See worry as a thought pattern and tell it that you will not allow it in your bedroom. Declare your bedroom a worry-free zone.

If that doesn’t work, then bring out the big guns, this never fails – start going through the people in your life and begin to think the very best of them. Like fingering the beads of a rosary, give your best thoughts to the people who surround you. Those you love, those you like and perhaps a handful or so of people who drive you nutty. See your sister with a new partner. See a friend getting the adopted child. Or envision the check-out person with a better opportunity.

If you try this you’ll find yourself either back to sleep or more rested when the alarm goes off than if you had wrestled with worry all night.

Working on my next post: Frozen Fish Sticks.

A friend recently described his Spiritual practice. Up at four to read several Spiritual books rounded off with an hour or so of meditation.

The entire time I was listening to him I kept thinking to myself, “What the Army wouldn’t take you?”

The Universe was created for nothing more than the sheer joy of creation. God is infinite intelligence, and no intelligence would ever choose to do anything out of drudgery. So then certainly we must be able to connect to that Creation in joy.

I’ve always liked the fact that the first miracle Jesus preformed was the changing of the water into wine. Through celebration he revealed his connection to Source.

Only later would he spend time in the desert fasting. There he would confront the darkest parts of himself. Why then, are we able to accept the idea that we can connect with God through deprivation but not celebration?

We can live lives of love and abundance, and it is through laughter and joy that we will call them forth.

Ernest Holmes wrote that we look too far away for our good and that God is closer to us than the very air we breathe.

Therefore, I would like to suggest a Spirituality for the Slothful. Something very easy and simple that anyone can manage.

Tomorrow when you wake up just spend a few moments awakening the Divine Dream within yourself. Think of those things that make you feel most alive. Imagine how your life reflects the Divine Pattern of the Universe. Open for yourself an avenue of God Possibilities in your life.

As you go through your day set signals to remind yourself of this Divine Dream and to reflect on what part of your day has seems Divine. And when you see even the smallest evidence of it – a co-worker being extra pleasant, a check-out person being helpful, or a fun conversation with a relative – celebrate as if you were walking around the walls of Jericho with a trumpet to your lips.

Now let us consider our friend the sloth. He is much criticized for being lazy and unproductive. Scientists tell us that at one time he lived on the land and was the size of a hippo. At some point, he decided to give up the rat race and ascend to the canopy of trees. There he hangs on by his claws high above the dangers of the jungle floor munching on the leaves that surround him — meditating on the golden rays of sunshine filtering down through the succulent green leaves.

Meditating perhaps on nothing more that the Joy of Life and the Glory of Creation.

Working my post for Monday: Someone Get David Faber out of my bedroom.

Several months ago a friend of mine, who is a substantial contributor to The Carter Center here in Atlanta, asked me if I would like to attend an all day seminar hosted by the Carters on their world-wide humanitarian efforts. I’ve always admired the good works of the Carters so I jumped at the opportunity.

Unfortunately, by the time of the seminar I had injured my back. Nothing seemed to work. I began to spend lots of time at my Chiropractor’s office (Doctor Snap, Crackle and Pop as I affectingly call her). As the date of the seminar began to approach I was desperate for relief.

Regardless of Dr. Snap’s best efforts, I was in misery the day of the seminar. I was walking with the grace of a crab caught on a hot beach, with the crab most certainly having a better disposition. As I sat in the auditorium listening to all the amazing things the Carter’s are doing world-wide to eradicate disease, I marveled at all the goodwill assembled in one room.

As I listened to the speakers it struck me how wonderful it was to be among a group of people who were willing to donate their money to help strangers half-way around the world. I realized there had to be a great deal of energy in that room – positive energy, perhaps healing energy. At one point, I decided to start doing prayer for myself for my back. “Certainly,” I thought to myself, “I can benefit from this positive environment.” Amazingly, within just a few minutes of my prayer my back stopped hurting.

I’ve been involved in Spiritual study long to know that we are always surrounded by God’s healing love; however, for my own healing it took an ex-President and his wife to remind me.

Last night I gave my final talk at the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta. If you would like to hear my talk, you can by clicking here: Transformation through the Heart

Check back in for my post tomorrow: Spirituality for the Slothful

Last week a friend of mine called me to tell about a recent experience. He had gotten behind at work and decided to schedule the past weekend to work on an important proposal for his boss due the following Monday. Much to his consternation his plans were disrupted by out-of-town friends who showed up on his doorstep ready to play. After a weekend of frivolity, my friend slapped together his project on Sunday night with a great deal less consideration than he had originally thought necessary. Much to his surprise and delight, on Tuesday he received an email from his boss congratulating him on one of his best proposals.

“From now on,” my friend concluded, “I’m going to think less and play more.”

Too many of us assume that we have to solve all our problems though serious thought and hard work. As children we see our parents working hard and being serious and we conclude that in order to be successful we must follow their example. It’s no wonder as adults that many of us turn to alcohol, drugs or a variety of other life sapping habits to bring us happiness. With our false assumptions we have narrowed the avenues through which joy can come into our lives. We need more play in order to succeed as adults.

God did not create our universe out of obligation and toil. Our lives were created for the joy of creation. So it only follows that if we want to get ourselves in-line with the spirit of creation we must be more joyful.

Right now something, which boarder on the miraculous, is taking place within me. My breakfast of two veggie sausage patties – which are as delicious as they sound – is being converted from matter to energy. The good news is I haven’t had to give one thought to the process.

We don’t have to think our way through all of our problems – in fact we can’t. There is a law of attraction at work in our lives. We can have miracles of love and abundance, but it will be through laughter and joy that we call them forth.

Coming home from the SLCA retreat this past weekend I felt on top of the world. I had met new friends, bonded with old ones and had been inspired by the wisdom of Paul, David and Joyce. Driving through the torrential rains Sunday afternoon, I happily hummed the songs I had enjoyed from our guest musicians.

Once home, I didn’t even allow the discovery that our two doggies had caught fleas while staying with our pet sitter to disturb my new spiritual equilibrium. Wrestling our 4.5 pound pick-a-poo, who can morph into a Tasmanian devil at the smell of flea soap, I told myself that I was joy riding the universal flow of energy.

The next morning as I went to turn on my lap top and found that it had once again been attacked by a virus, my smile and hum were becoming a little more strained. Driving over to my computer repair shop, my smile became more of a forced grimace when I realized my car AC had suddenly died. And finally, all my new found enlightenment completely disappeared when I noticed that my car was running hot. Letting loose a blue streak of cussing, I pulled over on the 900 block of Ponce de Leon Place to call a tow truck.

Sitting on the hood of my car, mad with the world, I remembered that at one time, 30 years ago, I had actually lived on Ponce De Leon Place. Looking around I discovered, in fact, my car had died almost directly in front of the house I rented shortly after graduating from college.

At that time our nation was experiencing a terrible recession and a new president. Jobs, particularly for recent college grads, were difficult to come by. I had gone to work for a company that provided data transfer for banks. I couldn’t have picked a situation that was more poorly suited to my interest. I was convinced that I was stuck in a boring and dead-end position.

During this period, I also learned that my best friend from high school, Claire Moxley, had suddenly died. Claire was funny, smart and tried her best to be a Christian in the most loving sense of the word. She stood over six feet tall and was a dead ringer for Eleanor Roosevelt. She died of heart failure three months into her first job.

When I learned of Claire’s death I was devastated. Up until that time I was a self-confessed atheist and my intellectual honesty could not allow me to believe that my wonderful friend was anything more than dust.

Lying in bed, in my sad little apartment tossing and turning in pain a thought popped into my head, “Bring a joyful noise unto the Lord.” It wasn’t a voice and it didn’t come with a beam of light, but it was so alien to my consciousness that I knew it had to come from other than myself. At the time I attributed it to Claire. Now it didn’t turn me into a Christian, but it did start me on a journey. One that would allow me to cast off much of the nonsense I had been taught about an angry and judgmental God, and lead me to a belief that we are alive to experience God as love and joy.

Sitting in front of my old apartment, I thought that Claire would be proud of the journey I had taken. And I hope that she would be willing to take some credit in it. And miracles of miracles, that idea made me grateful for a computer full of viruses and a car bellowing steam.

Just watched a great video from my friend Rev. Bev.

A nice way to remind ourselves that even a simple water sprinkler can be great fun on a summer day.

Click here: Baby Moose

Last summer, during the worst of the heat, a friend of mine called for a favor. He’s without health insurance, doesn’t have a car and also has a serious health issue. He needed a lift to the free health clinic. Now the good news is that there is a place for him to go. The bad news is they seldom build free clinics next to a Target or Starbucks.

No, they’re more often in places like the Pet Shop Boys’ song, Where the Streets Have No Names. After getting lost a time or two, we found the clinic which turned out to be nice and clean. My friend got to his doctor and soon we were on our way.

The next morning, I left the house to run a few errands and when I cranked the car up I noticed it was running roughly.
I told myself that it needed to warm up. It was ninety degrees out with eighty percent humidity, but — it needed to warm up.
I got out of my driveway but it didn’t seem to be doing any better. I didn’t even make it to the end of our block, before I realized that I needed to pull over and walk back and call my mechanic.

Back at the house, I called my mechanic to complain about my luck. As I told him what’s going on, he just happened to mention how lucky I was that it died close to my house.

And then I thought back on how it could have just as easily stalled the day before with my sick friend in August, in Atlanta, in a really bad section of town.

At that point I wanted to go out and kiss the car.

I think all of us have daily experiences in our lives that we often over look or ascribe to luck, which just as easily could be called miracles, ordinary miracles.

Now just because they’re ordinary doesn’t mean that they can’t be extremely powerful. Sometimes they can change the very course of our lives.

Long ago, I was working in D.C. and was so miserable with my life that one day walking down a busy street I contemplated throwing myself under a bus.

Strangely, the idea didn’t frighten me; if anything it gave me a sense of comfort. At that moment, I happened to look up and in the crowd was a woman who quite deliberately caught my eyes and smiled.

Now that smile lasted only the few seconds — we didn’t speak. It was just a brief encounter on a busy city street, but it renewed my faith that there were kind people in the world. And for me at that junction of my life, that one idea was, if nothing else, miraculous.

When we focus our attention on the ordinary miracles of our experience, we can turn our lives into extraordinary miracles.