Love and Understanding

In this four-part series, we are treating Advent as an intuitive awakening. Our focus is on the meditative process. Follow the same preparations from the first week and bring your awareness into the region of the solar plexus using the simple statement, I Am.  See and feel your soul radiating love. This beautiful energy of love works for the highest good of all concerned, sometimes attracting and sometimes repelling or dissolving, depending on how the highest good is to manifest. Whether love attracts or dissolves is not a decision you make, but one you trust love to sort out as it flows in and through every aspect of your being and your life. Love lifts your vision in a way that imparts the understanding to see and know what needs to be done. Affirm:

I am guided by the understanding that love imparts.

Love is my essence. Love is my being.

Love is the balancing action in all my relationships and all conditions in my life.

See your body immersed in love. See every aspect of your life, especially those areas that are troubled, completely engulfed in the love that radiates as your soul. See love doing its perfect work and become willing to do your part in that work when the understanding dictates. Loving your neighbor may result in strengthening your relationship or dissolving it. This is a much better alternative than trying to force yourself to love them because you think you are supposed to. You may not always be able to muster the kind word or take that right action that will bring agreement with another. Still, you can know that invoking love will fit all the pieces together, will tie up the loose ends, and move all concerned to their best and highest good. Love reveals that this is true even when your good intentions at diplomacy fail miserably, or fear drives your own actions. The love that expresses as your soul is greater than all human frailty. Your unloving thoughts and actions or the unloving thoughts and actions of another do nothing to alter love itself. Love does not depend on how loving or unloving you are.

Let all of this go and simply see your entire being immersed in love. Experience love’s healing warmth. Let it melt away your stress and your struggle to be loved. You are more than loved. You are love itself.

Advent Series, Part 1 of 4

Life and Enthusiasm

In this four-part series, we are treating Advent as an intuitive awakening. Our focus, therefore, is on the meditative process. Choose a regular time and a place where you will not be disturbed (allow 30 minutes to an hour). Relax your mind and body. Bring your awareness to the area of the solar plexus (abdominal region) and focus your attention with this simple statement: I Am. Slowly repeat these words, letting go of all stress-inducing distractions. After a time, begin speaking quietly the affirmations that follow. Allow yourself to envision and experience the action suggested by each line before you move on to the next:

My soul radiates the pure, unrestricted energy of life.

There are no blockages. There are no restrictions.

I am filled with boundless life and unbridled enthusiasm.

The pure radiance of my soul shines in its fullness now.

In perfect peace, I let this pure energy rise.

As you relax with your awareness at your center, see the radiating energy of your soul as the energizing life that permeates all aspects of your being. It is natural to visualize life as the light that animates and heals every cell of your body and brings a sparkle of enthusiasm to your eye. You need not direct the energy of life, for life knows how to express itself. We see it animating countless forms at a variety of levels everywhere in the world. Life never stagnates. It is only our mundane focus of attention that becomes dull and lifeless. Acknowledge the free reign of life as it radiates its natural expansive movement through and as your being.

Don’t try to pump up your enthusiasm and strive to be the life of the party. Doing this will expend your energy by directing it to that bottomless pit of your unenthusiastic self-image.

Any forced positive attitude you generate will be short-lived and costly. A forced expression of enthusiasm is a performance you’ll have to continually maintain. Those who do this might be entertaining, but they can also be quite wearisome. You don’t have to instruct fire to be hot and you don’t have to inform life that it needs to express as enthusiasm. This is what it does naturally.

Natural enthusiasm manifests as genuine interest in whatever you happen to be doing, from creating a piece of art to taking out the trash. Enthusiasm is as unconditional as the energy of life itself. You need no particular reason to be enthusiastic. It is life’s gift to you. As you affirm life in your meditative experience, quiet enthusiasm will naturally grow.

YouTube: The Truth About Thanksgiving

It may seem presumptuous to give a talk on the truth of Thanksgiving. It’s a pretty straightforward topic, after all, and we’ve all had our share of formal Thanksgiving celebrations. My intention is to focus more on the spiritual principle embodied in giving thanks

Giving thanks is something we would do after having received some desired good. We normally think of thanksgiving as an effect. From the standpoint of the soul, the act of thanksgiving is understood more as a cause, an activity we engage in before there is evidence of a desired good.

You recall that Jesus gave thanks before he had the disciples begin passing out the meager supply of loaves and fishes. His attention was not on the apparent limited quantity of food available but on God as his ever-present Source. He blessed the food, which means he was seeing it from a consciousness of wholeness. The action of having the disciples begin passing out the bread and fish was based on his awareness of God as his unfailing supply.

The focus we place on this story as a miraculous act performed by a supernatural being causes us to miss the lesson we can draw from it. We are often faced with circumstances that proclaim, “There is not enough to go around.” Maybe you are in such a situation now, where it seems your resources are inadequate. You may find yourself turning to God asking for help. Jesus’ example indicates the importance of first lifting our attention above the appearance and acknowledging God as our unfailing supply. We give thanks for the solution that is now forthcoming.

We can use our faith to know the answers we seek are present even before we perceive a problem. Our previous appearance-based training has us reacting to the problem in a way that degrades the quality of our inner life. Fear and a sense of helplessness often set in and we resort to pleading for help. We pause to let go of the negative energy we have placed in the appearance and we begin giving thanks that the proper solution is now forthcoming. Thanksgiving becomes a creative action rather than a simple reaction. 

YouTube: The Everlasting Arms

God … is the substance (from sub, under, and stare, to stand), or the real thing standing under every visible form of life, love, intelligence, or power. Each rock, tree, animal, every visible thing, is a manifestation of the one Spirit—God—differing only in degree of manifestation; and each of the numberless modes of manifestation or individualities, however insignificant, contains the whole.” -Emilie Cady

As I read this text, I am reminded of a verse from Deuteronomy:

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Shifting from the notion that God is a human-like figure who resides in the sky to the understanding that God permeates and sustains all life is a big step for many. And yet as we make this change in our thinking, we come to know God as an imminent help and sustainer in our time of uncertainty. To think of God as our dwelling place and ourselves as being upheld and guided by God’s presence opens our mind to this truth. We take a peaceful, centered approach to our life.

God is your substance and the substance of all you desire. This is a prospering statement, one that helps open your mind to the truth of God as your unfailing resource. Instead of thinking “there are four months to harvest” the truth that God is your ever-present substance opens your mind to the “fields ready for harvest” right now. The same is true with health. God is your present source of health. The healing energy that God is works in and through your mind and body now. 

The statement, I live in God, and God lives in me aligns your thinking with the truth of your relationship to God. Speak these words when you are alone, quietly when you are with others, while you are out for your walk, driving your car, or alone in a meditative setting. Do not reach out to God; reach in. Wherever you are in life, open your mind to God’s prospering, healing presence.

YouTube: Stand Alone with God

“Each man must sooner or later learn to stand alone with his God; nothing else avails. Nothing else will ever make you master of your own destiny.”   Emilie Cady

Wouldn’t we all love to have a wise old sage we could turn to in our times of uncertainty, someone we knew who was perpetually grounded in spiritual principle, unperturbed by the ever-changing world of appearances? For me, this person has been Emilie Cady. Often, in my own time of uncertainty, some reassuring phrase of hers comes to me with renewed relevance to my concern.

In this case, her words of wisdom suggest turning from sages to our own indwelling God, which is the true role of the sage. They are there to remind us of the spiritual path to freedom, a path we thought was blocked by some very real-appearing obstacle. She would be the first to say that it is not enough to simply acknowledge the sign that the sage holds. With these words, we are reminded that we must actually take the stand, turn from peace-robbing appearances, and unite in thought and feeling with our God of courage and the strength to become masters of our destiny.

Our destiny is freedom from fear and failure. To stand alone with our God is to find our center of power and to reach the unshakable conviction that the highest good is now unfolding through our life. As a statement that can help us recenter our trust in God, Cady suggests a statement like this: God is my defense and deliverance. As we speak such words, we feel the healing balm of their truth dissolve the darkness and bring forth the light, that we may move through our days and nights in confidence and in peace.

If you are experiencing a moment of uncertainty, go alone, let go of all appearances and speak these simple words: God is my defense and deliverance. Speak them quietly until you feel the shackles of fear fall away. Any time throughout your day the darkness of fear attempts to overtake you, speak them again until you know you are standing alone with your God. Your destiny is freedom, and your freedom is now.   

YouTube: Monsters, Saints, and Peanut Butter Kisses

In my brief research of Halloween, I discovered that some historians believe it can be traced back into ancient, Celtic speaking countries and was later Christianized, possibly as the Church’s way of appeasing the pagan audience it was set on converting. Other historians say it originated as a Christian holiday. Halloween has been connected with everything from Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, to Parentalia, a festival of the dead, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for summer’s end. From the personal standpoint of a child, I only saw it as an opportunity to disguise myself and hit up the neighborhood for a boatload of free candy.

I have to confess that, as one involved in a career that encourages people to drop the costume of self-image, learn to master our terrorizing thoughts, and let go of the attitude of, give me what I want or else you may not like what I do to you, I find very little of spiritual value in this holiday. I don’t need to light candles to remember or honor departed souls. The thought of worshipping relics of saints (like a shriveled, mummified hand) grosses me out. I don’t normally celebrate summer’s end. I’m not fond of horror films. And the lack of willpower to refrain from eating an entire bag of peanut butter kisses only showcases my human frailty. If there is a Halloween version of scrooge, I guess that would be me.

Yes, families do get together and celebrate on Halloween. It’s our annual chance to share a friendly meal with Frankenstein, the Werewolf and the Mummy. But many families already bear a strong resemblance to the Munsters, so I’m not sure there’s a net benefit here.

Perhaps Halloween could be construed as a formal way of confronting our deepest fears. Learn to have fun with the thing you fear most, and you may realize there is nothing to fear. Isn’t this a technique for confronting fear? Come up with the worst-case scenario, that monster lurking in the shadows of your mind, and then you work with it until you bring it into the light and no longer fear it.

So, in whatever way you choose to celebrate Halloween, have fun and be safe.

YouTube: Have We Met?

When Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice,” he was not suggesting that his followers were mere sheep, nodding in mindless agreement with every word he spoke. He was saying that those who naturally and deeply resonated with his message were doing so at the soul level. Those who were beginning to awaken to the truth of their being would hear and respond to his message.

We all meet many people in our life. There are some with whom we have an instant rapport, as if we are connected at a level that transcends the surface facts of the relationship. Is it possible we’ve known one another in a previous life? Those who embrace the notion of reincarnation are probably familiar with the idea of souls traveling through lifetimes in groups. I suggested this in one of my songs, It Never Ends:

You and I have walked before

together on some distant shore

do we know some ancient lore

together as friends?

Though I believe Beth and I have walked before, together on some distant shore, I personally don’t put much energy in the pursuit of tracing the time and place of our former relationship. I simply accept that our meeting this time was not our first. Nor should it be surprising that a common, heartfelt interest in spiritual things would cause our paths to cross yet again. Even through this earthly life, we stay in touch with those kindred spirits whose company immediately fit us like comfortable clothing.

I also find comfort in the idea that even when a meaningful relationship is brought to a momentary close, the opportunity to resume will present itself at the appropriate time and place. Parting company is not easy, but as we lift our spiritual eyes to the larger context of this playing field we call life, we can know that nothing precious is ever lost. As Kahlil Gibran so beautifully wrote,

“A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.”

What I recognize as precious now, I will surely know as precious then.

When Jesus said, You will know the truth and the truth will make you free, he was addressing the key to understanding the ultimate objective of forgiveness: freedom. We not only want to be free of the hurtful actions of others, we want to be free from our own self-destructive attitudes. Whether we are talking about forgiveness of another or self-forgiveness, it’s very helpful to see it as our means of reclaiming the freedom of our wholeness.

If this sounds self-serving, just remember that you give the most when you are living your life from strength. I say often that God expresses through us as life, love, power and intelligence. Spiritual power manifests as strength, a quality that is our spiritual birthright. The act of forgiveness is really the act of reclaiming our spiritual strength.

Think about this for a moment. What does it mean to feel hurt? What does it mean to feel deceived? What does it mean to think of another as having power to make you suffer? If God is your source of power, then how could the actions of another take the power that only God can give? The truth that sets us free is the understanding that this is not possible. Forgiveness is the conscious act of returning to this truth. We’re not attempting to condone the negative actions of another. We are making the choice to return to our true source of power.

Many relationships are based on need. I think you have something I need–usually love in one of its many forms–that affirms me, that makes me feel complete. One day you become angry with me and threaten to withhold your love. So I ask your forgiveness with the hope that you will again give it to me, as my life is not complete without it.

Is this forgiveness, or is it a form of manipulation? Am I dealing with our situation from a place of strength or from a place of weakness? Am I seeing myself as an expression of God, or do I see others as holding the key to my wholeness?

There’s a story of a farmer who lived outside a village. On his land was an artesian well. One day the village well dried up for reasons no one knew. The farmer gladly began sharing his water. But then he became greedy and started charging the villagers for the water they took. His fee kept climbing. If someone complained, he would either raise their fee or cut them off. Only as they begged his forgiveness would he allow them to continue to get water, and at the price he set. Then, a certain villager realized that if they dug just a bit deeper, they could once again tap the aquifer, which they did. As the village reclaimed its water supply, the farmer’s scheme was rendered useless.

In this story, the truth that set the village free was found within their own well. What they had thought of as forgiveness was really a form of manipulation on the part of the farmer. Reclaiming their own water source once again put them in a position of strength. Knowing his greedy character, they could easily let go of the farmer for he no longer had the ability to manipulate them.

If you are struggling with forgiveness, it may very well be that you need to dig a little deeper into your own well. It might seem that another is controlling your water supply, but in truth, your source of power is never depleted. Isn’t this what Jesus was saying when he suggested that we seek first the kingdom of God and all else would be added? Find your own water supply, your own fountain of power, and the rest falls in place. When you tap your own spiritual strength, you will no longer need to forgive, for you will know that no one can take from you that which is yours already.

YouTube: The Forgiveness Principle

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

Peter once asked Jesus how many times a person should forgive someone who had sinned against them. Seven times? Jesus said, seven times seventy. It’s important that we become completely free of the actions of another. Why? The answer is found in the above passage: What we bind on earth, is bound in heaven. In other words, our fixed state of mind has a corresponding influence on the way our life unfolds.

How do we loose an offender that we feel has damaged us in some way? How do we forgive? We start with the realization that they have no power to diminish us. Our negative response toward them is the only thing that hurts us. Forgiveness is taking back the power we have given them.

Forgiveness has nothing to do with condoning or overlooking the bad behavior of another. To forgive someone does not mean you have to throw your arms around them. It means that you see yourself in a new light. Despite their intention, you are still whole, completely unscathed by anything they have said or done. Free yourself of the notion that they have taken something from you, for they can only take what you are willing to give. Again, what you bind on the earth of your own thinking will have a corresponding influence somewhere in your life.

When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, he acknowledged that they meant evil toward him. But he was able to rise above their intentions by focusing on the greater good that ultimately came about for him. Though we would likely think he was justified in doing so, he did not allow their negative actions to diminish him. He did not bind himself to their low intentions with resentment.

If you are struggling with negative feelings around the actions of another, know the ball of forgiveness is always in your court. Loose them and let them go. In doing so, you are freeing yourself.