Spiritual Laws & Creating Change

Let us not set aside our practices that enable us to be strong, aware, kind, and loving. Let us remember that our words, thoughts, beliefs, and unconscious beliefs are powerful and effective. Let us return to our roots of faith and ask ourselves what visions are we holding in our minds and decide if that is what we want to see manifested in our lives, in our community, in our world! If we are exhausted, it could mean we are being pulled in two or more directions and unity is not present. But, what I mean by unity can be misinterpreted so allow me to clarify my thought. If I believe that something won’t work, then it won’t work and if my thoughts are inconsistent to that which I desire, then I am out of harmony and my heart and mind are not unified with what I desire. This causes me to be pulled and thus a sense of exhaustion surrounds me. My energy is drained and I may feel I am fighting a battle I cannot win; and this felling would be correct. This contradiction is not a contradiction at all, but an outward revealing of what is internally brewing.

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So let us examine ourselves and uncover where we may be stumbling. Think about some small desire of yours. What kind of energy do you give it? Do you nurture the desire? Do you see it becoming real in your life? Do you give it time in your thoughts and take small actions each day to bring you closer to its manifestation? Doing this strengthens our beliefs and we see that as you and I become unified in our thoughts, beliefs, and actions, we are moving in one direction and are not being torn and distracted. Our actions and beliefs must be in agreement and we do this by starting with small steps.

What would you like to see become a reality in your life right now? Do you believe it can be? Start with a short meditation or visualization. See the thing you desire as already occurring. Unify your mind with it, feel what it would be like, and see the Good that would come from it. See it benefiting others as well, bringing wholeness, healing, joy to you, to your family, and spreading outward into the community. Giving this visualization time each day to see, feel, imagine, and sense it as a reality. This is effective in removing unconscious, contradicting beliefs. Then, as you practice this daily in your meditation, visualization, and prayer time, opportunities will avail themselves for you to take an action because Spirit can only do for us what it can do through us. So, if it is a new job or a new roll at your current job you are desiring and you are visualizing what it feels like to have it, the people who will benefit, the Good that will not only come to you, but to others… you will also begin to see actions you will need to take to become the answer to your own prayer. The same is true if it is a new place you desire to move to. See it, feel it, imagine the Good to you and others that will come because of it and then watch the doors open for you to take an action to manifest your desired outcome.

For that which is happening at a larger scales right now in our communities, our country and the world, what Good can you visualize and see it in your mind as becoming a reality? Start small so you can believe it. As your faith increases, you can increase your visualizations to bigger desires. Use your morning or evening practices to meditate on, pray about, and visualize the greater Good you want to see take place in our communities and in the lives of other people. Visualize what it would feel like for someone to be able to freely walk, hike, drive, and shop with confidence and without fear of being harassed because of their race or color of skin. See a community that supports all races and feel that in your body, sense it in your muscles and take on what that freedom would feel like for someone who has not had that freedom. As you practice this visualization, it creates an energy, it expands your belief and opportunities can not help but to show themselves to you as to what is yours to do and how Spirit will use you to be the answer to your prayer.

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These are practices we cannot set aside at this time of our history. These are the practices that will energize us and not exhaust us. This is how we become unified with our desires. This is how we build our faith… by one vision of Good at a time and by being open to act on that vision, and taking the time to assure we build up ourselves through our spiritual practice so that we can be effective – bringing about a Change for Good for everyone through seeing it already done and taking action to make it so.

And so it is!

Before Saying “Yes”

 

 

 

 

 

We all have had this happen to us. We are asked to go somewhere or do an activity and we say “yes” only to feel angst or regret. We forget to pause and listen to our gut. We respond to quickly and may feel awkward by saying “give me a moment to think about it.”

The Practice:

Answer the question first in the privacy of your mind and sit with it. It could take a few moments to sense what you may be feeling. Does your gut tighten up? Do you feel your body recoil? Or, is there an excitement, a lightness, or a feeling of  “why not?” It is so important to check in with your inner-being before saying yes. If you still need confirmation, answer “no” within your mind. How does this feel? Is there a greater ease? Do you feel lighter now? Even a sense of relief?

“Follow your gut” is a true directive. Your gut, the Solar Plexus Chakra, is the point of empowerment. It will respond and guide us into our personal responsibility and when we listen to it as a regular practice, tuning into it becomes easier and we are guided to what is best for us in each situation.

A Badass is a Good Thing!

For kicks and grins I check out books I have not read before to see what else is being said out there in the world of self-help and metaphysics. Sometimes I am captivated by the way an author writes about subjects that I hold dear to me. Jen Sincero hit it out of the ballpark in her funny, blunt and a bit irreverent book called, “You are a BADASS: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.” It holds back no punches and shares from her own experience. Sometimes we need the truth to be like a lightning bolt to wake us up from the stagnancy we long to be free from. The answers are familiar, but she presents them in ways that may feel like it is the first time you have heard them.

It is available in audio, digital, or written format. Who wants to virtually read along with me? It’s a hoot as well as a shot in the arm!

Being a Badass,

Sue

 

Mirror of the Mind

Life reflects back to us, in form, on what we focus our consistent thoughts. The key here is the word consistent and as I pondered this concept, I thought about how Facebook has a magical way of bringing to our feed more ads and posts about things we “like”, give comment to, or even what we search for on the internet. We see more of the same. Hmmm… Now, I am not comparing the Intelligence of the Universe to the algorithms of Mark Zuckerberg’s brain child, but this kind of demonstrates my point.

Have you ever noticed that generally negative people seem to have situations occur for them that perpetuate their negativity? And generally grateful people, those that are more positive in attitude seem to perpetuate more reasons to be grateful and positive about? It is like we invite more of what we express in our lives as if we send out a signal or vibration to call it in. That is the Mirror of the Mind and if we are not consciously aware that our way of thinking may reflect back to us situations or feelings that we wish not to experience anymore, we could find ourselves frustrated and jaded; succumbing to the belief that life cannot get any better. But Life is better and Life desires us to thrive and feel fulfilled, joyful, and happy. We can invite the goodness of Life by making small steps and become aware of what we are saying, thinking and focusing on.

I know that when I greatly reduced the time I spent on reading and listening to the news and talking, sharing and writing about it, I began to feel better. Did my doing that change the news? Not really, but it did change my perceptions and my perceptions changed my mood and my good moods started to change how I viewed things around me and my views became more uplifting. That, in turn, changed my experiences and I began to see life as friendly, loving and happy. This doesn’t mean I don’t have challenges from time to time. But, it does mean that I can maneuver through the wiggles of life with a greater resilience knowing that how I think can change how life shows up for me; reflecting back to me what is in my mind.

What’s in your Mind?

Why Taking out the Trash Clears Your Mind – The Art of Contemplative Writing

 

When I was young, one of the chores I did daily was to take the house trash out to the garbage can behind the garage. Mom would change out the trash liner in the house and toss the bag just outside the back door before I came home. I would walk into the back yard after school and It was always there, waiting for me each day. I could rely on it. So when I arrived, I would grab the bag and throw it in the garbage can. Sometimes, as a child, I would be so excited to be home that I would not see the garbage. I would knock on the door and let mom know I was home. She would open the door and remind me to toss the trash before I did anything else. Through this, I learned that I should not wait to be reminded, but to do the task first and thus, the entry into our home would be clear.

I have been a writer of my thoughts for a long, long time. I would write in journals and notebooks. I wrote stories, poems and songs. I would go to the grocery store with my mom, and then later on to the office supply store, and get excited about new school supplies, pens and paper. I would write notes and letters to friends about anything on my mind. In high school, I wrote in the school’s creative writing booklet that was published annually. What I didn’t know then, but became aware of later, was that my writing provided insights to my feelings, my thoughts, beliefs and it became my confidant as somewhere I could go to get my thoughts out. It was like private therapy where my higher Self became my guide.

The simple act of picking up a pen and paper, or typing out my words, allows the flow of thought to pour from my mind without distraction. Some prefer to only use pen and paper as it slows down their thoughts. I have done it both ways and I enjoy both. Yet, I now type my words on my laptop each morning and I use a site that keeps me accountable. It is www.750words.com. It is free for the first 30 days and is completely private. I can review my trends of thoughts and emotions. After 30 days, there is a fee of $5 a month to continue. No one will lose any of their entries if they choose not to continue. Everything is still there for us when we log in with our user name and password. I continue to use this site as it does keep me responsible and they are doing good work by helping thousands through the act of daily writing.

Julia Cameron, the author of the Artist’s Way, also teaches about writing every day through what she calls “Morning Pages.” http://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/ She also is a strong proponent of writing with pen and paper and to do the writing in the morning. Both, Julia and 750Words, teach that we are not to over think what we are writing nor are we to pay attention to spelling or punctuation. That, in itself, is a lesson in releasing control!!! Yet, if we concentrate on making it perfect, we stop the flow of what is really important. The goal is to let our thoughts come out. Our hearts will tell us what to write about. Many times, I sit down to start my writing with an idea and the topic will shift just by the act of beginning.

Sometimes what I write is absolute junk (or what I call “Taking out the Trash”) or it can be a clarifying stream of conscious dialog with myself that gives me insight to something I have been challenged with during the last few days. If you don’t know what to write, just begin with that… “I don’t know what to write today. Sitting here makes me feel….” and you will be on your way. The length of our writing doesn’t have to be long. Julia says to write 3 journal pages while the other site I shared mentions 750 words. I think the point is to write just long enough so that there is a shift.

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As you can see from the title, I call this process “Taking out the Trash.” This is one of the benefits of contemplative writing. I think of it as a brain dump. Anything that is floating aimlessly in my mind becomes purged. And, as I continue putting words to paper, the path begins to clear and allows other thoughts to become dislodged and evaluated and considered for examination. These are the good ones! These may be the thoughts and beliefs I have not been aware about, the ones that have been running the show behind the more benign, everyday activities. This is can be our “Ah-Ha” moment where our questions begin to be answered and awareness begins to grow regarding a concern or a situation or maybe we gain some direction we have needed. Clearing the path is very important as our mind does get full.

So I encourage the practice of contemplative writing. Try it a few times a week and watch what it does. You may find that you become eager and protective of that time between you and your confidant… your higher Self.

Clearing the mind,

Sue

Chant – When Words Will Not Do

Sometimes when words and thoughts are not enough and the mind is too stirred to be silent, I chant. It allows the mind and body to slow down to receive the healing vibration of this practice.

Hand Crafted Malas

Hard Time

The conversations our mind entertains can seem so real and cause emotional reactions within the body just as if what you are thinking really did happen. Your body and mind go through the pain and punishing effects from these beliefs and releasing them or going through the healing process takes just as much work if not more than if it really did happen.

I remember an episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine which Chief Miles O’Brien was accused of espionage on the planet of Argrathi. Yet on this planet, they don’t have an elaborate prison system. Instead, they sentence their criminals by placing cycles (or years) of memories in their minds as if they did spend hard time in prison. The memories are geared specifically to the personality of the accused; to have the greatest effect or punishment. Undergoing the process of implanting the memories of prison only took a few hours. But upon waking, the accused is just as affected and tormented because the thoughts and memories they now have seem so real.

In this episode called Hard Time, Chief O’Brien was sentenced to 20 cycles of prison memories. They include tortures, beating, hunger, imaginations, and conditions of depravation and disease. And in just a few hours of “real time” O’Brien is returned to DS9 to go back to his family, to his job and all his friends with the experiences of being separated from them for 20 years. They didn’t lose 20 years, but he did due to the reprogramming of his consciousness.

http://www.startrek.com/watch_episode/uAAbg0N49q7o

DS9.Miles.O’Brien

Miles O’Brien tries to fit back in, but the residual effects of what he believes to have happened to him, that which he believes to be true, pushes those that love him the most away and he nearly hits is young daughter out of rage. Miles refuses help and runs into the cargo bay on DS9, thrashing everything in his way only to stumble upon a weapons locker. He remembers the code, opens the locker and takes a phaser gun into his hand and changes the setting to maximum.  Dr. Bashir finds O’Brien and talks him through the fact that he is a good man for he didn’t hit his daughter and the fact that he does feel guilt is a sign that he is not hardened. The doctor works with O’Brien, gets him the help he needs to be on the road to recovery and healing.

After recognizing the need for help and accepting it, Chief O’Brien walks back to his quarters and is greeted by his daughter saying to him with excitement, “Daddy’s Home, Daddy’s Home” and Miles says yes… “Daddy is home.”

There are more details in this story than I have shared. It is a very well done and shows how our thoughts, even though they are not real, can seem so real that they disrupt our life in the present moment. Sometimes we need help to navigate through all of our thoughts and beliefs. O’Brien was told, “The things you think you experienced, what you think you remembered never happened. It wasn’t real.” Miles replied, “Well they’re real to me.” And because of the belief he had, that what he had in his mind was real, he started projecting feelings onto those he loved, as if they were a continuation of what occurred in prison.

What kind of “Hard Time” are you putting yourself through by holding onto old beliefs and thoughts? Holding on to them and believing something is true about you when it is not is just as damaging as if they were actually real. Someone may have said something harsh to you, or they allowed hurt to occur in your past, or just were inconsiderate and you have allowed it to take ahold of your self-esteem into a downward spiral of anger, rage and self-punishing activities.  We are to question what we think and the stories we have implanted in our minds – whether they be fairy tale stories or more like doomsday dramas. We come up with conclusions in our minds so quickly because we need to have answers to what is unknown. “Why isn’t so-in-so responding to me?” or “How come my manager hasn’t replied to my emails?” or how about, “Why doesn’t my boyfriend seem more excited to see me?” And we begin to imagine and from those imaginations we make assumptions and those assumptions, if held onto, become our “artificial reality” and that which never really occurred has now become our prison.

Proverbs 23:7 states it so well – “As a man thinketh so is he”. Henry Ford wisely said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” And Byron Katie, the creator of The Work, says “When I believe my thoughts, I am sleep. I have traded the state of grace for a dream.” She also teaches us to notice and examine our thoughts and asks us “What would you be or how would you feel if you no longer believed the thought you are having?” She also teaches in The Work to ask the question “Is it true?” One of my favorite Byron Katie quotes is, “An unquestioned mind is the world of suffering.”

So just like the thoughts of Chief Miles O’Brien, on the science fiction TV show Star Trek Deep Space Nine, we too can move through what we thought was true about ourselves and begin to heal the damaging affects by excepting help, by allowing others to remind us of our true nature, to remind us what we are here on this planet to do, stopping the inner torment and come home to peace.

Namaste

~ Sue

Changes Come… Some with Signs

Altocumulus Clouds

How many times have you heard “I didn’t know it was going to rain” from a friend or co-worker? Maybe even yourself? You or they had no clue it was coming and it caught everyone off guard. But, if one had looked at the sky the day before, the clouds would have hinted to the change. Those “popcorn” looking altocumulus clouds that covered the sky, giving it depth, conveyed that there was a possibility of change in the weather.

I had always looked at the sky. I found it fascinating and at times I became lost in the clouds. In my high school track class, we would lie on the grass to stretch our legs and while doing so I would pause and just stare at the sky. And in doing that often, I became aware of the changes that took place, the differences that showed themselves. At that time I didn’t know what each change meant. But as I gained experience, I saw the patterns; the shift in clouds, the breeze and even the smell of

Stratus Undulatus Clouds

the air. The wind that comes from the east smells so different than the wind from the north or even the west. The air can change from being moist to extremely dry and my skin senses that and requires lotion to feel hydrated. All of these things were signs and as my love for the clouds and the sky increased, I naturally learned about weather patterns and looked at books that explained what I was observing. I was even a little surprised that what I was guessing about the changes I saw in the weather were not far off from the actual. Because of this, I began to trust what I saw and trust my intuition.

We can take this same principle and apply it to other areas of our lives. As we take the time to sit and observe our own inner workings, we can become more aware of the hidden beliefs; those thoughts that have an effect on our own conditions; the weather patterns of our own lives. When we experience particular challenges over and over again, we can look to the “clouds” per se and recognize why things keep occurring. Little by little the surprise is taken out of the equation and we can piece together the cause and effect of our actions or thoughts and make changes accordingly. The signs are always there. It is the purposeful practice of observation that leads to knowing that a change is coming and that we won’t be caught unprepared.

One last thought… sometimes change can happen without any warning, without any precursor cloud to give us a hint. But the practice of daily observing, call it meditation and contemplation, helps us handle that which is unpredictable because it strengthens our intuition (our inner knower) and it guides us every step of the way.

Looking to the Clouds,

Sue

Sacred Experiences

What is sacred? Is it a breath… first, last or even all of them? What about time… the brief moment when one glances in the eyes of a child, a beloved or one whom is about to depart? How about witnessing nature in all her expanse, in all of her beauty and power to the point it catches one in speechless awe? Or it is an experience when the heart connects to that thread of life that makes you feel so present and at that same time the wide open spaces of possibility fills your consciousness in that there is no doubt you have connected with something bigger than yourself and at the same time you are the experience. Sacred.

Sacred is a term that traditionally defines something as holy, something that is to be set aside for religious purposes. Some may even deem that the sacredness of an act or object is not to be questioned, challenged or even disrespected. This act of setting apart could lead to the feeling of duality, separateness or even an us and them state of mind. But I can tell you that the most common act can be sacred because in that moment there is a connection to something beyond that moment.

A little over a week ago I set out to look for a 2014 appointment calendar. I had just gone over the last year’s activities and was logging them into a report I needed to hand in for my re-licensing. It was an eye opening experience to see all that I have done and the lives that I have been in touch with as I reviewed my volunteer work, my appointments and my continuing education. So with 2013 quickly wrapping up, I took the time to go out and look for a new calendar to begin writing down dates that were already being marked for activity.

Barnes & Noble, Santa Rosa, CA

As I entered the local Barnes & Noble, I immediately saw a colleague with whom many activities are shared throughout the year. We greeted each other and talked about our day while he amended his coffee to his liking. Saying goodbye, I continued into the store with a wide-eyed excitement. This two storied building with it’s sights, sounds and the scent of books and brewed coffee is like an oasis to this writer’s soul. Heading to the calendars, I see someone familiar looking back at me. She asked if I worked there and I replied “no, but you look like someone I know.” We established our common ground and began talking. I shared about my search for the perfect calendar and she talked about how her schedule has become completely free as she is in the midst of changing careers. We spoke of art and counseling, websites and trusting the unknown. It was another moment set aside for a chance meeting. Or was it chance? Time passed and at the conclusion of our conversation we continued with our individual pursuits. Ah… the calendars at last. Five rows of different sized books of weekly, monthly, daily, scholastic, annotated, perforated, spiral, stitched, cloth, leather, vinyl, with or without ribbons and colors for every imaginable taste. I looked for what I knew, what I had used before. I looked and reviewed new formats and saw their possibilities while some didn’t even achieve my interest. I had reviewed all 5 rows and I was beginning to feel I would have to leave without making a choice. I then turned the corner and on the last end-cap, I saw it. I bent down to the bottom shelf and as I touched it there was that moment, that moment I deemed as sacred, where I

Open to Possibilities

saw the possibilities of the next year. I felt present as I realized that I was being open to what is to come, what would fill those pages, the people who will come into my life. I felt connected to something bigger; to the wide open space that was created right at that moment. There was a sacredness right then; for the thread of Life went out from me into the future expanse and back into all that I had ever done. There was no beginning and no end. All I saw and felt was the connection. And this particular appointment calendar, that seemingly chose me, gets to be where the new year’s activities, experiences and notes will be jotted down and those blank pages I looked upon are evidence of the possibilities that await for me. Sacred.

These connections, these acts are happening all the time. We can be looking for something very common and when we reach out to pick it up our mind, for a moment, witnesses the expanse that is made in the universal timeline with that one action. Everything we do, all that we set our intentions on, the words that we say or write down makes a ripple into the creative unfoldment of the many. That is sacred!

What are some of those ordinary moments where you know you are connected to something bigger than yourself? Please share. I would love to read about them.

Living in awe,

Sue

Passing on a link to a very helpful tool as to how to pray when we cannot seem to find the words. Affirmative Prayer Library: When There Are No Words…

http://affirmativeprayerlibrary.blogspot.com/2013/04/when-there-are-no-words.html?m=1