If you judge people, you have no time to love them.– Mother Teresa I just came across this quote online and it really hit me powerfully. Judging others has been one of my major character defects. Sure, we can get into the psychological reasons for it, starting with my family of origin, but the ‘why’ of it isn’t really that important especially after reading this quote. Love is such a wonderful feeling and, a direct connection to Spirit. Time is precious and how I waste it and deny myself and others the joy of loving them if I am judging them. What I am interpreting Mother Teresa’s statement to mean is that judging and loving are opposites – I don‘t think I’ve looked at it that way before. So how do I want to spend my time? The answer is obvious: I want to extend love always, and leave my judgments behind. Remembering this quote will be a useful tool when I notice judgment creeping into to my head and it will serve to move me to my heart, to love – and God. If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Dear Spirit;May I remember we … Continue reading →

Considering that the topic of faith was discussed Monday evening at our Gilbert Spirituality Meetup Group, and last night I thought more about it as I blogged, it’s no surprise to me that in the wee hours of the morning today, when I was in between wakefulness and sleep, the topic came into my mind. It was about 3 am, and I got this hit that the word “faith” was an acronym: Face All In New Thought And Heart. Wow! When Rog heard that I’d gotten that the word was an acronym, he was a bit impressed because it’s not a very short word to come up with something. But, hey, it was Spirit, not me! As I started telling him what the letters stood for, I realized I had ‘received’ an extra letter in my semi-awake state – the ‘n’. Duh – the word is spelled f-a-i-t-h! Okay, so Face All In Thought And Heart. It’s not as good as “fear”: false evidence appearing real (or some other doosies I’ve heard), but it has meaning. And, it doesn’t really matter, because I feel that nonetheless Spirit was sending a message to me. I need a NEW perspective in how … Continue reading →

According to Emmet Fox, prayer is “…our only means of returning to our communion with God” and “… is the only thing that change’s one character. A change in character, or a change in soul, is a real change.“ (The Sermon on the Mount – The Key to Success in Life, page 41) This reminds me of the story set forth in the book of Alcoholics Anonymous, in which an alcoholic American businessman was told by Dr. Carl Jung that the only possible hope for the man’s recovery was to have a vital spiritual experience. To Jung, “…these occurrences are phenomena. They appear to be in the nature of huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once guiding forces … are suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate…” (page 27). With this spiritual experience, we tap into a resource which is something greater than ourselves and experience a profound alteration in how we deal with life. This is certainly how it was for me when I ventured into the 12 Step program many years ago. As I studied and practiced the principles of the program to … Continue reading →

When there is nothing I can find joy in as I ponder today’s world of craziness, I can always go back to God. In fact, that is really the best place for me to be always, at all times. God is my Source, my Home. Why would I want to be anywhere else? The outside, physical world just seems to be getting more and more insane and silly as each day passes by. Just watch TV commercials and you can get an idea of the type of values that are being trumpeted, the things in life that are considered important. Brrrrr! I choose to go inside more and more, to the world of peace, and love, and joy, and light. There I find comfort, strength, revitalization. Then, I am fortified to deal with the craziness of the illusion, which one day will disappear and I shall be at Home in God at all times and in all respects.

During this morning’s time in the silence: Dear God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Higher Unlimited Self;Thank You for my life and this day.Help me to do Your Will throughout the day and have the ability to carry it out. THEM: Do you really mean that? JOYCE: Well………………probably not. I guess it would be better to say…Please give me the desire to so want to do Your Will, with such a passion, a knowing, an understanding that You truly are First Cause, my Source and so I so strongly want to do Your Will. Then it will be natural for me to carry it out…it’ll feel easy, it’ll run all through me and not feel like a burden. THEM: OK. So my prayer this day, and really every day, is summed up as “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” one of the beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. I strive to be one of those “pure in heart.” Emmet Fox, in his book, The Sermon on the Mount: The Key to Success in Life explains it this way: “Blessed are they who recognize God as the only real Cause, and the only real Presence, and … Continue reading →