Category Archives: Blog starting 2022

Being Excited About Vacuuming!

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After being engaged Monday through Friday in corporate work, even though it’s the weekend, I designated today as a personal work day. There’s been a lot of adult things needing to be done that I’ve been procrastinating about simply because I just haven’t felt like “adulting”! And, yet, now, at the end of this day of “adulting,” I feel peaceful and serene. In fact, I have felt that way throughout the day—on a mission, but neither hurried nor harried, and in joy. I was very productive: changing the three HVAC filters in my home; working on 2021 taxes (yes, I’ve already filed an extension 😊); making data entries in QuickBooks; writing tithe checks; cooking my weekly batch of kitchari; replying to emails; and, more. My philosophy is that whatever I do, I want to do it in joy, in peace. Now chores don’t always easily fit into that slot. However, when I set the intention and the time to work on them, I actually get enthusiastic about the activity and look forward to that time. Imagine being excited about vacuuming! But, that’s how today was. Not only was I productive, I was efficient, and I enjoyed myself. Plus, I felt … Continue reading →

One Power

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The theme of two of my morning readings overlapped once again. I am tickled when that occurs, for the Universe is providing me with a stronger message to contemplate. “Love… builds and builds. It can’t be stopped. There is nothing Love can’t fix and no problem it can’t solve.” – “Everyday Joy, 365 days of ohmygod life,” by Z Egloff and Melissa Phillippe, April 8 “Through spiritual discernment, we see that we have within us a power greater than anything we shall ever contact; a power that can overcome every obstacle in our experience and set us safe, satisfied and at peace, healed and prosperous in a new light and a new life.” – “The Science of Mind,” by Ernest Holmes, page 146 I can call this power spoken about by a host of names. God. The Divine. Great Mystery. Allah. Source. Elohim. Presence. Jehovah. Spirit. Buddha. Jesus. The One. The list is exhaustive really, and truly personal, something I didn’t know was “allowed” until I walked into the 12 Steps rooms decades ago and “came to believe.” Of course, there’s Love, the sweetest name of all. As one of my favorite New Thought singers and songwriters Daniel Nahmod says, … Continue reading →

The Guest House

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The Guest House by Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from above. – “The Essential Rumi: Translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne” Tonight, after returning home from my women’s empowerment group, I pulled the above poem out at random as material for today’s daily blog post—it was surely synchronistic! In “The Guest House” Rumi tells us that emotions are valuable, and all are from Spirit. We should embrace them, even the ones we would like to evade, because each can lead to a new state of being and awareness. The range of emotions are part of being in a human suit, all of them part of the whole. It behooves us to … Continue reading →

Spirituality is Action

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“The life of the spirit is centrally and essentially a life of action. Spirituality is something done, not merely something believed or known or experienced.” – Mary McDermott Shideler “Spirituality is action.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” April 6 *As We Understand God Ya know, it’s pretty easy to go sit on a mountain top and be alone, not having to deal with people. I’d guess it’s boring too. Life is about relationships, which makes it rich. It is when I am actively engaged with others—friends, family, work colleagues, et al—that my greatest challenges arise and I learn, and I realize my greatest joys too. Exercising my spirituality means that I get to see how much my God-like and God-given qualities are in play. In my interactions with others, am I being kind? Patient? Compassionate? Loving? Helpful? Those, of course, are just a few of the qualities of Spirit, but as you can see, they’re not easily evident until I am interacting, into action with others. By being in action with my Spirit qualities I get to gauge the progress I’ve made on my spiritual journey. If a driver does not allow me into their … Continue reading →

Could Be Lifted

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Here is something to contemplate this evening, written by the Persian poet Hafiz: Could Be Lifted If you knew the end of your story, nothing on any page—not one of your dramas, could bother you as much. If you knew the glorious end of your journey, at least half of your attention could be lifted from anything you can now focus on that may cause you pain. His hand is like that, when it is realized neat, it will always turn your gaze in the direction of more light. – “A Year with Hafiz: Daily Contemplations,” January 7, by Daniel Ladinsky This poem reminds me to stay in the present moment and to focus on God, uplifting me towards the light. How joyous, how hopeful!

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Visit with Spirit

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I spent a fair amount of my time after work tonight catching up with friends and acquaintances—via the written word. Some may think that “old-fashioned” but then again, the younger generations have grown up frequently communicating with others using 140-280 characters in a tweet! I don’t exactly call that correspondence. When I get engrossed in writing to a friend, I truly feel like I’m having a visit with them. It so warms my heart and I feel connected to them. And, it feels so direct. In these times of being physically separated, be it due to relocation, the pandemic, or perhaps conflicting schedules, it is freeing to be able to jump onto my laptop or select a notecard from my stash, and sit down, relax, and catch up with a friend. Since I have lost a number of friends in recent years, and also relocated somewhat recently—and during the pandemic no less—I’m eager to grow new, local friendships. Nevertheless, it’s heartwarming to know that if I’m feeling alone, at any time of the day or night, I can always connect with friends through writing. That’s how it is with Spirit too. I can always connect with Spirit anytime. It’s often … Continue reading →

My Level of Acceptance

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“… acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake… unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.” (pg. 417) “… my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance. (pg. 420) – “Alcoholics Anonymous,” Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., Fourth Edition As the world opens up and I step out interacting with more people than I have during the past two years, I am getting the opportunity to see how accepting I am of the people, places, and situations coming across my path in my new community. Today I was disturbed by a situation, but I am grateful to know that instead of pointing the finger at it, … Continue reading →

There is Only the One

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“We believe in spiritual mind healing. It is part of our conviction and our practice. At the same time, we do not disbelieve in any form of healing, whether it be medicine, surgery, psychiatry, diet or exercise. “Some people say to me that they think we should believe in only one. Every new discovery in medicine is just as much a revelation of God for a specific purpose as a new invention or a new interpretation of Life Itself. “There is only the One operating in all these channels.” – Excerpt from “Your Mind is Creative“ by Ernest Homes, reprinted from the January 1965 Science of Mind magazine Healing is on my mind acutely due to a friend’s 19-year-old son, Kelton, having had a brain hemorrhage earlier this week, as I wrote about in yesterday’s blog, Practicing the Presence of God. I’ve not been a fan of western medicine most of my life but I know that it has its place in health. That has been quite evident in the treatment of Kelton’s critical emergency. I’m grateful to report that as of this writing, the actions taken to get his situation manageable have worked. His body was in the condition … Continue reading →

Practicing the Presence of God

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“Nearly every day most of us experience a few small, though troubling, inconveniences. Some days we suffer through a major setback and, on occasion, even a personal tragedy. When we trust that God is in our life, and we look for comfort and guidance every moment of every day, we are prepared for any upset, whether minor or grave. “Practicing the presence of God provides us with a refuge, even in the throes of turmoil. In time, as we make this a daily routine, we’ll seldom doubt God’s closeness or feel forsaken, even when all about us is dark. The darkness will give way to the light of hope in the mere moment it takes to remember God’s presence.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” April 1 *As We Understand God I couldn’t help but think about my friend, Jennifer, and her soon-to-be 19 years old son, Kelton as I was reading the above passages. Earlier in the week Kelton experienced a brain hemorrhage, and at the time of this writing, the doctors still don’t have the situation under control so that they can perform surgery. They have induced a coma so that his brain can … Continue reading →

The Spiritual Life

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“I came to this program to save my ass and found out it was attached to my soul.”– Anonymous “God gets our attention in a lot of different ways. “And now we are learning about the spiritual aspect of our life, the one we had so long neglected. Now we are partaking of God’s love—soul food—and discovering that the spiritual life is fuller and more rewarding than anything we thought possible. Nothing we do to please our body can compare to the joy of unconditional love.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” March 31 *As We Understand God God, aka Spirit, got my attention by hitting me over the head with a baseball bat in the form of food (an eating disorder). And, I do believe it was the only way Spirit was going to get this devout atheist’s attention. Nevertheless, it was not until I was in my mid-thirties that I finally found the solution to my eating disorder, not to mention my less than joyful life and relationships. Starting my conscious spiritual journey with the Twelve Steps led me to learn about and practice additional spiritual ideas and concepts, including A Course in Miracles, … Continue reading →