Category Archives: service – giving

How Far I’ve Come

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Well, I’m on my way! I’m operating on about four hours’ sleep, but that’s part of the adventure! The 5:50 a.m. flight departing from Prescott Regional Airport went without a hitch. It was nice to be at a small airport again, reminiscent of the days when my private pilot friend and I would fly from Islip, Long Island, NY to have dinner in Nantucket, RI; venture down to the Bahamas and explore cays that were not accessible to visitors flying commercially; and a host of other adventures (or mishaps as the case may be). Here I now sit in Denver International Airport waiting for the next puddle jumper—well, not really—flight to my final destination, Grand Junction. There awaits a week of fun and connection with my dearest friend, Esther, and her wife. We plan to go tube kayaking on the Colorado River; meet with their numerous friends; attend a CSL Sunday service; play Mexican Train; celebrate my birthday; and, most unexpectedly, go house hunting! … which leads me to the main topic of today’s blog post: gratitude. Gratitude for how far I’ve come. After getting a little rest on my flight from Prescott to Denver, it started registering with me … Continue reading →

Believing that God Exists

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Once you accept the existence of God—however you define Him, however you explain your relationship to Him—then you are caught forever with His presence in the center of all things. – Morris West “Having our Higher Power as an integral part of how we experience all the hours of a day (whether they hold burdens or blessings) heightens our awareness of the fullness of our life. Believing that God exists for us and in us profoundly changes how we see every aspect of our day. “A number of us didn’t believe in God when we joined a Twelve Step program. Or if we did, many of us believed in a demanding or punishing God who had no relevance to our daily life. What a difference it makes to let a loving God take charge of our thoughts, attitudes, behaviors, and plans for the future.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” June 16 *As We Understand God I was one of those individuals that didn’t believe in God when I joined a Twelve Step program. I was a devout atheist, and even though I’d suffered with an eating disorder my entire life, it took me five years … Continue reading →

Love, Serve, and Remember

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“Love everyone, serve everyone, remember God, and tell the truth.” — Neem Karoli Baba I suppose the above quote can be interpreted in a variety of fashions. In a way, the directive above sounds pretty clear. If I believe there is only One Power and One Presence in the Universe, then we are all one, part of the One. Therefore, if I can love one person, I love everyone. If I can serve one person, I serve all. To remember God is to realize that God is all there is, the only Reality, the Whole, the One. Love, serve, and remember. I am reminded of the song “Love, Serve and Remember” by John Astin. In it, we are reminded that we came to earth to love, serve, and remember. I have been listening to John Astin’s album “Remembrance” for decades, but it wasn’t until I just did a little research that I learned that John Astin is not only a masterful songwriter and musician, but also works as a research scientist doing cutting-edge research in the area of mind-body medicine. The song “Love, Serve, and Remember” was inspired by the words of Maharaj-ji, aka Neem Karoli Baba, when he told … Continue reading →

The Power in the Universe

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“There is something that waits on our recognition to spring into being, bringing with it all the Power in the Universe.” — “Creative Mind and Success,” by Ernest Holmes, page 31 I have read this quote several times today and it gives me pause about what I’ve done with my life, my beingness. I think I understand what is being imparted, I have a lot of awareness, and intellectually I recognize this amazing Power. And while the thought in the quote exhilarates me, it also makes me feel sad and disappointed. With so many decades behind me in this lifetime, I feel like I am still waiting for a switch to be turned on. But I don’t know what it will take. When it does turn on, I’ll be this passionate person who takes the Power in the Universe, the power in her, and finally makes the most of her innate talents, life experiences, and character and soul attributes. Then I will make a meaningful contribution to the beings of this world, I will finally have accomplished whatever it was I was meant to in this lifetime on Planet Earth. I will be in bliss and feel one with my … Continue reading →

Constructive Criticism

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It takes a rare person to want to hear what he doesn’t want to hear. – Dick Cavett “Accepting criticism is difficult for most of us. “We not only cheat ourselves out of the serenity that comes when we accept our fallibility, we also miss the opportunity to learn from others when they offer helpful criticism.” I will not turn from my critics today and will try to evaluate their words objectively. – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” June 3 *As We Understand God I have to say that I’m not one to mind constructive criticism from others. I seek to improve myself, in order to improve my life, and also so that I can be of better service to Spirit and others. I pride myself in being objective and as long as the person dispensing the criticism is coming from a loving space and is accurate in their assessment, I think I’m amenable to hearing their words. Unlike many others, I also like change. So perhaps I am open and receptive to constructive criticism because it contributes to change. After all, growth is change, and that is what can proceed from constructive criticism. I’m sure … Continue reading →

When We Give

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“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Sir Winston Churchill “Perhaps it goes against our instinct for survival to give away what we have… a fatal philosophy is formed: what I gain, you lose; what I lose, you gain. “This dog-eat-dog philosophy, of course, brings us nothing but grief. We are all in this life together, dependent on one another. We now know that when we give, there is no sacrifice; it is all our gain. We now know that when another loses, we lose something too. We are not in competition with others anymore; instead, we need them. They are our means to discovery; they are our doorway to the spiritual world.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” May 24 *As We Understand God The meditation book the aforementioned is quoted from is focused on 12 Step recovery. In working the steps to recover from an eating disorder and being a part of the fellowship, I have come to solidify the philosophy espoused in the excerpt. Helping one another in recovery, truly knowing that we are in this together—that we need one another—, that … Continue reading →

Freedom and Joy

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Two of today’s readings were about freedom and joy, so I contemplated on where they were showing up in my life. “There is a Power operating through me; a Presence, inspiring, guiding, and sustaining me. Upon this Power, I place my reliance. “I know the Creative Law of Good is infinite and has all power to accomplish. I know Its whole desire for me is freedom and joy. Therefore, I declare that this freedom and joy are mine today… I know freedom and joy cannot be separated from me…” – “365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes,” May 22 Last week I resigned from my job in the financial technical services field and tomorrow I start my new one in higher education. When not a sole entrepreneur, most of my career has been in the financial services field as a technical writer, analyst, and trainer. However, I did work in academia, but it was as an adjunct instructor in the field of computer science and information technology. Tomorrow I get to start working in a position melding it all: working in academia as a technical writing consultant and trainer on a financial transformation project. I … Continue reading →

A Light to All

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“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” —Helen Keller Today marks four years since my dear friend Samara passed over to the other side. I’ve really been thinking about her a lot in the last two weeks or so. She was very intuitive, a trait I strive to develop. She was about eight years’ older than me and quite a wise woman; hence, she was like an older sister to me. That was delightful especially since I’d never had a sister. We met in NYC and it was clearly a Spirit-orchestrated coming together, so meant to be—even if our meeting was delayed a bit. I was researching colonic hydrotherapy and seeking a colon therapist; Samara was the only professional to return my call. After being a devout atheist for many years, thanks to joining (and working) a 12 Step program, I was on a conscious spiritual path for about 18 months when we met. I was still so thirsty to talk about Spirit, learn about the various concepts of the Divine, know more about the Universe in a way I’d never wanted to before. While … Continue reading →

Comparing Myself

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In my current work contract, I participate in a weekly meeting of my fellow technical writers hired through the same staffing agency. It’s an informal forum to share knowledge, ask questions, and simply to connect. We are an eclectic mix of demographics and technical writing formal education and experience. There are three job levels, and I am one of the senior technical writers. When I hear my colleagues talk about software, processes, experiences, and the like that I’ve little-to-no clue about, I often compare myself to them, inevitably ending up feeling discouraged. Now, I learned years ago in 12 Step program that the only person I should ever, ever compare myself to is me at different times of my life. In so doing, then I get to see how far I’ve come, and that’s all to whom it matters. This morning I got an ah-ha about comparing myself, my knowledge, and my experience to other technical writers. Sure, I may not have experience using the markup language DITA, or writing API documentation, which is so greatly in demand these days. And, my degrees may not be in technical communication, a relatively new college curriculum, or in Information Technology. However, I … Continue reading →

Happiness Comes From Giving

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“Beginning with childhood, we all receive messages that getting is the purpose of living: we must have romantic love, sexual fulfillment, possessions, and prestige to be happy. “God has a different message: Help one another. We learn from experience in our program that happiness comes from giving—whether it be time, talent, money, or other things. Experience tells us that giving what we have to help someone else makes us a lot happier than keeping it to ourselves.” – “In God’s Care*: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery,” April 14 *As We Understand God Growing up, my parents were caring, giving people, but not strong role models of volunteerism. I did some volunteering as I grew older, but still wasn’t all that much into being of service. That changed dramatically when I joined a 12 Step program. Service and giving of one’s time, talent, and money is a huge part of the Program; it is the final step after working through the other ones: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive eaters, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” Step 12 is the culmination of a spiritual … Continue reading →