Guidance

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I came upon the following steps regarding how to receive God’s guidance and thought them quite sound. My prayer is to remember and practice them!

How to Receive God’s Guidance
by Norman Vincent Peale

Often we’re in situations where we need guidance on a particular problem, or maybe we just need help getting through our everyday struggles. These simple steps will help.

1. Say, “Be still, and know that I am God,” aloud three times.
This will make you aware of God’s presence.

2. Be humble.
Humility is necessary for spiritual wisdom. It is God’s wisdom you want, not your own. Only with the spirit of the child, teachable and willing to learn, does guidance come. So, put everything in His hands.

3. Open your mind.
Let go your desires, your preconceived notions, your obsessions, your fixed opinions. These represent your wisdom, or lack of it, and what you want is God’s wisdom. Your mind must be emptied of error before it can be filled with truth.

4. Ask God to fill your mind with the understanding and ideas you need.
Close your eyes and listen, really listen.

5. If you have a specific problem, write it on paper.
Then, actually holding it up, as though offering it to God, say, “Lord, I want only to do Your will. Here is my problem. Show me what to do and I will do exactly as I am shown.”

6. Pray this prayer.
Dear Lord,
I rest my mind in Your mind. Let it be full of Your great thoughts. I want to live and think and act only as You would have me do. Fill my mind to overflowing with spiritual insights, with true wisdom. May I think as You think. Your guidance is now coming to me in this problem and will ultimately come in all problems. Help me to know that I can never go wrong doing right. Amen.

7. Commit this verse to memory:
“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” (Psalm 73:24)

8. Remain humble, practice and believe.

Musings Day After Christmas

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This year Christmas has surely not been about physical gift-giving. But it has been very rich indeed – and it’s only just begun.

We had a lovely time at the Wyer Family Christmas gathering last Sunday in Tempe. It was the first time Rog, me, and all three of his children were together in 1-1/2+ years. I’m hoping it won’t take us that long to get together for the next fun time.

Rog and I are having friends visit us in beautiful Sedona from various parts – and they’d have visited anyway even if it weren’t for the holiday. However, we realize that living in Sedona makes it more appealing to some folks to come to us rather us to them – that’s just fine with us!

We spent yesterday with friends we met via the Gilbert Spirituality group we had started up more than a year ago. They’re snowbirds and have been out of the state since April. It was time for them to head east to the warm climate of Phoenix, which made it our good fortune to get to spend Christmas Day with them.

We broke bread together in a potluck of goodies contributed to by all, caught up somewhat on our lives, and pitched in for KP duty. It was like we were living together for a brief time and working together as a team. I so enjoy that coming together in helping one another and find joy, love, peace, and harmony there. What a gift!

We have another couple arriving this afternoon for one overnight and there is no doubt the conversation will be rich as they’re recently returned from a spiritual conference and are overflowing with enthusiasm and passion to share their experience. Tomorrow morning we’ll attend Unity together.

And, Monday afternoon friends from Tucson will arrive for a 2-night stay with a daughter visiting from New York, my old hometown. She is an artist and being in Sedona will be a special gift for her and meeting her will be a gift for us. The days are sure to fly by with rich conversation and shared experiences.

Spending time in meaningful conversation and connection with spiritually like-minded folks in our life is a gift that cannot compare to receiving any material object. It is a wonderful way to end the year and begin the next decade.

Dear Spirit of the Most High –
Thank You for the many gifts you bestow upon me at Christmastime and every day. Your love shines through all who are in my life, most of all my beloved Roger. May my gratitude and appreciation not be sidetracked by ego forays into the future, but may I stay in the moment, knowing that all is well. I move forward to enjoy Your gifts – especially Your Presence – every day. Thank You, thank You, thank You!

For Everyone

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I didn’t grow up in a religious household but I was a curious, philosophical child and briefly explored the religion of my parents. However, by the time I was 16 years old, I was a devout atheist. 19 years later I “came to believe” and thus was rekindled my conscious quest to know and be close to the God of my understanding.

In that quest, I have explored an array of ideas and have come to know the Judeo-Christian ideology to some degree. This has been gleaned mostly via the perspective of New Thought thinkers, and has pointed me towards the Bible.

And so it is now, on this particular Christmas Day, that I feel moved to express my belief that The Christ is for everyone. This belief stems not from my becoming an evangelical Christian and trying to proselytize; in fact, I still claim no religion. It just seems to me that the Christ is apart from Jesus from a religious perspective. Jesus was “The Christ” – and so am I and so are you. So what does this mean?

The word Christ is often misunderstood to be the surname of Jesus due to the numerous mentions of Jesus Christ in the Christian Bible; the word is in fact used as a title.

However, it refers to higher consciousness. The term Christ consciousness is similar to other spiritual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a higher level of evolutionary development and who has come to know Reality as it is. It’s called the super consciousness (Yoga), objective consciousness (Gurdjieff), Buddhic consciousness (Theosophy), cosmic consciousness, and God-consciousness (Sufism and Hinduism).

The Christ is a quality, a divine quality, that dwells within each and every one of us. It is not about religion. Christ Consciousness is about being perpetually in unison with Spirit, drawing sustenance from Spirit and operating in the physical world as if God and ‘His’ laws mattered.

As I strive to wake up more and more each day, I get closer to realizing The Christ that I am. The same applies to you.

The Christ is for everyone – it is who we are. So, Merry Christmas to everyone!

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The Promise

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I was poignantly reminded once again that I am not alone and that God is always with me. This time it was through reading of Madeleine L’Engles’ own trying experience and the Bible story that helped her get through that challenge. The story turned out to sound familiar to me despite my not being raised with the Bible.

It’s the amazing story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three young men refused to bow down to an idol, and King Nebuchadnezzar was so furious that he ordered them to be thrown into a furnace so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed by the heat.

But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood there in the flames, unhurt, and sang a song of praise of all creation.

King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and asked, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered, “True, O King.” He replied, “But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the appearance of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

And that, perhaps, is the most astounding part of the whole story. God did not take Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego out of the fiery furnace. God was in the flames with them.

The promise has never been safety, or that bad things would not happen if we were good and virtuous. The promise is only that God is in it with us, no matter what it is.

As I go through my dark times, I can endeavor to remember this Bible story and choose to believe the promise: God is with me always and sees me through all situations.

At this season of light, may I remember that the Light of God shines in me, through me and around me. God is with me always.

Evening Prayer

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Dear Spirit –

As I get ready for bed, I pray that I will sleep well and awaken refreshed with a song in my heart, feeling Your Presence, Your peace.

May I fall asleep easily and with the deep knowing in my heart that all is well, for You are with me always. What more could I need? What could I lack? Nothing, nothing, nothing.

You are my Source. Help me to trust as silly as that sounds: trusting that which is my Source, that which created me. But it is true, and I need Your help – always.

I am grateful to always have You to talk to, and I am blessed with all that You have given me.

I go to bed feeling surrounded by Your Divine love and peace. Thank You.

Tranquility

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Dear God –

Help me!

Help me to take care of my soul, to make nourishing it and my relationship with You a priority. Only then can I be an instrument of peace and love and joy for You. Only then can I dwell in the peace that is mine by Divine Right.

After spending some desperately needed time in the Silence this morning, I read today’s Daily Word – its message was synchronistic. Thank You, God!

Daily Word, Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tranquility

I relax into the renewing peace and calm of God.

Just as I feel refreshed after a good night’s sleep, I am rejuvenated during quiet times of reflection and communion with God. My time apart may be a quiet hour in a serene place or single moments focused on God in the midst of seeming chaos.

I turn inward to the place of peace that reveals God to me. I relax. With each moment of silence and with each calming breath, I am aware of the wholeness that I am. Cares slip away, and I am at peace.

In this season when winter nights grow longer and nature comes into its time of rest, I respond in kind. I relax into the renewing peace and calm of God. Tranquility is the blessing of my time apart, and I carry it with me through every moment of this day.

He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”–Mark 6:31

Winter Light

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With the solstice occurring today, I gratefully am reminded that the shortest days of winter have passed. Spring is coming soon, new budding life on its way.

Now the days will be longer and more light will be upon us. And as new buds strive toward the light, I too strive towards the light of God. As light is the source in which fresh flowers are nourished, I too am nourished by the Light, God, my only Source.

There is Divine Order and all is well.

Journey

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Yesterday’s Daily Word talked about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem very likely being difficult, both physically and mentally, requiring a great deal of strength and stamina. Throughout their journey, they had faith in God. At the end of their travels they experienced pure joy, for a new life was born.

Here’s an excerpt:

Journey
I am on a divine journey of peace and joy.

In my journey through life, I may encounter moments that require greater strength and stamina. I may be learning a new skill or coping with a challenging circumstance. I receive strength of spirit and stamina in mind and heart as I trust in God as my guide. With God my way is clear and my journey secure. In God’s presence, I experience a new life, filled with joy and everlasting peace.

With God, my path of life runs smoother, more joyful, and more meaningful. I choose to walk with God.

Taking Care

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I’m grateful that when I felt myself starting to lose my peace this afternoon, I took a time out. This is a loving action on my part, and my soul was thrilled… after all, the break was to nourish my spirit and connect more finely with God.

I read some spiritual literature, words by Emmet Fox, and was caught by the affirmation “I am surrounded by the Love and Peace of God.” Repeating this over and over with my eyes closed, I relaxed. Fifteen minutes or so later, I felt refreshed and ready to move forward in my work.

I’ve learned many tools to make my day flow more easily and joyfully, but I don’t always employ them. The main reason is usually “I’m too busy.” But this is deadly, for without nourishing my soul and my relationship with God, I deteriorate mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. And, life just ain’t fun (neither am I).

Dear Spirit –
Thank You for my knowledge of the many ways I can nurture my relationship with my soul and You, and for the willingness to take care and do so.

Under the Tree

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“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – Anonymous

Not growing up as a Christian and being an atheist, I nevertheless was still interested in the spirit of the season. I decided as a young adult that Christmas was a time to celebrate love, joy, and friendship. It started including giving of gifts, often very much from the heart, but sometimes out of a feeling of obligation.

As I moved into a spiritual life after “coming to believe,” and my heart opened to God and people, Christmas became more and more about love and joy, now looked at as spiritual qualities. The material world of holiday shopping and gift-giving paled compared to the spiritual world’s gifts of the heart.

In these quickly and severely changing times in the world, the material has less meaning to me, and relationships are clearly more important than any item I can touch and wrap. During this holiday season – and any time really – the best gift I can give to others is my presence. That is, to be attentive, a good listener, compassionate, and uplifting. To be present in body, mind, and spirit. To come from a place of heart. This cannot be bought or found under a tree – joy and love can only be found through Spirit.