Tis the Season to be Jolly, Bah Hum Bug

During this time of year, so many people begin to feel down and depressed including myself.

Why is this?

In observing myself and countless others, I find that most people are talking about their lack of time, energy, money and ideas. They are spending money they do not have buying things they don't want for people they do not know. People with families stress over having families and those without families stress due to the lack of one. The list is endless.

All of this thinking and talking of lack produces a mentality which creates angst, stress, frustration and fear. This is quite sad because the reason for celebrating Christmas is to welcome the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords. It is a time for us to open our hearts to the indwelling Spirit of Christ. The Prince of Peace came to shower us with hope, joy, peace and love.

What the world has created is a holiday which stimulates just the opposite.

When I allow life to get me down, I consciously begin focusing on all of my blessings and my life gets better. I do this daily by writing down at least 10 things for which I am grateful. I encourage my children to do this when they go to bed or when they are stressed because of school and other activities. This one exercise can change your life and the lives of many.

A life of gratitude is a joyful life.

There is a Plan: Good and Bad

God has a plan and the plan is Good. This has been my personal mantra for over 15 years.

Life is but an illusion of interpretations, everyone seeing life through their own life experiences. Some events to one person may seem devastating while to another seems a blessing.

Early in my life, I seemed to see most things as bad. I followed Murphy's Law, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. As I began to awaken to the Truth that God created all things including me and called them Good, I questioned my belief.

If God created all as Good, why would God institute a law which ensured bad things to happen to creation? This question allowed me to open myself to change. I began using my mantra, God has a plan and the plan is Good. To my amazement, my life began to take a turn for the better. People who know me will tell you that only good things happen to me and my family.

Murphy's Law no longer has dominion in my life.

What changed? What I said to myself and what I expected out of life. We have the power within ourselves to create our own reality.

What reality are you creating?

Living Debt Free

Forgiveness is the key to experiencing the awareness of God in all Its Majesty.

In the Lord's Prayer, we are taught to forgive us our trespasses or debts as we forgive those who trespass against us or our debtors. The word as is the operative word here. For a little word, it has a lot of punch.



I am forgiven in the same measure as I forgive. So how am I doing?



Usually I feel I do very well. However, recently I received a deeper insight about this entire passage in its relation to prosperity. Prosperity is my conscious awareness of the abundance of God surrounding me; freely given and freely available in my life and the life of others. My prosperity is enhanced or is blocked in accord with my forgiveness practices. O.K. so I have a pretty clean slate, why is my business or my bank account not where I want it to be? Have you ever asked that question?



The answer came that I must be debt free.



Ah, ha, I said, "I am debt free, I owe no one, except for my house. And no one owes me anything, I have forgiven all financial debts. So show me the money!"



Really, are you debt free in your emotions and in your mind? Do you have thoughts that people might owe you something, like their time, talents or treasures? Do I, God owe you anything?



Well this question opened Pandora's box. There were a plethora of people in my mind whom I felt were indebted to me because after all, look what I had done for them. This included friends, family, children, acquaintances, the list was endless. Can you believe it, I am a martyr! Oh the Humanity. Even though I helped others from a seemly giving heart, I had an underlying expectation that they some how owed me.



Wow, I spent two hours pouring over my debtors and doing the work of forgiveness. Becoming aware of the areas in which I need to forgive is the first step in the forgiveness process. Next comes praying for and letting go of the expectations of others (and myself for that matter) that I hold in my heart. Then comes the freedom and the removal of blocks in my life.



This may take awhile, but the process has begun. Now that I am aware, I am excited to see how my life, my business, and my bank account unfolds to express the love of God as I do the work of forgiveness.

©oneness of life productions 11/2010

Our Thinking makes it so

I remember being in the place of the limited thinking of black or white, instead of unlimited possibilities of black and white. It was a life of fear and struggle, and persuasion and promotion. It was my way or the highway. Then one day someone sent me a note that read, Becky, Take the day off, I have everything under control. signed GOD.
And then I realized that I had been playing God and trying to direct people, places and things into my image of what should be. I had forgotten that God had created all people in the image and likeness of Godself and deemed it all GOOD! Who was I to try to change it.
I began to expand my studies and spiritual practices. The more I read and the more I experience, the more trust I find in a loving Creator.
Instead of just reading and proclaiming the scriptures, I challenged them and practiced what Jesus and other spiritual masters taught and what they did. I moved from my head to my heart (the toughest and longest journey in my life).
The result was an unbelievable knowing of my purpose and my passion for life, for Oneness with my Creator and all of creation. It pulls me forward into my day, it inspires me to do greater things than I ever imagined. It brings me great joy and happiness. It relieves my fear of tomorrow.
The only person who will ever know your truth and your purpose in life is you. You are the only one who can tap into your still small voice. Others may lay out a plan or a path, but you are the only one who can walk you journey.
The indwelling Spirit of God awaits your audience and will guide you along the way.

©oneness of life productions 11/2010

Faith vs. Belief

Faith is developed over time as you experience life. It is something you trust in. A belief is taught. It is allowing someone else to think for you.

Becky, are you a Christian?

I am often asked, "Becky are you a Christian? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and is the only way to salvation?"

My answer is, I was taught those beliefs as a child. But my conversion experience tells me that there are many paths to God, as mine was not in a church. It was in a secular setting among a group of people; professionals, priests, pilots, doctors, mothers, dads, drunks, prostitutes, ex-convicts, adulterers, abusers, heterosexuals and homosexuals: all sinners and outcasts from the churches of our youth. All of us, lost souls, seeking meaning for life and a reason to live. We all sat around clinging to each other as one would cling to a life raft on a sinking ship hoping and praying for some sort of saving grace.

Many prayed to a God that they did not believe in, some prayed to a door knob, others prayed to a borrowed God, others prayed to the varying Gods of their childhood. I prayed to a borrowed God, the Spirit of love and creativity. These many expressions of God pulled most of us through and led us into a life of light, love and happiness.

As I walked along my spiritual path, I remembered the stories of Jesus eating with the tax collectors, talking to the prostitutes, protecting the adulterers, drinking wine at the weddings, etc. I realized that he hung out with people like me. This opened the door for me to return to the teachings of my childhood and gave me the courage to go before a priest in reconciliation and confess my 'sins'; all areas of my life where I had missed the mark, I had stepped away from my Creator. I revealed all of my secrets that kept me in darkness.

When I had exhausted my life history, wailing uncontrollably, the priest said, "Becky, God loves you unconditionally just as you are. Jesus last words on the cross were, God forgive them they know not what they do. In God, your life is a clean slate. Now you must forgive yourself. And in the words of Jesus, he said, Go and sin no more", which meant keep a tight relationship with God and do the best you can. This experience set me free.

It was sharing our stories, loving and accepting each other warts and all that I began to awaken to the indwelling Spirit of God. As I grew to love these people and they grew to love me unconditionally expecting nothing in return, I began to love myself. In loving myself, I was able to open myself to the love, forgiveness and grace of God.

Scriptures for the first time in my life had meaning. I was once blind but now I could see, I was deaf but now I could hear. My life was born anew. Where once I could not see God anywhere; now, there was no place God was not. In every person, every faith tradition, every mountain top, every experience whether good or bad, God is there.

So in answer to the question, "Am I a Christian?" I can only say, Jesus is my way-shower, we walk hand in hand along this spiritual journey called life. He is my guide and my friend. We are, as you are, One with each other and with our Creator; the Creator of all that Is.

I am a Christian of my kind, just as you may be a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Baha'i, etc. of your kind. For me, It Is All that IS: GOD.

©oneness of life productions 11/2010

First Things First

First Things First! I have struggled with this saying for years and have tired every which way to put things in order to no avail. I finally figured it out.

If I seek the wisdom from God in all of my affairs first, my life usually turns out O.K. God must be what comes first. I think Jesus said this, "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God". When I seek God first God seems to prepare my path.

We have free will and can go anywhere and in any direction we choose. God is always wanting to help us, just as a supportive friend. But if we never tell God where we want to go or what we want to do, God cannot help guide us. Just as if we ask a friend to help us out, we must first tell them where or what we are wanting.

How do I seek the wisdom of God first?

I do this in the mornings as I plan out my day. I present my plan or any intention or problem I may have to God before I enter into meditation and contemplation. I then sit quietly and listen for the still small voice. The small voice comes from within when I am peaceful and in tune. Usually as I journal all of my thoughts, somewhere in the mix is the answer or direction which I am seeking.

However, if I am scattered and unclear of what I want or what direction I need, I usually will receive no direction. If my heart wants one thing and my head wants another, I am out of alignment with myself. In order to receive clear guidance from God, it is important to be very specific to what we want. If we are wishy-washy, our response will be wishy-washy.

When I seek God first and ask for guidance daily, God paves the way for my daily living and things flow smoothly.

"I set the Lord ever before me; with God at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. . .You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever." Psalms 16:8,11

©oneness of life productions 9/2010

Green Card

I just watched an old movie "Green card" about an American woman who wanted a green house in New York and a Frenchman who wanted a green card. They married,so they could both get what they wanted and went about their merry lives until the Immigration department ran tabs on them. They spent 4 days studying each other in order to pass the test to be given them in separate rooms.

They began as strangers, neither one liking the other. Through the intense studying of each other; their likes, dislikes, beliefs, foods, habits, etc. They fell in love.

Isn't this what we are called to do when we are told to love our neighbor. Take the time to know them, not just a passing wave or a random, chance meeting while watering the lawn.

It is amazing the magic that happens when we take the time to seek our common grounds, to honor and respect our differences, to know some one's history.

I realize that this is just a movie, but in my life I have had many a changed perspective about a person when I have taken the time to really know them. I guess we must be motivated to really want something to give our time to someone else.

Where are you spending your time, that might tell you what you are really wanting.

©oneness of life productions 9/2010

Perspectives

Every once and awhile I receive retribution from well meaning people about an article I write or a presentation I give. Some people seem very concerned for my soul and keep me in their continuous prayers, which I appreciate. Usually they pray that I may see the light and awaken to their particular brand of truth. Most are concerned with my passion for promoting peace through understanding, education and my honoring and accepting of all people including their cultures and beliefs.

For them this is blasphemous, it is completely false teachings, there is a definite line drawn in the sand: their way or my way. In their minds, one of us have to be wrong. In my mind, we are all on the same team doing the same work, guiding people to the awareness and experience of the indwelling Christ spirit. I just have an inclusive perspective while they have a very exclusive perspective.

I seem to have an expanded version of the same mission.

Expand your mind, expand your life experience, expand your Christ Consciousness.

Change your awareness, and you live in a different world, you experience a different reality. Lama Govinda, Creative Meditations and Multi-Dimensional Consciousness

©oneness of life productions 9/2010

Go Within and Experience Oneness

My last post was given to me in a meditation and is what I know to be true. It always amazes me when I assume I have received an original thought and then find the same thing somewhere else. Today while reading John McMurphy's book, Secrets from Great Minds, I found this quote from Plotinus from On Intellectual Beauty:

We must bring the vision within and no longer see in the mode of separation. We need no longer look outside for our vision of the divine being; it is but the strength to see divinity within.

Wow, isn't that a great way to say what I said. Eventhough it is disappointing to find that the messages I receive are not unique to me, it is affirming to find other people have acquired the same wisdom by going within. It helps me to feel I am not so crazy. It is also humbling to know that when we practice meditation all that is required for life: all wisdom, all strength, and all inspiration is at hand.

©oneness of life productions 9/2010

What is blocking people from your love?

The other day while contemplating life, the joys, pains and sufferings I asked what is blocking people from the peace that surpasses understanding and the joy that is promised in the sacred texts. This is what was revealed.

Becky, my people live in sin, they have forgotten who they are. Their sin is their belief that they are separate from me, the Creator of All. They have accepted their earthly existence as their only truth or their fate. They have chosen the life of laborers and suffering servants who struggle to eat and feed their families and themselves, who have settled for a life of striving toward earthly goals. They have forgotten that I am their source, their supplier of all that is required, their employer.

The Essence of who they are is Me, the great I AM. I AM THE LIGHT, LIFE, TRUTH, LOVE, AND ALL THAT IS GOOD and THAT IS LIFE-GIVING.

This they must remember in order to thrive. Without this knowing, their life will be one of struggle, of surviving not thriving.

Becky, understand that you all still live in the garden. It is your belief and your conditioning that tells your otherwise.

Jesus came to show you the way-show you that you and I are ONE. All that I have, I give to you. You are the channels through which all my blessings come. I work through those of you whom are willing to allow my Essence to flow through you. I am what animates your life. All of the resources of the universe-creation, power, infinite possibilities waits manifestation through you.

Release the nay sayers which surround you, release your own disbelief in the power dwelling within you. Jesus did this when he said, "Get behind me Satan!" to those blocking his ultimate journey. Release all thoughts and beliefs of powerlessness, unworthiness, that you are less than perfect and wonderful. Release all that says that you are not whole and complete.

Know that I have created you in perfection, capable of creating, manifesting your hearts desire. I plant the seeds of peace, joy, happiness and abundance in your heart, why would I not create you with all you required to move toward and enjoy all of these attributes. The only thing stopping you is your earthly beliefs, those things outside yourself.

All I have is yours my precious children. It is my great pleasure to give you the kingdom.

All that I am so too are you. Own this truth and return to the garden and live as One with Me. I will provide all that is required for your life. It is your choice. I await and honor your decision.

Eternal love,
Your Creator

Prayer

Many of us pray to a Higher Power, a God, a Greater Being outside of ourselves. We look to the the sky or to the heavens for answers to our struggles. We seek something outside of ourselves to give us comfort.

We usually pray for something to be healed, fixed, or sent our way.

This, I believe is where we miss the boat.

Jesus continually tells us that the Kingdom of God is within, so why are we looking and seeking without? Mainly because we have been trained or programed to believe that God is out there somewhere which God is everywhere present, but we connect with God from within.

God has God's being within us. Our bodies, our hearts and souls are the dwelling place of the most high. It is imperative to go within in order to make contact.

How do we do this, we still our minds and thoughts in meditation with our primary intention to connect to God not to ask anything, just to be. In reality, all we require is at hand, we just have to open ourselves to see it and receive it.

I recommend that when you are in this communion with God, focus on Jesus's prayer for us. "I pray that they may be [one] in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one, as we are one-I living in them, you living in me-that their unity be complete" (John 17 21-23). Repeat, "I and the Father are One." Soak in this truth.

The ramifications of this are phenomenal. Being one with the Father opens the flood gates to our inheritance of abundant peace, joy,and happiness.

This meditation practice literally changed my life. Go for it, what do you have to loose?

The Story of Noah Continues

It has been four weeks since the ‘Great Flood’ in our home. In the beginning, I was calm and responded with love, kindness and dignity knowing that God has a plan and the plan is Good. I had an attitude of gratitude and excitement about the cleaning out and redoing our home. The chaos and the mess were tolerable knowing that in the end all would be better.
However, I forgot one important thing, in times of trouble it is imperative to take care of oneself first.
Even though there was a flood, life continues. Just as with any tragedy or unexpected change we face, life goes on. To add to our mess, we still had a house full of company, extra dogs, family commitments and appointments, all of which took time and energy away from dealing with the mess at hand. I’m sure this was the case with Noah.
Not only did he have to deal with the rain, he had to take care of his family and the hundreds of animals and all of their needs as well. He had to clean out stalls, feed animals, keep watch on the weather, all the while concerning himself with the needs of his family. There was no escape, nowhere to go where there wasn’t a reminder of his and his family’s predicament.
As the days go by and my house is in utter chaos, my spirits have waned. Tripping over boxes, stepping on bare carpet strips, getting dressed from the garage, and awaiting news from my insurance company, I have become irritable, frustrated and discontent. I began to relate to Bill Cosby’s rendition of Noah’s story and wondering where God went. I am doing work which I have no expertise: painting, scrapping ceilings, and laying tile; similar to Noah dealing with a pregnant elephant, according to Bill Cosby.
And where is God in all of this? That is the big question, I’m sure the one Noah was asking when he sent out the raven and the dove for a sign of dry ground or really a sign of hope that he and his family had not been forgotten.
In Genesis 8:24, it reads, “The waters maintained their crest over the earth for one hundred and fifty days, and then God remembered Noah and all the animals. . .”
God remembered Noah!
Does this mean that Noah slipped God’s mind, like an appointment slips my mind. Could it be that God might have other things going on, even when my and Noah’s world is crumbling? Or is it that my time schedule is not God’s time schedule? Could it be that one hundred and fifty days or four weeks, in my case, is an eternity for me and only a split second to God? Who really knows? Maybe what author Anne Lamott says is true, “Perhaps when a lot of seemingly meaningless things start to go wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born and that we need to get distracted so it can be born perfect.”
My family and I have been definitely distracted, just as Noah and his family was distracted. We are doing seemingly mindless activity awaiting the next indicated step. The question for me is how do I maintain spiritual connectedness and inner peace in the midst of added chaos in my life.
Upon reflection of the past month, I noticed that I stopped caring for myself physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. I forwent my daily walks, meditations, and proper eating. I did not want to waste my time; I had so much other work to do. I also added more stress by not setting boundaries with friends and family. As a result, I allowed myself to pull out my pity pot. I began focusing on the negative aspects of my life instead of the many blessings. I began envying my friends and family who were having summer fun. I was resentful at my self-imposed monotony of everyday life. My mind was spiraling down creating a miserable reality.
Thank God, I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I looked at what I was not doing that kept me centered and connected with God. I realized, I had quit maintaining my spiritual practices of prayer and meditation, my physical well-being of eating well and exercise, and my daily reading of positive and inspiring words. I forgot to be grateful for the small blessings in life (I could have a pregnant elephant in my living room). I quit taking care of myself and we all suffered.
Upon this realization, I began anew, my pity pot is back up in the attic and life is good.
Maintaining a healthy and balanced life requires caring for yourself first. Maybe if we all did this, we would live in a more peaceful world.

The Great Flood

My family prays with the expectation and anticipation to receive, and our prayers are usually answered quickly and in dramatic ways. However, over the past year, our prayers have been seemingly lost in the ethers. When this happens with my spiritual direction clients, I recommend they clean house. Clean out their emotional, spiritual and physical baggage.
The first step is usually to clean out your physical home, your car, your closets, your garage, and your work space. Look around and ask yourself, “Are these areas clean and uncluttered? Are they filled with things that I use, that I absolutely love and bring me much joy? Or are they filled with things I never use, that zap my energy every time I dust or move them? Are my spaces cluttered and disorganized, robbing me of precious time and money every time I need to find something? Is my clutter keeping me from relationships with my children, family and friends, out of shame, guilt and feelings of overwhelm? Am I overly attached to my stuff? Is my lifestyle ridged and inflexible? Is my stuff blocking me from the blessings God has in store for me?
In most cases, our physical surroundings reflect our inner spiritual life.
When I asked myself these questions, the answer was a big fat “YES!” So practicing what I teach, our family planned to clean out every room. We began this venture on Saturday. My plan was to finish by the following Friday. I was in a hurry and on a mission when I was moving one closet into the other, without thoroughly releasing things. My wise daughter caught me in the act, called me on this behavior and said, “Mom, if we are going to do this, we need to do it right and get rid of stuff!” She was correct; yet, I was resistant and not wanting to do all that was required.
It was clear that our house needed a thorough cleaning out and I needed to release a lot more than I was willing. Monday morning as our family went about our day away from home; God had other plans and sent the great flood. We arrived home to find water running out of our house into our yard.
Tuesday morning during meditation I asked, “O.K. God, what is this about?” I received; it is the story of Noah and the ark, of course! “Really,” I said, “What does that mean?”
I knew the story of Noah’s Ark, it is a favorite children’s bible story among Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith traditions. The question is what does his story have to do with my house flooding?
Noah, an inspired man, routinely communed with God through prayer and meditation. He followed instructions and did whatever was required for God to use him in a great way. Noah had to be willing to release all of his belongings, keeping only what was essential to move forward and to begin anew. He had to trust that God would provide all he required to begin his new life and that God would give him signs of hope along the way.
Of course, the flood began in my bathroom creating the most damage in my closet, room, office and kitchen: my areas of the house. Who was the one in resistance? Who was the one being forced to release more stuff? Who is praying the prayer of Jabez; praying for God to expand my territory for the common good of all? ME!
So the questions are Becky, “Are you willing to release all that is necessary to keep moving forward as Noah did. Are you willing to listen to the call of God? Are you willing to give up all of the non-necessities in your life, things that you do not use or need now or in the future; things that take your time away from living a full and happy life; things that bind you to the status quo? Are you willing to trust that God will provide all that is required to do what you are called here to do?”
These are tough questions.
Well, the flood carried away several things which I was unsure, now the rest is up to me and my family to finish cleaning out and releasing blocks to our spiritual future. How committed are we to do the will of God? I guess we will see, as our garbage cans begin to fill up.
The story of Noah teaches us to purge those things that block us from God and keep those things that connect us. We are created as conduits for God to work in and through us. By cleaning out and releasing our clutter, we form a vacuum which opens the passages for us to receive and to keep the flow of God energy moving in and through us. When we horde things and keep things thinking “I’ll need it someday,” we are living in a mind set of fear and of lack. We are not living in line with spiritual teachings. All through scripture, we are called to trust God for all of our needs. We are told of an abundant universe, and that God is our great provider.
Don’t wait for a flood, go ahead, clean house.

Fear

According to the movie, Facing the Giants "do not fear" is mentioned 365 times in scripture. Amazing. For me this is an awesome reminder to remember daily Fear Not.

How many times do we miss out on life, on new experiences because of fear? For me, the missed opportunities are too many to count. Over the past 3 years, I have decided to reject fear and practice the mantra I learned from Jack Canfield. It goes like this.

Close your eyes, hold out your hands, put your pointing finger on your thumb and say, "OHM, what the heck, just do it anyway." At this point in my life, I have nothing to loose. What about you?

Be the Change

Gandhi says, Become the change you want to see in the world. Becoming the change I want to see in the world has been a life long journey for me which is ever expanding and developing. It is a process.

As I become the change I want to see in the world, I move into accordance with my life, I open myself to enter into deep and authentic relationship with others. I move into a place where I encounter common ground with my neighbors and I am no longer threatened by or fear our differences. In fact, I can choose to celebrate and honor our differences thus expanding my life experience.

This process of change expands my worldview and brings me into an awareness of our global interconnectedness taking me places I have never been before. It allows me to truly promote peace through understanding. I integrate myself with others and into accordance with all of life. I experience Oneness and find my purpose to be seeking the common good of all.

Misery or Happiness, you choose.

We all create our own misery. And we all create our own Happiness. It is our choice what we choose.

I believe that we come to this planet to live happy, joyous and free and if we are not happy, joyous and free, we are doing something wrong.

When we are in alignment with our mind, body and spirit, we are like a rope. Each fiber represents the many facets of ourselves which are entwined with each other creating Oneness and wholeness. We are in accord, in harmony with all of life. When we are whole and complete, one with self we experience peace, joy, happiness and harmony.

Our misery is usually caused because there is someone, something or some circumstance in our lives that we have not accepted: Our mind, our body and our spirit are out of alignment. We are in discord, out of harmony. We are moving against ourselves, creating illusions of misery, separateness, pain and suffering. It is like twisting a rope against itself. When this happens we experience dis-ease. We begin to feel a void within our soul. We are not comfortable in our own skin.

When we live in discord within ourselves, we live in discord with those around us projecting pain and suffering to all those whom we encounter.

It is my passionate desire and life mission to promote Peace through understanding- Understanding of our selves, then moving into understanding of others and our world.

My intention in my work is to bring you into a deep and loving relationship with yourself. To bring your mind, body and spirit into accord, into a harmonious life. In so doing, you will experience an inner peace which will manifest out into the world. You will experience true authentic happiness, peace and joy.

Life is intended to be happy, joyous and free.
We create our own misery and our own happiness. What will you choose.

From Smallness to Greatness

Joel Olsteen suggests that we must suffer through our smallness in order to move into our greatness.

I would say we trudge (to walk or move forward with a purpose) through our smallness in order to achieve our greatness. It is in the small steps we take daily toward our goal that brings it to fruition. The key is do not stop moving forward.

This takes discipline of our mind, body and spirit. We must not allow the nay-sayers and our failures of our past to pull us off track. If we are physically tapped, we must go deep and find the power and strength within to keep moving. Spiritually, we must affirm that all things are possible with God and it only takes the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains.

It is in the smallness, in our humbleness that we achieve our Greatness.

Pray for Rain

There is a story of two farmers who were praying for rain. One farmer prayed for rain and planted his field, the other prayed for rain and did not plant his field.

When the rains came, who was ready to reap the harvest?

The one who planted the field. He is the one with the faith of a mustard seed. He put forth the effort, did the work expecting results.

This is a great way to live. It can be difficult because all of the "facts" say that this or that can not happen, but we can only see a small part of the whole picture. When we move forward, we trust that God has the big picture and do what is necessary leaving the outcome to God.

As we practice and experience the presence of God in our lives, our vision expands and we see more of the whole picture. This makes our life much easier.

Pray for Rain and prepare your fields. Stay focused on the next indicated step and trust that God has a plan and the plan is Good.

Meditation

Sit at the feet of God, until you become God.

Jim C.

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth comes about as we begin to question.

Our children are very insightful at a young age. They question everything, their curiosity is what drives them. They are completely in the Now moment; being and questioning.

They are, therefore they know. Or I am; therefore, I know.

As we mature, we are rewarded for having the answers not for asking the questions. Our questions are squelched, our innate propensity to question is diminished and our curiosity wanes. We begin to strive for the answer and quit contemplating the questions, and asking "Why?"

We move into I know; therefore, I am.

This means that our value and self-worth comes from knowing. We are no longer good enough just being, we must know to be accepted, to be somebody.

Jesus says, we must become like children. I believe this means we must become teachable. We must begin to question, question all things we have been taught. I believe that in our faith traditions, we have not been given the right to question what we are told. Therefore, we are stagnant in our spiritual growth. Eugene Ionesco suggests, "It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question"(38).

Henry David Thoreau said, " It is only when we begin to question all our learning that we begin to know"(38).

Both quotes are from Secrets from Great Minds, by John H. McMurphy.

Mothers Honored

I love scripture of Islam which states, "Serve and revere your parents. Heaven is spread beneath the feet of mothers everywhere."

What a beautiful passage honoring our mothers. Heaven is at their feet. Heaven the place one finds refuge, peace, nurturing, love, kindness, compassion and wisdom.

Islam, as well as the Catholic Church give great homage to Mary the Mother of Jesus. Native Americans give homage to our Mother Earth.

Several traditions which have been interpreted by our patriarchs have lost sight of the importance of honoring our Mothers and give greater attention to the Father. I believe this puts us in a state of imbalance. We must honor both Mother and Father.

This is also true in our honoring of our masculine and our feminine attributes within ourselves. When we squelch one, we live an imbalanced life which manifests in every area of our lives. Could it be that the squelching of our feminine natures in men and our oppressing women around the globe for centuries is the cause for our Mother Earth being dishonored, raped and pillaged? Just a thought.

Honoring our Mother

Mother's Day weekend is a great time to reflect on our mothers and all women in our lives whom have touched our hearts and nourished our soul.

In the Native American tradition, they say, "All living beings are form the earth. Wherever we look, we see part of our Mother and Father."

This is true when I see birds flitting around hunting food for their hungry babies with persistent action, I see parents scrambling around feeding their children. I see the beauty of the wild flowers covering our earth reminding me of the beauty that surrounded me as a child which was freely given and provided by the labors of my parents. When we are aware and we take the time to look, we will see our Mother and Father expressed throughout nature.

Nature expresses the masculine and the feminine attributes of our Creator which is also our masculine and feminine attributes. Embracing both, we come into oneness and begin to see the face of God wherever we look.

Mothers-Buddhism

To support Father and Mother,
To cherish Wife and Child,
To follow a peaceful calling,
This is the greatest blessing.

Buddhism, Dham. 252

As I cared for my in-laws and now support my parents as they move up in years, my life expands and my love and compassion grows.

As I cherish my husband and my children, I experience the wonders of God through laughter, joy, tears. I feel unfathomable gratitude and deep love.

As I write, speak, meditate and promote Oneness, my life is filled beyond measure and I am complete. I am One with my Source and my Divine Purpose.

This is living a blessed life.

Thank you God.

Examine the Self

"If you love others, and affection is not returned, look into your love."

Is your love conditional or unconditional? Is it inclusive or exclusive?

"If you rule others, and they are unruly, look into your wisdom."

Do you go by the rules? Are you a rule breaker in areas of your life?

"If you treat others politely and they do not return your politeness, look into your respect."

Are you respectful to all people, animals, and our planet? Do you honor the All?

"If you desires are not fulfilled by what you do, turn inward and examine yourself in every point."

What areas in your life is out of balance? Where are you not being your authentic self?

The quotes are from Confucianism and I interjected the questions. These are great questions for reflection to examine yourself. Delve into the quotations more and contemplate their meaning for you. When you do, you will enter the path to enlightenment.

Self-awareness is Growth

Being self-aware and/or understanding ourselves is a central theme in every faith tradition. "Knowledge of one's own self is stated to be the most excellent among all things, for it leads to enlightenment" states the Hindu religion.

Our experience or our success in life is determined by our wholeness. As we become aware of self and make the needed adjustments in our lives, thoughts, and behaviors, we experience spiritual growth. This is often difficult because we are conditioned to hide our short-comings from others and from ourselves. This denial is a block to our success, our happiness and our spiritual progress in all facets of our life.

Becoming self-aware and making changes in ones life is simple but not easy. It takes courage and strength, but it is possible. When you do the work, your life shifts and miracles become your norm. It is soooo fun. It is worth the effort. I promise.

Unity

Spending time with Immaculee and the beautiful people of Austin, I realize once again how connected we all are. So many people touched by a story across the planet, hearts broken by the atrocities to so many. Why are we moved by the story? Because we are all connected in spirit, we are all One. When tragedy strikes one, it strikes us all.

Immaculee's story is our story. If we could all own the stories of our planet and heal the wounds, the hurts, the pain and suffering within ourselves we could heal our planet and know peace.

Our coming to realize that our hearts beat as one heart, and that one heart pumps the life-force energy through our world arteries is crucial to inner peace, thus world peace.

Love of Self

In order to love you neighbor as yourself, you must first learn to love yourself. This is usually the hardest most difficult task. A step in the process of learning to love yourself is reviewing your life and owning the good, the bad and the ugly. Accepting the truth about who you are is paramount in the spiritual process.

Once you have reviewed the good, the bad and the ugly, it is suggested you share this with another human being. This is when we experience humility, not humiliation-humility. We humble ourselves before God as revealed in another human being. Make sure you choose a trust-worthy, loving and kind person with whom to share this inventory. Some people choose a pastor, rabbi, counselor, spiritual director or a trusted friend.

Your willingness to be thorough and open will determine the results you experience. Once you share your life with another, releasing any and all secrets, you will experience a great relief. Your damned up emotions, which have kept you in bondage, will come to the surface and be washed away and you will begin to experience inner peace, you will begin to experience the presence of God.

Experiencing the presence of God begins the process of loving yourself and in so doing you will be able to love your neighbors.

A Message from Mary the Mother of Jesus

I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend with Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of Left to Tell, discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. She was speaking about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary on Mt. Kibeho. Her message was that Mary came to Rwanda to plead with the people to change their ways and to love one another. If they did not horrific things would happen in their country.

Immaculee attributes the Holocaust to the fact that the people of Rwanda did not heed this warning. "We failed to live out the commandment to Love our neighbor as ourselves."

How our lives would be different if we just chose kindness rather than indifference.

Acceptance is the Path

Acceptance is the path to peace.
What does this really mean as I go through my life of plans? As my plans shift as they have over the past month and circumstances out of my control have turned my life upside down, I have a choice. I can choose resistance to what is and experience misery. Or I may choose acceptance, that all is in Divine Order and experience peace.

As a sailor for many years, I learn how to adjust my sails when the winds shifted. If I resisted the wind, I ended up in the water. This is a great analogy for life, when the wind shifts, adjust and move ahead. It may take us a bit longer to reach our goal, but the addition to the journey adds to the spice in life.

Celebrate Diversity

Sitting in our Spring Symphony Pops concert, my heart soared as I listened to the audience listen to Mariachi Vargas. They were having so much fun.

The entire program was in Spanish. I neither speak nor understand Spanish, but I could feel the energy in the room and the beat of the music. I actually recognized some of the music and moved with the beat. I was in awe experiencing a different culture from my own in my home town.

I also realized that most of the audience was Spanish speaking and were from my town. I was experiencing a vast majorities of my neighbors culture. It was almost a sold out crowd filled with people whom had never attended a symphony.

I wondered how many of my Spanish speaking neighbors went to events in English where they understood nothing. I wondered it they felt frustration and isolation. Even though, I felt some of this, I did feel connected because of the music and because I was celebrating our diversity.

I was filled with gratitude that my Spanish speaking neighbors and friends were being honored by our symphony embracing their culture. It was a beautiful experience. It brought me back to the Eid celebration we celebrated the first time in San Angelo during the 11 Days of Peace. My Muslim friends were honored because they were invited to celebrate their faith openly with the people of San Angelo.

I love witnessing all people coming together and celebrating our diversity. It makes for a much more exciting life.

Overcoming common resistance

We all are created with innate capabilities which move us toward our ultimate human potential of creativity. However, most people believe that there is something outside of themselves which limit their ability to achieve and to develop their full potential. This belief is the primary block of people attaining their creative birthright.

John H. McMurphy, PhD in his book Secrets from Great Minds, suggests five resistant beliefs which block us from enhancing our full human potential.

1. "I'm just not very creative or I can't seem to realize my true potential.
2. "There's not enough time to practice techniques to improve my creative potential."
3. "My job doesn't demand or allow for much creativity." or "My job doesn't present man opportunities to develop my full potential."
4. "I'm just too logical and analytical to be more creative."
5. "I'm afraid to develop my creativity because my life might change."(pg.ii-vii).

These rationalizing negative beliefs keep us from moving forward and becoming and creating a life of magnificence. It is a process of changing our perceptions and our way of thinking that breaks the self-imposed bonds that imprison us.

The processes are easy but difficult. However, the people who trudged the road before us have proven its value. People like da Vinci, Emerson, Edison, Jung, and Socrates lead the way in overcoming our resistance and moving into a life of great potential.

It will be exciting to see what they have to share.

The Magnificence of Flowers

Driving through the Texas hill country this time of year, one is astounded and awe struck by the beauty of the wildflowers. Bluebonnets blanket the meadows, hills and roadsides with splashes of brilliant yellow, red, pink, and purple. These flowers are freely given for us all to enjoy. They enfold us in their aroma and mesmerize us with their beauty. Flowers for me are the exclamation point of creation, the final touch.

Teilhard de Chardin suggests that "Consciousness is humanity's flower; it is our unique way of expressing the loving spiritual presence within us. It also is the God-given tool we must wield in the creative process."

Awakening to our consciousness and becoming aware of our oneness is the evolution of humanity toward Spirit. It is the unfolding of the rose, the pressing forward to full expression. It is the game we are here to play.

After seeing this years bountiful expression in wildflowers, I am excited about the unfolding of my life into full expression.

Why?

I just read Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, a touching fiction about Nazi-occupied Warsaw. It is a story of an orphan who lives in the streets of Warsaw, stealing food for himself and other orphans just trying to survive.
The story unfolds with the cunning and baffling atrocities inflicted on the Jews during a horrific time in our history.

I realize this is a fictitious book; however, the happenings and the treatment of the Jews is factual. In reading books about the Holocaust of the Jews and Rwanda, I am shocked at what one human being can do to another. It is the slow seeping of separation, defiling and dehumanization into the souls of people.

When we allow ourselves to listen to and be around racism, dehumanization, derogatory comments about a group of people, we are setting ourselves up for the unthinkable. We become the monsters, we fear. We begin saying and doing the unthinkable. History repeats itself.

We have been listening to the media and to the extreme fundamentalist about the "Muslims" being evil, being vile, inhuman, "the enemy." All of these labels, separate us from them. They close our minds and our hearts to the preciousness and the oneness of our humanity. In so doing, we allow atrocities to befall onto innocent people.

Isn't this what happened to Jesus. One day he is the hero, the next the crowd turns on him and he becomes the hunted, the beaten, the crucified.

How many times do I fall into the trap of gossip, degrading another person, all the while rationalizing that "We're different, I'm not like them, They deserve what they get . . ." I am guilty of the of propagating the same behaviors and mindsets of those whom have participated in ethnic-cleansing.

With this awareness, I am called to be responsible and to help cleanse the world of such thinking and belief systems. I do this by using the Ho'oponopono Prayer for Healing as found in Zero Limits by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakela Hew Len, PhD.

Divine creator, father, mother, son, [daughter] as one . . . If I, my family, relatives, and ancestors have offended you, your family, relatives, and ancestors in thoughts, works, deeds and actions, from the beginning of our creations to the present, we ask your forgiveness. . . Let this cleanse, purify, release, cut all the negative memories, blocks, energies, and vibrations, and
transmute these unwanted energies to pure light . . . And it is done.

This prayer opens my heart to love through forgiveness all of humanity and allows me to experience the Oneness of us all.

Being Forgotten

In reading Have a little faith by Mitch Albom, Mitch asks his dying rabbi what most people fear most about death. The rabbi answers, "Well, for one thing, what happens next?" He goes on to say that the biggest fear is, "being forgotten."

The rabbi refers to this as the second death. "The unvisited nursing homes. The homeless found frozen in alleys. Who mourned their passing? Who marked their time on earth?" (pg. 127).

This little conversation got my attention, especially at this time in my life, as I visit my dad in a memory-care facility. I notice all of the elderly whom have been forgotten and remember the lady who recently went out to watch the night sky and to rock only to freeze to death. I watch my dad struggle with acceptance that he is old just like the people around him. It is difficult to watch and to absorb that the man who was my rock is withering.

In reading this little story, I am awakened to the preciousness of time and how fast it flies past. I realize the importance of inter-personal relationships which is what my dad tells me daily. Becky, "Life has meaning, and its lasting meaning is in interpersonal relationships. Nothing else matters." What a powerful message to heed.

We spend and waste so much time chasing things, positions, accolades, and playing with gadgets that we forget to nurture and foster relationships. As we age, it sometimes becomes too late and we end our lives alone.

Take time for dinner with friends and family, go to the park with your kids, grand kids, nieces or nephews, adopt an elder or a child who has no one, do something to reach out your hand to another human being. Make creating and building relationships you lifes work. In so doing, you and they will be remembered.

Honor yourself and others

Each time you invalidate anybody else,

you are invalidating who you are.

As you invalidate yourself you are not

allowing yourself to be who you are,

and you are disallowing your

own potential for expansion.

P'taah/The Gift thru Janie King

This is such a Truth for me. I find that each and every time I gossip, judge, or belittle another person, my self worth diminishes. The more I can see the truth about myself, the good, the bad, the ugly and the beauty and honor that, the more I can honor the good, the bad, the ugly and the beauty in others.

Change

In order to change anything, we must first be aware, acknowledge and own our defects of character within ourselves. These are the attributes which separate us from our fellows: anger, fears, beliefs, lust, jealously, resentment, etc. Once aware of these self-invalidations, we can chose to change our actions, beliefs and/or our perceptions. In so doing, we open ourselves to be transformed.

Meditation

Practicing meditation and contemplation over the past 22 years has transformed my life. It has taken me to beautiful and bountiful experiences within the depths of my soul.

I am fascinated at how far we humans will risk our lives and journey into space, to the highest peak of mountains, and to the depths of the ocean for the thrill of it. And yet, how few of us take the most awesome journey of all, into the depths of our soul. It is an ongoing journey where more and more is revealed, where the peace that surpasses understanding is found, where we experience Bliss and see the light of God.

St. Augustine in the Literal Meaning of Genesis states "When the attention of the mind is completely carried off and turned away from the bodily senses, then there is this state called ecstasy . . . there the brightness of the Lord is seen."

Take time in your day to still your mind and be still. Meditation is a practice. Sit and breathe deeply and allow your breath to massage your inner being. Become aware of the pulsating life-force within you. Allow that force to meditate you. Breathe.

Living an Inspired Life

We you connect with your inner spirit, the life-force within you, your life shifts and you will experience a life of inspiration. Living from within is as if you are being pulled forward into right action.

• Your thoughts seem to expand into greater territories.
• Your belief system shifts into a knowing that all things are possible.
• You begin to take action which before would have been foreboding.
• Unbelievable consequences begin happening, it is as if the universe is at your command and brings all that is required to you easily and effortlessly.
• You grow into your Own. You become and achieve things you would have never imagined.

How do you accomplish this state of being? I do it by

• prayer and mediation
• by releasing old habits, behaviors, beliefs, and resentments of my past,
• forgiving myself and others

I choose to say, "YES" to inspiration (God) daily.

He sleeps in a storm

There is a story in Mitch Albom's book, Have a little faith from the Rabbi's sermon in 1975. It goes something like this.
A man is applying for a job on a farm. He is a man of few words, but offers the farmer a reference letter which states, "He sleeps in a storm." The farmer desperate for help hires the hand. After several weeks a powerful storm comes through the valley.
The farmer awakens with a stir and calls out to his new hired hand. The man is sound asleep with no hopes of awakening.
The farmer runs out to check the barn, the fields, and the silo. He finds all of the animals, grain and hay have been properly taken care of and all was well.
The farmer realized what the letter meant. "He sleeps in a storm" (pg. 93).

This is a great message for us all to realize that if we do all that is required in a day, we will all sleep well.

It reminds me of the story of Jesus in the boat with the disciples when the storm came up. They were afraid and panicked. They could not figure out how Jesus could sleep during the storm. Could this parable be one which teaches us to keep our side of the street clean, to do what is required, to make amends instantly; so when a storm arises in our mind and in our life, we can sleep knowing all is well. We will experience a peace that surpasses understanding.

In my personal life, I know I sleep soundly when I have addressed issues and made amends when need be and when I have finished and completed the work of the day. It is also beneficial for me to connect with God daily in prayer and meditation.

Wisdom from a Rabbi

When a baby comes into the world, its hands are clenched, like a fist.
Why? Because a baby, not knowing any better, wants to grab everything, to say, "The whole world is mine."
"But when an old person dies, how does he do so? With his hands open. Why? Because he has learned the lesson, we can take nothing with us."
(Have A little Faith, Mitch Albom, pg. 101).

This has been my truth. I find the older I get the less I want as far as material things. The more stuff I have and am responsible for the less freedom I have to do the things I enjoy. Being content with who I am and what I have has been the key to my ultimate happiness.

This is a common message in faith traditions. In Buddhism, we find, "Contentment is the greatest wealth" (Dham 204). Hinduism states, "contentment is the root of happiness, and discontent the root of misery (Manu 4:12).

For me, focusing on the blessings in my life with a grateful heart brings about a sense of AWE and contentment. Happiness for me is being satisfied with what I have.

I encourage you to look around and become aware of the blessed abundance in your life. If you live in America, even if you are living in the slums, you are living better than 80% of the people on the planet.
Be grateful.

Great Easter Card

Picture a chocolate Easter Bunny saying, "By the time you read this, some grubby little kid probably has gnawed my ears off and is sinking his sharp, tiny teeth right into my face."

Open the card to a bunny with a bite out of its ear saying, "Oh the Humanity!"
Thought you might enjoy some "Dark" chocolate humor for Easter.

A good laugh is medicine for the soul, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Easter

Easter weekend has been a milestone moment in my life over the past years. It seems it stirs great emotion within my soul. I remember one Good Friday coming home after reading the passion, furious. I was so sick of hearing the Crucifixion story. I wrote in my journal:

Jesus, I am so tired of hearing your story! What about my story and all of the stories of the people down here. Do you think you are the only one who has suffered? Don't you think we have been crucified in our own way. We are beat up and nailed to a cross everyday as people judge us, talk behind our backs, bully us, beat us down. . . I was hysterically crying and in the depths of a very dark place in my life.

An amazing thing happened in my journal, I got a reply. It said, Becky, yes I know your pain and the pain of all people. You are all crucified on this journey of life. I am so sorry. My story is your story and your story is my story. No one person's pain is greater than the others. We are all One in suffering, but we are also all One in the joy of rebirthing or resurrection.

Once you becoming willing to forgive those whom have harmed you, you will know a new freedom. You will be born anew. But just as you have been crucified so too have you crucified others. You must own this fact and ask for forgiveness. Once you seek forgiveness and forgive others, thirst for the Father, to know God. You will experience the peace that surpasses understanding.

Becky, open yourself to my story and make it your own. You will awaken and come to know what I meant when I said, You are in the world but not of the world. I love you, I am sorry for your pain, I forgive you, and Thank you.

This message changed my life. I hope in sharing this personal entry from my journal, it helps you.
God Bless and Happy Easter.

Everybody's Fine

I just watched the film titled, Everybody's Fine with Robert DeNiro. The previews show this to be a humors and light film but oh, contrary. This film hit deep into my heart and soul to the point my heart physically aches.

It is a story of a family of children who spend their lives making up stories about their lives as to not upset their dad. The dad is clueless, he had kept his head in the sand because he did not really want to know. Don't we all do this to some extent?

Lies and secrets were the family dance. In the dance, they all pretended to be something else while dying within. The dance was done under the premise to not worry dad and to keep dad happy. It was a life of illusions, a life of seperateness, tension and unhappiness. Deception always breads pain and seperation.

It was only when the dad opened his eyes to see the truth, that the walls of deception came tumbling down. The truth was revealed and shockingly, it was all O.K. Dad lived through the breakthrough and the children survived. When this happened, it gave them all permission to be, an entire family was set free. They reunited as One.

In reality, even with all of the good and all of the bad, everybody is truly FINE. Even though it was a painful movie to watch, it had a gripping story and a compelling and very insightful and valuable message.

We rob ourselves of life and of relationships when we do not own our truth and live a life of lies. It is when we share our joys and our heartaches that deep relationships form and grow. And in the end, in the words of my dad, "The only true value in life is interpersonal relationships." We can only develop interpersonal relationships if we take the time to connect at our core and to see the all of the other person.

The truth will set us free. In truth, we find true happiness and connectedness with others. We find Oneness.

The Guest House - 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 beyond.

~ Rumi ~

(The Essential Rumi, versions by Coleman Barks)

This is a beautiful poem about embracing the all of ourselves. All of our lives, the laughter and the sorrow serve us to move forward into awareness.

Perfection

A seed of a rose has within it all it needs to grow into a beautiful rose. All that is required is fertile ground, water and light. Isn't that our truth?

We have all that we require within us to grow and to bloom. All we need is fertile ground (an opened mind), water (nourishment) and light (awareness of Truth). We are created in the Essence of perfection, from perfection we can manifest greatness. If we believe we are created flawed, we spend our life trying to become perfect and our life is wasted. This is a futile exercise because we can not become what we are already.

I always wonder, who are we to think God created us wrong. How do we know? Just think how much time and money we would save, if we all just accepted we were perfect just the way we are and that our neighbor was perfect just the way they are. We could go about the business of living our life to the fullest.

Own your Essence and the Essence of others as perfection, then you can move forward into your Greatness.

The Wise Person

Like the bee gathering honey from different flowers, the wise person accepts the essence of different scriptures and will see the good in all religions. Srimad Bhagavatam

What a beautiful affirmation of the Oneness of all of humanity. I have found that the more I gather information from different scriptures the more common ground I find. My vision and my experience of God expands exponentially.

Gandhi once wrote, "If we reach the heart of our own religion, we also reach the heart of other religions."

I must have reached the heart of Christianity because I have reached the heart of other religions. I am grateful.

Self-acceptance is key to self-actualization or enlightenment

We are created in the image and likeness of our Creator according to the book of Gensis. We share the same life-force energy and co-creative energy of Creation. All of creation shares a portion of divinity within the core of its being. I claim this to be my truth, I claim my Divinity.

Realizing and accepting this truth, empowers me to unfold into the fullness of me. A rosebud can only unfold in its fullness as a rose. It can not unfold into a daisy or an pansy. From seed to full blossom, it is a rose. It is a unique rose unlike any other. So too are we.

We are a being, unique and perfect, unlike any other. It is our purpose to unfold, owning the whole of who we are along the way. We must embrace the thorns, the off-shoots of leaves, and the magnificence of our blossoming. There is nothing to do in this unfolding, just be, allow and accept.

Henry David Thoreau confirms, "that our self-acceptance actually determines who we are and who we can become. Self-acceptance means that we fully accept our humanness-our ability to make both wise choices and mistakes-without affecting our value as a human being" (McMurphy, Secrets of Great Minds, pg. 83).

We have value and worth because we were created not because we behave or do anything special. However, if we identify our value and worth by our actions and behavior and devalue and/or deny the indwelling spirit or divinity within us, we block our self-actualization or enlightenment.

"In knowing ourselves to be unique, we possess the capacity for becoming conscious of the infinite. But only then!" Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

Palm Sunday

Even though I was not a church today, I celebrated my Oneness with God, just as I image the people in the streets did as they welcomed Jesus into their midst. I danced. I sang. I prayed. I laughed. I cried. I opened myself completely to the presence of God. I participated in an Oneness Awakening.

Opening myself is a process of becoming aware of the truth of who I am and the hurts hidden in my soul. In this awareness, I can seek and offer forgiveness to myself and others; thus dying to the illusions of myself. In this dying to my false self, I awaken and transcend into a new life of Oneness.

This is the ongoing process toward an enlightened state of consciousness which Jesus so passionately demonstrated. He is our great way-shower for this process of entering into Oneness with our Creator. He blessed us with this same ability, we must just claim it and open ourselves to this process and this higher state of consciousness.

"I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be One, just as you and I are one: I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me." (John 17:21-23).

Yet another deepening of my relationship with God.

May you all be blessed with an Awakening to your Oneness with God.

Silence

Silence is one of the most difficult arguments to dispute. I find myself in several situations where at my core I disagree with some one's stand on something. I used to speak up and debate the issues which invariably cause a lot of heart-ache and tension.

My spiritual guide asked me one day, "Becky, Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy; because you do have a choice?" I thought about it for awhile and observed my life. I found that I spent a lot of my time in futile disputes over issues that had no solutions. This created tension, anger, and frustration in my life and the life of countless others. I realized that if I remained silent and allowed the other person their opinion, we were happier.

I now choose "Happy". I practice the art of allowing others to be and to believe as they will which frees me to do the same. This moves me from the bondage of self on the road to 'nowhere' and frees me to enjoy life and the person I am with in the 'now here.'

It is in the NOW here that I find peace and happiness.

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Proverbs 21:23

Enjoy practicing the silence and holding your tongue, let me know what happens.

The Loving and Compassionate Father of the Buddhist Prodigal Son

The father in the Buddhist story is also loving and compassionate. He longs to be reunited with his son just as the Biblical father. I find it inspiring to see the Buddhist father realizes that his son's mindset will not allow him to accept his true identity and to live an abundant life. The son's consciousness is limited and restrictive.

Therefore the wise father knows not to force himself and his wealth onto his son. It is a gradual process of raising the son's consciousness. The father meets him where he is, he dresses down as not to instill fear and/or discomfort. The father patiently offers the son more and more responsibility allowing the son time to grow into the realm of higher consciousness.

It is only when the son's consciousness has expanded to that equal to the father that the son is willing and able to receive the inheritance of the father.

This is a great analogy for many people. I have seen many times when a family has a business and they turn it over to the children. The children are emotionally not prepared and have not worked diligently to develop the skills and discipline needed to maintain the business. Therefore, in many cases, they loose the business within a few years which took decades to build .

This is another analogy of our spiritual lives. God meets us where we are in our consciousness. God is present in the depths of our misery, struggles, and unworthiness constantly providing for our needs and protecting us from harm. God gently guides us and expands our minds into a higher consciousness until we are willing to take our rightful place in the Kingdom.

In both prodigal son stories, the father-God longs for and awaits the son's return, loves and accepts the son where he is, and celebrates the son's awakening to their rightful place in the Kingdom of God.

We are all wayward prodigal children of God, it is important to know, that God is anxiously awaiting our return or our awakening to our truth that we are the heirs to the Kingdom. God is waiting with baited breath to bless us abundantly. The question is, "What are we waiting for? How long do we what to suffer and stay apart from our Creator? It is our choice.

The Loving Father/parent of the Biblical Prodical Son

In the Biblical version of the prodigal son, I find a loving and compassionate father. As a parent, friend, volunteer of youth, I find great wisdom and advise about raising and working with children in these stories.

In Luke 15:25-33, I find a loving father who allows both sons to live out their life as they choose, not as he chooses. He appreciates and loves the son who stays by his side, and he also yearns for the return of the son who has moved away. I love that he does not judge either son, and he generously gives them both all that he has. He does not chose one over the other, he seems to accept and love them both despite the breaking of societal norms and the reactions of others about their behavior. He doesn't seem to expect them to be anything other than who they are.

The father is so secure in his own identity that he his not shamed or thwarted by the behavior of his children. He openly and confidently allows, accepts, forgives, and loves his children unconditionally, despite their actions. He sees only their Oneness with him.

I have witnessed families who have been torn apart because children have not met the 'expectations' of the family. The children have been disowned, ridiculed and belittled because they have stepped out of the status quo, acted "inappropriately" or have "ruined the family name". This is very difficult to watch. For me this is a sense of false pride and personal insecurity on the part of the parent.

(Now my kids have not challenged me in this area, it is my hope that when and if this occurs, I will follow the lead of this father but we'll see. All I can say today is but for the Grace of God go I.)

The parents in these situations seem to gain their identities from their children. They are enmeshed and believe that their children are a reflection of themselves. They are embarrassed and ashamed which is an easy trap in which to fall. It is important for parents to practice letting go and letting God. Simple but not easy.

I personally believe it is the fathers willingness to let go of his son and allow him to fall and to be, that opened the door for his return.

There is a saying, If you love someone, let them go; if they come back to you, they are yours; if not, they never were. Could this be the idea of free will. God gave us all free will, loving us enough to let us go and do our own thing confident that we all will return to our Source- The Creator of the Universe. What is true love, if it is forced love? Love freely given and freely received is True Love.

A side note,

It has only been two days of getting back into a routine. I amazed at how comforting and rewarding that feels. Just knowing I have accomplished one thing and put it on this blog makes me smile.

Thanks to all of you that pull me forward into becoming who I am intended to be. Yesterday I heard a definition for serendipity: a wonderful happening on the way to something else.

This blog is just that.

Much love and happiness.
Becky

Interpretation of the Buddhist Prodigal Son Story

For me, this parable is a beautiful story of how we grow into who we are meant to be and how God meets us where we are emotionally, physically and spiritually.

In the beginning the son runs away from home. He wants to find himself or he can not accept the blessings which surrounds him. He lives in an unworthy mindset.

I see this a lot with women who stay in abusive relationships and children in foster care who defile their new home because they feel uncomfortable in a clean and loving environment. It takes time to release the pain, the beliefs, and the experiences which have been indoctrinated in ones psyche.

This is the process of the prodigal son. He begins his journey at the lowest juncture, he cannot accept any form of love and compassion. It takes him years to open himself to the possibility of a different life. His father senses this and meets his son in the depths of his despair and gently builds him up. Step by step the son comes into being the son of a King, which of course he was at birth, just unable to accept this truth.

Meeting people where they are is necessary for several people with whom I work. Several have been abused in the name of God, Jesus, Allah, etc. In these cases, if I mention the word, God, Jesus, Allah, etc., they run. I have to meet them in a seeming Godless realm. Many have only known poor and negative living situations, and if they are put in a nice, loving and compassionate living situation, they run. It is a fine line and a gradual process to rebuild their trust and belief system in themselves, which opens the door to building relationships with others, which in turn, opens the window to God.

This parable is a beautiful example of growing into our potential and receiving the blessings that come when we awaken to the indwelling spirit of God. Sometimes, it can be hard and stinky work, but the rewards are unbelievable and so worth it.

Buddhist Prodigal Son Story

A young man left his father and ran away. For long he dwelt in other countries, for ten, or twenty, or fifty years. The older he grew, the more needy he became. Wandering in all directions to seek clothing and food, he unexpectedly approached his native country. The father had searched for his son all those years in vain and meanwhile had settled in a certain city. His home became very rich; his goods and treasures were fabulous.

At this time, the poor son, wandering through village after village and passing through countries and cities, at last reached the city where his father had settled. The father had always been thinking of his son, yet, although he had been parted from him over fifty years, he had never spoken of the matter to anyone. He only pondered over it within himself and cherished regret in his heart, saying, "Old and worn out I am. Although I own much wealth - gold, silver, and jewels, granaries and treasuries overflowing - I have no son. Some day my end will come and my wealth will be scattered and lost, for I have no heir. If I could only get back my son and commit my wealth to him, how contented and happy would I be, with no further anxiety!"

Meanwhile the poor son, hired for wages here and there, unexpectedly arrived at his father's house. Standing by the gate, he saw from a distance his father seated on a lion-couch, his feet on a jeweled footstool, and with expensive strings of pearls adorning his body, revered and surrounded by priests, warriors, and citizens, attendants and young slaves waiting upon him right and left. The poor son, seeing his father having such great power, was seized with fear, regretting that he had come to this place. He reflected, "This must be a king, or someone of royal rank, it is impossible for me to be hired here. I had better go to some poor village in search of a job, where food and clothing are easier to get. If I stay here long, I may suffer oppression." Reflecting thus, he rushed away.

Meanwhile the rich elder on his lion-seat had recognized his son at first glance, and with great joy in his heart reflected, "Now I have someone to whom I may pass on my wealth. I have always been thinking of my son, with no means of seeing him, but suddenly he himself has come and my longing is satisfied. Though worn with years, I yearn for him."Instantly he sent off his attendants to pursue the son quickly and fetch him back. Immediately the messengers hasten forth to seize him. The poor son, surprised and scared, loudly cried his complaint, "I have committed no offense against you, why should I be arrested?" The messengers all the more hastened to lay hold of him and brought him back. Following that, the poor son, thought that although he was innocent he would be imprisoned, and that now he would surely die. He became all the more terrified, fainted away and fell on the ground. The father, seeing this from a distance, sent word to the messengers, "I have no need for this man. Do not bring him by force. Sprinkle cold water on his face to restore him to consciousness and do not speak to him any further."

Why? The father, knowing that his son's disposition was inferior, knowing that his own lordly position had caused distress to his son, yet convinced that he was his son, tactfully did not say to others, "This is my son."A messenger said to the son, "I set you free, go wherever you will." The poor son was delighted, thus obtaining the unexpected release. He arose from the ground and went to a poor village in search of food and clothing. Then the elder, desiring to attract his son, set up a device. Secretly he sent two men, sorrowful and poor in appearance, saying, "Go and visit that place and gently say to the poor man, 'There is a place for you to work here. We will hire you for scavenging, and we both also will work along with you.'" Then the two messengers went in search of the poor son and, having found him, presented him the above proposal. The poor son, having received his wages in advance, joined them in removing a refuse heap.

His father, beholding the son, was struck with compassion for him. One day he saw at a distance, through the window, his son's figure, haggard and drawn, lean and sorrowful, filthy with dirt and dust. He took off his strings of jewels, his soft attire, and put on a coarse, torn and dirty garment, smeared his body with dust, took a basket in his right hand, and with an appearance fear-inspiring said to the laborers, "Get on with your work, don't be lazy." By such means he got near to his son, to whom he afterwards said, "Ay, my man, you stay and work here, do not leave again. I will increase your wages, give whatever you need, bowls, rice, wheat-flour, salt, vinegar, and so on. Have no hesitation; besides there is an old servant whom you can get if you need him. Be at ease in your mind; I am, as it were, your father; do not be worried again.

Why? I am old and advanced in years, but you are young and vigorous; all the time you have been working, you have never been deceitful, lazy, angry or grumbling. I have never seen you, like the other laborers, with such vices as these. From this time forth you will be as my own begotten son."The elder gave him a new name and called him a son. But the poor son, although he rejoiced at this happening, still thought of himself as a humble hireling. For this reason, for twenty years he continued to be employed in scavenging. After this period, there grew mutual confidence between the father and the son. He went in and out and at his ease, though his abode was still in a small hut.

Then the father became ill and, knowing that he would die soon, said to the poor son, "Now I possess an abundance of gold, silver, and precious things, and my granaries and treasuries are full to overflowing. I want you to understand in detail the quantities of these things, and the amounts that should be received and given. This is my wish, and you must agree to it.

Why? Because now we are of the same mind. Be increasingly careful so that there be no waste." The poor son accepted his instruction and commands, and became acquainted with all the goods. However, he still had no idea of expecting to inherit anything, his abode was still the original place and he was still unable to abandon his sense of inferiority.

After a short time had again passed, the father noticed that his son's ideas had gradually been enlarged, his aspirations developed, and that he despised his previous state of mind. Seeing that his own end was approaching, he commanded his son to come, and gathered all his relatives, the kings, priests, warriors, and citizens. When they were all assembled, he addressed them saying, "Now, gentlemen, this is my son, begotten by me. It is over fifty years since, from a certain city, he left me and ran away to endure loneliness and misery. His former name was so-and-so and my name was so-and-so. At that time in that city I sought him sorrowfully. Suddenly I met him in this place and regained him. This is really my son and I am really his father. Now all the wealth which I possess belongs entirely to my son, and all my previous disbursements and receipts are known by this son." When the poor son heard these words of his father, great was his joy at such unexpected news, and thus he thought, "Without any mind for, or effort on my part, these treasures now come to me."

http://www.comparativereligion.com/prodigal.html

Discipline

A discipline is something practiced on a regular basis in order to form a habit or learn a particular skill. It is a form of training which maintains order and control.

Well, I have been very disciplined with my blog since January the 4 of this year. But, when I went on spring break and my routine and my discipline went out the window. I allowed myself to be in the moment of where I was and did not stop to journal or to write. In the past, I would beat myself up for not keeping my personal commitment and quit.

However, this year is a different year for me. I am committed to live my life to the fullest and not allow myself to self-sabotage my goal. Therefore, you may be receiving multiple blogs until I catch up. I do have some great new insights to share.

Remember: "Success consists of getting up once oftener than you fall down." -anonymous
Here's to getting back on track.

The "Good and Obedient Son or the Martyr"

Let's continue the story of the Prodigal son. In Luke 15:25-33, we find the older brother hears the sound of music and dancing and asks a servant, "what is happening?" The servant tells him that his father has slaughtered a calf because his brother has returned home.

This angers the brother and he refuses to join in the party. His father comes and pleads with him to come in and celebrate. The son replies, "I have been here day and night working and serving you. And not once did you slaughter a calf for me and my friends.

The father goes on to say, "You have always been with me and what I have is yours, but we must celebrate because your brother has returned."

The message I find in this story is a son who stays with his father because it is safe and it is expected. He doesn't move out of the status quo and have his own experience. He doesn't question, he just stays with what he knows. Now this is neither good or bad, but when the brother becomes resentful, it tells me, he has been out there plowing the fields angry and jealous of his brother. He wishes he could go and do, but no-he is the "responsible one" and stays behind. This is a life not lived.

He also never asked that his dad slaughter a calf. While he was in the Kingdom, he forgets that everything around him is his. He is surrounded by blessings and riches yet, he never partakes of them. He does not ask, he just wishes. He really never is the responsible one, he is the martyr. He is a prisoner in his own mind. He is bound by his own expectations and lives a life of poverty in the land of abundance.

He is here to teach us to live life to the fullest. If you are in a job or even a relationship that you are feeling victimized, ask yourself, "Am I asking for what I need or am I assuming they will read my mind?" If you are asking and are not getting what you require, you may consider leaving and moving on. However, if you are not asking you may want to try it.

Learn to live a life with the words, I choose to be here, I choose to serve here, I choose to work here. This empowers you because you can make another choice. If you believe and say, "I 'have' to be, server, or work here, you are a slave without choices. You are in a self-imposed prison.

Remember, "Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open." These are all action words that lead ; to happiness. God designed the world to supply all of our needs, Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly; abundant joy, happiness and peace. If you are not happy, change your thinking. This is our inheritance, Claim It!

The Parable of the Prodigal Son with a Twist

I have heard many sermons and interpretations of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24). Most of them project the prodigal son as the wayward, selfish son who squanders his fortune but is then welcomed home by the father and resented by the righteous son.

This was great for me when I was searching for a scripture that would offer a ticket out of the life I had created and into one of mercy and grace. However, as I continue to seek deeper insights to this story, I find a twist to the story.

Please remember, take what you like and leave the rest.

When the brother asked the father for his inheritance early, the father graciously and willingly gave it to him. The father allowed him to go into the world and live his own life. The father supported his son's dream and his desire completely. He did not cut him off or say, "You unselfish kid, take what you want and leave, and don't bother coming home. The father did not judge him when he left and welcomed him when he came home.

This is a story of God, the creator of our world, who supplies all of our needs and allows us to go out into the world to test our wings. God does not prevent us from living nor does God judge our actions, but allows us to explore and to experience life. Most importantly when we make choices that aren't what we deem good or in our best interest, God welcomes us home with open arms.

My way or the highway

I have encountered many people who get very defensive if you don't believe in their beliefs and spend a lot of time attempting to convert me to their way of thinking and believing.

I must admit, I used to be this person. And every now and again, my know-it-all person still tries to raise its little head and I have to bite my tongue. This happens when I am too attached to my beliefs and/or I am not sure about my beliefs and I am in fear that I will lose something of value to me.

Today, I believe it is quite arrogant for me to say or try to enforce my beliefs on anyone. For me, this is saying I am better, bigger, and wiser than you and even God, for that matter. It has become my spiritual practice to allow others to live and believe what feels good to them. This has alleviated a lot of arguments and unnecessary pain to myself and others.

When I allow you to be and believe as you want, then I have the freedom to be and believe as I want. This is freedom.

Try it, the next time you want to impose your belief system onto someone, stop and say, "you know what, you may be right." Just allow them the freedom to be, feel the tension in the room disapate. You may realize that there are many highways that lead to the same place.

God is Undefineable

It always strikes me as funny when people say, "God said, God thinks or God believes this or that." I want to say, "How do you know?"

For me, we are a small part of the Greater whole. Even though we are created from the Essence of that which created, can one person, or one faith really know what God says, thinks and believes? Or do we project our thoughts and beliefs onto our idea of God? This is one of the age old questions people have asked since the beginning of time.

In the differing faith traditions it is clear that God is beyond comprehension.

I love the writing of Mohammad found in the Kor'an. "If all the trees that are upon the earth were to become pens, and if God should after that swell the sea into seven seas of ink, His words would not be exhausted; of a truth God is Mighty, Wise" (31:27). For me, this means God is so vast, there is not enough ink to write or describe all of the Wisdom of God. This might explain the plethora of books, texts, and documents written about people's experience of God. There are as many experiences of God as there are creations, ever unfolding, evolving and expanding.

In Christianity, Romans 11:33 (KJV), it states, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"

So for me, when people say, God said, God believes, or God thinks so and so, I just smile and realize there is just one more realization to go into the vastness of an incomprehensible Idea.

How is your attitude?

I love the saying, Jesus can turn water into wine, but he cannot turn your whinning into anything.

Have you ever noticed that your attitude can make or break your day? I have found that when I make a decision to go with the flow and look for the good, I usually have a great day and the people around me tend to have a better day. However, if I surround myself with neigh- sayers and focus on the negative, my day is always yucky and I spread that yuck to everyone I encounter.

My dad always says, "if you put a smile on your face when you wake up and keep it there all day, you will have a terrific day."

Philippians 2:14 says, "do all things without murmurings and disputings." How much better would our world be if we all excluded murmurings and disputes from our lives?

Try it, I bet you will have a lot more fun and feel better.

God is my refuge

God is my refuge, I shall not fear. This is a saying I refer to on a regular basis when I allow my circumstances to pull me into a state of fear. This usually happens when I allow my mind to live in tomorrow and in 'what if' land.

Since none of us can predict the future, why do we have the tendency to project bad things to happen. This has been an area in my life I try to reprogram regularly. When my mind takes off into its pessimistic fear based future, I attempt to reign it in by focusing on the hundreds of blessings which surround me at any given moment. This pulls me into the now which is the place where God consciousness resides-the refuge.

Scripture tells us to "be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you." 1 Chronicles 28:20 NASB

Since we can only live in the Now moment, but our active minds can bi-locate or tri-locate and I am sure mil-locate (be in a million other places instead of the here and now). It is imperative to be strong and courageous and to act. By acting, we practice the skill of meditation in order to still our thoughts, to experience the loving presence of God.

© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com