A Spiritual Practice of Release

I was recently introduced to a spiritual practice that was somewhat familiar, but came with a new name…new to me. This practice has now become a mental obsession! I think about it all the time. I want to implement it, follow through with it, succeed with it. It’s called…clearing.

Clearing can take the form of a variety of release methods. I started by applying this practice to my dining area. For weeks I had been gradually accumulating stuff on or around my dining table. Nothing major and certainly no item that I couldn’t just push aside or lay on the floor if we wanted to use the table for a meal. However, the stuff was building up; it was looking cluttered. I made a commitment to myself that on a certain day I would finally take all that stuff and put it where it belonged and reclaim my dining area.

That day came…and went. The shopping bags containing recent fabric purchases remained in view. The piles of papers were still neatly stacked by subject matter on the table’s surface for quick retrieval, later. Every time I came into the kitchen and looked in the direction of this beautiful but buried table and hutch, my energy diminished. I had broken a commitment with myself and I was reminded of that each day. I couldn’t take it any longer! I prayed for time.

Unexpectedly, but happily, a two-hour block of time and no one around to distract me finally came into my schedule. I quickly moved the fabric purchases in their store bags to where they needed to be. The piles of papers found their way to my office. Knick knacks were put back into position. Art projects and supplies got returned to the hobby storage area. The hutch was dusted. The table was honored with a new centerpiece and decorative runner that replaced the piles of stuff. The entire room was transformed. Not only did I regain use of this inviting space, but my energy returned and I was calm being here. My commitment to myself – to my soul’s need – was fulfilled.

I started using this clearing and release method in other areas of my life. To improve my health and stamina, I’ve managed to release several pounds of weight from my body. My computer files are being reviewed and consolidated; I can find data faster. By gathering similar household items together, I’ve discovered how abundant our life is. We are blessed with numerous and duplicate items, such as cleaning supplies, bath soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper. And how many packs of batteries do we really need for two small flashlights? I’m amazed by our CD music library and DVD movie collection.

I see this clearing practice as a way to let go of what no longer serves me. You can call it downsizing, cleaning or releasing. Once you find, sort or group together possessions in your home, office, garage, basement or car, you will feel gratitude for your material life and/or gain a sense of calm, even abundance, as you sell or give away the excess. The Law of Circulation must occur. The Universe loves a void. The sooner you clear away what no longer serves you, greater Good can come into your life. Get going, start clearing, and be ready to receive!

Tea Leaf Wisdom

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom. (Hugo De Groot, 1583-1645)

Anything too stupid to be said is sung. (Voltaire, 1694-1778)

If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. (Moshe Dayan, 1915-1981)

The palest ink is better than the best memory. (Wise saying from the Orient)

The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness, rather than in its value. (Charles Dudley Warner, 1829-1900)

Why should I buy expensive art when I can make my own. (Piero Milani, 1964 -    )

In science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea first occurs. (Sir Francis Darwin, 1848-1925)

Memory and Forgiveness…Tools of Inspiration

During the past few weeks, significant events from my past have resurfaced as memories worth noting. What has been so different about the remembering process, however, is that I’ve taken the time to appreciate the dominant ‘feeling’ experienced during each remembered event. Whether it was sad, empowering, scary, motivating or something else, I allow myself to feel what made that particular memory stand out, protected by my stronger and present Observer Self. I question why it is showing up now. Does something still need to be healed?

Gratefully, I’m often able to verbally express to my husband, family member or close friend what happened ‘back then’ and how it impacted my life up to the present moment. I give myself permission to track the behavior patterns that came from a particular experience. Then, upon deeper reflection, to determine if those behavior patterns still serve me as the person I am today. If not, what can I do to fully heal and release the past? What else do I need to do to re-pattern my behavior so I can move forward in a more uplifting manner? What Good came from that experience? There is Good in everything that happens; sometimes it just takes a long time to see what it is/was. 

Not surprising to me anymore, forgiveness is a key component for releasing the past and honoring it as an integral part of who you’ve become, and starting anew toward a vision of expanded living and higher consciousness. Forgiveness – of self, of others, or of patterns of behavior – does not mean we have to forget what happened. We can learn from all of it! Forgiveness does not mean we want to hang out with someone who abused us or that we approve of their behavior. Forgiveness does not create relationship with them. Perhaps we could have participated in a different way or wished we would have been stronger or kinder in some long-ago moment.

Forgiveness does open our heart and mind to connect with Divine Love. Forgiveness is an inside job. It’s to heal that which is in you that needs release so you can focus on the vision of your future self. If we try to totally block out a certain memory, we block out a piece of ourselves, our personal past. I know there are experiences I would never have chosen for myself. Yet, as difficult as they may have been…those experiences created the me I am today. And I like this NOW person.

I see memories and the forgiveness process as valuable Tools of Inspiration. Whether it was 50 years or 5 minutes ago, each memory provides a gift that supports me toward the vision of who I want to become. With this loving mindset, I look forward to witnessing what comes up from the past to teach me something about my today self. I now live life more fully, immersed in the present experience, knowing it will someday be a memory that inspires and supports a version of me not yet created, but a perfect me that  already exists in the mind of God.

Vision Work: Mental Activity or Real Thinking?

In the Science of Mind philosophy, great emphasis is placed on thought and creating through your word. Since I’m currently doing a lot of “visioning” for my next stage of life, creating through my word has become very important. Thus, when I heard the following statement recently, it gave me pause about how I think: “Just because you’re having mental activity, doesn’t mean you’re thinking. Thinking is creative.” (Mary Morrissey)

Ernest Holmes, recognized as the founder of Religious Science, writes volumes about our thinking processes, whether consciously or sub(un)consciously. He encourages us to “learn how to think abundantly” and “instead of thinking of the problem, think of the answer…principles never have problems.” When we’re faced with a challenge and get all out of balance by it, it’s simply the Universe showing us an opportunity to resolve, a way to grow and to gain more knowledge, perhaps wisdom, too. In his book “The Science of Getting Rich,” Wallace D. Wattles claims that “…sustained and consecutive thought…is the hardest work in the world.” I agree with him.

It can be very easy to get thrown off-track. The power of the unconscious mind (ego), race consciousness, daily media updates about the negative state of the world, and even concerned friends can plant seeds of doubt, even fear, in our thinking about what needs to be done in certain situations – yours, theirs or a common goal. However, if we continue to think about the current circumstance, rather than raise our thinking vibration to the resolution level, our problems cannot be solved. We’ll just keep going around in circles, creating more of the same form. Albert Einstein taught us this when he said, “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.”

What I’ve noticed by being in the world is that, generally, those who are most tapped into Divine Mind are the most difficult to disturb by any problem or uncertainty. And that is as it should be. The more we study and become immersed in living according to these Truth Principles, the more aware we become of our thinking habits, and the more we incorporate the belief that what we think about with regularity becomes our reality … then the more careful we are about who we hang out with, what we watch or listen to in the media, and WHAT we think, say and do. We hold our precious and sacred life vision before us and move accordingly in the world; not be of the world.

To solve any challenge or create your next vision, you must raise your thoughts, your thinking and words; lift them up to and come from First Cause. Be open to possibilities from ANY direction so you can recognize them in consciousness, active or otherwise, and use a Spiritual filter to decide what’s for your highest and best expression. (It’s important to differentiate between inspiration from Divine Source or advice from ego.) You may have to modify your habits, change your use of certain phrases, or take risks. If your vision is one based on Love and Good – for yourself and others – make that the focus of your thinking. “Life is a mirror reflecting your images of thought.” (Ernest Holmes)

So… if your vision is at least possible, what one thing would you do today to support it? Think about it.

My Community, My Family

“Community” has been at the forefront of my consciousness lately. Whether it’s recovering from the recent layoffs at my office or attracting new people to our church. Community can be defined and experienced in many ways.

Rev. Michael Beckwith has his definition of community – communicate in unity. That can be talking things out, no matter how difficult the subject, or working together on a special project. Community is spending time at a business gathering or church service, just getting to know the people who are there and letting them get to know you. Isn’t that why we come together? To support each other for as long as we can?

Some of our members have been part of the PCCRS church community for a long time; others have joined in just the last year or two. What keeps us coming together? 

I used to think it was the minister and his/her style of delivering the Sunday message, and for some that may be the draw initially. Or maybe it was the music that filled the cracks of consciousness and made the Sunday experience one of rich harmony. Perhaps it’s the opportunity to serve and overcome challenges. But ministers come and go, presentation styles vary, problems get resolved, and even musicians move on to greater compositions.

The folks that are dedicated to a particular community don’t really come for those reasons. They’re here for each other. The minister, the message, the music, the challenges, even the treats and coffee…those are all just details. These can be important details because that’s what we’ve become accustomed to. But it doesn’t take much of a change or a shake-up to find out what’s really important in a community – it’s the people.

When a company lets go of several employees at the same time, those still holding jobs also hold onto each other and cherish the time they had with the ones saying ‘good-bye.’ When people come and go from a congregation, we miss them, welcome them back when they visit, and release them again, holding them in friendship inside our cherished memories. It doesn’t take a deep meditation practice to recognize the cycles of life apply to the coming and going in a community, too.

Community is what brings us back to the church in which we’ve grown as spiritual individuals. Community is an intangible, unseen bond that helps us recognize who we are within certain human circles. Community is what causes us to wear name badges that identify us with a particular group. Community is where we find love and support when life seems unusually challenging. Community helps us find strength to get up, dust ourselves off, and even laugh at our mistakes and trials as we move forward with greater awareness in a new and better direction. Community is our family of choice.

We don’t always have a say as to who will be part of our family, our community. All we can do is love the ones who are here.