Category Archives: New Thought

Cookie Cutter

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Making cookies all the same,
That’s the cookie cutter game.
All alike and none that shine;
Who can really say, “That’s mine?”

Children grow and go to school,
Learning all the people’s rules:
“Do these things and don’t stand out,
This is how you must turn out.”

Intellect is praised and still,
Deep inside they’re not fulfilled.
Loving hearts and building hands
Are not in cookie cutter plans…

God has more for those who know
There are many ways to go,
Greater things to do and be,
Souls to fill and minds to free!

Cookie cutters make a shape,
But they never deviate.
Other shapes and paths aren’t wrong,
They just sing a different song!

God, the Spirit in us all,
Has a cookie cutter ball,
Rolls it on the earth for play,
For in His image we are made!

Cut your cookies, do it well,
Angels, snowmen, wreaths, stars, bells.
But remember all the while,
You’re no cookie cutter Child!

—
Shared for the last OpenLinkNight of 2016 at
dVerse.

Simple Blessing – Music and Poem

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This is an original instrumental, played on the harp. As you listen, I invite you to contemplate these words, or your own thoughts and feelings about giving thanks and counting blessings.

Simple Blessing

Blessings come in many forms,
Much more than what we see.
And blessings best are counted as
The God in you and me.

We’re given Life, and not just breath
Upon this spinning ball…
But onward, upward all the time,
To God the Source of all.

In having what we need we take
A moment to be glad.
But lacking something, would we still
Give thanks for all we had?

For what is there if not the things
We see as good in life,
The money, job, the home and friends,
Success, and being right?

There’s still a Spirit deep within
That shines from all we are!
If nothing else, give thanks for this,
For it’s our Source, by far!

We think we have security
From all these earthly things.
But they are tools that Heaven rules,
Just servants of the King.

And so take time to give Him thanks,
This day and every one,
For all we are and all we have,
Is ours in God the One.

Blessings come in many forms,
Much more than what we see.
And blessings best are counted as
The God in you and me.

All in Good Taste

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I recently re-integrated sound healing into my meditation practice. Some exercises include vocal toning for each Chakra. I’ll describe this briefly, and then share some insights about taste on the physical, emotional and spiritual level.

Vocal toning is not about singing or performing. It means making a vocal sound with the intention of healing. World renowned sound healer Jonathan Goldman created the formula: frequency + intention = healing. Frequency refers to the physical sound. Different traditions use different pitches, notes or frequencies for the same ailment, body part, or Chakra. But that’s ok, because the sound itself does not heal. The sound + the intention to heal, is what brings us back to a state of wholeness and harmony.

I won’t go into the definition or description of the seven main Chakras here. I’m focusing today on the second Chakra, located around the navel area. The corresponding element is water; its aspect of our being is the emotions; and it governs our sense of taste.

Taste itself has many dimensions. It’s believed that the second Chakra governs the physical sense. However, taste is not only a physical sense. Physical taste is a manifestation, a more tangible aspect, of something much deeper. I believe that in balancing the second Chakra in particular, we balance our taste for all things, on all levels.

We experience taste, i.e. likes, in thoughts, words, food, clothes, friends, activities, hobbies, intimate relationships, and much more. I’ll even go as far as to say that life is a matter of taste. No matter what happens, we either have a taste or liking for it, or an aversion to it. I believe the second Chakra governs both our tastes-likes and our aversions-dislikes, and that by keeping this Chakra in balance, we can align our tastes with our souls’ purpose.

We are one Spirit, one vibration, aspects or children of one God-Creator. When we choose to balance ourselves and restore wholeness, we also restore unity with that Source. By establishing and maintaining this unified contact, we allow Source to take charge of our tastes.

Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t mean giving up anything good! It simply, and the Truth is simple, means giving up the delusions of our finite, limited personal ego, will, and human mind. We’ve all had the experience of doing something because we had a taste for it. Maybe it was trying a cup of coffee. If you didn’t like it, you may never try another cup. If you liked it, maybe you became a regular coffee drinker.

The question is, why did we have that cup in the first place? What motivated it? What made us think we wanted that? If the motivation was off, that is, of the personal ego, of course the taste is off as well. The taste is out of alignment with the God-Presence within us.

As always, we have a choice. We can stay there, in a state of dis-ease, mis-alignment, disconnection and separation. Or we can bring ourselves back into balance.

And why would we want to do that? It’s so easy to acquire a taste for things! And if we were honest, we’d have to admit that many of these acquired tastes are negative. They leave us with a bitter taste in our mouths, pun intended. They’re over or gone, and we feel a void, an emptiness. These are escapisms, and yes, it’s so easy to acquire the taste for them. And as long as we have them, life is bearable, even good. So why do we want to be balanced, when imbalance is “so much fun?”

Because when we’re in balance, we truly live the good life! Not necessarily a life free of all negativity! But the life we were created to live. How do we know that’s good? How do we know it’s better than these acquired tastes our ego tells us we need? Because the Creator would not create, only to destroy! The Creator does not wish negativity on us. There is no punishing God. There is discipline, guidance, direction, Divine Order, but there is never punishment. All punishment and suffering are caused by giving in to the personal ego.

So this isn’t really just a discussion about physical taste. Balancing the second Chakra, and all Chakras and aspects of ourselves, is about uniting ourselves, consciously and freely, with the God of our being. This God is our true nature, and wants to live more fully and freely through us.

How do I know that? Because I exist. And I know it for you. If it were not so, you would not exist. God doesn’t create “for the fun of it.” There is no “for the hell of it” in creation. It’s always loved, flowing, conscious, and divine.

In letting go of our personal identities and tastes, we allow God to taste for and through us. And we no longer experience the void of spiritual hunger and thirst:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
–Matthew 5:6 (WEB)

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From where then have you that living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his children, and his livestock?” Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
–John 4:11-14 (WEB)

As for the Chakra balancing, it is simply a tool, a means, like meditation, of bringing ourselves back to conscious oneness with God. You may use it to balance your own tastes and all aspects of your being. Or you may use something else. The tool is less important than your intention to balance, heal, and connect with the God-Presence within yourself.

May you be blessed and know that you are one with God, your Source and Creator, living in and through you each and every day of your life!

And so it is!

Moments of Life

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There are moments when we all feel unappreciated. Unfortunately. But sometimes these moments… drag out. They become days, weeks, months. Sometimes they become years. And we can’t remember the last time we felt anything other than unappreciated, sad, dulled down somehow. I think the word is blah. Depressed. In despair. Or just, “I haven’t been myself lately.” But for how long?

Some of us know we have to reach within for connection. But even that seems hard. Well, not just hard, impossible! And even as we try to tell ourselves that all things are possible, we laugh. You know, that mirthless laugh, “Ha. Yeah right. Like fun all things are possible! Maybe they are for so-and-so, rich people, you name it, but not for me. Not now. Not ever.”

And on it goes.

Until one day, one moment, we get tired of it! Something, thank God, snaps us out of that vicious, downward spiral. The tiniest thing. I think I can safely say it’s always a tiny thing, but to us it seems so huge!

The dark night of the soul has ended. Dawn is breaking through. Once more we can hear the birds sing and feel the butterflies take flight in our hearts. And why? Because someone said, “I love you.” Because someone sent a birthday card. Because someone asked what we were up to or how we were, and was truly interested. Because someone complimented us for what they probably thought was nothing, really. Except that to us, wow! It was the spark that rekindled the fire within.

And it happened in a single moment..!

Just as we can have these moments, we can give them to others. That stranger you smiled at today? It’s quite possible you were part of their moment, an unknowing witness to the break of dawn on the renewed landscape of that person’s life. You may never know for sure. But we are here for a purpose, a Divine, God-given, ordered, unique, personalized purpose. And that purpose includes being a Light to others.

As we give, so we receive. And as it is given to us, it’s passed on through us, to others. What is? Light, Love, Peace, inner connection. So though we feel isolated at times, we are never alone. Someone, by the God-Presence within them, will be our Light, our moment. And we will be a Light to others.

Because no vacuum can exist for long! Giving and receiving must take place. Light and darkness must converge. And we must play our parts in the lives of others, and they in ours, even for just a moment!

And so it is!

“But I Want It…”

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How many times have you heard a child, whether yours or someone else’s, say that? And more importantly, how many times have you declared it? Silently or aloud, we all want things, we really want things, we desperately want things. And that’s ok!

The question is, what motivates this? Common motivations include the following, and feel free to add your own:

* It’s practical.

* It makes sense.

* It’s inexpensive, cheap, or a bargain.

* It will make me money.

* It brings security.

* It solves a problem.

* It will make me feel better.

* I’m expected to have it.

* It will distract me; it’s an escape from something else.

* It fills an emotional need.

* It’s something I need to survive–or I think it is…

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Most of the time, our motivations are based on false premises. That is, we expect things and circumstances, to change our things and circumstances!

This cannot work. The only True motivation is the God-Presence within each of us.

I cannot and will not tell you that God doesn’t want you to have money. Because I don’t believe that. However, I’ll encourage you, as I remind myself, to look within for fulfillment first. Don’t expect money or anything else, to fill your needs.

It may be a tool. Maybe that pony, lover, financial windfall, and even that cheesecake you want really is a means and a part of fulfilling your true desire. And if it is, you will receive it. When the time is right, remember this is God’s time, not yours, when you’re really ready for it, it will show up in your life.

However, if you really don’t need that, putting all your hope and desire into it, will not serve. It limits the good you can receive, because you want “this and only this,” instead of, “This or something better.” Or better still, “Nevertheless, Thy will be done.”

I always stress that Metaphysics is more than the law of attraction. And so it is! 🙂 But they do cross paths, and this is one of those crossings. What you focus on, you can have. But what are you focusing on? Really, in the depths of your mind, what is motivating the things you’re asking for?

Look again at the list of motivations above. Each one of them comes from lack. “I don’t have this. But if I did, I would also have ___ (fill in the blank).”

The law of attraction says that like attracts like. So, if you’re motivated by lack, guess what you’ll get back. More lack.

Is that what you want? Really? I doubt it.

This is why Spiritual Science teaches meditation. It’s not because a certain way of meditating will bring you the perfect life with no negative trends at all. It’s because by meditating in the way or ways that work best for you, you make a connection with the God-Presence within you.

Did you get that? I didn’t say you make a connection with your church, minister, support group, spirit guide, or that thing you want. Because meta-physics goes beyond the physical dimension of life. I said God-Presence! Go right to the Source. Skip all the middle management–angels, saints, other gods and goddesses, spirit guides. It’s not that they don’t have a place. But you want your desires to be for the highest good, right? So, ask the Source within you what that is.

Let Source motivate you. In this way, you make sure not only your desires themselves, but your motivations for them, are in sync with the wonderful, great, flowing Divine plan for your existence here and now.

Thou Shalt Make Big Talk!

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I respect the Ten Commandments and do my best to follow those, and the one Jesus said was most important: Love thy neighbor as thyself!

Do I love myself? I sure haven’t at times! But I call forth more and more love for myself now. This means my “neighbors,” all of them, receive more love, and this is good.

Something also needs to be said, and maybe there should be another Commandment for this? About speech itself.

Something like, “Thou shalt not make small talk!”

Yes, that’s right. Small talk. You know, hi, how are you when we don’t mean it, blathering on about the weather–unless we’re thankful for it of course, and above all, complaining about ourselves, other people, circumstances–ours or theirs, and stuff we have absolutely no control over!

Oh, and don’t forget judging–this is good and this is bad, and that’s the way it is! Oh, really? As Byron Katie says, “Is that true? Do you absolutely know that that’s true?”

Small talk is so pervasive in Western society, and particularly American society, that–and this is the harm–we do it without thinking! It’s like–no, it’s not “like,” it is!–we can’t stand to share companionable silence with anyone, or by ourselves!

So, we engage in all this prattle. Valuable words put to negative use. And we get caught up in the complaining merry-go-round, the wheel of gossip, the web of lack and limitation. Whether we started it, or “just” commiserate, we add negativity to this “small talk” just by being there and not offering something better.

Because that’s what it is: Small talk! We’re only talking about small things, things that are egotistical, dramatic or traumatic, transient, negative, less than good, or things we wish were different. And by focusing so much on them, we lower our vibration on all levels.

Haven’t you ever felt drained after talking to someone? Raise your hand because I know you have! Yeah, me, too.

Ok. Now take that feeling, and multiply it. Imagine it going out from you, to everyone you think about, everyone you love, everyone you know, and everyone you’ve ever met, or will ever meet.

That’s what vibration does. It reaches far beyond where we’re immediately located physically, and far beyond ourselves and present company.

Small talk is draining–mentally, emotionally, psychically, subconsciously, and yes, spiritually.

But me telling you not to do it, is also adding negativity! And I do practice what I preach!

So, what can you do? You can add positive energy wherever you are. This doesn’t mean you have to be all chipper and sunny when you just don’t feel like it. It does mean you look for something good to think about, focus on, and if you must speak, to talk about that good thing.

If something negative needs to be addressed, ask for guidance. The God-Presence within you will speak through you if you get out of the way. It will guide you, giving you the words to use, the right time and place, and helping everyone respond constructively.

It’s also important to learn to enjoy, and be enriched by quiet time. Try sitting with a friend, and being quiet. If you have to, tell your friend ahead of time that you want to try this. It will probably be uncomfortable at first. But as your awareness shifts to the great space within you, you’ll be grateful you’re not clogging it up with “small talk.”

And may the blessing be: Thou shalt make big talk!

Be the Pumpkin, A Personal Story

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I remember, sometimes people called me Pumpkin when I was little. Little and cute, it seemed to me, because no one does that now. But what I remember most is being a pumpkin, actually being one for a few moments one year at Halloween.

Mom made the costumes for all of us. I was probably in first or second grade, and I don’t remember if all my older brothers and sisters were also pumpkins, or just some of them. I do know there were at least four of us who dressed up that year. And so there we were, in our homemade costumes, winning a prize at some school dance or another for the older kids. The whole family could go, so I got another chance to wear the costume, after trick-or-treating and the school Halloween parade. “Third time’s the charm,” as they say.

But it took a long time to get to that point. First, Mom had to make the costumes. To this day, over 20 years later, I wonder what possessed her to make them all! But we were to be pumpkins, and hers were the hands that made it so.

Mom always was crafty. Yeah, take that any way you like, because she was and is. She could do anything with some felt, a big ole’ trash bag, and a sewing machine. Oh, and the tape. Don’t forget the double-sided tape! Because that, my friends, was important.

So, the costume. What was it like? Well, if memory serves, I had a green stem with green leaves on top of my red hair. Sounds more like a Christmas tree, but it worked. That was all felt. And it was glued together, so it pretty much formed a hat.

Then, there was the trash bag. With holes for arms and legs, it went on like a jumper. But being plastic, we didn’t want it to rip. So it took some doing and at least one other person to get me into the bag.

I don’t know if the bag was already orange, or if painting was another of Mom’s talents put to use that year. But I know the result was me, with the pumpkin head and orange body. And I was big, let me tell you. Big and round. That impressed me so much, how such a skinny kid could be made so pumpkin-like by filling the bag up with, paper, was it? I sort of recall making a rustling sound as I walked, so I guess it was.

And the tape? Well, that kept the pumpkin-bag shoulders on my shoulders. It stuck to my shirt or dress or whatever I wore under the costume. Like I said, the tape was really important. And I felt important carrying a roll of tape around. That was the coolest thing!

Now would probably be a good time to explain why this pumpkin thing meant so much to me. Halloween, if not before that, has been my favorite holiday ever since. And it wasn’t just because of the candy. It’s the pumpkins! I love pumpkins! It goes back to “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” Thanks to Charles Schultz for this enduring character. So I was honored to dress as my favorite Fall fixture.

I didn’t care who liked it, though clearly, people did. I didn’t care who noticed. I didn’t care who helped me into the costume. I just had fun being who and what I was. And every year at Halloween I vow I’ll be a pumpkin. But I’ve never pulled it off again. Although I admit, I came pretty close the year I was pregnant!

Now I realize I don’t have to be little and cute, or big and round for that matter. I just have to have fun being who and what I am. Not just at Halloween, but all year long.

The Sound of Creation

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God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
–Genesis 1:3 (World English Bible, WEB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
–John 1:1 (WEB)

Maybe it was spoken.
Maybe it was sung.
Sound began the process,
The Sound of God the One.

God made all creation
First there came the Light
From the Sound it echoed
And made the darkness bright.

God said, let’s make humans,
Put them on the Earth,
In a Word He gave us
Our Spirit, Life and birth.

That’s why we love music,
Sung and spoken Word.
Heart and soul, it moves us,
The voice of God is heard.

10 Ways to Turn Mistakes into Blessings

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Mistakes are wrong, failures, sins, error, useless… Right? Not if we do even one of these 10 things, and this is not a complete list! Do just one of these today, and turn what you thought was a mistake into a blessing.

1. Learn from it. What did it teach you?

2. Use it to connect with someone else. “I’ve been there too,” and compassionately lead them onward and upward.

3. See it as a step. Where are you off to next?

4. Find the gift. What do you realize you have now, that you didn’t see before?

5. Expand your awareness. Narrow-mindedness creates judgements, of both ourselves and other people. How can you be more aware from now on?

6. See the good. Even in the midst of that mistake, there was something good. What was it?

7. Allow more. Consciously or subconsciously, we let mistakes into our lives, along with the belief that they are mistakes. What will you allow today? Something better?

8. Make a pact. Often, mistakes come from the need to fix things, or reach outside ourselves for what we need. Connect with the God-Presence within you, and ask it, “What do I need?”

9. Keep your own council. I’ve written on this before. Let that God-Presence, the part of you that already, always knows what you need, answer the question for itself. It will be the right answer, better than anything you could come up with on your own.

10. Let it go! A good way to make more mistakes is to harp on those we’ve already made! So let them go, give them to the God-within. The pain, sting of failure, embarrassment and loss will stop controlling your outlook. In turn you’ll be able to see and know, that the Universe intends good for you.

Mistakes are only one way we can find our good! They are not the only way, and they are not always negative to a fault. Turn one around for yourself today, and create a blessing!

Bless’d be!

Sheep – Spiritual Poem

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The world sees sheep
As conformists
Flocks of dependents
Stupid, ignorant, unable to think for themselves.

Sheep need permission to breathe
Guidance every step of the way
Shelter from the world
Ingrained fear, “Don’t do that, or else…”

Sheep are followers
Of everyone else
And this is bad.

You don’t want to be a sheep!

The Spirit sees sheep
As unique
Flocks of a web, One Spirit
Intelligent, creative, making Right Thought reality.

Sheep have permission to breathe abundantly
True guidance lighting their path
Shelter from what would drag them down
Choice, “Do that if you will, and pay the consequences.”

Sheep are followers
Of a larger, brighter, knowing shepherd
And this is beautiful.

Do you want to be a sheep?