Prayer Prompt

Prayer Prompt 25

Many of my presentations and facilitations bring in the 3 types of energy: physical, mental, and spiritual.

In the business context of those events, our focus is usually on the physical and mental energies--and tactics to keep those energy bins filled.

In my personal life I more and more realize the power of my spiritual energy. If I pay attention first and foremost to my spiritual energy, I rarely feel a lack of either of the other two.

It's like every other God-good. Spiritual energy is given us in endless supply. The more we expend it, express it, the more we are given automatically.

You fuel me, God.
Fill and refill my spiritual energy
that I grow in greater comfort by loving you.

Love and blessings,

Prayer Prompt 21

As I grew up, praying and prayer were serious business. No one had to tell me I was not supposed to take either the process or the product lightly.

Certainly not playfully.

Well, I've learned and that's changed. Praying can be fun and festive. Lighthearted and lightheaded. Who's to say that as an adult I cannot pray as a child?

I have fun with you, God.
Remind me of the child
in me, in all of us.

I've learned when I pray and smile at the same time, both feel a whole lot better!

Love and blessings,

...and in with the New

Ellen Fannin, Director of Special Activities (and just about everything else!) at Unity Church of the Hills, read us her recipe for a Happy New Year at yesterday's service.

I do not have the restraint to wait until this last day of 2008 to share it with you.

Earlier this month, as I was planning for a holiday meal and I came across a recipe that I would like to share with you. It is a “Recipe for a Happy New Year.”

1. Take twelve fine, full-grown months.
2. See that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate.
3. Cleanse them completely from every clinging spite.
4. Pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness.
5. In short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them as fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.
6. Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts.
7. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way), but prepare one day at a time.
8. Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution.
9. Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.
10. Cover this with God's love and enjoy it to its fullest.

Anushruti RK

I cannot imagine a more delicious way to prepare and serve up 2009.

Happy New Year!

Running w/ God

Saturday's run was a beauty, filled with grace.

No thanks to the gray, cold, wet weather.

At the start, I ran beneath this tree...

and reached up to brush the leaves with my hand.

One let go of its limb and stayed in my hand. I looked at it and never considered discarding it.

For the next 35 minutes the leaf ran with me. Smaller than my thumb, it cradled faithfully between my left thumb and forefinger.

Every so often I would look at it. I felt the whole world's beauty in its simplicity: tender veins, gentle yellow, slender stem, intricate edges.

After 10 minutes I sensed clearly God's presence in the leaf. And all around me. And in me. And powering every stride. And brushing me with the fine, cold mist. And sweetening each breath I took.

I was running with God. God was running with me.

Tent Intensity

The Tents of Hope program is designed to offer support and hope to the people of Darfur, Sudan. My church has recently purchased a tent and invited church members to paint it (as part of our participation in the 11 Days of Global Unity effort).

Our tent is almost done and promises to be a beauty. It will be among hundreds of other tents pitched on the National Mall in Washington, DC, November 7-9, 2008. That's before they will be shipped to Sudan.

I have not lifted a paint brush--and probably won't--but I have taken a full share of joy from this Tents f Hope project. With different individuals I've enjoyed four instances of pitching the tent or taking it down. Four times I've experienced a blend of new enjoyments. What a treat to work at different times with

Michael

John

Kay

Jim

And what a treat to enjoy:

• Watching different individuals' energy--all high-level--at work;
• Seeing each one drive in or pull up stakes differently;
  
• Appreciating different task-approaches by an engineer, an artist, and a pragmatist;
• Laughing when the poles don't cooperate and the canvas comes tumbling down;
• Enjoying that we put the tent up and take the tent down faster each time;
• Being part of a much larger "team";
  
• Anticipating the tent sheltering people in Darfur and feeling that connection;

What a treat to look forward already to our next chance to share such fun.

Proof that Living Is a Work of Art

Wednesday, August 20
Tuesday of last week, I began a six session experience that continues to thrill me.

The Art of Living course offers the most effective integration of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual discoveries I've ever experienced. (And I've taken more than my share of such workshops).

Referring to the Art of Living course as a workshop is a mistake and a misnomer. It is an experience, and even someone as left-brained as I am realizes quickly that he'll do fine without manual, handout, notebook or pen. And remembering the wealth of discoveries is no problem at all. They fit perfectly into one's gray matter...and one's heart.

The concepts are basic and astounding at the same time. Put into everyday words they are nothing new. However, the blend of body, mind, and spirit in exploring these points makes them startling and refreshing and profound, all at once.

The six sessions--4 3-hour evenings,  5 hours Saturday and again Sunday--glide by. There is an almost magical amount of interaction and reflection, of listening and reviewing.

I know, I am offering precious few details. To do so would detract from the true value of The Art of Living, a 27 year old creation of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In 1981 he formed the Art of Living Foundation, an international nonprofit educational and humanitarian organization that works in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

The Art of Living course is one manifestation of the Foundation's efforts, working on a very individual basis. And that individual focus is all the more meaningful when you consider that some 30 million people in 152 countries have experienced it.

Bumper Pool

The 6 year old boy walked with rapid, purposeful strides alongside the swimming pool. He turned his head over his shoulder and delivered rapidfire monologue to someone out of sight. "I'll get it fast and bring it back..."

The 70something gentleman approached in the opposite direction. His stride was measured, steady and

cautious. He saw the boy approach. The boy walked, talked, and continued to gaze away from his path.

The gentleman's eyes measured the distance. His mind calculated time til impact and how soon he should speak up.

His lips rose in a playful grin. He so clearly enjoyed the collage: a present reminder of past youth, the creative tension of the wait, his balancing "Shall I warn him now?" and "Shall I let us bump?"

The gentleman let his breath out slowly. The boy shouted, "...if I find it. I'll bring it back if I find it. If I can't find it..."

Gentleman lifted his hands slightly, just a foot's distance before he would gingerly fend off the boy.

The braking power only a 6 year old could demonstrate. Head spun. Bare feet clasped the pavement. The boy moved lithely to his right, around the man. Never missed a step. "...I won't bring it back and you'll just have to...."

The gentle man slowly shook his head, seemed to say, "Good boy. Life offers plenty of bigger obstacles."

Making Scents of It All

Alex and I were walking this morning. Together we saw the black fur, white stripe, and upright tail across the lawn. Unusual to see a skunk from the neighborhood greenbelt strolling around the apartments during daylight. Skunks are nocturnal. 

This skunk was wide awake and alert and moving directionless around the yard. When it turned, I saw the paper cup stuck on its nose. The skunk looked a lot like a snub-nosed anteater. It didn't seem terribly uncomfortable, yet I could tell it wished to be rid of the cup.

I faced a choice:

• Attempt to remove the cup, which I’m sure the skunk hadn't donned for style, and put myself at risk of stink.
• Assume the skunk is creative enough to decup itself. 

Alex barked and barked a message I did not translate.

I’m betting I can translate your message. Click comment and tell me which side of the dilemma you  choose.

Swimming in Solution

The other night I had the good fortune to hear some good advice.

Eileen Ramsey, an independent Religious Science Minister, listened as someone said how hard it can be to stay grateful. Sometimes what's good in one's life is less noticeable than what's not good. Sometimes one thing goes wrong after another, and then another go-wrong goes wrong. That's when being thankful can slip down the priority list.

Eileen listened and listened some more. She calmly suggested, "Let yourself be in the solution instead of staying in the problem." Eileen suggested knowing the solution you can experience. Know its details, surround yourself with them. Once you know the solution (not the problem), it's easy to be grateful.

Swim in the solution, rather than wading in the problem. Do more than positive thinking. Do more than just vision what you want. Swim in your solution.

No matter how hard I try, visioning is dualistic. It makes me separate the "I want" (now) and the "I will have" (later). The "I want" acknowledges that I am without something, or I wouldn't want it. Duh! No matter how well I vision what I want, it's hard to ignore that I do not have it...yet.

But being in the solution allows me to go to the situation as I want it. I can be in the love and feel it. I can enjoy it. Revel and relax in it. I can let go of the negative ("I don't have any...." or "I don't have enough..."). I can let my senses--all 6--experience the solution to my "I want." Then I can generate the want, the vibration, and I can align with the vibration.

Here are 5 steps I have taken to learn to swim in the solution (and not just tread water in the problem...and so be thankful for what is coming!)

1. Define your solution. Clearly. Go (way) beyond the absence of the problem. What goodness, benefits, joys, advantages replace the problem? Specifically.

2. Sense your solution. Use all of your senses as signs of your solution.

• See your solution (size, shape, situation, setting, specifics...).
• Hear sounds of your solution (words, music, background noise, beautiful silence...).
• Taste your solution. Even when we're not eating, we can associate good tastes with good experiences.
• What smells--real or imaginary, sensed or symbolic, go with your solution?
• What tactile feelings accompany your solution? These may be real actions or symbolic feeling feelings: baking a pie, riding a bike, unwrapping a present.
• How does your spirit feel amidst your solution? Notice your heart, your emotions, your joy, your peace.

3. Put yourself into a pleasing and repetitive distraction. Swim. Run. Walk mindfully. Knit. Rock. Mow. (Notice these are physically repetitive and basically mindless.) Let your mind go to the solution signs (above). Remove yourself from worry about how do I make this happen.

4. Go to your solution with your mind and your spirit. Use the rhythm of your distraction to allow your solution to flow through your mind. Use the 6 senses' names--sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, spirit--to prompt your focus on your sensory solution signs. Spend 10-15 minutes immersing yourself in your solution.

5. Appreciate how your solution feels good. That's reason to be thankful. Make time for the gratitude that can you experience your solution with all 6 of your senses.

Eileen is so right. Swim in your solution. Surround yourself with your solution. It brings the solution into reality. It gives you reasons to be thankful.

Thank you, Eileen.

 

Crystal Clear

Something within me today sings aloud as I marvel at the limitless opportunities for my self-expression.                   (Ernest Holmes)

I came to "my" coffee house today, wearing one of my ProsperiTeeShirts: black with my favorite meditation above my heart:

God is within me.
God is around me.
Everything is of God.

Crystal said, "Hi there. You having your regular iced coffee?" And before I could even nod yes, she commented, "I like what's on your tee shirt. Probably turn some folks off."

"Maybe. I just like meditating with these sentences. I decided to put them on a tee shirt. Don't mean to offend anyone."

"Yeah, well, some of the tees that come in here?  That one's mild-mannered. How much did it cost to have one tee shirt special printed like that?"

As Crystal slid the glass of iced coffee across the counter, I was laughing.       

"What's funny?"

"I almost wish I had only gotten one of these printed. Instead I have two huge boxes at home, about 85 tee shirts in them. Some black, some white. All with these lines."

Now it was Crystal's turn to laugh. "Maybe the slogan on your tee should read God is within my tee shirts. God's tee shirts are all around me."

Guess who gets a gift tee shirt--her choice, black or white--tomorrow?