September 22, 2016

                                                WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID?

Why are we so afraid? – Simple – we are more comfortable with the known rather than the unknown. The unknown disturbs our comfort level, reveals emotions that we never acknowledge exist within us. It opens our eyes to see, feel and experience the other side of us. After all, everything around us is only a mirror of our creation.

Because of fear we fail to experience life to the fullest. We failed to have a healthy exchange of ideas and viewpoint with our neighbors. We become afraid of crossing the street, interacting with strangers, (who by the way are not really strangers) going to another country, try a different type of food, etc.  We seldom explore our neighborhood. We become fearful of expressing and experiencing our true self, that masterpiece of love, compassion, forgiveness and healing that our Creator has made in His own image and likeness.

Our fear denies us the ability to ask and receive the abundance the universe has to offer.  And because we are stymied within our fearful self we never ask and, even when we ask, we doubt we will receive. We are afraid that there will never be enough of anything when the truth is, there is no lack.  On the one hand, the more fearful we become it frequently manifest itself in the form of hatred of self and others, bigotry, and racism. On the other hand, fear traumatized us to remain silent to the injustice that is taking place around us. By shifting our thought process (creative) we can clean up this toxic, fearful environment. 

Can we truthfully say that at any given time in our journey we have taken the time to look into the eyes of the person next to us and ask that person how you are doing and take the next step and ask about their family?  Not so long ago, it was normal to greet everyone you meet on the street. As I child, I remembered that if I pass a neighbor on the street and did not acknowledge them, I would be reported to my parents and suffered the humiliation of being marched to their house to ask for their pardon and promised never to do it again.  We no longer acknowledge each other because we live in fear and no longer see our inherent goodness. When we allow fear to be our guide instead of unconditional love, we traumatize ourselves. We boxed ourselves into little niches and we deprived ourselves the full measure of our being

  

As President Disaku Ikeda of the Soka Gakkai International Nichiren Buddism, once said: “Faith is to fear nothing, to stand unswayed, the power to surmount any obstacle.” We can overcome this distraction (it is only that) by affirming faith, truth and honesty in our everyday life.  We can banish the crippling fear that is destroying our daily lives and make love, light and compassion the norm rather than the exception. We can look fear in the eye each day and affirm to ourselves: “I fear you not, you no longer have the power over me, I am free from your drama and I am fully expressing my true self of love, joy, and laughter with compassion to myself and humanity.”

Let us embrace life to the fullest. Give light and love wherever we go illuminating the people and space we encounter. We can banish fear from our circle - acknowledge and greet each other, sow seeds of love and give light to everyone. This loving exchange of energy broadens our horizon. It allows the inevitable shift in our consciousness and ferment a better environment without fear. What a revelation!  What a revolutionary idea!  

September 17, 2016

                                                           

                                                            OBEDIENCE  

How often are we inspired by the Holy Spirit to create a masterpiece or to do an assignment for the upliftment of ourselves and humanity? It is the Holy Spirit that inspire us and the Divine Messenger, Archangel Gabriel, who delivers the how, why, and where for the accomplishment. Yet, sometimes, we woefully decide to do the opposite of what was asked of us. And as we deviate from the message we encounter more obstacles than necessary or the assignment unravels and we become exasperated. We display disbelief, anger, and frustration when the assignment does not succeed in the way we had planned. We asked ourselves “What went wrong?”

We tell ourselves we had followed the instructions to the letter but in retrospect, we could clearly see where we had deviated from the path that was laid out before us. There were signs all along the way that say “Stop! Do not go forward you are off track” but we did not adhere to the messages. We, then, were not really obedient nor were we fully compliant.

Sometimes we ignore the message because we are uncomfortable because it does not fit in our plans, our way of thinking, or our lifestyle. Out of fear, sometimes, we convince ourselves that we lack the ability to accomplish the task. However, when we act in faith, the message is never wrong. The message might not be as straightforward as we would like but in that instant we are called to exercise our faith and trust in the Divine. We all know that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.  

I remembered sometime ago around 2011 I had just come home from work.  On entering the house I do recall vividly saying there has to be more meaning to my life than this. I heard “go back to school and change your lifestyle”. I thought to myself this was not what I had in mind but the message was persistent for the next couple of days. 

I have always been drawn to crystals so I thought I would find a crystal class and it should be easy and this would satisfy the school part of the message.  I looked up classes at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) and I enrolled in a crystal class.  I went into the class expecting to gain the full knowledge of how crystals work and their healing properties.

To my dismay it was far from easy. I came away from the class not knowing much of anything. Incidentally, I never followed up with any other classes. I did not appreciate the relevance of my going back to school neither did I have the right attitude and passion to absorb the intricacies of each crystal. Going back to school was part of the preparation I would need for the career change that was awaiting me. It would take me another 3 years to fully grasp the direction the Holy Spirit was pointing me. I had convinced myself that on the one hand I was being obedient yet on the other hand I was not being fully compliant. 

About a year after that class I was filled with energy vibrating throughout my body. Frankly, I did not know what was going on and the few spiritual people I knew could not tell me what to do with this energy and even though I was asking for an answer from the Holy Spirit it was not forthcoming or I was not listening. However, my intuition told me that this was a Divine Manifestation so I was not afraid.

I was also told to abstain from eating chemical processed food. Yet again, I was not fully compliant with the message. I did not change my lifestyle. I continued to eat chemically laden food and imbibed. Because I was not in total compliance I was beset with many obstacles on the job as well as hospitalization. Upon looking back on what took place in my life, the pathway would have been much smoother if I had only yield completely and obeyed fully the message that was given to me.

We live in a three-dimensional world and seldom see the bigger picture.   We only know in part and not the whole.  The Holy Spirit sees the whole picture. And each step of the way the parts that needed to be in place for the assignment have already been done. All we have to do is to comply and obey. I am reminded of 1 Samuel 15:22, New International Version (NIV) “To obey is better than sacrifice.” However, when we disobey we become like Saul. Saul failed to destroy the enemy and their possessions as instructed by God and forfeited the end result of the assignment.  

So, can we ask ourselves: are we in compliance with the task that we had promised to do when we were reincarnated? Are we being fully obedient with our assignment to give unconditional love, to send healing and forgiveness to ourselves and to those that hurt us; to send light into darkness, to send compassion to those in need?  We find it far easier to love those around us who return our love than to love those who look and act different from us. We avoid the dark side of ourselves and become dispassionate and unyielding to others who only mirror and shine the light to ourselves.

We can become obedient and make the world a better place by loving each other and by becoming more inclusive. We can become obedient and compliant and change our outlook and reach for the higher ground. And our way of being always makes an impact. As we go through life’s journey we can continue to ride the love train and make room for other passengers to get on board.

September 9, 2016

                                               

                                                ARE WE GUILTY OF LOSING OUR SOULS?

As we climb the ladder of “success” I am reminded of Mark 8:36 King James Version (KJV): “For what shall it profit a man (woman), if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his/her own soul?” Were we motivated to help humanity for the greater good?  How well did we honor our spirit/soul while making unreasonable demands from others? How well have we, spiritually, been served with our past motives and actions to get ahead?  Did we experience joy, love and magic while accomplishing our goals?  Were we excited that we helped our brothers and sisters while we were reaching for the stars? These are just a few thought-provoking ideas that ought to be examined from time to time so we can align and/or re-align ourselves in our creation of love, healing and compassion.

Yes, this planet is full of all the things we need to live a full, prosperous and abundant life. There is no need to eliminate anyone who we perceive is blocking our way to “success.”  We all can share in God’s abundance – He laid the foundation for us before we were created.  All that is required of us is to give gratitude, thankfulness, and have faith. Trust and believe there’s no lack whatsoever of whatever we need.  There is so much abundance for everyone.

We can take a moment from our busy schedule to open our eyes to see and enjoy the majesty of the Creator’s handiwork.  We can watch the rising sun and appreciate its warmth that helps the crops to grow to bring food to our tables. We can watch the moon and stars as they illuminate the sky and are reminded of the olden days when our fore parents use these as tools to guide them on their journey. We can be still and align ourselves with Mother Earth and thank her for nourishing and nurturing us. We can watch the gentle flow of the river as it meanders over the rocks and stones in its pathway. We can be thankful and grateful for all the beauty and magic that are the Creator’s gift to us. We can acknowledge and be grateful for all the amazing blessings in our lives, our families, our friends, our neighbors and our community. We, as creators, can manifest beauty and magic in our lives.

When we are filled with that inner peace we allow ourselves and each other to “BE” and we let love and grace shine from our inner self to our outer self. We can affirm we have gain the whole world and have not lost our soul. Life can be beautiful when we allow ourselves to believe and work the magic.