Friday, March 30, 2007

The Law of Gratitude.. thank you very kindly.

My 1st thought was.. hey, this law is a lot like 'Giving', isn't it? Someone gives you something, you say thank-you.. now you owe them something.. and gifts recycle.
No, that isn't what this is about at all.
Gratitude is in & of itself an energy. You don't have to be given something 'new & unique' to use this Law. Gratitude carries it's own cause & effect, it's own centering device, & it's own blessing.

Remember back when Oprah was in her all-out spiritual phase (before the right wing told her she was screwing w/ their beliefs.. & made her cut back to 1/2 speed. They were happier watching her make Tom Cruise jump on a couch, than making them 'think' about inner growth)
Well, way back then, she suggested a good personal growth tool would be to start a Gratitude Journal.
Each night, we were to write down 5 things we were grateful for that day.
At 1st I thought maybe my list would be pretty repetitive.. good health, good kids, good weather, good home, good goals.
But each night I noticed that my thoughts were expanding beyond the simple 'good' list and I was noticing the fine print in the daily 'beingness' that was was my life.
When I look back through that journal of a year in the life.. I read about some pretty spectacular sunrises & sunsets, as well as violent thunderstorms and piles of snow. I read about my failing marriage.. my success in a new degree.. my weight gain & loss.. my shock & awe of an aging 'self'.. my joys & pains of watching my children grow in so many ways.. & the hopes I had for a new relationship.
And all of this was spelled out in heartfelt Gratitude. The good, the bad, the ugly.. I was grateful for every lesson, every triumph, every loss. It was making me who I am.

When we express our Gratitude to the Universe, it sends that energetic signal that says, 'I get it!' and we find even more to be grateful for.
Expressing Gratitude calms the inner soul and assures us that we really can 'In all things give thanks..'
Knowing that I am God's experience here on earth, that I am unconditionally loved & supported, that everything works together for my good.. how can I not say a great big THANK YOU!
May we always maintain an attitude of gratitude, & keep that energy flowing.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

"Law of Free Will and Predestination -- We are free to choose our direction. Predestination determined what our destiny in life would be, if we choose to fulfill that destiny. Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
We always have choice. It is our blessing and our curse. When we are aligned with our Higher Self, choice is something we do to create a life moving along toward our destiny for greatness and what our Soul decided pre-birth what it wanted to achieve here on Earth. We have the ability to steer away from this predestination and go a different route. There is no judgement of which way is the better way or the wrong way...though we will experience them in different ways. Some paths may cause pain, some joy, some may leave us lonely, some with burning desire...its all about what we choose. I think there are certain hints or synchronicities in life to guide us to our destiny...our greatest desire...our oneness with the Universe...and that is where we find fulfillment. Joseph Campbell, the great leader and teacher of comparative mythology, coined the term....Follow your Bliss; this bliss is your destiny. You can walk toward it trusting the Universe knows what it's doing...or you can run from it. It's your choice.

Monday, March 26, 2007

The Law of Giving..

This Universal law sort of laughs in the face of today's 'GimmeeGimmee' generation (& I'm not talking about the punk rock group here..;o)
Everyone wants to 'get' something.. we all love our birthdays & holidays for the gifts that are bestowed upon us. Or is that just me?

I sincerely love to 'give' as well. I give things to people that I would like to have for myself.
So is that really unconditional giving? Or just my hinting to the Universe.. hmmmmmm.
A conundrum.

But what the true sense of this law says, is that both giving & receiving are equally powerful energies.
When we give, a vacuum is created where once our 'possession' was.
Nature abhors a vacuum, right?
And so something comes to us to replace that 'hole'.
Hence, some would say 'we give.. to get'.
Oral Roberts built an empire on that thought.. 'seed faith' he called it. You give 10% (to him, preferably), & watch the abundance come to you. This is what the Bible teaches us about tithing that 10%, as well.
And its true not just for monetary recompense. I've found that if I give 10% of my time, or my talent (whatever that may be), or my coffers.. it all comes back to me 'pressed down & running over'.
Which doesn't stop one from going above & beyond the 10%. If you feel drawn to donate to Goodwill, or St Jude, or Ronald McDonald Houses.. whatever.. you don't have to stop at 10%.. & I have learned this : You can't out give God (or the Universe). It WILL come back to you. It's the Law..

'Giving' sets off a reciprocal energy that brings 'Receiving' into play.
'Receiving' allows someone the opportunity to stretch their souls.
It's not always easy to be on the receiving end of gifts, if you don't feel worthy of them.
So to make this Law work for you, you have to be 'open' to receive the bounty!

Then it becomes the ever recycling process of giving & receiving.. And that is just plain joy.
Our return gifts may not be the same things that we give out. For example, when I gave my friend an older car that I didn't want to use as a trade-in for a newer one.. my return gift was not only the tax write off, but also her gratitude at having reliable transportation to get to work, haul her kids around, & take some fun trips. You can't buy things like that!

Why not test the Law to see how it works for you?
Place a $5 bill in a homeless guys bucket.. give an extra few bucks into the coffee fund at work (even if you don't drink it; this is for testing purposes).. shoot, you can send $10 to Oral Roberts if you want.. it isn't the recipient that counts.. it's your giving!
And when you do this giving, say a little prayer of gratitude that you are able to share this wealth.. & ask the Universe to make you more aware of the cycle of giving & receiving, so that you can acknowledge when this gift is returned. (Often good things happen to us, that we don't even take the time to realize that this is our gift recycled)

And let us know how this worked for you..

Monday, March 12, 2007

The Law of Forgiveness.. mea culpa!

I almost feel unworthy to write this column on this topic, because it's just so darned hard to live it.
Everyday I have to remind myself that there are only 2 things required by me in this life. I was given this info during a SpiritQuest several years back.. when I asked God, 'Now why is it that I'm here again?' and She said, 'You are here to Love & to Forgive. Nothing more, nothing less.' And it sounded so utterly simple at the time. Who couldn't Love & Forgive.. duh.
Yeah, duh.
The moment you challenge yourself like that.. you can count on being tested to show you just how 'easy' it is, or isn't.
At that point in my life, I was blind-sided by a familial relationship break-down that literally slammed me into a wall. I had never been 'hated' or belittled or derided in this fashion EVER before in my life.
Now you can talk about forgiveness all day long, & until you are forced to face the issue that demands you forgive someone who despises you.. then it's all talk.
I have to admit, I couldn't do it at 1st.. I had to let it fester awhile & come to a fine boil & destroy any semblance of inner calm that meditation could bring to me. When I would pray, I would see that family member's face, when I would sleep, I would dream her words.
Finally, I asked God to love her through me, because I just couldn't seem to rise above the ego hurt of the whole situation.
And God being the benevolent One did that for me, until I was strengthened enough to do it for myself.
And you know, what's wonderful about forgiveness is that you do it for yourself, not for that other person. When you allow forgiveness to come to the fore, you allow yourself the privilege to 'forget'. And life can go forward once again, instead of being stuck in that quagmire of resentful limbo.
One of the best examples I ever read on Forgiveness was in the book, 'The Little Soul and the Sun'.
Before this child is ever born, living in the land of soul-energy, he is playing with his best friend. They have decided to incarnate & the best friend tells him, 'During this lifetime I am going to teach you about forgiveness, okay? And I am going to do something to you so terrible, but you will need to forgive me, and learn this life lesson. Just never forget that I'm your best friend, okay?'
That's what I keep telling myself about this event in my life. Sometimes our spiritual best friends are well camouflaged as our enemies in this lifetime. Learn the lesson & move on.
Then when we are soul-energy again, we will all have some good laughs.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Energy...Feel Your Way

"Law of Energy -- All is energy."
Okay I'm no Quantum Physicist...but I understand that we are all made of atoms. An atom consists of electrons surrounding a nucleus which is made up of protons and nuetrons. Basically we are all bits of energy bouncing off each other. An electrical magnet of possibility. When we are vibrating highher energy (high frequency) it is associated with positive feelings. Lower vibrational energy (low frequency) is associated with more negative feelings. This is where the law of attraction occurs. We attract whatever and whomever is vibrating closely to our own vibrational frequency. a.k.a..... we get more of the same. We bring into our reality...whatever we feel. This is why gratitude is so important. I have seen this vibrational stuff at work too many times not to believe.
A bit about being positive and negative...
When we find ourselves in a downward spiral of negativity, we have to be aware enough within our own existence to know something has to change the way we feel. You have to pull yourself up by nourishing yourself, whether it is through music, talking to a supportive friend, or going for a walk in nature. Anything that will raise your frequency of vibration.
You focus on the positive...or at the least, do not feed the negative feelings. You can feel them...but try not to tie them into your world or to yourself...feel them, notice them and let them move on out as they will. Many times we get stuck in the mud of low vibration, then we pull the mud and pile it on ourselves and get angry with ourselves for being dirty. It is too much time and energy wasted. Find what it is that makes you happy and actively pursue it. As you develop spiritual muscle, the bad times will not be so down and rotten. You will notice it and not react to it in the same way you once did. It will move on and life will continue forward.
The rotten is simply rotten because of the stories we tell ourselves about why it is rotten and how this was rotten before and how it will always be rotten.
This is why living in the moment destroys these stories that we feed ourselves. We observe reality with awareness and move through as a spectator so that we can choose our creation, rather than react and get what we get.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

The Law of Dharma

The Law of Dharma says that we all have a purpose in this life.. a unique 'Path', if you will.
Some call it our destiny or our fate.
I don't think that this precludes our 'freedom of thought & will'.
So while we may have a perfect Path laid out by the Universe, we have every right to ignore it, refuse it, or postpone it.
(And maybe we'll pick it up in the next lifetime.)
Wouldn't it be nice if we 'remembered' our purpose when we crossed over from the energy-field to human form?
But alas, it requires some inner work on our part, to re-discover our purpose.
Perhaps that makes us appreciate it more.

How do we ascertain & recognize our purpose in life? Ask yourself these questions:
What is it you most desire? That may be your 1st clue..
What 'flows' in your life? What seems like fun, even if it involves work? Is there something you do where you lose a sense of time, even while you're taking part in it?
Or does something feel obstructive, provokes a feeling of sadness, makes your intuitive 'hackles' come up? This could be the Universe telling you that this is not your purpose.

For today, open your heart & mind to the Universal call to your own personal Dharma.
This lifetime is a precious gift. Live it fully, & for the purpose that God has created for you & you alone.

Blessings!
And for your listening pleasure.. 'Awakening to your Divinity'..
http://www.wisdomteachers.com/audioblog/flashaudio/07feb/finalwords.swf