Letters of Forgiveness

We have declared this month "Peace" in Youth Church. As I am preparing my lesson plans for this topic, of course, I got introspective. Without forgiveness, there can be no peace. Have I forgiven everyone in my life? Have I forgiven myself?

And so I set out to write letters of forgiveness. Each day through the month of December, I will explore an area of my life that needs forgiveness whether it be a person, an experience, or some irritation within myself. I will meditate, make amends if possible, and write a letter of forgiveness. Whether I mail it or not, the letter is a cleansing and closing. Forgiveness doesn't have to involve anyone but ourselves. It all takes place in mind. I will make a big clearing in my heart and let love fill it up. No more duality can exist within my heart.

As I was running this morning, I noticed that it is the time of year when the gardeners are clearing the leaves and branches that clutter people's lawns and the street. They are pruning back the trees. It is metaphorical isn't it?

As the old is cleared, we make room for the new life. I love this idea of forgiveness. We will end the month with a forgiveness labyrinth on December 29th. We will join as a community and support each other through this journey. The ending of 2009 will definitely be what was intended at its beginning. I am "Aligning in 2009."

MY VACATION

Yesterday, I woke up and said, "My intention today is to take a vacation with Spirit." And so, my day enfolded.

When I am on a vacation, I get to relax. I don't worry about the day-to-day chores and business. I have all the money I need. I get to do what I want to do. The time is spent in the present. What a great idea, but not easy to implement for someone like me. This came on the heels of being told in ministerial class that I need to learn to relinquish control when appropriate. Let go! I thought they were talking about my projects at the Center, but now it came home in a different way...I need to let go to Spirit.

So, this is the way the way the Law works. All day, I was given opportunities to prove my intention to myself. The day ended with being asked to sing and give an impromtu talk at NoHo. I was specially told not to think ahead, but to just let myself flow with Spirit in the moment.

Of course, I started to plan my talk in my head. Then, with each plan I made,I was met with another opportunity to let go. Including the person going before me, using the only quote I had memorized and was going to use.

Finally, it was time to stand up. My heart pounded in my chest. I took the gulp. I let go, the words flowed and I don't remember much of what I said.

After, I was told how succinct I was--how Spirit was, that is. I am learning.

I am going to continue this vacation. It's good for my heart. It's good for my health. It's good for my mind. It helps me to stay in the present. I suggest this vacation spot very highly. It's called at HOME!

C.U.L.T

Some people ask, "Am I a member of a cult?" In answer to this question, let's look at the definition of a cult according to the dictionary. "... a system of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false, and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader."

Now, let me dissect the definition and see where my association with the philosophy of Science of Mind weighs in.

"...a system of religious or spiritual beliefs..."

Yes I am a member of an organization that has spiritual beliefs. I am a member of a an organization called Centers for Spiritual Living, otherwise known as Religious Science. Religious Science is defined by its founder, Ernest Holmes as "a philosophy, a faith, way of life."

In case you don't know who Ernest Holmes is...he was a spiritualist, a teacher, a writer and public speaker. He founded Religious Science in 1927 and it is part of the New Thought Movement, which is not really new thought, but a compilation of the teachings of the ages from Socrates to Jesus to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In a nutshell, we recognize that God is everywhere. We believe each person, each living creation is a unique expression of the Divine. God is within, expressing through us. We as human expressions with self-awareness and the ability to think and to have freedom of choice, experience life as a reflection of what we believe. We are governed by our use of the Law of Cause and Effect. Cause being the Mind and Effect being the out-picturing of our thoughts as our life experience.

Is this "...especially an informal and transient belief system regarded by others as misguided, unorthodox, extremist, or false?"

In answer to this question, I'm sure there are those who regard it as such, but I would have to say no. Although the philosophy known as Science of Mind is relatively young, it is not informal and transient. It is a provable science. It is a belief system that has been around for well over 2000 years. I could hardly call it misguided, extremist or false, as I am taught to think for myself and to think the best of myself and everyone. It is a philosophy based in love and respect of all souls. Spirit or God is Love.

The last part of the definition: "...and directed by a charismatic, authoritarian leader."

Each of our centers has a minister. In fact, I am studying to be one. Are ministers charismatic? Well, if it means well-liked and able to hold a crowd, I would think that would be important. I don't want to be putting people to sleep. I want to be inspirational.

"Authoritarian?" Yes, there is structure to any organization, but we do not follow anyone blindly. As I said before, Religious Science is a way of life. Our aim is to bring our belief that Life is Good into our daily experience. We can do this whether we are a member of a church or not. We are all leaders and we inspire each other.

So there you have it. Do I belong to a cult? The cult I belong to is spelled C.U.L.T and it stands for a Creative, Unlimited, Loving Team of individuals who are empowering themselves and awakening mankind to its magnificence. If that's "extreme" then I say...bring it on!

PERFECT LIFE NOW!

I watched Wayne Dyer's "The Shift" the other night. I love Wayne Dyer and this movie was no exception to the enlightenment that he brings to the planet. At one point in the film when explaining the ego (with a small "e"), he tells one of his skeptical listeners about our perfection when we were in the womb. Perfection so real that everything we required was perfectly provided for us in perfect time. We were nourished and nurtured spectacularly by the Infinite Intelligence. Then the moment we were born, he explains, it is like we said, "I'll take over from here!" And thus, the ego was born. Ego stands for "Edging God Out."

I loved this analogy and pondered what this meant to me and my life. How am I edging God out. I'm edging God out every time I worry. I am edging God out every time I am negative with myself. I am edging God out anytime I think me or my experience is less than perfect. I am edging God out every time I do not see God in each person.

My intention is to surrender myself and my life to God, to let God breathe through me in every moment as I move into action.

This is perfection week in Mental Muscle Boot Camp. How perfect and what synchronicity. And then, more synchronicity...I found myself in a hospital with my husband who was having a minor surgery. How did I find perfect life in a hospital? When that was my intention it wasn't hard. At one point, my husband said, "I just want to get this over so I can get on with life." I almost immediately responded with "This is life."

Yes, life is always happening so perfectly. The journey of that day in the hospital showed me how each piece of the puzzle fits together. Each person we connected with met us in perfection, flowing and dancing with us as my husband revealed perfect healing. Life did not stop and my husband did not stop either. He continued to laugh and be an inspiration to all those around him. He was a shining example to me.

I am shifting right now. I am learning to live my BIGGER GAME...which encompasses me letting out my compelling purpose in everything I do. I am finding that even in the most seemingly mundane moments, a miracle is happening so perfectly.

The Consciousness of the Labyrinth

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the labyrinth. I love walking it and I love introducing it to others.

For those of you who do not know what a labyrinth is, it is a walking meditation dating back at least 4500 years. It is not a maze, but one spiraling path inward to the center and back out again. There are no tricks or puzzles or anything to figure out. You simply walk it. Its walkers receive enlightenment, inner peace, profound answers to life's questions, or simply a sense of relaxation. The early Christians used the labyrinth as a metaphorical journey to Jerusalem when they could not make the trip on foot or horseback because of the dangers of the Crusades. They were traveling to their Center to God.

I have been facilitating labyrinth walks for a few years. At our walks, we use the labyrinth to quiet our minds, let go of the distractions, set intentions, ask questions of our higher selves, intuit Spirit and more.

One of the questions I am most asked by newcomers is: "Does the labyrinth itself hold power or is it magic?" This is what I think on this topic. We are all consciousness. I believe the labyrinth holds the collective consciousness of 4500 years of travelers walking its path. Its consciousness is one of healing, communing with God, miracles, a place to hear the Truth within ourselves. We are all subject to the consciousness of the labyrinth when we walk it, but we still have the choice to take the journey.

For over a year, my friend and fellow practitioner Lynn and I have brought the tradition of walking the labyrinth to the California Rehabilitation at Norco. We have witnessed the consciousness of the labyrinth transform the inmates there as they bring their longing for release of tension, pain and the craziness of daily prison life. A part of them, even in their skepticism, believes that the answer is there on the labyrinth. Their experience on the labyrinth transforms their thinking. It is done unto us as we believe.

We are all energy. The labyrinth is energy. As we seek to raise our consciousness to a higher level by walking the labyrinth, AND SO IT IS! That's all!

THE FORMLESS FORM

Yesterday, I asked for prayer/treatment for clarity and resolution immediately! And, it came immediately through the voice of a practitioner friend. “When looking at money,” she pointed out, “in the world of conditions, there is a lot of heat attached to the word. But, just for a moment how about looking at it all as just energy.” She had just recently decided to drop the word money out of her vocabulary and just call it energy. It released the “heat” for her. How synchronistic that this would come to me during Life Force Week.

When I stepped into her words, it was an ah-hah moment. I got it so clearly. It’s just energy/life force. We get to play in the field of energy and get excited about it. I don’t need to divide it up either. Whether it is money, career, relationship or health, it’s all one thing---energy. There is nothing in the world of form that is permanent, whether it is a tumor or a hot fudge sundae. Just because we like it doesn’t make it any more real (that is Real with a capital R.) Form is always formless. I understood once again that I get to decide, through my belief, how I want this energy to play out in my experience.

So, as I examine my Life Force and what makes it flow and what creates a kink, I can say that it really never stops flowing. It’s only my mind that gets kinked. And I can have a kinky mind. Action is the answer. The flow of energy must be acted upon, whether it is to sit by my turtle, write this blog or re-invent the Prison System. My Life Force calls me to action to express my divine self fully. I read a quote this morning from Rev Angela’s blog... “I honestly believe that the next step in our evolution is that we all get the idea that we are not separate from divinity… In our purest form we are the actualization of God in human density.” Rev. Angela

“And the Word was made FLESH!” Word is just another word for Life Force. How will I spend my Word today?

ABSOLUTELY!

Ernest Holmes says that we can “…live in the Absolute in as much as we can withdraw from the relative.” How boundless I am when I live in the Absolute where there is only unlimited intelligence. And still I fall out of alignment and into the relative. Today I live in the Absolute. That is my priority. I combined this thought with the reading from ministerial class in “Leading Consciously,” The chapter was about Nature’s innate manuscript of leadership. And so, I went on my morning run.

I would enjoy Nature’s manuscript by running a path I knew would keep me out of traffic’s way (so I wouldn’t have to bog my mind down with that) and in the most quiet section of my neighborhood where nature was most present.

Once I was in the runner’s zone, which happens for me after about 2 miles, I decided to experience nature through my five senses, one by one.

I started with the sense of sight. At first I just enjoyed the beauty of the physical around me; then, something deeper surfaced. I saw the boundlessness of nature. I saw how the trees and the grass didn’t know a beginning and end, they just grew. I saw how we had bounded them by what we called symmetry, putting three bushes here and two there, cutting them, pruning them. It was almost comical. Boundlessness vs. constriction. I am as boundless as a tree. Where was I constricting my life?

Hearing was the hardest sense to experience, because I felt like I had to block out the jet roaring above me and the constant underlying roar of LA traffic far in the background. But, what was I hearing beneath all that. The birds came clearest to my ears. Again, I heard the individual sounds calling out. The jay, the dove, the mockingbird and many I couldn’t name. Then, I heard the symphony, the harmony of it all including the roar of the jet and traffic. Sound knows no boundary. It just is. The bird doesn’t say I am singing now. It just sings! Being is boundless!

The best of the senses was touch, although I didn’t touch one thing. Yet, I felt all the textures of nature from the thorns to the solidness of the ground. At first, the thorns said stay away from me I am a thorn and the ground felt solid beneath my feet. Then, I experienced the understanding even where it seemed there was solid ground, the root pressed into the earth, the water permeated what appeared to be solid blades of grass. Again, oneness! No separation. No bounds.

At first I tried to smell this and that. It didn’t work. I relaxed,and all I could smell was earth. It is unity of all life. It is the scent that flows through all of us. Each scent: the lemon, the bird in its nest, the rose…all called out earth…unity.

I totally could not remember the fifth sense until I got home, so I skipped the scent of taste. That’s comical being that I love to taste things. I’ll have to do that tomorrow.

I moved onto the sixth sense, which I felt would bring it all together for me. What was nature telling me about the boundless Absolute and how did I fit into the patternless pattern?

Just then a jet roared by. I saw in that jet how we had taken nature’s pattern and worked within the context that we understood nature to create that jet. It was all about boundaries. Just like when we thought the world was flat, we were thinking and creating from where we were at, within our boundaries of thought.

Nature knows no boundaries. We create boundaries. I finished my run with a treatment and suddenly, I was struck by the power of my word. Although nothing has a name, a bird doesn’t know it is a bird, it just is. We call a tree a tree and grass…grass. We call God, God or Buddha or Allah, but really it has no name but the name we give it.

There is a creative energy that has no name. It flows through everything from the acorn that holds all it needs to be an oak tree to every star in the sky. The power of our Word gives us dominion over our own life. God is the word and the word is God. My word is the Absolute Power for me. We name it. IT HAS NO NAME. Let me Name it Unlimited in my life. Let me live in the Absolute.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

My fabulous mentor and maternal grandmother used to have a saying. Every time she felt that someone was infringing upon her privacy or decisions, etc, she'd say "...they should mind their own ____damn business." This was her way of telling us that what we were thinking or doing was our business and our business alone and we should not be swayed by what other people thought about us. My maternal aunt had another pearl of wisdom, and that was that if you were in the midst of completing a project to never to say anything about what you were doing until you'd completed it. "Let your results be your announcement."

Ernest Holmes, my grandmother and aunt are definitely together in mind about this concept, because in "Love and Law" Holmes says, "You will get the biggest results if you will say nothing to anybody of what you want to do. If we could add to the commandments, the greatest would be mind your own business." (Love and Law by Ernest Holmes)

I know for myself, when I feel the need to talk about what I am doing or trying to do, it just means I am not sure about it and need the outside to tell me it is okay.

I have used these important bit of advice many times in my life, but not so much so as when I intentionally released 50 pounds of body weight at the age of 54. I never asked anyone for their opinion. I knew what I wanted to do, and set out to do it. It was easy because I was certain and had made a decision. I didn't need to know what anyone was thinking about me or my decision. My aunt was right. "Mind your own business," brought me success.

My grandma's little pearl of wisdom came into play on more than one occasion and kept me on course. Although, I was minding my own business, interestingly, it seems that my weight loss became the business of everyone that was close to me, and they had no qualms about talking about it behind my back and to my face. Did it bother me? For a long time it did. It didn't stop me from losing weight, like it might have at one time, but there was a hurt and a deep curiosity about the why. When I found out today that this was still going on after almost three years, I am really asking why.

As a side note, my plan and way of losing weight is all contained in a program put together by my husband and myself called, "You're the Boss!" I won't go into that here, but let it suffice: It is a healthy plan based on the premise "...it is done unto you as you believe." What you believe about food and eating affects how you eat and what it does to your body. That's enough of that for now. Let's get back to how important it is to "mind your own business."

So why does this bother me? Everyone says they are just concerned about me. But why is it considered well meaning to worry about another person whether they ask you to or not? I know the answer as a Spiritual Practitioner, it is not my place to be worried about anything. By worrying, I am not knowing the truth. Frankly, my only business is to see and know perfection in any situation.

So, as I hear even after close to three years, that people are still worried about me and my weight loss, I have to look at myself too. Why am I attracting this sort of concern? Well, I got my answer thanks to Grandma. It is not about why they are saying it to me, that's their business. It's more about how am I reacting to it?

I am taking, Grandma's Auntie's and Ernest's advice, "Mind your own business, Rita." It is not my job to be concerned about what others think of me or my business. It is my business. God's business. Calmness and surety comes from knowing that. Anything else would be judgment on my part and none of my business. Enough said and so it is!

WE ARE 100% RESPONSIBLE!

Did you know we are 100% responsible for everything that happens in our life. That is the Truth of the Science of Mind teaching. We create our reality by our use of the Law of Cause and Effect. Another way to put this is that there is a Mental Equivalent that demonstrates in the conditions of our life exactly what we believe. We are 100% responsible! Spirit or God is Love and Divine Givingness. The Law is impersonal. It only says "yes!"

What I know from experience is that once we start using the Spiritual Law for our highest good, we get to start experiencing life in a powerful way.

You know the saying, "Shit happens!" Well shit doesn't happen to us; it happens through us. Excuse the metaphor...But, I'm getting down to basics. The other side of the coin is that "Good doesn't happen to us; it happens through us." We are 100% responsible!

Let me give you a concrete example of this concept that just happened through me the other day...

We are in "Priorities and Boundaries Week" in Mental Muscle workshop. Right now the most important priority in my life is to let God out through me in everything I do in a big way. If I am not letting God out through Rita, if there is a boundary a block then I need to see it clearly and break through it. So, here it comes.

I had a challenging money moment and the need to get money into our account promptly and the sitcom began. Watch how the Law works through me as I step outside of my highest self to resolve the issue on my own.

First of all, the roads to the bank were blocked. Talk about boundaries. At one point, I came to a sign that said "Through Traffic Only." I thought, "At last". I then was halted by a road that just disappeared and all I could see in front of me was a fence and the luminous bank on the other side, unreachable. "The Universe is Always conspiring in my favor." I did a spiritual mind treatment for faith and trust.

After relaxing into the Law for a moment, I drove on and was able to put the money in at another branch. I got home and checked my account on-line. Ah...not trusting, Rita? The Law answers "yes!" Online I saw that the bank teller had put the money into the wrong account, our closed account that apparently wasn't closed. Where is my resistance still and how nice of this teller to show up to let me know about it? (That is what the outside can look like, and how quickly we will blame the teller. However, this teller and I crossed paths at exactly the right moment with exactly the right consciousness for each other. The Law always says "yes!"

I transferred the money into the correct account with that wonderful on-line transfer button.

Then the next day, I went on-line again...still not trusting, Rita???...The account showed a deduction in the exact amount of the deposit. We called the bank and the CS person said they had no record of the deposit or my transfer. (The Law doing its work again, always saying "yes!")

My will power at its wits end, I surrendered finally. I laughed at it all and I only knew that it had to be good. I had to trust Spirit. A long road back to the Real me. Everything resolved immediately. The money showed up and all is well.

I am breaking through these money boundaries this time for sure. Letting God Out and faith are my tools---Let God out in a big way no matter what she looks like! She is beautiful! Even at the ATM with a look of shock on her face. I am 100% responsible!

THE MONEY RELATIONSHIP

I was listening to someone speak about successful relationships. He was talking about personal intimate relationships--lover-to-lover. He said the three most important elements of a good relationship were respect, trust and love.

This got me thinking. I have a beautiful personal intimate relationship. I have no problem with these three qualities. Plenty of love, plenty of trust, plenty of respect.

So the question is could I transfer these elements to my relationship with money, where I could definitely use some improvement? I really being honest now. Let me look at each of these elements and ask myself a few questions. Perhaps, you'd like to join me in answering them for yourselves at the same time.

RESPECT
How are we in the area of respect of money? The dictionary defines respect as, "high or special regard, esteem, the quality or quality or state of being esteemed."

I would have to say I have respect for money, but am I putting having lots and lots of money to far up on the pedestal...out of reach? Is the possession of lots of money too good for me? Self-respect would be the other side of the coin (no pun intended). How can I attract money into my life without self-respect? It would be impossible. So much about having abundance is about feeling deserving. Of course, I am deserving of money. I am a child of God! I deserve the abundance of the Universe.

TRUST
The next element is trust. Do I trust money? Do I trust myself with money? Is there a part of me that feels I would not know what to do with money if I had lots of it? Do I trust that there will always be enough money for me, for my projects? Do I trust myself with money? I must. Divine Intelligence flows through me as me. I will always know what to do.

LOVE
The third element is love. Do I love money? So much from our past and race consciousness tells us that loving money might be evil. Money is after all said to be the "root of all evil." Isn't it "...harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of the needle?" Well, in order for a camel to get through the eye of the needle, he must kneel down. Camels can do this, but it is not easy for them. Does that mean that being rich makes it hard to be good? There is nothing wrong with loving money. Money is God in Action.

This is all a bunch of past programming. If we really look at these blocks we can literally feel their ridiculousness. These thoughts are not as I was told in a fabulous talk at the NoHo Arts Center yesterday, at all "normal."

It is only normal to be rich, abundant with more to give and share with the world. It is time to really examine these three elements of a good relationship with money: LOVE, TRUST, RESPECT. I deserve to have an abundant life and so do you.