Parable of the Oranges

I was out running one Sunday morning, when. I passed the most beautiful orange tree, filled with oranges to overflowing. I have passed this tree before, but on this particular Sunday, it looked ever more inviting. How juicy and sweet a fresh orange would taste, I thought.

I was running on a path that brought back to the tree more than once. And so, when I circled around again, I saw a man picking the oranges. Again, I thought, how great a fresh orange would taste. I'd love to ask for one, but I didn't.

When I circled around yet another time, I passed the same man, who was now carrying a large brown bag to overflowing with the oranges he'd picked. He looked at me and pointed to the oranges, gesturing for me to have some. My prayer had been answered. I took one from his bag. The man just looked at me rather strangely and kept walking.

I continued my run, when a few moments later, I passed the man again. Again, he gestured to the oranges in his bag, and then to me, offering me another one. I took another orange. He looked at me and groaned out loud under the weight of the bag, seeming to say, you idiot! I'm offering you as many as you want! He waddled on down the road, leaving me holding my two oranges and two questions...

First of all, why couldn't I ask for an orange to begin with? Secondly, why did I only take one orange, each time, when he offered me as many as I wanted?

I could use the excuse of being polite or not being able to carry them, but there is really only one answer to these questions and it is: This orange story is a metaphor for my capacity to receive.

In that moment, I immediately turned my attention to the Truth of who I am and opened my mind to the the abundance I deserve. I opened up my mind wide to allow the abundance of the Universe to pour through me without limitation.

Ernest Holmes writes,

"In Reality, we know God or Truth only as we ourselves embody God or Truth. AND SINCE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EMBODY ANYTHING OUTSIDE OURSELVES, 

THIS KNOWLEDGE MUST BE AN INNER LIGHT."

Honestly, I didn't feel the expansion at first, but as I continue to spiritually work on this idea everyday, my consciousness is expanding and the results are demonstrated. I challenge all those who need this knowing to join me in doing this spiritual work for themselves.

The answer for me, is self-love. Ernest Holmes writes,

"...above all have a consciousness of love, a radiant feeling flowing through your consciousness at all times. Treat yourself until you have an inner sense of unity with all good. Love is at the center of man's being and the calm continuous pulsations of life are governed by love."

I still pass that orange tree everyday, and I still wonder if I'll ever see the man again so I can take as many oranges I want. It hasn't happened yet, and today, I said to myself..."What are you waiting for...just go buy yourself a huge bag of oranges!" And so I did!

Namaste! Rita

Fences

Today, I went out running contemplating the treatment I just wrote on my daily blog, Consciousness on Demand about knowing that I am one with the Divine.

As I started into my first few moments of my run, I said, I bless this time to reveal this too me now…and to inspire me for my treatment and power talk on Sunday.

I was about 10 minutes into my run when I noticed a fence, and then another, and then another. I noticed how metaphorically every yard had something boxed in, whether it was by brick, wood, or rock. I was awaked to the fact that it seems to be our nature in our humaness is to separate. Kevin Spacey the actor said this…”The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get.”

The question came into my mind, “What fences do you still have up, Rita, that are keeping you from totaling embodying your oneness with Spirit. What am I trying to keep out and what am I trying to keep in?

There must still be fences of thought that separate me from embodying my divine nature. Thoughts of “less than, or not enough, or I am separate from that person…etc.” I spoke out loud. I choose to tear down these fences now!

I continued to run and every time I saw a fence, I metaphorically tore it down in my mind. It took quite a few sledges with my metaphorical ax, but soon I was running immersed in the allness, where there were no fences.
So, now what? I continued to do this all day. Every time I saw something that I separated myself from, whether it was my boss, the person asking for money on the corner, the biggest and most beautiful house in the neighborhood, I took down the fence.

Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer, orator, and freethinker said…”Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought. “

As we know in this Science, everything is created from the inside out. There is nothing created that isn’t created first by thought. Our thoughts direct the law.

Today, I challenge us to tear down any fences of thought that we’ve built that keep us from total immersion in our Godness and to know just as we are right in this moment we are God. We don’t have to do anything or be anything more. All fences fall away now. We are unlimited Life!

The Law of Growth

"But there is one thing we must not forget, and this is the Law of Growth. If the Law which we plant is the seed, then we must allow time for it to grow; we must leave it alone and go about our business as usual, and the seed we have sown will spring and grow up of itself, we know not how, a truth which we have been told by the Master himself (Mark iv, 26, 29).

We must not be like children who plant a seed one day, and dig it up the next to see whether it is growing. Our part is to plant the seed, not to make it grow,--the Creative Law of Life will do that. It is for this reason that the Bible gives us such injunctions as "Study to be quiet...He that believe shall not make haste" (Is. xxviii, 16)

I have not written in a while. A lot has transpired since I last wrote. I have been tested and have relied on Spirit. I have taken the Principle and used it and proved it true. I have learned to pray unceasingly and have reaped the benefits of this. I have decided to remain steadfast in my growth in embodying this Principle and walking in truth at all times.

The above quote struck me this morning because I find that so many times, we do not always trust the Law of Growth. I understand now that as I plant the seed, I can trust in it. I no longer rip out the roots to test what Spirit is doing. I am quiet and still and expectant.

Thomas Troward also wrote something else that struck me and that was that we are not praying to have things, but that we might become. That is how we use our Word constructively and for our highest good. The Law only understand becoming. Now, I know we are already that which we are seeking to become, so we are only praying to know that fully in mind.

And so today, I claim that I am, that we are that which we seek. I trust the Law of Growth and I continue to walk on the path as that allness in everything that I think and do.

Blessings,
Rita

Self-Forgiveness Now!

Always there is synchronicity within our Soul Group at the NoHo Arts Center. So, it’s no coincidence that Self-Esteem week of Mental Muscle Workshop comes after Rev. Keith’s talk on Sunday which included “self-forgiveness.”

I am amazed that I can join one of my fellow Mental Muscle boot campers in my ability to experience a shame spiral now and then. It all boils down to this for me: self-forgiveness.

I dropped to my knees this morning (as Keith Cox invited us to) to rid myself finally of anything I hadn’t forgiven myself for from this incarnation or any other. I am committed to living in Principle only.

I am in love with my Divine Evolution. I’m continuing to peel away the layers and the more I ask Spirit to guide me, the more I am awakened to what needs to be stripped away. As the directive this week asks us to, I am more than willing to let go of what doesn’t serve me, so I can live as I deserve, which is fully, passionately, healthfully, creatively, prosperously!

Phineas Quimby, the founder of New Thought and great healer said, “God never made anything to torment mankind.” I know this is the truth, so the only torment is self-created. (Note the small “s.)

I know that anything in the recesses of my soul that needs to be released, that is blocking me from totally loving ME is released now. I release it with love, thanking it all as part of my Divine Evolution and know that it is all Good! It is done! The Truth is Revealed Now! I am worth IT!

"There is a force within that gives you life - Seek that.
In your body there lies a priceless jewel - Seek that.
Oh, wandering One,
if you are in search of the greatest treasure,
don't look outside.
Look within, and seek That."

- Rumi, was a Sufi Mystic & Poet.

What Gossip Can Do!

I have given myself 100% to this Spiritual journey. I am committed to living in Principle.

In that light, I am struck today at what gossip can do, and I have made the decision to obliterate it from my conversation once and for all; for if I allow myself to even go into this territory in mind or in active conversation, I am out of Principle and adding dirty water to creative medium.

So, now I must confess that I recently found myself swept away into the world of gossip. It came disguised as “good intentions” and “protection of someone I loved,” and “caring and sharing.” In reality, there was never any true malice in my participation in the spiraling vortex of gossip, but I came out the other end feeling dirty. And since my feelings speak to me of what in me is in and out of balance, I know the Truth.

The story doesn’t need to be reiterated here, but after thought and prayer and forgiveness of myself, I have come to know that what Thumper said is true, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

Whether you think you are not judging, or just venting, or just hurt or feel sad, or feel like you are even helping the situation…talking about another person in any way other than holding them in their highest light does a disservice to everyone, but mostly to yourself.

What Gossip Can Do; it can do to you!

But what if someone else raises their words against you or their intent seems to be to bring you down? What then? We are co-creators, no matter what the experience. We are one big mirror…reflecting, reflecting back and forth. Stay in Principle, turn the other cheek, and as you do the reflection will change accordingly.

And so, as it says in Phillippians 4:8:

“Whatever things are TRUE, whatever things are NOBLE, whatever things are JUST, whatever things are PURE, whatever things are LOVELY, whatever things are of GOOD REPORT, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy---meditate on these things.”

FACING FEAR

We had another earthquake yesterday afternoon, April 4, Easter Sunday. Patrick and I were taking a much needed nap and suddenly, the bed began to gently shake. There is always that moment when earthquake strikes that fear can set in. It passes quickly with me now. I am less and less afraid lately, as I embody a Trust in Spirit and the Spiritual Universe more and more.

This morning, my son called me and we started talking about earthquakes and about being afraid. He sent me this quote from the "Dune Series." I'd like to share it...

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

I like this quote, because it tells us not to block our fear or to stick our head in the sand, but to face it. It is so true. The only way to pass through a fear is to actually look at it and let it wash over you.

I remember I used to have a great fear of flying. Probably my fear was a mixture of race consciousness and also my parents telling me from an early age that planes crash.

I remember one day I sat on the plane and just went to my fear in my mind and played it out all the way to the plane crashing and me dying. It was a great exercise, and ever since that day, I have not feared flying.

One day after that, while I was flying, there was a loud explosion. It was right after 9/11, so of course, my first thought was: it's was a bomb. In that moment, I remember this intense calm feeling came over me. I knew that whatever was happening, I was fine. It wasn't anything I had to force, I just knew. The plane landed safely. We had been hit by lightening and I had been enlightened again.

So, to recap...as the quote says,

"I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

Fear is an illusion as we say in Science of Mind, "False Evidence Appearing Real."

Only I will remain. The "I" God. That is the power that is ours. Only God remains and with God everything is always fine.

DANCING WITH SHADOWS

It is Perfection Week in Mental Muscle Boot Camp. I went on my meditative run today and did a spiritual mind treatment while I ran.

"I am more than ready to remove any block still remaining in the way of my knowing my perfection!"

Almost instantly, I was drawn to my shadow running in front of me. I thought, "Just as my body is blocking the sun right now and causing this shadow to appear, I am the only one standing in the way of knowing my perfection."

And so, as my running path turned me to the sun, immediately my shadow was behind me and out view. I was bathed in a very bright light, and it felt Good. It was coming from the sun, but also from within me. I can't escape it, it's everywhere! God! Light! Love!

What are the shadows? To me, they are doubt, fear, guilt, and anything blocking the light within. Are these shadows ever gone? Not as long as I have volition and choice. It up to me every moment to choose Shadow or Light.

If, for example, I chose to look back on this run, there was my shadow, running after me. I liken it to the past that I won't let go of with forgiveness. As I continued to run, my body and shadow continued the dance. I noticed how at times, the shadow was at my side, just out of view, but still there, if I chose to turn to it. Similarly, in the sidelines of my mind, still there are shadows that play their game with me if I am not aligning myself consciously.

But, I'm in charge. No more looking back or to the sides only forward and within into the Light. Divine Evolution moves forward. It is my goal today to stay aligned with the perfect Light within me and to listen to Spirit. To allow my Divine Perfection to be the allness of who I am. How does this look? It's very bright.

EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION

Everyone has an opinion. It's true! I tend not to ask anyone their opinion because what is true for them is not necessarily true for me.

I grew up Catholic. We trusted the Pope's word as infallible. Then, I became a Mormon and it was all about believing that Joseph Smith was a prophet. If we held that as our truth, then everything out of his mouth would have to be God's Truth. You never had to doubt, even if it didn't make sense.

So, I can see by my background that I continually followed someone else's opinion for most of my life. I even had a husband to whom I entrusted my mind. Because I was programmed from such an early age, it is no wonder it has taken me until recently to break free of others' opinions.

As soon as I began to study the Science of Mind, I realized there was only one opinion I could trust. And, that opinion is God's opinion intuiting through my Mind when I allow myself to open and flow in the space of Divine Intuition.

Recently, I ran a marathon. I was certain I could do it. At times, people shouted and whispered their opinions at me, but I continued to allow Spirit to intuit through my body and cells guiding my journey.

Yesterday, my Minister James Mellon gave a talk where he asked people what they believed in beyond a shadow of a doubt. I asked myself the question. What do I believe that I am anchored in no matter what? My answer is that I am anchored in the Truth that Good is all there is. With this wisdom as my foundation, I am applying this to every situation in life no matter how grave it might appear in the world of conditions. My Divine Evolution is always moving and flowing forward and so is that of all my friends and loved ones.

The Universe has been whispering to me lately and I have been listening. I am letting go of all opinions that have previously been conditioned in me. I am learning anew from a place of unlimited awareness. What does this look like? I have to say, I don't know, but it makes my being tingle with joyous anticipation. I'm willing to stay in this place as it all unfolds. Why? Because, I trust in the Good of the Universe working through me and all my affairs. It whispers still. "Stay Close to me. I am here always."

Love,
Rita

Stay Close to Me. I am Here (written on March 11, 2010)

So…I have been listening and it is so LOUD!

First of all, it is louder in my workplace than it has ever been before. We are in the middle of a move to a new office and the supposed launch of our website finally. I sit trying to write, with 4 – 6 people walking in and out of my 10 x 6 office, standing butted up to my desk, discussing the difference between the color lime and light green and a multitude of other seemingly ridiculous things. They are not talking to me. I put my earplugs in and tune into my meditative music or I leave to get a cup of coffee.

Why does everything seem so different? I’m like an alien. I center, breathe and then I feel like running. Everything is unknown and as I’ve said it before, everything and everyone looks different.

I couldn’t wait to get out of work and get to the Center last night for service and class. It would be my solace. Then class was canceled. Same with tonight. Boot camp was canceled. The Universe is conspiring in my favor. Oh, yes!

I am very excited in a good way, but I can’t put the song to words. My birthday is Friday the 12th, I have no idea of how the day will unfold. This is new for me. Yet, I am trusting more than I ever had in my life. I am trusting this unknown place. I am listening. I am really listening. I know nothing. Now what can I know.
All I hear is, “Stay close to me. I am here.”

I Choose to be Strange

I awoke this morning with this very happy, excited anticipation. I am so grateful. I want to deal with everything and I mean everything from the Spiritual perspective. When I stay here, my Life is brand new in every moment and it is always Good. This quote was in my mailbox this morning.

"Today I am brand new. I have never been who I am today. Today I choose to be as strange as I really am!" (Daily Love)

I want to be strange, because being strange is really the most normal way to be. We are Spiritual, Eternal beings united in the One Consciousness. There are no challenges, only adventures and opportunities to practice knowing this and thus transcending the physical in every way. The great Master Teacher, Jesus said, I am not of this world... I am joining him.

Although Crucifixion was a necessary part of his journey, maybe to teach us this truth, and since he did it already, we don't need to go through the same challenge. The path is clear, if we believe. Anyone up for being strange today?

love and light,
Rita

RISKING THE OCEAN!

"Load the ship and set out. No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor. Cautious people say, "I'll do nothing until I can be sure". Merchants know better. If you do nothing, you lose. Don't be one of those merchants who won't risk the ocean." - Rumi, was an amazing Sufi Poet & Mystic.

When I read the above quote this morning, I thought, this is just where I am. The sentence that jumped out at me was "No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor."

At first I thought it meant that we didn't know whether we would fail or succeed, but then I read again, and this is what I understood:

I am loading my ship with Spiritual Truth. Knowing this, I am setting sail out into the unknown...the mystery. I am letting go of everything that I knew before. Will I sink or reach the harbor? In other words will my vessel of Truth stay firm or sink at the first challenge. It's like deciding you believe you can defy gravity, and then after stepping off a ledge, realizing you really don't.

The Truth is there is no Harbor to reach. We carry the Harbor with us. The more I let go of the outside world, and the deeper I go within, trust becomes my way of being. And if I feel the tug under, or that sinking feeling, that's the time to let go again.

There's no turning back to shore once I am aware. I am willing to risk the ocean. I can never fail. There is no failure in the Mind of God, only Divine Evolution.

Once we've loaded up our ships with Truth and set sail, we die to the old and are birthed to the new. The earth isn't flat and there is no horizon so the sailing must be eternal.

Earth Shaking News

Monday night we had a 4.4 Earthquake that woke us up at 4AM. A couple of hours before that I'd left the bed to go write because I couldn't sleep. I have felt such a shift of consciousness lately. I'm being asked to really let go. What does this look like? It looks like complete, uncensored trust in God and Good. While I was writing, I said, "...I feel the earth shaking around me." Well, less than two hours later, it shook all right. But, it is metaphorical, so very metaphorical.

I've been shook up lately in many ways and have had to have total faith. A part of me feels like I want to go running and screaming and I'm not exactly sure where I would run. And so, I keep going within.

It's Boundaries and Priorities week in Mental Muscle workshop. I write my priorities for today:

Today, I will live lighter. I will let go. Today, I'll see and live in Spirit everywhere I go. Today, I'll make my day better and thereby making everyone else's day better. Today, I'll keep my thoughts a little straighter. Today, I'll serve wherever I go. Today, I KNOW a little more and know a little less. Today, I'll have a little more patience and more understanding. Today, I'll not judge by appearance. Today, I'll allow, accept and receive. Today, I'll let go of all my boundaries.

So, I went out on my run. A little panic came through me. I don't know why...and then the words, "Stay close to me, I am here." I kept repeating it over and over. Then I wanted to text it to Patrick, my husband. I stopped and did it, but the message just went without me typing his number in. I have no idea where it went.

As I ran, I saw a homeless lady. She was sitting on a bench, and then getting up, pulling her pants up. It was wet on the ground beneath her. I realized she'd used the bench as a toilet. She looked at me and said hello. I said hello and smiled and we both went our way.

I don't know what to say, but after that I wept (not for sorrow, but for love) and then I said a prayer. I believe in that moment I used pretty much every priority I had set.

When the Student is Ready the Teacher Appears

It is a glorious warm day in California with a gentle breeze. I was out running, after getting home from the NoHo Arts Center and a full morning of Spiritual nourishment both by being in church service and by teaching in the Youth Center. It's "Listen Week" in Spiritual Boot Camp and as I was running,I was listening.

The trees swaying in the wind soothed and lulled me. Then quite suddenly, I heard these words: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

I have used the statement many times when great teachers appeared in my life. But today as I was running, this statement took on a whole new meaning. I am a student of the Universe, a sort of a Jedi Knight in training. I have spoken my word and said I'm ready to step up. I am ready to step into the Spiritual Universe and live fully in it. Then, a challenge comes up, and I've had some big ones during the last couple of months. But, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." I believe it just might be that the seeming "challenge" is the teacher that has appeared. It is here to see what I am made of. Of course, it is all coming from within me.

Now I remember my spiritual mentor, Rev. Mellon once said and still says, we don't need challenges to grow. I believe that is true and I'm not looking for challenges. But, are challenges bad if all is good? I also believe something else he said, which is whatever is happening in the world of effects, we are equal to; and yet, there is a something within us that is so much more than it.

"When the student is ready, the teacher appears." No matter what it is that is showing up, money issues, ill health, relationship challenges, career stuff...what if we looked at it as the teacher we are more than ready for. As we are taught by it, instead of being threatened by it, we walk right through it to the other side. Leaning into the challenge from the powerful place of knowing who we are dissipates it into the nothingness from which it came. It's kind of like that scene in Star Wars, when Yoda sends Luke into the dark place and he meets his father/himself. He can't conquer fear with fear. Love is the only way.

There really is no challenge, if we just know who we are.

You are the Angel I've Been Waiting For

I saw "Avatar" for the first time today. My initial reaction was I wish they'd gone further. The message was clear. Yet, it seemed that at the end they bought in the idea that conflict can only be resolved through violence. Even with all the Avatar culture knew of life's truth, it still came down to conquest and "this is my right/land." I probably need to see it again. There were a million metaphors.

Right now I am finding the need to totally step off the edge into the Spiritual Universe in all ways. Everything and everyone seems alien to me. Things that made so much sense now seem confusing. I can feel the material world slipping away and I am holding on like one of those characters hanging onto a ledge with one finger.

Like I told a friend of mine, someone has to get on the bus first. Be all we can be now! That is everything! We are everything. We come from a Power that is everything. Let's get on the bus! Let's let go of that one finger. Let go!

A friend of mine said a few weeks ago..."I'm up for this journey if you are willing to take it with me."

He had stepped into the mystery of life and bid us to join him. I am willing to take the journey into the Spiritual Universe,where everything, and I mean everything that we have claimed as real in the small sense, no longer is real. A space, where the only Real thing is perfection and love.

What does this look like in a practical sense? It is not practical at all. It means seeing only Good, no matter what is happening. It means seeing the highest in everyone and in every situation. It means seeing love in everyone we are looking at from what we consider an enemy to the person we love the most. It is no different.

The healing has begun. We only need to reveal our highest self now.

What do you see? I see you. You are beautiful, whole and complete. That is all you are. No matter what you have done or what has been onto you. Now matter what you say about yourself or what someone says about you. It is time now to know only this Truth. We are Divine Beings of Love meant to have joy, love, peace, abundance, exciting full lives, bringing light to this planet called Earth.

"We are the angels we have been waiting for."' Maryanne Williamson

You are the angel I have been waiting for.

Namaste! Rita

My Birthday Booty

Today is the last day of my 56th year. I have now spent 56 full years on Planet Earth. Show me what you got, Rita.

Well, I'm shaking my birthday booty, and I have to say it's quite filled with lots of treasures. I've had an amazing life. No gold coins to show right now, but my life is ever rich in experience, friends and love.

First of all, I have to give gratitude for my upbringing, although stormy at times, it is a big part of who I am and I bless it.

I've had the opportunity and wisdom to follow my spiritual trail where ever it takes me and it's always taken me home to mySELF safely. I am grateful.

I had the opportunity to give birth to the three most blessed children who have since grown up to be giving, loving human beings. How much richer can you get than that. I am grateful.

I have always had a loving partner in my life and a rich and fun and yes sexy relationship. Right now I am having more loving fun than ever with Patrick Feren. I am grateful.

I've had the opportunity to laugh, love, cry, and be part of the lives of amazing people...people who actually live their lives to make the world a better place. I cannot put a price on that, either. I am grateful.

I've had the opportunity to express my creativity in multiple ways from cooking to singing to acting to writing. That means that I have spent my life expressing my God gifts. I am grateful.

So, what do I want for my 57th birthday? How do I see my life? At one time, I would have said that I want one of my scripts to sell, I want a million dollars, or I want a new home. Yes, I want all those things. I cannot deny it. But, frankly, I'm tired of wanting things. I'm finally ready to let go.

I want to live in complete knowing that I am a unique expression of God and that God is the only source and substance of my supply. If I could live in that embodiment for more than a few minutes at a time, that would be the best birthday gift that I'd ever had. The thing is, I am the only one who can give that gift to myself.

In the Science of Mind reading today, Ernest Holmes said, "Just so far as we depend upon any condition, past, present or future, we are creating chaos, because we are then dealing with conditions (effects)and not causes."

This rings so true to me. I have most recently been depending on conditions or effects to know that I am all right...that I am rich. The reading goes onto say that "...there is a Power that makes things directly out of Itself-by simply becoming the thing it makes..."

I am willing to go the distance this year. I am willing to trust this Power as the only source of my supply. It is me and I am It. I am shaking my birthday booty and I don't know what it looks like, but it feels really good. It is GOOD!

love,
Rita

PATIENCE IS GENIUS!

It is Patience Week in James Mellon's Mental Muscle Boot Camp and I am honing my patience skills during a week of what seems like endless waiting for my blossoms to bloom. Unfortunately, I am not immune to pulling up the roots either. How many times have I checked my email today to see if "something" is there? I've lost count.

At the same time, I have claimed that I am a Spiritual Being Living in a Spiritual Universe. I am learning that I can walk through this world knowing I am in it but not of it.

So how does this all fit together? I must trust what seem like delays. Is it true, as Michael Beckwith says...that delays are just here so I can acquire additional skills needed for future adventures?

So, I ask "What do I need to know?" My spiritual mentor, James Mellon says those words are a directive not a question. I've been asking it a lot lately and perhaps not expecting an answer. Hush, Rita! Listen!

Breathe...Here it comes..."Enjoy life in the now!" (Oh, not that again, says my will power). However, resist as I might the Now, it is obvious it is the major important life skill I need to still embrace. The Now! Perhaps when I live that I won't need to be patient anymore because there will be nothing to be patient about.

While I watched my husband get ready for work today, I thought back on all the wonders of our life together. I thought of all the moments like this one that would be gone in an instant and how precious they are.

Life is to be relished moment-to-moment. Me, sitting here right now is a moment never to be lived again. James has said, "Patience is Knowing."

Knowing is aligning myself with Divine Will that only knows perfect time. It is time to enjoy the journey and get into the flow. Our success is always assured in the Present.

Eighteenth-century French naturalist, Georges-Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788), said, "The ability to accept delay. Or disappointment. To smile at setbacks and respond with a pleasant, understanding spirit. To remain calm while others around are uneasy. This is Godly patience. Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; Hold fast; Hold out. Patience is genius."

I am a genius and so are you! Namaste!

love and light,
Rita

IT EITHER IS OR IT ISN'T!

As Religious Scientists are learning and living a philosophy that is based in the Principle that says "We are Spiritual Beings living in a Spiritual Universe and we are governed by our use of the Universal Law of Cause and Effect." This is what we call Divine Principle. This Principle is our Truth. We prove it True by living it as our Truth and as David Walker said, "...not just on special occasions."

Jesus once said that we shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set us free. How does Divine Principle set us free? It sets us free because we know that whatever is showing up in our life is showing up because we believed in it enough to allow it to show up. We did not create it. We created our experience of it. This includes everything and I mean Every Thing. It either is or it isn't! The Good news is that because thoughts are things and if we do not like what is showing up, we have to power to change it by changing our thoughts. It is our choice.

Ernest Holmes says,

"...Nothing can happen to man that does not happen THROUGH him, whether it be the result of his own erroneous conclusions, those of his grandfather, or those of the race to which he belongs! This is not in any sense fatalistic, for WE CAN CHANGE THE TREND OF CAUSATION WHICH HAS BEEN SET IN MOTION AT ANY TIME WE DECIDE TO DO SO."

Note the last sentence, "...WE CAN CHANGE THE TREND OF CAUSATION...AT ANY TIME WE DECIDE TO DO SO." Those CAPS were put in by Ernest Holmes not me. We Decide!

So, let's explore this statement by Ernest Holmes in regards to the thing called "illness" of any kind whether it be a cold or Cancer. Do we have the power to "...change the trend of causation which has been set in motion?" I answer, "It either is or it isn't!"

We are part of a race consciousness that believes in disease. Erroneous thoughts cause things that are erroneous. Am I aligning myself with race consciousness, or am I aligning myself with Truth. If there is a healing to take place, it takes place in my mind. Nothing in the material world is REAL. It is merely a thought that has hardened.

I have been reading the works of Phineas Quimby, a healer, who believed and proved this Principle in regards to illness. Quimby called the Principle the "Science of Life." He said,

"Thoughts are like grains of sand, and are held together by their own sympathy or attraction. The natural man is composed of these particles of thought combined and arranged to make a form called man. As thought is always changing, so man is always throwing off particles or thoughts and receiving others." He goes on to say "man's change of mind is under one of the two directions, either of this world of opinions, or of God; and his happiness or misery is the result of his thought."

So, can we go too far physically in the erroneous direction? Is there a point of no return? Must we die because the doctors told us so? Because, the X-ray says so?

Principle is either true or it isn't. I must believe that erroneous thoughts can never go too far. We can be healed in an instant. Jesus did it. He said what he could do we could do and better. Phineas Quimby believed Jesus and proved it true. There is a Divine Spark within each of us that is not ill. It doesn't know the word illness. It is perfect. It is Good. If we can truly believe in that, anything unlike it would fall away into the nothingness from which it came.

We are not healing the physical man, we are revealing the spiritual man and we can do that anytime we truly decide to do it.

"There is a Power for Good in the Universe and I get to use it." I get to use it because I am it. It is not separate from who I am. This is the Truth I strive to live. Disease, poverty, and war are not real; we have believed them into our experience. They are created by the Power that we used incorrectly. God is Good and everything else is simply not the Truth. It either is or it isn't.

Namaste! Rita

I Do Believe in Rainbows

Today, just as I was getting the news that the sale of my screenplay is still sitting in the world of Hollywood time, I got a call from James. He was calling me about the talk that Patrick and I will give on Sunday Valentine's Day, but the conversation started with him telling me about a beautiful rainbow that he was looking at.

For anyone who was on-line for Boot Camp this morning, you know I teased him about all the rainbows he had seen lately, saying "of course you see rainbows, it's been raining."

Later for a moment I felt sad about my script. I immediately went into meditation, asking what do I need to know. Just like the sun clears a rainy day and brings a rainbow with it, I remembered my conversation with James. While he was looking at the beautiful rainbow and I was getting the news about my script, Spirit was talking to me, this time through James.

I remembered the story of Noah and the flood---the rainbow was a promise from God to Noah that he was loved.

And so, James calling me at that exact moment with news of a rainbow was just a gentle reminder for me that my Word as success has been put into the Law. Whether it revealed to me as a sold screenplay is none of my business. My only business is to know that Spirit always keeps its promises to those who choose to believe in rainbows even when they are behind the clouds. I choose to believe in rainbows. I am already successful right now.

love,
Rita

The Law is Our Faithful Servant

The Universal Law of Cause and Effect is called the Doer, Blind Force, The Creative Medium. It is called many things. It is our faithful servant and it only thinks deductively. That means it does not reason, but only does as we say. It responds to the power of our word backed by our belief.

Recently, I was in a car accident, which someone pointed out to me was not an "accident" but "on purpose." Since I was the person at fault and hit someone else, these words stirred me into emotion. I would never purposely set out to hurt anyone. I did not set out that morning to purposely hit another car with my car. However, I did have a conscious upon the impersonal Law when I left the house that morning. I wanted to work from home and resisted going.

The first thing that happened was my husband was using the car I usually used which left me in the car with out my parking pass. I would have to park somewhere else that day, which put me on the street where the collision occurred. As I pulled out of my garage, I treated for my new Prius or better, and I knew it was already here.

Well, my faithful servant, the Law worked as fast as possible, ala the car accident, which catapulted me home to work after getting towed to the body shop, and then because I do not have renter's on my insurance, a friend lent me her Priuus.

So when thinking about these series of events and knowing that I did not leave the house wanting to hurt someone else or wreck my car, I still cannot call this an accident. Thank God for Grace and Rita's overall sense of well being and non-violence and peace and love which created a a minor instead of a major accident.

So what can I learn from all this. I cannot tell the Law how to do something, for that would be outlining. As I told my practitioner when he was treating for me at the scene of the accident, I feel like my resistance to work created this.

I feel somewhat like the Sorcerer's Apprentice ala Disney's Mickey Mouse. Learning the power of the law without clarity is precarious. I pray for clarity, the ability to trust my intuition. My boot camp word this time around is Gratitude. Perhaps if I used a little more of that, still moving forward at all times to love, live and serve. I would experience more constructive ways of demonstration than car accidents.

Any thoughts on this?

love,
Rita

Divine Detour!

Have you ever wondered why things aren't happening fast enough in your life? Why you've prayed and it just isn't appearing? It's like you are trying to get down a road a certain way and you just keep getting detoured and turned in another direction far from your destination. You eventually get there, but the trip can be exhausting.

I used to think I was being stopped and held up in achieving what I considered my goals. I was putting it out there and wondering why it wasn't happening. As I look over my life, I realize that what seemed like a detour was merely another stepping stone in my divine evolution. I call it a Divine Detour. That is the new way I look at the process of my journey to totally embodying my unity with Spirit.

My spiritual mentor, James Mellon says when something shows up in our life and keeps showing up, we need to really look at that thing. What is it here to teach us? Ernest Holmes teaches us to turn entirely away from the condition which seems contrary to the above statement. It's not. When looking at the condition, whatever it is, with fearless God eyes, we are open to see it as what it is--a Lie, not an entity, not REAL. So, therefore in looking we are turning away from the condition and looking at the Truth.

Thoughts are things, and things are thoughts. That's all. The formless is in the form and everything changes in a moment with a change of thought. It's all how you look at it and I am committed to looking at everything with my Spiritual eyes.

I already know that everything I require is right here. It is just a matter of opening my mind, to seeing it. How much of God can I know? As much of God as I become. This Divine Detour I've been on has revealed my Spiritual nature to me. It has given me the opportunity to learn to see the gifts that are present all the time. My Divine Detour gives me the opportunity to be in the moment, to know that right where I am is right where I am supposed to be. It would never have met the wonderful people I know today if not for my Divine Detour. My Divine Detour gets me out of the way of outlining how things should be happening and allows me to let go and let them happen.

When I trust my Divine Detour, I see that it isn't a detour at all. It is Divine Evolution Taking over my life. It is realizing that as Jesus said "The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!" It is not coming. We are each the miracle, and now it is time to bring this miracle into the world and let it live as us.

ONE WITH THE INFINITE

"One alone in consciousness with the Infinite constitutes a majority. Knowing this in your thought, work in perfect peace and calm, always expect the Good, have enthusiasm, and above all have a consciousness of Love. Ernest Holmes in the Science of Mind

This was the reading this morning. How do I feel about it? The word that comes to me is Believe and get out of the way. Mike Dooley calls them the "cursed hows."

There is a plaque on the wall in my home, simply with the words "Believe." Whenever I start to get bogged down by how something is going to happen, I look at those words and focus on my intention and know. This is my only truth.

If as Ernest Holmes says above that I alone in consciousness with the Infinite constitutes a majority, I can never lose. I already have everything I could ever need. The Infinite and I are a majority and a majority always wins.

I believe this. I continue my work, always moving forward in love, peace and calm. I am supported by an Infinite Intelligence that guides me every step of the way. I sow love everywhere I go. My purpose is to serve and know that I am backed by this Infinite Power. That's it. It is so simple.

Now, to have a great day!

Today, I am Grateful!

I haven't written in a while. Gosh, it was well before the holidays. What a whirlwind December and now here I am at the beginning of a new year.

I just began another round of Mental Muscle with James Mellon as one of his assistants. In case the reader doesn't know what Mental Muscle is...it's a 16 week online workshop where the participants fearlessly dig into what they believe, eradicate the old and useless, and embrace the new and empowering. Life is lived from the inside out and that is what we practice. Each boot camp we choose a word to guide the journey. I've had words such as 'Love', 'Consciousness', and 'Center'. James says the word will choose us. There is a word that has chosen me several times and finally I have chosen to embrace it. The word is "Gratitude."

Why Gratitude? Well, I feel somewhat like I've been chasing shadows. And, in spite of all my studies and spiritual practice, still I have been acting like I might be lacking all I want in life.

As we know through studying Science of Mind, we are already everything we could ever want or desire. God is everything, and we are a part of God. Therefore, logic has it we have everything---abundance eternally.

So, by embracing the word Gratitude, I can bring this Principle home to my heart. It is a good word and when I awake with the word 'Gratitude' in my heart, the day takes a whole new shape. As the master Meister Eckhart said, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'thank you', it will be enough."

This morning as I let the word wash over me while I was running, the trees took on a new sparkle. As I looked at my husband, I felt overflowing love in my heart. As I thought of my children and two more grandchildren on the way, I thought how could I be more abundant.

Another gift of Gratitude is the present moment. You can only be grateful in the present moment. As I embrace the now, I will never miss the gift. Yes, this is the perfect word for me.