End of Year 2008

Affirmation: I release in to the hands and heart of Spirit all my unfinished dreams from this past year.

I am writing in my current culture to folks of mostly Northern European stock born and raised in the Western Hemisphere, but these ideas are universal. Each conscious person begins their year with certain hopes and dreams for themselves and their families, and at the end of the year some of those hope have been dashed and some of those dreams have not come true.
As the next year approaches, each of us, wittingly or unwittingly recreates a new set of expectations for our upcoming year. This cycle; the life, death, rebirth cycle happens all around us. Without ceasing, it occurs all over the world in nature and in human enterprise and in our hearts and lives.

For those of us in the US, there is this short window between the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of the New Year, and this post is targeted at this period. In the deepest recesses of our human consciousness, in our DNA perhaps, we know that this dark and cold time of year is for introspection and reflection. Yet, so many people have filled this window with holiday travel (and what a terrible time to travel with ugly road conditions and storm warnings, air port closures and flight delays and so forth), with returning certain Christmas presents or shopping at after Christmas sales with gift cards they received, watching non stop football, and other distractions. Then, on New Years Eve, they party and get drunk and begin the year hung over, exhausted and perhaps more deeply in debt.

Here is a possible alternative for those of us on the Spiritual Path.

Instead of consumption, focus on release.

As I suggested above, almost all of us have some hopes and dreams from the prior year that did not materialize the way we wanted them to. So, after Christmas take a little break from the creating and acquiring mode and embrace that which you lost. Release those physical things we wanted for ourselves that did not show up. Let go of interpersonal hurts and slights that we might have tried to bury in the flurry of holiday business. Surrender those ideas and strategies we had for self improvement.

This process of completing our years by letting go allows us to not carry forward into our next season, the New Year, our unfinished business from the prior year. Unfinished business can often be a subtle drain on our energy and enthusiasm when we have not completed with it by acknowledging its existence and releasing it. If we are yearning for something that did not manifest, then pretending that our hopes were not met dampens the very yearning that pulls it into creation. If we are hurting from a personal loss or set back, this is the time to acknowledge the loss fully, feel the angst of our suffering and release it to the Divine Mystery. If we have betrayed ourselves or others, this is the time to atone for our mistake by admitting its impact and by making amends when appropriate.

Taking the time for this window of release will open up deeper and more profound possibilities as the next year unfolds. One way to ritualize this process is called a Burning Bowl. We take time in mediation to write down each of our losses, disappointments and hurts on a sheet of paper or a 3x5 index card. We then offer them up in prayer and release by lighting each card on fire. As the card with our hurts is burning, we sacredly place them into an open clay bowl- signifying their release from our control as well as our willingness to let them die. As the smoke from the card rises, we see it carrying with it our pain to the heavens and we can relax knowing that we are opening up for “this or something better”.

Prosperity Thoughts More Christmas

After my last post someone wrote to remind me that this story about my friend Curt would be a great example of the same theme...

This Christmas, we are looking at a basic premise of prosperity- the idea that

you, yes you, are here to make a difference. Consider the proposition that your Creator gifted you with all the talent, skills, insight and personality to contribute to the well-being of us all. When we look at examples like Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa or Bill Gates and Steve Jobs it is easy to say that they were uniquely incarnated to make a difference in the world. It is however, all to easy to also say, “Sure, they can make a difference but they are exceptional and I am just ordinary. I cannot make a difference”.

Today, I write to that question. Here is a story that was shared with me by a friend about a mutual friend, whom we will call Curt. This story shows how an average extraordinary man (not much different that you and I) trying to make a little difference can create ripples which can have huge effects and thus make a big difference.

Curt has a good marriage, a good job and is a very decent man, but he is as well “everyman" with everyday difficulties and their attendant problems. Curt is a bright and kind guy, maybe extraordinary in his kindness but not much more so than many other people.What I am trying to say here is that while Curt is a good person, he is also typical. I am suggesting that if he can make a difference it is because of his willingness to express his passion unconditionally and to give to life. Thus, anyone reading this can make the same kind of difference that Curt did. It takes willingness to serve life, to follow your heart and humbly do the right thing in the moment. These are things we can all accomplish because they only depend on our being uniquely who we are called to be. Here then is the story.

About thirty years ago Curt joined with a few others in helping families
in need to have Christmas gifts that they themselves could not afford.
Curt and his small band of friends would select a needy family and choose one of the children to go on a shopping spree with a member of the group to buy gifts for each member of the child’s family.

In the mean time, a mutual friend of Curt’s and mine, let’s call him Jeff, got involved with a woman with two children- so they became his step children. One of her holiday traditions with the kids was to pick a couple of "ornaments" off of a Family Giving Tree (FGT) at her place of work and then go shopping with the two step children for the gifts listed on the ornament card.

The FTG is a non profit that is organized around providing specific gifts to children in needy families. They start by contacting local aid agencies to ascertain the specific gift needs of disadvantaged children in the area. Then Christmas Trees are placed at strategic places around the county, for example in the foyer of churches, or the lobby of office buildings and so forth. The tree has a bunch of tags hung on it, like Christmas ornaments. The tags all have a child’s first name and a gift that specific child would like. People, (employees, customers, vendors, anyone) can then take the tag off the Tree, go buy the gift and return it- placing it under the tree, often with a simple Christmas Card for the child. All these gifts are then transported to a vacant building. (The building owner generously donates the use of the vacant building for a month or two before Christmas), where the gifts are wrapped and then distributed to the family just before Christmas.

My friend Jeff joined in this tradition and it was great for him to see the care and concern that his step kids’ put into selecting gifts for some kids about their ages. The next year he somehow became aware that folks could go and volunteer at the warehouse sorting gifts so he invited a gang of his male buddies to do this as a community service project. The following year his gang of buddies invited a bunch of their male friends, including me.

As a side note to the main story, volunteering in the warehouse is an utterly amazing undertaking, I have volunteered at the FGT warehouse personally many times. It was such a dramatic experience that I brought my children to help out the next year. Imagine this; there are literally tons of gifts stacked to the ceiling in this giant building. There are hundreds of volunteers helping sort, wrap, transport and distribute the gifts. The volunteers are all happy to be there, there is an undeniably excited and productive energy. It is multigenerational and multicultural with kids and elders scurrying around to locate the gifts for each family. Executives are working along side hourly employees to sort and wrap the gifts. It is barely organized chaos with all the beautiful ribbons and toys and general mayhem leading to an image in the hearts of everyone there of a small child getting a special gift for Christmas.

In the midst of this, Jeff and his gang of men volunteering year after year developed a reputation for organization and logistics and FGT staff began to rely on us as a resource. And one of the men that Jeff invited to help out at FGT was Curt and as we pick up the story, one winter, Curt was volunteering at the Family Giving Tree with us helping to joyfully organize chaos.

And “coincidently” this one year, Jennifer Cullenbine, the founder and Executive Director of Family Giving Tree recognized Curt. She thanked him for the difference he had made. Thinking she was just offering a general compliment to a volunteer, Curt shrugged off her compliment. Jennifer pressed on; telling Curt that he was responsible for the founding FGT. Curt politely listened, but had no idea where she was heading.

Jennifer continued, explaining to Curt that she herself was one of the disadvantaged children that Curt had taken on a shopping spree years before. Jennifer told him that she never forgot the impact it had on herself, and her family. She went on to share that in 1990, during her MBA program at San Jose State University, she was given an assignment where each student had to create a class project that added value to someone else’s life. Remembering her experience with Curt, she started a small program to collect gifts for needy children and distribute them for Christmas. She and a classmate, created the Family Giving Tree with the hope of providing holiday gifts to 300 children in East Palo Alto.

Encouraged by the success of the first year, Jennifer decided to continue and expand the operation. Now, some 18 years later, the number of gifts and backpacks donated has grown to over 650,000 per season, making the Family Giving Tree the largest gift and backpack donation program in California."

Curt’s humble story shows us that one man can make a difference. When we allow our light and love to touch another, we never know how the ripples created will travel and change the world.

There is an interesting prologue to this story. Some ten years after the interaction between Curt and Jennifer, Jeff had divorced, changed jobs and moved out of the Bay Area. He had pretty much lost touch with his step kids. He was living in Seattle but was down in the Bay Area on business, it just so happened to be during FGT sorting season. He decided to get together with a couple of friends and volunteer at the FGT warehouse. And who does he run into over there, but his two ex-step kids, busily helping out and training other volunteers. He had no idea they were going to be there...turned out one was home for college break and she and her brother decided that the most fun they could have together was to go over to FGT! And they sure were surprised to see Jeff and reminisce about how great their time at FGT was for them.

So, I could have written this story from the perspective of these two kids. It is an example of how two little kids made a huge difference by doing something kind of special as part of their Christmas tradition, and what a difference they made. Their joy inspired their dad who invited his friends and now over a hundred men (and their families and children) look forward to the highlight of their winter season by volunteering to sort gifts at FGT. Their family tradition, has become a big community wide tradition and immensely valuable to FGT. If it hadn't been for their joyous generosity then none of this would have come to light.

My friends, we are all interconnected. There is a profound and subtle organizing energy in the world and how we show up makes a difference.

Christmas 2008

Affirmation: I am alive because I make the difference.

Today, my friend, we consider your role in the world this Christmas. The bringing of the Christ Light, the Celebration (Mass) of the Anointed One is celebrated every year across the western world. Some teach that the birth of Jesus was a singular event in human history. I am asking, though, about the possibility that your birth was filled with every bit of the possibility that was manifested in Jesus. What if you were an anointed child of the Most High?

We all agree that some people change the world with their vision and passion and commitment and values. Yet, do we wonder if it wasn't Mother Theresa it would have been someone else? Do we entertain the very question of our own existence as a saint, a sage, a player in the world stage that is destined for greatness and brilliant light and impact?

The story of Jesus and the results he manifested in his life is for most in our culture a tale about someone else and not about our own journey. I challenge you today to take the projection of Jesus and shine the light on yourself. Accepting our greatness is not easy, especially at this stage of our life and in the face of our failures and set backs. But I am not asking you to be delusional here; I am asking that the veil of delusion be lifted during this Christmas Season.
Each of us is born to greatness. I was reading the other day that in 1974 Popular Mechanics had on its cover a story today had an amazing impact on the world. MITS launched the Altair 8800 personal-computer kit in December 1974, and that changed the lives of four key people and they changed the trajectory of the world forever in a way that is no different from the way Jesus changed the world or the way you and I can change the world.
Upon reading the story, two young engineers, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, sold off Jobs’ VW van and Wozniak’s scientific calculator in order to get the funds to start building their own computers. They build an company that became Apple Computer. They went on to develop Pixar Studios, the I Pod, the I Phone and neither is past his prime.

In a similar fashion, Paul Allen showed the magazine to his friend Bill Gates, who promptly dropped out of Harvard College to start writing software for computers. Their company became Microsoft. The combination of personal computers and integrated software applications put unprecedented power into the hands of the public and changed the world forever. Inventions like the Internet, U Tube, Twitter and many others are shaping and reshaping the Universe in our lifetime.

Now, in the face of knowing this and measuring our own results which are often somewhat less spectacular, sometimes we psychologically transfer our greatness onto others. I fantasize all the time about how I could have been this or that...sometimes a great leader, other times a great General, and other times a great sports star. Maybe others do this as well; I would be surprised if I was the only one. So, I think this is normal and perhaps healthy in small doses since it frees our mind to think outside the box. However, I do also think that one consequence of this type of transference is that it detracts from the brilliant decisions and choices made by those who are stepping up to greatness over and over again. You see, there are ordinary people making brilliant and great decisions all the time, and they are achieving near miraculous results.

I think we are all born with this capacity. One thing we do to diminish our greatness is to blame our failures on luck or circumstances in the hand of others. I cannot tell you how many bankruptcy cases I filed of engineers that thought they were the truly brilliant but someone else got lucky and they missed out by millimeters on their big chance, or were a week late with whatever and the whole project failed. The only difference between greatness and failure is the willingness to blame our failures on others. Microsoft has made billion dollar mistakes. Steve Jobs got fired from Apple at one time. No one can achieve greatness without making mistakes and those making big mistakes are on the cusp of greatness if they are willing to be accountable for their failures rather than blame others.

Each and every person who exists has the possibility of making great contributions. Mother Theresa is a Saint; she started out as a young nun with a simple vision. She followed it with passion and relentlessly did not give up with she met with small set backs.

If we have a gift to give and are willing to give it, then that greatness will call forth the opportunity to manifest the impact we were created to deliver. Lincoln was a dismal failure for years before becoming one of those who made an impact so large it can hardly be comprehended. Even in the face of discouraging set backs he never gave up.

Lincoln proved in both his own life and in his conduct of the Civil War that the resources will show up on time and abundantly to guarantee success to those of us that are willing to let our light shine. In fighting the Civil War, Lincoln promoted dozens of Generals trying to find one called to fight and win. Each General he pinned his hopes on had major short comings and failed. The war continued, men died, resources were lost, and hope across the North was fading. Lincoln kept searching. Finally, he settled on US Grant. Grant won major battles at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Lookout Mtn. and finally defeated General Lee and the Confederate Army at Richmond.


Do not worry about how small your resources are at the start. Do not focus on the competition or the difficulties you can imagine. Instead focus on your calling, the Divine Idea that you are called to manifest with your passion and life energy. In the mid 1980’s there were dozens of Personal Computer manufacturers in Silicon Valley, including giants IBM, Hewitt Packard, Apple, Compaq and others. In the meantime, a student at the University of Texas in Austin came up with an idea and founded a company known as PC's Limited with capital of only $1000. In 1984, operating from his off-campus dorm-room, this kid built custom computers from stock components. This college student had the idea to sell personal computer-systems directly to customers and to configure them to the customer’s specifications. In contrast, the other established PC manufacturers delivered large numbers of standardized computers to retailers, who then sold the standardized machines to the ultimate customers. He then dropped out of school in order to focus full-time on his fledgling company. A few years later he changed the company name to Dell Computers. His name was Michael Dell, now one of the most successful and respected businessmen in the world.

Just like every one of us, like Michael Dell or Bill Gates or Mother Theresa or Jesus, you are born to personal greatness. Each of us are the anointed one... there are things that you and you alone can accomplish and to think otherwise is to make yourself and others small. Christmas is the time to recall that you are the Anointed One.

Winter Solstice 2008

Winter Solstice 2008

Affirmation: I reflect deeply to find the progress I make each year.

In just a few days we will experience the Winter Solstice. For many on the spiritual path this event marks the end of our spiritual year. If this is true for you, it is an ideal time to reflect deeply on our accomplishments over the past four seasons.

This incidence of reflection is different than the gratitude list we often write up around the holiday of Thanksgiving. Typically at Thanksgiving we focus on those things for which we are grateful, the blessings we have received and so forth. At the Winter Solstice, I suggest we look more deeply, into how we are co creating our life and living out our lifetime dreams. Here is one way I have found useful.

Each January I set some intentions or objectives for my year. These types of intentions are not like goals that are necessarily measurable; they tend to be more intangible personal transformational objectives. Since they are not goals, I find that they do not register at Thanksgiving.

One January for example, I sought to be more conscious about my eating. I had some personal limits about what this meant to me, such as not being about dieting or restrictive eating and so forth. I did not know how this would manifest, but I want to make it clear there was no goal of weight loss or set amount of exercise I was supposed to do.

As it turned out, only a few weeks later a friend of mine invited me out of the clear blue to attend a workshop on healthy lifestyles with an Olympic class trainer. By “out of the clear blue” I mean he had a couple of extra tickets to the workshop but he did not know about my objective for the year. Ordinarily I would have passed this up, but given my intention to transform my awareness about food I decided to join him. I did this even though it entailed a long drive to hear a presenter I had never heard of and who might be off topic compared to my limited agenda to be more conscious about eating.

As it turned out, looking back at the end of that year at the Winter Solstice, I was very pleased at how that objective had been manifested. I could see progress towards my intention. In fact as I write this, it is now at least 10 years later and I still follow many of the suggestions that were made at the workshop about food, nutrition, eating and so forth.

This Solstice, I’d say that this objective was met on time and abundantly. I can look back today and see that I am making progress on my intention to be more conscious about my eating patterns even though this year has not had any major milestones on this front. But on Thanksgiving itself, I was focused on other things (eating pumpkin pie perhaps) and did not even notice my progress in this arena.

In addition establishing to annual objectives each January, over the years I have set out my lifetime dreams. I like to use the Winter Solstice to notice my progress on manifesting lifetime dreams because the time frame is so much longer that oftentimes I overlook the small tidbits of success. Much of the work for me on manifesting my lifetime dreams is already either built in as a foundation for my day to day life or already in play at some level in my life, so I wonder if perhaps I might take them for granted. Thus, for me, it is a sweet reminder when I am able to be mindful that I am living an intentional life that brings meaning to my heart because I am co creating with my higher power those things that matter to me.

Thus, for example, one of my lifetime dreams is to be a friend, confidant and mentor to each of my children for their entire life. This past year I helped my daughter purchase her first home (a condo really), went to visit her at her condo and while there helped her put in a small patio garden. None of these would necessarily qualify as a blessing to me in the reflections I choose to do around Thanksgiving but I would notice them explicitly at my Winter Solstice year end because they are related to my lifetime dreams coming true.

Just to balance out the picture, I also have a son. This past year, I went skiing with my son, something we have not done since he was a young teenager. In addition, he is going to help me by illustrating a children’s book that I wrote to my kids some 20 years ago. Moreover, he and I have recently made an agreement that I would help him attend college.

I believe I am on track with this vision with both of my children. Going to visit my daughter at her condo and helping plant her garden were not even remotely on my mind at the beginning of the year, nor was illustrating my children’s book, but as they fit my lifetime dream it was easy to say yes in the moment and to find appreciation for the Divine Presence in my life that responded to my dreams.

There are oftentimes that we do not actually meet the goals we set out for ourselves, but none the less, we have made substantial progress on our path. It is important to keep a positive perspective even when our judgment of success has not been met. I have found that sometimes I am too ambitious and if I reflect on the good progress I have made and not my failure to meet my goal, it leaves me in a more empowered state of mind.

So, as we enter into the deepest of nights, lets take a moment and shine our light on how well we have manifest our vision for ourselves this past twelve months.

Giving your most precious gifts

Affirmation: This is the perfect time for me to give my most precious gifts.

Your Most Precious Gift

There are some valuable gifts that can be purchased by anyone in a store or on line. There are other gifts that only you can give. This Christmas Season, I invite you to give the most precious gift, one that only you can give.

Here are several suggestions:

Giving anonymously to those less fortune is a measure of true generosity. There is no payoff except in knowing that your gift will make a difference in a way that nothing else can. This year we are giving stuffed animal toys to young children in orphanages and foster homes. We will never see the joy in the eyes of these kids when they open the present. They will never say thank you to us. Yet truly, this is an invaluable chance for us to share our gratitude for all we have by giving an anonymous gift to these youngsters.

One of the many gifts that only you can give is to take the time to write a wounded soldier a Christmas Card or a Thank You card. No matter how you feel about “the war” or “warriors”, there is meaning in looking beyond your initial feelings and reflecting on offering a measure of gratitude and compassion to someone who has given so much of themselves. There is no one else who can give the compassion in your heart except for you- please share it unconditionally.

Giving your time and your presence is a gift that no one else can give. On Christmas Day for several years running, I would go to a Veteran’s Hospital and sing Christmas Carols and give out small gifts to the patients- most of whom were utterly alone in the world. One year I took my kids with me on Christmas Day, which seemed especially meaningful to the patients. On another year, I volunteered to serve a hot meal at a center for homeless men on Christmas Eve so that the shelter’s normal volunteer teams could stay home with their families. In a similar fashion on several other holidays, such as Easter or Thanksgiving, I served meals to those in need. Each time it was my presence that made all the difference.

There may be people that have harmed you, betrayed you or in some other way hurt your feelings. If you are able, perhaps you might unconditionally pardon them. Giving them the gift of forgiveness will open your heart as much as any material gift that you receive.

I think that each time we give these types of precious gifts there is something in our own heart that grows more humble and more magnificent. Prosperity encompasses much more than material wealth, and by using the Law of Circulation we create prosperity beyond wealth by giving others gifts that only we can offer.

Winter 2008

Affirmation: In these times of turmoil, I invest in Spiritual Practice for my freedom of economic insecurity.

As we move ever more deeply into Winter, a reflection on Creative Destruction seemed timely. Creative Destruction is inherent in capitalism, democracy and Mother Nature. Some might say even that Creative Destruction is the driving force of capitalism, democracy and Mother Nature. It is the reason that capitalism and democracy are inherently unstable and the reason that the only constant in nature is evolutionary change.

As you know, the financial news is full of turmoil and uncertainty. Whenever you read this the financial news will be full of turmoil and uncertainty because capitalism is unstable. One hundred years ago, General Motors did not exist. Fifty years ago, the Chairman of GM told congress that what was good for GM is good for the country and it was one of the largest capitalistic enterprises in the world. These days GM is looking for a government bail out to prevent it from going bankrupt after loosing billions of dollars over the past few years.

As you know, these days the political news is full of turmoil and uncertainty. It is predictably unstable. Political Parties in a democratic system rarely remain in power more than a decade. The population, given a free vote, will inevitably vote for change and the parties out of power will relentlessly compete for leadership by creating new ideas and criticizing old ideas until change is mandated.

As you know, the news is full of fear these days about climate change, the extinction of species, (or the discovery of new species), and devastation of the environment. Mother Nature is terribly unstable; here is a small example, the Great Blue Heron will establish its rookery in a healthy tall tree near water. The birds feed alone, but nest at night and raise their children in huge colonies of hundreds of birds. Thus, they need a very large tree for their support. However, their droppings are toxic to the tree. So, once a rookery is established, the magnificent tree hundreds of years old, will die a few years later. The Blue Heron rookery will be forced to move to a new location. But with the principle of Creative Destruction at work, the dead tree they must abandon then becomes a perfect place for the Osprey to build its solitary nest from which it will fish and raise its young.

What all this says that if you depend on your security from your job, your investments or your retirement accounts, then you are always at risk because these are all inherently unstable. If you are relying on the government for your support, either as an employee or for your pension, your economic security is an illusion. (For instance, keep in mind the insolvency of state and local government employee pensions or social security). Creative Destruction is always operating and never fails. As Jesus said “Remember those will be first are last and those who will be last are first” Luke 13:30.

Freedom from economic insecurity cannot be found in business success or political action, it can only be found in God. Jesus was very intentional about this when he said that the Kingdom of Heaven is within. Scripture quotes him saying “Do not acquire possessions here on earth… Instead gather your treasure in heaven.” Mathew 6:19.

Now, I am not saying that God is not in politics or that Spirit is not in business. As there is only One Presence – then God is in everything. What I am suggesting is that your peace of mind comes from spiritual awareness and not from business acumen or political skill. I am urging you to realize that financial turmoil and political upheaval are the ways of this world and that your only “salvation” is in Spiritual Truth. Investing in business or expecting the government to take care of you is short sighted if you want true security.

Here at Unity of Corvallis, we do our best to teach Truth each week on Sunday. In our dealings we intend to practice the Spiritual Principles that we teach. These principles- when applied- guarantee peace of mind. So, in times like these, in fact, at any time, if you sincerely want freedom of economic insecurity, then look to the Guide Within.

Dec 2008 Prosperity Thoughts

Dec 2008 Prosperity Thoughts

The time of year just before the winter solstice is often full of deep reflection for spiritual seekers. We simultaneously look back over the past year and prepare for the upcoming year as well. It is within this context that I want to share with you some ideas about right timing.

We know that there is an infinitely brilliant organizing intelligence responding to our needs. Some teachers suggest that we can set forth a date certain by which these needs will manifest. So, following this guidance, at the beginning of the year someone might declare: I will accomplish xyz by November 1, 2008, with the full and complete confidence that God will respond to their deadline.

Now, I have never taught this because it has never been my experience. To me, it seems as if people are being taught to dictate to God. I do believe in setting a firm intention for myself at the beginning of the year and then watching how it unfolds. More often than not, my need is met within a realistic time frame and sometimes in a delightfully unexpected way. Occasionally, my need does not appear to be met, and when I look more carefully, I notice that I got caught up in a strategy to meet the need and lost focus on the need itself. When I look beyond the surface of my strategy I can often see that the Universe has exceedingly manifested that which best meets my actual needs. Now, there are occasions when it looks like my need is not being met on time and abundantly, and that brings me to the point of this Prosperity Thought. Right Timing is everything.

Here is a very current example. When our church office closed, Debbie and I moved everything left into our house. So my downstairs closet is full of archive boxes, our garage shelves are full of church hospitality supplies and our utility room is loaded with paper and office materials. On top of that we had the church copier, a magnificent beast, moved here as well. It took at least 4 men to move it downstairs.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that I donated my old copier from my law practice to the church as well, so we had two large high volume copiers here, one in the garage and one downstairs. Oh well, we tried to sell them at the big garage sale. Not one offer. Then, after a while, they needed repairs again and we decided to release them with love rather than throw good money into fixing them. We first tried to sell them on Craig’s List. Not one call. We tried to give them away on Freecycle. Nope. How about giving them away for free on Craig’s list? Nada. We tried to give them away to our copy repair shop for parts or to refurbish, they said “no, thanks!”

I did not want to just haul them away to the dump- it did not meet my need to be ecologically conscious. So, I had two needs, one to get rid of the copiers and second to do it in an environmentally kind way. We called copy repair shops in Salem and Eugene. No go. We tried to give them away to recyclers- they would not come pick them up. My need to get rid of these copiers did not appear to be getting met. Moreover, I wanted to get rid of the copiers so that we had room for a second refrigerator. Now, I have three needs to correlate. I was starting to feel stuck, but I kept applying the principle of Right Timing.

I began to shop for refrigerators even though the copiers had not yet been released. I thought maybe that if the refrigerator showed up, the copiers would then leave, but I couldn’t find what I wanted. Some refrigerators were too old and beat up. Others that seemed like possibilities’ were sold by the time I called. The new ones I shopped for were too expensive, and the new ones I could afford were too small, it seemed as if it was always something.

When things appear stuck, sometimes it is my unwillingness to ask for help that is the bottleneck. I posted a short email on the list server asking for help. One person offered to help, he asked me to just allow him to handle it and to trust him. OK, that sounds good, but then he was delayed a couple of times. I was grateful for the help, I knew there was a good lesson in there about trust, and I still wanted my refrigerator!

Finally, he showed up with someone to help him load it. They were taking it to a place where it would be recycled and all systems looked good. After all this time, my needs were getting met. As we loaded the 2^nd copier on the trailer to haul it away, I mentioned wanting a refrigerator. The guy who came to help mentioned that sometimes he came across refrigerators that were in good condition and he said he would keep an eye out for me.

Then, the very next morning, he called and let me know that a nearly brand new refrigerator had showed up on his dock. It had one little problem with a display light in the door and otherwise it seemed to work fine. I told him I would take it, sight unseen because I trusted him and I knew that Right Timing was at work.

My needs were met, on time and abundantly; both of the copiers are gone, recycled, and we now have a 2^nd refrigerator. All I had to do was my own footwork. I needed to get clear on my values. I needed to take the steps which were mine to take (for example, get clear on what type of refrigerator I wanted, post on Craig’s List, call the copy repair people, be open to other suggestions such as the Freecycle idea). Most importantly, I need to trust and allow Sprit to work things out. To do that, I needed to be willing to ask for help.

I write this out for those of you who are wondering why the intentions you set in January did not manifest. It might be that Right Timing has not yet occurred. Things are set in motion to bring you your good, just not as fast as you expected. Or, perhaps it is that you have some foot work to do (either spiritual or otherwise) and that the bottle neck is in your own lack of authentic action.

I end with the amusing teaching story of the guy who set an intention at the beginning of the year to win a Lottery. Month after month he prays to God to have him win the Lottery. He uses affirmations. He makes a treasure map. He Masterminds all towards winning the lottery. He promises to tithe a full 10%. Then late in the year, he still had not won and was in church praying. He said, “God, how can you forsake me? I set an intention. I have prayed without ceasing. I have visualized and affirmed and masterminded all towards winning the lottery. Why won’t you manifest my good and let me win the Lottery…”.

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light and the heavens open and the Voice of God booms out….. “Dude, give me a little help on this one, go buy yourself a lottery ticket!”

Affirmation: I trust God’s Right and Perfect Timing.

Extra Credit Affirmation: God does not do for me what is mine to do; I will do my footwork to manifest my own good.

Prosperity Thoughts Thanksgiving 2008

Prosperity Thoughts

As our holiday Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, it is natural for us to take a moment and look at all that we have for which to be grateful. The tradition of Thanksgiving is to look at all the good things we have received and remember how blessed we are with loving friends and family, good health and our prosperity. I am not saying that we are all naturally grateful because that has not been my experience - I personally had to work through a lot of negativity before I found a grateful heart. My point is that it is a lot easier to be grateful for those things we enjoy and savor than it is to be grateful for those things we did not/do not enjoy.

I would like to suggest that this Thanksgiving season we take a moment and see if we can be grateful for those rough patches on our path. One helpful tool I have used is to remember that is our choice how to give each event in our life meaning. We can choose to live from regret and disappointment for those things we did not enjoy or we can choose to find a blessing in each. You see, it is Spiritual Law that there is always a blessing in every situation and circumstance. Many people are unwilling to look for this blessing and thus never find it. Those that do, find a profound sense of gratitude and compassion in their hearts.

AA captures this sentiment in one of its “promises”. The AA Big Book promises every alcoholic that no matter how far down the scale they personally have gone; as they move forward on their spiritual path and in their sobriety they will come to see how their experience can benefit another alcoholic. Compassion and empathy for another is a vital trait for all healers and lovers, and one way it is acquired is through finding the blessing in difficult situations.

However, for some of us, the process of acquiring compassion for others as a result of our own difficulties is too abstract. It seems like spiritual slight of hand- we want some direct benefit for ourselves. The adage that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger tends to speak to this. A few months ago, I talked with someone who shared a whole litany of bad things that were going on in their life, recent divorce, no active romantic interest in spite of diligent efforts, poor physical health, no money to live on, unable to find any job, terrible economy and this only touches the surface of their perspective on their life situation. The only good thing that they could find in all of this was that it finally brought them to a willingness to look at their relationship with God. Now, those of you that are advanced students on the spiritual path know that this is quite a blessing in itself, but for my friend, it seemed small solace. Still, this one single blessing was enough to give hope to continue looking for blessings for one additional day. And sure enough, one day at a time, little miracles and blessings occurred and now my friend can see a future.

Let’s agree though, we do not really want to face utter desolation to find our spiritual path. Let’s say that our lives are reasonably satisfying and that we are doing reasonably well, but we have had some serious bumps along the way. Can we always find a tangible blessing even from difficulties long past? My answer is that spiritual law applies in every instance and so yes, there is always a blessing.

Here is an example that might help. My daughter was born into a dysfunctional home with a lot of strife and upset. I divorced her mom before she was in preschool and unfortunately there was a lot of uncertainty and chaos in her day to day life from a very early age. My ex and I shared custody so there was a lot of logistical detail and inherent unpredictability in her childhood. We did not agree on many things and nobody could predict how the balance of power would pan out on any given decision. Things that should be happy celebrations were fraught with trouble. She played soccer like many little girls. Her mom and dad would come to the games and she never knew if there would be a humiliating spat between them. Her soccer team had a pizza party at the end of the season- where should she sit, with her mom or with her dad? She was the first of her group of friends to have divorced parents, so no one knew how to navigate getting permission to go places or to have sleepovers. When she started dating life became even more complex. The holidays were inordinately complicated- and not just on the emotional front. As she got older; juggling multiple holiday events became annual fare for my daughter as she was torn between separate family schedules.

I could go on and on about the problems my daughter faced growing up- I do not want to minimize here, but I think you get the point. As you may be aware, many people do spend a lot of energy complaining about their childhood. (I should know, I spent years in therapy complaining about my own childhood). Here is the blessing. A few years ago, my daughter got her picture in the LA Times. My daughter works in live theater and you might think she is an up and coming actress or singer, but no, she is a stage manager. She deals with chaos and prima donnas in a calm and centered fashion. She is incredibly organized and able to navigate a myriad of dysfunctions in every show. In the LA Times photo; she is sitting at a table in a production meeting taking notes. She is in the background; some famous director is in the center of the shot. For each show, my daughter is the one that compiles a binder of all that is to happen in the production. She organizes the details of the whole production company, interfacing with the costume designers, the prop shop, the musicians and performers and the house managers and all the rest of the creative staff. She operates on split second timing for each scene change and each lighting cue and sound effect and so forth. The complexity is amazing, and utterly does not faze her in the least- because compared to what she grew up with, this is calm and manageable.

My daughter is really good at her job because of the skills she learned as a little girl in making order out of chaos. She has turned a traumatic and difficult situation into a tangible blessing. This Thanksgiving, be grateful for those things you enjoy receiving. In addition, take some time to find the blessing in those things this past year that you did not like. It is profoundly transformative.

Affirmation: I am sincerely willing to find the blessing in everything.

November 2008-Prosperity Thoughts

Affirmation: With God: everything is possible!

Today was a splendid fall day, with bright sun and splashes of autumn color everywhere. I walked along the river for an hour or so this afternoon. The many flavors of green and the multitude of shapes of the leaves bring to mind the infinite creativity of Mother Nature. The leaves along the trail remind me that we in the time of change of seasons and that winter is close upon us.

In the meantime, on Wall Street stock prices have dropped some 20% over the past few weeks, (which is not good news for most of us), the price of crude oil has dropped by 50% in the past few months and the price of gas at the pump has already dropped over 25% (which is good news for most of us) and the value of the dollar has risen sharply (more good news for most of us). This is a time of high volatility.

This is a perfect time to practice spiritual principles.

In changing times like these, there are at least two things to keep in mind.

First, we humans are supremely adaptable. We have, as a species, solved every single problem that has ever faced us for tens of thousands of years. Even so, our creative genius has barely even been tapped. We have inhabited every region of his world and thrived in each. We have found resources over and over again to up level the quality of our life. The combination of our intelligence, adaptability and perseverance means we will continue to thrive because it is our nature to thrive.

I know that some unscrupulous authors preach that we are nearly doomed and this is the most perilous time ever. That is utterly false; there has never been a better time to thrive in the whole history of humankind. We live longer, (in better health), enjoy life more and have more time to invest in the things we love than any generation before us. We have more freedom, more choice and a greater ability to connect and make a difference than every before. Moreover, we are not alone; more of our brethren have these same opportunities as well.

We are one with the infinite correlating intelligence in the Universe and we can use this creativity to solve any problem and overcome any temporary condition that may face us, either as individuals or collectively.

The second thing to remember in times of great upheaval is that God is our only source. If we are relying on retirement accounts or our job to provide our substance we are misled. If we are looking for our home or apartment for shelter, we are diminishing our Selves. If we are relying on our car for transportation, then we are lost. God, and only God, can provide the resources to carry us through the time of great turmoil. Divine Mother is the great Nurturer and no job, condo, or other material good can support our well-being like Divine Mother.

We all know that our Ego thinks that it is what keeps us safe and provides for our well-being. We all know this is false evidence appearing real. If we are willing to be still and know, then we can access the great peace, the peace that passes understanding as it is called in the Bible. Use your affirmations and your meditation and your breathing to open yourself to your inner guide. This inner knowing will never steer you wrong. This calm and stable presence is only a heartbeat away no matter where you are and no matter what is going on in the financial markets or in nature.

The insight for you today is to remember that with God everything is possible.

Oct 2008- Prosperity Thoughts part III

Prosperity Thoughts October 2008- part 3

Affirmation: Thank you Spirit, I am grateful for all that I have, all that I circulate and all that I am.

One of the beauties of New Thought is that there is little institutional dogma to contend with. In the area of prosperity, for example, each of us is free to make our own definition of “prosperity”. One person’s vision of prosperity might be to live in the country while another’s would be to live in a bustling college town. In healthy New Thought circles neither person would be judged for their choice or their preference.

However, one of the difficulties some people have in creating a prosperous life is finding a definition of prosperity that is sufficiently inclusive to fulfill all their needs. If they are defining prosperity in terms of money, then they often find themselves short of time or in poor health due to the long hours or hard work needed by most people to make lots of money. Some more artistic types define prosperity as the ability and freedom to create their own lives, but then find they are living at the subsistence level when it comes to material goods.

The point here then is not to try and intellectually develop the perfect definition of prosperity. Instead, I suggest that we use our present circumstances along with the innate definition we each have of prosperity as part of a spiritual feedback loop to help us evolve to ever more prosperous thinking and thus more prosperous living- as each of us alone understand our prosperity.

This process of fine tuning our understanding of prosperity requires rigorous self honesty because the world is reflecting back to us whatever it is that we are holding as prosperity. Your thinking alone will dictate your experience, just like my thinking alone will dictate my experience.

One very effective spiritual tool is to develop a practice of intentional and conscious gratitude for those small things that bring us joy and fulfillment each day. It is more powerful if we write these down in a gratitude log and extraordinarily powerful if we speak them aloud to those that help bring us our prosperity. Thus, when we write a check, we write, or think or say aloud “thank you” to the person or institution that gave us the goods or services we sought. When we receive our paycheck, we actually thank our boss for giving us a job. When we pay our taxes, we thank the government for all the services that are provided “freely”. When someone does us a small kindness we treat it as a blessing rather than take it for granted and think or write or say “Thank You”.

In doing this over time, we create a flow of gratitude for the good in our lives. Those things for which we are unwilling to be grateful then stand out more starkly. This helps us it at least two ways. It helps us into alignment so we become more consciously grateful or it motivates us to make shifts to change our circumstances so that we can feel more gratitude. Our innate definition of prosperity will become a more transparent gatekeeper as we endeavor to put this spiritual practice to good use.

Affirm with me now: Thank you Spirit, I am grateful for all that I have, all that I circulate and all that I am.

Generosity...October 2008

Affirmation: My Commitment to my prosperity is measured only by my generosity.

Generosity arises in two ways, spontaneous and intentional. Spontaneous generosity arises when we feel enthusiastic about something in the moment and decide to be generous. Since it is the result of how we feel in the moment, it is conditional. The generous impulse arises out of our current set of emotions coupled with our innate nature to be generous. This is why, in most churches, the offering is taken during the weekly service just after the music and the sermon. Time honored practice has established that optimum donations occur when the congregation’s impulse towards spontaneous giving is heightened after an uplifting message and inspiring music.

Spontaneous giving is a worthwhile spiritual practice. It activates the law of circulation and the law of cause and effect. It is however, conditional giving which is far different than unconditional giving.

Intentional giving arises not from momentary passion but from a sense of commitment in support of a project or endeavor. Thus, it is unconditional. It is an investment in the mission that drives the generosity and not a temporal condition of momentary enthusiasm. In the example above, if a guest speaker gave a poor talk, those spontaneous givers might lessen their donation, whereas a dynamic guest speaker might increase donations.

Unconditional giving is also a strong spiritual practice. Like spontaneous giving it activates both the law of circulation and cause and effect; however it is also a tool that can help the intentional giver with surrender, release, trust, unconditional love, commitment, and many other powerful spiritual disciplines.

One way that some congregations work on this practice together is through an intentional giving campaign.

Here is our story on intentional giving. We have been raising the prosperity consciousness of those attending Unity of Corvallis each year for the past six years. At that time, only a few donated any money to the church and the two main donors were highly conditional in their giving. If things went the way they liked then they donated, if not, they withheld their financial support. You can see thus, that this was a power and control dynamic that was designed to condition the system to align with the values of the two large donors.

Over time, the large donors left and the community as whole had to begin taking ownership of their ministry. For several years we drew down on our reserves because people were just not ready to invest in co creating a sustainable enterprise. Gradually trust began to build and people began to realize the value of commitment to an authentic community that by definition had to be larger than their selves. This is a very profound change, and one that is very difficult to take alone. Most people instinctively resist being the most committed; it means they have the risk of disappointment if people do not join them and they have risk of being responsible to carry more than their share of the load. You can see this is still a conditional giving experience.

The intuitive solution to this is to consciously share the risk, and that is what spontaneously happened two years ago at a town hall meeting. Members actually requested that we offer a “pledge drive” to facilitate a co commitment process. This allowed each interested member to pledge financial support knowing that they were joining directly and simultaneously with other like minded souls in support of their own spiritual growth and the success of Unity of Corvallis. This was far better for people than committing individually and the result is that many people pledged and honored their pledges for the 15 month pledge period.

For the first time many experienced unconditional giving by honoring their intentional commitment no matter how they felt each week or each month. It was to the larger enterprise that they were investing in. By not relying on their emotions to drive their donations, and instead relying on their intention, it activated a powerful growth spurt for many.

We have offered a renewed opportunity for intentional giving ever since. This is a tricky process because for those that are not ready to try unconditional giving, it “triggers” many of their fears concerning "lack", trust, commitment and so forth. Many people resist intentional giving for many reasons and this process helps each get in touch with their own set of fears.

The idea behind an intentional giving campaign is to allow you to experience the joy of unconditional love and to tangibly experience your resistance to being in the flow of unconditional love. You see, money is only a form of energy just like love is a form of energy. It is often hard to measure love, especially unconditional love, but it is very easy to measure money. Thus, in a holographic universe such as ours, the consciousness that circulates love unconditionally is identical to the consciousness that freely circulates generosity and prosperity. If someone is fearful and withholding about giving money, they will be fearful and withholding about receiving love as well. These same principals apply to giving your time and talent. It is all the same law.

Make no mistake about it, Unity of Corvallis needs your financial support to keep on track with our mission of being a thriving authentic New Thought Center. And, under the laws of circulation, if you are part of this mission, if you resonate with its values and if you appreciate how it improves the quality of your life and the life of those surrounding you, then it is imperative that you give generously.

“Generously”, in this context, means your fair and reasonable share. Some have more financial resources than others and so can offer more cash. Yet when you give from your heart, that which is yours to give, then there is no order of magnitude for generosity. As Jesus taught in the “Widow’s Pittance”, (Mark 12:42), it is the intention of the giver relative to their overall circumstances that does all the work, the amount given is immaterial. Rich people giving large amounts with a stingy attitude will result in a life experience of a stingy consciousness, whereas a less wealthy person giving a much smaller amount with a generous consciousness will activate the law of circulation and create a generous world experience.

October 2008 Prosperity Thoughts

Prosperity Thoughts October 2008

Affirmation: My consciousness, and only my consciousness, defines my sense of well-being.

Isn’t the key to experiencing prosperity rooted in consciousness? Let’s look at this idea. I think we all we know of people with wealth and material possessions who feel empty and impoverished. Since we also all know of people who are fulfilled and content even though they do not have much in the way of material goods I think it stands to reason that the actual fact of money or things does not predicate an experience of prosperity.

Moreover, I have known people that believe that acquiring some thing that they have been lacking will bring them a sense of prosperity. Then they get that new thing- a new job, a new relationship, a new house, or whatever, but within a short while they are still feeling that same sense of emptiness and impoverishment.

Thus, I think we can conclude that the experience of prosperity or poverty does not arise from a thing. Therefore our experience of prosperity and/or poverty must transcend the thing itself and come from our thinking about the thing. This is another way of saying it comes from our consciousness.

This leads to an interesting conundrum. Say someone is experiencing an impoverished existence. The question is, is it more productive to focus on changing their circumstances or to leave their circumstances alone and focus on transforming their consciousness? You see, I have found that many people are not even open to changing their consciousness about money and prosperity until they are feeling desperately impoverished. Yet, even in this state of desperation, they want to focus on how to make more money or to get a new relationship or some other strategy to get them out of the feeling of lack that is so painful. The thinking that got them into the experience of poverty retains its hold on their choices. Due, I think to the very desperation that leads them to be open on the one level, also leads them on another level to a life of struggle and stress. It seems to me, that for many, the only options they can see to get out of their financial predicament lead to more hard work and struggle. They are so attached to the idea that if they work harder and smarter then they can get out of poverty using external things to alleviate their sense of lack that they are almost totally resistant to a different approach. Our attachment to money and other things as security and as a manner in providing us with our good is just about as all encompassing a belief as we have.

It is, in my experience, a rare person that is feeling desperate for money and work who is willing to step back and examine all their thinking that led them to that desperation in the first place. In my own journey, I was once out of work, having been fired from a series of jobs and desperate. Instead of searching for work, I searched for truth and I spent about six months not looking for a job at all. I was committed to transforming my consciousness first because I did not want to repeat the same pattern of thinking that got me into a desperate jam in the first place.

It was during this period of intense pain and deep reflection that I first learned of the idea of “right livelihood”. I first began to look at how I could serve and support others on their journey rather than how I could make money. I began to notice that my well-being and happiness did not depend on my paycheck or how well I did in my job because I did not have a paycheck or a job.

Once we understand and integrate the idea that our consciousness determines our sense of prosperity, then we can intentionally use our consciousness to expand our sense of prosperity. We can focus on spiritual growth as a tool to fulfillment and abundance rather than continue to try and achieve prosperity by acquiring ever more things.

Generosity and Gratitude are the two classic tools we can use to shift our consciousness away from impoverished thinking and into abundant thinking. I will write more about them over then next few weeks.

Bless you

September Prosperity Thoughts Part III

Affirmation: I am empowered when I trust my heart and intuition to guide me to bring about transformation in my life as I manifest my highest good.

One often neglected aspect of prosperity is the process of manifestation. We usually need to use our manifestation skills in order to find our highest good. Some of these manifestation tools are consciousness, creativity, cooperation, talent, as well as other resources such as time and money. Even so, doesn't it often seems as if some people struggle and work hard to manifest subsistence living while others seem to be blessed with the Midas touch- their highest good seems to flow to them nearly effortlessly?

Here are some thoughts on ease and grace in manifestation. As explained in the Tao long ago, there is a masculine and feminine energy involved with any creative process. Each person, being an individualized spark of the Divine has both this masculine and feminine nature imbued within their soul in a unique and brilliant balance. There are an infinite number of balanced pairings and thus each of us radiates a unique vibration of masculine and feminine energy. In terms of the manifestation process, in short form, the feminine energy is receptive while the masculine tends toward the proactive.

The perfectly easy and graceful manifestation of our good comes from balancing our innate masculine and feminine energies with the vibration that is needed to manifest our highest good. This inevitably requires transformation. This is why there is no one path that always works for everyone in terms of manifestation. Some teachers can share what has worked for themselves, and it will work for others with a similar constellation of masculine and feminine energy but will backfire terribly for those with a different personal make up. If order to transform your consciousness, you need to be attuned to what your soul is seeking in this lifetime, and balance out that process with the specific and unique transformation that will lead to your spiritual maturity and success. Others can teach you and coach you, but they cannot do it for you.

For example, if we tend to be the more aggressive type, then we may need to learn humility or patience in order to manifest our good. Until then we will continue to try and force solutions. As a person with these traits I tend to naturally make a list of my goals, stay focused on what I want to achieve, take direct and oftentimes forceful action every waking moment to make things happen. I tend to pro actively look at the results and take corrective action when things have gone awry and so forth. For people like me, it is only when we surrender that aggressive set of traits and learn to live with the flow will that our highest good manifest with ease and grace.

Others may be too passive and find themselves yearning and yearning for their good with minimal results. Until they align themselves with their repressed masculine aspects, they will not energize the results they seek. These people need to make lists, focus on one key goal, take daily action, look objectively at their results and so forth. For them, wishing without action just leads to frustration, in the same but exact opposite way that excessive drive leads to frustration to those overly wedded to their masculine side.

I do not mean to suggest that masculine or feminine traits are inherently better than the other. This key is balance between them and how you consciously exercise loving awareness for your own integration and success. Aligning our heart and intuitive wisdom within Spirit's flow requires us to bring our unique masculine and feminine into the proper balance to achieve maximum manifestation in each circumstance. This requires a measure of compassion and intuition, of action and waiting for right timing, asking for help and doing it ourselves and so forth. Sometimes we will be required to step up other times we will need to step back. Now and then we will be required to speak up, other times we will be required to listen. There will be a place for us to lead and another place where we are called to empower others to lead.

Each aspect of manifestation rounds out our soul's experience and brings us towards greater and greater inner harmony and peace. Each step transforms us into a more fully functioning and conscious being. Once we understand this transformational aspect of manifestation, then our whole process of being one with our highest good becomes more enjoyable and easier.

Sept 2008- Part II

Prosperity Thoughts September 2008- Part Two

Affirmation: I live with an Open Heart. I trust that Spirit alone knows what my ever shifting needs are in this moment. I recall that Spirit resides within me as I relax into the firm conviction that my deepest needs are being co-creatively manifested in Divine Order.

In Part One of our September prosperity thoughts, we drew our focus to the paradox of time as it relates to getting our needs met. We noted that we often tend to evaluate whether our needs are being met in the present moment, and react from that short term perspective. If our perception is that our current needs are met, then we are at peace. On the other hand, if our perception is that we lack something, then we tend to feel frustrated and impatient. The relevant spiritual practice calls us to remember that we are, after all, eternal souls. Hence, the time horizon of our higher order of needs getting met might extend through this moment into eternity. Thus we can relax and let go of our strident impatience and frustration with God for not being responsive to our needs according to how we define them.

The second paradox in teaching applied spirituality as it relates to prosperity is that our definition of abundance is always shifting. I recently got a call from someone who urgently needed counsel on a job situation that felt to them as if it was almost intolerable. Never mind that they were earning a six figure income in the field that they had chosen. Forget about the fact that their family life was blessed by a precious baby and a happy marriage. Ignore that they enjoyed great health, had recently lost excess weight and were clean and sober in all areas of their life. They called because they thought they needed relief now. They believed that Spirit was not attending to their needs carefully enough.

Why? Because they were living at a Chakra level that required them to lead, to express their power and to make a difference to people and they were feeling stuck. As it happened, they left a message while I was away for a few days, and by the time I called them back, the entire situation had changed. They had just been offered a great promotion which would more than meet all their needs for creative input and team leadership. I suspect it also met their needs for recognition and acknowledgment as well.

The point is, that nothing changed in terms of their abundance from last week to this week. The issue was that their consciousness asserted that they needed to make a difference now, and in the face of any time lag, they were frustrated, afraid, upset and so forth.

Even in the face of their frustration, The Universe was moving towards actualizing this set of needs in a perfect and healthy manner. Six months prior, this friend could not even have imagined the opening in their career that occurred within the past few days. Yet, this opening had already occurred in the Mind of God. Consequently, people, places and situations were already moving into alignment to meet the my friend's leadership needs even before my friend articulated the need aloud for the first time.The problem was not in God's lack of response, it is never about God's lack of response. The difficulty was in my friend's lack of spiritual perspective. (My friend-- being aware of this-- I would hope, is why I was called for counsel).

My friend thought that their needs had changed over the past few months, and of course, their needs had changed. Needs are always changing. As we discussed a few weeks ago, as situations alter, we move up and down the Chakras, our actual moment by moment needs change and our perception of our needs change as well. Their need for health, safety, relationship, security and so forth were all presently well met, and so their higher level needs were activated- they needed to make a difference through their leadership and creativity.

The Universe is always responding to our needs. But when we shift back and forth from living in the Truth That "God is Good and All the Time" and living in our ego that demands that our needs be met according to our will --we get pathetic results. My friend had temporarily lost sight of the "God is good" motif and had fallen into the mindset that he/she was in charge.

When we 1) surrender our understanding of what our needs are, and 2) when we let go of our expectations of when the needs ought to be met, and 3) when we release our attachment to the strategy that we think will get our needs met, then we are living with an Open Heart.

Open Hearted living is the optimum spiritual practice to feel the nurturing power of The Universe working in our lives.

Living with an Open Heart cuts through the pain from the paradox of manifesting our good. This paradox suggests that we can co create a life of abundance so long as we surrender all of our attachments to what abundance looks like.

Our Affirmation for this week: I live with an Open Heart. I trust that Spirit alone knows what my ever shifting needs are in this moment. I recall that Spirit resides within me as I relax into the firm conviction that my deepest needs are being co-creatively manifested in Divine Order.

September 2008 Prosperity Thoughts.

Affirmation: I trust that my mere presence is enough. I am a blessing to all.

As proponents of "applied spirituality" we are teaching our students how to enrich their lives now. Some other denominations tend to focus on teaching people how to get into "heaven" after they die, whereas we understand the "Kingdom of Heaven" to be within you, right now, and for every moment of your life.

There is admittedly a hierarchy to our perceived human needs. First and Second Chakra needs such as food, water, shelter and are often considered paramount. Continuing with the Chakra motif, when the first two Chakras are manifested, we tend to expand towards our Third Chakra; related to our need for safety and procreation. The Fourth Chakra needs tend to become activated when the Third is satisfied, we yearn for relationship, connection and society. After actualizing our heart connections, we focus on the Fifth Chakra, the need to speak truth and integrate our power. Finally, living from the higher Chakras we seek to make a difference in the world and to live a life of meaning and purpose.

The key take away item here is that our needs are not constant, as soon as we perceive that one of our basic needs is met, we self actualize and begin to yearn for fulfillment of those needs higher up on the scale. If on the other hand, one of our perceived needs is no longer met, we tend to go into survival mode until that needs is satisfied. This creates an interesting ebb and flow in our human perspective and in our prayer life. There is a healthy yearning and desire to expand the center of our life in higher and higher vibrations. We do not stay at any one Chakra, but we can for the most part inhabit higher and higher Chakras more and more of the time.

In terms of prosperity, and abundantly getting our needs met, our teachings of applied spirituality are thus laced with paradox. I will write about several over the next few months, but first, we run into problems of time frame. We want our needs met right this instant and if the need is not met Right Now!!, then we often ache with an urgency that creates a tempest. Even many New Thought teachers argue that we can demand of God results within a specified time frame. To my way of thinking, this reeks of spiritual temper tantrums.

Spiritual Maturity suggests that, by way of example, one way to enrich your life now is to recall that you are an eternal soul. From this perspective, any short term flatness in your joy barometer is so brief in the bigger picture that it is hardly worth fretting about. It is our unhealed trait of self centerdness that pushes so hard to get our way immediately. Focusing our attention on the inward cause will heal the outward manifestation. (the kingdom of heaven is within).

Today, a friend on the spiritual path mentioned an interesting case in point: Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick. Melville got his book published in 1851 to mixed reviews and paltry sales. He died in 1891. At the time of his death Melville was nearly forgotten in publishing circles and was financially impoverished. He was considered an insignificant author and Moby Dick was considered a literary failure.

Some 30 years after Melville's death, (70 years after it was written) there was a small literary revival of interest in Mody Dick. The stature of the work has continued to grow. Its influence, now, over a 150 years after it was published is far greater than the author could have imagined at the time. Moby Dick is now considered by many as an American Masterpiece.

Well, what is up with this? In the time frame of an eternal soul, writing a book of the stature of Moby Dick seems like a success in actualizing the desire to make a difference. It alone would imply a mission accomplished in terms of fulfilment of one life purpose. But in the time frame of a single lifetime, Melville could not know of this success, he would see his authorship as a failure. As an author he would probably have been living from a First or Second Chakra perspective.

I think we need the humility to remember that all unfolds in Divine Order, which is within a time frame of such complexity and depth that it is infinite. We do not dictate to our Creator, we listen to our hearts yearnings and surrender our self will over to the care of a loving Presence.... a Presence that has intelligence to see the bigger picture.

If we are looking outside of our selves for immediate acknowledgment and recognition, then perhaps there is a part of us that needs healing in terms of looking at our life contribution from a spiritually mature perspective. How about the idea we are here for our soul's own joy and not to meet just our lower Chakra needs.

Lets affirm that we always know how the last chapter turns out because we are eternal souls. In knowing this, we may not be able to get our peers to see the gift we have given, may not get the recognition and accolades that we would like. The practice then; humility and patience.

Today, we affirm: I trust that my mere presence is enough. I am a blessing to all.