On Sunday I shared a variety of good things that are happening in the world.   We get lots of "ain't it awful" news, but there are lots and lots of "Hey, we are getting some things so right and things are going in the right direction" news events. 

Rev. Catherine (from the Hollywood area) shares the story of her 'heathen' friend who, when a woman fell down the stairs at a party in his home,  made sure 911 had been called and then lay on the floor with the woman and talked to her and touched her hand.  Later, when Rev. Catherine asked him why he had  done that, he said: "What did you expect me to do, stand and look down at her?"  

Perspective- all growth comes when we get a different perspective.   In this case, the man was willing to meet the woman where she was and see things as she saw them and offer his presence and care in support of her.   Wow, what would happen if lots of us worked at doing that?   ky told me that two leaders in our National organization attended the Pentecostal Conference.  They wanted to explore how we are alike.  It is easy to see where organizations, belief systems, and people differ; but  growth and healing come when we look for and see the areas where we are alike. 

I also shared a portion of a video that Bono made for ted.com where he showed graphs of changes that are happening.  The number of people living in bone- crushing poverty has dropped substantially world- wide and is continuing to do so.   At our current rate of eliminating starvation among people, we will eradicate that issue in just another 10 or fifteen years.   Think about that; we are making major progress in eliminating poverty and hunger.   As Bono told us, you don't hear that often.  Now, is it acceptable that even one person goes to bed hungry?  No.   Are we making progress?  Yes.  Are we moving in the right direction?  Yes.  Are we doing some really good things?  Yes.   

I also shared a story about how much of the earth is becoming desert. Even the driest land can be reclaimed by introducing herds of animals and letting them graze on land that doesn't look like it would support them, but it will !  Those herds will then push seeds into the ground where they can grow, and with their natural processes those herds will fertilize those seeds.  There are always seeds, but they can't take hold in dry land without help and fertilizer.  Over and over it has been proven that within a year, dry land can become green.  Then when the rains come, that water is captured.   Then people have food to eat and the ability to develop their lives.   

There are answers to our issues.  Part of finding those answers is knowing they are there.  Our greatest enemy is hopelessness.  Being the choosers we are, we can focus on knowing that things are and will continue to create a "World that Works for Everyone."   This is part of the vision and mission of the Centers for Spiritual Living. 

Remember - Saul Good and getting better!

Much love, 

Rev. Carolyn 

Perception??

Perception - how we see things, what we expect, is a result of past experience, what we have been told, and the way our brains work.  We categorize things so that we can quickly make decisions for our survival.  It is a very important skill to be able to recognize sights, sounds, feelings that tell us of danger, safety, something that will be of benefit to us, or something to avoid.  

It is important to look at our perceptions to see if they are based on some form of truth and if they are serving us well because they are creating our reality.  

There was a study years ago done in England.   It would not happen now, but they took two classes in an elementary school one was the highest achievers and the other the lowest achievers.   The next year they mixed the children up.  Putting half the high achievers with half the lower achievers in each class and they told the teachers that they either had a class of high achievers or low achievers when in actuality they had an equally mixed class.  The punch line is that at the end of the year, each class lived up to the expectations of them.  Even though some of the children had been high achievers the previous year, now they were low achievers and  the other children just the opposite.  

This is a classic example of what people perceive about us, expect of us, we will fulfill unless we are aware and confident in who we are.  And this is true of what we perceive and expect of ourselves.   In Science of Mind terms; you say it is and the Law says yes.  You say you are no good at ______ and the Law yes you are no good at _____.  You say ______ is easy and the Law says yes _____ is easy.  You will prove whatever it is to yourself over and over until you decide it is a perception without power or truth.  

To increase our awareness I told a few stories and invited folks to consider what a few facts can create in our minds.  Example:  I walked up to a Thornton's just as a young man was coming out the door.  He had spiked hair with a purple stripe, lots of piercings, pants that did not reach his waist, and a slight slouch.  When he held the door open for me, responded with 'your welcome' in a gentle respectful voice, to my thank you, I was surprised to see in myself how much I had expected something else.  

My perceptions were sending out a subtle negative energy/vibration.  If most folks who he meets do the same, won't we have an effect?  If others send out a vibe of love and acceptance of his place in the One,  won't this have an effect too?  When we are called to see our oneness and the oneness of everything, we are called to be a blessing, a positive influence, a positive vibration, an uplifting perception.     

In the last few weeks, we have talked about being on the road to enlightenment.   I like the definition of enlightenment being - complete freedom;  a place or state without limitation.  It will have to include complete absence of preconceived ideas and expectations because they limit us by creating boundaries of separation.   

It is a journey to enlightenment, so, today we can begin to build the perfect state of freedom.  We don't have to wait or have a unique experience, or hold a special object or learn a new skill.  Today we can look at someone, or ourselves with love and the only expectation one of potential and unfolding.  The more we do this, the more we release restrictions and open our experiences and the experiences of those around us to true freedom.  

Oh Spirit, we open to see you in everyone we meet, in every circumstance, in our own bodies,  in all of our affairs, and in ourselves this day and every day.

Much love, 

Rev. Carolyn 

erception - how we see things, what we expect, is a result of past experience, what we have been told, and the way our brains work.  We categorize things so that we can quickly make decisions for our survival.  It is a very important skill to be able to recognize sights, sounds, feelings that tell us of danger, safety, something that will be of benefit to us, or something to avoid.  

It is important to look at our perceptions to see if they are based on some form of truth and if they are serving us well because they are creating our reality.  

There was a study years ago done in England.   It would not happen now, but they took two classes in an elementary school one was the highest achievers and the other the lowest achievers.   The next year they mixed the children up.  Putting half the high achievers with half the lower achievers in each class and they told the teachers that they either had a class of high achievers or low achievers when in actuality they had an equally mixed class.  The punch line is that at the end of the year, each class lived up to the expectations of them.  Even though some of the children had been high achievers the previous year, now they were low achievers and  the other children just the opposite.  

This is a classic example of what people perceive about us, expect of us, we will fulfill unless we are aware and confident in who we are.  And this is true of what we perceive and expect of ourselves.   In Science of Mind terms; you say it is and the Law says yes.  You say you are no good at ______ and the Law yes you are no good at _____.  You say ______ is easy and the Law says yes _____ is easy.  You will prove whatever it is to yourself over and over until you decide it is a perception without power or truth.  

To increase our awareness I told a few stories and invited folks to consider what a few facts can create in our minds.  Example:  I walked up to a Thornton's just as a young man was coming out the door.  He had spiked hair with a purple stripe, lots of piercings, pants that did not reach his waist, and a slight slouch.  When he held the door open for me, responded with 'your welcome' in a gentle respectful voice, to my thank you, I was surprised to see in myself how much I had expected something else.  

My perceptions were sending out a subtle negative energy/vibration.  If most folks who he meets do the same, won't we have an effect?  If others send out a vibe of love and acceptance of his place in the One,  won't this have an effect too?  When we are called to see our oneness and the oneness of everything, we are called to be a blessing, a positive influence, a positive vibration, an uplifting perception.     

In the last few weeks, we have talked about being on the road to enlightenment.   I like the definition of enlightenment being - complete freedom;  a place or state without limitation.  It will have to include complete absence of preconceived ideas and expectations because they limit us by creating boundaries of separation.   

It is a journey to enlightenment, so, today we can begin to build the perfect state of freedom.  We don't have to wait or have a unique experience, or hold a special object or learn a new skill.  Today we can look at someone, or ourselves with love and the only expectation one of potential and unfolding.  The more we do this, the more we release restrictions and open our experiences and the experiences of those around us to true freedom.  

Oh Spirit, we open to see you in everyone we meet, in every circumstance, in our own bodies,  in all of our affairs, and in ourselves this day and every day.

Much love, 

Rev. Carolyn 

How to Use the Thing Itself

In our discussion on Sunday we were talking about the fourth chapter in The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes. The first of the Chapter is about understanding that the metaphysical principle is like any other scientific principle, it can be proved and must be to be used fully by the metaphysician. Ernest, in his work, strove to remove the mystery and uncertainty around understanding how the Universe works. In his most famous quote, "There is a Power in the Universe, and we can use it." Before we can use it, we must understand how it works. It always works the same for everyone. If this were not true, it would not be a principle, but just a nice idea. Page 53, "We should learn to control our thought processes and bring them into line with Reality. We should be able to look a discordant fact in the face and deny its reality, since we know its seeming reality is borrowed from illusion..." "While it is true that wrong conditions exist, they could not remain unless there were someone to experience them . Consequently, the experience must be in consciousness. Change the consciousness and the false condition will disappear." I gave the example of deciding to release the experience of sinus conditions. I withdrew my attention from that type of experience and when it tries to intrude, I simply deny it and ignore it. I give it no attention. It has now power of its own. Therefore, it simple dissipates into the nothingness it is. There is a beautiful meditation on page 56. There is so much to share and understand from this Chapter and in the others. I close with a quote from the last page of the Chapter. "A new light is coming into the world. We are on the borderland of a new experience. The veil between Spirit and matter is very thin. The invisible passes into visibility though our faith in it... Happy are we if we see these things which, from the foundation of the human race, have been longed for by all aspiring souls." Much love. Rev. Carolyn

We don't really know what is possible!

In November a story appeared in our newspaper about Jerry Beyl of New Albany, Indiana. Jerry is 88 years old and been in a wheelchair for ten years. In May of this year he had a small stroke. The lingering effects were weakness and loss of control in the right arm. He was sent to a rehab center where they hoped in a month, they could restore control and usage of the right arm. At the end of a week, his arm was better than they had expected and someone had the bright idea to see if they could get him on his feet. The first day they asked him to stand for one minute. He couldn't do it. But the next day they tried again and just kept going from there. By the end of his month in rehab, he walked out of the facility on his own. He shared he just wanted to walk hand and hand with his beloved wife, Agnes, and do some chores around the house and help her. Agnes is now dealing with a non-treatable breast cancer. Now my question was, "Who had the openness to even suggest an eighty-eight year old man, who had spent the last ten years in a wheel chair, could walk again?" Don't know but someone looked past what was precedent (what had gone on before) to see the possibility that is always nearer than our next breath. Spirit is not bound by precedent and neither are we. Oh if we could get that, there is no telling the places we would go. In thinking about what we know and the circumstances, I considered what in the consciousness of Jerry got him out of that wheel chair now. We know that outward expression is a result of thought/consciousness. I have no way of knowing and don't believe Jerry could tell us, but it makes sense to me that a deep desire in Jerry's heart was to help Agnes with what is happening for her now. The deep desires of our hearts are what Law/Spirit responds to. Could Jerry have said, "I think I need a small stroke so I can get out of this chair." I don't think so. But Spirit knows the how, our job is to choose the expression, the experience we want to have. I invite you in this moment to take a deep breath. As you release the breath think, "I release what I think I know is possible." As you breath in think, "I receive and recognize the deep desires of my heart." I feel how it feels. If we boil everything we desire down, the end result will be feelings of being loved, loving, belonging, being fulfilled, inspired, enthusiastic, abundant and safe. yummmmm that feels good. Warm and comfy hugs to each of you. Rev. Carolyn

Meditation & Knowing for Sue Pfaffinger

This is a meditation taken from 365 Days of Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes that Sue Pfaffinger found comforting as she faced a diagnosis of untreatable cancer. October 28 - I am an individualized center in the consciousness of God. I am an individualized activity in the Action of God. I am eternal, therefore, I do not have to wait for immortality. The resurrection of life is today living today as though I were an immortal being. I allow all thought of death, all fear of change to slip from me. I step out of the tomb of uncertainty and into the light of eternal day. The nighttime of my soul has passed and the eternal light of everlasting day dawns as the great Reality in my life. Joyfully I am resurrected into that which is beautiful, enduring and true. Silently I pass from less to more, from isolation into inclusion, from separation into oneness. Today, realizing that there is nothing in my past that can rise against me, nothing in my future that can menace the unfoldment of my experience. I declare that life will be an eternal adventure of greater and better experiences. I revel in the contemplation of the immeasurable future, the path of eternal progress, the everlastingness of my own being. I am renewed daily by that Divinity within me that has forever set the stamp of individualized Being on my mind. Sweet Sue, we bless you on your ever expanding adventure into greater experiences. Rev. Carolyn and LCSL

3rd in the series "The Untethered Soul"

To be able to answer yes to the question, "Do you want to be happy?", you must learn to detach or as Michael Singer describes it 'fall back.' When something happens or just in everyday life, we have the opportunity to practice falling back. Taking a mental step back from circumstances, people, our thoughts and be the observer we are. In order to truly experience the upward experience of oneness with the One, first we must detach. This is a skill, a habit, like every other that must be practiced and strengthened. It is like getting our bodies into shape, we must exercise the muscles. If we wait until the big things happen to try to detach, our chances are low. If we practice on the small things on a regular basis, then when we are engaged in the senses in a powerful way, we will have the muscle memory of stepping back and observing from the place of knowing the Truth of who we are. In traffic, we begin to fall back whenever we feel someone is cutting us off or speeding or being inconsiderate. I like to let people in when traffic is merging, but can be really engaged if they then do not wave a thank you. When I fall back I can see a basic belief that people should be appreciative of what I do and when they are not I get upset. When I fall back, I can see where my reaction is coming from, observe it but not let it determine how I feel about the situation or the fairness of my world. This has built an awareness and experience of the process. When someone close to me is in my opinion being inconsiderate, I now know that I can fall back and observe. This is not about being fully present in your life, it is about also knowing that you are the observer. Blessings on the journey, Rev. Carolyn

2nd in series on The Untethered Soul

Hello everyone, This week we have been talking about how we build in protection that ends up restricting/crippling us. In Michael Singer's book The Untethered Soul, he gave the metaphor of the thorn. Think about having a thorn in your body somewhere. It hurts when it is touched but otherwise we can ignore it. But, it is in a place that it gets touched often. So, we are careful where we might go that might have things that would reach out and touch it. We are careful what people we get around because they touch it, sometimes with just a word. If the wind blows too hard, it can hurt. We roll over on it in our sleep. It is so upsetting. So we construct a defense. We start by building up a small wall around it, but that doesn't fix it completely. So, we build a bigger defense Pretty soon, in protecting the thorn, we restrict our movements, our involvements, our very happiness in an effort to avoid pain. This thorn and our need to protect it takes over a large portion of our lives. Instead of living, we are protecting. When we have been hurt, unless we have dealt with it and released it, we spend lots of energy in trying to avoid that particular pain again. One example that comes to mind; if we ask for what we need, people won't like us anymore. The child who was told they were selfish and Mommy was angry when they asked for what they wanted and needed. So we avoid asking for what we need and end up unhappy, lonely and frustrated. We are going to talk about falling behind the thought to a place of observing. Simple yet very challenging concept. Have a great week. Rev. Carolyn