“In fear, we forget who we really are. Forgetting who we are, we forget Who lives within us. And in forgetting Who lives within us, we lose conscious connection to our power.” Marianne Williamson
My neighbor was standing outside as I returned from grocery shopping. She greeted me and said, “I have a question for you. The topic came up in my bible study. Do you think we are in the end of times?”
I felt dismayed she was asking this question on such a tough day. It was a challenging week hearing from friends and loved ones about their pain, loss and grief. The news can be overwhelming with stories of injustice, chaos, and uncertainty in the world. It was easy to fear apocalyptic prophecy in times like this.
I stalled while I took the groceries out of the car. I shook off my doldrums and took a breath. I knew I had to be centered in my response. I affirmed what I know without a doubt—There is a Power and Presence for good in the world. I refuse to dwell on appearances but stand in the true knowing of the Universal Power that is love.
I remembered the quote from Ernest Holmes…”In order to have faith, we must have a conviction that all is well. In order to keep faith, we must allow nothing to enter our thought which will weaken this conviction.”
Now I was ready to respond. “What I believe is happening—” She interrupted me mid sentence “There’s my ride, I have to go. Have a nice day.”
I watched as she got in the car and drove away. I laughed out loud. The universe has such a sense of humor. She uses every opportunity to bring me back to love.
“Resolve that you will live and think and work as if you really believed that the whole Universe of creativity and substance were present in every project of your work and every transaction of your investments, as your never-failing resource.” Eric Butterworth
We’ve all been there. Struggling, agonizing, stressing and straining, trying to get the results we want and need.
When that doesn’t work, we decide to change things— we reorganize, restructure, reshuffle, recreate, rebuild, and replace. This is called rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The ship is going down, but we are too busy to notice while we are rearranging the outside appearances.
Oftentimes, we try to shift everything on the external plane and often forget the power of prayer, the power of our connection with the divine. It is an inside job. Remembering our oneness with the Infinite comes first. In “The Law of Divine Compensation,” Marianne Williamson writes, “It is almost amusing when doctors say, “We’ve done everything possible. All we can do now is pray, as though God was simply our last resort, the one we go to when all the really powerful things have failed.”
It can be so easy to be attached to the results in the outside world. However, our true power lies within, where we make a connection to the Divine.
Marianne goes on to say, “You are not asking that a force outside of you magically change external circumstances; you are asking that a Divine Guide within you change the nature of your thoughts.” The power lies within. Knowing our Oneness with the Infinite Invisible has far greater potential and power than anything we can reason with in the external world.
Affirmation: I know my Oneness with the Infinite Invisible.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
During one of my weekly phone calls with my dad, who was 98 years old at the time, asked, “Are you happy with your life? Did we have a good life?” I suddenly realized the enormity of the question he was asking. He was asking about me, but I knew he was wanting to know if his life had meaning.
It is normal to want to feel that our life has purpose and that there is a reason for being on earth. As we grow older we sometimes wonder if we contributed something special to the world, did we leave behind something meaningful. Did my life matter?
Too often we wait until someone is near death to tell them they made a difference in our lives. We struggle to put into words how much they mean to us. What if we made it a regular practice to tell people what we love and appreciate about them?
I assured my dad that yes, I have a good life and was especially grateful for all that he and my mom provided and for all that they did for my sister and me. I reminded him of the fun we had growing up and we would relive cherished memories. I had the privilege and blessing of this weekly practice for four more years before he made his transition.
Is there someone in your life you appreciate? Give them a call and let them know. You will be grateful you did.
“Too often the focus of our attention is misplaced, glued to what we believe is missing—which, in turn, directs the unbiased law of expansion to create an abundance of more of the same.” – Dennis Merritt Jones, The Art of Abundance
Have you noticed, not only has holiday shopping started early, it has been jump-started out of fear? Fear that there is not enough. Fear that our holidays will be a disappointment. Fear that the precious things we need to have a successful holiday are sitting in cargo containers and will not be available.
Hello?? Remember a year ago? A year ago, the most precious thing we wanted was a hug from a family member or friend. We would have been thrilled to sit in the same room. We would have been ecstatic to breathe the same space without fear.
Granted there are real shortages and real impacts on some businesses. We have an opportunity to not contribute to the mental and emotional fear. We have the freedom to speak words of faith.
Focus on what is available, what is important and precious. Take attention off what is missing and place it on the abundance of this moment.
Speak this affirmation aloud from Catherine Ponder:
“Divine Substance cannot be diminished.
Divine Substance cannot be exhausted.
Divine Substance cannot be withheld.
Divine Substance is everywhere present and I wisely use it now.”
“I love autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.” – Lee Maynard
Happy October!
Fall is such a great time of year. It is a joy to watch the leaves and plants change into colorful works of art before finally falling away. This time of year we tend to shift our attention inward to contemplation and learning. It is a time of nurturing the soul.
October is the signal that the end of the year is near. The busy, hectic holiday season is just a moment away.
Before the rush of the holidays shows up, I invite you to take some time to do something nurturing for yourself. Maybe a gratitude walk in the park or spend time with a friend over coffee. Perhaps just some quiet time of reflection.
Whatever you do, know that you are not alone. From Ernest Holmes, “You have a silent partner within you whose energy is inexhaustible and whose intelligence is without limit. Your silent partner is more than a subjective or unconscious reaction to life, it is Life Itself.”
“Be still and know… I am in the flow.” – Eric Butterworth
We’ve been waiting and hoping for some normalcy to return to calm the free-floating anxiety, confusion, chaos, and uncertainty of the world. The good news is that the new normal is here. The bad news is that unpredictability is the new normal.
Before Covid, there was a sense of confidence in making plans for the future and an expectation that those plans would come into fruition. In the new normal there is no certainty our plans will happen, just an eery I’m-not-sure-what-will-happen-next feeling. The more we resist the uncertainty, the more stressed we become. We can resist, blame, and complain but it won’t change the circumstances.
Our opportunity is to learn to live in the flow. In his book, In the Flow of Life, Eric Butterworth writes, “God is a circle that is centered in you. All the attributes of the Infinite are in focus as you, flowing forth through you. You are in this flow.” Allow being in the flow to empower you. During this time of change and uncertainty it can be difficult to trust externally. Being in the flow allows you to trust internally.
Use this affirmation from Butterworth in your daily practice: “I am in the flow of life, and I move easily with the flow. I am radiantly and enthusiastically alive. I am free from tension, stress and strain, and I go forward in the flow of life – unhurried and unworried.”
