by Christine Green | Mar 14, 2015 | Spiritual Practice
Would you rather give yourself an electric shock than sit alone with your thoughts? It’s not as strange as you may think. A recent study at the University of Virginia found that 67 percent of men and 25 percent of women choose to give themselves a mild electric jolt than to spend time alone with their thoughts.
It’s easy to understand why. In our rare moments of silence the inner critic uses the opportunity to criticize, chastise and remember every failed endeavor and disappointing venture we’ve ever had. It’s a wonder that we get anything done at all!
Mindfulness is a technique that keeps us focused on the present. When practicing mindfulness we notice our thoughts but resist the need to react to them. We don’t give the inner critic the power to throw us off track. We can retrain our thinking and notice our good behaviors and focus on the positive results in life.
Mindfulness allows us to be in the present and not re-hash the lost moments of the past. When we live in the moment we release attachment to our circumstances and experience freedom. Imagine all the time you would save not being activated by what your co-worker said or worried about what your friend thinks of you. When the mind is calm, we allow those creative ideas to bubble up as possibilities.
Practice mindfulness: stop, breathe and release. When you find your emotions stirring and your mind reacting to circumstances, stop what you are doing, breathe deeply, and release the chatter of the inner critic. Accept the moment of silence as a golden opportunity to receive all the good that God has to offer.
by Christine Green | Jul 16, 2014 | Spiritual Practice
Are you on the Friends and Family Plan? Not the one that gives free minutes on your phone; the plan where you try to manage, fix and control the lives of your family, friends, spouse and co-workers. After all, their problems are infinitely more interesting than yours. And they are so easy to fix, if they would only listen!
Helping others is so attractive because it takes attention away from our own challenges. When we focus on solving someone else’s problems, we take time and energy away from our own goals, dreams and desires. It’s easy to become resentful.
It is one of the strategies we use to avoid and procrastinate. It usually happens when we experience doubt about what we are doing. Doubt stirs feelings of fear. Even if we have ample experience and expertise, the fear of failure can keep us stuck. So we avoid by helping others. Or we procrastinate by finding meaningless tasks to accomplish.
Taking one small step toward a goal can begin to eliminate the feelings of doubt and fear. Every accomplishment, no matter how small, gives us encouragement to keep moving forward. Every step we take is helping us to build faith. Charles Fillmore defines faith as “the perceiving power of the mind linked with the power to shape substance.”
Faith is an individual process of growth, patience and willingness. It is up to us to let go of doubt and decide how we would like to express love in the world. Ultimately, love is our highest vision and faith is our guide.
Faith is the freedom in knowing that whatever I need will be provided; whether it is strength to face the day, courage to speak my truth, or help for a loved one. Faith is appreciating every day as a treasure and every experience as a gift.
by Christine Green | Nov 12, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
My favorite childhood memory is of my Dad reading bedtime stories to us. Whether he read them or made them up, they were uplifting and had a happy ending.
I realized recently that I make up stories all the time, usually in the middle of the night. My stories are not very uplifting – full of “what ifs” and “should haves.” Rather than happy endings, they inflict enough emotional pain and suffering to cause any self-respecting insomniac to run for cover!
My greatest anxiety comes from my expectations about outcomes. Expectation comes from the mind and has me hoping and wishing that what I want will show up. The difference between expectation and expectancy is attachment. Expectancy comes from the soul and – rather than forming an attachment to the outcome – motivates me to look for the good in life.
Making up stories that create expectations leaves no place for God to show up. Most of my intuitive answers come out of the silence of the question. If I can remember during stressful times, I write a question in my journal and resist the need to fill in the answer. God has many more possibilities to solve my problems than I can ever imagine! I have to be willing to sit in the silence and listen.
It comes down to having faith in God and trusting the process. Saying a prayer is far more productive than creating scary stories. God’s abilities are far more inspiring than my worries.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 )
by Christine Green | Oct 30, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
It is always a joy to observe the transformative power of love!
My client Monica shared about her visit to a salon on her day off. The person scheduled to give her a pedicure was grumpy and out of sorts. Monica felt frustrated and resentful. She had looked forward to this simple luxury, and now it was ruined by the very person who was supposed to pamper her.
Monica remembered that she had the power to change her experience. She silently began beaming love to the pedicurist. Soon the pedicurist began to share about her day and what was on her mind. Monica listened and continued to send her love. She later reported it was the best foot massage and pedicure she ever received!
We interact with dozens of people throughout our day, barely acknowledging their impact on our lives. Taking the time to appreciate and acknowledge others makes the world a better place. Compassionate listening, kind words, and loving thoughts are the simplest acts that have the greatest power to change our lives.
I invite you to experiment with practicing random acts of loving kindness. Find something uplifting to say to your co-worker, spouse or friend. Take a few moments to listen to someone who is having a difficult day. Send loving thoughts to the person who serves your coffee or is sitting in the car next to you at the red light.
A life overflowing with happiness can appear to be an elusive dream. It is not. It begins with the smallest drop of thoughtfulness and expands into a stream of love. Each act of loving kindness radiates out from us to be magnified and multiplied by Spirit, and we are all lifted up. Love blesses us all.
by Christine Green | Aug 13, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
A harsh word, a disapproving look or an offhand comment from another can catapult us into feelings of unworthiness. Whatever sense of self-worth we have can feel diminished in an instant because of another’s actions. The moment we relinquish our power to others, we feel both helpless and hopeless.
The need to be loved and accepted by others makes us vulnerable to feeling hurt, criticized, and judged. We tend to embrace these feelings as reflections of unworthiness. It is difficult to see beyond our own pain and distress to imagine the possibility of moving forward.
By consciously identifying victim thoughts and reframing them, we can begin to lift ourselves out of a victim mentality and reclaim our power. Wayne Dyer shares: “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.”
The power we are ultimately searching for cannot be found in the physical world. As we deepen in faith, we are empowered and allow God to work through us. There is less attention to reassuring our ego and more appreciation for God expressing through us. The light of God within is the power we are seeking and God’s power is love.
The power of love heals, forgives, and makes new. Turning to our divine self instead of our victim self, we are powerful. We know our worthiness, and we live in harmony and freedom.
by Christine Green | Apr 9, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
How do we forgive when we feel betrayed? The question came up in a workshop recently.
It is easier to forgive when we learn to reflect and not react. Reacting to the behavior of others causes stress and pain.
Forgiveness does not mean we condone the pain or suffering that may have occurred. It is an opportunity to let go. It takes a great deal of courage to let go. When we do, it is one of the most important processes that will bring harmony to life and peace to our soul. We are free to express love in the world.
Dr. Wayne Dyer stated it best, “How do you get world peace? You get world peace through inner peace. If you’ve got a world full of people who have inner peace, then you have a peaceful world.”
