“Everything you judge you fear. Think about it. Ask yourself what you judge, and then ask yourself why you fear, and you will know this in your heart once and for all.” –Paul Selig, Book of Love and Creation
It is very popular to play the blame game in today’s society. We often look a scapegoat, someone to blame for the problems of the world. We blame the government, stock market, banks, wealthy people, poor people, big business, other countries and our parents for the pain and suffering of today’s world. We point fingers and worry about what others are doing or not doing. When we do that, we are simply spreading fear.
It’s so easy to judge what others are doing and give advice to how they should change their behavior. Actually it is a way to avoid looking at our own limiting beliefs and fear-based thoughts. An important step on our spiritual journey is to take responsibility and pay attention to what we are doing, thinking and saying.
Responsibility is not about blaming ourselves. Responsibility is the ability to respond. It is the freedom to take action. It is the power to change. When we take responsibility, we face our fears and take steps to move past them.
Practice looking at what you want instead of what you don’t want. Ask each day “What is mine to do to make the world a better place?” Release judgment and anger and send love instead. When we send love we raise the vibration for everyone.
Be gentle. Practice compassion. Having compassion for ourselves and others opens us to love and to be loved. Compassion awakens love in us. Love is the healing power beyond judgment and blame. There is always a choice.
Have you ever struggled to express your feelings, especially around loved ones? Do you find yourself carefully choosing your words, worried about hurting someone’s feelings? You’re not alone! The holiday season can sometimes amplify our challenges in communication, making us feel reactive and defensive.
Join us for an empowering workshop where we will tap into the art of heartfelt communication. Together, we will cultivate the practice of speaking from the heart, transforming our interactions with authenticity and compassion.
The news media can be our over-active nervous system–if we let it. Turn away from the outside world and speak words of truth, of what you claim for yourself and your country. Speak these prayers from Ernest Holmes aloud. Keep your vibration high.
My Prayer for My Country
by Ernest Holmes
Believing in the Divine destiny of the United States of America and in the preservation of liberty, security, and self-expression for all, I offer this, my prayer for my country:
I know that Divine Intelligence governs the destiny of the United States of America, directing the thought and the activity of all who guide its affairs. I know that success, prosperity, and happiness are the gifts of Freedom and are the Divine heritage of everyone in this country. I know that success, prosperity, and happiness are now operating in the affairs of every individual in this country. I know that Divine guidance enlightens the collective mind of the people of this country, causing it to know that economic security may come to all without the loss of either personal freedom or individual self-expression. I know that no one can believe or be led to believe that freedom must be surrendered in order to insure economic security for all. The All-Knowing Mind contains the answer to every problem which confronts this country. I know that every leader in this country is now directed by this All-Knowing Mind and has the knowledge of a complete solution to every problem. Each is compelled to act upon this knowledge to the end that abundance, security, and peace shall come to all. And I know that this spiritual democracy shall endure, guaranteeing to everyone in this country personal liberty, happiness, and self-expression. Amen.
Prayer for Peace of Mind
by Ernest Holmes
Be still and know that I am God. I am the Christ, the Light of the Living God within me. I am the Principle of Peace within me. I am the manifestation of Love within me. My mind is poised in Peace and Beauty. All sense of fear and doubt is gone. I rest in calm trust and rely on the Law of Spirit to bring good into my experience of Life. I contend with none, argue with none, and am filled with wonderful Peace and Light. There is no uncertainty about my future and no fear as a result of my past. I live in an eternal Now which is filled with good alone. Goodness and Beauty follow me. Happiness and Wholeness fill my entire being with the realization of Love and Perfection. I am the Christ, Light of the Living God within me. This inner mind of mine is now Divine and complete. It has no worries and no fears. It is whole, complete and satisfied. I look back over all previous experience and find that it was all good, very good. I look toward the future and find that it is good, very good. I look at the present and find that it is also good, and very good. God is in all, over all and through all. I am the Christ, Light of the Living God within me. I am the Spirit of Confidence. I am poised in Love and Reason. I am the perfect Law of Truth and the complete Presence of Beauty.
I am the Christ, Light of the Living God within me. Amen.
“All our emotions are meant to be felt. Even the hard ones. It’s okay to feel what you need to feel.” – Inside Out 2
I gathered together a few friends and we saw the Disney Pixar movie, Insight Out 2. One of the many brilliant lines in the movie comes from the emotion, anxiety: “While fear protects Riley from the things she can see, my job is to protect her from the things she can’t see. I plan for the future.” This is demonstrated by showing video clips of endless possibilities of all that can go wrong in Riley’s life.
Sound familiar? We have all experienced those 3 am wake up sessions when anxiety moves in and creates chaos and worry. Once anxiety takes charge, all other emotions are suppressed and we are put on high alert, preparing and planning for the worst.
There are times in life when we develop such an attachment to wanting to look good, be popular, win the game, that it becomes almost an obsession. We lose all sense of self. We forget our values and what is important to us. The more attached we are, the more restricted life seems to be. Feeling restricted can make us feel incomplete and that somehow we have failed.
Engaging in spiritual practices like meditation, journaling and expressing gratitude, we are empowered to free ourselves from anxiety and the constant chatter about what isn’t working. We are then open to discover other possibilities in store for us. When we tap into our inner wisdom and intuition, we let go of the suffering from the past, and the neediness of the future. Learning to live in the moment helps us stay centered in love.
We realign to what is important and allow love’s healing power to take charge when we live in the now moment. Taking time in the silence, we return to a place of peace and harmony. Instead of planning, changing, controlling, and fixing, we allow ourselves to just be and connect with the flow.
Take a breath and live in the flow. Give a gift to yourself and see this entertaining and uplifting movie.
We spend so much time judging ourselves that we become prisoners of negative thinking. We judge our outer looks as being too big, too fat, too tall, too short, too anything. We believe we are not smart enough, capable enough, or qualified enough. While we are busy judging ourselves, we don’t take time to appreciate the abundant blessings our lives have to offer.
Would you repeat the inner judgments you say to and about yourself to someone you loved? We wouldn’t think of it. Yet, we beat ourselves up mentally and verbally until we are left exhausted, powerless, and immobilized. Self-criticism and judgment are debilitating habits. They break down our faith, erode our self-esteem, and stir up our feelings of shame.
When we live a life of intention, we move away from the self-defeating practice of comparing and competing. We are inspired to find role models whom we want to emulate. We connect with friends and associates who are encouraging and supportive. Instead of searching for our own acknowledgement, we recognize and celebrate the successes of those around us.
As we begin to peel away the layers of false beliefs and ideas about our bodies and ourselves, we touch on our awareness of the Divine, our connection with God. In This Thing Called You, Ernest Holmes states it perfectly: “There is a Divine awareness within you which will lead you upward and onward. Prepare yourself for the ascent, then fill your mental life with spiritual realization.”
Love is an inside job that begins with letting go of the pain from the past. Then there is an opening to express love. As we love ourselves, we begin to acknowledge and appreciate others. The more love we give, the more we receive. As we think about love, we become love.
–Excerpt from Conscious Choices: A Woman’s Guide to Clarity, Courage and Connection, by Christine Green
“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.
