Everyday Knowing Reminder - Sunday Message August 29, 2010

Choose Resilience

Oh, how resilient the soul is when one chooses it to be. In our final discussion this month on choice, I ask each of us to consider how we choose to create our day-to-day life, our Everyday Life.

This summer has been, well, not the best one on record for me and my family. As my son started school, I needed to decide how I was going to choose to response to questions of “how was your summer.” I did not want to lie and say it was great, yet I also did not want to get caught up into a drama of my own creation. I choose to give myself, at max, three days to explain our summer and move on. After the first day, I began to feel uncomfortable. The next day, while I still shared what happened, I also added my spiritual beliefs about the circumstances. When people around began to offer their condolences for our multiples losses this year, I thanked them and let them know that our path was clearing, for God is ever-present. By the third day, I did not have a need to mention anything at all. When asked, I would say ok and ask how their summer vacation was. In no time I heard wonderful stories of fun, trips and when someone had a hard time, I was able to offer a place of comfort. God’s restorative power at work.

I am not saying to hide unpleasant experiences. In fact, I am glad I was able to share our loss experience and our re-awakening into God’s Love. As each of us experiences life,
sometimes the path may be rocky. In sharing, our extended brothers and sisters know that I might need some support until my mind is returned to center. “Ask for help, and it is given.” To walk upon this path called Life, is to experience many aspects and see what we can learn.

So what can we learn? When we choose resilience, we can ask for help when needed and give ourselves time to grieve or heal. All the time knowing that we will not stay in a place of sadness, but rather we will come back into the light. A friend gave me the three day gift. Taking three days to be in a space of non-light works for me. It is a way of reminding myself what it feels like to separate oneself from God’s love and to feel alone. Each one of us may need more or less time. I do suggest that less time is better than more. For it is said that habits are made or broken within 21 days. We do not need to develop the habit of unhappiness.

How do we break out of our darkness; by choosing something new. Sometimes the light will come back as daily routines are back in place. Sometime is takes a clear thought, a new action to clear away the cobwebs of separation. I was reading the paper when I came across an ad for a choir audition. I felt movement to call and sign up, so I did. Numerous times before the audition, I thought of calling to cancel. I even almost forgot to go! However by choosing to respond to God’s call, I had an incredible experience. I asked what am I here to learn God? I found what had changed since I was younger, was that I was not concerned about “passing” the audition or not. I just knew I had to be there. The experience was fabulous. I learned that I had been singing the incorrect part for most of my lifetime. As I sang in the correct range, although uncomfortable at first, I began to like it. I laughed and really opened up to the experience as it happened. As the conductor gave me some practice tools, I thanked him. I felt that this night was a gift. God provided me the opportunity to find my voice. Whether or not I am successful joining the choir, I AM grateful for an incredible experience. Today when I practiced, my voice began retraining itself. I AM gleeful knowing that through choosing to take action, God will continue to sing in
my life.

How will you choose to be resilient this day? Do not let life experiences take you down a dark road. Allow yourself to feel and then choose to bounce back to life. Every situation in life is an opportunity to separate or to be in Unity with God. Choose to be resilient; choose to be in the Light of God. Choose to take action and engage in life. Life is waiting for you. The outcome is not the main concern; it is walking upon the path we co-create with God.

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As we move into meditation, let us release any need to be separate. As we open up to our greater selves we relax into the peace which always is, always has been at the center of our being. Knowing right here that we can choose to take action in our lives, we are free to re-engage in life. As we leave any darkness behind, we behold the light of God surrounding us, holding us, comforting us. In choosing to co-create with God, our actions confirm our commitment to honor the Light within ourselves and others. How grateful we are for each situation, each event, and each circumstance which brings us to a higher awareness of the amazing resilience of the divine presence within.

May choice be ever at your call, may your heart be open to listen, and may your soul be gleeful as you choose to engage in Life on your Everyday Life Path.
And So It Is!

Everyday Voices

I hope you enjoy this quote as much as I do...

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.
- Galileo Galilei

Rich Words is brought to you by the Rev. Alan Rowbotham, Minister Emeritus of First Unity Church in St. Petersburg, FL, and by Friends of Ministry, Inc. and the Unity in Business Network.

The Power (Remember Who You Really Are)

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Everyday Knowing Reminder - Sunday Message August 22, 2010

Choices and Impact

My husband and I have been struggling with teaching our son that he is responsible for his actions and his feelings versus how his actions (choices) may impact others. It is a fine line to explain to an almost eight year old that when people choose an action which we may not like, that we have the ability to choose our response. We have the choice to decide how we feel and how we respond. Yet, his dad and I also would like him to understand that his actions do have an impact on other people and bring about consequences. In addition, we are helping him discover what he can do when he is impacted by someone’s choice and how he can respond. While writing the message this week, I was searching for an answer to this question. I was reading Fillmore’s book Talks on Truth. As I continued reading, I found I was having a difficult time concentrating. After a while I found that I was having an internal conversation. I heard the answer I needed. As Fillmore refers to in his book, I was focusing in the wrong direction. My son needs to understand both sides of community and interacting. However, the focus really is on the way to respond positively and the act of forgiveness. Now, I am not one who enjoys the “forgiveness” label. However, when humanity acts through the mind and not from a loving space of God, sometimes the consequences are challenging. In getting back to my internal conversation, the following is the response I heard to my questions, “What action can my son take when he is confused or hurt? Why would someone choose to be hurtful?”

Forgiveness.

We forgive them, for they know not what they do.

In the quiet solitude, when they choose separation, the illusion of darkness overtakes the soul. Day after day, as the mind takes control of life’s experience, the soul cannot be heard. When the soul is lost in a sea of unrelenting foreboding, it succumbs to the mind.

My follow up questions was, “Where is the positive side when someone chooses hurtful or confusing actions and we choose forgiveness?”

Forgiveness allows light to emerge. When our judgments stop and our acceptance of what has happened is transmuted beyond our understanding, we create a God space. For each soul is a space of God within each person. It is when the person chooses to create a separation, that the darkness silently comes calling. Through forgiveness, we acknowledge the God Light within that person through reminding their soul of its own divinity. Our souls are freed as we allow God back within our heart and come to a place of peace and understanding not known before.


As we move into meditation we breathe deeply into the center of our being. We acknowledge our choices we made this day. We understand that each soul is here to choose and each mind has the ability to create its own illusion. Through the love of God we clear the illusion of separateness. We choose to move forward in light and love, to be a presence for another fellow traveler along our path. We are grateful for each day we choose to participate in Life. For Life is here to be live. Life is….Love is…. God is.

And So It Is.

Everyday Knowing Reminder - Sunday Message August 15, 2010

Moving Beyond Oneself

As we continue our walk upon living within a Christ Consciousness, let us look at how we can move beyond ourselves, through our choices.

Sometimes when we get walking on our paths, we proceed deep into the forests of our minds. It is difficult to see the sunshine. We cannot see where the path will lead. We become afraid, scared and uncertain. When life becomes difficult, we find a way of making choices which continue to make it difficult. We can only see our experience and if it is not going the way we want it to, we resist. When we resist, our choices come from trying to avoid, instead of co-creating with God.

In co-creating with God, we find a new space to experience Life. We choose to take time to become still and listen to our soul. We are open to the quiet whisper of God’s voice leading us to step beyond who we believe we have become. We open ourselves to new possibilities and choose to take a path that maybe unfamiliar, yet confident that we are not alone. We choose to take a new path, when the one we are on is not working.

When we begin to choose a new path, we reach out to others. While we may have hurdles to jump or streams to cross, so does everyone else. As we reach out, we realize for most of us, as Tony Robbins says, “We ain’t got no problems.” Sometimes it is a stranger who may call for assistance. Maybe even more difficult is when family calls for help. In some families, this maybe the largest hurdle yet. However, when we take care of someone who was unable to take care of us, our life changes. We move beyond our own need, and choose to hold God’s Love. We become an example of what God’s love is. In choosing to move beyond ourselves we see how expansive the world is. We extend our spiritual grow through leaving the past behind and being present for someone else in need. In taking care of another’s need, our need lessens and our spirit expands. This is growth. This is Love. This is God.

As we see our choices expanding our perception of Life, we are more willing to have a new experience. Whether we choose a new place to eat, a new hairstyle, or a new place to sit in church, each time we choose to expand within the Christ consciousness, we co-create with God. Co-creating comes from trusting the inner wisdom within which shall lead us, guide us, and move our perceptions beyond ourselves. Each choice to “change it up” allows a path for new ideas, new information to enter into our consciousness.

Choose this day to participant by co-create with God. Let us take the time to move beyond ourselves; to realize we are not lost in a forest. As we let go of avoidance and honor our connection with God, our life changes. Take a moment to help another. Take your spouse to dinner. Take your family on vacation. Allow God to move us beyond our perceived needs and into being a Presence of Love for another. Choose to see the wholeness of who you really are. Embrace the many gifts you have. Be grateful and move beyond yourself.

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As we turn to meditation to hear God whispering in our hearts, we breathe deeply. We are not lost in a forest, we are not alone. We are always within the company of God. In any given moment, stop and close your eyes. Ask for guidance within the stillness of your heart, within the center of your being. Here, your answers will come. They may not come when your minute of meditation has passed, yet be patient. God’s whisper will come during your next meeting, or on your drive home, or in the silence of sleep.

Everyday Knowing Reminder - Sunday Message August 8, 2010

Choice – Self Centerness and the Spiritual Path

This week we look at how choosing can be a pivotal moment as we walk upon the Christ Consciousness path.

Sometimes as we begin our metaphysical walk, we get lost in trying to find the meaning of what we are experiencing. God calls everyone in the right time, at the right place and in a way that is perfect for each individual to understand. The focus of our journey is to understand our calling and begin God’s work. When we begin to move away from God’s work to “my” work, we fall on the path of self-centeredness.

Jesus said, “It is not I, but thy Father that doeth these good works.” When we spend time focusing on “our” talents or gifts, we step away from God and in to our ego. When wonder why we are special or why we can see, feel, understand things differently, we put the focus on ourselves. When we want to become more special, feel more important, or more advanced than another, in truth we are coming from a place of separateness not Oneness. When we believe we are here to help, fix, or “save” another, we are coming from a place of judgment. When we decide that someone needs to believe as we do, we are choosing a plan for them, not listening to God’s plan.

Through listening to the silence deep within our souls, we hear God’s call. If we continue to pay attention to the essence within our meditation, we then choose to move within God’s will or our will. When we supersede God’s will with our will, our lives become chaotic and confused. While following God’s plan we may be uncomfortable or uncertain. Yet in trusting God and choosing to move step by step, God’s plan unfolds.

We begin to move on purpose. As God is love, our purpose is being a space of Love. Through our everyday lives, we show our inner faith and connection. We become an example of God’s Love. We speak through actions and providing a loving space for humanity. We are not called to judge our fellow traveler. We are to love ourselves and thus humanity while walking upon our path. We are not to focus on ourselves, but on Unity and Oneness within all Life. We are not the cause of a person’s awakening; we are a vessel of God’s love.

When we realize that Love is all there is then we are choosing to see God in and through all things. Our own inner guidance and perceptions become more than interruptions; they become an integral part of our experience. When we allow ourselves to surrender to God, we allow God to work through us. We choose to let go of our spiritual superiority, and realize each person is our equal as we are all part of the One whole.

Let us stop this week. Let us choose to quit focusing on ourselves and what gifts we have. Let us realize that everyone is a part of God. Let us see the God within ourselves as well as those we meet. Let us choose to see the light of God in another person. Let us choose to see the trees, the wind, the flowers, the clouds, neighbors, friends, co-worker as God. Let us choose to be a Presence for God’s love. Let us choose to hear God’s call for our life and allow God to work in others.

Let me close with this affirmation paraphrased from Jesus:
Not my will, but thy will, dear God.