Center for Spiritual Living Midtown

What is the Divine expression or blueprint for my life, you ask? Is it pre-ordained from the beginning of time? Do I have any say in it? Does it ever change? When considering the Game of Life and How to Play it, these questions often arise. The answers lie in our understanding of what we are and our place in the universe. Once you are clear about these questions the way opens up with ease and power.

To successfully play any game one must have a strategy or two. Our life-game is governed by natural spiritual laws energized by Love. Consequently, our strategy must include understanding these natural spiritual laws and how they work while spending enough time with ourselves to get to know who we are and what we love. Do that. Play the game full out. All the powers of the Universe will back you and bring through you the life you have imagined.

Do you ever wish you were Harry Potter and had a wand to wield at anything showing up before you that you didn’t like or want? In truth, you do have such a wand and it is your clearly spoken faith-empowered word. Speaking your word with confidence and faith causes a universe of events to move into action in support of what you are demanding. One doesn’t wield a wand timidly, or without clarity. We have all seen what that can cause. Join us as we refine the use of our WordWand as we hone our effectiveness in playing the Game of Life.

How you see yourself in relation to the events in your life determines what’s happening next. To rise above the old embedded patterns of thinking is a challenge but it’s one we can all move through with the right support.

“Life is not a battle, it is a game,”  says the great teacher and New Thought pioneer, Florence Scovel Shinn. To play a game successfully, you need to know the rules. Plus you must understand the overall objective of the game. Without the rules or the objective clearly in mind, it is impossible to create a strategy for successfully playing the game of life.  You wander through life, as if you are part of a pinball machine, bouncing from one obstacle to another; catapulted into different directions and finally coming to rest through some arbitrary external power. Join us today for a better idea of the object of the game of life and the rules for playing it successfully.

Jim Lockard has been a member of the New Thought Movement for 28 years, since 1989. He is an evolutionary, which he defines as one who has a sense of affinity for the evolutionary development of people and systems, for his whole life. Hence – New Thought Evolutionary. His book, CREATING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY: A HANDBOOK FOR SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP , is on this topic for those in spiritual leadership. He served many years as senior minister and in shared ministry positions in Religious Science International and later Centers for Spiritual Living. We are over very happy to have him celebrating with us today.

Have you thought about the difference between passionate relationships and compassionate relationships? The former has more intensity and may burn brighter faster and sometimes burns out sooner. However, compassionate relationships are based on levels of intimacy. They may feel less urgent and overwhelming than passionate relationships, and they often endure the test of time. This week we will consider the characteristics of compassionate relationships, their value, and the tendency to misjudge them as lifeless or no longer viable. Compassion has a tendency to see the whole person, recognizing their struggles and their gifts. Compassionate Relationships include trust, commitment, and affection. Being fully alive involves all kinds of relationships. Please join us online as we explore these ideas.

We typically think of compassion as something we have for others, but this week, we ask, “What about US?” Self love and self care are important parts of practicing compassion for the self. How often do we get still, check in, and pause? Let’s show compassion for our true divine selves! It’s easier than you might think!

Our theme for the month is Compassion for the World

The Light Within is our true Divine Nature. It is our unity with Spirit. Some might call it the great “I AM” God-Presence found within each of us. Knowing “I AM” is the name of Infinite Intelligence, what does that mean for our use of those words as spiritual beings having a human experience?