Center for Spiritual Living Midtown

In a world of Oneness we are called upon to embrace all of Creations as springing from the same source as we are. This includes things we just don’t like. People who seem so opposite from us that we can’t imagine how the same Spirit of Life, produced them. Those lists are different for each of us. Nature has many animals, bugs, spiders, and the like that are beautiful to one person and terrifying to another. Human beings have behaviors that seem loving to one person and repulsive to someone else. How do we navigate thoughtfully and compassionately through this amazing world of diversity in which we live with while joyfully recognizing the beautiful in it all?

AFFIRMATION:  I embrace all life, including the fuzzy, furry and tiny.

Nature is first and foremost Natural. This statement from various New Thought literature seems kind of silly. Well of course Nature is natural. What else could it be. Well, here is the profound part: you too are completely natural! Everything that seems to be supernatural and miraculous in your life is actually quite Natural. Humans are quick to assign the term Miracle to things we don’t understand but in truth they are just that, things we don’t yet understand. Today’s magic is tomorrow’s science. Why does this matter? Because It empowers us to participate fully in this amazing creative universe as we use the natural forces of our natures to create the change that we desire for ours and the greater good of all. 

Weekly Affirmation: I am One with all of Life on planet Earth.

What we believe about God determines how and whether we are aware of a relationship. In this teaching about Oneness, no matter who or what the relationship is, it must be a relationship with God, the Infinite One, since God is All there Is. And ultimately it is a demonstration of God’s relationship with ItSelf. We can participate in this consciously and welcome more wonder and awe or unconsciously and keep reaping what we see in the world of collective consciousness. 

Week’s Affirmation: My relationships with everything demonstrates my relationship with God.

When we are in harmony with and in respectful relationship with all of nature, we find a level of sacredness and beauty we were previously oblivious to. Nature, the universe is the physical expression of the body of God, why would we ever desecrate our relationship with it? 

Week’s Affirmation: All life is natural. Wherever I am in any given moment the Infinite is fully present. 

The relationships we have with the broader gathering of people is what has created and continues to create societies. The agreements we make consciously and those we agree to by default are what affect and govern how we interact and relate to one another. 

Week’s Affirmation: I am a powerful catalyst of love within society.

 Let’s explore the relationships we have with those closest to us and those farthest from us and how all are shaped by how each of us understands and relates to the collective “We.” There can be no wonder or peace if we hold contempt and distrust for the collective “We.” 

Week’s Affirmation: I celebrate the We, which is intimately One with Itself. 

The relationship we have with ourselves is the foundation upon which all other relationships are formed. Which do we choose: self-love or self-hatred, self-worth or invalidation of self? Our invitation today is to learn how to love ourselves and to practice this deeper, fuller, more complete embodiment of love. 

Week’s Affirmation: The Universe loving Itself is expressed as my Self-Love.

This week, we are exploring how our bodies are truly living communication devices with a line directly to Source. When we learn to listen to what our bodies are telling us, we move into flow with the One and can experience a full, gentle, authentic life. The body is a powerful tool for manifesting whatever is imprinted in first cause (Consciousness). We can work both top-down (from mind to body) and bottom-up (from body to mind) to experience the reciprocal relationship with Consciousness through the body. Your body is a communication device with your whole being, Spirit, Mind and Body.  We can use our bodies to feel into every moment, becoming completely present to the here and now. Our bodies are more than containers walking our consciousness around, they are the exact point in space and time where we are pressed from limitless possibility into perfect and precise expression. 

Weekly Affirmation: I listen to my body, knowing it is speaking as Truth. 

Our bodies, being intricately connected and responsive to our minds, remember even the stories that our minds have pushed aside. This week, we will explore the mind/body connection, how trauma or pain is translated from the mind to the body, and methods for understanding and releasing these burdens. 

Weekly Affirmation: I feel and honor every sensation in my body. 

Our bodies are perfectly and wonderfully made! By learning to love our bodies exactly as they are, instead of demanding that they become something they aren’t, we open to the experience of the here and now and can move into reverence and awe of this absolutely divine creation. The body is not separate from our spiritual life, but is an amazing and awe-inspiring manifestation of our spiritual life. We are not souls trapped in fleshy boxes which carry our consciousness from room to room, but rather fully integrated organisms who inhabit and contain dynamic, living temples. Our bodies exist in all their glorious variety so that the One can express itself in creative and beautiful ways, just like there are a variety of flowers in a field, so there is a beautiful magic in bodies of all kinds. 

Weekly Affirmation: I delight in the wonder of my body and I treat it kindly.