Center for Spiritual Living Midtown

"The Truth is, this Power can only do for us what we allow it to do. And what we allow it to do is limited by what we believe it can do, and what we believe we deserve. In other words, if our idea of God is limited, like the image we believed in as children, then our life will also be limited, because the life we live can never be greater than the kind of God we believe in. However, if we believe that God is Infinite Mind --- if we believe that It is Life, Love, Light, Peace, Power, Beauty and Joy, and if we believe that it is Pure Consciousness, endlessly evolving in the world IN, AS, and THROUGH us --- that gives us a whole lot more room to grow."

Janus is the Roman God that is two-faced, one face looking backwards, and one looking forward. January is named after this God. To look back at the prior year, a time to tie up loose ends, and be grateful for ALL that transpired in 2013. And to look forward, not in anticipation, but in expectancy, in the knowing that 2014 doesn't happen to us... that we actually happen to 2014.

"The Christmas story about a child, born  into a dangerous and inhospitable world, should show us that there is always a seed of hope, a spark of joy, being born inside of us, ready to grow into something that will change our life. It can come to us even when our world seems to be falling apart. Metaphysically speaking, this child, the Christ child, is not the Messiah, at least not in the physical sense of the word. Instead, it is a Divine Idea; it is a newborn spiritual consciousness that's perfectly capable of saving us, not from original sin, but saving us from the consciousness of limitation that

the world tries to impose upon us from the day we are born." 

For some refugees, it is 200 miles from the island of Java to Christmas Island, an island of refuge of Australia for those being persecuted for religious reasons. Thousands of people are risking their lives for this freedom. So 200 miles stands between them and their freedom, but some of us have shorter distances between where we are now and our sense our freedom lies. Some have a distance keeping them from their 'freedom', some have time keeping them from 'freedom', some have people keeping them from their 'freedom'. But we know something greater, we know the distance to freedom and it is a lot shorter distance than you think. We'll find what that 'distance' is on Sunday.

"Every day we go out into the world under the assumption that we have only a certain amount of time, energy and money to spend on things that will make our life better. Meanwhile, there are people everywhere who are doing work they love, enjoying a satisfying relationship, living in a healthy body, with all the money they need to do the things they love to do. Every one of them was born into the same world we were. They all have exactly the same amount of time that we have: 1440 minutes every day --- use it or lose it. Their body was originally designed to work the same as ours, maybe with a few minor exceptions. And their prosperity comes, not from their job or their parents, but from their beliefs about themselves and the world they live in, which --- once again --- is the same world we live in. So what's the difference between us and them? They're just smarter shoppers, that's all."

It is a rare weekend when the Thanksgiving weekend and the Hanukkah celebration fall on the same weekend so we will not only look at the historical significance of both celebrations, but also too, look at their spiritual implications. Then we will take that information and apply what it means to US, our personal lives, on this Thanksgiving Weekend /Hanukkah week of 2013.

As we going into this season of change, we realize that our entire lives are about change and it seems like there are three ways to approach it: 1) Be the first leaf to fall and follow the mood of the minute; 2) Be the leaf to fall in the middle of Fall when all the other leaves seem to fall; or 3) Be the last leaf to fall, holding on for not wanting to change. None of these are good nor bad, but there is a 

deeper choice, a deeper knowing when the right time is to make a

change.

“The most basic, fundamental, powerful choices in our life --- the ones that control everything else --- are really pretty simple and straightforward. And we all know what they are (or at least we should). Do I want to be prosperous or not? Do I want to be healthy or not? Do I want to love the work I do or not? Do I want to have love in my life or not? I know what my answers are; but everyone has to choose their own. You can say yes, no, or maybe; there is no right or wrong answer. But I can tell you this: a wishy-washy answer is guaranteed to produce wishy-washy results. On the other hand, once we choose a definite answer to any or all of these questions, with complete commitment, all the other choices will be a piece of cake. And our life will start to look a lot more like we want it to look.”

As we get into the month of November, there will be a lot of references to gratitude and thanksgiving. I will do my part and share with you an ancient Hawaiian teaching that uses GRATITUDE as a healing step in returning to wholeness in any situation. Gratitude is greatly misunderstood in Treatment as well as in the healing process, so we will get to the root of it, the root of THANKSGIVING, in Treatment, in healing, in Living.

Got Wow!? Life is full of moments. Some we remember. Some we forget. Usually the "Wow moments" are remembered. 
Wow moments can be from whale watching in Maui to the passing of a friend within a month of become aware of a cancer diagnosis. Emotions and feelings run the gambit, but we grow from both when we are open and willing. Of course one appears more challenging the other. Without it how would we know the difference? Life Sunshine and Rain! How do we raise our vibration through the tougher Wow moments of life as well as maintain a zest for life? We are energetic beings full of life! We can align with our greatest good or worse outcomes. 

This Sunday, I invite you to consider aligning at a higher vibration.
Generate more and lasting life enhancing Wow moments. Take the high road even when the lesser seems preferred. Demonstrating compassion for self and others through the difficult times. Get more Wow ! out of life.