Indeed :)

Today I was thinking of the hymn we sing in Mass "The Charity of Christ". :bunchflowers:

Empowered

I am energized and empowered as I rest in an awareness of God.

At times I may not feel empowered to do anything at all. Rather, I may feel emotionally drained or unsure of myself. To remind myself of God's power within me, I stop and pray.

Releasing the burden of worry or self-criticism, I allow myself to feel the presence of God. As I pray, I realize that I am a spiritual being. I have powerful and unique gifts to give to the world. I have divine strength and energy to do what is mine to do.

Prayer empowers me. Moments of silence--spontaneous or planned--allow me to reaffirm my oneness with God. I emerge energized and enlivened, ready to face my responsibilities with renewed joy and confidence.

For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you.--1 Thessalonians 1:4

http://www.dailyword.com/

I wanted to post about the blessings of laughter. Karl Barth once stated "Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God." How true it is! Joy, hope, humor, and laughter - they are all God's tender blessings.

Peace be with you all.

Acceptance

Freely and with love, I accept myself and others.

Great freedom comes from accepting people and circumstances as they are. Through acceptance, I release my need to control or change people or situations that are not mine to control. Peace comes from allowing things to unfold as they will. Through acceptance, I am free to embrace every situation and every person in a spirit of love.

The most important person for me to accept is me. I see myself as a child of God following a divinely inspired path to spiritual unfoldment. I let go of self-criticism and trust God. With a renewed sense of freedom and peace, I accept the people and circumstances in my life with love. I give thanks for the blessings they bring.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.--John 13:35

http://www.dailyword.com/

Citybutch,

I was thinking of the horrible aftermath of the storms down south (tornados). People who have lost everything and yet have the strength to help others. That is what life is about in my mind and soul. Life is about giving the other person a helping hand up, instead of finding ways to defeat them for self-serving purposes. You can see this happen in Japan, in Haiti, and now in America. Love is what life is all about.

Andrew

I hope everyone is doing well.

Andrew

Flexible

I experience the fullness of life.

Because I am flexible, I never give up on myself or my dreams. When a change seems to alter my plans, I don't give in to feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. My divine purpose is to be creative and to find fulfillment in whatever I am doing.

Any tendency to be rigid in my thinking falls away as I welcome divine ideas into my awareness. There is more than one way to the fulfillment of my heart's desires. A whole new world of possibilities is open to me.

Pressures or fears may threaten to derail my dreams; however, I am a spiritual being and I do not veer off the course on which Spirit is leading me. I eagerly move forward and experience the fullness of life with flexibility and the expectancy of good.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.--Philippians 4:13

http://www.dailyword.com/dailyword/51964

Simplicity

With childlike simplicity, I am carefree and at ease.

At times it may seem as if my life has become too busy or complicated. My obligations feel overwhelming, and I desire a simpler life. How can I recapture the joyful feeling of childhood, living in the moment, carefree and at ease?

I seek simplicity by remembering what is most important to me. I purposefully set aside a few moments each day for playful activities. Perhaps I drink in the delicate beauty of a flower, watch the clouds pass by, or appreciate the feel of sunshine on my face. I seek simplicity by balancing busyness with a renewed awareness of beauty. I am refreshed as I become like a child, seeing the world with a sense of awe and wonder.

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.--Matthew 18:3

http://www.dailyword.com/dailyword/51963

I hope everyone here is doing well. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Peace be with you. :vigil:

Andrew

Today particularly resonated...
 

Time Enough

This is a day of accomplishment and fulfillment.

Whenever I seem to be running out of time to do what I need to do, I take a reality check. Starting with this simple observation: There is the same amount of minutes and hours in each day. Check! I am the "master" of my time because I can make choices. Check! I have no reason to feel out of control as I look forward to the next few hours or days. Check!

I gain confidence about being the authority over my time by first starting my day with prayer. Centered and relaxed, I don't fight time; I go with the flow. I think with clarity and act efficiently. I know when to say yes and when to say no. I feel composed, and my day flows smoothly.

But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing."--Luke10:41-42

http://www.dailyword.com/dailyword/51992

The Lord's Prayer-From the original Aramaic-Jesus, Matt: 6-9
 

Oh Birther! Mother-Father of this cosmos,
Focus Your light within us-
make it useful.
Create Your reign of unity now through our fiery hearts and willing hands.
Help us love beyond our ideals,
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the Earth within us,
and feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within, so that we can mind our heart's simple ties to each other.
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.
Out of You, the astonishing fire,
Returning light and sound to the cosmos. Amen/Aum

Advice From Christ Financial
 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on Earth where moth and rust decay and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for for yourselves your treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal..For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

"No one can serve two masters, for either she/he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about what you will eat and drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothes?"

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet God feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

"Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to your stature? So why worry about clothing? Consider the lillies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as fine as one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will not God much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?

"Therefore, do not worry, saying: "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For after all these things the gentiles seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about it's own things. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble."

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/20...anton_0606.jpg
Alysa Stanton poses in front of an ark in the synagogue at Hebrew Union College, Thursday, May 21, 2009, in Cincinnati.Stanton is to be ordained June 6, as mainstream Judaism's first black woman rabbi. She will become the rabbi at Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville , N.C. , on Aug. 1.(From Time magazine; also featured on ABC news
Alysa Stanton, of Lakewood , Colorado , will
soon be the first female African-American rabbi anywhere.


Cleveland Heights native Alysa Stanton, an African-American woman who
converted from Christianity to Judaism two decades ago, is about to
change the course of world history.


The 45-year-old single mother of an adopted teenage daughter recently
completed rabbinical school and is about to become the first ever black
female rabbi, experts say.


Alysa Stanton
• Age: 45
• Born: Cleveland , lived in Cleveland Heights
• Achievement: First black women to be ordained a rabbi.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in psychology; master's in counseling
and multiculturalism; and a master's in Hebrew letters.
• On God: "I don't believe one has to warm a pew to be religious or
spiritual. I can find God in the mountains, in the trees, in the smile
of a baby. My God is too big to be boxed in."


Stanton will be ordained June 6 in Cincinnati where she graduated from
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She has already
secured a position at a synagogue in North Carolina .

Scholars believe Stanton will be the first black clergy woman in the
history of a religion that traces its roots back thousands of years to
Old Testament patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism first began ordaining
women in the 1970s and 1980s. But no black woman has been ordained
until now.

"I try not to think about it," Stanton said in a telephone interview
from Cincinnati this week. "It's daunting. I'm taking it with a sense
of awe and reverence. And a healthy dose of fear.

"I try not to focus on being the first. I focus on being the best --
the best human being, the best rabbi I can be."

Stanton was born in Cleveland and lived in Cleveland Heights, attending
Boulevard Elementary School , until she was 11 when her family,
Pentecostal Christians, moved to Denver .

It was in Cleveland Heights , she said, where she began a spiritual
quest, sampling various Christian denominations, but eventually coming
to Judaism.

"I believe I was born Jewish, but not of a Jewish womb," she said. "I
had to make it legal."

Stanton said she was attracted to the culture, creed and social justice
work of Judaism. "It involves more than worship," she said. "It's a way
of life."

In 1987, she converted, becoming one of the few black members of
Denver 's largest synagogue, Temple Emanuel , where she taught religion
and was a cantor.

With academic degrees in psychology and counseling from Colorado State
University in Denver , Stanton worked as a psychotherapist before
enrolling in Hebrew Union College in 2002. She studied in Israel her
first year.

"It's been quite a journey," she said, noting that along the way she
amassed $250,000 in student loan debt.

Asked whether she still carries remnants of Christianity, she quickly
responded: "I'm a Jew. But the fabric of our lives -- each thread --
hones us into who we are.

"My mom, for example, gave me the undeniable, unshakable faith in God.
That didn't change by my becoming a Jew. My history makes me therabbi
that I am. I want to help people in their spiritual journey whatever
that may be."

Joking, she added, "Some of my best friends are Christians."

Stanton is one of 43 rabbinical students who graduated this year from
the three campuses -- New York , Los Angeles and Cincinnati -- ofHebrew
Union .

Only about half of them have found work. Because of tough economic
times, school officials say, congregations are contributing less money,
forcing synagogues to tighten budgets.

Large congregations are going without assistant rabbis. Small
congregations are merging. And shrinking retirement funds are forcing
veteran and retired rabbis to keep working, crimping the job market.

"I am blessed," said Stanton, who, on August 1, will become rabbi of
Bayt Shalom in Greenville , N.C. , a 53-family congregation affiliated
with both the Conservative and Reform movements.

"I was their first choice," she said. "They were my first choice."

The irony of a black woman presiding over a white congregation in the
deep south is not lost on Stanton .

"God has a sense of humor," she said.

Rabbi David Weisberg, who taught Stanton Biblical studies at Hebrew
Union , said he was confident his student will do well wherever she goes.

"She's a good teacher and she brings lots of faith," he said. "I hope
some day we won't be concerned whether people are black or white, but
what they contribute to the community. Alysa makes a big contribution
to the community of humanity."

Stanton 's ordination has drawn widespread media attention from dozens
of news outlets as far away as England and Israel . And the buzz is
traveling quickly throughout the Jewish community worldwide.

Jewish scholars Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University and Ori Z.Soltes
of Georgetown University , both told The Plain Dealer they know of no
evidence of a black female ever being ordained a rabbi.

"It's very exiting," said Soltes.

Rabbi Joshua Caruso of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple inBeachwood said
Stanton was treated like a celebrity when she came to his temple in
January last year for a Martin Luther King Day service.

"People were fascinated," he said. "She is a special lady. She's very
charismatic. As a preacher, she has some wonderful stylistic skills and
deliveries that will grab people."

More than 50 friends and relatives from 12 states and Canada are going
to Cincinnati to celebrate Stanton 's ordination. Her mother, Anne
Harrison, 79, and daughter, Shana Michaela Stanton, 14, will be there.

So will the press.

"I'm living in a fishbowl," said Stanton , longing to be out of the
limelight. "But that comes with the honor I've been given.

"Up until now I've avoided interviews. But now it's celebratory time
and it's nice to be able to spread a little hope, inspiration and joy."

Drunk Text Message to God
 

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.


I had forgotten about that verse, to quote it word for word... being raised in the Dunkard Brethren Church, I should have had this committed to memory...I remembered the concept, but not the words... I am recently reminded, in a good way, how much I have lived my life by those words, and how my life was shaped by it's teachings...

I am a Pagan, on the Shamanic path and feel very much as you do. I see in others this practice, of accepting others where they are and I see the other behaviors. Where people have to convert others to their view in order to feel validated?? feel like they're right???
I don't get that need. I do talk too much at events and people don't get that behavior trait. Point it, we're all where we are in life. We are all on a path in life whether we like it or not. It's nice to see others who feel similarly. The honest thing to do in these cases is to reach for what we have in common and all the big religions have the same things in common (one Unifying God/Creator/Source, good actors, bad actors, spirits, people, animals, upper world and lower world, the major point....be a good human, etc.)
Thanks for the thread :poc-love:

Thank you for the quote. I usually say The Source because the term does not imply status on a power level. The Creator also works. The Great Spirit also works.
I do energy work. I have learned from my spirit guide that estrogen is the hormone you use to connect to the Source. Serotonin is another psychic hormone and it puts spirit energy into matter. I tend to piss people off a lot when I say this (especially spiritual men). I had a very hard time believing this and yet, all we do/think/feel is because of a hormone, neurotransmitter or other trace protein structure. Estrogen is the hormone that engenders grace, beauty, patience, respect, change, acceptance, etc. all the great traits of The Source.
We do get all this thru our perception, it's all filtered thru our personality type (for example, alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and all expressed thru the action or inaction of our hormones and neurotransmitters. The concept of God is so profoundly deep and beyond me at many moments during the day. It's good to get reminders that we're all in this together, we're all seeking, exploring and making sense of this path and we all are specks of light in the sparkling , dazzling eye of the Source.

Awakened Kundalini: Paths On The Way
 

A.When throbbing of mooladhar begins, the whole body shakes involuntarily, the lungs fill with air, and is forcibly exhaled out. Without volition deep exhaling of breath starts and the body gets uncontrollable, know then, that the kundalini energy has awakened. You then should give up your assertions, and witness what happens.
B. When your body begins trembling, hair stands on end, you laugh or begin to weep without your wishing, your tongue begins to utter deformed sounds, you are filled with fear or see frightening visions, Think that the Kundalini Shakti has become active.
C. When your posture becomes fixed, and orgasm comes involuntarily, your tongue reverts back or rises up toward the palate, and the whole body becomes active that you are unable to stay still, your hands and legs stretch out forcibly, then you ought to know the Divine Power of the Goddess Kundalini has come into action.
D. When your posture becomes fixed and sight is attracted toward the middle point between the eyebrows, the eyeballs begin to revolve, you get automatic Kewal-Kumbhak cessation of breath comes, with no effort for inhaling or exhaling and the mind becomes vacant, void of all knowledge, understand that Maharamaya, the first born Shakti, the Goddess of Kundalini has come into action.
E. When you feel currents of energy (Prana) rising up your cerebrum within you, automatic Aum starts and the mind experiences waves after waves of blissful beautitude (as experienced by catholic saints also), think the Universal Mother Kundalini has come into action.
F. When different kinds of Nad become audible, your spinal column experiences vibrations, and feeling of bodily existence becomes lost. Your eyes open and close without volition, electric like currents flow up and down the nerves, and you have convulsions, konow that Mahamaya Kundalini has come into action.
G. When your mind gets influenced spiritually as if some spirit has taken possession of your body, and you can do different postures of yoga without pain or fatigue, and you feel increasingly energetic, and strange sort of breathing excersizes start, think that the Divine Power Of Kundalini has come into action.
H. When you no sooner have sat with eyes closed than the body begins to show activity of throwing out limbs, utter sounds like those of animals, birds, frogs, lions, wolves, jackels, dogs, tigers, fear inspiring and not pleasing to hear, understand that the Great Goddess Kundalini has come into action.
I. When you feel vibrations of energy at different stages inside your body, and feel it's flow wherever you fix your attention and nerves begin to show easy jerks like electricity passing through them, know that the Goddess Kundalini has come into action.
J. When all day and night you feel within your body some activity of energy. Wherever you concentrate your mind, your body at once begins to shake or toss, yet your mind remanins full of joy and bliss, and you can feel energy rising even in your dreams, you are experiencing HER Presence. Know that the joy inspiring Kundalini has come into action.
K. As soon as you sit for prayer your body begins to shake with the ecstacy of joy and you begin to sing songs/hymns of charming music, and write poems naturally, you must know that the Goddess Saraswati of speech has awakened into action.
L.When you feel intoxivated without taking any drugs, while walking your steps float majestically or are awkward, and you stagger,like one drunk of divinity, know that your Atma Shakti Kundalini, the power of Self, has come into action.
M. While walking, your mind is filled with an impulse to walk faster, and your feet begin running, you feel lighter than air, and do not feel fatigued having gone far, and you feel energetic and happy even in your dreams, and you can keep the balance of your mind undisturbed in all ups and downs, and you acquire inexhausible energy for work, know that Brahma Shakti Kundalini has come into action.
N. When you are in meditation the future unfolds it's secrets to you, hidden meanins of Scripture become clear, you acquire insight into occult practices, understand that Kundalini the bestower of occult power has come into action.
O. When seated in meditaton, your sight becomes fixed in the middle of the eyebrows, and your mind plunges into an ocean of bliss, you have the power of Kundalini.
P. When at morning and evening hours punctually and automatically your body becomes charged with energy and divine influences and you become overpowered by HER, know the Goddess Kundalini is rightly functioning.

From Deva Shakti (Kundalini) Her Divine Power
by Swami Ram Tirtha.

This is a hard lesson for me to learn and re-learn. I admit I am a Prima Donna. I'm spoiled and have wants and desires. All wants, craving, MUST HAVE feeling is related to how one runs dopamine. And dopamine is ... intense and mean. There is no other way of seeing it.
James Holmes out in Colorado...his dopamine has spiked, probably with testosterone and he spiraled into a T, D, violent and euphoric state. Now he's looking blank (a flat affect is a sign of lack of dopamine, former meth-users have this same look) according to the media. People are wondering how he can be so emotionless (they are giving him serotonin-increasing meds, S and D work at inverse proportion to each other)
The hoarding, the serving 2 masters (usually in secret), the fear-induced clutching for possessions, goods, the best foods, etc......it's dopamine related. I want what I want because I have the delusion that I am entitled to whatever I want.
Serotonin engenders well-being and happiness. You feel what you need (I need air. I need water, I need healthy foods and not really much more.). No hoarding because there's no fear-based clutching onto possessions. The focus is away from ego protection, status protection, "saving face", escalating desires, etc. Because the fallacy of dopamine is that having our wants and desires met will make us happy. This is far from true. Dopamine will only make us crave more. There is no end to the bottomless pit of want/desire.

Mariamma; Hardly anyone takes this advice from Jesus, and it is certainly not for the faint-hearted. My financial life has been like that Indiana Jones movie where Harrison Ford is about to get the Holy Grail but he's facing a great divide, a canyon that he must get across. There is no bridge, no rope, nothing. But Indiana remembers the prophesies just in time imploring him to make a leap of faith. He steps out into the canyon and when he does, a bridge materializes under his feet lol! I believe this is a key to walking with the Source. My spirit guide tests my faith using dreams. One time I was high on a mountain cliff in the dark and told by a powerful voice in the sky to jump, and being the warrior that I am, I did, and landed on a sandy beach with him watching another mountain rise out of the ocean lol. The place we want to get to is to be able to change the atomic structure of these un balanced chemical reactions without using synthetics.

My spirituality is complicated...

I was born jewish but I don't practice except for some of the holidays. However, I am starting to observe shabbat on friday nights.
I have guilt because I don't have children. My being gay with no children doesn't go over very well at an orthodox synagogue where I used to attend. Although it's more accepted at the conservative one I used to be a member of, I tend to stay away.

I am a spiritualist because I inherited my ability to see those on the other side of life.

I refuse to associate with the MCC (gay friendly church, I don't believe in Jesus).
The MCC church where I live treated me harshly when I was trying to get help for a stone butch/ftm youth who I was mentoring (he became nationally known due to a court case involving his having sex with some girls.. parents thought he was a boy. Up against felony charge). He was in Advocate and Out magazines.

God? Sometimes I wonder if there is a god at all, because of what happened with the Holocaust.

I am somewhat curious about buddhism.
I suppose my spirituality is a mixed bag!

Deborah