Are You God?

I was part of a Wayne Dyer online event two nights ago and there were many lines that touched me. Most were of a similar nature to things that I have learned or said myself, but there is something about the combined energy that sometimes makes spiritual truths resonate deeper, and this man's voice and gentle soul have a unique way of connecting. I have also been putting great effort into getting re-focused lately and I can feel the shift back into a place of greater connection, so I think these thoughts and ideas came through even stronger to reiterate their importance in this moment, both for me and others.

One part that stood out to me was Wayne quoting someone he had encountered a long time ago who asked, "Are You God?," with the daring answer back to them, "Yes, and the only difference in you and me is that I know it." Our religions have led us to believe this sort of thinking is wrong or even blasphemous, yet Jesus himself tried very hard to convince followers of the very same thing, knowing that its truth would set them free. In his statements, "I and the Father are one," he conveyed this exact idea, wanting us to understand that we are part of God, we ARE God, and we CANNOT be apart from God...only our own thoughts and limitations prevent us from touching our Divinity. Our truest nature is of this Divinity, but we convince ourselves, with the help of others, that we are woefully flawed and unworthy. Our thoughts create our reality, and we spiral into becoming flawed and unworthy, never fulfilling our Divine purpose or our true greatness.

Wayne's message, although not an entirely new one, was "Surrender to God and let it flow". It is as simple as that, yet we fight it our entire lives. Surrendering to God does not mean joining a church, or being present on the pew every Sunday morning. No church is necessaryy, no person or material outside of your true self is required. You have it within you, and have had it all along. Remembering your Divinity is the only step that is needed to step into it and become it - to fix your life and claim your rightful place as a shining light.

Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world," but he also reminded us that WE ARE each the LIGHT of the world. Remember and believe this and you will become the shining light that you were meant to be.

A New Day

Today is Inauguration day. I have always loved this day, as a renewal, and a tribute to the peaceful transfer of power. Today is a day for us to join together in positive spirit and be hopeful for good things to come. The political climate of the last decade or so has encouraged little of that spirit, seeking instead to attack the opposition with cynicism, but We, the People, can commit to sending our hopes and dreams for a bright future out into the universe collectively. We are now more aware of how thoughts create reality...positive thoughts being more powerful than negative ones....with collective thoughts having exponentially greater effect. It is the same as the Biblical concept of group prayer or the spiritual practice of group meditation. Our thoughts are our prayers, and we can choose to ask for negative or positive things through our thoughts. It matters not the words we say, our thoughts are what is heard and acted upon.

The human soul longs for moments of renewal, and today is a day of regeneration and celebration. Long before November's election, I decided that I would send love and light to each of the candidates, and would send the same positive energy to whomever ultimately won the honor, asking that their highest self take over in leadership, asking they be able to lay down the politics and lead from their soul. I am doing that today. I think many others are doing the same because there is a collective energy of excitement from both those who voted for President Obama and those who did not. Our power and outcomes flow not from Washington or those who are elected to high positions, our true power flows from our collective consciousness. We should not let the backstabbing ways of the Beltway control us as they have for the last several years, but should instead choose to "lead" our country as individuals who long for more, expect more, and send out the positive energy to bring more, being grateful for all that we have.

Celebrate this day as a renewal of our freedom, a testament to how far we have come in our willingness to elect or even consider a black man for president. Celebrate this as a day that we as individuals can claim our place as leaders in spiritual renewal, ushering in our own personal inauguration of a deeper faith. Take your own oath today in a commitment to change your life and the lives of those around you. You can lead just as much as an elected official by your actions and your willingness to consider a greater way and a better world.

Namaste.

Non-Judgment Day Is Near

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, refreshingly, Non-Judgment Day Is Near. It was a simple statement that immediately touched me, as the simplest of thoughts are often the most profound. That one thought sums up the problems of the world. For most of our lives, those of us in Judeo-Christian society, or any society that is heavily influenced by organized religion, have been reminded that Judgment Day is coming. This reminder has been laden with fear and a desire to get people in line - to control them - to make them succumb to the ways of the religion out of worry that they would not be ready for Judgment Day, or for that final reckoning.

The result is that we are living in supreme judgment every day, with everything around us being about judging, whether it is the churches that measure us by whether or not we do everything in a way that is suitable to them, or simply the community that measures us by what job we do, where we live, what we drive. We judge each other through our prejudices and our reluctance to embrace anything different from our own ways. The message of Christ was for us to remove ourselves from judgment, but we have failed miserably in that endeavor. The very institutions that proclaim to be about Christ are perhaps the worst in following his primary message, but instead continue to judge and heap guilt on those that do not follow their chosen ways.

Imagine how amazing our world could be if we could just refrain from judging those around us and adopt an attitude more in the "live-and-let-live" way of thinking, dishing out love instead of judgment. If we simply toned down our negative thought to a lesser degree and increased our love and acceptance a tiny bit, the difference would be amazing.

If you, as one single person on this planet, looked within your heart and realized that your ways, your thoughts, or your choices might be best for you, but not best for someone else - or that you may not know someone's else situation enough to place your condescending thought upon them - you could make a difference in the world. That one little step could change your perspective and your life, and in turn, change the life of another, and another. Can you find it within yourself to lay down your judgment of others (and even your negative judgement of yourself, also known as guilt). Look at others with a willingness to see something good about them, and look at yourself with the same loving eyes. Make it a resolution for this new year to do this, one day at a time, and see the difference that it makes around you. I think you will be very pleasantly rewarded.

Set your goals on Non-Judgment Day instead of Judgment Day and it will make all the difference in your experience. That is the message of the Christ that has been forgotten and ignored. Seek to live it.