Living in Gratitude

In the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November is a time for being grateful for all that we have. It has become traditional to enjoy a feast in celebration of blessings. The act of gratitude carries a powerful energy, not only in making one realize how much there is to appreciate around us, but also in generating more things to be grateful for. Yes, gratitude generates more blessings, if approached in the proper way.

Many of us have been taught to be grateful, but it is often with the overshadowing idea that we should be grateful because we dont' deserve the things we have. How many times have you heard, "Everything you have is God's...Everything you receive is only by His grace"...This thought process dilutes the power of gratitude. It plants the idea that we do not deserve anything, that we are not worthy of our blessings. While it is great to appreciate God's goodness or the blessings of the Universe, we also need to remember that we are deserving of goodness. It is only when we feel that we are not deserving, that we are bad or unworthy, that we BECOME less.

Guilt makes us feel that we are less than the magnificent beings that we are. It prevents us from feeling God's love. It creates our SEPARATION from God, not our CONNECTION to God. Until we release guilt, love ourselves, and remember our perfection beneath the negativity, we cannot be ONE with God. If Hell is a separation from God, then we create our Hell through guilt, which also tells us that we do not deserve more. Hell is not a place we go to after living a "bad" life, it is what we create in our minds from feeling guilt and unworhtiness.

To return to God/Source and to our own greatness as the Divine beings we were created to be, we must give up guilt and live in true gratitude - a gratitude that includes full acceptance that we deserve our blessings. Once we begin to practice this and believe it, we know that we are here to do more, that we have a greater purpose in this world. We then remember our Oneness with God and return to Heaven, leaving behind the Hell that is simply our own creation.

In this month of giving thanks, make a list of the things you are grateful for, and do so with the thought that each and every good thing you are listing is deserved. Move beyond the things that are easily seen as "good", and become grateful for the "bad" things or the difficulties you have experienced, understanding that they were opportuntities for growth or an avenue to get you where you are now. Forgive others who you may have perceived as doing you wrong and instead be grateful for what they taught you. It will lift burdens and open you up to experience deep joy.

True and complete gratitude will bring you gifts and blessings beyond what you have ever imagined. Make your list...add to it daily....see the good in the hardship...and more importantly, see the good in yourself and know that the best is yet to come and that you deserve it. After you have listed the things you are currently grateful for, make a list of things you will be grateful for in the future...a wish list of sorts. Feel gratitude for them in advance...and watch them begin to unfold.

One of the many things I am grateful for is those of you who read my blogs and have been touched by these thoughts. You are helping me live out my purpose to love, share, and heal. Thanks to each and every one of you.

An Honest Day's Play

The phrase, "an honest day's work" is one that many of us have heard very often, with the connotation that work is always admirable and honest...and play, well not so much. We have falsely been given the impression that work is good while things that purely for pleasure are indulgent, not totally necessary in our lives. Those who play often are looked at as not serious enough, lazy, unmotivated, undisciplined. We pressure our children to strive for more, barely acknowledging their last accomplishments before pressing on to the next challenge. Our Type-A society leaves little room for out-and-out relaxation or seemingly unproductive play.

Young children know how to play. They don't even think about it, not weighing whether it would be better to reorganize their closet or chase butterflies, not admonishing themselves for playing too much or regretting what they should have gotten more tasks done instead. I believe that children are closest to God among us, because they remember pure joy. They expect that their needs will be met and are therefore able just enjoy the moment. It is not until we burden them with our society's troubles and pressures that they forget.

In Biblical context, Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3, NIV)

I believe Jesus was telling us to be like children, trust like children, play like children...to give up our worldly/adult ways of worrying, toiling, and needing to be right, to instead finding what makes us joyous and doing it. There is a popular phrase, Find Your Bliss which provides good advice. Until we find our bliss, our joy, our playfulness - until (we) become like little children - we will never be closer to God, will never fully return to Him, will never return to our true and wondrous selves and enjoy heaven. In our worldly/adult world we create hell, not knowing that heaven is in our grasp at all times. We cannot find God/Source through analyzing, debating, or arguing who is right or through jockeying for acceptance through broadcasting our ego-based achievements...We can only find that place by finding our childlike playfulness, revisiting the experience of joy and peace, letting it ripple out from us to others.

Take regular time out for an honest day's play. It is where you will find your bliss and find heaven again.

Are You Choosing Heaven?

Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find. (-Wayne Dyer)

This quote from Wayne Dyer sums up why we have misery in our lives. It is our perception about our situation that makes it miserable, not the situation itself. By choosing to look at the events of our lives as gifts, knowing that the Universe (God) will provide us exactly what we need in each step, we will overcome any problems and have Heaven on a daily basis. By focusing instead on the misery - as so many people choose to do, as our media chooses to do, as our leaders or ministers choose to do - we stay in the place of misery...our own Hell. Heaven is there for us all the time, we just choose not to see it.

We all have "problems" in our lives. They are merely avenues for us to learn something more quickly, gifts that help us to move forward in our spiritual awareness at a faster pace. By seeing these obstacles as gifts, we take their power away and reclaim our own. As soon as our perception changes, so does the situation. As soon as we decide not to let the misery own us, but instead to use it to make us stronger, that misery loses any strength it has over our lives.

I have, for most of my life, been a person who sees "the glass half full" and have generally had a positive outlook on life, knowing that hardship has its benefits and that everything happens for a reason. In the same way that exercising our bodies, even though it is unpleasant at times, makes us physically stronger and healthier, exercising our inner strength to overcome obstacles makes us mentally and emotionally stronger, unless we let the hardship defeat us. Yet, even with the positive attitude or awareness, I sometimes fall into the negative trap as well, and I always notice that when I head in that direction, it is so easy to let it spiral; but when I snap out of it, everything is suddenly okay and solutions appear that I had not thought about. When I give the negative issue less merit, it has less strength. It is sometimes hard to remember this in the moment, but I am working on it, and I have noticed great improvement in my recovery speed and my ability to "choose Heaven" again with less delay. It truly is a choice, and one the we must remind ourselves to make each and every day until it becomes the only way we live.

Most of us know individuals who seem to cling to misery like a child clings to a security blanket, not wanting to let go of their excuses because it might require that they actually be accountable for their own happiness, their own Heaven. They want to find happiness, or have it find them, rather than just choosing it. Sometimes, being around these individuals keeps us in their low energy, causes us to not to choose our own Heaven, but we have to learn to detach from others' misery just as we have to detach from our own. Misery may love company, but it cannot make us happy or help us choose heaven. We must choose to move beyond misery, whether it is our own misery, or that of those around us.

If you would like to let go of your misery and choose Heaven on Earth, make a list of the good things in your life and be grateful for them. Then (and this is the harder part) make another list of the bad things or the difficulties you have faced...AND BE GRATEFUL FOR THEM. Alongside each item on your list, note something that you gained from it (i.e. "I became stronger"...."losing that job opened me up to finding a better one (or helped me reassess my life/career".... "that person treating me badly helped me see that I needed to move on from that relationship".

This process of being grateful for the negative events sets us free from their hold on us, liberating us from the misery we are clinging to, even if in subtle ways. It is a truly empowering process, and one that is so potent that it can change your life, helping you receive more positive events. Let go of your misery and choose Heaven - choose to see perfection. It will diffuse every thing that is negative in your life.

The 2012 Debate

A friend and fellow "spiritual seeker" emailed me last night to ask about my take on the 2012 debate...Will it be a time of spiritual awakening on a large scale?...Will it be Dooms Day? For those who are not familiar with this subject, 2012 marks the end of the Mayan calendar and ancient predictions for this powerful time and what it would bring. Some have come to think of as the potential apocalypse, giving ample opportunity for speculation. This topic is getting increasing attention, because many people feel very strongly about it on both sides, while others attribute it to being merely another Y2K "scam". I will say that, like Y2K, the outcome will be a result of our attention to it. The preparation leading to and attention shown to Y2K meant that a situtation that could have created chaos ran smoothly instead. Many chose to attach to the fear element of Y2K, rather than just preparing for it in such a way that it could go as smoothly as possible. In that fear, many moments of their lives were lost because they chose to focus their energy on how bad it was going to be. It is a testament to how we, as a society, choose to cling to the negative rather than the positive. A quick surf through the television lineup or our news programs makes that very clear.

I believe that the 2012 experience will be determined by how we look at it and what we do to prepare for it. But unlike Y2K, which was an incident of preventing a breakdown that would bring on disaster, 2012 may be an opportunity to create a breakthrough that would bring on a new world and new paradigm. Certainly, it is worth exploring and considering that possibility, or contributing to it, each in our own way.

Below is my email response to my friend to summarize how I feel about 2012. I get this partly from reading about 2012 theories, but mostly from feelings that I have deep inside about it. From my experiences, when we make attempts to get deeply connected, we can feel information in a sense of "knowing" that goes beyond just thinking or intellectual debate. These are simply my thoughts and feelings...you may have your own, or you may find that these thoughts resonate with you as you go into your deeper, knowing state. Here is my response:

2012…I definitely have thoughts and feelings about it and believe that it is indeed a turning point and shift. I have read some about it, but most of my feelings are more from internal things and vibes than anything else. I think that the things that are happening now, with so many people feeling an awakening or a calling, have to do with this energy that is increasing – leading up to that time. I think that we can make it happen in a fantastic way or we can prevent it from happening (“we” meaning the collective consciousness). I think that is why each person that we can touch in such a way as to “get them on board” so to speak, to encourage to open their mind, the more likely we are as a society to make wondrous things happen...to usher in a New World...A New Eden. I think you probably know what I mean…you meet someone and have the urge to share certain things with them…like Reiki, or angel talk, or new ways of looking at God… yet with other people, you don’t have such an urge. I think that once we get ourselves more “in tune” to the new energy patterns, the better we can identify others who may be on the verge of some kind of awakening or ready to connect. I believe many of us are here for that purpose and know it deep down inside….like we came here for this time and this transition and have to help each other awaken to remember that.

I actually believe the concept of 2012 is very much like the concept from the prophecy in the book of Revelation…”one will rise up from the field, and one will be left standing” (to paraphrase a little). Our human brains and religious training tend to make us try to translate that literally, thinking that God will come around and “snatch” up the good people to heaven, and then just leave the bad people behind. But I think it is more of a symbolic rising up…rising to another energetic dimension where the perception shifts to a more peaceful place – and place more in tune with God (heaven on earth). It is "ascension" to a better place within ourselves, and one that will change our lives.

I also think 2012 will feel like “Dooms Day” to many who are afraid of a shift in the old paradigms, or who resist it entirely. They will cling to the old ways afraid of the new, and may feel frantic about the loss of control or power in those paradigms. I even think that things like the economic troubles we are having are part of this shift…an opportunity for us to become less dependent on “stuff” to make us happy, so that we can get back to ourselves…back to our spirit...more truly back to God and our Oneness with Him, but in a new and more meaningful way than we have ever known. Those who embrace the challenge and just get real again and back in touch with themselves will rise above the economic troubles, those who stay fearful or bitter will get stuck. Likewise, those who find peace within themselves will contribute to peace in the world, but those who cannot find peace within themselves will feel the need to stir up and keep angst and trouble going. Their inner turmoil will contribute to outer/worldly turmoil, while those with inner peace will contribute to outer/worldly peace. It is simply a matter of which collective energy we, as individuals, choose to contribute to. If we can reach that magic "critical mass" number, whatever that may be, where the positve and loving energy is greater than the negative and judging energy, then we will arrive at that new place. 2012 and these years leading up to it may present a unique opportunity within elements of the universe which could make the task easier (going with the flow of the universe rather than against it...riding that powerful tide).

I see 2012 as a real opportunity for the world to change – but it is not just going to happen because it is that “time”…the opportunity will happen…the universe will be ready (astrologically, etc)…but we, as a collective consciousness, will have to usher in the new paradigms and the shifts through our own individual shifts.

That’s just my 2 cents worth!

Each of you reading this may have your own ideas about 2012...that it will be a mass awakening...that it will be Dooms Day...or that is is much ado about nothing. But if there is indeed an opportunity for it to be a mass awakening or Dooms Day, which would you prefer, and which would you want be part of? Whether 2012 exists or not, we each have a daily choice of being part of making something good through pure, unconditional love that is not based on judgment or control, or making something not-so-good through our fear-based thinking that generates a need to control and condemn.

Which do you choose? Which have you chosen in your actions thus far today? Which will you choose in your actions for the rest of today...for tomorrow...for the future? Will you simply wait for the world to change or will you be part of that positive change? The choice, as always, is yours.