A Prayer of Faith

Living in the interplay of Divine Potential,

I awake to the high vibration of faith,

free-flowing through macrocosmic correspondence.

Conscious of who I am, dazzled by what I see,

I bring forth Divine inspiration,

raising my lower self to its highmost.

Choosing Trust over fear, all I do, say and write

casts my vibrational vote of love for Heaven on Earth.

I am emancipated from the fear-filled self,

lifting me to a whole new plane of spiritual magnitude

where all is resolved by faithfulness to the truth.

Any abstractions that entered my casual periphery

now reverse themselves through faithful re-alignment

with the stabilizing element of this, my incarnation.

Knowing God as indivisible,

I am at peace with Its multiplicity.

Unobstructed and free from interference,

the battle between the higher and lower energies subside

as the clash of colors return to their perfect blend.

Even in the midst of darkness and doubt,

my faith and trust intensifies, proving God prevails.

Wakefulness, quieting the cacophony of this world,

finds the distortion of longing

replaced by a deep sense of spiritual knowingness.

I find the light, not by turning back from darkness,

but by courageously walking through it.

Faithfully claiming the Divine power I am,

self-assured of the perfect outcome,

I confidently step into my greatest challenge.

Knowing all the forces of the universe unite

to bring any imbalance to a complete healing.

I trust the shift takes place in my awareness,

giving my spirit the growth it came here to learn.

No longer deceived by the malleable ways of this world,

my soul’s eye becomes faithfully transfixed on God.

I dissolve any fears of folly by refusing to respond

to anything but the deepest and highest.

Grateful to have arrived at the point where I started,

in loving partnership with the Omnipotent,

I know this place for the first time, again and again

with a heart refreshed and renewed and a faith-filled spirit.

And so it is!

Rev. Christian

Post Election Reflection

Some of my thoughts after the presidential election – In love, Rev. Christian

TO DESERT THE TRUTH IN THE HOUR OF NEED IS TO PROVE THAT WE DO NOT KNOW THE TRUTH.  When things look the worst, that is the supreme moment to demonstrate, to ourselves, that there are no obstructions to the operation of Truth.  When things look the worst is the best time to work, the most satisfying time. 

~Ernest Holmes

When life seems the worst, it’s the best time to know the spiritual truth. After heart break, loss of a loved one or an election it’s right to grieve, feel anger, sadness and disappointment. There is no urgency to rush through ones emotions. It takes time. It seems after each new president, half the country goes through mourning, each time confident, “It has never been this serious.”

During this election, I witnessed more people praying and meditating for the highest good of our country than any other time I can recollect. Monday night, more than a hundred women came together in the gardens of Seaside. They arrived with drums in hand ready to pray, meditate and create a soul-filled connection with mother earth for the highest and best for our country. As Seaside was both an official polling location AND a location for the flash mob meditation event with Elevate the Vote, I was surrounded by people praying for the greatest outcome for our world.  The answer to those prayers may have been or not been what everyone pictured or expected with deep hopefulness, but what I know  for sure, what unfolds is the answer to prayer and will elevate our nation to the highest good.

God as Omnipresence is in all places, including the most horrific of circumstances. Spirit is as available in your life the morning after a disappointment as it was the day before.  People have been crying for change for so long and it doesn’t usually come in a nice neat package. We must know there is good to be found as the old structures give way to the emerging change for greater good.  In the face of unsettling unfoldment, we must not permit ourselves to be influence by outside conditions or internal fears; we must stay focused on knowing it is all God in action.

Our country and people are all expressions of God. We are so much more than our fears. 

I will not give into fear, negativity and doubt because those emotions don’t produce Spirit’s vision of a world that works for everyone. I will turn to love knowing our leaders will be empowered more by this and better fed by love than fear, worry and hate. I give up the need for someone to be lovable before I can love them. I take it as my responsibility to believe, see and call forth the good that is in all people. If hate and violence is not what I wanted, then I will refuse to fall victim to an unconscious reactionary expression I did not support.

Evolution doesn’t tend to be a smooth process. Change does bring gifts but not always in the manner wanted. The unknown is the catalyst of change. Clearly, humanity is being called to practice faith, trust and belief in a knowing that these election results are somehow God’s expression of our prayers. Even if it seems hidden now, remember we wanted change. The Intelligence that guides the universe is the same wisdom that is moving through the United States and its leaders right now.

You can’t enjoy a You Tube video if you stare at only one frame. You will not understand what is going on in this process if you are caught on just this present image. You must take a mountaintop view to realize you have a choice. You always have a choice as to how you respond in the world. Do not allow the outside to dictate who you are. You are always casting a vibrational vote – Ask yourself if you are casting the kind of energy to the collective consciousness of a world in which you want to live. The work at hand involves our willingness to be part of the healing by trusting Good is emerging from a nation divided and that our prayers for change and greater good are happening now.

Prayer for this Presidential Election

I trust the Wisdom that guides the Universe is the same Intelligence

that moves through all voters to guide this Presidential election to its perfect outcome. 

The inherent Spiritual nature of Infinite Harmony prevails

throughout the inner individual search for the right choice
that is beyond any conflicting limiting perceptions of separation.

I let go of any disillusions about false outcomes because God always affirms the truth.

In this election, I witness the emergence of a new phase of Divine Transformation

encompassing all dimensions of political and national expression.

This election reveals a new global security resting in God’s hands
as informed citizens and discerning people who vote for a fresh political vision.

I stand at the tipping point which releases the most peaceful time in human history.

Through a new level of diplomacy, war as it is now known, is obsolete.

I participate in this historic moment for peace, understanding and reconciliation.

The rhetoric of pundits gives way to a new lexicon of compassion and unity.

Fear turns into trust, deceit becomes transparent, distain alchemizes to respect.

With this new Delphic manner of speech, the abundant tide returns.

The debilitating, capricious chaotic concerns of scarcity, loss, and abandonment

become the prime candidates for the vicissitudes of change our country needs
while poverty dissolves into the nothingness from where it came.

Seeing how cynicism grew into uncontrolled economic excess, borrowing and spending.

I know Spirit does not affirm corruption, lack, or pain; for God only knows Infinite Good.

I choose to see as God sees our nation in a trusting light of abundant love.

Any lingering pockets of discontent are just places that know not yet their heavenly

beauty of abundant freedom and love. Sharing and circulation of wealth return

as Spirit’s guidance move us from times of peril to promise of our great destiny.

In a shifting responsiveness to the collective heart, a new day is born. 

This change brings about a unified nation and a comprehensive global respect.

The turnout of voters for this 2016 election is at an all time high as there is
a return to the honoring of each individual’s voice, talent and purpose.

Every contribution is welcomed and appreciated as the elected leadership

wisely navigates the profound challenges of the new political age.

This incoming benevolent leadership converges and cooperates, while embracing

the interplay between the nations and people of our common Earth.

This new field of understanding catapults all beyond the fragmentations of the past

to a creative way toward globalization of freedom and equanimity for the human family.

I gratefully believe this noble task has elected the right leadership at the right time

to guide the U.S. and humanity to the fulfillment of God’s vision of heaven on earth.

I let go to this deep knowingness of Divine right action

fulfilling itself for the highest and best of all concerned.

And so it is!

Rev. C

My Heartfelt Response to the Attacks in Brussels

In regards to the Brussels Terrorist Attacks, I first honor those whose lives were lost, wounded and the families whose lives have been impacted by this horrific action.

Yet regardless of these circumstances, let us refuse to give our power away to fear and intimidation. Our deep spiritual conviction is what wants to be called on in a time such as this. I'm calling upon our community to unite in seeing the possibility of peace on our planet now. Let us come together and accept the charge and responsibility to become the voice for peace rather than drama or revenge. Allow your consciousness not be one of persecution but one of bringing hope to the troubled with a greater vision of what’s possible in a world that works for everyone. With the strength of your deepest conviction, make this the ultimate Truth wiping out the existing collective's false beliefs and with them anything but that Truth of Good fades away into the nothingness from which it came.  Remind those in a position of influence to encourage a display of harmony and God expression over painful drama so humanity is not sucked into despair. 

If one is consumed by revenge or anger the ability to choose a higher thought is gone. At that point, the angry hateful one is vibrating at the same vibration as the terrorist. The choice is now ours.  Kill or create a world that works for every one by choosing harmony, collaboration, and reverence for all humanity. Do not allow the desperate members of the human family, overwhelmed by their conditions and no longer open to peaceful resolutions, to create a reactionary schism in your world. The efforts of this day call to put in twice the dose of understanding and love.

I know it’s tough to love and understand at a time like this, but this is exactly the kind of time which requires a different thought, a new thought, an elevated mountaintop thought of  a Divine knowing. God has not abandoned us, but it is we who have forgotten God is fully present even in the midst of the pain. Spirit is Omnipresent and there is no place where God is not. I recognize it’s tough to turn to your higher self, but that is the greatest gift you have to give humanity. What we have to offer the Global consciousness on this day and always is a deep knowing that all is well and this includes in Brussels.

PRAYER OF CALM

In this anxious time, I sense the calm of Spirit

breathing its refreshing and comforting blessings.

Feeling the cooling ocean breeze blowing upon my soul

all heated concerns are now evacuated from my thoughts.

The harmonious caring environment of my heart

embraces all who have been touched by the pain of what occurred in Brussels.

As the smoke dissipates and the smoldering ashes go out,

the shaken spirit perceives a new world of love, and compassion.

Returning home from the threatening world of fear,

I rest in God’s perfect calm and quiet.

The experience of interdependence and comaraderie

create a renewed respect and appreciation for life.

This new social synergy infuses the environment with love

as the clear clean atmosphere reemerges.

Being grateful for the pouring forth of resources

confirms the continual miracle of God showing up in time.

Letting go of all natural human concerns in the wake of dramatic events,

there is a deep knowing flowing from thought to enthused action,

I find a Divine guiding system moving me through all

the environmental and media pollutants of consciousness.

I am at peace around all areas of my life.

I think clearly, I understand Divinely, I act inspiringly

for God is the tipping point for the spontaneous

and continuous Good to now be supporting me.

I am guided to make the right choices

and take the right actions in my life.

As the global heart is activated,

I trust in the environmental impact raising humanities

outpouring of love in action.

I know I am and all people are comforted on our planet

sensing God’s embrace through our family friends and strangers,

for I am blessed by the encounter experienced.

No longer threatened, feeling safe and stress free,

I return to the security of my union with God.

With a deeper realization of what is important in life

letting go of the superfluous, I now remember with a deep calm

from the core of my being, who I am to be in this world.

I am grateful for my life affirming perception

as my emotions balance and mind clears.

As I let go, my life is richer for expressing

the clarity of God in the midst of question.

Rev. Christian

Life Infinitum

For many years, a young man named Brian was a vivacious expression of life at Seaside. Truly, when I say vivacious, I mean extraordinary, as this one-of-a-kind young man was a survivor. On May 21, 2002, Brian was involved in and survived a crash with an 18 wheeler. Three weeks after the accident, Brian woke up blind from a coma his spine broken and pelvis shattered in a multitude of places. What followed was a nearly four year rehabilitation that most would find so intense they would not have had the stamina. But not Brian. He embraced the opportunity to redefine his expression and like everything else he had ever taken on, with full zest and the highest of intentions to succeed.

I first met Brian in 2006 when he started coming to Seaside for our services on Sundays. He was an expression of joy and music. He always attended with his beaming mom who, for years, I thought was his girlfriend. Brian wasn’t a guy in who wanted any sympathy for the obvious physical challenges he encountered. No way. He was a carpenter, golfer, snow boarder and played in rock bands. He had a fuller life than one could even imagine. I remember as if it was yesterday, Seaside held a golf tournament and Brian was the first to sign up! Not only that, but he carried his foursome with his excellent play and no visual sight. Nothing could douse his spirit. Limitation was just not a word in his vocabulary. His love for music never waned and he used his hands to create art I greatly admired. I once told him how much I liked the stone necklace he was wearing and he shared with me humbly that he’d made it. What grace. The next week he brought a new one he’d created just for me. It meant so much to me that I placed it with great care on my altar at home where it has been ever since, until just last month. You see, Brian was also a wonderful cook, so on a recent summer morning he sent his mom out to get the perfect ingredients for a special concoction he planned to create and when she returned, she found him sitting in his favorite chair having just released his life force. His spirit chose that beautiful moment to peacefully move on from this world.

I was given the privilege to lead the celebration of life service for Brian. I took the necklace he made for me off my altar and gently placed it around my neck. Wanting to feature it front and center, I picked a special shirt with an open collar so everyone could see his fine craftsmanship and further appreciate what an extraordinary expression of God he was. His mom recognized it immediately and was moved deeply when I walked in wearing it. The remembrance service started with some great music from the 70’s. When it was complete I stepped up to the lectern and pronounced that I could just see and feel Brian’s presence Brian standing in the back of the sanctuary grooving and waving his hands in the air. As if on que yet much to the astonishment of me and everyone in the place, the necklace Brian had handcrafted for me with ingredients of equal parts love, compassion, kindness and appreciation for the natural beauty in the world burst apart from my neck. I could just see him holding himself as he laughed from the deepest part of his soul at the sight of those beads and stones rolling all over the floor, down my shirt and pants getting stuck in my shoes and underwear. I spent much of the service picking up stones.

What an extraordinary experience. Life and Death. Yin and Yang. Can’t have one without the other and neither one separates us from the One or each other as we live move and have our being in the One. A loved one may be gone from our sight but that is all they are gone from. They are just as alive and aware as when they left our side. Brian is just as able to bare his living spirit’s expression wherever he has chosen to land. One thing for sure, love transcends time and space as we know it. The love that brought you together with a loved one here will surely keep you united through the multidimensional realms of self-expression. Brian’s direction of his celebration of Life service from the other side was as clear as the guitarist, who shortly thereafter broke out in a rockin’ rendition of Led Zeppelin’s, Stairway to Heaven. I bet Brian jumped those steps two and three at a time, especially after his beautiful show of presence at his celebration of life service!

Vintage Magic

Antique’ing in Montana is a dirtier yet much more rewarding job than strolling through our fine shops of San Diego. A kaleidoscope of colorful junk I have no place for in my world cries out to me over the cacophony of the voice inside my head telling me I am in need of nothing as I pull over to the side of the state highway because there is something there calling out to me energetically – but I haven’t a clue as to what. Walking through the musty treasure trove of Americana I feel as if the stuff could have come from just down the road apiece, each with its own acoustic guitar theme song and sappy but gentle love story. It’s not polished, perfectly placed or dusted.  But there is a magic calling of the imagination to times gone by as I run my fingers over the gently worn corners of history.  Picking up post cards from the turn of last century and reading about visiting Glacier National Park as it opened in 1915 is a vicarious thrill. I rest my elbows on a bar tucked away in the corner of the old shed and am instantly transported to the saloons of Wild West. I wonder with great humor who might last have taken a seat in that 125 year old red velvet chair that looks as if it could have come right out of a bordello.  Picking up a pair of hand- carved wood skis with leather bindings puts visions of traversing the back country in times long before chair lifts and ski patrol. Scattered bits of history litter the yard outside the shop like gas pumps from the heyday of when we use to drive automobiles to have a good time, not make good time, as Lightning McQueen from Cars would say.

Our new old oak table!

The vibrancy of the colors, even those faded by the years of use and wear, the smells, and touching old treasures makes junking a way of triggering childhood memories whether real or seen in the movies. Opening doors of a cabinet that was part of a family for a century releases what it has seen to those who can see. The vibration of its history is palpable; the sounds come alive from a time and room that is no longer.  There is magic in those vintage pieces and while much I was challenged to relate to, many transported me to days of old. And in all the silence and noise in the memories of others, I heard my calling as I glanced sideways to see an unmistakable treasure, a 100-year-old table that told stories even as it stood there still and covered in dust. The finest quality of oak, thick and signed as only a handcrafted gem of these days would be. I knew at once, many card games were played there, many cigars smoked, meals served and stories told. Children grew up around that table and in the natural passage of time it was forgotten out in the shed for many years piled high with junk. As I drove away with my new old oak table for our barn’s game-room tied to the roof of my SUV, I visioned the years that will be had around it in my lifetime. I know I will be as good a custodian to this piece of history as those who preceded me and I’m excited to add my vibrational stories for it to carry to future generations. Because, no doubt, someday it will find itself in another antique shop, with another’s palm gently running over the its worn edges and the energy of the laughter and life our family added to the recipe of its history will just be the newest ingredients to its finely tuned beauty.

Smoke Filled Sky

2014 view from our kitchen window and the current view from our deck

As I sit at my beautiful majestic mountain ranch, Mystic Mountain Retreat in Bigfork Montana, just thirty minutes from Glacier National Park, more than a hundred forest fires burn in the surrounding Rockies from various lighting strikes.  There is no present danger to our home or our property, but the smoke filling the Flathead Valley is getting thicker by the hour. In the horror of it all there is beauty as it makes for an incredible bright fluorescent red sun by day and an eerie blood red crescent moon by night. The record heat and low rain fall has created a cinder box among the thirsty and dying evergreen pine trees and brush. Hourly the local governance is rating the changing air quality, as what little breeze there is mixes up the glorious Montana air with the reverberation of a campfire. There is little relief for my burning eyes from the smoke-filled air where by the afternoons I can only see a short distance through what is currently being rated as extremely hazardous air quality. While all I ever want to do when I’m here is to be outside and breathe the fresh air, now I find my only retreat from the airborne grit is either behind the walls of my home and its man-made air filters or submerged in the lake.

As everything is covered in ash, which appears an enormous challenge, I must remind myself, there is no large or small in the kingdom of the Divine. Nature knows how to take care of herself, which is a good thing because there are not enough fans in the state of Montana to blow all the smoke away and where would be “away” anyhow? I must trust in a higher power prevailing here.

Sometimes in our personal lives, situations occur that obstruct our vision by the soot of what looks like life as it’s burning out of control. The conflict with feeling the need to fix and just observing what you think is your gain going up in flames is a common one.  The outside pressure impacts our lungs, making it difficult to breathe as anxiety-filled concerns create a challenge to thinking clearly. What then do we do when there is no apparent answer in human sight and every potential remedy we can think of in our smallness remains inadequate? One must do what they can to get out of imminent danger and then, with pure unadulterated conviction, know there is a higher power that sees beyond the smog filled sky. Nature knows how to put out the fire. Soon, the refreshing rains from the heavens will cleanse the air and raise the phoenix from the ashes of our lives. And in the chaos, the ruin, there will be Good. So in the meantime, I must trust and listen to my inner guidance just as all the animals of the forest do as they weather the natural firestorms of life.

An Old Story with New Meaning

In honor of throwback Thursday... 

I recently shared an old story of mine with a crowd and was surprised to find it had a new ending. It was 1979, Margaret Thatcher was the new Prime Minister, Bill Clinton had recently been elected Governor of Arkansas, Atari had just released Asteroids, and I was in my first year of ministerial school in Los Angeles at what was then Ernest Holmes College. Like most first year’s, I was required to take a homiletics (speaking) class, one I frequently missed due to its coincidental timing to big waves. Unable to make my newbie freshman class during the day, I tucked away my surfboard and attended the senior class in the evening.

1979, me in my first year of Ministerial School

My first class assignment was to deliver a Rudyard Kipling poem I had memorized, entitled “If”, and man oh man, was I brilliant in conveying its depth. The pauses, emphasis, diction and silence all created a magical moment that had the whole room hanging on every word. I sure was hot stuff at 19 and cocky as the day is long. I was feeling quite proud of myself. If only you could have heard it! It was smokin’ good!  I glanced at the instructor knowing I had just scored big time. He looked delighted and I could tell I had just won him over. Later, in the same class, so impressed he was with my prose and delivery, the instructor asked me to stand and improvise a talk about light for 3 to 4 minutes. I approached the front of the room and then promptly froze. I have never forgotten those moments and not particularly fondly; no words came to my mind nor out of my mouth. I stood there with sweat pouring down my face, my heart racing wildly and my brain turning to putty. A sea of faces stared at me, I was in a blackout, thinking nothing-and the more I tried to find something, the less would come to me…I wanted to impress everyone so badly-but I was vacuous. For the first and longest 4 minutes in my life, I was literally speechless.

The story and lesson I’ve told for the past three and a half decades happened after that moment, which was that I would never again be short of words – which is a good thing for a public speaker. But recently, upon some inner urgings I reveled in a new take on an old lesson.  That day, I got humbled to the core. It wasn’t by choice or even by accident, it was given to me and I got it. The gift of humility. What I learned is that no matter how good a message I may have just delivered, it means nothing in terms of the next talk. I was shown in no uncertain terms that cockiness can lock the gates to the Infinite. I was educated to the cellular level that the message is not me and that I have to get myself out of the way for the extra magic to enter the equation. I do my best to remain humble, but never in a false sense because I’m clear, as clear as every uncomfortable sigh could be heard during that four minutes of silence in 1979, that the next time - the words just might not come.

Parental Authority Can Always Be Questioned

There's no doubt about the clarity of nature's authority with its heat of summer and cold of winter, darkness of night  and brightness of day, hunter or hunted.  Kids who grew up in touch with the rhythm of nature learned their boundaries were non-negotiable. But like everything else, change is ever present in the world and in the lives of those growing up and those raising kids, especially as it pertains to boundaries.

Either I have been a fine teacher or my son has always known that my boundaries are not absolute and has fine-tuned the art of wearing me down. Recently, during his daily digital diet dose, he spotted a super fancy crane truck whose reach extends five-feet. He just had to call it his own. Here, I savored, would be my summer opportunity to teach him about math, the value of a dollar and the art of patience. It started off nicely with saving some of his allowance. Then it picked up velocity leading to his relentless pursuit to earn more money which meant I became the employer and the bank. After weeks of being hounded to borrow money, I left town for a conference returning to find he wasn't going to miss a beat to work me over since his mom had stepped out of this educational equation from day one.

The day finally came where he got close enough that I would kick in the rest just to get some rest from his incessant demands. We rolled up the pennies, counted the dollars, large and small, and carefully calculated the amount he had saved. We loaded up the car, and hair blowing in the wind with excitement, we drove to the bank, deposited his booty, and then returned straight home to order his dream crane truck online. After placing his order I was ready for peace to return to our home. I sat back in the chair for a moment basking in the moment of resolution, readying for the quiet expectancy that would ensue, and indulging, if not just for a moment, in the gratitude for the opportunity to shepherd this fine lesson for my son. I was, in a sense, reveling in my own small success when no sooner had we pushed send, I noted his footsteps padding away from me as he made his first journey to our mail box looking for his crane truck. I explained the store's policies as best I could. Given that it was Friday, the delivery, which could take as long as seven days would best be expected the following Friday. I noted the question mark in his eyes, still not comprehending why it wouldn't just appear in the mailbox as soon as we had ordered it. After explaining again, I punctuated the conversation by marking the calendar so he would understand. There, I thought, now peace will return.

But Trevor was not happy with this news and refused to understand nor accept it as the truth, repeatedly visiting the mail box a half dozen times that Friday. I figured I might not have Mother Nature with her absolute authority on my side in this life lesson on patience but at least the post master general was a pretty good second. I lost count how many times I heard, “Where’s the truck” that Friday and Saturday. Trevor spoke with such affirmation and authority that the truck was coming, but he'd worn me thin on patience and his perseveration had eroded any sense of success I'd felt in teaching him a new life lesson. I'd finally had enough by Saturday afternoon and instead of explaining for the umpteenth time that it would be six more days, I invited him to check the mailbox for himself.  To which, he jumped up, opened the front door, and there sitting on the doorstep, barely 24-hours after we placed the order was his big Amazon box.  Unbeknownst to me, it had been expedited by overnight delivery. So, who learned the greater lesson? I feel probably me. When one is relentless in speaking their truth with authority, heaven and earth and even the US post master general will move to make it so.

A Dog Blessing

So grateful to have been asked to officiate the blessing of the dogs at this year's Cardiff Dog Days of Summer. What a fun and rewarding day!!!!

The Heart Transcends Words

I just got back into town from a whirlwind four-day speaking gig in Guadalajara. I don’t know what I was thinking, but everybody speaks Spanish down there. With great humility I held my own during the conference thanks to the translator that instantly translated my messages from English to Spanish, and then backwards when others were speaking to me.  But, during the afternoon workshop, when an instructor asked us to turn and talk to the person next to us, I found myself looking into the eyes of a young woman from Venezuela who spoke only Spanish with no interpreter at either of our sides.

Like an elephant in the room, years of my attempts to become fluent in Spanish and the repeated anxiety it caused me in all previous situations I had been given to flex my second language’s linguistic muscles arose.  But, hearts do speak. And as I looked into Shirley’s eyes and studied the features of her face I could not help but feel her heart reaching out in an attempt to connect with me.  The desire in me to not disappoint her had me searching reams of Spanish curriculum tucked away in the recesses of my mind, without anxiety, for the words and phrases that could cross this divide. In finding even the most basic of words to begin conversation, I discovered her passion was teaching the children of Venezuela spiritual principle so they could go confidently through life.

By the time the process had come to a close, I couldn’t ever remember having so much fun attempting to speak Spanish.  I wasn’t too self-conscious because that silliness was overwritten by the joy I found in attempting to find words to convey my thoughts and feelings.  I don’t know how silly I may have sounded to Shirley but she was most gracious as her eyes twinkled in an attempt to understand what I was saying. I may never see Shirley again but I will always remember the heart’s desire to understand transcends all- even a language barrier.

Finding Your Inspiration

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover  is yourself." Alan Alda

Inspiration is everywhere you look. From the common to the incredible, everything can take your breath away and leave you astounded. 

When you remain leery and guarded, you are not available for the fantastic. It's up to you to explore and be curious. What you'll find is your creative voice. When you are comfortable in your own skin, no longer second-guessing, people will feel the essence of your being and your passion for life. You will be a radiant transparency of the Divine. 

While some may feel your reality comes from the realm of fantasy, don't allow their projections to become your creative blocks diminishing your glow. Everyone is entitled to their own perspectives, but it has nothing to do with your genius. 

Embrace your joy, it's right for you to shine right now. This is not the time to hold back your creative gifts. The world needs the beauty you've been entrusted to deliver. 

It's time to go full out for what you love so you can turn your fantasy into a fantastic reality. You do this by feeling the power of something greater coming through you.

Find yourself a super hero theme song that just makes you feel great when you hear it. Come up with an empowering phrase that inspires you when you repeat it. Create a power move or stance that triggers your confidence. Get yourself a talisman that will remind you of your fantastic power, and allow it to activate you every day. 

It Takes Guts To Follow Through

"I live a creative life and you can't live a creative life without being vulnerable. I believe creativity and fear are basically conjoined twins; they share all the same major organs, and cannot be separated, one from the other without killing them both. And, you don't want to murder creativity just to destroy fear!" Elizabeth Gilbert

What if it's terrible? What if I blow it? What if I waste valuable resources? What if I embarrass myself? It takes guts to get going and keep going in life when you hear all the reasons why it's not a good idea. Creativity isn't something you do, it's who you are. The creative life is a vulnerable way of being. Allow your concern to be the fuel to the furnace of your creative spirit that drives you beyond your limiting concepts. 

Those anxious images can become the same fodder to empower you to follow through with your vision. Ask yourself, what's the payoff of holding onto your fright? your medium of expression...whether it's paints, business, writing, music, or textiles...it's your doorway to the Infinite.

Are you able to wander through to the other side wide-eyed and open? Discover a new significance while paying attention and interpreting, through your individual lens. That bright-eyed creative kid you used to be was fearless, where is s/he? 

Unless you uncover yourself from the accumulating mounds of responsibilities and busyness, how will you ever find the energy to explore your creative self? It takes guts to get out from underneath all you've taken on, but unless you've got fresh energy, you'll never find what it takes to follow through on what is tantalizing your soul for expression. 

Try this. Go to a Farmers Market where all has not been homogenized but diversity of expression is the selling feature. Embrace how unique each vendor is with his/her creative offering. H

How different is each one's display in telling the story of who they are? Pay attention as you allow your sense to heighten to the smells, sounds, and sights. Become aware of how differently the produce is packaged.

Rebel Roar

"The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of their small separate self, feeling guilty or proud of that self. he offered revolutionary teachings that resounded like a lion's roar, like a great rising tide that helped people to wake up and break free from the prison of ignorance." Thich Nhat Hanh

How can you be a rebel if you are stuck, tired and worn out? Sitting all day is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Your body must be in motion sometime through the course of the day. If sitting in a car, behind a desk, at a dining room table, on a couch or in front of a screen constitutes most of your day, your body isn't happy. If your body isn't getting its daily dosage of exercise, it's tough for it to support the rebel in you. Your body is a divine conduit that gets recharged and activated by movement. 

There is great value in listening to the voice within, but if you lack the energy to deliver on the inner direction, how will you be the bringer of the new? The rebel in your wants to express and be heard. There is a creative part of your spirit that desires to express in its unique way, but if your delivery system lacks vibrancy, it gets tougher, over the years, to break the habit of focusing on the lack of vitality. The rebel is enthusiastic and excited to be the channel for what's fresh and possible. 

Where has your tiredness impacted your zest for life and stopped supporting the part of you who is enthused to roar out the new creative expression? 

Get out and get your body moving today. Get your heart pumping an dthat means more than just 15 minutes. Go for a bike ride, walk on the beach, get out on the tennis court, anything that gets your muscles moving and circulates fresh air through your body and provides oxygen-rich blood to your brain.