Living Consciously March 9, 2009

Dear friends,

My new computer is challenging me to accept change, yet again!  It is a different system than my previous one and getting used to it is going to take some practice.   The first thing I resisted however, were not the many differences in operating functions, but the manufacturer’s choice of a screen saver, that electronic picture that greets us every time we open the computer. I noticed that right off I missed the image of a village in France that I had installed on my old laptop. For a brief moment I forgot that it was me who had put it there in the first place and that I could recreate it at any time.

But then I began to consider the possibilities.  Why not install something new?  Was I really so attached to that image or was I just experiencing a very normal resistance to change? Screen savers are like those comfortable thoughts we return to when nothing much is happening. They are akin to the resting place in mind.  

What is the image on your inner screen saver?  When you are not distracted, what do you think about?  Do you rest in fear and worry or peace and quiet?  If we pay attention we might discover that we are not getting much rest at all; that between activities our mind is actively projecting negative patterns; that we are keeping ourselves in a state of agitation, even dread.  But it is a simple thing to install a new image.

Find an idea, or affirmative statement that enlivens your mind.  Write it down and carry it with you and read it throughout the day. Like any effective  mantra, it will begin to replace those fear thoughts.  Our attention is like a screen upon which images are projected.  With a little practice, our mind will naturally rest in a place of our own making, not something imposed on us from stress and our reaction to it.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously February 21, 2009

Dear friends,

There is certainly a place for skeptics in our world.  They temper the conversation and keep our erroneous projections in check, causing us to be ever more diligent in our proving of invisible principles.  This is a very strange universe, however, and some things are impossible to fully explain but must be accepted.  As the Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Charles Richet said to the critics of his study of clairvoyance; I didn’t say it was possible. I only said it was true. 

Lots of impossible things are true.  The very force that keeps us from floating off the planet can be overcome with knowledge and invention and we can fly to the moon.  Bodies ravaged with illness return to normal and injured brains compensate and restore function.   A tiny acorn becomes a mighty Oak tree and a moment of joy produces a human being. 

What we call miracles are normal in this strange universe. With advances in our science and our understanding, every day another miracle is added to our list of ordinaries.  Yet, in any age, there will always be the unexplainable. Then someone will penetrate the mystery and the awe will become acceptance.

Keeping an open mind is essential to our personal health and well being. Rigid thinking causes calcification of our creativity.  It is only when we set out to prove the truth of what others call impossible, that we are living up to our purpose in life.

As Lewis Carroll wrote:

“There is no use trying”, said Alice, “one can’t believe in impossible things.”

“Well!” said the Queen, “I dare say you haven’t had much practice. Why, I believe six impossible things before breakfast!”

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes