Living Consciously      June 24, 2009

Dear friends,

 We all know that fighting of any kind, be it between two people or nations, only brings about a temporary resolution.  Real change can only come when oneness is awakened.  When we realize that we are alive in a common vitality, that our souls are anchored in a vibrational field of consciousness, that separateness is only an illusion and that difference is proof of an underlying unity, then we begin to move into deep appreciation and respect.  Only then are we able to celebrate diversity and glean the wisdom from other cultures and traditions.

In my travels with the Association for Global New Thought, I have had the privilege of listening to the wisest spiritual teachers, the most enlightened scientists, the leading philosophers and social activists.  The running theme through all of their perceptions is that Love is the great animator of possibility.  It is the action part of the experience of oneness.

Love is the effect of the realization that One Something is being all and all are endowed with the presence of the One Something.  Therefore, possibility exists within diverse teachings, cultures and traditions.  Those ideologies that would disempower individuals and place creative power outside of the human mind, will not survive. They are like the wars that have been fought and brought about no lasting peace.

Let’s practice seeing with the eyes of inclusion today. Say silently to all we meet: There is one more beautiful expression of the One Something.

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously June 25, 2009

Dear friends,

Spiritual practice is more than meditation, prayer and study. It can also be a westernized version of mindfulness which might include seeing the most ordinary of things as if they were miracles. A tree, for example. Try to imagine that you are an explorer on this planet, much like a scuba diver in the ocean. You are seeing a mighty oak or a pine tree for the very first time. The guide book tells you how it converts carbon dioxide into oxygen so that these earthlings might breathe. How amazing!

Speaking of earthlings, you see a baby and are astonished to realize that all of the Bigs walking around were once that small! The grown man or woman was already present in that tiny body; the ability to walk and talk and think and laugh and love and invent was there at birth!

You see a flock of birds heading North for the season and are told that they know how to navigate the currents to travel thousands of miles safely and to find the food they need to survive. Along the way they spread seeds which will become food producing plants which humans will consume. Everywhere you look there is another ordinary miracle to excite your senses.

Alan Watts, the Buddhist scholar, said that a philosopher is someone who can look at something as ordinary as a bread box as if they had never seen one before. Activating a sense of wonder and awe at the ingenuity of the human mind is to appreciate the presence of Creative Intelligence, and tuned to the higher vibrations of awareness. The mind is an explorer. It is an artist. It is the product of deep intelligence. It is the avenue for creation to move beyond the background of nature and into the specification of Spirit.

Watch yourself looking at your world today. Are you awake to the stunning creativity and diversity around you? Are you aware of how intimately Life supports you? Can you see it for the very first time?

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes