Living Consciously July 19, 2009

Dear friends,

I am sitting in my daughter’s kitchen looking out at the backyard which is lush with tropical plants and flowering shrubs. There is a giant philodendron, coral trees, bougainvilla and ferns. The Koi pond is covered with water lilies and hyacinth. From time to time my son in law cuts back the coral trees to stubs, but in no time at all they are fully leafed and providing shade and beauty again. Every time I visit here, which is about twice a year, the foliage is denser and taller. Cutting it back only encourages the growth.

It is impossible to ignore the life force that will not be denied. There is a constant revealing of the nature of the thing; an insistence on becoming, being seen, showing to the outer what is inherent in the inner. We humans are no different but our problem is we often do not identify what our true nature actually is. We express all kinds of false personas which are not always beautiful to see or which add to the environment in a positive way.

Spiritual practice includes a kind of cutting back so that the natural tendency of our soul self to exhibit its beauty can be encouraged. We may fast or meditate or go into retreat; we might take a walk in the woods or sing in the choir; our ego takes a backseat as we move into service and volunteer our time. Cutting back simply means to cease our ordinary way of reacting to the outer world and to reconnect with our inner core of peace and love, joy and vitality. A little pruning of the personality can lead to the flowering of the soul.

Peace and blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously July 21, 2009

Dear friends,

People often feel that when in the company of their birth family, they revert to behaviors typical of children. Just so, a parent finds it difficult to stop dispensing parental advice to their grown offspring. These roles are deeply ingrained and rear their heads seemingly without our consent. Getting beyond them into a current relationship is a matter of releasing who we have been and realizing it was a temporary phase of our life which is no longer appropriate.

Likewise, if we were raised in a religion that required us to bow down to an outer power, to call ourselves sinners, to deny our ability to answer our own prayers, then we might be challenged to let go of that image of the universe. Many people simply stop believing but they do not change their sense of who they are relative to the Creative Process. When they face a knotty problem they revert to powerlessness.

Modern spirituality is not about designing a new God; rather, it is about the challenge of allowing the mind to perceive the source of Life as formless Intelligence and Love, actively engaged in a relationship which produces sentient life and all form. We are made in that image and likeness and by means of our self expression we are create relationships of all kinds with them. We have a relationship with prosperity, health, peace, creativity, people, joy, ourselves, the earth and the future based on how we accept and utilize those inherent aspects of our nature.

If our experiences do not reflect intelligence and love in action, perhaps it is time to reconnect with the power within and to reclaim our oneness with its capacity to make all things new.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes