Living Consciously November 27, 2009

Dear friends,

Many of the great spiritual masters advised us to keep our own counsel when consciously creating through the power of the mind. They suggested that a new idea, a vision for our own life will likely meet with negative criticism along the way. When people we care about tell us our idea is fraught with challenge or even impossible, it becomes more difficult to retain the highest level of enthusiasm and conviction. Our belief is shaken and if enough voices ridicule the idea, we might find ourselves letting it go completely. It is easier to drop back into predictability than to it is to boldly pursue a dream.

As Thomas Troward wrote, you tell your troubles in order to make them seem unimportant. If we say it out loud, it loses power, begins to weaken in our mind. The same holds true for a visualization of any kind. Tell the world and it begins to dissipate. The person you want to talk to is yourself. You will have enough convincing to do there! We are sometimes the biggest obstacle as our tendency is to comfort. Even lack can become a comfort zone, easier to manage than wealth. If you must talk to anyone, make it a person who fervently believes in the power of mind to change circumstances. That is the one who will help sustain your passion and certainty.

As much as the world is talking about the power of positive thinking, it is still a rare person who lives their life in constant awareness that it is they themselves who create their experience. You do not want someone else’s fear or limited thinking to infect your mental environment. Keep that great idea a secret as it takes root in the soil of creative mind and begins to push through into your experience.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 26, 2009

Dear friends,

You know what would happen if you took your eyes off the road or your hands off the steering wheel while driving your car. A similar thing occurs when we ignore a relationship or a business or our own health. They tend to veer off onto the road of destruction. It may take a while but eventually things start to fall apart.

One of the first spiritual principles I ever heard has been a source of great comfort to me. It is this: “That which belongs with me cannot be kept from me.” Belonging connotes oneness with or a natural magnetic attraction. This simple statement speaks of a second universal truth; that nothing is ever lost but things move away from us when we withdraw the magnet. Of course we are talking about our conscious awareness, our attention, our interest, our care of, our interaction with, our involvement.

LOVE is the mental/spiritual magnet that generates fields of resonating energy and draws what belongs with us right to us and maintains that relationship in harmony and balance. In this sense, LOVE is a kind of cosmic embrace that reaches out and brings close what is dear to our hearts. Think about the main areas of concern to you: health, wealth, prosperity and relationships. Is LOVE the active force creating the quality of each of those? Ask yourself how LOVE might regenerate each of them. Whatever we cherish and care for, believe in and love, belongs with us and cannot be kept from us. It is a universal truth and you can prove it.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 25, 2009

Dear friends,

Ernest Holmes, the great thinker and writer of spiritual wisdom said “do not use prayers that other men have prayed to make you whole.” Sometimes when I do a spiritual mind treatment for someone they express the desire to have it written down or recorded. But once the prayer is spoken, it is complete, the work is done, repeating the same words is meaningless.

While there is power in The Word (the act of speaking spiritual truth) the words themselves are not the answer. It is in our conviction, our heart-felt agreement with the meaning of the them that makes them effective. Everything must be personalized to be real to us. Imagine the difference between watching a downhill skier and actually doing that yourself. Both enjoyable, one thrilling. Repeating the words of a great teacher are a good place to start but the natural process is one of finding our own voice and the discovery that we are not praying to something, but affirming our true identity.

There is a Rumi poem that says: “All day long I thanked you and I didn’t know......at night you lay beside me and I didn’t know.....” He is describing the moment we awaken to the truth that the Source is within us! We are the one we are seeking. Our essential self is the wisdom holder, the giver of love, the healer, the answer. Our prayers are songs of joy coming from our delight in being alive and our awareness that God is the ever present, ever becoming Beingness that is being us. When we know that, no one needs to do our affirming for us!

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 24, 2009

Dear friends,

It is always interesting to watch myself as I prepare for a big trip abroad. It seems to consume me for several weeks prior to departure. However, this time I have been so busy with other things that my upcoming trek to Australia has been a part of my life but not the most important thing. While I have been making mental lists of what to take, my vacuum cleaner went kaput, my television died, my computer needed serious attention, our Centre hosted a major event and on and on. Life continued to need my focus so that preparations for the trip had to be woven throughout my daily activities.

This is how it ought to be with anything that looms large in our lives. For example, a problem of some kind is just another bit of business that requires some energy but is not the whole of our existence. We still can love and care for our family. We can show compassion to others and give of our volunteer time. We can go dancing and celebrate the moment. We can get lost in a good book or an engrossing film.

A problem that takes on so much importance as to overshadow what our heart wants is being overfed. We need to set it aside and go on with living in ease and enjoyment. People say “how can I laugh with this thing hanging over my head?” (This thing being a diagnosis, a troubled relationship, a money crunch and so on. ) The answer is, yes you can and you must! The more we relax and normalize things the more we feel in charge and the more creative our minds will be. The answer then has an open doorway to pop through. In the midst of happiness, power is restored.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 23, 2009

Dear friends,

The other day I was in a large chain department store buying cosmetics. The young clerk was exceedingly rude to me. The details are not so important. She was so out of line that I felt I had to speak to the manager. He was appalled and said he would handle it. I have wondered what became of it. The point I am trying to make is how significantly we impact our surroundings every day.

It is possible, though not likely, that the clerk was fired that day. My hope is that she learned something from the encounter. I certainly did. It felt good to not get angry but to simply respond to her in a manner that let her know she was not behaving professionally. Talking to the manager simply completed the circle. This was a classic case of someone setting up a cause with their behaviour and having the inevitable effects begin to ripple out.

I do not know why it was me who was in her line of fire. She was so over the top inappropriate that perhaps a different person would have started yelling at her or causing a scene. It might have ended up in a real news- at -11 moment! I am glad I did not leave the store in a snit. I felt as if I had gently disciplined an unruly child.

Think about all the people we deal with everyday. The great majority of them are helpful and polite. The next time someone is genuinely kind in their service to me, or goes out of their way to make my time in their store pleasant, I think I will go report them to the manager! They have made my day smoother and they deserve to be acknowledged for the effects of their actions.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 20, 2009

Dear friends,

The much loved poet of ancient days, Jallaludin Rumi wrote ‘’A good gauge of spiritual health is to write down the three things you most want. If they in any way differ, you are in trouble.’’

Congruency is the key to inner peace and outer happiness. If we pray for peace but wish ill for our ex spouse we are in trouble. If we affirm wealth but hoard like a miser we are creating havoc. If we do not include the whole of humanity in our prayers we are talking to the wrong God.

What three things do you most want for your life? Is there a thread of connection in them? Does the one support the other? It is easy to announce an intention, but if we do not allow it to permeate our entire expression, it cannot fulfill its promise. For example we can boldly state that what the world needs now is love, sweet love (thank you Beatles) but then contemplate horrible revenge on those we consider enemies. This kind of dualistic thinking sets us up for inner conflict that can only result in a state of dis-ease that eventually will make something out of itself.

It is a real spiritual awakening when we discover that we are creating the world we want to live in every moment of every day. Anything we desire that comes under the heading of Love, Peace, Plenty, Joy or Vitality is already within us. The right list to make is: How shall I circulate these qualities today? How shall I make them more real? How shall I live them more fully? The answer is in the prayer.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 19, 2009

Dear friends,

An Olympic high diver said that his fear only exists in the moments leading up to the dive itself. He said once you are in the air it disappears and the wisdom of your body takes over. He meant training and practice and experience. No one dives off a thirty foot platform unless they have mastered the low boards first. By incrementally raising the height they can manage, they are prepared for the big one! At that stage the fear is more about bottled up energy waiting to be released, than it is terror.

Actors often experience nervousness before the curtain goes up. Yet stage fright is a misnomer. The stage does not frighten them; the fear is about forgetting ones lines! Again, once the play begins, the weeks of rehearsal pay off and the right words flow effortlessly.

It seems that practice really does perfect our experience. I often hear students insist that they cannot meditate properly. I know from my own experience that there may be a fear of diving too deeply into the self. We may fear that we will find suppressed emotions, repressed memories, resentments and ugly thoughts. With a little self discipline however, we will discover that what awaits us is peace and love and blessed stillness. The fears vanish with one moment of real connection with the higher nature of our own being.

Meditation is a practice and a skill that leads to expertise in being ourselves. Then we are prepared to jump out into action with focus and confidence. This life is challenging enough without some personal training in how to be seen and known for who we really are. Daily meditation is a most effective method for mastering fears and gaining wisdom, so that we are authentic and ready for anything.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 18, 2009

Dear friends,

Recently there was a disturbing news story of a youngish mother who was attacked by a 200 lb chimpanzee. Her face and eyesight were completely lost. On a recent program, Oprah Winfrey interviewed the woman and her horrible injuries were revealed. Oprah was criticized for showing them, but some of us thought she did a great service. She was modelling a spiritual truth; that we are not our bodies, that we are not our appearance, that we are fully intact whatever may change on the outer. This woman is alive, aware, expressive and even optimistic. Her personality is very much present because her real self has not been destroyed.

This was such a good example because the damage was to her face. We associate our soul with our eyes, with our visage. We identify each other by our physical face and we read our moods by our facial expressions. Yet this woman is still able to converse, to love, to have ideas and opinions, to feel, to care about others, to be creative. Her unique self is still here. Those who love her will recognize her no matter how she may appear.

Who we are is not a physical being. We are using this form as a vehicle for expression and when one aspect of that vehicle is removed we tend to think part of the self has been lost, but that is never true. Our way of navigating the world may become more difficult but that is not because we are less than we were. It is because the world makes it difficult. The able bodied erroneously conclude that anyone with a disability is different. They are not. They are still the same beautiful soul that came here to be seen and known for who they really are. Just like you.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 17, 2009

Dear friends,

At a sidewalk book sale I bought a little novel about a relationship spanning 35 years. Once a couple in high school, first love intoxicated, the boy and girl were separated by thousands of miles as he went off to pursue a career that would take him all over the world. She was younger and stayed home writing him letters of longing and moonlight and soul-mate reminders. She was stunned by his abandonment. He slowly stopped communicating. Thirty years later she has become a successful writer. At a book signing in a distant city, he walks in and she cannot breathe.

After a month of tentative e mails they begin to reawaken the feelings of belonging to one another. They start meeting at a city hotel in between their homes. She starts checking her e mail fifty times a day. He slowly stops communicating. She is stunned by his abandonment.

The rest of the book is largely about how we do not learn from love. We are swept up in it. Our hearts feel so isolated that the first few weeks of connection seem like a miracle to us and we fear its loss. We begin the process of fulfilling that prophecy.

This is what happens if we do not have love activated in our life whether we are with someone special or not. When love is part of our everyday life, the deeper connection with that one certain person will seem like icing on the cake, not the eggs and flour and sugar.

Love takes many forms. We can be very happy seeing our dear friends, chatting with an elderly neighbour, playing games and travelling, meeting strangers that become pen pals. We can activate love by volunteering, giving our time and compassion to those in need. We can give ourselves gifts and cherish small moments alone. When love is on the move in us, people may come and go but we will stay intact and cheerfully expectant of the next opportunity to express our love of living.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 16, 2009

Dear friends,

Emerson wrote that there are three levels of living that we use as a foundation for what we think is real and meaningful. They are Common sense, Taste and Spiritual perception. To use that as a working hypothesis: the first is a kind of intelligence that gets us through life relatively unscathed. The second makes life more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. The third raises us to a level of living that encompasses all the virtues we prize and the inner peace we seek. Only a few have activated all three.

Have you known people with great common sense who live with ugliness and disorder? There are people with good taste who possess no compassion and some who understand spirituality intellectually yet seem to have no joy? In each case what needs to be enlivened is love; the kind of love that infuses itself into our conversations, our choices, our expectations, our overall experience. It is the love that springs from feeling connected; one with the supporting laws of creation, one with beauty and order, one with Source and power, one with the sentient world, one with possibility, one with all that we seek.

Love rises up to greet us from deep within our nature. It comes to those who look for it there and call it forth. Love is a vibration that attracts like unto itself; it organizes our thoughts so that we are thinking from order and beauty. It is the only way we can know the spiritual aspect of our nature. Real love is sensible, creates beauty and sees the passing scene with spiritual intelligence.

Peace and blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 12, 2009

Dear friends,

Tenacity is overrated. A far better skill is knowing when to cease and desist! It is knowing that the time has come to move on, to let go. It does not mean to quit but to approach the task from a new perspective. Emerson told the story of how he and a friend tried everything to get a big calf into the barn. They pushed and cajoled, shouted and tugged. Nothing would budge the calf. Then a young farm girl came by and put her finger in the animals mouth and led him away!

How to know when it is time to change tactics? When anger only begets a mirror response, when arguing increases the divide, when hoarding money keeps us poor, when whatever we are thinking is the right way to succeed only produces failure, that is the first clue! The wisest among us are able to say without self rejection, “this is not working.” Moving on does not mean giving up. Sometimes simply stepping away from a problem, acting as if it did not exist, taking oneself to the beach or the movies, will relax the mind and break open the door to real solution.

It is a principle of manifestation. What we seek lies within us but cannot be awakened by any tactic which moves us farther into the illusion of separation. That is why love is so celebrated as the ultimate answer to every question. Love being the experience of one-ness. If we have no enemy but are one with all, who is there to fight? If we are one with possibility what is there to fight for? If we are co creators with the universe, where is there to go to get our good?

The ancient scripture: “Be Still and Know” ought to be emblazoned on our flags.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 11, 2009

Dear friends,

When we were kids my sister and brother and I would make lots of noise squabbling or chasing each other around the house. My mother would shout, “stop the racket!” At the time there was a tv show called “The Racket Squad.” It was about flushing out and prosecuting those involved with foisting illegal schemes on innocent citizens.

A friend of mind refers to her ego mind as “running a racket” when she is projecting fear based thoughts. In a way these are all tied together. Our survival mind can be quite loud, invading our peace, making us do and say things that are false notes to our true self. The inner tension is annoying and sometimes we feel as if we have been victimized by our own thoughts. Then we have to call in the spiritual racket squad! This consists of our knowledge, our ability to choose thoughts, our affirmations, our meditations, our higher perception and our desire to keep the inner peace!

Like unruly children, thoughts left unattended can wreck havoc in our lives. They are creative and will bring about states of mind, emotions and expectations that are not healthy or constructive. It is so important that we parent our own thought processes so that our minds are filled with cheerful expectations, beautiful images, creative ideas and loving emotions. Pay attention to what you are thinking when nothing is happening because when we are under stress these trouble makers will come out to play. We want to be prepared for the world by keeping our minds tuned up and tuned in to the finer vibrations of awareness.

Think on these things: I expect love and support, prosperity and peace today.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 10, 2009

Dear friends,

Emerson called Fear a great old carrion bird; that wherever it appeared there was something rotten in our midst. It really is true than when we are afraid of something or someone it is because we believe they wield power over us. Like a slave fears its master, the imagined threat of poverty owns some who behave in ways that eat away at their freedom. They pinch and scrimp and live like paupers even when their bank account is healthy.

I know people who will not travel for fear of certain calamities occurring while they are far from home. While it is prudent to stay out of war zones, millions of us are flying around the planet at any one time having wonderful experiences. The so called flu season sends some into panic. I watched a figure skating match recently from Japan and many in the audience wore surgical masks supposedly to guard against marauding viruses.

What scares you? More than likely it is something that has not happened to you or anyone you know. It is an imaginary scenario that fear has constructed in your mind. Yes, we live in a culture that fosters some violence and crime but statistically these incidents are rare, that is why they are news. Yes, there are places in the world where horrible things happen everyday, but if we are so afraid of engaging with those people we cannot be of any help. If we fear that our little part will do no good, we are paralysed and ineffectual. We can participate with our money, our affirmative prayer, our efforts. I know teenagers who have travelled to Africa to help build schools in small villages. Even though that area is somewhat unstable, they were not afraid. They were aware of the need and they knew they could help.

Let’s live up to the promise of the ages: I am free to be me at all times and who I am is joy and love, peace and prosperity, vitality and creative mind. The power of Spirit leads the way and greets me in the other.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 9, 2009

Dear friends,

One of my favourite screwball comedies of 1940 vintage is My Man Godfrey starring Carole Lombard and William Powell. She plays a spoiled rich girl who organizes a treasure hunt for her equally self absorbed friends. On the list of things to find and bring back to the party is a hobo, a bum or what we would call a street person. She finds William Powell living in a tramp camp under a bridge in the inner city. His clothes are tattered, he is unshaven yet he is charming and witty. She sees something in him and brings him back to her family mansion convincing her mother to hire him as a butler. As the story develops, she falls in love with him. He treats her as if she were a wilful child, although he is also smitten.

It comes to light that he is really a wealthy businessman who was attempting to rediscover himself. He set out to see how other people live in order to gain some perspective on his own life. It is all a case of mistaken identity, a plot device used in so many films and it always works!

Discovering who we really are is the storyline for every one of us. We live under the false pretence that we are weak, insignificant and powerless; or that we are somehow superior to others, immune to the sorrows of life. In either case we are mistaken. Our outer life is but the appearance that we present to the world. Its cause emanates from the deep inner life that we all share and individualize.

While we are somewhat affected by the weather or the collective beliefs of humankind, our deepest beliefs about our own true identity go a long way to keep us out of harm’s way and in the stream of prosperity, health and well being. We are spiritual beings giving ourselves the experience of this time/space dimension. Like the William Powell character, we appear to be so much less than we really are. In the end he admits who he is. It is only then that he can see through his own self imposed limitations and claim the love that has found him.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 6, 2009

Dear friends,

Two little boys were given five dollars each for the school fair. They rode all the rides and played the games at the various booths. They ate cotton candy and drank lemonade. When their mother came to take them home they cried “but we still have some money to spend!” They wanted to use up all that was allotted for their special day.

Emerson said at the end of his life that the only thing he found within himself was not wrinkles and a used up heart, but unspent youth. Youth is a state of mind. It is playfulness and an eagerness to learn new things. It is letting go of prejudices and welcoming diversity. It is trying new things even when you are not very good at them. Youth is a perception that life is always just beginning. Our purpose is not to be a stoic grown up. It is to be spiritually mature, like little kids who see the world with cheerful expectation, a divine shrug of the shoulders and a quick smile.

In a metaphorical way, we are at the school fair. We have a reservoir of energy to spend in this adventure. If we take some chances, let go of hurts as they happen, forgive everybody for everything, try to make things better or more beautiful, make lots of friends, visit other cultures, look foolish and love it, then when we feel that it is time to leave, we will go completely satisfied. We will have no regrets and nothing unspent in our mental pockets.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 5, 2009

Dear friends,

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “we speak from our memories and not our understanding.”

Responding to life is easy if we only rely on previous experience. Then we know how to act and think and feel. True, we will not create anything new but what follows will be familiar and to our relief, somewhat safe. Life becomes a growth opportunity,however, when we put into practice what we innately know to be true:

Mainly:

that we can choose how to express

that our spiritual understanding will guide us into authenticity

that no one is targeting us for rejection

that our capacity for connection is a driving force and not to be ignored

that celebration is more natural than war

that inclusivity always reaps rewards;

that diversity makes life more fun

that abundance grows when it is shared

that love is not a commodity but a flow from within

that peace arises when we open the listening door

that the divine is everywhere, in all things, trying to get our attention

We do know these things to be true. Only fear of being seen and known for who we really are can block the revealing of our awareness.

Affirm: “I am seen and known for who I really am”

Peace and blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 4, 2009

Dear friends,

Looking at the history of the world with its wars and pestilence and human acts of cruelty and the many ways we degrade our lives, it would not be odd if we shook our fist and cried “Why doesn’t God do something”? Why does a supposedly loving God allow some to be poor and oppressed and sick and bereft of opportunity? Ernest Holmes, the great spiritual teacher said something worth considering about our relationship to God. He said God, as creative principle, does not know us beyond our ability to know ourselves.

Have you noticed that when you change your mind about something, the situation looks and feels very different? Over the years my own beliefs about who I am in the flow of prosperity have changed significantly. Feeling more worthy of support, I am supported! It is as if we suffer from mistaken identity; we wrongly identify ourselves as victims of circumstances rather than co creators of it. If we were raised in a religion that labels us unworthy sinners or subject to the will of a wrathful God, we will have life experiences which seem to validate that perception.

Could it be that we have also mistakenly identified God as well as ourselves? Think of it this way: God is a response to your belief, not a caretaker of your life. It is the automatic release of intelligence and energy necessary to bring your deepest self identity into sharp relief. In that sense there could not be a more loving presence. How we identify God and how we identify ourselves are fused into one perception of how things happen. Change your mind about this first, and watch how much better life becomes.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 3, 2009

Dear friends,

What do you think about when you awaken at three am? Suddenly the eyes are open and the mind is metaphorically chewing on something it deems necessary food for thought. Usually you have been dreaming about the issue and the tension inherent in the worry causes you to come out of sleep into conscious thought. No longer able to sleep peacefully, you begin to scare yourself with dark thoughts and unreasonable projections.

A friend told me she sometimes wakes up worrying about getting old. She had seen her grandmother develop dementia and physical disabilities at the same age she is right now. Her mind took that information and just ran with it, causing her many sleepless nights. We may have money problems or relationship trouble. The issue is not the cause of our insomnia or worry. It is the belief that the problem is greater than our own power, our own ability to generate health and love and prosperity. It is the fear of loss.

Modern spirituality helps us to stay in the moment and to actualize what is inherent in it. Love is here, right now and so is vitality and creative intelligence. These are the building blocks of relationships, health and prosperity. Our part is to build a consciousness of wholeness and oneness with those spiritual qualities. We may begin with gratitude which may be the most effective lullaby available to us. If you awaken in the middle of the night, start a list of everything you are grateful for and soon you will fall asleep only you will be spiritually awake!!

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously November 2, 2009

Dear friends,

John Lennon wrote that he imagined a world without religion. Of course he did not mean a world devoid of awe and wonder, reverence and humility. He meant fundamentalism and dogma and superstition. Like all great mystics he foresaw a world of peace and harmony, prosperity and love; but he saw it to be a world of our own making!

Ernest Holmes, the twentieth century spiritual genius said there is an irresistible urge in all of us to create beauty and order and to prosper. He felt what religion calls God is the force within every human mind, the press to express that becomes cause to our actions. The problem, of course, is our insistence that God (or Power) is somewhere else, anywhere but where we are. Our ignorance of our own nature has caused us to allow the lowest common survival urges to rise up as policy and personal motivation.

Today humanity is in the throes of awakening out of that hypnotic state. Our individual part will require courage and tenacity. It is to take responsibility for our own experience at all times. It is to remove our attention from the realm of activity regularly so that we might feel the presence of our own inner peace and love. Until we call our real selves out into expression we will continue to bow down to false Gods and give up our power. And we will spend our days praying for a world that can only come by means of us.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 28 2009

Dear friends,

Looking across the San Diego bay I see hundreds of private boats bobbing in the morning sun. Nearby there are neighbourhoods of beautiful homes and chic boutiques. Well maintained freeways connect one end of the county to the other. Yet just a few miles south, across an international border, there is such poverty and lack of basic services that it is impossible to ignore the principle that consciousness creates our reality. The border is man made. There is no real division between our two countries, yet one is affluent and thriving and the other is terribly blighted. That is not to say both do not have their areas of contrast but generally speaking there is a remarkable difference with just a few feet separating them.

It is simply true that although there is no division between one person and another in mind, we are never having exactly the same experience. My perception colors my point of view, as does yours. Ask three people at the scene of an accident what happened and you will hear three different scenarios. Yet, together we can decide to see things in a new way. We can make a group choice to end violence in our schools or racism or bullying. In fact that is how most positive change comes about. Margaret Mead said it is the only way change ever happens. A small band of people who believe in the power of mind to make changes in the world, get together in agreement and bring it about through their own determined efforts.

There are no real barriers to our hearts desire for peace and love in our world. Nothing but perception prevents us from making them real.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 27, 2009

Dear friends,

I am sitting at a desk in a hotel room feeling awed at how quickly technology has become my friend. Not too many years ago I was marvelling at long distance telephone service. Cell phones seemed like the stuff of a Dick Tracy comic strip. Now the internet keeps me connected to hundreds of people with the push of a few keys.

It seems that we have been moving into closer and more immediate connection since the dawn of awareness. We are seeking, searching, finding ways to be at one with each other. It must be an innate press, this desire to merge with, communicate with, be known by some other presence. Perhaps we have been unconsciously looking for our common source. The more we are accessible to one another, the more we keep proving that there really is no distance; we are finding new and more refined ways to experience our oneness.

Would it not be something wonderful if all this were a quest for God and we found it in ourselves and each other?! What if technology were the saving grace? That would be ironically amusing but so appropriate. Of course the beauty of it would be that at that point we might have realized we don’t need the material tools, that we are now and have always been alive in one vast sea of conscious Mind. Hmmmm.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 26, 2009

Dear friends,

After service yesterday I got on a plane to San Diego. The second leg from Denver offered a chance to upgrade my seat to first class at a very nominal fee. I took advantage of it and pretty much slept the whole way, in very comfortable surroundings. But what I noticed was how differently people treated me. It was unsettling to observe how much nicer the attendants were, how carefully they served us, how solicitous of our needs. Even the other passengers seemed to take the time to connect with one another, acknowledging our commonality (which must have been perceived to be the ability to pay for first class!) I had a good laugh thinking that we were probably all economy customers who had jumped at the chance to upgrade.

Naturally I tried to make spiritual sense out of it or relate it in some way to a principle. My hypothesis is this: when we think we have information about someone and it is alignment with what we know about ourselves, we assume a kinship. We may even project a certain acceptance without really knowing that person if we think they have something we want. If our judgment were based solely on our unity in the field of Spirit then we would have made a correct assumption but if human value is determined by any outer appearance, it is some kind of spiritual malpractice.

While I enjoyed the extra leg room, the trip was the same one the folks in the back were taking. We were all on the same plane. That is true of the human experience in general. We are all moving through this time/space experience the best way we can. Don’t you think everyone should be treated as if they had bought a first class ticket to take this earthly ride?

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 23, 2009

Dear friends,

There is a tv commercial for a certain brand of chewing gum which promises a dramatic and instant “taste sensation.” How many other products are trying to convince us of immediate results which will thrill us? We can be lulled into thinking that we are missing something if we are not having these big WOW experiences. Spiritual practice is more subtle but if we are expecting our whole life to change with a few meditations we will be disappointed.

I love the word eventually for the simple reason that it connotes progress. If we are serious about our spiritual practice, eventually we will feel and see the inner shifts in awareness that begin to affect our experience. Something is always happening on the quantum level of consciousness; whether or not it is repetition or transformation will eventually reveal itself. How we care for our deepest inner self is key to the quality of the eventuality.

A few affirmations here and there do not reach the place in us where real awakening takes place. Affirmations quiet down the local nay-saying mind in the moment but only prepare it for the real work. Our whole attention needs to be withdrawn from the field of time and space and allowed to drop into the quantum level of pure awareness if we want lasting effects and real change.

Once in a while we have the big “AHA!” But those don’t come without our previous involvement with their evolution. Our practice has brought the realization to the surface of the mind where a conscious thought has given it outlet. It was within us all the time.

Give your mind nothing to do and it will show you what it can do! (eventually)

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 22, 2009

Dear friends,

Have you ever been carried away by the moment? Perhaps a beautiful piece of music has transported you from your living room to the shores of a tropical island or the cuervas of Granada. Being carried away is an enjoyable experience when it involves beauty and peace but it is entirely another matter when we are overtaken by anger or jealousy.

We might use the experience of being “carried away” as an excuse for our bad behaviour. There is a moment, however, when we can make a deep level observation of what is happening within our own mind and we can put a stop to it. We can catch ourselves about to fall into the strong arms of negativity and be carried away by it. It is as if our higher self is about to be kidnapped!

As Michael Beckwith said recently, we are only in real choice when we are aware; aware enough of the machinations of mind to notice an old habit rearing its head; aware enough to look at it dispassionately and to direct our attention elsewhere. Choice is something we earn by right of consciousness. Until our mind is managed by our spiritual awareness, we really are just reacting to stimuli.

My grandmother used to advise us to count to ten before we spoke. I have often forgotten that little piece of wisdom but when I remember, the results are always to my liking! I am able to say what I mean and mean what I say. I am in choice.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 21, 2009

Dear friends,

How often do we long for something but feel it is out of our reach? The truth is simple: whatever we are longing for is present within our own spiritual DNA, or we would never be able to identify it. The longing is its presence seeking activation by us. When we do not know this and do not acknowledge what is wanting to happen through us, we feel that nudge as frustration, as not having, as longing.
On the other hand, whatever is in our life right now is also something that we have allowed to take precendence in our mind to the disregard of the very thing we seek. It is times like these we hear ourselves say " I just knew this was going to happen!"
Attention is a power we use without too much thought but which is the initiator of experience. Consider today what is catching your attention. How often are you complaining about something? What is your attitude about people very unlike yourself? Have you had a good laugh at no ones expense?
If our attention seems to be out of control, then intention is the great leveler. Make an intention to see through the eyes of good cheer today. Intend to respond from the quality you desire to see in your world. Pause to refresh your intention before reacting. Notice how instantaneously you create what you want! It is the quickest way I know to convince ourselves how powerful and creative we actually are.

Peace and Blessings,
Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 20, 2009

Dear friends,

Author and teacher, Michael Beckwith wrote “there is no separation between our political, social and spiritual endeavour.”

Everything we think, say and do is governed by the principle of unity. We are all interconnected. On subjective levels, we are aware of what is going through the field of mind we all share. If we are emanating a vibration of love and acceptance, it will be felt in our presence, but more importantly it will be enlivened in our shared experience.

We cannot change the world, we can only elevate ourselves. As we raise our own love quotient, we enliven that quality for the general good. So often we see life as a passing scene that we are observing. We forget that we are a central player everywhere we are. We belong, we are necessary to the well being of the whole.

When we watch the evening news we ought to realize: this is happening to us, not to them. This is our created experience. When we see what is ugly and violent we ought to ask ourselves, “where in me is there any remnant of that kind of energy? How have I contributed to the possibility that this even exists?"

If we only knew what powerful beings we actually are; how we vote for the kind of world we choose to live in by our choices, our mental focus, our actions. This is the day the Law has made; the law of mind which brings about what we think about, individually and collectively.

Today let us give the Law some love as its creative impetus!

Peace and Blessings, (Happy birthday, Jeffrey Proctor, who advanced into higher realms almost a year ago)

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 16, 2009

Dear friends,

A life that is transformed can come about in subtlety and in small adjustments, almost imperceptible to us yet our friends observe, “you have changed.” We decide to shop at a new market; there we run into someone from our distant past; we wonder aloud why they seem so energetic; they tell us about a yoga class they love; we give it a try, it leads to learning meditation, we start reading mystical literature, we feel more peaceful, we stop smoking, we start serious recycling, we travel to places previously of no interest. We change our politics. We have transformed our self perception and it is noticeable.

Your journey will be entirely different from that example. There is no one way to wake up the senses to the self that we are, the one that becomes, the one that is ever new. At any age we are susceptible to its nudging. If we are not aware of its natural inclination to refine its experience, we may wake up one day and announce, “I am outta here!” As the great spiritual teacher of the 19th century, Emma Curtis Hopkins said “There is Good for me and I ought to have it!”

If we are not tuned in to our finer feelings and desires, we might wait until our choice to change comes as a shock, not only to us, but those significant others whom we care about. A mid life crisis can leave devastation in its wake. We are all on a journey of self discovery. We have the personal ability to respond to the desires of the heart, the whole self, the spirit. This is the journey we are all taking, from acting to being, from struggling to expression, from malaise to magnificence. It begins the moment we say yes to it and that can happen in a mosque, on a mountain top or at the supermarket.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 15, 2007

Dear friends,

Kabir said “When the Guest is being searched for, it is the intensity of the longing that does all the work.”

The Guest is Source, the cosmic ocean from which we draw our life. Most of us have moments of wondering if it exists, of thinking about it, but it is soon forgotten and we are off to another worldly concern. That is fine, we need to be here and be alive and enjoy this beautiful dimension. Yet the longing never goes away. If there is an intensity to it, let us say a drive to discover that which we only sense to be, then the work is done. That very determination will set us on a path that opens our mind to new vistas of self perception.

When I was a child I knew within myself that there was something greater than what I saw before me. I knew a presence was all around me but I could not see it. My family were non-believers so I was on my own, although they encouraged us to come to our own conclusions. I lost that feeling over the years but one day I said out loud “I don’t know where you went God, but I want you back.” In the next two months I learned to meditate and I was led to a spiritual teaching that opened my mind and heart and began to restore my child-like knowing.

It was intense. It was magical. It was life changing. It was a long process of following the light through the muck of worldly memories and wounds and anger. It was not always pretty but it was worth it. Have I arrived? Well, there is no where to get to! What I have found is myself, the little girl who knows something she cannot name, who trusts the Source within, who feels the presence, who welcomes the Guest.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 14, 2009

Dear friends,

For those of us not in the medical profession we may have learned the word triage from watching re runs of the hit tv show “Mash.” During combat, wounded soldiers were brought into the medical facility in groups and in various stages of emergency. Doctors would then access which needed immediate attention and which could wait. They would do the fastest procedures to save lives and then move the patient into the operating room or into a hospital bed. This is triage.

Some people approach life that way. They wait until their relationship is losing vitality at a dangerous rate and then try to patch it up quickly. It is often too late. The relationship has died. The same is true of business. We may not want to notice that our product is old fashioned, that younger buyers want something different. We may give all our attention to cutting costs when innovation is what is actually needed.

We are performing triage with our lives when we have more than one situation that is not working very well. What is the first thing to do to save this, we ask, rather than what is needed to achieve lasting good results.

The quality of our everyday thinking may be a clue as to where there is dis-ease in our lives. If we notice ourselves thinking “I do not want to think about that right now, I will deal with it later” we are denying the necessity of some new perception or ideas around that issue. When we slap an affirmation over a deep concern, we are doing triage but not healing the dis-ease. What is required is a real shift in our perception. Another way to state the case is to set your priorities. Attend to that which is the most life-supporting, that which is important to you, that which brings more love or joy or peace into your experience. Be honest about the rest: some things need to change; some need reinforcing, some need loving attention, some need your presence and focus, some need a new way of being seen, some need a complete healing. Remember, first things first and in every case, you are the doctor!

Peace and blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 13, 2009

Dear friend,

As Raymond C. Barker wrote; “Sometime in our growth in spiritual understanding we will have to release the past”. This may come after we make amends, forgive ourselves and others, whatever we feel our emotional life requires. Yet the time will come when we realize we simply cannot tap into our true potential for happiness and authentic self expression, until we see ourselves as a clean slate in this moment. Yes, we have learned from our mistakes. Yes, we have accumulated wisdom. Yes, we have changed our ways, but the being that we are was never tarnished one whit by any worldly experience.

In this moment, right now, you are who you were the day you were born; a being of immense capacity for love, for radiant vitality, for creative expression, for joy, for success in all you do. Furthermore, what that self knows is not from the world of experience; it is innate and intact. This self that you are, is an individualization of Something that shows up everywhere throughout this universe. It is intelligence. It is aliveness. It is self initiating, self referring, self generating, self creating, self aware being-ness. Somehow it is being each one of us. The most important discovery we can make in this life is that our potential is forever available. It is never too late to realize the gifts of the Spirit.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 12, 2009

Dear friends,

Have you ever paid attention to how many complaints you hear every day, some of them coming from you? The weather is a constant source of dissatisfaction and traffic is second in our inner complaint department. Turn on the news shows and there will be a panel of so called experts complaining about what some celebrity or politician has done or not done according to the panels opinion. There is rarely a focus on appreciation and admiration for the efforts of others, unless that person has just died. It really is debilitating to our psyche to bear the assault of negativity that comes from us and to us every day.

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. Since I am American I will have two Thanksgivings and I love the idea! It occurs to me that we ought to have such a day once a quarter. It should be a national holiday and broadcasters would choose to focus on what is good news. We could celebrate it in different ways, such as shining the light on the diverse cultural influences that benefit us all, but the idea would be to bring our collective mind together in gratitude.

A grateful people are less separated and more co-creative. Gratitude opens the floodgates of generosity and creativity. Appreciation for the good in our lives gives our mind a rest from worry and relieves tension. Gratitude could make us a healthier society, more apt to listen to another point of view, more likely to defend and protect the civil rights of one another. Most importantly of all, gratitude moves us from an “us and them” stance into the realization of our interdependence. Peace and cooperation surely would follow.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 8, 2009

Dear friends,

Remember the song from Gershwin, “It ain’t necessarily so”? That applies to many aspects of our thinking. Studies have shown that when asked to describe the partner they are seeking, a woman can state clearly the qualities she requires in a man. Yet when she is given the opportunity to meet several men in a short period of time (known as speed dating) the one she wants to see again may not possess any of those required qualities. Her subconscious response has trumped her conscious thought. Of course this applies to men as well. You can read more about this in the book “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell.

We may say we are compassionate and loving but our emotional reactions say “It ain’t necessarily so.” Retraining the subconscious mind is a spiritual practice. It demands rigorous observations of the congruity of our affirmations and our actions. When they are at opposite ends of the spectrum, we are out of harmony with our own sense of self and that creates deep unrest, depression and self recriminations, none of which will move us in the direction we are seeking.

Self regulation is key to depth change. We cannot awaken our compassion as long as we defend our bigotry. We cannot have the loving and supportive intimate relationship we desire if we continue to bring our fear and anger into the mix. The greatest moment we can experience is the one where we have the courage to consciously know that we have had what we really wanted all along, which was to feel safe and in control, or right about our un-love-ability or any number of self defending attitudes.

It is in that moment that we can shift into the higher awareness of realization; that is not what I want. I want to be joyously alive and cheerfully expectant and wonderfully authentic and seriously vital and happily expressing and fully engaged in creating a better world for all. All of that other emotional baggage seemed so necessary to take care of myself .......but it just ain`t so!

Peace and Blessings,

Rev. Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 7, 2009

Dear friends,

Futurist, Barbara Marx Hubbard has said what gives her the most hope for the future of humanity is the very longing in our hearts for change, for peace, for an experience of unity with our highest selves. She called it the longing to go home. How can we long for something that is not embedded in our nature?

The very thing we are looking for is evolving in us in this very moment. Bridging the gap between longing and realization is what spiritual practice is all about. It is the purpose of meditation and mindfulness. Our desires are interwoven with our being and it is our personal awakening that identifies and claims what is rightfully ours to express. It seems that spiritual maturity begins as we move out of longing and into actualization.

This may be what Emerson meant when he wrote “Be and not seem.” Gandhi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” But how can we do that until we have found in ourselves, the quality we think is missing in the world? It used to be that inner work meant locating all of our nay-saying, ego-driven demands and fears. It is too late for that. Now our work is about finding our core self and allowing it to have dominion over our thoughts and feelings. The first step is to affirm that such a Self exists. “ My life is the outlet for the Spirit of love and joy, peace and vitality, prosperity and creative intelligence. I am the way and the means through which the desires of my soul come into full expression.”

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 6, 2009

Dear friends,

In their book Coming Back to Life, Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown wrote that we need to act like ancestors. I interpret this to mean we need to see ourselves as the bequeathers of a legacy to future generations. It begins with our own children but includes everyone who will come after us. What are we leaving in terms of best practices in our profession? Are we setting down a foundation that will facilitate better conditions than we inherited? Do we approach our daily relationships as if they were instructions to youth on how to create world peace? Do our choices as consumers guarantee that babies will be born into a garden of Eden or a garbage dump?

We are living in times when our awareness of just how important we are to the quality of the whole is in sharp contrast to our generally low self image. Our collective self esteem has not been so great, which is a result of erroneous religious beliefs about sin and damnation. Waiting for a Messiah to save us does nothing to develop our true attributes which are exactly what are needed to “save” ourselves. The important point is that “ourselves” means the human species. It does not mean that we will not leave this dimension, but that we will leave it in good shape for both a possisble return visit and the first time incarnation of some other soul.

Whatever our religious beliefs may be, if they are not giving us a sense of personal empowerment and responsibility, then they are false. The great Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart wrote: “It is a lie....any thought of God that does not comfort you.” Today we could paraphrase; any thought of your own Being that does not encourage, uplift, empower and set you on a path of co creating the world you want to live in, is self deception.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 5, 2009

Dear friends,

When I was in Maui a few years ago our group had the privilege of meeting for lunch with the great spiritual teacher, Ram Dass. He was so full of good cheer and still had that twinkle in his eye despite some health issues that required the use of a wheelchair. The overriding message that emanated from him was simple: happiness and usefulness are not dependent on outer circumstances. One can be joyful and continue to give one’s gifts sitting down or in some cases even after leaving the body!

Think of how influential Emerson has been in my life, or Jesus in yours, or Buddha or your grandmother. Our inner light is not dimmed with age or death. This week I am officiating at the memorial service for a young woman, a mother of three small children, the wife of a dear and loving young man. She was a news anchor on television and after her children were born developed her own video production company. Her presence was so joyful and inclusive, you always felt lucky to be with her. This will not dissipate. Her energy field was so strong, it will remain in the hearts of many.

All of us are influencing someone else. We may not even be aware of it. Our words, our wisdom, our compassion, our support, our very presence; these are the gifts we offer the world. They will be talked about, cherished and passed on. This might be a good day to think about what we want to leave in our wake.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 2, 2009

Dear friends,

The mind set that gets us in the most trouble is not a lack of knowledge, it is in thinking we already have all the knowledge we need. There was a time when most of the world was convinced that we could not physically stand on the moon. They “knew” it was impossible. A few mind explorers thought differently, however, and challenged scientists and engineers to solve the problems that kept humankind earthbound. It was achieved in less than the mandate of ten years.

When Steven Spielberg conceived the idea for his film “Jurassic Park” the technology to do what he envisioned did not exist. He proceeded to begin shooting anyway while his technicians worked on his vision. The result was a realistic depiction of dinosaurs resurrected in modern times.

When we think we already have the answer, yet our goal is unrealized, perhaps we know too much. We can know too much about how it has never been done, how the statistics seem to favour failure or that most people would think us foolish to pursue such a dream. Our knowledge is based on the experience of others, not the power of creative intelligence. If this is so for us and we still have the dream, then we are relying on magic to bring it about. We will require a miracle!

We need to adopt an “up until now” attitude. Up until now we may not have attained our higher goals but that is only because we have known too much about why they cannot happen to someone like us. It may be time to learn something new about yourself or re-visit a higher idea that you have rejected. What if the worlds great spiritual teachers are right and we really are unlimited beings with access to all the good we could ever want? Is that the kind of knowledge we could use to awaken our up until now wisdom?

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously October 1, 2009

Dear friends,

In high school biology class we had to dissect a frog. We learned about the parts of the frog but nothing about frog-ness. There was no evidence that this configuration of cells and bones and tissue ever lived. There was nothing there that would make it hop from pond to rock.

Emerson said the world can never be learned by learning all its details. It is the whole that needs to be known, not merely the individual parts. If I tell only my life story, what will be revealed is not me, not who I am, but what occurred. The same being that I am could have had an entirely different experience and I would still be me. Yes, we are shaped by experience but it is not because experience has the power to shape us, it is that we do not know who we really are.

Who can say what makes a frog a frog? What gives a tree its aliveness? Where is the Self that looks out through your eyes? Look beyond experience into Being and there will be an answer. The Self will rise up to greet your attention and refresh your memory. When we pass from this form, it is the power within it that moves on, only the body dies. The essential Self is unstoppable in its quest for expression. It will create some new suitable vehicle for its own uses. As a matter of truth, it loves being a frog or a tree or a child in a small village, equally.

Do not tear yourself apart dissecting your past experiences. Look for the Self in this current moment. You are there, wholly intact, endowed with the divine spark that causes you to hop from despair to hope, conflict to peace, fear to love, anger to joy. Like the little frog you have everything you need to express your full human-ness. No one can define you by the parts of your life that have already died.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously September 30, 2009

Dear friends,

My favourite question is What if?

What if compassion were the basis for all our decision making?

What if everyone realized that Love makes all things new?

What if Schools were centres of creativity, play invention and for the development of inner genius?

What if there we all had a zero tolerance for hunger in our world?

What if we had no use for weaponry of any kind?

These are only a few on my personal what if questions. I know you have your own. The point is simple; what if each one of us took some responsibility for turning a what if into what is?

Let’s say you are a teacher, can you see the genius in all your students and do something today to verify and validate it in a way that the student feels it?

Can we donate food to the local food bank or write a check or buy a meal for someone needy?

Can we reframe our personal vision to include compassion for our mistakes and watch for congruency in our decisions?

Can we let love have its way with us, transforming our resentments into understanding, our fears into courage, our hopes into action?

Can we disarm our own emotions so that peace is our first line of defense?

Creating a world that reflects our spiritual wholeness and the value of every sentient being begins with the small, everyday moments of each life. What if we begin today to do our part and encourage the best in each other?

What if life begins at home?

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes

Living Consciously September 29, 2009

Dear friends,

Crisis demands decisions. First we identify the crisis, then we must shift our values, re-prioritize them if we are to alleviate the tension and move into the opportunity. If we value money above all and our financial life has gone sour, is this not an opportunity to rethink what is important to us? Does this give us a chance to spend more time with our families, with ourselves, or to learn something new we have been wanting to explore? Can we use this crisis to create an opening into new ways of living?

The pain of any situation that we identify as a crisis is our resistance to it. If we can relax into it and raise our sense of our place in it, we can move through it and come out the other side with renewed energy and a sense of having honoured the soul.

Just as an example, perhaps we have secretly wanted to simplify our lifestyle. Maybe we have been thinking of how much excess materiality we carry with us. It could be that our awareness has expanded to include a love for the earth and a desire to be more interactive with her. Underneath the crisis is a longing of some kind that we have ignored. It has brought itself to the surface of our mind so that we can identify it, shift our values and seize the opportunity.

It is much easier to deal with crisis if we remember the words of Ernest Holmes: Life is entirely for us and never against us.

Whatever you are facing today can be the door that opens into a whole new experience of being you. If everything is an offering for creative change, what does this current experience have in it for you?

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes www.positiveliving.org

Living Consciously September 28, 2009

Dear friends,

When in doubt, doubt! That is an old saying I just made up. When we have second thoughts, feel uncertain about what to do, it is best to do nothing. What we call negative feelings may not always be negative. Sometimes they are the way we interpret our internal radar signals, our intuition which is nudging us to look deeper, see the bigger picture, and consider the long term effects of our actions.

At a small gathering of great leaders from many walks of life, someone said how important it is to learn to say No. Another person observed that we need to learn to say Yes. A Tibetan Lama gently said, sometimes we need to say Wait a Minute. Why would we not trust our own instincts? Of all the people in the world, are we not the one most aware of what is right for us? This is true if we are clear of perceptions that are not valid.

Most of us do not listen to ourselves because we cannot distinguish between the ego with its insatiable needs and the intuition that knows what is best and how to create it by means of our expression. Like any relationship we have to spend time with the inner self before we can trust its lead. It will always try to find the most inclusive, loving and creative way for us to grow, evolve and reveal our gifts. The problem for most is that little or no time is given to this most important relationship. We give all our attention to outer stimuli and practically none to inner awakening.

It is no wonder that the biggest impediment to happiness is not trusting oneself. We cannot be happy when we live in fear of our own decisions. Set aside the current dilemma. Sit down with yourself. Close your eyes, be still and soon you will know. Just wait a minute.

Peace and Blessings,

Rev Carol Carnes www.positiveliving.org

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