Blog Archives

New Truth

5/31/2015

Protect, correct, and direct. Much of what needs to be corrected is faulty teaching. This can be a slow process when much of what we believe has been accepted and held as “truth” in the world that we have known. We may have been told that there was only one way to reach heaven, nirvana, or paradise, only to discover there might be multiple ways to achieve that goal, and no one way is better than another. This “correction” in our thinking takes time for many to absorb and accept, but rejecting something simply because we’ve been told a different “truth” doesn’t make it right.

Corrections

5/30/2015

Protection, correction, and direction. Today we consider the word “correction.” For those who are accustomed to severe or painful forms of corrections, this word and this prayer can seem daunting. For those who believe in a Higher Power who punishes with guilt, blame, and shame, correction can frighten and intimidate, but for those who view their Higher Power as loving, caring, and full of grace, correction is no more intimidating than the voice of the GPS that simply states, “recalculating.”

Breaking Free

5/29/2015

When we ask for protection, we are building spiritual defenses around ourselves that help us avoid leaving one bad experience only to fall prey to another. We witness this in the area of relationships when someone breaks up with someone who wasn’t right for them and then quickly replaces that individual with someone similar. This also happens with religions. We leave one bad experience only to find a similar religious gathering waiting to abuse us in a similar fashion.

Protect Us

5/28/2015

Once we make the decision to remove ourselves from an abusive religious experience, a simple prayer or mantra can help us avoid making the same mistake again. That prayer or mantra goes like this: “I ask for protection, correction, and direction.” This is so simple that it’s easy to memorize and repeat throughout the day. What we are saying to the Universe is that we need help, and we’re not afraid to ask.

Weekly Newsletter: Course Correction

5/26/2015

I love the navigation system that came with my car. I love being able to type in an address and let it guide me. I remember the days of paper maps and written directions. After that came printed maps from the Internet, but finally came the electronic navigation system. I could use one of those in my spiritual walk—a system which tells me where to turn and how to get to my spiritual destination. And, when I make a mistake, to correct me and put me back on course.
My dash mounted GPS system would tell me it was “recalculating” when I missed a turn. That was its way of saying I’d made a mistake. What I like is that it didn’t judge me, condemn me, or “guilt” me. I missed a turn, I made a mistake. So what? The GPS simply went about the process of getting me back on track to my destination. Even though there was no moral judgment from the device, I often grew weary of hearing that word, “recalculating.”
My new navigation system doesn’t inform me that it’s recalculating. It simply does it and then gives me my next turn. No guilt. No shame. It doesn’t tell me that I’m on my way to an awful, horrible, painful destination. It simply gets me back on track.

Deal with Anger

5/23/2015

Like all of our feelings, we “own” anger. Ignoring or suppressing anger only makes it stronger. But, the way we own our anger is important. We don’t own it in the sense of giving vent to it in destructive ways. Instead we simply acknowledge that we are angry, seek to discover the source of our anger, and we deal with that. We will find that in most situations the source is not something external but internal.

Keep Moving Forward

5/22/2015

We never want to discourage someone who is making progress no matter how slow it seems. Overcoming religious abuse takes time and determination, and this is partly because our social lives are often tied to our religious lives. Changing our religious beliefs, even if it’s to gain spiritual balance and strength, is made more difficult when our social worlds might come undone.

Attract the Positive

5/19/2015

When positive things happen in our lives, it helps if we pause to remember to say this simple expression of gratitude: “Thank you. I would like more of that.” This is setting our intention and letting the Universe know that we are grateful. It is also a simple reminder that positive and healthy things are what we want. Gratitude and setting our intention also help us to recognize when we are acting in ways that attract these things and also when we are acting in ways that repel them.

Weekly Newsletter: Checking Motivation

5/19/2015

The reason why we do something is just as important as the thing we do. The way we go about doing something is just as important as the goal we hope to achieve. Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The end is inherent in the means.” If the goal is worthy, the means to accomplish that goal must also be worthy.
If our goal is peace, we cannot accomplish it through war. If our goal is freedom, we cannot accomplish it by enslaving others. If our goal is love, we cannot achieve it through hatred, bigotry, and judgment. If our goal is happiness, we cannot accomplish it if we are making others unhappy. If our goal is to return to The Divine, we cannot accomplish it by denying others their journey.
This is practical in all areas of life. One may want a promotion at work but go about it with the wrong motivation, hurting others by their reckless ambition. If the motivation is correct, however, then when the goal is reached, the reward will be sweet—not bitter—and they will have won over friends and adversaries alike. Love is the greatest motivation possible, and achieves the greatest results.

Trust Your Gut

5/16/2015

Some might suggest that finding and following our own spiritual path is dangerous. It is no more dangerous than allowing a group of people who have come together to form what they call a religion to determine what path is right for us. In many situations, we are drawn in by at least the appearance of love, acceptance, and a family-like atmosphere. If these feelings prove to be genuine, and if our gut instincts confirm that this is so, then we have found a good place. However; if the atmosphere doesn’t extend to those outside the fold, if love is seen as conditional, and if our gut instincts whisper or scream that things are wrong, we need to listen and remove ourselves, emotionally at first, and then perhaps physically in the end.

Wait

5/12/2015

Patience is one of the most difficult lessons for me to learn. I want what I want when I want it, and sooner if possible. I understand that things come to those who wait, and that rushing things can be self-defeating, but I still find it challenging to let things unfold in their own time. But, when I am able to be patient, things do come when they are supposed to, and if they don’t, I usually find it was for the best.

Respect

5/11/2015

The path to peace includes qualities such as the ability to tolerate, accept, and embrace. Another word that tends to include all three of these qualities is respect. When we respect another, we tolerate their religious beliefs even if they are vastly different or even opposed to ours. We accept others as fellow human beings worthy of love, and we embrace them as family. Respect goes a long way to solving religious and political differences.

Weekly Newsletter: For the Long Haul

5/11/2015

I read an illustration once that said a diamond cutter might strike a stone a thousand times or more before he makes the first cut. The cutter knows that the work is slow, deliberate, and intense. The cutter also knows the time he spends preparing and striking are not wasted. In the course of time the desired results will be achieved.
In the spiritual world I wonder if some people haven’t considered the enormity of the task they undertake. They look for a shortcut to spiritual growth, hoping to avoid the thousand “blows” of the master stone cutter. Before undertaking a task, be certain the rewards are worth the effort. Also be certain that you have the proper tools. In spirituality those tools include prayer, contemplation, and mediation. But, the most important tools are forgiveness and love.
We settle upon our task, we make sure it is worthy of our efforts, and we remember that we are in it for the long haul. Perhaps blow one thousand and one will be the one to bring about the face of the diamond.

Imperfection

5/10/2015

When we realize our lives are not perfect and accept our flaws, then we can see the beauty hidden beneath the surface. We are perfectly imperfect and worthy of love, perhaps even more so because of our imperfections. Love should not be withheld from anyone because of seeming imperfections, and this includes ourselves as well.

Grievances or Miracles?

5/7/2015

It seems as if some people would prefer to trade miracles for grievances. To forgive someone is a divine act that entails a miracle. To hold grievances is to play to the ego and our base nature. We are entitled to miracles, and only we can turn them away by choosing to be less than we were meant to be.

Love and Forgive

5/6/2015

Miracles are connected with love and forgiveness. Sure, it would be a cool thing to change water into wine or feed 5000 with a handful of loaves and fishes, but only love and forgiveness can perform the truly miraculous. Only love and forgiveness can transform individual lives, societies, and the world. For my money, I won’t trade a sideshow for the real thing.

Faith Crisis

5/4/2015

From time to time we come to a crossroads on our journey home. We seem to have lost our way. Some call it a crisis of faith. We wonder why we seem to have come to a dead end. We question if we have lost our way, or if we were ever on the right path to begin with. We may look for help from The Divine and find that The Divine is silent.

This is the time when we don’t look around us as much as we look within. Where did I go wrong? How could I have been deceived? A faith crisis is a time of redirection. In many situations we discover that the road we've traveled has taken us this far, but can lead us no further. It may also be a time when we decide to forsake organized religion—at least for a time—and venture out on our own. When we do, we discover we are not really on our own, and we never were.

Angels surround us and walk with us. The presence of The Divine travels with us and within us. The darkness is merely a cocoon that protects us until we are ready to break free and venture into new Light.

Trust the Unknown

5/1/2015

We don’t always understand why things unfold the way they do. It’s not important to understand, only to allow. It is nice when understanding comes, and we enjoy those “ah ha” moments. But, even without understanding, we can still trust that the Universe knows what it is doing.

Dig for Religious Gold

5/1/2015

Each religious tradition has something to teach us if we will be open. Sometimes the lessons could be negative examples of what we don’t want, but for the most part, there is something good, some golden nuggets of truth that can help us on our journey home. Look for the good, accept what resonates with your soul, and leave the rest.

No Religion

5/1/2015

There is no word for "religion" in the Native American language. There is no fixed set of rules or dogma, only the idea that each individual is responsible to seek their own path, to live in harmony with nature, and with all beings. Respect, honor, courage, and love form the bases of their spiritual paths.

Release

5/1/2015

Every now and then it helps to do a simple cleansing. The cleansing we speak of is letting go of the past and forgiving all who have harmed us. Another form of cleansing is to release the problems of yesterday and start each day new. Carrying yesterday’s baggage will weigh us down with burdens that should be released and left in the past.