Hello you prosperous beings I would like to help you on the Avenue of Abundance. If you decide to join then you will get these posts directly to your email. How handy is that? Take WISDOM  with you wherever you go! Sometimes we lose our way so reviewing any blog post that speaks to you hopefully will help get you focused and back on the path.

 

 

March 5, 2024

It’s your life, and you’re the one who has to live it, not anyone else. No one else cares as much about
your life as you do. And no one can give to life what you have to give. You have authority over the choices in your life. You are capable of learning whatever you need to know to make your own choices. You are able to set whatever intentions you choose, as long as they harm no one else.
 
As George Bernard Shaw said, “To be in hell is to drift, to be in heaven is to steer.” 
If this is so, you can create a little bit of heaven for yourself right now by making a voluntary and deliberate choice to improve your life. Of course, that’s not all there is to successful change, but the awareness of choice could be the first step towards willingness to start down the path.

Awareness of choice helps people grab an oar and start rowing toward a chosen destination instead of just drifting wherever the river goes. Don’t get me wrong. Drifting can be a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But when it comes to habit change, the decision to steer is critical to your future success.

March 3, 2024

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality.

The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is Inspire Inclusion.

When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.

And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

Collectively, let’s forge a more inclusive world for women.

With well over a century of history and change, the first International Women’s Day (IWD) was held in March 1911. IWD isn’t country, group or organization specific. It’s a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women’s equality.

So together, let’s all help fight the good fight. All IWD activity is valid, that’s what makes IWD so inclusive. Join in and make IWD your day by doing what you can to support and advance women.

February 25, 2024

My take this Sunday: “Nothing is Immune to Change.”
Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”  Mahatma Gandhi

Quotes by Ernest Holmes about change: “We should be able to look at a wrong condition with the knowledge that we can change it. The realization that we have this ability must be gained  by the application of our knowledge.” “We know that thought is constantly changing, forever taking on new ways of expression. It cannot possibly remain permanent. It has to change. Can we not, accordingly, change it to a better state instead of to worse? “Change your thoughts, change your life.”

February 18, 2024

1. Letting Go of the things that no longer serve us 
 
2. Let go of attachments every attachment can be detached.

3. Let go of guilt: it has no function whatsoever.

4. Let go of Negative thinking: It keep you locked in a dark aura that permeates everything you do.

5. Let go of self-criticism: We are our biggest pain in the neck.

6. Let go of prejudice: It keeps you bitter and resentful.

7. Let go of compulsive thinking.

8. Let go of the need for others’ approval:

9. Let go of limiting beliefs

10. Let go of grudges: grudges are bad for your heart. Keep them long enough or numerous enough and your health will eventually suffer.

11. Let go of the “I’ll do it tomorrow” attitude:

12. Let go of anxious thoughts:

13. Let go of bad memories: Keep them where they are – in the past.

14. Let go of useless things:

15. Let go of bad company:

16. Let go of the idea that you are a product of your past:

17. Let go of identifying yourself with your job/role:

18. Let go of counterproductive habits:

19. Let go of taking things too personally:

20. Let go of the ticking clock: Learning to spend moments without the constant awareness of time can be liberating and finally productive.

February 14, 2024

Within our human heart are many regions undreamed of, and still waiting to be found…

There are new paths to blaze in thought and action, far journeys to be made to higher ground…

In the undiscovered countries of our being, are forces steeped with power.

There is wide knowledge to be gained through mindful study…

There is startling creative work to do…

So many strange resources to discover…

God-given graces that have gone unnamed…

High courage for some unexpected happening…

Prayer power that has not been fully claimed…

So many regions within undiscovered, such possibilities within each of our hearts.

Every heart has a place within that wants only to love and be loved.

February 2024

There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. —Nelson Mandela

Whether or not you know what your passion is doesn’t preclude you from having passion, using your passion, and living a life of passion. As a matter of fact, it’s necessary if you really do want to discover what you care about and ‘find your bliss’.

3 Ways to Uncover Your Passion

1) Clarify your values

What really matters to you in life? What do you believe in? What brings you the most joy or lights you up? It could be exploring new places, family, justice, or supporting the arts, as examples.

2) Identify your obstacles

What is in the way of living in alignment with your values? It could be lack of time, distraction, resources, or even a lack of imagination.

3) Remember your superpowers and develop your skills

What do you do really want? Is there space for you to do it? When you ask this of children, they can tell you without hesitation.

January 28, 2024

The next time that you catch yourself overthinking, ask yourself these questions:

Are these thoughts helpful?

Will they change the outcome in some way?

Do I need to respond to them right now?

How am I feeling as I’m thinking about this?

Is there something I can do to resolve this dilemma?

Reflecting on our thought process is another way to engage in mindful thinking that can help break us free from rumination. Our goal in asking questions is to help us understand that continuing to repeatedly think the same things is not only counterproductive, but it can be harmful to our well-being.

Be a mindful thinker. You are the thinker of your thoughts. Ask does these thoughts bring about positive results. Remembering what Ernest Holmes said Change your Thoughts, Change your life. We must choose what thoughts we want to entertain in our brain. Choose those thoughts that make life better for you and are life affirming. 

January 21, 2024

This past week I talked about aging gracefully with compassion and love. And we’re all aging. So we need to have compassion for ourselves and our bodies as they are aging. Talk to your body, the body listens. We must deal with our body. With kindness. It has seen us through so much, And I’m sure like. You. I haven’t always been kind to my body. Now I am. We must have love for every part of our body. From the bottom of our feet to the top of our head. Surrounding it with the healing white light of God each day.

From Earnest Holmes: My life in God is ageless, deathless, abiding. I now surrender every personal doubt, fear of hard feelings that would retard the perfect flow of life through me. There is no obstruction, no barrier in my mind, veins, or affairs. I am harmonious, peaceful, free and unafraid. Sophia Loren “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”

Keep your mind and thoughts on aging gracefully.

 

January 14, 2024

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”― Martin Luther King Jr.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”― Martin Luther King Jr.

Can we take the steps to better ourselves so that our life will reflect who we truly are, and do we have the faith to trust that Life will be with us every step of the way? God will be with you every minute and every step.  

Do you have faith believing? When you are faced with challenges, do you have the faith that this too will pass? It will and we will be stronger for the challenges we face.

We are emissaries of God. So, we are here to reflect God in all we do. We are the peace, the love, the compassion and so much more. We are the attributes and aspects of God. So as emissaries let me ask; What is the message you want to share out into the world today? I believe we are the message and the messenger of God’s grace, and we are here to share it.

How are you sharing your message out into the world?

And what is that message?

What does your life illustrate, exemplify?

Be authentic, Dream Big, Love Big, be open and receptive to a God powered life.

 

June 11, 2023

“The universe seems beyond our comprehension. The slightest fact in nature is a miracle we cannot perform. All we can do is recognize that there is a way to work with the spiritual law of the universe. We may rely upon It, for It will not fail us. We must come not only to believe and accept, but also to know that we are one with the living Spirit, that God is all there is. Our word, being the presence and the power and the activity of God’s Spirit, activates the Law of Mind, which cannot fail to operate. Let us feel that there is something permanent about the word we have spoken. Just as we plant a seed and walk away from it, nature takes it up, and the law of its own being evolves it, so let us believe the same thing about our word—something takes it up, something evolves it, and it will manifest. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.” I affirm that it is the word of Truth establishing harmony as my experience. With utmost simplicity I accept and believe in the answer to my own prayer because it is a prayer of acceptance. There is an Intelligence, a Divine Presence operating in and through my life, guiding, directing, governing, bringing me good. This affirmation of acceptance endlessly repeats itself in my experience and in the experience of others, for whatever I identify my word with is lifted up in consciousness and made manifest. He that doeth truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.—JOHN 3:21”
 
— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 

April 30,2023

“Love is the lodestone of life, the great and supreme Reality. Love is the highest gift of heaven, the greatest good on earth, and the treasure of all our search. It is the end and aim of everything. We cannot doubt that God is Love, because love renews and reinvigorates while hate kills. People who love animals and understand them are not afraid of them, for love transmits some subtle essence of life to everything it touches, awakening within all things an equal awareness and response. This is true also of human relationships. Love is the greatest healing power there is and no one feels whole without it. But love is something that need not be confined to only a few persons; that love that we have for the few can be extended to more without losing the love of the few. And what a wonderful experience and realization it would be if we learned to love everyone as we love the few! Right now our vision is hardly great enough to include this larger good. But when love becomes more complete it will take in a larger territory and we will experience a greater degree of livingness. Today my love goes out to all people and to all things. There is no fear in this love for perfect love casts out all fear. There is no doubt in this love for faith penetrates all doubt and reveals a unity at the center of everything that embraces all things. This love flowing through me harmonizes everything in my experience, brings joy and gladness to everything, brings a sense of security and well-being to everyone. I realize that the love flowing through, in, and around me and all things is one vast all-enveloping essence and force forever emanating from the living God. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.—JOHN 15: 9”

— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

April 2, 2023

“How could we better explain this than to use the words of Robert Browning, “ ’Tis Thou, God, who giveth, ’tis I who receive”? Or Emerson, who said that we are “beneficiaries of the Divine fact”? The thoughts of both Emerson and Browning were thoughts of acceptance and recognition. Like all men of great spiritual insight, they knew that the gift of Life is an eternal reality, that it is our office to accept it. Today I accept this gift of Divine Life and Love that God has eternally given to me and to everyone. With deep gratitude and a childlike simplicity I enter into the joy and the peace that come from the realization of Divine Guidance, for I know that Love guides my thoughts even as It guards my life and action. I know that the eternal Presence is really embracing everything. In this Presence I serenely and confidently rest, placing all my hope and aspiration in Its loving care. In this Love I embrace the world and affirm that peace shall come on earth and goodwill exist among people everywhere. I also realize that I belong to the universe in which I live, and it belongs to me. It is the gift of God. I am unified with everyone I will ever meet, and they with me. For we all are manifestations of the One Presence. Gratefully acknowledging and gladly receiving this benediction from heaven, I live and love and accept Life in Its fullness.”
 
— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

March 12, 2023

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.—PSALM 91: 11 Deep within the consciousness of each of us there is a center of peace and security where trouble and accidents do not occur, where truth and love reign supreme, where good is the only power. It is to this center that we go in the silence of our own minds to commune daily with the Spirit that is both around us and within us. Truly this is the Most High within, always immediately responsive to us. In our meditation we seek to make this Presence more real to us and more personal. And as we do, an inward sense of calm comes over the mind, a feeling of security and safety that every human being needs. I know that all the Power there is and all the Presence there is, is Love, the Spirit Almighty. I know that Love protects me and that I am guided and guarded into the pathways of peace, of joy, and of security. I know that this is true of all people. This is what I believe about everyone. This is what exists for the whole world. This is my prayer of acceptance today and every day. I feel myself safe in the keeping of the Divine Love. I feel the soft enveloping Presence of the living Spirit. I know there is no confusion or doubt in the Mind of God, and God’s Mind is the only mind there is. This Mind is my mind now, directing everything I do, guarding every movement I make. For all Thy ways are ways of blessedness, and all Thy paths are peace. I trust. I live and move and have my being in that which is completely perfect and wholly joyous.”

— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

November 13, 2022

“Thanksgiving O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom . . . . Hallowed be thy name.—ISAIAH 25: 1 The attitudes of praise and thanksgiving are salutary. They not only lighten the consciousness, lifting it out of sadness and depression, they elevate consciousness to a point of acceptance. Praise and thanksgiving are really attitudes of recognition. They are affirmations of the Divine Presence, the Divine abundance, and the Divine givingness. It is only when we live affirmatively that we are happy. It is only when we recognize that the universe is built on affirmation that we can become happy. Today, through praise and thanksgiving, I recognize the Divine Presence in everything. In the midst of darkness I will sing a song to the dawn, for I know that the Eternal Light dissipates all darkness. Today I will recognize the beautiful and the perfect in everything. I will call it forth with praise and thanksgiving, blessing the spiritual Reality back of all things. Gratitude is one of the chief graces of human existence and is crowned in heaven with a consciousness of unity.—THE SCIENCE OF MIND, P. 497”

November 1, 2022

“NOVEMBER GRATITUDE An attitude of gratitude is most salutary, and bespeaks the realization that we are now in heaven.—ERNEST HOLMES There is something in this attitude of thanksgiving that carries us beyond the field of doubt into one of perfect faith and acceptance, receptivity . . . realization.—ERNEST HOLMES I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Shall I not call God, the Beautiful, who daily showeth himself so to me in his gifts.—RALPH WALDO EMERSON All of creation is a song of praise to God.—HILDEGARDOF BINGEN If the only prayer you say in your entire life is “Thank You,” that would suffice.—MEISTER ECKHART”

October 30, 2022

“My Soul Is at Peace When a problem confronts me, I take it into the silence of my consciousness. Instead of thinking of the problem, I think of the answer. The Divine Presence guides, guards, and protects me. It counsels me with wisdom. It sustains and upholds me in everything I do. Having recognized the Divine Presence as my guiding star of hope, assurance, and certainty, I also recognize the Universal Law of Mind as my servant. My faith in this Law causes It to act upon my faith, bringing into my experience those things I accept. I know that today I am free and unhindered. I feel the operation of Divine Love and Universal Law in my affairs. I know that everything I do is governed by Love and controlled through Law. I am conscious that I am one with all people. In complete reliance upon the Divine and with absolute faith in the goodness of God, I lay aside everything within me that contradicts the Divine and know that today peace, fulfillment, and happiness are mine. My soul is at peace, rejoicing in the eternal movement of Mind, of Spirit, and of God in all my affairs.”
 
— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

October 16, 2022

“I Am on the Pathway of Endless Unfoldment A universal and infinite Intelligence governs everything, holds everything in its place, and directs the course of everything. The Intelligence that governs the planets in their courses is the same Intelligence that is manifesting in me. The use I make of It to direct and govern my activities depends upon my personal choice. Today I am governed by the Wisdom of God in everything”
 
— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

October 9, 2022

Quote from 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 
“Whenever the Universe makes a demand upon Itself, out of that very demand is created its fulfillment.—ERNEST HOLMES Every thought sets the fulfillment of its desire in motion in Mind, and Mind sees the thing as already done.—ERNEST HOLMES You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.—FRANZ KAFKA The life of work is necessary and the life of contemplation is good. In service we gather the harvest that has been sown in contemplation.—MEISTER ECKHART Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.—MALACHI 3: 10”
 
September 25, 2022
 
Quote from 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 
“How wonderful to realize that from one formless and invisible Substance everything that is visible comes. This invisible essence of things is the spirit of Life Itself. Realizing this spirit at the center of people and things is silent communion with the Divine Presence. There is but one Life. When we recognize life in others it is the life in us that is responding to them. As we unify with this life through people, it automatically unifies with us. As we agree with it, it agrees with us. From this recognition there comes a quickening of our own consciousness. It is written that, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth.” Today I know that my spirit is quickened as I recognize the same Spirit in others. Realizing the presence of life in all nature, I know that it responds to me. I am one with that which is alive, awake, and aware. There is nothing dead, nothing stagnant, nothing inactive. In all, through all, and around all, I realize One Presence. “There are diversities of things, but the same Spirit.””

September 4, 2022

Quote from 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 
“this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.—PHILIPPIANS 2: 5 Believing that the mind of God is ever-present, that Divine Intelligence is always available, I open my consciousness to Its guidance. Realizing that my attention must not be divided between believing and doubting, I carefully guard my mental reactions, seeking always to keep them affirmative, to keep them open to that which is constructive. I keep my mind steadfast and loyal to the thought that I am governed by Divine Intelligence, which always knows what I ought to think and do and how I should do it. I feel that I am compelled to make right and constructive decisions, that I am impelled to right action, that there is something within me that always knows how to think and how to act. Daily I reassure myself of this divine fact and affirm that the Intelligence that governs all things governs me; that the Life that flows through everything flows through me; that there is One Mind, which is God, that this Mind is my mind. I believe that this Mind is the source of inspiration as well as energy and action as well as illumination. Therefore, I know that at all times I have a silent, invisible partner walking with me, talking with me, cooperating with me. I keep my mind open to guidance. I let that Mind be in me that was also in Christ.”

August 28, 2022

Quote from 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.—JAMES 5: 15 When we say that our body is spiritual we are not denying our physical body. The physical is included within the spiritual. If the Spirit, or Divine Intelligence, has seen fit to give us a physical body it would be absurd to think of our body as an illusion unworthy of our attention. Rather, we should think of our body as a spiritual instrument, and every statement we make about our body, or belief we hold about it, that accepts spiritual Perfection as the substance of the body, tends to heal. My body is the temple of the living Spirit. It is spiritual substance now. Every part of my body is in harmony with the living Spirit within me. The Life of this Spirit flows through every atom of my being, vitalizing, invigorating, and renewing every part of my physical body. There is a pattern of perfection at the center of my being that is now operating through every organ, function, action, and reaction. My body is forever renewed by the Spirit. I am now made vigorous and whole. I possess the vitality of the Infinite. I am strong and well. The Life of the Spirit is my life. All of Its Strength is my strength. Its Power is my power. I feel that my whole being is renewed, invigorated, and made alive. There is complete stillness and perfect peace at the center of my being as I wait on that Presence that makes all things perfect. Every breath I draw is a breath of perfection, vitalizing, upbuilding, and renewing every cell of my body. I am born of the Spirit. I am in the Spirit. I am the Spirit made manifest.”

August 21, 2022

Quote from 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes
 
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.—JAMES 5: 15 When we say that our body is spiritual we are not denying our physical body. The physical is included within the spiritual. If the Spirit, or Divine Intelligence, has seen fit to give us a physical body it would be absurd to think of our body as an illusion unworthy of our attention. Rather, we should think of our body as a spiritual instrument, and every statement we make about our body, or belief we hold about it, that accepts spiritual Perfection as the substance of the body, tends to heal. My body is the temple of the living Spirit. It is spiritual substance now. Every part of my body is in harmony with the living Spirit within me. The Life of this Spirit flows through every atom of my being, vitalizing, invigorating, and renewing every part of my physical body. There is a pattern of perfection at the center of my being that is now operating through every organ, function, action, and reaction. My body is forever renewed by the Spirit. I am now made vigorous and whole. I possess the vitality of the Infinite. I am strong and well. The Life of the Spirit is my life. All of Its Strength is my strength. Its Power is my power. I feel that my whole being is renewed, invigorated, and made alive. There is complete stillness and perfect peace at the center of my being as I wait on that Presence that makes all things perfect. Every breath I draw is a breath of perfection, vitalizing, upbuilding, and renewing every cell of my body. I am born of the Spirit. I am in the Spirit. I am the Spirit made manifest.”

August 14, 2022

“I Enter into a Newness of Life . . . I create new heavens and a new earth.—ISAIAH 65: 17 We have been given the ability to initiate a new chain of causation. There is but One Mind and we use It. The laws of nature are universal, but our use of them is individual and personal. Our thought is operated on by a universal Creativity that is infinite in Its capacity to accomplish. Thus, in taking thought we do not force anything; we merely decide what thought to follow, knowing that the result is automatic. Spirit is forever unfolding Its own nature. In the physical universe It does so independently of our thought; in our personal lives It must do Its renewing activity through our thinking. To the degree that our thinking accords with the original Nature, the same harmony will operate in our affairs that already operates in that larger world that we experience but neither create nor control. Everything is continually being re-created. Spirit is forever making all things new. Today is the time to prove to ourselves that It knows how to bring the right things to pass for us. Let us confidently affirm the Divine Presence and actually believe that It is guiding us as we consciously bring a problem we are facing into our thought, not as a problem, but as though we were receiving the answer, saying: I believe that Divine Intelligence, which is the Mind of God, is guiding, guarding, and directing my thoughts and actions. I believe that God already knows the answer to this particular problem; therefore, I am letting go of the problem and I am listening to the answer as though it were sure. The answer to this problem exists in the Mind of God and is revealed to my mind now. Something in me does know what to do. I joyfully accept Its guidance. I am open to new ideas, new hopes, and new aspirations. This which so recently seemed a problem no longer exists, for the Mind of God, which knows the answer, is quietly flowing through my thought and feeling. Great peace and joy come over me as I accept this answer from the Giver of all Life.”
 
— 365 Science of Mind: A Year of Daily Wisdom from Ernest Holmes by Ernest Holmes

July 24, 2022

“So long as we have not cultivated the strength to die with courage and love in our hearts, we cannot hope to develop the ahimsa (nonviolence) of the strong.” M.K. Gandhi Gandhi’s struggle, and Dr. King’s struggle, of nonviolence was much more dramatic and dangerous than most of ours, so this language is also stronger than most of us would use. But the message is clear: if there is anything which we fear so deeply that we would lose our courage and abandon love in the moment, we have not yet embodied nonviolence in our hearts. In everyday terms, this means that nothing said to us, no action taken against us or another, should be able to drive us from nonviolence. The founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy said, “Stand porter at the door of thoughts”. Every thought is a choice.Once on the path of nonviolence, every interaction, every relationship, no matter how difficult, becomes an opportunity to be aware of the thoughts we allow ourselves to think. Often we hear people say that they can’t help reacting with anger when others attack them. Yet, in the split second between the perceived attack and our response, a whole thought process occurs. That process has been described like this: we are attacked, we judge what has occurred based on past experiences, a feeling arises based on that judgment, we react. It may only take a second (actuall about 0.6 seconds), but that process always occurs when we are reacting to someone’s attack upon us. Then we can choose love or fear and anger in response. Being aware of this process and watching for it in every interaction is one way to cultivate the strength we need to hold to love no matter what. Responding to the love within us instead of reacting to the world outside us is the path of nonviolence. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on this question, “Are there any circumstances under which I would surrender my commitment to nonviolence?” Today, I will watch for opportunities to choose nonviolence over violence. Today I will choose cultivate the strength to love. This is the path to nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.

 

July 3, 2022

“As long as the secret of the soul is not known, all practices are useless. Thy life has passed away uselessly, like rains out of season.” M.K. Gandhi Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of Gandhi’s heroes, said, “No man can violate his nature. All the sallies of his will are rounded by the law of his being….” Each of us has a soul secret, a hidden truth of our nature waiting for us to awaken to it. It’s buried beneath a lifetime of mistaken beliefs, negative experiences and limited thinking about who and what we think we are. Until we come to truly know our inner nature, our soul secret, any practice, including nonviolence, will fail to produce the results we are looking for. Many of us have seen in the lives of others or in our own lives experiences that looked like and felt like they were natural, and yet fell far short of what was intended or desired. Then we discovered that, in the end, they were forced. These experiences, even when they do reflect some pale version of our soul secret, will always fall short of what we are born to do unless we uncover, discover and recover from the beliefs, memories and thoughts of a lifetime. When we have done the deep work of recovering from the violence done to our psyche by our past, then the secret of our soul can be revealed. When that secret of our true nature is revealed, the work of nonviolence comes easily, without frustration, anger, resentment or anger. In that consciousness, the work is easy and success assured. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on the universe’s highest vision for my life. Today, I will ask, “What’s really going on here? Does my life truly reflect the “secret of my soul?” In everything I do today, I will listen for the negative voice of my old beliefs. When I hear it, I will ask, “What is it I need to recover from here?” This is the path of nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.

June 19, 2022

“Nonviolence is a matter of the heart. It does not come to us through any intellectual feat.” M.K. Gandhi With the work of Gandhi and King and Cesar Chavez and the Occupy movement of today, many think nonviolence is a political position or a tool for political action. It is and it isn’t. nonviolence is a way of life that embraces a change of heart, a change of beliefs and actions about all our relationships. Many who have been a part of movements where nonviolence training is routine. But training alone isn’t enough. In fact, if nonviolence does not come from a deep heart place, no amount of training and intellectual understanding can ever produce nonviolence. Many of us have discovered, as we did the work of self-growth, that interpersonal strategies for communications and building relationships were useless as long as they remained “in our heads”. Only when we have embodied them and moved them that “terrible eighteen inches” from our heads to our hearts can they have any value. These strategies, of whatever kind, are techniques in one-to-one nonviolence. Like them, nonviolent strategies for group action can only work when they come from the heart. Our job, then, is to embody love and nonviolence as the only tools necessary to the heart, whatever tools the intellect may embody. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on bringing nonviolence from my head into my heart, opening myself to feeling love and nonviolence, not as an idea, but an embodied reality. In all my interactions today, I will check first with my heart, before responding from my head. This is the path of nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.

June 5, 2022

“Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable” M.K. Gandhi Since Gandhi made this statement in 1927, science has discovered forces unimaginable at that time. Yet Gandhi’s words are as true today as they were when he spoke them. True nonviolence is an act of love. It is the willingness to face the violence and hatred of another in love. nonviolent love… that sounds redundant, and in a way it is. There can be no true nonviolence without a deep love, not only for yourself and those you represent, but for those you oppose. Likewise, there can never be love when violence of thought, word or deed is present. Love is always an act of humility. It is literally impossible to face those who are violent toward you with pridefulness, arrogance or superiority and still be nonviolent, for there is no love in that attitude or behavior, only ego. When we are in our egos, we are always judging others against our standards. Judging others always comes with moral violence and superiority, never love. Love with humility always demands that we see differences with others as “opinions”, not as right or wrong or as “truths” vs. “untruths”. This important distinction makes all the difference in the world to the one practicing nonviolence. The only right or wrong is whether we express our differences with nonviolence or violence. Love with humility also demands that the one practicing nonviolence see those who use violence against others as deeply wounded themselves and needing the healing only nonviolence can bring. Affirmative Practice Today I will meditate on how love can be a more important force in my life. Today, I will approach each interaction with love and the humility to know that there is no right or wrong, only opinions expressed violently or nonviolently. This is the path of nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.

May 15, 2022

“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” M.K. Gandhi As we move from considering our place in the universe to considering “our place” within our own consciousness, Gandhi tells us to remember that ALL that we are is a blessing. Our path of nonviolence in the world must include accepting that our imperfections and failures are as much a blessing as our gifts and successes. Feeling guilt and shame about our imperfections and failures, lying about them or disguising them are violence committed against ourselves. In these behaviors, the message we are sending ourselves is “you aren’t worthy! If people knew who you really are….” Were we to do this to another, we would recognize the violence in it, but when directed to ourselves, we often miss the self-inflicted injury we cause. Instead, let us focus on how each of our imperfections and failures can be gifts to the world. Learning nonviolence toward ourselves, seeing all of our gifts and imperfections, all of our successes and failures as blessings is the work of nonviolence. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on my imperfections and failures, seeing how each of them have blessed me as a step along the path to who I am today. Today I observe how they can be used as gifts to myself and to others. This is the path to nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.

April 24, 2022

“To me God is truth and love. God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness. God is the source of light and life, and yet He is above and beyond all these.” M.K. Gandhi Many of us describe ourselves as “spiritual, but not religious”. What we’re really saying is that we do not accept the idea of a God that exists as a “Super Being”, in the sense of “the Old White Man with white hair and beard on the Throne of Gold” or whatever our idea of “Not God” is. Each of us is entitled to our own soul metaphor, even the metaphor of “Not God” because none of us can ever know God except through ourselves. Gandhiji is stating the Truth of the Divine, whatever soul metaphor you may apply to it. Those of us who reject the idea of God, but honor, respect and practice the highest ethical and moral qualities are worshiping the Divine in our way. All of the highest qualities, the “soul” qualities, that we possess are the Divine. And yet, even within us, God is above and beyond all those soul qualities. Our very life essence is Spirit expressing itself in a unique way through each of us. Many of us, however “Spiritual but not religious” we may be, still feel a connection with all life, and a unity in all life. We feel that connection all life is the Divine expressing. Nonviolence is the outward expression of our conscious unity with Spirit, however we understand it. Violence is the separation that comes when we forget who we are. Affirmative Practice Today, my day will begin and end with consciously remembering that I am one with everyone and everything. Today I will see and bless Spirit expressing in all Life. Today, I will see and honor the Divine even in those with whom I most disagree. That is the path of nonviolence.

April 18, 2022

“Man as an animal is violent but as Spirit is nonviolent. The moment he awakes to the Spirit within he cannot remain violent. Either he progresses towards ahimsa (nonviolence) or rushes to his doom.” M.K. Gandhi While the Mahatma and Dr. King lived and carried on the work from the high place of spirituality, their movements remained nonviolent. After their assassinations, anger, frustration, and pain drove major elements in both movements in the direction of violent confrontation. Negative and violent emotions only gain dominance when we have lost our spiritual awareness and connection. Whatever we face, whatever forces we oppose, we have to first awaken to Spirit and then stay awake. That awakening is a daily part of nonviolence. As Gandhiji said, grounding ourselves in Spirit, holding to a spiritual practice of Ahimsa, are the only path to success. Whenever we feel frustration, fear, anger, irritation, impatience or depression about the pace of the work we do, we are in the violent realm of “animal man”. When we are able to hold to the Truth, walk the path and do the work from a place of peace, serenity and love, we are in the spiritual realm of Ahimsa. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on my motivations and emotions. Am I doing the work of nonviolence to “defeat” the forces of violence? Or am I doing the work of nonviolence to bring love and healing to those who fear, who are angry, in pain and frustrated. Today I will treat each person I meet with love. That is the path of nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you

April 17, 2022

“God alone knows the mind of a person; and the duty of a Man of God is to act as he is directed by his inner voice…. I ask nobody to follow me. Everyone should follow his own inner voice.” M.K. Gandhi For many of us, the Power of the Divine comes as a “still, small, voice”, the voice of Spirit. Yet Gandhi says the “still, small voice” is our “own, inner voice”. Is this a contradiction? No, of course not. Our own inner voice, the voice of our intuition, the voice of Love, IS the voice of the Divine speaking through us, as us. For each of us that voice is different. If you are a member of a spiritual community of any kind, you know that every person, even in your own community, believes something different from everyone else. And yet we are all right, and all wrong, for the Divine can not defined in human terms. We can never hear, nor act, perfectly, but we can endeavor to do so with authenticity and integrity. We do that when we listen to, and follow our own inner voice. The surest way to walk the path of nonviolence is to listen to our own inner voice knowing that it is THE path of nonviolence and allow all other beings to do the same. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate and listen for that still, small voice within me. I will follow that inner guidance and know that each person does the same. This is the path of spiritual nonviolence. Let peace begin with you.

April 10, 2022

“God is not some person outside ourselves or away from the universe…. God is then not a person. He is the all-pervading all-powerful Spirit. Anyone who hears Him in in his heart has accession of a marvelous force or energy, comparable in its results to physical forces like steam or electricity but much more subtle.” M.K. Gandhi 
 
When we remember to think of the Divine as a Power, a Spirit, a subtle force within us, then something marvelous happens. How often have all of us set out on a task, a mission, only to become “burned out” before the job is complete? This Power we speak of is literally that, a Power. It will fill us as we listen for it, listen to it and open our hearts to it. Then, like electricity charging batteries, we are charged with that very Power that is Spirit. As Spirit is all powerful, we are filled with all power when we are truly listening and open. Our work then, should always begin with a conscious opening to the Divine, whatever that may be to us. With nonviolence as our polestar and a Higher Power filling the sails of our souls, the work of nonviolence becomes light and easy. Affirmative Practice Today, I will open myself and allow the Power to fill me. Today, all my actions will begin with that conscious opening to the subtle force that pervades all things, including me and I will let that power carry me through my work of nonviolence.
Let peace begin with you.  

April 3, 2022

“There is an indefinable mysterious Power that pervades everything. I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen Power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is unlike all that I perceive through my senses.” M.K. Gandhi We have all had moments of awe and wonder that filled us with some sense of the spiritual nature of everything. A beautiful sunset, an eagle crying out as it soared over head, the first smile of recognition from an infant… each of us has experienced that “indefinable mysterious Power”. When we begin to understand that the indefinable nature of that Power forces each of us to interpret it in our own way, through our own “soul metaphor”. The path to true nonviolence begins when we remember that this “Power… pervades everything” and be clear about our “soul metaphor” and its role in our work. Our work of nonviolence begins and ends with knowing that the person who gives nonviolence is that Power and the person who receives nonviolence is that Power and the nonviolence itself is that Power. Affirmative Practice Today I will meditate on and remember that undefinable, mysterious Power that fills all life including me and look for it in every being and situation. In finding that Power in every being and situation, I will find nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you

March 28, 2022

On April 4th, 2022, our center will be finishing up the “64 days of Nonviolence.”

I would like to share more, especially from M.K. Gandhi’s sharing. We are not at the place in our society let along our world, to experience nonviolence, yet. We are always becoming more than we really are. Practicing Nonviolence With Gandhi was created by Rev. Frank zumMallen.“Religions are different roads converging upon the same point. What difference does it make that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal.” M.K. Gandhi No religion or spiritual path can ever completely embrace all the Divine is. The Divine is Infinite. No human religion can ever be anything but “the finger pointing at the moon”. Franciscan theologian Richard Rohr says, “All religion is metaphor”. Each of us has our own “soul metaphor” or cosmology, our way of understanding the universe and our place in it. We each have a soul metaphor, whether we know it or not. Gandhi’s soul metaphor refers to the Divine as “God” and “He” and “Him”. For many of us, the word “God”, along with concepts like a male Deity, seem to create a violent dissonance within us. Dealing with our own feelings about a Male God can be a wonderful practice of nonviolence. Arun Gandhi, M.K. Gandhi’s Grandson and co-founder of the “Season”, reminds us that we should release all attachment to possessing the Truth and join his grandfather in pursuing it. Believing we possess the Truth is the path of “himsa”, violence. Believing we all, even Gandhi, pursue the Truth is the path of “Ahimsa”, Ahimsa is the Hindu/ Buddhist practice of reverence for and nonviolence toward all living beings. Affirmative Practice Today, I will meditate on and remember each being has their own “soul metaphor”. Today I will remember that every belief, even those that make me uncomfortable, are different roads taken in pursuit of the same goal,

Truth. That is the path to nonviolence.

Let peace begin with you.