Find the Spiritual in your every day

"A cobbler told his rabbi, "Most of my customers are men who work every day and drop their boots off to me at night for repair.  I often stay up all night to get their boots ready for them in the morning.  Sometimes I am so tired that I do not say the morning prayer.  Other times I just say it quickly so I will have time to work.  Other times my heart just sighs, 'How I wish I had the time and energy to say my prayer.'"
The rabbi answered, "If I were God, I would value that sigh more than the prayer."

- from "A Deep Breath of Life" Alan Cohen

Love for God and love and connection with each other is a heart to heart experience.  Today, it seems, we all lead very busy lives.  We are bombarded with input.  When our awareness is connected to spirit our daily activities can be our prayer.  Connection is our communion with the Divine.

Sometimes I forget that I am more then what I do.  Then I am reminded...

We are not human beings

having a spiritual experience.

We are spiritual beings

having a human experience.

- Teilhard de Chardin

Keep you heart open throughout your activities.

Stay connected to the sacred.

Celebrate Life

I have never liked the word tolerate.  Throughout my life I have heard tolerance used in a variety of interpersonal, human, life challenges.  It never felt right to me.  It never felt human enough.  I never wanted to be tolerated.  I never wanted to be tolerant of you.  Tolerance means to put up with something, to endure.  I guess that is a sticking point but I see it on a continuum.

Tolerance - Understanding - Appreciation - Celebration

Understanding is the beginning of peace and forgiveness.  "Seek first to understand and then be understood." said Stephen Covey.  Understanding is the first step in unity.  Appreciation of your uniqueness is the movement into the joy of life.  We are different.  Hallelujah!  Diversity is the spice of life.  Diversity literally is life.

"...love for all living creatures is the most nobel attribute of man."

- Charles Darwin

Through appreciation we know that all life is valuable.  No one is more important than another.  We appreciate that all of us, no matter our situation in life, have value.

Celebration is the joy of togetherness, understanding and appreciation.  Acceptance and appreciation of ourselves and others leads to celebration.  In celebration, we experience the beauty, honor and glory of each individual soul.  Healing begins with acceptance and as we embrace ourselves and each other, we rejoice in celebration.

We are all miracles of Divine love.  Let us see each other in this perfection.

Ashley's Lessons of Love

In my house there lives an angel.  She does not speak.  She does not offer prophecy or ask for followers of her light.  She is not dressed in a white flowering garment.  She is often seen dressed in a pink sweatshirt and pants.  She does not offer her blessing from a holy temple or church, but from a wheelchair.  Identified as severely profoundly retarded since birth, she sits in her wheelchair and emanates unconditional love.  She can not consciously move her body.  She remains calm with a beautiful expression on her face inviting love.  She offers communion and connection to everyone who is near.  

I am privileged to see her every day.  I pause from the tasks of life and she reminds me what is essential.  I am always filled with joy, peace and love in her presence.  She is making her contribution to the healing of humanity.  In her special way she is transforming the world by bringing unconditional love to everyone.  What a beautiful purpose she serves in life.

I find that my life is created by the spirit in which I respond to the world.  When choosing to respond to any situation, check with your heart.  Do you feel peace?  Does this feel meaningful?  Is there joy?  Do we greet everyone with value and respect?  Do we offer kindness and compassion to those in the supermarket lane?  Can we retain our sense of humor in highway traffic?

I am living my life knowing that whatever good I can offer is an act of my love for life.  In the end we will not ask to have more time in the office or the work setting.  We will ask for more time with those we love.  

Use every moment to give and receive love.

Peace of Mind

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere"

- Agnes Repplier

Throughout the course of my life, the biggest road blocks to happiness and peace of mind have been the concerns of others, the concerns of the world and myself.  My training and belief confirms that I have been my biggest road block, by far, to my peace of mind.  As I have grown in authenticity and vulnerability, I find that I get lost in feeling sorry for myself and I also get lost in judgement of myself and others.

Even though I have been lost at times, I still have found the true path repeatedly.  The essence of the Divine in each of us always beckons us forward to truth and lights our way.

My Calling

"The purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently I have spent time with family and friends who have retired.  They lovingly ask if I am retired and I respond no.  I am now moving into the second half of my 60th decade of life.  I have no desire to retire.  One of the greatest blessings in my life is I get to do work I love.  I feel on purpose.  I feel I am fulfilling the mission God called me to accomplish.  My work brings me great joy.  It moves me forward in my life.  It brings meaning and purpose to each and every day.  

What I do every day is mostly filled with joy.  Even when it is hard, painful and sometimes extremely stressful, below the surface, deeper then my ego, there is joy.

One aspect of my work is to communicate a positive message of hope.  It is my belief everyone can find joy in their work.  All our work, all our lives, contribute to the creation of a beautiful world.