Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

Aspen trees are not singular trees, but part of a large community of trees all descended from the same root system.  However, each tree is unique, and changes colors at it’s own pace, in it’s own time, and may change to a different color than it’s neighbor.

We can learn much from the aspen tree:  We are all part of the same human family, yet free to express our own uniqueness in our own way and at our own pace.   The aspen trees don’t judge each other for being different, nor should we.

Today, take a lesson from the aspen trees:  know yourself and freely allow yourself to express in your own way and time, and do not judge others for doing the same.

The first crocus of the season made its appearance in my garden today, on Easter Sunday.

I thought that was appropriate because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what Easter means to me. Before I began ministerial school, the traditional stories of Easter never made much sense to me. What has made sense is the renewal and new life of spring, sort of a Wiccan/Native American/early goddess kind of thing.  I’ve written about such translations before.  But this year I’m in a new place.  It’s a bit of a different place, because for the first time in my life, due to a class called Metaphysical Bible, the Bible has come alive for me.

While many in New Thought consider themselves Christian and celebrate all the Christian holidays, I don’t.  So along comes a Christian holiday and I just want to hide under the covers until it all goes away. Even after two years of a very challenging Masters degree program designed to turn me into a minister.

I’m turning into a minister, but not a Christian one. I’m turning into a New Thought minister, and I am happy to embrace anything and everything as a spiritual tool if it will help improve my life and yours.

So I got to thinking about Easter this year, and about what I have learned, and about how what I have learned has once again changed me from the inside out.  What I really wanted to do was give a kick-ass Easter talk from a podium somewhere today, but in the absence of that, I’m just going to write this blog.  But if you ever see me behind a podium on Easter Sunday, you might hear a talk based on this post.

Easter, at least as the Bible tells it, is about the literal resurrection of THE son of God who gave his life so that all of us could be saved.  And then he was resurrected so he could come back and teach us all about the word of God.  Like I said, I have issues with this. I believe we are ALL the children of God. Not only that but I have been taught, and also believe, that we are physical manifestations of God, created so that God could experience the physical. And in New Thought we are taught that there is no such thing as sin, only a mistake, so being saved is totally unnecessary.

But what if there were another interpretation of that Bible story? I’ve learned the Bible is rich with wonderful life lessons that are indeed spiritual tools that can improve our lives. So let’s take a look at this story and see if we can’t bring out some richness in this story, maybe a spiritual tool or two that you can use to improve your life.

First of all, know that I’m going to take things out of context here.  I’m not going to write about the whole story leading up to the death of Jesus, and all the rich meaning in that story.  As I mentioned, the Bible is rich with good stuff, and I could write an entire post about one or two verses.  Maybe next year I’ll tackle Good Friday or Palm Sunday.  But for now we’ve got Easter, and the resurrection, the story of which is in Matthew 28.  Basically the story says that Jesus not only rose from his tomb, but there were witnesses in the form of his apostles and disciples.

Here’s where the richness comes in:

According to the Metaphysical meaning of the word resurrection (from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity) is “the raising of man’s mind and body from sense to spiritual consciousness.”  A little bit further in the definition Fillmore says that resurrection is a lifting up, a renewal of the mind that makes a complete transformation of the body.”  And again, “The resurrection is an organic change that takes place daily…” and “the resurrection takes place here and now in all who conform their lives to the spiritual law under which it works.”

Dr. Rocco Errico is an expert on an accurate Biblical translation, and has worked to free the Bible from 2000 years of literal translation.  He has this wonderful explanation of the resurrection story (from the book Let there Be Light), which ties in nicely with the metaphysical definition.  Errico says that “the answer to understanding the resurrection of Jesus lies with the apostles and the disciples themselves.”  He says that when Jesus was crucified, all the hopes and dreams of the apostles and the disciples disintegrated.  They experienced a dark night of the soul, and from that proceeded to experience deep mental and emotional changes in their consciousness.  These changes allowed them to “transcend their former reasoning and begin to perceive things spiritually.”  Once they began to perceive things spiritually they were able to know that the spiritual influence of Jesus lived on.

Jesus did not resurrect physically, what he taught resurrected in the consciousness of his apostles and disciples.

This is what Easter is all about.  It’s about a change in our consciousness, a raising up of our consciousness, to allow us to see things in a spiritual way.  Such a change, unfortunately, usually only comes about after a dark night of the soul, a loss so great that we wonder if we will ever recover from it.  The Easter story says yes, we will recover.  It says yes, we will experience an uprising of our soul.  It says we will transcend the difficulty, whatever it is, and we will know peace.  I think the Easter story is a story of hope.

In a way, the springtime metaphor really is a good one.  My crocus has been underground, in the dark and cold, all alone, desolate, waiting for a signal to spring forth.  Since this morning, the bud that emerged has opened up a bit to reveal a beautiful bright orange piste inside.  It has transcended the darkness.  We don’t know, really, the process of how a bulb transforms from a bulb to a beautiful flower.  But I can tell you how a human can transform from darkness to light, from grief to peace, from shattered dreams to joy:  it’s about forgiveness and connection and process.  Again, the subject of several more posts, lest you begin to think I’m writing a book. Blog posts are supposed to be short so I’m going to stop here.

I feel better about Easter now, don’t you?  It’s a beautiful time to be alive!  A great time to enjoy new life, and to see that new life as a metaphor for our own lives:  a raising up of consciousness to an existence of joy and peace.

Happy Easter!

I got the title of my post today from a quote by Mary Manin Morrissey.  

Do you ever feel like you’ve furnished your rut?  Like you are set in a pattern and you may move things around a bit  here and there, but basically, your life is series of sameness?  Are  you happy there?

It is true that we are what we think, so if you want to get out of your rut, you must get out of ordinary thinking.  It may sometimes be a bit scary to do so: what is on the other side, what if, yeah but…..?  Consider that those too are ways of staying stuck in ordinary thinking.

Do something different today.  If you always put your left shoe on first, put the right one on first.  If you always take a certain route to work, take a different route.  If you always think in a certain way about a situation, consider that there are different ways to assess every situation.  Try looking at it differently.  See how you feel.

Getting out of a rut, lifting out of ordinary thinking, can open you up to an entire new world.  Enjoy the ride!

I always look for the rainbows whenever I see conditions that are likely to produce them.  And sometimes even when conditions aren’t quite right.  You just never know.

I think we should look for rainbows whereever we go, no matter what happens.  Anytime you have a storm in your life, look for the rainbows.  If you look back on the things that happened in your life that may have seemed bad at the time, think about it.  Would you be here now, where you are, unless you had been there before?  Are you grateful for where you are now?   Then it follows that you might also be grateful for what went on before.

Review where you are in your life right now, and see if  you can’t find the rainbow.

We all have choices in our lives, and the choices we make, every minute, every hour, determine the course of our lives.  It would be a good thing to have a system for making healthy choices.  Here are some things to consider when making choices:

1.  Go within.  What does your soul say?  What does your gut feel  like when you consider making one choice, as opposed to making another?  Remember, your choice doesn’t necessarily have to make sense on paper.   Where it has to make sense  is within you.  If your gut feels tight and upset at the thought of one choice, then don’t make that one.  Go for the choice that your body can sing to. 

2.  What is your motive?   If you are making a choice to manipulate a person or situation, guess what?  It’s a  non productive choice and won’t work for you.

3.  Are you making the choice because you’ve always  done it this way?  Maybe it might be time to do something different.

4.  How you feel about yourself can affect how you choose.  If you don’t have a good self image, you will choose things that aren’t good for you.  This creates a cycle which brings  you further and further  down until  you feel lower than a snake’s belly in a rut.   If  you find yourself in this cycle, try not making any choices for a while until you build your self esteem. 

Take a good honest look at how you are living your life and see if there is anything that you might wish to change.  You can change you know, all it takes is a choice to do it differently.  Try it and see!

“…..water reaches its own level.”  Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind textbook

It is a scientific fact:  water does indeed reach its own level.  It’s also a scientific fact that our bodies are made of 90% water.

Then there’s the Law of Attraction, which states that whatever we think, whatever we believe, that is what we will attract into our lives.

Think about these truths in terms of  your own relationships.  I’m not just talking about intimate relationships here, but all relationships.  If you are attracting companions, friendships or intimate relationships that are not serving you well, the place to look is within yourself, not at the other people.   For you are indeed, attracting your own level.  If you wish to change what you are attracting, you will first need to change your level.

This isn’t about judgement. When we judge ourselves or another, we are limiting ourselves.  And if we are judging ourselves or another negatively, we are creating shame.  Remember, we attract our own level, so if we are judging another negatively, there will always be some aspect of ourselves that is causing that. And we will create more of that which we are judging, simply by the act of placing attention on it.  Whatever we are judging the other person for is something within ourselves that we do or behave like also, except that we don’t want to look at it. So instead, we turn our thoughts outward, judging another, paying attention to traits and actions that are negative, and creating more of the same in our own lives. 

Go within.  Look inward.  Look to the level of your own water.  Look to your own beliefs and thought patterns.  View them the same way you view the things in your home when you are getting ready for a garage sale.  Some items you want to keep.  Some you want to sell because you don’t use them anymore.  I doubt there will be any judgement attached to that.  It’s simply a matter of the item not being used.  It served you for a while, but now it doesn’t.  Time to get rid of it, to make room for something new.  It’s the same thing with behaviors and beliefs and thought patterns that no longer serve  you.  Simply remove them, make room for new thoughts and beliefs.  Change your level.

As with all change, there might be a grieving process associated with changing our level.  Contemplating, for example, selling that old piece of furniture in a garage sale might bring back memories of the experiences  you had with that piece of furniture.  It’s ok, desireable even, to go through the process of remembering, and of saying goodbye, and of thanking the ways you were served, and of then acknowledging that its time for something new.  Be gentle:  don’t judge, don’t go to a place  of shame or guilt, just release and move on.

When you change your level, the people and circumstances in your life will also change to match the new level.  This can be exciting, but might also be a bit scary.  This is a good place to acknowledge your oneness with the One, to remember that you are a being of Love and Light, and that all is well.  This is also a good time to reach out and avail yourself of the gifts that are there for you, all you need to do is ask.  Help and support from friends, loved ones, mentors, Practitioners can be invaluable in times like this.

Sometimes we might also need help in the very process of changing our  levels.  Again, a Practitioner can help with this.  Practitioners are specifically trained to  help people change the limiting beliefs and thought patterns in their lives.

Isn’t is wonderful that we have these great minds, and all these tools to use, to change the circumstances in our lives if things are not working for us?  Isn’t it wonderful to be empowered? 

Today, I know for you empowerment.  I know for you that if you decide to change your level, the means to do so will present itself effortlessly.  And when this happens, it’s called a demonstration, and I want to hear about it!

This is an exciting time we live in.  Life is always an exciting time, but it seems like now is even more exciting than many have known in recent memory.    Last night, one of my students in my book study gave us this quote:

“Are we in the Great Recession, or are we in the recession that will make us Great?”  She said the quote came from a commercial, but that doesn’t lessen the profundity of it. 

Everywhere I look, I see these times that we are in making us Great.  I look at my own life, and the changes that are occurring, and I see Greatness in the making.  I look at the struggles of my clients, and see Greatness.  I look at the responses of my Center to the struggles of the people around them and see Greatness.  I look at some of the things folks are doing in response to stife and hard times and see Greatness.

If you are having a struggle right now, know that you are not alone.  If  you feel alone, reach out.  Let folks know how you feel, ask for help.  Gather for brainstorming meetings about ways to earn a living, and ways to cut back on expenses.  Go within and know the abundance of Spirit, for that is where it all starts. 

Greatness is here now!

Sometimes life can be like a deconstruction zone.  I say DEconstruction, as opposed to construction, because before you can construct, or build something new, you must first deconstruct what exists, in order to make room for the new.

Deconstruction is not fun.

Sometimes it’s forced upon us.  It might look like a partner wanting a divorce, a sudden dismissal from a job, or an accident.

Sometimes we see it coming, and take steps to avoid it, go around it, prevent it from happening, until we realize that really isn’t working so well.

But the bottom line is, if the Great Reality Deep Within is calling for something new in your life, that something new is likely to be preceded by a period of deconstruction.  Your soul knows what is best and it is your Soul that is One with the One, one with Spirit, and Spirit, like our Souls, will not be denied.

Sometimes deconstruction can manifest the most trying of symptoms:  you may feel anxious, to the point of anxiety attack.  You may not be able to sleep, or be sleeping too much.  You might be having some muscle twinges or odd aches and pains.  You might feel as if you are on the verge of insanity, with wide mood swings, going from tears to hysterical laughter to ”normalcy” in the space of an hour.  And you might be crying at all hours of the day, at the most unexpected things and the most inconvenient times.  You are likely to experience fear, depression, sadness, despair, frustration, anger and self pity. 

Really, the deconstruction period  is not very pleasant at all.

However! 

There are some tools you can use to walk through the deconstruction period with dignity and grace.

1.  Get support.  Professional help can be invaluable during the deconstruction period.   Although I might be a bit prejudiced, I happen to believe that Practitioners are great for times like this.  I’ve used my Practitioner during deconstruction periods and I can tell you that it’s been invaluable.  Other professionals like therapists, life coaches and counselors can also be helpful.  Mentors can usually provide a unique form of support that you can find no where else.  And of course, family and friends are a great resource.  In addition, you  might want to think about cluing them in on why you are behaving so oddly.

2.  Spend more time with daily spiritual practices.  If you don’t currently do them, start now.  If you do do them, add more.  If you journal and read spiritual literature, add meditation and visioning. 

3.  Make sure you take care of  your physical self:  eat right and get plenty of exercise.

4.  Don’t make any rash decisions.  Acting on negative feelings will usually just lead us deeper into the problem, instead of into the solution.

5.  Set your intention.  You are in the perfect place during the deconstruction period to set an intention for what you want your future to be. 

6.  Have faith.  If you can’t have it for yourself, have a Practitioner carry that faith for you until you can get there and pick it up.

I can promise you this:  good things are in store for you. Walk through this period with dignity and grace and you will come out of this period  with a sense of peace and joy and things happening in your life that you never knew possible.  Know.   Be Still and Know. 

The Universe is conspiring for your good, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.  Hang in there, this too will pass into the Sunlight of the Spirit.

I think there are times in our lives when we are in the hallway.  One door has closed, and we are waiting for the other one to open up.  Doors closing can look like careers changing, moves in the  works, relationships ending, lost jobs.  The hallway is a sort of a waiting period, during which we grieve, heal, and and prepare ourselves for that next door to open.  Because the new doors open up, always.   And when they open, they show us miraculous things and offer us great opportunities.

If you are in the hallway right now, be gentle with yourself.  Take care of yourself, don’t judge or shame or blame yourself or anyone else, just heal, grieve if you need to, and prepare for  the coming miracles.

I’m hearing a lot of folks express lately that they feel challenged in their life. 

Some feel ashamed, some feel lost, some feel hopeless.  There is confusion and despair.

There is a way out of that, and it doesn’t have to do with changing the outside circumstances, although the outside circumstances usually change of their own accord when you do the work necessary to get out of feeling challenged.

The work starts within.  Within is where it always starts.  It starts with changing your thinking.  Sometimes that is difficult, I know.  The mind wants to always go to the worrisome stuff.  Don’t let it.  Bring it back to good, to positive.  And bring it back again.

And within is where our Great Reality lives, that One,  that Source that is All, that is part of  us, part of you and part of me and part of everything, in and through all, and as long as we have that connection, that knowledge, we can rest securely in the comforting arms of Spirit.

Make a gratitude list. Reminding oneself of the things one is grateful for will alwasy bring relief.

Make a phone call.  It’s not good to suffer in silence.   Call someone and talk with them, even if you don’t talk about the challenges in  your  life. 

Challenges happen in life, that’s part of  life I think.  But we have tools with which to deal with those challenges, and isn’t that great? 

Be with Spirit today, and Know.  Know that all is well.