Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

I read on a blog somewhere yesterday not to believe anything I read on the internet today.  I’ve seen some pretty cute stuff out there so far.  One minister I am acquainted with rearranged all the furniture in his sanctuary for this morning’s Sunday celebration.  I thought that was pretty funny.   Have you ever experienced something like that?  You walk into a place you know well and some….um…well….I’m trying to remove all negativity from my life, so let’s just say well meaning person has rearranged all the furniture. Actually, in my crowd, it’s the mischievous ones that tend to sneak in before everyone else arrives and rearrange the furniture.  Then they sit back and smile, entertained by all the reactions.  Just so you know, I’ve been know to be one of the furniture re-arrangers.  If I had a sanctuary, I would probably have rearranged the furniture today. Besides, it would have given me a good opportunity to get rid of the dust bunnies.  Oh well, the dust bunnies will live to talk about the April Fools Day they didn’t meet the garbage can.

But the metaphor of a surprise rearrangement of furniture reminded me of change, and how we sometimes don’t do well with that…at all.  What is up with that?  I can walk into a room and see the furniture rearranged and see the humor in it all, but spring a change of a bigger sort on me, say a relationship change or a career change or a living situation change, and I am experiencing all sorts of fear based stuff like self pity, intolerance, judgement, sadness, distrust.

You would think I didn’t have a Power in my life that allows me to know that all is well, all the time.

The fact is, I do have that Power, and that makes it even worse.  Because having that Power should mean I shouldn’t be feeling all those fear based things, right?  We’ll talk about “shoulding” on yourself in another post, lest I get off track into dust bunny land again.  Back to the topic:   Fear should not be on my list of things to do with Power, right?  Well, that’s a lot easier said than done.

Here’s the deal with change, and fear based reactions, and having a Power in one’s life to help with all of that:  it takes consistent and persistent spiritual practices to be able to respond (not react) with love instead of fear.  It takes introspection, paying attention to one’s self, to be able to know that all is well in the face of uncertainty.  It takes meditation to feel a calm and a peace, no matter what.  And it takes constant thinking about that Power in our lives to be able to live a love based life rather than a fear based one.

It’s like taking a shower:  you can’t expect yesterday’s shower to keep you from smelling bad today.  One needs to shower every day.  One needs to do spiritual practices every day too.  That’s just the way it is if you want to live a happier, more peaceful and freer life.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Except……somehow, I wanted to tie in today’s post with the image of the month.  These images are from a calendar I produce every year.  The images are mine, the quotes come from lots of different sources. The quote for this month just happens to come from…me!….Gotta tell you, it was a weird feeling to get the calendars back from the printer and open up to the month of April and see my quote there.  I liked it.  Anyway, here’s the quote and the image:

“When one does not know one’s own truth, one is subjected to the truth of others.”  (see those spiritual practices I talked about above, that’s how you know your own truth).

If you like this image, it is available for purchase (as a stand alone image, not with the black background and quote, although if you want that it’s available too!) here:  https://vando.imagequix.com/gallery.html?id=49R7J9W&eventid=1046-8080-0087

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Weekly meditation discussion group, Monday’s from 5 to 6 pm at the Center for Spiritual Living Lake Tahoe.  Cost is $10, address is 3665 Tamarack, South Lake Tahoe, CA

Looking for some one on one help?  Perhaps some coaching in a specific area of  your life?  Or some lessons on how to deepen your spiritual practice?  Karen Linsley is a Licensed Spiritual Practitioner and offers sessions over the phone or in person. Contact her at 530-906-9336 for pricing and more information.

I sometimes hear a lot of talk about triggers.

“I’m triggered by this.”  “That is a trigger of mine.”  “That’s a trigger and will make me (insert your favorite destructive activity here).”

Really?  Hmmm.  On the one hand, I empathize with folks whose lives are ruled by triggers.   I know what it’s like to live life reacting to what is handed out to me.  It’s not a pleasant place to be, and it’s even less unpleasant because when I was there, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  I was ignorant, going through life being triggered and not knowing there was any other way to be, not knowing there was any other way to do things.

I also know that it is extremely difficult to rid ourselves of those things which just…well….they push  our buttons and before we know it, we are reacting willy nilly to something without any hesitation at all!

What’s up with that?!?!?!

I’ve rid myself of many of my triggers, and I’ve removed the language of “that’s a trigger for me” from my vocabulary.  Our words have power, and if I say something is a trigger, well, it remains a trigger and I’d really like to avoid being the victim of things like triggers.

So other than removing the language from your vocabulary, what else can you do to remove a trigger?

I’m assuming, of course, that you would really like to have the trigger removed.  So that’s really the first step.  What would your life be like if you were no longer triggered by….let’s say, crowds.  Would it then be possible to go to crowded places?  Perhaps there is a concert you would  like to attend.  What would life be like if you no longer had that limitation? Would it feel empty inside without that trigger to determine where you go and when you go there?  Would it feel a bit scary to be able to simply make a decision to go or not to go based on your desire?  Do some introspection on it, think about whether you really want to remove the trigger, and what life would be like without it.

In treatment centers they like to talk about triggers a lot to their clients, telling them to stay away from bars and other places where alcohol is consumed.  I can understand that when one is still not quite in one’s right mind.  When one does not know one’s own truth, one is subjected to the truth of others, and yes, that will allow triggers to continue to operate in your life.  But the foremost authority on recovery from alcoholism says that one can even attend “plain ordinary whoopee parties” if one is spiritually fit.  (the textbook of Alcoholics Anonymous, page 101)

And that right there is the key.  Being spiritually fit will allow you to be anything and accomplish everything that is on your  list of things to do, no matter what.  Triggers will no longer be in your vocabulary if you are spiritually fit.

So what does it mean to be spiritually fit?  First of all, I know that word spiritual can be word loaded with different meanings, so for this discussion I’m going to offer a definition of spiritual:  being spiritual means you are at peace. Period.  End of story.    What allows you to be at peace?   What allows you to live a life based on love, rather than fear?    That is spiritual.

Here’s a formula, if you will, for ridding yourself of a trigger.  Just as an aside, this is also the formula for living a loved based life, rather than a fear based one, because really, it all boils down to that:  a fear based life is ruled by things like triggers, and a love based life is ruled by love.

1. First is the aforementioned introspection to decide if you really wish to be rid of the trigger.  Because if you don’t, none of the steps  will be effective.

2.  Finding a god in your life is of utmost importance.  God is another one of those loaded words, but really, it doesn’t matter what it is, and it doesn’t matter what  you call it.   And if you look, you will find clues as to what and where your god is.  God is about experience, not rules, not dogma,  not the latest fad.  Don’t become a spiritual athlete by jumping from one fad to another in search of that magic formula that will make everything ok.  That’s an outside fix, and outside fixes are never effective for very long.  What needs to happen is inner change, an inner experience.   Being spiritual is about experience.  The experience of being spiritual will change  you, from the inside.  It will allow you to perceive things differently, to feel differently about yourself and the world around you.  Being spiritual will allow you to behave differently.  And it doesn’t really matter how you get spiritual, or find a god of your understanding, just that you find it.  If going to church does it for you, then good, do that.  But I think there is more to it.  At Centers for Spiritual Living all over the world, Sunday services are a very small part of what we do, because we consider ourselves a teaching order rather than a religious one.  We teach.  At any given Center, Teaching Chapter or Study Group, you will find classes, workshops and seminars galore.  And the common theme throughout much of what we teach is this:  do spiritual practices, consistently and persistently.  Spiritual practices consist of meditation, journaling, reading spiritual literature (there’s that word again!  I am not talking the bible here folks, although that could be on the list), introspection.  And we teach you how to do those  things.  We teach you how to do those things because it is in those practices that you will find a god of your understanding, it is in those practices that you will experience the spiritual and it is in those practices that you will be able to know  your own truth, not someone else’s.   You can find a Center here.

3.  Once you have a beginning sense of the spiritual  in your  life, it’s time for some more introspection.  Your sense of who and what  you are will change as you incorporate a sense of the spiritual into your life.  It’s a process that can happen very quickly or more slowly, but it will happen if you continue to do spiritual practices, consistently and persistently.  At this level introspection,  take a good hard look at the things you fear in life.  Fear is key, because, as the Course in Miracles says, there are only two states of being:   fear and love, and you can’t have love if you are in fear, and you can’t have fear if you are in love.  I’d like to see  you be in love, all the time.  So when you look at your fears, and how you react to them, and what makes  you feel fear, you will have gone a long way towards being rid of them.  Hold your fears up to the light of day and they have a tendency to scurry away, like cockroaches when you turn on the light.  You are only as sick as  your secrets.  Look at what  you fear, and how you react to it.  If you don’t understand what fear looks like, look at what makes you angry.  Anger is a result of fear.  So is judgment.  So is blame, shame, guilt, hatred.  Anytime you are feeling any of those things, you are in fear.

4.  Once you’ve taken some time to do the  inner  work, talk with someone about it.  Just as an aside, it  might be very difficult to do the inner work on your own as we are not as a rule taught to do that.  If that is the case, seek help from the beginning of the process, not at this stage.   There are Practitioners all over the world  who are  specifically trained for this kind of work, and it doesn’t have to be someone local.   I work with people on the phone all the time, and I quite frequently will call on the assistance of a Practitioner from another area.  You can find a Practitioner here.

5.  Once you’ve  done that, it’s time to set things right in your life.  You might find that after all that inner work, there are some outside things in  your life that  no longer fit.  You may find that after all that inner work there are some people with whom you need to have a heart to heart talk.  You may experience a period of deconstruction in your life as a result of a changed you.  While this is uncomfortable, it isn’t life threatening, and is necessary in order to live life differently.

6.  Continue your spiritual practices, consistently and persistently.  No matter what.  Just do them.  With spiritual practices as your foundation in life, you will only become more and more powerful, and less and less susceptible to triggers.

Are you Enchanted with Life?

I learned something cool in one of my classes the other day.  The professor was explaining that when French people are introduced, instead of saying, “pleased to meet you,” they say, “enchanté,” which is short for “I am enchanted.”

What I got out of the professor’s explanation of enchantment was that being enchanted with life is what spirituality is all about.

Spirituality is not about going to church.  Nor is it about believing in a certain way because you were told to believe that way.   Instead, consider that spirituality could be about being enchanted, no matter what.

In the dictionary, one of the definitions of enchanted is, “to delight to a high degree.  As in her gaiety and wit have enchanted us all.”

So how do you do that?  How does one remain enchanted, or delighted with life, no matter what?

Let’s face it: life happens.  Leading a spiritually based life does not mean that stuff we judge as bad or less than desirable is not going to  happen.  Doing spiritual practices everyday like meditation, contemplation or journaling does not guarantee that we are going to be immune from the ups and downs of life.  It just means we will be better able to handle them, and to respond instead of react.

But what if we took it a step further?  What if we made a decision to be enchanted, no matter what?  What if, instead of taking a walk and noticing how beautiful the fall colors were, we moved in a bit closer, to notice the minute changes in color of just a couple of leaves.

What if we used those minute changes in color as a metaphor for our lives?  What if we made a minute change in a behavior, or in a way of thinking?  Do you not think that such a minute change might result in the entire forest changing?

I think this is the way we can become enchanted with life, by making minute changes in our behavior and perception.  Just a little bit at a time, we can change our entire being, our entire lives.  And if you believe that you can be the change you wish to see in the world, think of how making a minute change in your life can contribute to changing the world.

So be enchanted today.  Change one tiny little thing, and decide to be enchanted about it.  And let me know what happens with that!

My last post was about the difference between New Age and New Thought.  If you are interested, you can read it here: http://www.laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com/blog2/?p=2007.  In the course of some conversation about the topic, someone mentioned that all the New Age stuff:  crystals, candles, angels, channeling, etc, were simply another intermediary to God and they preferred the more direct route that is espoused by New Thought.

One of the main reasons why I like New Thought is because we teach that we do not need an intermediary to God.  God is everywhere present, all the time.  It is within you and within me.  Indeed, we are the physical manifestations of God, here so that God can experience the physical.  So you have a direct line to God, no intermediary is needed.   Simply the awareness that I AM is all that is needed.

Yet, God is so much more than that, and so sometimes it might feel like intermediaries should be necessary.  They aren’t, but it seems we like to complicate things….enter intermediaries.

I’ve done rituals to allow me to feel the presence of the One.  I’ve lit candles and I regularly use a set of chimes to open and close client sessions, workshops and classes.  There is nothing wrong with intermediaries if they remind us of who and what we are.  Intermediaries can be valuable tools.

There are some faiths that say you can never have a direct line to God.  They say you can only access God if you are physically present in their church building.  They say you can only access God by talking with one of God’s representatives:  i.e. a priest or pastor.

As a licensed Practitioner and a ministerial student, I do not find such dogma helpful, yet…..there is a bit of a paradox here.   If we need no intermediary to God, then I wouldn’t have clients, I wouldn’t have opportunities to speak from the podium in various Centers.  There would be no people flocking to our Centers on Sunday mornings, book sales would drop dramatically, and there would be no need for workshops or classes.  Because everyone would be able to access God simply by remembering who and what they were.  Everything else is so much fluff.  Yet I regularly use the services of another Practitioner.  I love going to my Center on Sunday mornings to hear the message.  I love my little rituals with candles and ringing of chimes.  I love my angels.  And I LOVE my books!  All of them are intermediaries.  But I can and do regularly experience the awareness of I AM.  Not just when I am meditating, but at all times of the day.  Sometimes that awareness comes to me without effort:  I will be going about my day and all of a sudden I will experience a feeling of pure bliss and peace.  Sometimes I ask for that reminder, and in the asking the awareness is there.

And I know that not everyone is able or willing to simply rest in the awareness of the I AM.    Having an intermediary seems to lighten the load.  If I have an intermediary, then I am not responsible.  The intermediary, and thus God,  is responsible.   It was “God’s will.”  Or, “the angels sent me the message.”  Or, “that channeled being is a direct intermediary and I am going to base my life on what he says.”  I have a problem with this though.   I want to go directly to source, even though sometimes I appreciate my rituals, enjoy reading or listening to channeled messages, and would be a bit lonely without my angels.  But that’s all New Age stuff and it can get complicated.  I like New Thought’s simple message:  “Change your thinking and change your life.”   I like New Thought’s teaching:  “do spiritual practices regularly and consistently to live happy.”   I like New Thought’s simple creed:  Each of us is a part of the One, and thus each of us has the power to create.”    I love that empowerment.  I think this, more than anything else, is what attracted me to this philosophy and way of life:  I have the power to create.  It can be a heavy load, but it’s worth it to me.

I will never forget the feeling I had many years ago when I was reading Neale Donald Walsch’s “Conversations with God, Book One.”  The concept he presented was that God wanted for me what I wanted for me, because I was a part of God!  Admittedly, this may have simply been my perception of the material, but I can tell you that my feeling was one of freedom and a bit of fear, all at the same time, because all of a sudden I realized that I was responsible for my life.  I couldn’t blame God, I couldn’t go into spiritual bypass saying it was God’s will, and I certainly couldn’t blame anyone else.  That stuff no longer worked for me.  In the absence of blame came personal responsibility, and with that came freedom.  It’s a powerful realization, and today I can’t blame anyone for anything, and that empowers me.  I am no longer a victim.  I do not need an intermediary to God, nor do you.  But if you want to be rid of your intermediaries, you will need to know that you are a part of the One and you will need to accept that you have responsibility in your life, for your life.  And it is essential that you accept this responsibility without shame.  Just because you can no longer blame God doesn’t mean you can blame yourself.  Blame is no longer on your list of things to do.

No, intermediaries are not necessary.  I AM….and so are you.

I think I’ll go light some candles now…..

Did you know that we are all creators?  Creativity is not just about making good works of art.  We are always creating.

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Centers for Spiritual Living, said that thought is creative.  Our entire teaching is based on that fact:  thought is creative, and we are always thinking, so we are always creating.

Dr. Amit Goswami, “resident quantum phusicist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences,” says in his book Physics of the Soul that there are four general stages to the process of creation:  preparation, incubation, insight and manifestation.

You can apply these steps to any type of creativity, whether you are planning a work of art or intending to create a new condition in your life.

1.  Preparation.   Here is where the deep inner work is done.  If you do none of the other steps, the spiritual practices in the preparation stage are critical.  Spiritual practices do not have to be things like going to church or praying.  In fact, I don’t think those qualify as spiritual practices in and of themselves.  There must be inner work like meditation, journaling, treatment (affirmative prayer), visioning…these are the things I mean when I speak of daily spiritual practices.  There must be communion, and in order to commune, you must have something to commune with.  It may be that this is where you start, if you do not have some sort of a concept of a Spirit that works in  your life.

2.  Incubation.  Do the inner work, then let it go.  Go do what you need to do in your life:  go to work, go to play, go and do.

3.  Insight.  Be prepared for the insights when they come.  You may be driving along the street and an Aha moment will come to you.  Pull over, write it down.  Or you may be cooking dinner when a thought will come.  Write it down.  Whenever and where ever those lightbulb flashes of new ideas arrive, be sure to record them in some way so you don’t forget them later.

4.  Manifestation.  There is a certain amount of action necessary to all manifestation.  God is not going to shove a hotdog through the key hole of your closet.  You must get out of the closet and go to the store and purchase the hot dog!  By the time you get to this step, you will know and feel and  have the things necessary to achieve what you wish to create.  Using the metaphor of the hot dog as an example, you will first know that yes, it is indeed the hot dog that you really want.  Then you will know where to go to get it, and you will have the means necessary to buy it.  A simplistic metaphor maybe, but I hope you get the idea.  At this stage you will be ready and able to manifest.

Happy creating!

Go with the flow.

What does that mean anyway?  If you go to Urban Dictionary.com, here’s the definition:  “To not push against prevailing behavior/norms/attitudes, occasionally including bowing to peer pressure.”  Wow.  I’m not liking that definition much, and it doesn’t fit with  my concept of going with the flow.

In doing a Google search of “go with the flow” I found a song I had never heard of, as well as lots of metaphors about not trying to swim upstream, which makes sense, but I don’t think it goes deep enough.  To continue the metaphor, unless we are diving, we swim on the surface.

I’m talking a bit deeper here.

Today’s reading in the Science of Mind magazine (http://www.scienceofmind.com/) talks about flowing, and that’s what gave me the idea for today’s post.   Chris Michaels  (www.chrismichaels.net) wrote the daily guides for this month, and I’ve always liked his stuff.  Anyway, he talks about not fighting, or working too hard.  He says, “don’t place too much emphasis on strategy.”  When I read that I thought, “now THIS is what I mean by going with the flow!”

It’s an inside job.  Going with the flow means quit trying so hard.  Spend more time within yourself in spiritual practices.  KNOW. Connect with Spirit.  In so doing you will develop a faith and that knowingness that simply is, and it will allow you to enjoy a life free from fear, a life full of peace and joy.

Around my circles we talk about outlining, which is a bit like placing too much emphasis on strategy.  In Meta-speak, it means doing a treatment and then prescribing how you think the outcome of the treatment should be accomplished.    It means praying, then limiting the results by coming up with ways in which those results can be accomplished.  We have a job in life:  it is to connect with Spirit, and allow it to move through us and as us.  It can only do so as much as we will allow it.  We limit the power of Spirit to move and work in our lives when we prescribe the ways in which we think things can happen.

By going with the flow, we go within, learn our own truth, and live that truth.  No matter what.  No matter what the outside appearances are, when we are connected with Spirit within, we can simply BE, and then we know peace and power and joy.

“Courage means telling the truth of ourselves from our whole being.”  Patrick Cameron

Yep, it’s another quote from the Integration Conference, spoken in the seminar on leadership held for ministerial students.   About the same time as I heard this quote, I heard another concept from one of my teachers, also in a leadership class.  She said that we should not use “expressing our truth” as a means to bully others.

So…I’ve been thinking some about this truth and courage stuff.  I know that in the past I have been guilty of expressing my truth to try and control and manipulate others.  Setting boundaries is another concept where there is a very fine line between attempts at control, manipulation and bullying, and taking care of ourselves.  The line is drawn in that area between speaking in the first person (“I” statements) and speaking in the second person (“you” statements).  Yet it has been my experience that even first person statements can sometimes be  a thinly veiled attempt at bullying, or attempts to control and manipulate.  I’ve seen relationships destroyed because one person disguised attempts at control as setting boundaries.

So what is the answer?  How do we know our own truth, and express it in such a way that we honor ourselves without venturing into the land of attempts at control, manipulation and bullying?

If you have been reading this column for a while you know the answer:  do your spiritual practices!  In this case, going within through the practices of meditation and journaling seem to be the most effective.  When we go within on such a deep level, we know what our truth is.  And we will feel the difference between courageously expressing that truth or venturing into that fearful place where we try to control, manipulate or bully others.  On some level, it does not feel good when we go beyond simply expressing our truth.

Another part of the answer comes from that ancient wisdom expressed in the Course In Miracles:  there are really only two states of being, love and fear.  We are either in a state of love, or a state of fear, and we will always react from that place.  Learn to recognize what fear looks like for you, so that you can move back into a state of love when it happens.  Learn the spiritual practices that work best for you to move from fear to love.  Love means we do not need to try and control or manipulate any situation or bully anyone.  Love means we can rest easily in our beingness and KNOW that all is well, no matter what.  Love means we can simply honor ourselves, and take care of ourselves.  Love does indeed conquer all.

The title is another quote from Patrick Cameron, who said this as part of his opening remarks at a panel for ministerial students on leadership at the Integration Conference in San Diego.

He was referring to us, as future spiritual leaders of our movement, doing our spiritual practices and keeping ourselves “in bloom.”  However, I think this statement applies to everyone, in all situations.

If we want to attract love into our lives, we must first be loving.  If we want to attract abundance into our lives, we must first be the abundance from which it can flow.  If we want to attract a new job into our lives, we must first be a good employee.

Every spiritual book I read, from the Bible (as you believe, so it shall be done) to Esther Hicks speaking as Abraham (your vibrational energy matches that of which you manifest in your life) to Ernest Holmes , Eric Butterworth, Bruce Lipton (yes, even science is spiritual!), the list goes on and on!

It would seem so simple then…whatever we want to attract into our lives, just be that and it will happen.  However, things sometimes have a tendency to get in the way.  We sometimes have deep seated unconscious beliefs which were formed at an early age which get in the way of our manifestations.  We must first work to change those beliefs if we wish to change the manifestations.  That takes a willingness to look at our stories and  change our perceptions of them.

And this is where spiritual practices come in.  Meditation especially, but also journaling, sitting in the silence, reading spiritual literature, taking classes, all of it can qualify as spiritual practices, and some combination of it is absolutely necessary in order to manifest change in our lives.

There is something that happens at a spiritual level when we do spiritual practices.  It transcends all circumstances.  It allows for the seemingly impossible to occur in our lives.  This is the stuff so-called miracles are made of.

So do your spiritual practices!  Meditate, experience the silence, journal.  Do whatever you have to do to connect with that Source that is within you, and bloom.  Open up like a rose on a beautiful summer’s day, and watch the bees come!

So, after writing my post on duality the other day, I thought maybe I was done with the topic for a while…..apparently I was mistaken.

I’m reading this wonderful book.  I originally bought it as research for some upcoming workshops, but I am getting so much more out of it!  It has been the source of several ideas for this blog, as well as info for my workshops.  The book is called The Unmistakable Touch of Grace by Cheryl Richardson.  I am adding this book to my list of recommended books that I give to my clients.

The topic of duality is not really addressed in Richardson’s book except for on two pages.  I really wasn’t expecting to find that topic in her book, and like I said, I really thought I was done writing about duality.

Yeah right.   So it’s a moment of grace, my higher power sending me a message that I’m supposed to contemplate the nature and meaning of duality a bit more, and perhaps come to terms with what it means for me.  Because obviously something is going on here or the topic wouldn’t keep jumping in my face.

But, I get off track.  If you are at all curious about the last post on duality, it’s here:  http://www.laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com/blog2/?p=1807

To take the concept a bit further, Richardson says that according to the law of duality, what comes up must come down.  She didn’t put it in those terms, I did.   It’s another way of saying, “this too, shall pass.”  Whether it’s good or bad, it passes.  Sometimes we have good times, sometimes we don’t.  I used to think that was a rather cynical way of looking at things and chose to simply not believe that way.  I explored, after reading what Richardson had to say about it, examining whether it was time to change that particular belief.  NAW…I still chose to believe all is good, it’s all in the way we look at it, our perception.  I like to go in the direction of sunny and positive, rather than cynical. And, I am also working on no judgment at all, that place the Buddhists like to go, where things just are.

But, Richardson points out something very crucial, and she is very correct on this:  we are trained to believe that our happiness stems from outside stuff, the right stuff:  the right relationship, the right job, the right amount of money, all the right stuff.  And if we base our happiness on outside stuff, of course we aren’t going to be happy all the time, because outside stuff comes and goes.  It is in the nature of stuff to be transient.  Plus there’s that nasty  little codependent  interplay that crops up in relationships when we are expecting Mr. or Ms. Right to make us happy…yuk.

So, Richardson continues to point out that our happiness must come from within. Specifically, what she is talking about in the book is that happiness can only come from meditating regularly.  I happen to agree with her, but I want to expand it a bit, because she was using the concept of duality to illustrate the benefits of meditation, and I want to use the concept to illustrate so much more.

I am coming to believe that “happiness is an inside job” is one of the most misunderstood concepts there is.  I find this fascinating, because I think that if our teaching could be boiled down to one sentence,it would be this:  “happiness is an inside job, and not only that, it’s our only job!”  Everything we teach is to empower people to go within where they will find whatever they call god and use it for their good.  Everything.  I say that it is a misunderstood concept because I see people all the time getting upset because they lost something they thought they had, or didn’t get something they wanted, or didn’t get their way, or they thought the world was doing it wrong.  These are people who have been exposed to our teaching!  I guess that’s why we continue to take classes, to teach, to read books, and to do daily spiritual practices…well…every day.  Sort of like showering, you can’t remain clean and smelling good today on yesterday’s shower.  Somewhere there’s a quote about that….

Anyway, I’ve gone way over my ideal word count for this post.  (did you know the blog pundits advise to keep blogs less than 500 words?  That is sometimes very difficult to do).  My point is, duality can create major problems for you if you let it.  Or, you can use it as a reminder.  A reminder to go within on a regular basis through the  use of meditation and other daily spiritual practices, and base your happiness on an inside conscious connection with a power that works for you.

I was having a chat yesterday with someone and realized (not for the first time) that not everyone is aware that a daily period of time set aside for quiet communication with one’s Inner Presence is the key, the answer, the gift, the magic elixir, the tool that makes life wondrous and peaceful and joyous.  It’s such a simple thing really, and it reminds me of the joke where the powers that be are deciding where to hide God….they discuss all sorts of things:  the highest mountain, the deepest sea, outer space, and each time realize that man will eventually reach all those places.  They decide to hide God within each and every one of us, because we will never think to look there.

I consider myself blessed because I’ve always known to look there, but I know that many folks do not.   However, sometimes I forget, and go off in this post regularly about meditation  and other daily spiritual practices and all sorts of other stuff that assumes that everyone knows what I am talking about, and does some sort of daily spiritual practice.

So, today this column is for you, the person who has never had a daily spiritual practice.  The person who might perhaps be starting to question why the relationship, the house, the car, the job, makes things happy for a while, but then it’s back to the same old feelings of “not enough-ness” in whatever way those manifest:  unhappiness, anger, frustration, high blood pressure, or various other exotic “diseases du jour,” or simply a feeling that there must be more to life than this.

You don’t have to jump into 20 minutes of meditation twice a day to find happiness and peace.  That would be difficult, if not impossible, for a beginner.  Instead, try reading a daily meditation book.  They are sometimes called daily readers.  They all have one thing in common:  they  have an entry for each day, and usually contain 365 entries, one for each day of the year.  Some have a place to write on on the lower half of the page, some don’t.  You can get one to fit you no matter what your spiritual leanings are.

Just read one page each day.  Spend a few minutes contemplating what you’ve read, and internalize it.  Bring that message with you throughout your day.  Then do it again the next day.  Do it every day.  Then notice when you start feeling different, and when your soul starts calling  to you to add to your daily spiritual practice.  When that happens, you are ready to enlarge your spiritual practice, and it might be time to take a class, or call someone like me to take you to the next level.

It’s that simple!  Oh, and by the way, everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, who has started with reading a daily reader as a beginning spiritual practice, has told me that when they take the time to do the reading, life is better, and when they slack off, life is not better.  Just sayin’.

So here, for your reading and contemplating pleasure, is a small list of some of the daily readers I’ve utilized over the years:

This one is coming up, for 2011:  Joyous Freedom Journal, by Petra Weldes and Christian Sorensen

In 2010:  Practice the Presence, by Edward Viljoen and Chris Michaels.

Ongoing, in addition to whatever book I’m using is the Science of Mind magazine.  Published every month for 83 years, this magazine is chock full of good articles, as well as a set of daily meditations for the month.  They are written by a different author each month.  Some months and authors I enjoy and identify with more than others, but they are always good.  The magazine is available by subscription or can be purchased at any Center for Spiritual Living bookstore.  You could use just the magazine as your daily reader and reap HUGE benefits from it.

In the past, not necessarily in chronological order:

A Deep Breath of Life, by Alan Cohen

The Prosperous Life Journal by Chris Michaels and Edward Viljoen

The Wealthy Spirit by Chellie Campbell

Meditations from Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

Simple Abundance, a Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach

And, if you are in a 12 step program, each program has at least one daily reader available to you.  Check the book rack at your meeting place.

All of these books (with the exception of the 12 step books, which will be available from the home office of the 12 step program you belong to) are available on Amazon. com.  And if you are like me and like to browse bookstores, I’m sure you can find some others.  And if you do, I would love to hear about them!

So it’s off on a new journey for you!  Start now, don’t wait for the New Year.  If you start now, you’ll be in the groove by the New Year!