Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about ethics and morality lately.

Tough subject.  Especially for a minister in training.  The theory is (and I happen to think it a pretty viable theory), that as a spiritual leader I will be called upon to not only exemplify good morals and ethics, but to help others do the same.

Wow.  I’m feeling a bit….um…..not quite up to the task.  But, I’m taking this class called Ethics in the Ministry and like all the other classes I’ve taken in Holmes Institute, this one is making me think, and allowing for profound inner changes.

I’ve learned that there is a distinction between morals and ethics.  Morals are not, contrary to what I’ve always believed, something that society says I must or must not do or be.  Nope.  Morals are, instead, what is ok with me.  Morals are what is right for me.  Morals are my personal difference between right and wrong.  My morals are mine.  Yours are yours.  So it behooves us to do that  ancient and highly recommended spiritual practice called introspection to find out just what is ok with us, and why.  Is it because that’s what our parents taught us, or because some piece of literature we’ve read tells us so, or is it because we are reacting to a deep seated fear, or is it really and truly what we believe?

One of the things I love about Centers for Spiritual  Living is I am not told what to believe.  Instead I am told how to figure out what I believe, and be ok with that.  I believe in empowerment and personal responsibility, and what we teach fits in quite nicely with my beliefs.

And here is where the trouble starts, because ethics are what we do because of our morals.  And when it comes to behavior, society has a lot to say about how we behave.  So does the legal community.

Don’t get me started on legislation of personal stuff, like whether or not to wear a seat belt.  I’m a dyed in the wool liberal, but I do not believe in legislation of my personal life, on any level.

My morals say that we should be free to take personal responsibility for our lives, and make decisions based on those morals.  My ethics say that I will follow the law and put on my seat belt, but only under protest and only because some cute young cop will stop me and give me a ticket if I don’t.  But if I think I can get away with it, I’m taking the damn thing off.  That is the behavior behind what I believe.  If I wanted to fight that battle I could get involved and work towards having the law changed.

But this is about bigger stuff.

We’ve been assigned two books to read for this class.  One is by the Dalai Lama and is called “Ethics for a New Millennium.”  Basically he says that in order to have good ethics we must be happy, and in order to be happy, we must have compassion.   I need to think about the connection between compassion and ethics for a bit before I can articulate it.  I also read in another book not related to the class, called “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown, that the most compassionate people are the ones with the best boundaries.  And then, just last night, a very wise friend gave me another piece of the puzzle:  when I set a boundary with someone, am I doing it in an attempt to control their behavior, or am I taking care of myself? Somewhere in there morals and ethics and compassion and  happiness and boundaries are all linked.

And then we’ve been assigned another book, called “The Moral Imagination,” by Edward Tivnan. It tackles the subjects of abortion, suicide, euthanasia, capital punishment, racial justice and affirmative action.  It presents, in an intellectual way, the arguments for and against each issue.  I haven’t yet finished reading the book, but here’s what Tivnan says in his introduction:  “…..the only way we can create a decent society out of so many versions of what Americans think is ‘decent’ is to understand why we disagree so strongly and learn to live with out disagreements…”  He calls this moral imagination, hence the title.

I suspect I may be writing more about moral imagination once I’ve finished the book.

So I’m thinking about boundaries and compassion and ethics and morals along comes this post by a guy on Facebook.  He has come out to the world as a gay person, and his post is heart felt and well written and profound.  Here is his post:  http://www.danoah.com/2012/11/anything-other-than-straight.html.

He talks about the mean cruel things people say in their ignorance and fear, and I identify.  I’ve heard the comments.  I just witnessed a major national election in which people came out in droves to say mean and hurtful things about all sorts of stuff.

It’s all very well and good to go into spiritual bypass and simply turn off the TV and not log into Facebook until the election is over.

But will that solve the problem?

Wouldn’t it be better to instead sit down and have a chat?  A bunch of chats?  Chats in which we acknowledge that we may never agree on an issue but let’s see if we can figure out a way to learn to live with them?

This, I think, is what I am being called upon to do as a minister in training.  To first learn to chat in a loving way with someone about a subject upon which we disagree, and agree to disagree with mutual respect.

That is what I want for me personally, in my relationships with others, and that’s what I want for the world too.  I’ll start with me, because I also believe what Ghandi says, that we must be the change we wish to see in the world.

This is not a post about what  you believe.  Instead it is a post about why you believe what you believe, and the behavior you do behind those beliefs.  And about how we can chat in a loving way about the differences in our beliefs.  We can start with seat belts if you like…keep it small and simple, and then maybe move on to bigger things.  It’s a post to encourage you to examine your beliefs and discover if they hold true for you, or if they need to be changed, and why?  And then to figure out a way to discuss those beliefs without belittling or shaming another human being.

“We believe that heaven is within us, and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it.”

This is the fourth statement in the Philosophy of Centers for Spiritual Living.  If you are just tuning in, I’ve been doing a series of posts on this statement which is distributed as a sort of informational statement in Centers for Spiritual Living throughout the world.  This statement was originally written by founder Ernest Holmes and is called “What We Believe.”  Before I get any further with this post, please know that the statement is a guide, sort of an informatory handout for people who want to know what we are about.  The reality is that everyone I’ve ever met in any Center has their own beliefs, including me, and that sometimes we have the same beliefs and sometimes we don’t, and it’s OK.  This is what I like about CSL:  we are free to believe whatever we wish. The bottom line is that we are in alignment with our own truth, and all of our classes and teachings are designed to help you with finding and keeping that alignment.  In terms of this third statement, what we teach will allow you to find heaven, right here, right now.

So… heaven is within.  I’ve always felt this.  I’ve never identified with the “heaven as a separate place” philosophy, just as I’ve never identified with the “God as a separate entity” philosophy.

I like the more accurate description of  the kingdom of heaven which comes from Unity founder Charles Fillmore in his Metaphysical Bible Dictionary.  He says the kingdom of heaven is “a state of consciousness in which the soul and the body are in harmony with the Divine Mind.”

What does that look like?  What does it feel like when our souls and our bodies are in harmony with the Divine Mind?

For me, it looks like freedom and feels like peace.  It is when I am comfortable in my own skin, fully aware and accepting of who and what I am.  There are no doubts, no fears, no hesitations, and I am able to listen to that still small voice within and know….simply know.

Can I do this and be this all the time?  No.  And this is the beauty of what we teach in CSL, because I have tools to get back in alignment when I get out.   All the spiritual practices:  meditation, journaling, introspection and others are designed specifically to help us remain in alignment.  And when I can’t remain in alignment I go to a coach to help me.

If you don’t feel like you are experiencing heaven in your life, consider taking a class at your nearest Center, or take advantage of one of the online classes, or hire a coach to help you.  In Centers, we have Practitioners which are licensed to do just that.  You are worth experiencing the heaven within.

I’ve been doing a series on the Centers for Spiritual Living statement called “What we Believe.” I’m on the third statement today (the first two are here and here, but the honest truth is I’m not sure what I believe about this particular statement:  “We believe in the eternality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.”

Basically the third statement says that while our physical bodies may wither, decay and die, our souls live on….forever and ever.

That’s a lot of souls.  Do I believe that MY soul never dies?  Well, never is a pretty strong word. I believe my soul has been around a long time, and that what I do in this present incarnation is caused by my soul’s longing, bottom line.  Maybe I believe that when the soul stops its longing is when the soul transitions into another realm.  Pretty heavy duty stuff.  And then there is the question of what, exactly, is the soul?

And really, why is this important?  Is it really important to know what happens to our souls?  Is it important to have a belief as to whether or not we even have a soul?  Is it really important to know what a soul is?  I’m thinking that it might be more important to lighten up.

Besides, I’m currently taking a history of New Thought class and have discovered that What We Believe is really what Ernest Holmes believed.  So the Centers for Spiritual Living are putting out a belief statement based on the statements of our founder.  Nothing really wrong with that, because the What We Believe statement is generally accurate for our overall belief system.  And because really, we are free in this movement to believe whatever we wish, we can take it or leave it, accept it or not.  I like to think the What We Believe statement is more of a thought provoker:  really?  Is that really what I believe?  Why?  And what kinds of ramifications does this have for my life?  The statement is also a sort of informational thing as well, because we are all over the map in terms of beliefs.  A newcomer walks into a Center and asks, “What are you guys all about?” and the answer he or she will receive will depend on who is answering the question!  The cool thing about our movement in particular is that we really don’t care what you believe, as long as you are happy and at peace.  And if you aren’t, change your beliefs and it will change what you manifest.  And to change your beliefs do these spiritual practices and your beliefs will be changed.  That’s really a very short description of what we teach around here.

I’m thinking the importance of the third statement is not so much what it states, but what it causes in terms of introspection.  Introspection is a key spiritual practice.  The practice of introspection will allow you to get to know the beautiful being that is you, and that’s a good thing.  Spend some time in introspection about your soul today and see what comes up for you.  I’d love to hear about it!

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.

We all experience some sort of limitation in our lives, something that we think prevents us from doing what we want to do.

Here’s some examples of limitation:

I have a chronic illness.  I don’t drive in the dark.  I don’t make enough money.  I don’t drive in the snow.   I can’t do relationships.   I seem to spend more than I earn.  Bad things always happen to me.  I can’t do that.   They aren’t doing it right.  I can’t.  They won’t let me.

What is behind any limitation in our lives is a way of thinking that is manifesting  the limitation.  There is a direct relationship between our thoughts and what happens in our lives.  What has a tendency to complicate things at times is that there is also a direct relationship between our beliefs and what happens in our lives, and sometimes it is difficult to even know what our beliefs are.   But here’s a formula that might help you to figure it out:  thought plus feeling equals belief.  Put some feeling behind that thought and you have a powerhouse of….well…power, working to create what you just thought.  See, the Universe always says yes, and when it  hears a thought with emotion behind it, it gives you what you’ve asked for.  So put some feeling behind any of those limiting thoughts and BINGO!  You’ve got it.

Why not turn it around?  What have you got to lose by trying?  Here’s some steps to ridding yourself of limitation in your life.

1.  Change your thinking. Every time you have a limiting thought, change it.  Replace the limiting thought with one of no limits.  Affirmations are very good for this.  Put some feeling behind the affirmation and you get that bingo effect I was writing about earlier.

2.  Do spiritual practices…every day, consistently and persistently.  This should probably be first.  A bunch of really good stuff  happens when you do a regular spiritual practice.   Meditation is the most powerful of the spiritual  practices, but there is also quiet time, introspection, journaling, reading of spiritual  literature.

3.  Consider that changing a life long pattern of thinking might be difficult, and be willing to ask for help.  Spiritual coaching is great for this.

4.  Don’t sit around waiting for the new thoughts to manifest.  Do your spiritual practices and your affirmations, then release it and go do what is in front of you to do.

5.  Don’t judge.  Judgment only hurts the one doing the judging.  Consider that when you judge, it’s really more of that old way of thinking coming in to prevent you from freeing up your life.  Look underneath the judgment.  Chances are pretty good there is a fear there that needs addressing.

I would love to hear about a pattern of thought that you are changing in your life, or one that you have changed.  How did you do it?  What made  you willing to make the change?

Did you know that there is no such thing as sinning?

Yep, you read it right:  no such thing.  At least, not in the way that the word is currently used.    As it is currently used, it’s a source of shame, blame and guilt.   It’s a major manipulation tactic with many religions:  you were born in sin, you are inherently sinners, and need to be saved or else you will burn in hell for all eternity, and the only way to not burn in hell is to be saved.  And the only way to be saved is to become a member of the church and do what they tell you to do.  The ironic thing is that by doing this you are still a sinner.  You never get over that, because it simply is part of the human race.  But it’s ok now because you are saved.

But consider something:  much of what is espoused as the wisdom of the Bible today is based on many generations of inaccurate translation, and that the Bible is a series of metaphorical stories.  It was never meant to be taken literally, even if the stories had been translated accurately.

So, here’s a new way to look at the concept of sin.  The word comes from the Greeks, and refers to what they used to say when they missed their target in archery.  Remember back then that the bow and arrow were one of the ways in which they survived.  They used the bow and arrow to catch their food.  So when they missed their target, they didn’t eat.  It was a pretty big deal.   But I can imagine that when they sinned, they simply tried again, and practiced more, so that they didn’t miss the target anymore.

This is a valuable lesson for us.  When we miss the mark, we’ve simply made a mistake.  We can try again, we can practice.  We can use the tools that are given us such as  introspection, journaling and  using our mentors  to find out why we missed the mark and to change our behavior.  There is no shame in this, and it really isn’t all that complicated.  This system is beautiful in it’s simplicity.

I am not advocating not taking responsibility for our behaviors.  When the early Greeks missed the mark, I don’t think they had the option of going to their parents or the government and demanding to be fed.  They had to practice and change, or die of starvation.   They may have relied for help in the form of archery lessons from a teacher, or perhaps they enlisted the aid of someone to practice with.  Today we would pay a teacher or coach to help us learn some new behavior, or join a support group.

We take responsibility for our mistakes, without shame and with full knowledge that we are inherently good, not bad, and work to change our behaviors.  We get help to learn to behave in different ways so that we no longer make the same mistakes.  And we do so without a sense of shame that we’ve made a mistake, but instead with an attitude of gratitude that we have the opportunity to correct the mistake.  The empowerment that we get from viewing sin as a mistake that can be rectified is wonderful.

So today consider that you are a part of the One, not conceived in sin but instead made so that Source could experience the physical.  And that when you behave as a human behaves and miss the mark, you can go back to that One Source and know your truth, and then make some changes in your life so that you can be more accurate next time.

I am smiling as I look at the title of this post, because I can just imagine the questions from my title:  HUH?  What on earth does she mean?

If you’ve been reading my posts the last couple of days, you know that I’m on a roll with quotes from the Integration Conference.  There was so much wisdom there, and my goal is to take a quote for each post and see if I can’t help you apply this wisdom in your life.  Today’s quote comes (I think!  Again, the wisdom was flowing so quickly at times that I did not always have time to write down the person who said the quote) originally from Kenn Gordon, President of what was once the International Centers for Spiritual Living.  Here’s the quote:

“The ceiling is now the floor.”

In context, the quote refers to what was said after our vote, after we took six hours to undo what was done 57 years ago and to integrate the two Centers, United and International.  The ceiling of separation was now the floor of integration, and now we get to build upon that.

What is your personal ceiling?  Do you suffer from lack, limitation, illness?  Or perhaps some trouble in relationship that keeps repeating over and over again?  How could you make that ceiling your floor?  Instead of bumping your head on it, how could you turn it around and make it a firm foundation upon which to stand?

What has occurred in our lives has the potential to be a strong foundation upon which to build a new life.  Two days ago I mentioned another quote, “When you condemn what was, you cannot create what wants to be.”  In condemning our past, we keep ourselves in the problem.  Condemning can look like blame, shame, low self esteem, anger, regret, addiction, lack, anxiety, depression, physical or mental illness.  Condemning  is basing our behavior on things that occurred in the past, without accurately assessing what is going on in the present.  Condemning keeps that ceiling firmly in place, and has the potential to even lower the ceiling.  To move out of the problem, to make that ceiling the floor,  takes a willingness to explore our part in the problem, take responsibility for it without shame, and then move on to a different way of being and acting.  When we do this we have been successful in making our ceiling our floor.

Introspection, work with a coach and daily spiritual practices are sometimes all needed to turn our ceiling into our floor.  And it takes a willingness to see beyond the details and mess, and go above that, to a place where Spirit lives.  Yes, I know Spirit is everywhere, but if you are experiencing some negativity in your life it might behoove you to change the way you view and interact with Spirit.  This is what daily spiritual practices are for.

It may seem like a daunting task, but it is well worth the effort!

There’s a conversation going on right now on Facebook about when to put up your Christmas tree.  I replied that I didn’t have to worry about it, because I leave mine up all year!  Someone asked me about that, saying that they did not have the nerve to leave their tree up all year, but they would like to.

What would you like to do, but don’t have the nerve?  If it’s leaving your Christmas tree up all year, I say what’s the risk?  I’ve had a few people ask me about my Christmas tree.  My reply is that I like the pretty lights, and I like the fact that it reminds me to practice the spirit of loving and giving all year long, not just at Christmas.  The fact that I honored my desire means more to me than what anyone else thinks about it.

Honor that desire that is coming from within you.  It’s there for a reason.  For me, honoring the desire to leave my Christmas tree up year round meant a lot of things.  First of all, it meant I was paying attention enough to know the desire was there.  Do you pay attention to what is going on within you?  Around my circle we call it part of our daily spiritual practices.  In twelve step lingo it’s step ten.   Ancient mystics across all paths and all times have extolled the virtues of listening to those messages that come, sometimes from within, sometimes from another person or circumstance.  If you have a desire, honor it.

Leaving the Christmas tree up year round is a very low risk way of honoring my desires, but it’s a good example.  Let’s say I wanted to leave the tree up, but dutifully took it down after Christmas was over.  The significance of that ritual: ending a season of loving and giving, saying goodbye to all the pretty lights, gearing up for a long dark winter….YUK.  I am not up for any of that.  If I had denied myself that simple pleasure, what else would I be willing to deny myself?

If we can honor the simple low risk things that we desire, then we can learn that we are worth it, whatever it is.  We are worth all the good that life has to offer us.  But we have to allow that good to come to us, and if we can’t even allow the good of a leaving a pretty tree up year round, what else are we denying ourselves?

Today, honor your good.  Allow the good that is yours to flow through you.  Open up to Spirit, go within and do some scouting and see what it is you would like to do, then do it!