Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

Meditation.

Study.

Contemplation.

Journaling.

Visioning.

Those are all spiritual practices, listed in my own personal order of preference.  When I take the time (make the time) to do those on a consistent and persistent basis, I feel happy and content.

When I don’t, I don’t.  It’s that simple.

I must not be doing enough spiritual practices lately, because lately I’ve found myself wondering why on earth so many people absolutely refuse to do these simple things that work.   Lately I’ve seen death, despair, judgement, criticism, blame, anger and worry, and no small amount of fear,  in the lives of the people who have asked me to help them, and in the lives of others who aren’t clients, but are people for whom I care about.  I’ve seen absolute refusal to do any of the inner work that would allow a ray of sunshine to beam into the darkness, dissipating that darkness like a light illuminates a dark room.  I’ve seen absolute insistence on destructive behavior, fixation on outside fixes, immersion in the latest pseudo-scientific fad “guaranteed” to make one feel better.  I don’t think I will ever know why people insist on doing things that don’t work, and on not doing things that do work.  It makes me sad.  So I breathe, I meditate, I study and journal, and I feel better.  And I feel better able to help those around me, because for some reason I have been called to do so, and sometimes it still boggles my mind that I have received this calling.  And I continue to suggest the spiritual practices and inner work necessary to allow people to be happy and content.  Some listen and heed the advice, some don’t.  The ones that don’t experience serious disruptions to their lives, sometimes even death, and when that happens I grieve.  I grieve for all the loss, the waste, the void of a life when it didn’t have to be that way.

And I go to do my own grieving in private, and do my spiritual practices, and get in touch with that Isness that is All, that Essence of Peace and Power and Beauty, and I once again feel at peace, and then I return to the land of the living, refreshed and energized, to try and fulfill my calling once again.

So today I will be spending more time than usual in spiritual practice, and add gratitude to the list with which I began today’s blog, because I have a quiet place to go to commune with my higher self, and because I have the time in which to do it.  And while I am there I will also do some treatments for those whom I know are feeling pain right now.  As well as for myself.  In fact, I think I will close this blog post with a treatment:

I know.  I simply know without doubt that there is only One.  One Power, One Presence, One All, One most magnificent Energy, Light, Beingness.  One All that is the perfect embodiment of Love.  And I also know without doubt that this Love Essence is everywhere present.  In fact, I know that  myself and every other human and every other thing, the Earth itself as well as the galaxies, were created so that this All could experience the physical in all it’s wonder and glory.  I was created so that God could experience the physical, pure and simple.   God is in me, through me, as me.  I am the perfect embodiment of God.  And it is in this embodiment that I  know that Power and feel that Power and experience that Power and use that Power and say with complete conviction and knowingness that I am at peace.  I am happy and I am joyfully fulfilling my calling as a teacher and spiritual leader.  I feel compassion and empathy while at the same time knowing the Truth for those with whom I come into contact.  That Truth is that they are now at complete peace.  They are experiencing all the good that there is to experience.  They are open to the good that is but theirs to claim, and they have claimed it.  They are happy, contented, and joyous as they go about their day to day activities.  They now know beauty.  They now feel peace, joy, happiness, contentment, and are experiencing a lightness to their steps, a smile on their faces, and an enthusiasm in their lives.  It is with the Power that I am that I claim this for them, and for you reading this, and it is with that Power that I release this word, back into the ALL POWER THAT IS, where the work is already done.  And so it is with gratitude that I close this treatment with those wonderful words of completion:  AND SO IT IS!

I have a wedding ceremony I sometimes perform called Magic, Mystery and Miracles.  I didn’t write it by the way, I have to give credit where credit is due, my dad and step-mom, co-owners of Chapel of the Pines, wrote it.  I’ve always loved the title, and it occurred to me that today is one of those Magic, Mystery and Miracles sort of days.

I got up to experience the magic of seeing an unexpected layer of new snow outside my bedroom window.  We’ve been woefully short on snow this winter, and this was a pleasant surprise.  Then the mystery of the day set in:  why am I doing this?  Why am I getting up to an alarm earlier than I normally would to meet a bunch of people for a MasterMind group when I have term papers to write, and jobs to complete, and things to do and places to go and people to see….and not only that but my dog Zeke is whining big time because he didn’t get his walk yesterday and he has GOT to have it today and not only that but he has GOT to have it EARLY!

To say I was feeling overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement.

So I went to my MasterMind group and talked about it and felt a bit better.  Then I got some work done and felt yet a bit better.  Then I bundled up and off Zeke and I went for our almost daily mile and a half walk.  And as I was walking I felt a bit better,  but I was still questioning why I’m doing what I’m doing.  Why am I in a Masters degree program with the ultimate goal of a career change when my current career is uplifting and fulfilling?  Sort of like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, I’ve never seen the sense in that but people tell me it’s fun to do.  Sometimes this doesn’t seem so fun.  Why am I spending all this time studying, and making time for groups that people don’t come to, and offering services that people don’t take advantage of?  Why does no one seem to want to improve their life?

I think I’ll go in the back yard and eat worms when I get home.  That’s called self pity and it never got anyone anywhere, so I continue my walk and enjoy watching Zeke smell every little bump in the path, marking his way along our route.

So I finish my little pity party and am beginning to get into gratitude and my cell phone rings and it’s a dear friend with whom, in the course of our conversation, I find myself telling her what my vision is for the Center for Spiritual Living Lake Tahoe.  It’s the first time I’ve put it into words, and it feels good.  And I know why I’m doing what I’m doing.  And the mystery of the day turns to magic.

Our conversation concludes, and I am still walking along with Zeke, marveling at the contrast between the warmth of the sun and cold of the snow, enjoying the fresh air, and I see an acquaintance walking towards me.  Tahoe is a small town, I can rarely go anywhere without running into someone I know, even on a walk with Zeke.  It’s one of the things I love about it.  My friend looks a bit rough around the edges, so I ask him what is happening in his life, and his eyes begin to leak as he tells me his story.  And my heart goes out to him, because I know the pain he is feeling and I just want to make it all better, but I can’t do that for him, he has to do it for himself.  I can only offer a pathway for him to walk, so I do that, and h is eyes stop leaking, and he smiles, and thanks me, and tells me God sent me to him today.

And I walk away, and I cry a bit for him, and for all the people hurting in the world.   And I know.  Once again I know.  I know why I am doing what I’m doing.  It’s because I have a calling and a gift, and my gift is that I can help people.  My gift is that I can hold the space for them to heal. My gift is that I can hold the light and show them where to dig, and keep them safe while they are digging.

And the magic and the mystery has once again turned into a miracle.

If you are hurting in any way, I hope you can also find the magic and the miracles in the mystery.  They are there.  Sometimes you have to work for them, sometimes you have to have help to find them, but they are there.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Join our meditation/discussion group on Monday nights from 5 to 7 pm. Call 530-906-9336 for more information.

Private coaching packages are available, call 530-906-9336 for more information.

In  our Monday night discussion group, we are talking about transformation and it occurred to me that some people might not want to transform.  If that’s the case, then don’t waste your time by showing up on Monday nights.  I guarantee that if you show up, participate and do the work,  you will have at least one transformation in your life!

It also occurred to me that some might be wondering:  why transform?  Or:  is transformation even possible?  Or: maybe others can transform, but I’m trapped.

Let’s tackle the first question:  why transform?  If your life is perfect, if you have enough money, wonderful relationships, perfect physical health, and feel whole and complete and joyful, then there is no reason for transformation in your life.  And I want to talk with you and see how  you did it.  But if there is lack or limitation in any area of your life, the way to reverse that is through an inner transformation.

The second question:   Is transformation even possible?  The book we are currently studying proves scientifically that it is possible, and it goes through ways in which to effect transformation.  But I think it might be a good idea to define transformation.  As we are using it, it is an inner shift in perception that allows one to react to and perceive life differently.  One book I quite frequently refer to calls transformation, “huge emotional displacements and rearrangements.”  I love that phrase!  Transformation is usually of the educational variety that occurs over time.  And I bet if you think about it, you will be able to come up with some times in  your life when you were transformed, when  you realized that you were no longer thinking the same way, or perceiving the same way.  That’s transformation.

The third question:  Possible for others, but not for me.  If that is the case for you, then I submit that you are not reading this blog because you have nothing better to do.  Something in you is seeking, and that something will continue to nudge you until you take action, and the nudges will not always be gentle.  Sit with that feeling for a while.  What directed you to read this blog?  Why are you here?  In what other areas have you found  yourself reading, or investigating?  Or perhaps you’ve jumped from spiritual fad to spiritual fad, like an athlete, hoping that this one will fix you.  Transformation is possible for everyone, but it does not happen from the outside in.  It won’t happen with immersion in a spiritual fad, or with a move, or a new job, or a new relationship.  The kind of transformation I”m talking about is the kind that allows you to feel joyful and complete, no matter what is going on in your outside world.  This kind of transformation happens from within.

So, if you want to transform, there is good news and bad news:  the good news is that it is possible, the bad news is you have some work to do.  You might consider beginning by showing up on Monday nights.  And if you can’t show up on Monday nights, get the book, read it, do the exercises at the back of each chapter.  And if you need support through the transformation, call me!

______________________________________________________________________

Weekly meditation/discussion group, Mondays from 5-7. Call 530-906-9336 for more information.

Need a nudge, want some support? Coaching will help you move into the gloriousness that is you! Call 530-906-9336 for more information.

I just hung up the phone.  I got to listen in on a conference call set up to hear candidates for the Centers for Spiritual Living respond to a series of questions.  I am so jazzed about this movement that I am a part of!  We have a slate of completely well qualified candidates, any one of them is capable of doing a great job of ushering in our merger (United Centers for Spiritual Living with International Centers for Spiritual Living).  We are a world wide movement that is only going to get bigger and noisier as time goes along and I am proud to be a Practitioner, proud to be a ministerial student, and proud to be the founder and Spiritual Director of the Center for Spiritual Living Lake Tahoe.

Listening to  this call reminded me that I have a call to action right here at home.  We teach that in order to change the world, we must change ourselves first.  With the birth of CSLLT at the beginning of 2012, there is now a place where you can come to effect transformation in your own life.  My call to action is to provide the space for you, which I have done, and to let you know it is there, which I am doing, and to help facilitate your transformation, which I will do when you show up.

I think of all the people in South Lake Tahoe who would benefit from these teachings.

The religiously disenfranchised.  That’s my term for folks who don’t feel a connection with the religion of their childhood.  The truth is that what we teach does not conflict with any religion, and could provide a doorway to a reconciliation, or at least a peace, with the religion of one’s childhood.  Here in the West, our culture suggests that we need to go to church.  And there is a certain amount of shame that is dispensed, mostly from ourselves, when we don’t.  The churches would love it if their attendance was overflowing every Sunday.  But I think there’s a change in the world, and that church per se is not what works for a lot of folks.  I do think that spiritually we need that connection, we need that knowing that comes from the connection.  Church doesn’t necessarily do it.  But meditation does, and studying spiritual literature like “Living Deeply, the Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life” does.  We are currently studying that book on Monday nights, and each meeting begins with a different type of meditation.  I teach the meditation first, then we do it.  Then we discuss the book.  Not only can this be a doorway for transformation for you in your own life, but it will allow you to feel a part of something bigger than you are.

The seekers.  We are all seeking at some point in our lives.  We seek peace and  happiness and joy, and many times we seek it from places like relationships or jobs or possessions.  But the reality is that outside things like jobs, relationships and possessions will only provide a temporary sense of peace and happiness and joy.  Long lasting peace comes from a connection with that Force that is within each and every one of us.  All of the techniques, classes, workshops and sessions that I do are designed to facilitate that connection.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be content?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be at peace, no matter what happens on the outside?

Those who have a spiritual foundation but want to enlarge it.  Spiritual growth doesn’t just happen.  It takes consistent and persistent practice, plus regular reminders.  I don’t know that we are hard wired to forget what is really important in life, but I do think that sometimes the outside stuff makes it seem that way.  What is really important is the inside job, and what is really important is practice, and coming to a CSL regularly, attending classes and book studies and workshops, is part of what will provide you with a good foundation that will allow for spiritual growth.

Fellowship:  I’ve been facilitating a book study down in Carson City for about three years.  This group has bonded, big time.  The people in the group get together for celebrations and holidays, and help out when needed.  This group  has taken field trips and gone to dinners and talks in Reno and panels in Carson City and to hear me talk at the Center in Tahoe City.  Lately there has been some talk of going to a yoga retreat together.  This kind of fellowship is invaluable, and I have no doubt that this kind of fellowship will grow at CSLLT as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to share and mingle and learn and grow with folks who are like minded?  You are not alone in this world.  There are others who think just like you do.  Think about it:  you attend CSLLT regularly, along with a bunch of other people.  We get a great snowfall, and you want to go snowshoeing. Who better to do it with than your CSLLT group?  Or you want to be involved with helping others.  Did you know that the opportunities for service in any CSL abound?  How about hospice work?  Visiting sick people?  Helping with a fund raiser for the community?  Helping to set up an interfaith question and answer panel?  Service is huge, and the friendships and connections we develop while doing service is huge.  Won’t you join us on this incredible journey?

It takes a commitment to practice regularly and persistently.  Right now I’m doing a weekly group, on Monday nights, from 5 to 7 pm.  Last night I took a lady through a guided meditation and as I was doing that, I was mourning all the people who weren’t there benefiting from the service.   When the meditation was over, she said the same thing.  She was so grateful for the meditation, and so grateful for the time there.  And then we proceeded to discuss some of the material in the book called, “Living Deeply, the Art and Science of Transformation.”  This book is about transforming your life, and it draws from all the religions in the world, as well as from science.  It is filled with stories of personal transformations, and it is filled with good practical advice about how to achieve transformation in your own life.  But in order to show up and reap the benefit of this stuff, you need to make a commitment.  The commitment is to yourself.  Are you worthy of transformation?  Do you deserve to be happier, more peaceful?  Only you can answer that question, but if the answer is yes, then I suggest you do whatever you need to do to show at the Center for Spiritual Living Lake Tahoe on Monday night at 5 pm.

Yesterday was Winter Solstice.  The shortest day of the year.  Commencing today, the light returns to our world in small increments, with each day a couple  of minutes longer than the previous day.

If you are like me and were unable to attend any of the solstice rituals that happened yesterday, don’t fret, you can still celebrate the return of the light.  Here are some tips:

1.  Acknowledge what is happening with Mother Nature right now.  Each day that passes grows a little longer, each day brings a bit more light to our lives.  Take that acknowledgement from that global perspective and bring it into the personal.  With each day that passes, starting today, acknowledge that more light is coming into your life.  Use the extra couple of minutes of light each day as a metaphor.  How can  you bring a couple more minutes each day of metaphorical light into your life?  Is there anything that needs to be released to allow for more light in your life?  What does light signify to you anyway?  Is it joy, or peace, or good health?

2.  Celebrate!   There is a reason for the lighting of candles, the decorating of trees and the parties at this time of year.  It stems from rituals practiced by our ancestors, who not only lit lots of candles, but also brought gifts and had parties.  All of it signified and celebrated the return of the light.  Today’s holiday parties and lights decorating the trees and homes are all descendants of those ancient celebrations.  So when you go to the endless round of parties and decorate your tree, do so with a feeling of jubilation and celebration.  Enjoy it!  And if you are of the more introverted type, light some candles in the quiet sacredness of your own home, and acknowledge the joy and beauty of this season.  Celebrations do not have to be of the noisy and crowded variety.

3.  You  may not be in the mood to celebrate right now.  Perhaps, like a good friend of mine recently said, you don’t appreciate the endless commercials, the crowds or even the Christmas music.   Try and take comfort in nature’s cycle.  Mother Nature is wise, very wise.   Here where I live in Lake Tahoe, I quite frequently will stand somewhere near the lake’s edge on the east shore and watch the storms approach.  They always come over the mountains from the west and you can literally see them coming.  I’ll be standing in sunshine, but when I look west, I will see these  magnificent clouds coming toward me on the wind.  I can look at those clouds and know that it is time to prepare.   When the storms come, we fare better if we are prepared, and if we are prepared, we can ride out the storm, emerging when the storm passes to appreciate the beauty of the freshly fallen snow, the glitter and shimmer when the sun hits that snow, the crystal clear blue  sky.  That kind of light can only come after a good snow storm.  What Mother Nature does, we can use as metaphors in our own lives.  When the storms come, be prepared, ride it out, and when it passes, emerge to see what new and beautiful has come as a result of the storm.  If you don’t like the commercials, turn off the tv and radio.  Instead of shopping, make cookies to give as gifts.  You can shop ahead of time for the goodies to make cookies, you don’t have to wade through the crowds.  Find something  to be grateful for in this season.

4.  This leads me to talk about losses.  Perhaps you’ve recently encountered a huge loss.   Perhaps this is not the time to celebrate the light because you feel as if there simply is no light in your life.  Perhaps it is time to grieve instead.  If that is the case, honor it.  Grieving our losses must happen.  I can tell you from personal experience that if a loss is not properly grieved you will suffer.  The grief will manifest in some way, usually a physical illness but sometimes in emotional illness as well.  Feelings of anger and sadness will come, it is part of the process.  If they are coming  now, at a time when the rest of the world is celebrating, do not put them on hold until later.  Doing so will only strengthen those feelings and make them worse.  And I can guarantee you that if you do not grieve the loss now, then you will repeat the cycle when the anniversary comes each year, in essence dooming yourself to a holiday season filled with sadness and grief instead of joy.  Give yourself the gift of grieving now, when it is needed, and then you will be able to experience all the joy of this season, and you will be able to once again know that the light is entering your life.

Can you see money as a symbol of love and integrity?

This is one of the concepts we will be covering in the Money, Metaphysics and The Meaning of Life class.

The flow of abundance comes from within.   The more we embody emotions of love, gentleness and peace, the more we eliminate limitation in our lives.   We are trained to think, especially in Western culture, that all of our peace, prosperity and joy comes from outside things.  This line of thinking stems from a time when religion was used to control the population.  All schools of thought that encouraged us to seek, connect with and develop that power within us were eliminated in favor of a religion that instead created ways to control the populace:   An outside god which could only be reached through an approved  intermediary (priest) in an approved place (church).

Today we are experiencing a groundswell of teachings that are allowing us to think that perhaps there might be a different way.  We have all power, simply by connecting with the Source within us.  We can make that connection in any place,  at any time.  And if we embody the qualities of Source, we will experience the results we have been seeking.

It’s a bit of a scary thing to realize that we have ultimate responsibility for our lives.  I remember when I first had that realization, and for a brief moment I wanted to return to the old way of thinking: that of an outside God which controlled everything, including my life.  But the lure of all that freedom that comes with the responsibility was too strong, I wanted to be free!  And so I began a journey which has culminated in me being where I am today:  teaching a class called Money, Metaphysics and the Meaning of Life to other folks who want to be free!

I was blessed with wonderful coaches on my journey, and am privileged to still be blessed with awesome teachers on this journey that continues.  It makes the journey easier to have people in my life who have walked the path before me, and it is indeed a gift that I now am in a place to light that path for others who want to follow it.

I hope to see  you in class!  But if not, keep reading, for much of my blog the next month until class starts will be featuring some of the things we will be covering in the class.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Karen Linsley, RScP, is a licensed Spiritual Coach and current Ministerial Student at Holmes Institute.  She will be teaching Money, Metaphysics and the Meaning of Life on Wednesday nights in Carson City and on Thursdays in Lake Tahoe.  For more information, email her at karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com

Sometimes we get to a place of darkness.  We go there without realizing it, and usually aren’t sure how we got there.  But one day we wake up and realize that we’ve been full of all sorts of nasty stuff:  shame, self pity, low self esteem.  It’s a dark place.

It is possible to go into the light however.  Noticing that we are in the dark is the first step, and it’s a biggie.  Taking a good honest look at ourselves and how we have blocked ourselves from the Light is difficult, but needs to be done.  It is good to have a guide when we do this, to keep us from blaming and shaming ourselves.  This process is not about shame, it’s about ridding ourselves of that behavior which has been limiting us.  Guides can be Practitioners, counselors, therapists or mentors.  Someone who can hold the lantern for us while we dig, and keep us from jumping into the hole.

Once all that stuff is exposed to the light of day, we can gently be rid of it, and replace it with something more positive and productive.

This is a process that takes patience, the gentle support of our guide, and a connection with Spirit.  But once we are on the other end of it, that light is there to illuminate our way to freedom, flight, happiness, joy and peace!

The first step in achieving a goal successfully is knowing who you are.

And who you are is a Being of Light.  You are a part of Spirit.  You are Essence.  You are Life Itself.

You are all those Attributes of Spirit that we strive for in Treatment:  joy, abundance, happiness, peace, well being.

All you need to do to reach your goals is embody who and what you are.

As you go through your day, ask yourself if the way you are behaving embodies your Truth.  Did the way you just treated that person allow your Essence to shine through?  Does the way you treat yourself allow you to know who and what you are?

Embody your Truth, and you will reach your goals.

You are always at choice.  No matter what the appearances are, you are at choice as to whether to be at peace or not, happy or not.  I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who told us that we would be as happy as we made up our minds to be.  He was right.

So, when your thoughts try to park on something less than positive, remember you have a choice.  When the worry demons start in with their chorus of fear and doubt, remember, you have a choice.  You can thank them for sharing, then turn your thoughts to joy, happiness, peace.  Your thoughts are not the boss of you, you don’t have to live in negative thinking, you don’t have to react to worry, and you don’t have to allow fear to take over your life.

Go to that special place within you, that place where you are connected with Spirit, that One, and Know.  Know the glorious happiness of All That Is!  Feel the Power of Love!  Be Spirit, and the choice to be happy and free will be an easy one.

I haven’t posted in a few days.  There’s no particular reason for that, except that I’ve been coming up dry whenever I sit down to write.  I’ve used up my backlog of posts, whenever I get a burst I sit down and write a whole bunch of posts, for those times like now when I come up dry.  But I can’t go on without writing at all, that just wouldn’t be cool on so many levels, so today I thought I would ask you:  How are you doing?

Are you at peace?

Do you experience joy in your life?

What’s happening in your world?

Are you buying into the “race consciousness?”  Now before someone flames me and accuses me of being a racist, let me say that race consciousness is Ernest Holmes’ word for the general state of the general populace.  You know, when they say things like, “better be careful, it’s flu season,”  that’s race consciousness.  You are free to believe it is flu season or not, just remember that what we believe manifests in our lives.

Are you in balance?  Or do you experience it once in a while as you swing past it?

I believe that life was meant to be lived full out and that we were meant to experience peace and joy.  Even in the midst of outside appearances to the contrary.  I believe that every day we should have a gut level laugh, hug someone, play, experience a period of quiet, learn a little and have fun doing it.

If you are reading this, know with me that this is your experience.  This is what Practitioners are for, to help people experience the best of life, and you have just been the recipient of my treatment for you!