Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”  Herm Albright

“It is wonderful to contemplate the mental attitude of people who are not afraid to believe their prayers will be answered.”  The Science of Mind, page 161, from the chapter called Faith

The previous two quotes are from the daily meditation for August 31, 2011, written in the Science of Mind magazine by Leta Miller.  You can get an online version or subscribe to a printed version by going to http://www.scienceofmind.com/home.  Each month the magazine, which has been published continuously since 1927, features a set of daily  meditations written by a different author.  Although I read other daily meditation books, I have found I return to the magazine over and over again for my daily “dose” of spirit!

Ok, now that all my attribution is done, I can get to the point of today’s post.  The other day I was chatting with an acquaintance about a function we both participated in.  Sales were down this year for both of us, and while she was complaining that she would never do this function again (she said the same thing last year), I was happy because of the networking opportunities I had by participating.  And she said, “well of course you would make lemonade out of it.”

She was annoyed, and my thought was, “why would I think any other way?”  Why wouldn’t I choose to look on the bright side?  Why wouldn’t I want to grab hold of all the good I can?  And why would I place attention on negativity?”  It is a scientifically proven fact that what we place our attention on grows.  Quantum physics has proven it, over and over again.  (I just love it when science proves something that spiritually minded folks have been asserting for thousands of years!)  I don’t set out to annoy people with my optimism, but it seems to happen.  I don’t understand why someone would get annoyed at someone else’s optimism either, but have learned that is their choice, and has nothing to do with me.

So here’s some tips on how to uplift your life, and if you like to be annoying, that’s a side benefit that will just come naturally.

1.  Think positive!  Any time you have a negative thought, move to the other side of the thought.  Do not park on the negativity.  Your thoughts have power, and that negativity will manifest.  The cool thing is that positive loving thoughts have more power than negative ones do.

2.  If you must judge, judge in a positive way.  This applies to people, institutions, the weather, everything.  Did you know that judgement is simply your opinion of yourself  turned inside out?  Yep, whatever you are judging anything else for, look within, because that is the source of the judgment.  If  you spot it, you got it!’

3.  If you find yourself unable to move from negativity to positive thinking, and unable to stop judging, and you really want to live life differently,  get some help.   Something within you is calling, something within you wants to manifest good in your life, something within is saying that it is time to think and be and do in new ways.  However, most of us need assistance when we want to learn a new way of being.  A coach is good for holding the light and showing you where to dig, and they can nudge you when you falter.  It is not always easy to live in a way that is different from the way you’ve done it your entire life, which is why I put that little caveat in there about really wanting to change, because there will be parts of you that balk.   It’s good to have the supportive wisdom of someone who is trained to guide through the path of change.

4.  Listen to uplifting music.  I particularly like disco for this!  It prompts movement, and movement in our bodies create yummy things called endorphins, which are a natural attitude booster.  Any kind of movement will do actually.  If dancing to disco doesn’t float your boat, go outside and take a walk, or ride a bike, or go to a gym, or dig in your garden, or even clean house!

5.  Help someone else.   Every religion and spiritual tradition teaches this.  It is the wisdom of the ages, helping others.  If you do nothing else, do this.  I know a lady who bakes cookies at Christmas  for all the fire stations in town.  Another fosters dogs until they are ready for adoption.  I know others who volunteer their time at various charitable organizations.  I provide free coaching on a regular basis and donate my time and services to my local Center for Spiritual Living.  Attorneys do some pro bono work.  Doctors provide free medical services.  Find your niche, and fill it.

6.  And last but not least, remember that happiness is a choice.  Abraham Lincoln was right when he said that we are as happy as we make up our minds to be.   Ultimately, it is your choice.  No one is going to stop you if you want to sit in misery, but choose happiness and you will find an entire village of people supporting you and doing what they can to help you achieve your goal.

I’m going to date myself here, just so you know.  When I was a teenager, Peggy Lee came out with a song called “Is that all there is?”  I remember hearing it and saying to myself, “wow, if she really feels that way, then she just ought to end it all right now.”     Apparently whoever wrote the lyrics thought the same way, because that concept is addressed in the second to the last verse of the song.  That song enjoyed a brief flurry of popularity, and then thankfully went away.

What I don’t get, to this day, is that Peggy Lee was a member of New Thought.  She was one of us!  Maybe she sang that song before she joined us.  Maybe she joined us because of that song!  Because to me, that song is the epitome of what we in New Thought are NOT all about.   I believe that New Thought is about optimism and hope and gratitude and wonder at the fullness of life, not “is that all there is.”

Life for me was not good at the time that song came out.  On any level.   But I heard that song and knew from the bottom of my heart that there was more to life than what those lyrics said.   Maybe some part of me heard that song and rebelled (as I was prone to do in those days) so as to prove those lyrics wrong.  I decided one night that what I was doing in my life back then did not serve me, and I began the journey to do something different.   I have been accused, more than once, of being an eternal (or maybe it’s infernal) optimist.  Yes, I am an optimist, and it was that optimism that has allowed me to go from where I was to where I am now. And it is that optimism that continues to allow me to achieve what other people say is impossible, or highly unlikely.  Optimism can serve you in the same way.

Instead of asking “is that all there is?” try looking on the bright side.  Search for the good, and when you find it, latch onto it like a drowning person latches onto a life preserver.  Because latching onto the good is a life preserver, and and concentrating on the negative spells the death knell.   When it rains, look for the rainbow.  See the glass as half full.  Don’t listen to the naysayers.  Listen instead to the folks expressing gratitude.  Look for the good in life, and know that all there is is a LOT!  A lot of good, and beauty, and abundance, and fullness, and richness.

Here’s to your good!

Swirling vortex of suckiness…isn’t that a cool saying?  I want to thank my friend and fellow Practitioner Brenda for coming up with it.  We were talking about not buying into drama, chaos, other people’s stuff, and what is called in my neck of the woods: group thought or race consciousness.  Race consciousness refers to the general line of thinking of the human race, it’s a termed coined by Ernest Holmes, the founder of the Centers for Spiritual Living.

A good example of race consciousness would be the “cold and flu season.”  Really?  There is really a season for that?  I don’t believe it.  The point is, if you believe it, it’s yours.  Don’t get sucked into the swirling vortex of suckiness and catch a cold just because everyone else is doing it.

For that matter, don’t get sucked into the swirling vortex of suckiness at all.  So what if the rest of world thinks gloom and doom.  Try looking on the bright side.  Try finding something good everywhere you go and in everything you do.  This is really a way of being the change you wish to see in the world.  Don’t complain about it, just be what you want to see.

Don’t get sucked into the swirling vortex of suckiness.  Don’t participate in family drama, just love them unconditionally.  Don’t react to inappropriate behavior, just bless it and the person doing it.  Make lemonade out of lemons, find the silver lining.  Better yet, don’t judge anything that comes your way.  (a lot easier said than done, and I could probably do a whole workshop on just this topic.  I certainly am not perfect at it, but my life is much easier when I can do it)  It just is.  Judging puts a color on it that may or may not be accurate.  Just do what you need to do for  your own highest good and the highest good of everyone around you, and be what you need to be for your own highest good and the good of everyone around you.  Don’t judge anything.  Know that all is is well….truly KNOW it, and it is done.

Then the swirling vortex of suckiness will become a swirling vortex of good, and you’ll be right in the middle of it!

I dare you to conceive of greater things for yourself!

One of the concepts we will be exploring in Money, Metaphysics and the Meaning of Life is how we view ourselves, and how we view the world.  For if we view ourselves with anything less than greatness, then that is what we will experience.  And if we view the world the same way, that is how we will experience it.

In the class I am going to challenge you to view things differently.  I’m going to challenge you to look through a different window.  I’m going to challenge you to, for example, witness the general perception of the economy and then make a decision as to whether you wish to agree with that, or perhaps find another way of viewing things.  And I’m going to show you how to do that.

In the meantime, I dare you.  I dare you to look at how you view yourself and up the ante a bit.  I dare you to release any negative self image because it no longer serves you, and replace that with greatness.  And I dare you to go out into the world today and see everything through a window of love and positivity.  Just try it.

I’d love to hear how you do with this little exercise, even if you aren’t taking the class!  And by the way, there is still time to sign up!

_________________________________________

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 (for 8 weeks beginning October 13) and on Thursdays (beginning October 14) in Lake Tahoe.  For more information, email her at karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com

There’s a law in quantum physics that has profound implications for us on a spiritual level.  It’s called the Observer Effect, and it says that whatever we observe, we effect merely by the act of our observations.  It has presented some interesting dilemmas for scientists working with this stuff.    For most of us, how it applies in our lives is this:  whatever we place our attention on grows.  So if you are worried about a situation in your life, guess what?  Worrying will only make it worse.  Place your attention on something else.  Something more positive.    Allow the positive things to grow in your life, and allow the things you perceive as negative to fade into the background by placing attention on those things you perceive as good.

Anything is possible.  You are capable of doing anything, being anything.  No longer is it acceptable to live with anything less than what you desire.  There is nothing selfish about following your heart, nothing shameful about obeying the call of your soul, no matter what it is.  Just because society says it doesn’t mean it is right.  Do what is right for you, seek what is right for you, and it will come to pass.

It might surprise you to know that I do not consider myself a religious person.  Spiritual, yes, but not religious.  But there are some good principles that we can obtain from religion, good sound spiritual principles.  Today, in the Christian world, it’s Good Friday.   If we step away from the religious dogma, what is left is this:  find the good in all that happens in your life, even in something that is seemingly bad.  

There is always a silver lining, always a new beginning, always a different way to view things.  And, if we can find the good we can allow ourselves to live life happily. 

No matter what has happened in our lives, we can always find the good if we look for it.  And if we can find the good, we can create more good in our life. 

Here’ wishing that you are always able to see the good in your life, today and always!

A fantastic storm came through town yesterday, it snowed all day long.  Today I awoke to several feet of new snow, freshly flocked trees and a winter wonderland.  As I gazed through my window it occurred to me that storms are quite necessary in the over all scheme of things.  They bring the moisture that is necesssary for our region to survive, and they bring snow, which in this area during the winter, is very necessary economically.  We all benefit from the storms that come our way.

Just as our  region benefits from the storms that pass through, so can our lives.  We all have storms in our lives and we can benefit from them.  Or not.  It’s up to us.  I think the temptation is to sometimes use the storms as reasons to limit ourselves.  We take those storms, make them the stories of our lives, and declare that we are never going to do that again.  The only problem with that is that we limit ourselves when we do.

Wouldn’t it be better to examine the possible benefits of the storm and use that to enrich our lives?

Take a look at where you might be today if you hadn’t weathered any given storm in your life.  What lesson would you have missed?  What aspect of the wonder that is you would be missing today if you hadn’t done all you’ve done, and gone through all you’ve gone through?

Examine your storms today,  and see if you can’t extract the lessons from them, release the negative feelings that may be surrounding them, and use those storms to enrich your life.

No, this is not a post on right as opposed to wrong thinking.  There is no wrong thinking, just thinking that produces results.  If  you aren’t getting the results you want, change the thinking.  But don’t judge it as wrong.

This is what we were talking about last night in the Science of Mind book study (before we broke a little early to go watch Jazz and Poetry at Comma Coffee).  We are in the section on Physical Perfection, and it’s a big section with a lot of goodies.  Last night we read this sentence:   “Right thought, constantly poured into consciousness, will eventually purify it.  Discord might be likened to a bottle of impure water; healing might be  likened to the process of dropping purew water into the bottle, a drop at a time, until the whole is clean and pure.”  And on the next page:  “THINKING SETS CAUSATION IN MOTION!”  And the caps and exclamation points are Ernest’s, not  mine.

The slogan for the United Centers for Spiritual Living is Change your Thinking, Change your Life, and it is this portion of the textbook that addresses that concept, it is the heart of our teaching and our philosophy.

And, like Ernest says, sometimes the thinking has to be done a drop at a time.  I don’t know about  you, but when I have thinking that is producing stuff I don’t much appreciate in my life, I seem to be unable to willy nilly just change it once and have it stay changed.  I have to consciously change my thinking, every day.

I started on this path with the  sole purpose of changing my thinking, because I tend to wake up thinking negative and depressed thoughts.  Of course I’ve  recieved much more than changed thinking, but this post is about changing our thinking, so I’ll stick with that.  Most mornings I wake up grumbling.  I don’t know why, I just do.  I used to wake up that way, and simply became a victim of my thoughts.  Eventually I thought my way into a clinical depression.  I literally could not get out of bed.  It was at that  point that I started to explore ways to feel and live better.  Organized religion is not for me.  I don’t appreciate the judgement, the dogma, and the shame that surrounds it.  But I already had a god in my life, and wanted to deepen that connection.  I started reading books like Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch, and books by Deepak Chopra.  Eventually I found myself back home, here, at the Centers for Spiritual Living.  The depression was gone, replaced by a zest for living and a passion for this teaching.  I became a Practitioner after three years of study and now am approaching my first term as a graduate student in Higher Consciousness studies.

I’m  not saying that if you want to change your thinking you need to become a Practitioner or even that you should check out your local Center for Spiritual Living (although if you are looking for a spiritual community, this is where it’s at!).  What I am saying is that it helps, if you are wanting to change your thinking, to have some sort  of god in your life, and it doesn’t have to be a religious god.

So, back to the changing of thinking, one drop at a time.  Daily spiritual practices are, for me, a very powerful way to change my thinking.  The discipline of meditation and reading of spiritual literature has completely changed my life.  In twelve  step programs the eleventh step also encourages one to do daily spiritual practices.  Other ways to change your thinking include affirmations, gratitude, exercise (yes, exercise), eating right.  Probably the most profound way to change your thinking is to affirm and strengthen your connection with whatever-you-want-to-call-god.   It is very difficult to have negative thinking when you have a god in your life!  It’s kind of like fear and faith, or fear and love, god and negativity really don’t go together very well.

And that leads me to another way to change your thinking. One thought at a time, just change it.  When you have a negative thought, thank it for being, then assure it that all is well, and replace that thought with a positive one.  Do that as often as necessary.  Soon, you will find your thinking has taken on a pattern of positive thoughts, as opposed to negative ones.

Happy Thinking!

************************

Love offerings are not required but are greatly appreciated! You can make a love offering through Pay Pal or by sending a check. I have a Pay Pal button on my web site at www.laketahoespirittuallivingcenter.com. Or you can go directly to the Pay Pal web site, click on Send Money Online, and type in my email address: karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com. Checks can be sent to P.O. Box 3326, Stateline, NV 89449. Thank you!

Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of folks stating that they are tired at the end of their days. That’s a bit of an understatement. What I’ve reallly been hearing are statements like this: “I am so ready for this day to be done!” It’s an implication that they are not having good days, and so I thought I would write about that, because life is all about having good days. 

And I submit to you that having good days is not about the stuff that happens outside of yourself.  It’s about how you feel on the inside.  So many folks go about their lives  thinking that if all on the outside lines up just so, then life is good and they are happy.  Unfortunately, sometimes things on the outside don’t line up just so, and no matter what we do, they sometimes continue to line up in a manner that is contrary to our opinion of what they should be!

So, do you wish to be a victim of life’s circumstances, adjusting your mood to whatever is going on in the outside world?  Or do you wish empowerment, knowing that you are well and all is ok in your world no matter what?

For me, I choose empowerment.  I choose to be happy, no matter what.  I choose to be contented and at peace.  If you want to choose empowerment, here are a few tips for you.

1.  Don’t react.  Life happens!  Are you going to be a puppet, being pulled and jerked around by the strings of life’s circumstances?  Or are you perhaps going to look at what is going on in your life with an eye towards what you can do, inside of yourself, to change your own perception?  Pause…breathe, take a step back and examine what is going on and make a choice, a decision as to how you wish to respond.  And the response does not have to be dramatic, you can choose something different.

2.  Consider that you may be addicted to drama.  There is no shame to this, nothing wrong with it, however it is really not a very fun way to live.  Yes, there are all those wonderful highs that are experienced.  But they come willy nilly, not when you want them, and they are accompanied by extreme lows.  I can tell you from experience that I used to be a victim, I used to be addicted to drama, I’m not anymore, and the highs I experience now come from within me and are much more profound and longer lasting than any high I got from the addiction! 

3.  Make decisions daily that contribute to your sense of well being:  get enough sleep, eat properly, get enough exercise.

4.  Do things that  allow you to feel good about yourself.  The lifestyle that goes with an addiction, whether it is to drama or something else, does not lend itself to a good level of self esteem.  Know that you deserve to feel good, to be ok, and that you are good.

5.  Last but not least, get help.  Help doesn’t have to be all dramatic, you can simply talk to a friend, someone who won’t tell you it’s ok to be in the drama, but will instead listen and love you no matter what, allowing you to be free to make your decisions.  You can also enlist the aid of a coach, counselor or Practitioner. 

Being grateful that the day is at an end because life is tough is not the way to live.  Being grateful that the day is at an end because you get to go to bed and rest and sleep a good sleep and wake up and do it all over again is!