Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center!

I saw a post on Facebook the other day.  It created what turned out to be an avalanche of feelings in me:  joy, gratitude, sadness and no small amount of grief.   Here’s the photo:

I first experienced joy because I realized what I was seeing was the advancement of women, that the President’s wife could dress appropriately for traveling and not have to be a Barbie doll to please the populace.  And that is where the gratitude came from as well, gratitude that today, as a woman, I can dress as I please, go where I wish, vote and pretty much do what I want, within the boundaries of the law.  Then I read the comments underneath the photo.  And here is where the sadness and grief came:  not one of the women who commented praised the President’s wife for dressing as the rest of do when traveling.  They all judged her:  they said she didn’t care, that she lacked self respect, and that she was setting a very bad example for young women in this country.

Really?

Oh dear.

I know that it’s an election year.  I also know that this election in particular is characterized by tremendous polarization.  Is it just me, or have the personal attacks and lies and propaganda, from all parties, descended to an all new low?

As a licensed spiritual coach and a ministerial student, I am trained to see the good in everyone and everything.  I do not approach a situation, or a client, or anything else, with a diagnosis of there being something wrong.  I approach it (or at least that is what I strive for) seeing the good, and if I can’t see the good, I first go within and see what within me is preventing me from seeing the good, and then I do my spiritual work to see the good in myself and in others.  I also  know that fear makes people judgmental, and it makes them do and say things they wouldn’t ordinarily do or say.  And I know that there is a lot of fear floating around the consciousness of the populace these days.  So in my spiritual practices I address my own fear, and then do my work  for the fearfulness of society.

So, in the case of Michelle Obama “dressing down” for an airplane flight, I say good for her.  For the people judging her because of the way she dressed for an airplane flight, they are included in my daily spiritual practices.

What does this have to do with spirituality, which is the subject of this blog?  Everything.  Fear keeps us lonely and bereft of the gifts that a connection with Spirit brings, it severs the connection, or prevents it from being formed.  Fear is the giant boogeyman of all things spiritual.  Judgment of another person by what they wear, or the color of their skin, or their gender, or even their sexual preference, is fear based.  All judgment is fear based.  When we judge another, we are saying we are afraid.  Perhaps another person’s sexual preference is somehow threatening to us, or perhaps judging someone else for what they are wearing makes us feel better about ourselves.  Or perhaps judgment allows us to somehow feel secure. I don’t know.  What I do know is that when I negatively judge another, I am the one who feels the pain from that judgement.

These days I am striving for no judgement at all, neither good nor bad.  It simply is.  Like the farmer, whose son brought home horses, broke his leg riding the horses, then didn’t get drafted because he had a broken leg, the farmer, through it all, refused to judge any of those happenings as good or bad, they simply were.

I feel better when I don’t judge.  How about you?

This is the January image and quote for a calendar I publish each year. The quote says, “The thing about creativity is, people are gong to laugh at it. Get over it.” Twyla Thorp

You don’t have to be an artist to be creative. You create every day. In fact, you create with each thought you have. Our thoughts are very creative, and very powerful. If you are not liking your creations, in other words, if you aren’t happy with what is happening in your life right now, you may want to consider changing your thinking. Creativity isn’t just related to artistic endeavors. Creativity is part and parcel of who and what we are, in all areas of our lives.

*another  quote!  This one is by Patti Digh, it’s the tag line for  her book, “Creative is a Verb.”

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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.

karen@laketahoespirituallivingcenter.com

Another term has come and gone.  With the completion of this term, I have completed two years of study in the Masters Degree program called Consciousness Studies.  I am officially two-thirds of the way through this Graduate program.  If all goes according to plan, I will graduate in 2013.

I got curious so I did some research on how many people in the US get a Masters Degree.  According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_attainment_in_the_United_States), in 2009 7.62% of the population got a Masters Degree.

Wow.  I was already feeling pretty special and privileged to be the recipient of such a good education, but now I really feel special.  7.2%?!?!?  That’s not a very high percentage.

Now I am beginning to understand why, when I tell people I am in a Masters Degree program, I get mostly blank looks.  They don’t have any comprehension of what that means.  Maybe.  Or maybe they just don’t care.  Well, whatever.  I still think it’s pretty special.  And it says something about my organization as well.  We are considered a church by many, although I  think just as many consider us a spiritual organization (I fall into that category).  We embrace all religions (in fact, as I am also required to take classes in all the world’s major religions, I am discovering that while the languaging is a bit different, the basic spiritual truths are true everywhere).  That my organization took it upon themselves to design a powerful accredited program, so that their ministers could graduate and be on a par with any graduate from any theological seminary in the world is pretty impressive to me.

Since beginning school I have recieved training in psychology, quantum physics, body mind medicine, all from a spiritual or consciousness point of view.  I have also taken oodles of classes in spiritual leadership (so  many in fact, that I have more credits than I need in that category).  I’ve learned to write curriculum and to teach.  I’ve learned to conduct such rituals as weddings and celebrations of life (I am so happy that, as more and more folks witness me in action, the word is beginning to spread and I am getting hired more and more frequently). I’ve learned to work one on one with people as a spiritual coach and advisor, although that training began with my Practitioner training and now I’m even better trained!

I’ve also  just received notification of a promotion.  Soon, the Lake Tahoe Spiritual Living Center will be transformed into the Center for Spiritual Living Lake Tahoe, a formally affiliated Teaching Chapter with the Centers for Spiritual Living  (http://www.unitedcentersforspiritualliving.org/).  I am the Spiritual Director.  Woo HOO!  Stay tuned for notification of the new web site and calendar of events like discussion groups and classes.  We are primarily a teaching order, and what we do is teach.  The Centers for Spiritual Living have three basic types of Centers:  There are the “churches” with Sunday services and all that goes along with that.  These places still teach.  Some of our Centers are huge, drawing thousands of people every Sunday in the bigger cities, although most range in size from 50 to about 200, and there are some smaller ones as well.  Then there are the Teaching Chapters, which just teach.  Teaching Chapters don’t hold Sunday services unless there is no Center nearby.  Teaching Chapters have to be led by a Practitioner or a Minister.  Then there are the Study Groups, which can be led by anyone.  While we tend to have more Centers in the western part of the US, you will also find us scattered across the country and the world.  You can find a Center, Teaching Chapter or Study Group by going to http://www.unitedcentersforspiritualliving.org/ and clicking on Find a Community.

I feel like a spiritual leader, and that is way cool.

I know my training is not yet complete.  I know that there is more to learn, more to do, more internships, more classes, more travel, more papers to write, more research.  I love it all.  But I still feel like a spiritual leader.  I still feel like I want to shout our message from the rooftops.

IF ONLY YOU WOULD JUST MEDITATE EVERY DAY YOU WOULD KNOW PEACE BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS!  COME, TAKE A CLASS!  COME, JOIN US!

Ok, I’m off the roof now….

Can  you tell I’m excited?  I love what I’ve learned.  I love what I will be learning.  By the way, my classes for next term are PSI Research, Diversity Issues, Managing a Spiritual Organization and Homiletics.  I  had to look up homiletics when I first saw it.  Turns out it’s related to homily…giving talks.   Dictionary.com defines it as the art of preaching.  We don’t do much preaching around here but we’ve been known to give very good talk!  I’ve already been giving talks and been told I’m quite good at it, so I’m excited to take this class and learn some more.

So, that’s it in my ongoing series of posts about my studies.  If you are curious as to the journey thus far, each blog post I’ve done about my studies has been titled the same thing:  Consciousness Studies.

I would love to hear your thoughts about all this!

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!

“The beauty of a thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together.”

I got that quote from a video called Science Autotuned.  (http://www.wimp.com/scienceautotuned/)

In Centers for Spiritual Living (http://www.unitedcentersforspiritualliving.org/) all over the world, we teach that we are all One.  All a part of that magnificent Presence that some people like to call God.  This means there is no separation between you and me.   It means that we are all connected on a level that is now being measured and proved over and over again by a science called quantum physics.

The days of separation between science and spirituality are over.  In the early times of humankind, religion separated itself from science, and science did the same.  Religion said that science was not compatible with what they taught, and science agreed.  But when you put two people in separate rooms made of impermeable material, with no way for them to communicate,  and find that their thoughts are linked, and that result is repeated over and over again, it is proof that there is something there, some Energy Force that links us all.  And when you notice that electrons go where you place your attention, how can you not think that your thoughts can and do affect your life?  This kind of stuff is scientific proof that science and spirituality are not only compatible, but that quantum physics is proving, over and over again, what we in New Thought have been teaching all along:  We are all One.

Just atoms, rearranged in a different way.

Yes, there are still some religions that will say that this kind of thinking is not right.  And that right there is a fundamental difference between religion and spirituality.    In Spirit, there is nothing that is not right.  For to claim something is not right would be to claim that none of us is right, because we are all One.

It presents some interesting possibilities doesn’t it?  What then, if we are all One, does it mean to be the change that we wish to see in the world?  If we are all One, then if enough of us be the change we wish to see in the world, don’t you think that we could effect a world change?  What if you, dear reader, practiced a life that included love and tolerance and understanding and peace and personal responsibility and love and acceptance and abundance of all good things, and love.  And what if you became Love, and then spread that message to a few more people?  What if you decided never to say another negative thing?  To never judge something or someone as right or wrong?  To never complain?  To always be for something and against nothing?  That is how you be the change you wish to see in the world.  And if enough of you do that, we will change the world.  We will rearrange the atoms to manifest a world of love and peace and personal power and tolerance and understanding and acceptance and abundance of all good things.

And that, in my mind, is what spirituality is all about.  It’s not about some code of behavior that is prescribed by a literal interpretation of a series of metaphorical stories that have been mistranslated.   It’s not about thinking that God is some separate entity which can only be accessed by an intermediary in a holy place.  And it certainly isn’t about thinking that we are all flawed from the get go.  It’s not even about whether or not one’s vocabulary is occasionally sprinkled with a four letter word.

Spirituality is that we are all One, just atoms rearranged in a different way.  Different physical manifestations of the One.  When you consider that, that you are a physical manifestation of the One, what do you wish to do with that?   Know…be still and know…and then go and be love.  That is what spirituality is all about.

I’ve been thinking about spirituality a lot lately.

Yesterday, this lady came up to me and said, “I always hear such good things from the people who work with you.”  That was all she said.  I kept waiting for more, but that was it, she turned around and walked away.   Her comment started me thinking about spirituality again.

I think that people are attracted to spirituality, sometimes without even knowing what it is that is attracting them, they just have a feeling.  And sometimes, like the lady who made the comment to me yesterday, they walk away from it.    But my experience with Spirituality is that It will keep calling you until you answer.  That quiet voice within is the voice of Spirit, calling you to do it differently, to be different.   Notice I didn’t say better, just different.  That quiet voice gets louder and louder if you don’t listen at first.  Once we start to listen, we are led to things like meditation, journaling, taking classes, seeking people of like mind.  We are led to be introspective.  We might find ourselves browsing the spirituality aisle in the bookstore without planning to.

There are no coincidences in life.  If you are feeling a call to take a class, take it!  If you are feeling an urge to write something down, write it!  If you are feeling an urge to sit in the silence do so, and then honor the feelings and urges which come to you during that time.

That is spirituality, and I hope you find the peace and joy that leading a spiritual life with bring you, no matter what is happening in your outside world.

In my readings this morning, I seem to be coming across a lot of stuff reminding me to strive upward, to move ever forward, to always look on the bright side.   It reminds me of why I embarked on a spiritual path in the first place.  It’s because I wake up grumpy.  In fact, at certain times in my life that grumpiness had morphed into full blown depression and the spiritual path was a way out.

It still is.  The spiritual path is a way out, a way up, a way through.  It’s really simply and just….The Way.

So what is the spiritual path?  I believe the spiritual path to be a lifestyle.  It’s not about going to church, although some spiritual people choose to do that.  It has nothing to do with religion as it is practiced today, although some religious people are very spiritual.

Spirituality is about a consciousness, a feeling.  It’s about a connection to The Force.  With Spirit, you can call that awesomeness most people call God anything you want.  I like The Force.  It brings to my mind a certain playfulness along with a sense of connection.   I can’t think about The Force without thinking about Star Wars and the cool music and the wookie and all the great noises and the phrase, “May the Force be with you.”  When that movie came out I knew that I had found a good description of what God is to me.  I like the playfulness, I like to play, and the Force reminds me that I can play all the time, no matter what I’m doing.  Bringing playfulness into your life allows lightness into your life, and I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to get heavy does it sometimes, and thinking about the Force reminds me to lighten up.

So take your Spirituality with you today on your journey.  Allow the consciousness of The Force to infuse you with lightness and laughter.  Be Spirit and know.

We do not have an option to be spiritual.  We ARE spiritual.   Our souls are eternal, our bodies are temporary.  As are the situations in our lives.  Belongings and circumstances all come and go, but our beingness remains.  When we deny the spiritual part of ourselves, we are denying the most important part of us.  We are denying our essence.

I’m not talking about religion.  Religion can be helpful, but spirituality has nothing to do with religion.  Spirituality is the essence of you.  It’s the you that is a part of Spirit.  It is timeless.

Acknowledging your spirituality makes everything feel better.  What can you do to acknowledge  your spirituality today?

I see clients that are seeking a way to live a spiritual life but don’t want, for a multitude of reasons, to have anything to do with religion.  I am happy to say that it is not only possible to do this, but most people are already living a spiritual life, they just don’t know it.

Last night, I was reading a book called The Mystic Heart for a class.  I want to give  you some quotes on spirituality here from the author, Wayne Teasdale. 

“Being spiritual suggests a personal commitment to a process of inner development that engages us in our totality.”

“Spirituality is a way of life that affects and includes every moment of an existence.”

“”The spiritual person is committed to growth as an essential, ongoing life goal.”

“To be spiritual means essentially to take responsibility for our inner journey…”

I love this stuff.  Things like this allow me to know that I am, and always have been, on the right path.

And so are you.  You don’t have to be a member of an organized religion to be spiritual.  There are an almost unlimited number of resources available for you to use to develop your spirituality, and that’s one of the things I can do for you:  to show them to you and teach you how to use them.  And the beauty of spirituality is that it does not conflict  with religion.  In fact, it can enhance it.

If  you are feeling like you are missing something in your life, you might want to look into the spiritual part of life.  I can show you how!