Archives: September 2009
Wed Sep 30, 2009
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"...Oprah's Book of the Month.
- J. Askenberg
Dear Hearts,
There are those that play the game of Life and those that sit quietly on the sidelines and watch others as they play life's game. We sit on the sidelines for a variety of reasons, we fear making a mistake and looking foolish, we fear being rejected, we fear not being good enough, etc., etc.
Each one of us is here to give our unique gifts. We are here to suit up every day to play life’s game by giving our unique and special gifts. However, if instead we opt to sit on the sidelines and simply watch the game ~ then our part never gets played, our gifts aren't given and life suffers a loss.
The Superbowl is coming up Sunday. We may be certain that each and every player that has shown show up for this Game will give the very best they've got.
So, today, let us play our own Superbowl. Let's suit up and play to the best of our ability. We'll win some points and we'll loose some, however, in the long run that really has little importance. What is important is that we have shown up to play, to give our gifts and to shine our light. For that reason, we are born.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Tue Sep 29, 2009
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Al-Anon
Dear Hearts,
What a challenging practice for each of us today -- keeping the focus on ourselves! It is so much easier to look outside of ourselves and take another person's inventory and know exactly what they need to do and how they need to change. However, when we keep our focus on others -- meaning our focus is outward, it keeps us from having to focus inward and really taking a good look at ourselves and what we might need to do and how we might need to change and improve.
What if we made a decision to turn our attention inward -- keeping focused on the fact that we have been called into being to be the best we can be. We are here to focus on ourselves so that we may become more in tune with love, peace, joy and compassion and how these qualities can out picture in our day to day living.
Today, let's know that each of us are called to be our best self ~ to improve only ourselves and to allow all others the dignity to be in charge of their own lives and their own self-improvement.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Thu Sep 24, 2009
You can now order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" in our book section.
-Mohandes K. (Mahatma) Ghandi
Dear Hearts,
A reporter once posed this question to Ghandi, "Tell us, Mr. Ghandi, what is your message?". Ghandi looked at him for a moment then replied, "My life is my message." Would we all be willing to take a moment out of our busy schedules and reflect on those profound words of Ghandi?
The word "Mahatma" was not Ghandi’s first name. "Mahatma" means “Great Soul”. This title was bestowed upon Ghandi. And it was bestowed upon him due to the way he choose to live his life... through his great love of God, his great love of humankind and his tireless service to his people. The message that Ghandi’s life conveyed was that of a “Great Soul”.
If our life is our message, what message is our life conveying to those we come in contact with on a daily basis? Emerson once said, “What you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.” If someone were in the room with us today, what message would our life convey? Is our life expressing a message of love, peace, joy, compassion, beauty, creativity, truth and inspiration?
At the end of this day, if someone posed the same question to us, "Tell me, what is your message?" are we living our life in such a way that we could respond with deep humility, joy and gratitude, "My life is my message" and those that meet me see a "Great Soul" in action.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Sep 20, 2009
In our book section, you can now order Oprah's Book of the Month by Eckhart Tolle.
1st Corinthians 13:13
Dear Hearts,
Instead of taking an IQ test, what if today we were to take an LQ (love quotient) test, how high do you think we would score? Throughout the ages, the great avatars and saints have reminded us that we will never be remembered by what we do, but how well we loved while we were doing it. So whether we're at home, on the road or in our office, with our loved ones, friends or business associates, perhaps the question to ask ourselves is "are we a loving presence"? Are we coming from our heart in our words and actions? Today, instead of taking an IQ test, let's take a LQ test and see how well we score in the most important area of all.
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Mark Victor Hansen
Dear Hearts,
Do we often feel that we aren't receiving what we ask for? After all, most of us pray at least a few minutes each day. During those few moments, we ask to be successful and prosperous, we ask to be healthy and filled with energy and vitality, we ask for the "good life". So where is this "good life"?
Let's remember that's it's not those few minutes spent in daily prayer that determine our life. It's our moment by moment thoughts that create the quality of our life. Our thoughts are so powerful that they literally become the physical weave and fabric of our daily existence.
Let's also remember that Life is so generous that it always says "yes" to us. Always. Life gives us exactly what our predominant thought pattern asks for -- nothing more, nothing less. This process never fails.
Today, we will process over 60,000 thoughts. What will our thoughts be asking for? We can absolutely be certain that what we ask for, we will receive. Let's remember, if our thoughts are not asking for the kind of life we want, then it's time to change our thoughts, remembering "we can change our thinking and we can change our lives".
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Sep 13, 2009
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
~ Mother Teresa
Dear Hearts,
Haven’t we all had times when we’ve wondered what our real purpose is? In the above quote, Mother Teresa offers us a wonderful metaphor for our lives.
What a difference it would make to our quality of living if we could understand that it’s through our goodness, kindness and compassion that others catch a glimpse of the goodness, kindness and compassion of God.
If we kept the vision of ourselves as writing God’s love letter to the world, our days would be filled with enthusiasm and joy. No one would ever have to tell us we made a difference. We would know we made a difference because we’d understand the value of God’s work through us.
This kind of living is called “purpose driven living” as we realize that we are here for a bigger purpose than simply fulfilling our own needs. When we begin to live our lives being here for God rather than self… a whole new realm of possibilities open before us and the rewards are greater than anything me might now know. We find that all of our needs are met on time and in time and that we glow and grow for God!
Today, if we imagined ourselves writing God’s love letter to all we meet…what would we say and how would we act?
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sat Sep 12, 2009
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book,Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
- Marcel Proust
Dear Hearts,
How often we wait for people, places and things in our lives to change. We long for something new and different. We’re tired of the same old, same old and our lives may feel very stagnant. We have the same relationships, live in the same location, have the same job, etc. So, within the lives that we’re leading, how can we begin to expand the way we see and perceive our daily activities?
Instead of spending our lives waiting or wishing things to change, the truth of the matter is we’re the ones that need to change the way we look at people and situations. If we’re willing to expand our vision, we’ll always be able to find something new about a person, a job or our surroundings. We can begin today to look for new and interesting things, ideas and ways of perceiving within the lives that we’re leading.
This is a Universe of infinite possibilities and infinite potential and yet we become bored and tired of our lives. While the Universe is ever changing, we somehow get stuck in a groove of seeing things in a very narrow way. We might compare ourselves to kaleidoscopes, if we take the time to move the dial on the kaleidoscope, instead of seeing only one constant pattern we find countless patterns and shapes. But we have to first turn the dial.
When we begin to look for new and exciting things within our life, we will find them and our lives take on a new dimension. Our lives become more expansive, filled with more love, joy, beauty, peace, clarity and opportunities that will exceed our wildest expectation.
Let’s remember that nothing changes if nothing changes. And we’re the one that must change first.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Sep 11, 2009
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book,Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"
Todd Beamer
Dear Hearts,
I believe there are times when we have all experienced being stuck in a state of inaction. Perhaps we just don't want to do something or we are so overwhelmed by a task we don't know where to start...so we don't.
However, when we get stuck, that part of our life gets stuck, also. Life is constantly calling us to move forward because it is a progressive Universe. When we are caught in confusion, doubt or fear and become immobilized, we are out of sync with our fundamental purpose to grow and become.
Sometimes, just a few words can be the trigger to inspire us to get moving again. Todd Beamer's uttered such words on that fateful Flight #93, September 11 1991. His words are a call and challenge to all of us.
If we are stuck today, whether in our duties at work, home or relationship...let's allow Todd Beamer's fearless and action filled words inspire us. Today, let's let our mantra be "LET'S ROLL." And so it is.
Love and blessing,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Sep 07, 2009
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"...Oprah's Book of the Month.
Rick Warren
Dear Hearts,
Do we let past events dictate our lives? There are so many excuses we can give ourselves for not reaching our full potential. "I don't have a *college degree", "I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks", "I am limited by my finances", "I married the wrong person", ad infinitum.
As we look at the lives of the great saints and avatars, each one overcame enormous difficulty. Two thousand years ago there was a carpenter who had little formal education, from a town few heard of, is to this day revered as the world's greatest teacher and foremost authority on love.
A poor nun, again with very little education and no money, walked the most dangerous streets of India and cared for the critically ill and dying. She won the Nobel Peace Prize and has become a world symbol for compassion. A small brown man, who at one time had a fierce temper and a huge inferiority complex, became the liberator of India from English rule and a world symbol for non-violence. How did they do it? They changed their thinking about their past and knew their past did not need to dictate their future. Their future was theirs alone to decide
Let's remember that God doesn't know our past or our perceived limitations. God only knows our perfection and our unlimited possibilities. We are always at choice of staying in our old thought patterns of why we can't, or move into new thought patterns of why we can. Today, which will we choose?
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Sep 06, 2009
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
- Charles C. West
Dear Hearts,
It's always frightening when the structures of our life begin to shake. So often we panic, turning to some anthropomorphic God "out there" beseeching that God to please stop the shaking as we like things the way they are.
If our structures are beginning to shake, perhaps it's because the God within each of us wants a bigger arena to shine in. It may be the Universe giving us a message that it's time to change -- to grow, to become more, to give our gifts in a different way than was have previously ever imagined.
Shaking structures are a good thing -- because they are often telling us that the world we are presently inhabiting is simply too small -- that its time to move out and live a bigger life.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Sep 04, 2009
In our book section, you can order Oprah's recomended book by Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"
Dr. Ernest Holmes
Dear Hearts,
We might ask ourselves, how could Spirit possibly bless the world through us? Well, perhaps we might define what we know about Spirit. The great saints and avatars tell us that we know Spirit through qualities such as love, beauty, peace, joy, compassion, harmony, clarity, order, Divine Right Activity, creativity, etc. So when we dedicate our lives to these qualities and allow them to become the cornerstone of our days, we have dedicated our lives and our days to Spirit. Therefore, Spirit gets to work through us and bless others via the qualities we express.
Each day we get to choose. We get to choose to be a blessing by being here for the expansive qualities of Spirit. When we choose such a connection we get to grow and glow, to expand and become, because we are in fundamental harmony with the qualities of Spirit; therefore we allow Spirit to move through us and bless our own personal world and to bless the world at large.
Today, we can be uplifted into a different realm of spiritual awareness by simply making a commitment to be a vehicle for Spirit’s blessings through our commitment to allow God’s qualities to bless and flow through our daily living.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Tue Sep 01, 2009
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"...Oprah's Book of the Month and sign up for the class on this book,
Jane Stanton Hitchcock
Dear Hearts,
Haven’t we all been around individuals and can’t wait to get away from them and as quickly as possible? The reason being, we just don’t feel good being in their presence. Yet, there are others, in whose company we seem to thrive. When we’re with these individuals, they bring out the best in us and we look forward to being with them again.
As we look at our lives, do we choose to act in such a way that others really want to be with us? Do we go out of our way to be gracious and kind? Do we encourage others and give them a pat on the back for what they’re doing well in their lives (and we can always find something to applaud!)? Do we really see the other person through the eyes of acceptance and pure love…no matter what they might tell us? Are we good listeners, giving others our full and undivided attention? Do we mentally bless others as they depart from us?
If we do these things, then we become a beacon that others are attracted to and want to spend time with. When we look at other through the eyes of love and treat them as precious and sacred, we become a healing presence in their lives; thus fulfilling our purpose on earth…to be a loving presence.
Today, let’s make the decision to..."leave ‘em longing and not longing to leave".
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara