Sun Feb 28, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
-C.S. Lewis
Dear Hearts,
Today, how high can we keep our vision on good? Let’s remember to start off our day (and we can begin our day over at any time during the day!) and take the time to pray and visualize how we want this day to be.
Ghandi once said “Be the peace you wish to see” and that applies to anything we wish to see today. We must have it and be it FIRST. Do we want to have a joyful day? Then we need to be joyful. Do we want to have a peaceful day? Then we need to be above any discord and hold the vision for peace. Do we want to have more love today? Then we must step forward and be more loving.
“Make the world your friend”, was a saying of Ghandi. What a wonderful thought for us all. Let’s make everyone our friend, let’s bear no animosity toward any person. Today. let's keep vision on love, peace, joy and compassion and let these qualities guide each and every step of our way.
Let’s remember to keep the high watch this beautiful day. Remember this day is God's gift to us....what we do with it is our gift to God.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sat Feb 27, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Rickie Byers/Dr. Michael Beckwith
Dear Hearts,
It’s easy for us to sense God’s presence when our lives are filled with light. We sense God’s presence all around us…in good people, in good ideas, in good times. But what about those times when we are in the shadows of life, those difficult times that we all experience from time to time…where is God then?
All great scriptures tell us that God is everywhere present. That means God is not only in the goodness and light, God is within the shadows of heartbreak and loss. However, in the midst of the shadow of our sorrow how do we find God?
Scripture tells us so succinctly, “Ask and you shall receive”. During difficult times of our lives, let’s remember to ask that God’s Presence be revealed to us. When we ask, we will be given answers. We will experience God as peace in the midst of seeming chaos, as love in the midst of animosity, as clarity where there seems to be only confusion, as wisdom when we don’t know what our next step will be and as grace…grace that lifts us, carries holds and sustains us no matter what has taken place in our lives.
Beckwith/Byers song is so profound. It is telling us that God is, of course, in the light…the good, the wonderful, joyful events of life, but God is also in the shadow of darkness, trouble, heartbreak, the unexpected, the dark night of the soul. Our challenge? To ask and then to seek until we can find God, meaning until we can find the redeeming value or the good or the blessing. Because everywhere, everywhere, in shadows and in light…the holy presence of God resides.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Feb 26, 2010
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Dear Hearts,
We are told that time is our greatest asset. We hear people say, “Time flies, I don’t have enough time, what happened to the time, etc.”
Let’s ask ourselves today, do we prioritize our time wisely? It has been said the only legacy we leave of real value is love. The money and other tangible items that we leave will soon be spent, sold, broken or forgotten. However, it’s the time that we spend and the love that we give that remains forever in the hearts of our loved ones and friends.
Sometimes, during our daily activities we feel that we can substitute “things” for our time. Things aren’t what are needed; it’s our time that is most needed and wanted. The time we give to others, whether it’s taking the time to listen to another, taking time to teach our child to ride a bicycle, pausing to talk to a lonely neighbor, making time to simply hold the hand of our loved one may change and enhances their lives forever.
It takes time to grow and cultivate love. A quick “I love you” as we rush out the door isn’t sufficient. Actions always speak louder than words. Since time is our most valued asset, when we share our time with others they feel value they are our most valuable asset.
During this holiday season, let’s see how balanced we are. There is time enough left...and the best use of time is always spent in the love we give to others.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Thu Feb 25, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Dana Reeves
Dear Hearts,
Several years, the world mourned the loss of Dana Reeves, wife of the late actor Christopher Reeves. As we look back on the life of Dana Reeves perhaps it gives us all pause to think. When the going gets rough in our lives how do we handle it? Do we go to a place of “why me?” or “poor me” or “why did this have to happen”?
Perhaps all of the above are valid responses at first. Then we have an important decision to make. Do we stay in the self-pity and the endless rounds of “why” or do we take what’s handed to us and make a decision to grow and utilize what’s handed to us to help others and to do good in this world?
People like Dana Reeves come into our lives to show us how to handle life’s great
adversities with dignity and grace. They come to tell us that in the middle of tragedy there is hope and life and always so very much to be grateful for.
If we have wondered “why” Dana Reeves life had to be cut so short, perhaps we can now change the “why” to “how”. How can we, too, be individuals that refuse to travel on the road of self-pity, refuse to give up no matter how bleak it may seem?
Perhaps we can make a decision to take the high road that life offers us and learn from our heartaches and sorrow. And as we move down that high road of life, our next question might be, “How can we share what has happened in our life so that it might help others we meet along this beautiful pathway called 'life'?
Wednesday's Affirmation:
Today, I realize that everything that has happened in my life has meaning and purpose when I am willing to use what I have learned to help another. I accept this for me and mine. Thank you God and so it is!
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Wed Feb 24, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Oprah Winfrey
Dear Hearts,
Often in times of trouble or sadness we see ourselves through tunnel vision. Our lives seem very small. We feel alone, deserted and in need. It’s as if our life has simply shrunk to fit whatever problems we are facing.
Or our life situation may loom so large, that we feel there is no way of overcoming it. At time such as these, when our lives seem to have collapsed in on us, we forget to ask for help. We seem to have lost our way and forget that who we are and what we stand on is so much bigger, so much more.
That is why being connected spiritually is vital for us. When we have a spiritual practice on a daily basis, we are given the opportunity to remember that there is our human self, but there is our spiritual self that is always greater.
If we are feeling alone and lonely today, let’s remember that at our beck and call there is help. When we sincerely use the words, “God help me”, we will be amazed at the chain of events that begin to occur in our lives.
When our human self is integrated with who we are on the spiritual level, there is nothing can vanquish us, nothing or no-one that can defeat us because we understand that if God be for us, nothing can be against us.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Feb 22, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Chinese Proverb
Dear Hearts,
One of the absolutes during our lifetime is that there will be sorrow and pain. However, we we don't have to continually relive the pain and sorrow. Sometimes, we go over and over an event with "why did it happen?" or "if only". We may never have the answer, so to continue reliving an event or situation is a waste of our precious life energy.
When a painful incident happens in our life we grieve, we learn from it, and there is always something to learn, and then we're called to move on. A life is a terrible thing to waste, and yet many do. We got stuck in the grief of some event that happened years ago.
So, as this Chinese Proverb tells us, we cannot prevent the sorrow from happening, because that is a part and parcel of this life. However, we can prevent the sorrow building nests in our hair ~ thus keeping us prisoner to the past, while all the while, life continues to beckon us to move on.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Feb 21, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
1 Samuel 17:47
Dear Hearts,
We all know the story of David and Goliath. David was a young Israelite, a shepherd by trade. Goliath was a Phillistine…a giant, leading the Israelite army. Goliath challenged the Israelites to choose someone to fight him. The Israelites had no volunteers as they were all terrified of this giant. Then young David stepped forward and said he would fight Goliath.
In our lives, we all have Goliaths. Goliath represents our problems, our challenges, our heartaches. We desperately try to solve and work through these Goliaths, but sometimes they just seem too big. We become discouraged and exhausted. We try to solve these Goliaths at the level of thinking that created them…and that will never work. So how do we handle the Goliaths in our lives?
We ask for God’s help…and when we are asking for God’s help it will always show up in the most magnificent ways. It shows up as clarity of thought. It will show up as peace where despite appearances to the contrary we know all is well. It shows up as strength to persevere and as faith to know we’re not alone. God’s help shows up as abundance and prosperity.
Then, we are able to go forward armed with these qualities and before we know it we, too, have slain the Goliaths in our lives.
The young shepherd, David, asked for God’s help. While he seemingly had only a slingshot to slay Goliath he had the power of God with him and no Goliath can ever defeat that.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Feb 19, 2010
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Eleanor Roosevelt
Dear Hearts,
Haven’t we all felt there were some things we just couldn’t do? This can take many different forms…asking for a raise, offering an apology, etc.
Whatever it is we feel we can’t do becomes a wall of our own self-imposed limitations. However, on the other side of the wall, a larger life is beckoning to us. The key to getting to that larger life is walking through our fear by doing the very thing we tell ourselves we can’t do.
When we feel we can’t do something…many times its because we fear rejection. But the important thing to remember is that it isn’t about the other person or their reaction to us that matters. What matters is that we’ve had the courage to feel our fear and do it anyway. It’s about stepping beyond our current level of comfort. It’s about taking care of ourselves by asking for what we need and by stating our feelings.
We may not get the raise we’ve requested, but at least we ventured forth to ask. Someone may not accept our apology but at least we’ve given it. Someone may not respond when we tell him or her we love them…but at least we’ve expressed ourselves.
When we’re able to do the very thing we’re afraid of or think we can’t do, then we’ve walked through the proverbial wall of our own making. On the other side of that wall, a larger more abundant life is beckoning to us.
Is there a wall we need to walk through?
Today, I'll speak up, I'll run, I'll start my diet and the very thing I think I can't do...this is the day I'll just do it! Thank you, God...and so it is!
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Thu Feb 18, 2010
You can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" in our book section.
Marianne Williamson
Dear Hearts,
How often do we get into a mindset and refuse to entertain any new thoughts about the situation? Our minds seem to become locked into a certain way of thinking.
There are countless things that we have made up our mind about (sometimes subconsciously); how spiritual we can be, what our worth is, what our abilities are, what talents we have, what we can expect from life, how much good we are entitled to, etc.
Let’s be aware that when our thoughts come up with such words as “always, never, impossible, can’t be done”, we are into a locked mindset. These are terms of the human mind and terms such as these leave God completely out of the picture.
We have a God that is great and mighty, a God who has created this entire Universe and who keeps this Universe in perfect order. God can do all things…including changing our lives if we are willing to change our minds.
Today, let’s begin to use three magic words, “up until now”. "Up until now...this is what I thought, up until now...this is what I believed, up until now...this has been my experience." The second half of the affirmation is, “I am now willing to change my mind about ______________(we get to fill in the blank) so that God can change my life”.
Then we get to watch as miracles begin to occur in our lives.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Wed Feb 17, 2010
You can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" in our book section.
-Emerson
Dear Hearts,
Remember Sgt. Joe Friday from the series Dragnet who was always saying, “Just the facts, M’am, only the facts?” Some of us go through our lives this way, wanting only the facts. If we’re only looking for and at the facts, we’re missing the best part of life.
During our life, we get to see only a very small part of the whole picture. We see the "facts" of our life -- but just beyond the "facts" there is a whole other realm...a spiritual realm. Thus the name metaphysics, it means beyond the physical.
We live in a benevolent Universe that surrounds us, a Spiritual System where miracles are an everyday occurrence. There is a Power for Good in this Universe, waiting for us to call upon it. It's always just beyond the human "facts".
Do we limit ourselves only to factual thinking? If we do, then we have severely limited the vast possibilities Life offers us. Let’s remember that we have a God that is limitless so why would we limit ourselves only to “factual” thinking?
Einstein once said, “There are two way to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Let's stand in the truth and know that beyond every "fact" lays a spiritual truth and a benevolent God who is always bigger than the facts.
Today, I am surrounded by the love of God. I consciously make a choice to live my life as though everything is a miracle. I will take my focus off the seeming “facts” and look beyond to the spiritual truth where miracles are the real "facts" of life. Today is God’s day and I rejoice in it.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Tue Feb 16, 2010
In our book section, you can now order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"...Oprah's Book of the Month.
Anonymous
Dear Hearts,
Many of us were brought up with the understanding that religion (whatever our religion) was about having faith. Faith is a primary element in any religion or spiritual system, but it’s not the only element. Perhaps St. James said it best , “For the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”.
If we go about our days proclaiming a faith in God whether to ourselves or others but doing nothing with that faith to be of service to others, our faith becomes hollow...empty. Faith must walk hand in hand with action.
Our world needs doers, not just believers but doers. We might think to ourselves that we can’t run about doing good in this world when we have a family, friends, careers, etc. The point is that our arena of family, friends, careers, etc. is our world to do good.
Each day is ripe with opportunity to strengthen our faith by putting that faith into action. How much good can we bring about within our daily realm of living? What can we do to make the world we inhabit a better place? What might we do for our family, friends, co-workers, how can we bring more love, peace, joy, compassion to others?
Today, I make a decision to anchor the kingdom of heaven on earth, meaning that I anchor my faith through service and good works to others. Thank you, God, and so it is!
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Feb 15, 2010
You can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" in our book section.
Anonymous
Dear Hearts,
We have all had situations in our lives that seem completely unfair. We loose our job, or a well-deserved promotion goes to someone else. We might have suffered a financial upset, or someone we dearly loved walked out the door. We may have received a serious diagnosis. How do we handle these unexpected and unwanted situations?
Well, we have a choice. We can become bitter and think of ourselves as victims and spend weeks, if not years, reliving the event, maligning others or going through a senseless “why me?” litany. And all the while, our precious time on this earth whittles away.
Or, we can make a decision that we're going to become better because of what’s happened in our lives. We can make a decision to learn from our experience and we can pray that we may become more loving and compassionate individuals because of what’s happened.
We don’t always get to choose what happens in our lives. But we always get to choose how we respond to what’s happened.
When we remember the life of Christopher Reeves (and there are countless individuals like him), life dealt him what seemed life a horrific blow. He had a choice to become bitter or better. He had the courage to choose better and by doing so he made this world a better place.
Today, in light of all of our life’s circumstances…are we bitter or better?
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Feb 14, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book...Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth.
Oscar Wilde
Dear Hearts,
Today, February 2, is the second of twenty-eight days dedicated to love, to romance, to the heart. We'll remember loved ones and friends with Valentine cards, gifts and flowers. Hopefully, we'll be able to think and see beyond the commercialism of the only month totally dedicated to "love."
When Jesus, the Master Teacher, was asked what was the greatest commandment he replied, "Love God, love your neighbor and love yourself." His whole ministry was a lesson on love. But he was very clear -- love yourself. When we study the works of the great psychotherapists they're in agreement of the importance of self-love as the key to a mentally healthy and fulfilling life.
We are here to shine, to glow and to grow so that we can glorify the God within. But we can't shine and we can't glow and we certainly can't grow without self-love. Each of us possess so many wonderful and unique gifts, but without self-love, we can't give our gifts because we don't even realize we have gifts to give.
Today, let's make a commitment to ourselves to treat ourselves as children of God. That means we treat ourselves with loving kindness, with patience and with respect. Our life-long assignment is to fall in love with ourselves not because of what we are, but always because of who we are...the beloved of God.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Feb 12, 2010
In our book section, you can now order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dear Hearts,
As we continue into this month that symbolizes the heart and speaks so often of love, let's remember that true love is an inside job. We look for someone outside of ourselves to love us so that we may love ourselves and feel good about ourselves, but it doesn't work that way. No one other than ourselves can give us self-love.
It's our life's work to daily be able to see our faults, to watch our mistakes, to realize that many times on the human level we truly have clay feet and yet.....to still love ourselves, still be kind to ourselves, still forgive ourselves yet one more time, still be able to laugh at our own foibles.
How do we begin to be more loving to ourselves? We begin by daily remembering that the great God of the Universe loves us dearly and has created us out of Itself. If this great and magnificent God can love us, can we not begin to love ourselves? Let's remember that God holds nothing against us - since God is Love, God only knows to love us.
We are so valuable to God that we have been chosen for a Divine Appointment here on earth to re-present the hands, the ears, the eyes, the mouth and the heart of God to all those we meet. If the Great God of the Universe loves us no matter what, can we not begin to love ourselves just a little bit more today?
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Thu Feb 11, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Michael Gott
Dear Hearts,
A friend of mine was recently at a college reunion. He is a loving husband, devoted father and a success in his chosen field.
Yet, my friend found in speaking to different friends and hearing their accomplishments over the years, that his happiness for them was overshadowed by his mental comparison of other’s achievements. He had thoughts such as “why didn’t I think of that?” or “why didn’t I do that?” or “I could have/should have done more with my life”. As the evening progressed, he felt deflated, he felt “not enough” and he basically felt like life had passed him by. Intellectually he knew that he was not a failure ~ yet he couldn’t turn off the “comparison” voice in his head.
My friend recounts that later, as he thought about the evening, he was very aware of what had transpired. He got caught in the “comparison” game…one which none of us ever win. We all can find someone prettier, handsomer, slimmer, more successful, etc. etc. Our challenge is to be OK with who we are and where we are in our life.
It has often been said that “comparison is spiritual death” because it agitates us and often leaves us with the feeling that we’re simply not enough. One of our jobs in this lifetime is to find joy as joy is a quality of God. One thing we can be certain ~ the fastest way to a joyful life is living a life without comparing ourselves to others.
Today, I celebrate my uniqueness by keeping my eyes focused on myself. I refuse to compare myself to anyone. I find joy living my life and doing my best and all is well. Thank you God, and so it is!
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Wed Feb 10, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
~Mary Webb
Dear Hearts,
How much good do we actually think we deserve? If we were to ponder this question and really search our hearts, we might find the real answer is "not very much".
Within each of us there is a "mental equivalent", which is our subconscious idea of the good we believe we deserve. Some of us have mental equivalents that are only as big as thimbles, some as large as buckets and some of us have a mental equivalent of our good that is as wide and deep as the sea.
However, one thing to be sure of - there is no shortage of good in this Universe. We are the ones that set the limit of our good according to our belief system.
As much as we would like to believe that an outside world or an outside force is doling out our good, it simply isn't the truth. This is an inside job. In Proverbs we read, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he".
There is all the good available to each of us, but it's up to us how much we actually accept into our lives. What will it be...in our mind's eye, will we put out a tiny cup expecting only the smallest good? Or will we put out a huge container expecting good and accepting it because we realize we're worthy of that good. The choice is ours...today.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Tue Feb 09, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Godspell
Dear Hearts,
What a beautiful daily prayer this is…to see God more clearly, to follow God more nearly and to love God more dearly.
How do we go about not just praying this prayer, but living this prayer?
Perhaps this day we might remember the beautiful greeting “Namaste”, meaning the God in me greets the God in you. When we greet another with Namaste (even if we do so silently), we are looking beyond another’s behavior and seeing with more clarity the beauty of the God Self of them.
2. To follow God more nearly.
We know God through qualities such as Love, Peace, Harmony, Joy, Creativity, etc. So in order to follow God more nearly today, let’s do our best to follow God qualities. How can we bring peace and harmony to our home and place of business? How can we be more joyful and creative? How can we see more beauty today? When we follow God qualities we follow God.
3. To love God more dearly.
In order to love God more dearly, we must also love ourselves, our neighbors, the earth and all living creatures. It’s in loving all God’s creation that we get to love God more dearly.
Today, we have a wonderful guideline for our behavior. We can ask ourselves three questions, “Am I seeing God more clearly in this person? Am I following God more nearly by practicing God qualities? And do I love God more dearly through my love of all God’s creation?"
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Feb 08, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book of the Month by Eckhart Tolle.
The Buddha
Dear Hearts,
Isn't it easy to come to a quick, critical judgment about another person? How we relate to another person will depend completely on where we are looking from. If we look only from our mind's eye, we will find all kinds of things to criticize, all kinds of faults to see. But if we can take that long journey from our mind (which judges) to our heart (which loves) we will be able to see the beautiful and good of another and to find common ground with them.
Today, as we continue through this beautiful month of the heart, instead of judging and/or criticizing another, why don't we ask ourselves two questions,
What is good about this person?
Let's remember that whatever we look for, we'll find. If we look for another's faults, we'll surely find them. If we look for another's good, we'll surely find that also. So why not look for the good? Let's remember, in finding the good in another we find yet another layer of good in ourselves.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sun Feb 07, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book...Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth.
- Vince Lombardi
Dear Hearts,
One of the most awesome things about this year's Superbowl was that no matter how great the error (and there were many!), each athlete got back up and continued to give his best. Surely, some must have felt humiliated at the time of their error or fumble, but their focus was on their goal of giving their personal best for the good of their team. That goal outweighed any momentary defeat.
The test of any champion whether an athlete, social worker, executive, homemaker, physician, etc., isn't about not making errors or getting knocked down, it's always about how quickly we rebound. Each one of us are born to be champions in our particular endeavors....if we're knocked down today, let's give ourselves to the count of three and then be back up on our feet ready to give it our personal best....one more time. Let's do that today!
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Sat Feb 06, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book...Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth.
Dear Hearts,
How often in our lives do we live for “the next one” and forget to savor our present victory. We work diligently to successfully complete a project but instead of enjoying the fruits of our labor we’re mentally already on to the next task.
When we do achieve our goal and are able to relish in the fact that we accomplished something we set out to do, we add to our bank of self-esteem. However, when we don’t take the time to appreciate the work we’ve done and are already mentally on to the next goal, we add nothing to our bank of self-esteem. When we live our lives this way we wonder why we feel so empty…after all, haven’t we accomplished our goal? Yet we never took the time to appreciate what it is that we’ve accomplished. We only have the here and now...yet it’s so easy to loose this moment of achievement to the “next” moment.
Today, if we have just accomplished a goal (whether it’s a merger in business or we’ve cleaned the house) let’s take a moment and savor that accomplishment. It’s all right to tell ourselves that we did a good job. It’s all right to savor the moment and be grateful for what we’ve done. After all, we accomplished what we set out to do…hooray for us!
Then and only then is it time to move on to our next project.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Fri Feb 05, 2010
In our book section, you can order Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
Sigmund Freud
Dear Hearts,
Don't we all want to know and know that we know? There's something about living in the "I don't know" that's so uncomfortable for most of us. Yet, much of our life takes place in the "I don't know". We never really know how each day will unfold, we never really know what another person is thinking, and we never even know if we will live to see the end of each day. Nothing in life is certain.
So how do handle living in the ambiguity of life? Today, as we take whatever step is presented to us...whether in a meeting, giving a talk, typing a letter, caring for our child, let's give our complete and full attention to the task at hand ~ staying within the present moment. When we live our lives this way, the future has a way of taking care of itself.
This day, let's give our best to each moment, let's enjoy each moment, and let’s savor each moment. The reward of present moment living is that our apprehension of ambiguity begins to subside and our lives become more joyful, harmonious and certainly more peaceful.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Thu Feb 04, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah's Winfrey's favorite book ~ by Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
~ Source-Unknown
Dear Hearts,
Many times in life we strive to be first and sometimes that striving is about “getting” something first. Yet, we often find that we quickly forget what we “got” and that it really was of very little importance in the scheme of our life.
However, where being first really does matter is when we become the first to give. When we say the first “hello” or are the first to utter a kind word or when we’re the first to give a compliment. It is said that it takes a great deal of spiritual evolvement to be the first to offer an apology.
As we look at all the great spiritual avatars we see that they were never first in line to get…they were always first in line to give. We, too, are at choice to give rather than try to get.
Today, let’s join together and make a decision to be part of the "first giver's club". When we're part of the "first giver's club", we know we're on the side of the angels.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Wed Feb 03, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite books ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth and "The Power of Now".
Michael Bernard Beckwith D.D.
Dear Hearts,
There are two diverse philosophies on life. One philosophy is the belief and expectation that as we proceed with our daily activities we expect others to serve us. In living our lives that way we are choosing to keep the “spotlight” focused on ourselves.
The other philosophy is one in which we proceed with our daily activities… with the belief and expectation of being of service. In living our lives this way, we take the spotlight off of ourselves, placing it on others.
Recently, a woman shared a story about going to her grown children’s homes and expecting her family to wait on her…after all she was the guest. One day, in an inspirational moment, she got the direct impression that her job was not to be served…instead she was to be of service (even though she was the proverbial “guest”). From that day forward, her philosophy of life changed from what others could do for her…to what she could do for others.
Today, we have a choice on the philosophy of life we choose. If we take the high road with a philosophy of service to others than we are taking the road that all the great saints and avatars tread. We then get to extend ourselves beyond our own self-centeredness and we become a blessing to others and a blessing to Life Itself. And it is for this reason that we were born.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Tue Feb 02, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite books ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth and "The Power of Now".
M. Scott Peck
Dear Hearts,
Don't we all want our loved ones to grow spiritually? So often we think the way to do that is to buy them a particular book that we think they "need", or buy them a self-help tape or DVD, etc. etc. The problems with that kind of giving, is that it addresses our needs. Spiritual growth is such a personal and unique thing that we rarely ever have any idea what will spiritually satisfy another.
Is there anything of value that we can give our loved ones that will help them along their spiritual path? Absolutely, we can give them the greatest gift of all and that’s the gift of unconditional love. The gift of unconditional love allows our loved ones to be authentic -- to drop all facades and charades.
How do we give unconditional love? Not by suggestions.... but by loving and accepting another right where they are, through all the vicissitudes of their life. When we do this, it gives our loved ones the permission to be whom and what they really are moment to moment.
We have a gift to give to those we love...certainly we can buy the books, the tapes, etc., but the true gift doesn't lie in the object, it lies within ourselves. Spiritually is about being our authentic self. Real love and acceptance allows the authenticity of our loved ones to grow and blossom and bloom.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara
Mon Feb 01, 2010
In our book section, you can order Oprah Winfrey's favorite book ~ Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth".
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Dear Hearts,
As we begin Feburary, the month of the heart, how might we heed the Dalai Lama's call? Instead of looking inward thinking about all of our needs and wants, and who might have done what to us, could we turn our attention outward and really look at those around us? Wherever our lives lead us today, whether the office, our home, out shopping, the telephone, how might we think and talk less about ourselves and think and ask more about the other person?
We sometimes wonder how we can serve and love God in deeper and more meaningful ways. Know with me, that we can serve and love God in a most profound way by serving and loving each person who is present in our lives on a daily basis.
With love and blessings,
Rev. Barbara