THANK YOU!

I have been sitting here today reflecting on the last seven years. It has been a crazy and amazing journey. So many different people have come through our doors. Some have journeyed with us for years, some for a few months, and some just came and left. Each in their own left a mark on me and this ministry. To all of you who have been a part of our journey and evolution, thank you!

I remember when I first started talking to someone about this vision and she said just start it and they will come. What has fascinated me most the last seven years is the messages and emails from people around the world.  I was not expecting that my writing would resonate with people from just about every continent in the world. It has allowed me to build relationships with people from places such as the Czech Republic, Liberia, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Jamaica, Russia, and Ireland. There is something about knowing that there is a language that resonates with people globally. There is a blessing in knowing that people can come together and feel the presence of the Ultimate. It is a different kind of unity then I have been thinking about all month.

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August 2017 issue of One Spirit, Many Voices

the August 2017 issue of One Spirit, Many Voices is now available for download at http://inspiritual.biz/newsletters/

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Others may focus on divide and conquer. Let us focus on binding, bonding, and overcoming. Let's stop letting others divide us.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When you are in unity within yourself, then there is nothing externally that can interrupt that feeling and that peace. Say goodbye enemies

THE WELCOME TABLE

I have been spending so much time thinking through my feelings about community. I know I like the idea of being part of a community, however, I grapple with the challenges of being a part of one. On the one hand, I appreciate the feeling of belong and being a part of something bigger then myself. On the other hand, I hate the feeling of never quite fitting in or living up to the communal expectations. It is feeling like you fit in when so often you feel like a round peg trying to fit into a square hole or vice versa.

I have spent most of my life feeling like I never quite fit in. The one place I feel as if I fit is in my relationship with you. It is in my relationship with you that I experience that unconditional love and acceptance. Perhaps that is because you never ask me to leave a part of me at the door. I have always known that you love for me is unconditional.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What would the world be like if we lived the lyrics to this song? Are you willing to join me in this dream of us being a hate free world

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Today let's live the lyrics to this song. Let's get together and feel all right. Let's experience what it is like to be in unity

Song of the Week

The lyrics from this weeks song of the week remind us to acknowledge the inequalities and work together in unity to make this world a peaceful place  https://youtu.be/PL28-RVO0_E

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

You may not always be aware of how interconnected we are, but we are like strands on the same spider web. Separate but connected.

CERAMIC EGG COOKER

Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that can inspire you and motivate you to do and see things differently. Take for example, the Pampered Chef Ceramic Egg Cooker. It is simply a ceramic vessel that allows you to cook up a healthy breakfast in just a few minutes. Put eggs in it, shake them up, and your favorite ingredients and put in the microwave. That’s it right?

Honestly, though I have come to realize there are some powerful lessons in this egg cooker. The lid has a vent hole which lets steam escape as you cook and includes a silicone gasket, which keeps the lid secure. We can easily understand why this is important when microwaving, as we do not want things boiling over and making a mess. In our own lives, we so often have moments or situations which make us want to blow a gasket, and thus we create messes, or contribute to messy situations in our lives. The vent hole reminds me that I need to ensure that I have people, places, and things I do which allow me to vent without losing my temper. One of the things which allows me to let off steam is cooking. I will pull out my manual food processor and chop up lots of onions, and other vegetables. I also meditate, sit in my rocking chair, go for a roll around the block, have a need to keep it real with the Ultimate Consciousness and go sit in my meditation and prayer garden and surrender it to the Universe.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Even when we think we are the only one who has gone through something, we are not. Others share those moments with us even if we are unaware

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Our power comes through our association and collaboration with each other. Together we can light up the world, alone, we are a sole flicker

AND GOD CREATED UNITY

Years ago, when I was in seminary, one of my professors Rev. Dr. Gail Ricciuti, challenged me to think about God as an artist. I fell in love with that idea, partly because it reminded me of one of my favorite children’s books by Martha Hickman called And God Created Squash. She tells the Creation story with a God who has an awesome sense of adventure, play and creativity talking to himself in the Garden of Eden about all that he wants to create. He envisions things and creates them by calling them into being. One inspiration leads to another. For example, God falls in love with the word squash. "I like that name . . . I think I'll use it again. Acorn squash. Butternut squash. Even zucchini squash. I might have a game and call it squash. Or put my hand on something and press down hard and call that squash." This creative process continues until God ends by fashioning some company for himself--something, "well, more like me."

This whole idea of God as an artist was the inspiration for one of my first sermons, called Divine by Design. Here I argued we are Divine by Design because we were designed by the Divine. If we had a label that we wore, some sort of trademark, it would say Divine Design.

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WHAT DO YOU SEE?

what do you see when you look at this painting by Fernand Leger? What does it say to you about unity? Let us know what you think

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When we take time to learn all the lessons in an experience, we learn more about ourselves, each other, the world, and the Divine.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Whatever it is I need, if i offer it to you, I give it to myself. When I forgive you, I forgive myself. When I bring you love, I love myself

UNTIEING THE KNOT

So, this month has certainly been filled with adventure and challenges. I have come to remember that achieving unity with someone is not always easy. Sometimes our ways of working towards the common goal are so different. This week a collaborator asked me to prayerfully make a commitment to do something. Reading the request left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I wanted to be able to say that what they wanted me to commit to would happen. At the same time, I realized that what they wanted me to commit to involved so many more people and situations then I had control over. I also realized I was feeling this pressure to do something from someone who had always said they would never pressure me to do that. As I repeatedly read the request, I realized the pivotal word in the request was prayerfully.

Prayerfully. That was what reminded me that you had the answer to all that I needed to be in unity with this person. So, thank you for allowing me to speak my truth in love. I know that in your time I will achieve the goal that we would both like to see me achieve, which is also a part of her goal. However, I also know that this is about you and your timing. So, I will continue to commit to being the best me I can be each day and know that you will continue to open doors and remove obstacles and create ways out of no way.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is that one thing that we all know which connects us to each other. It is the feeling of the breeze, the water, the heat, the dirt. It is

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I am you and you are me and we are each other. When we focus on what we have in common, it becomes easier to see the reflection of ourselves

Song of the Week

in 1994, Queen Latifah performed a song called UNITY which spoke out against the disrespect of women in society, addressing issues of street harassment, domestic violence, and slurs against women in hiphop culture. This call for us all to work together to stop this violence is still important. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twv4PP4QSPM

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When we look deeply into each other's eyes, we see the spirit that connects us to one another. We are each related to each other spiritually

CUT N SEAL

This morning I was having a conversation with a friend who lives in Ontario and she got me thinking about our Cut n Seal. For a variety of reasons, the name really struck me this morning because it reminded me that there are things we need to cut out of our lives as they cut away at the foundation of our spiritual relationship and things that we need to seal in as they are important of us to hold within us and will bring us through the challenging moments in our lives. So today I want to focus on five cuts and five seals and then I will share five of my favorite recipes from the website and five that you can’t find on the site. 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 . Let’s go.

I have been thinking about five things, which can cut away at our lives and our spiritual foundation.

Too much on your plate
I know this is true for me and I am constantly working on keeping room in my life for the Ultimate Consciousness aka God to use me. It seems like good people are always busy. I constantly have to look at my schedule and see what I can cut off or cut out so I have more time to focus on my relationship with the Divine. When I don’t then I can feel the impact on my life emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Sometimes I need a Cut n Seal on my calendar to cut things out and off.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The goodness in me is connected to the goodness in you. When we work to build each other up, we also work to build ourselves up.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF KINDNESS PROJECT

The other day, I was sent a story about an interaction between a homeless man and a manager at a Chik-fil-a. The homeless man had come in asking for remnants and anything they might be throwing away. Instead the manager offered to pray with him and then gave him a full meal. It is in these acts of radical hospitality that we practice unity. Whether this story is true or not is not important. What is important is the lesson it teaches about how to practice unity. When we honor the dignity in others and treat them with respect, then we work together in unity to promote love and kindness in the world

The world is full of people like this. The other day as I was in my mart cart waiting to check out at the grocery store, a young boy offered to help take all the groceries out of my cart. While I did not need the help, I could see that this was something he wanted to do and so I graciously accepted. What I learned was this this was a practice his parents were teaching him. Each day he is to do something kind for someone. When he does he gets a kindness sticker on his calendar. When he has a full calendar, his parents do something for him. His mom told me that one month, his act of kindness was to tell his parents they did not need to reward him for being kind. They did anyway.  He has learned to work in unity with others to help achieve little goals.

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GROWING YOUR FAMILY

What are you doing to expand those you welcome into your family?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

So much in the world pits us against each other. May we remember that we are all part of one human family and focus on our commonalities

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When was the last time you felt as if you were at one with the Universe? Hold on to that memory and let it guide you through each day.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Rather then buy into the competitive push that we encounter each day, let's work on collaborating with each other to transform the world

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Regardless of what faith journey you are on, open yourself up to experience and learning about how the Divine works in the lives of others

BOOK OF LAW

I have been thinking a lot about unity this week and when I feel in sync with myself and others and when I do not. What I have come to realize is that I do not feel in sync with myself when I am doing something that goes against my internal Book of Law. I have come to realize that sometimes it is because I am doing something that I know is not the right thing for me. I am doing something because I feel pressured to do so. For example, recently a client asked me to do something which went against my Book of Law. As much as I always like to support my clients, this request made me feel very uncomfortable and I realized in this situation there could be no unity. I came to the realization that being in unity with you is more important to me than being in unity with another human being, especially when it feels like they are not coming from a space of love.
As much as I would love to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, as the old Coca Cola song said, I have come to realize that I can only sing in perfect harmony with those who also want to raise the vibrational frequency in this world. If they are not seeking to do so, then I have to rethink our relationship and find a different way of standing in unity with them. That unity might be in agreeing we are not working towards the same goal.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

If I am unable to connect with humanity, then I am unable to fully connect with the Divine. As we connect with humanity, we connect with God

Song of the Week

I can't think about unity without thinking ab out this song that I grew up with. Who does not remember this coca cola song   https://youtu.be/wlR0KElxxVg

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When we are in unity with the world, we are in unity with our mind, body and spirit. We are our most authentic.

The Magic Pot

At Pampered Chef, we have this product we affectionately call The Magic Pot. It is really called the Deep Covered Baker, however, it is called The Magic Pot because what happens in this pot is magical. For example, you can microwave a pork tenderloin in 10 minutes or a whole chicken in 30, and there are lots of one-pot meals you can make in 29 minutes or less. It’s great for the oven or microwave and perfect for a family favorite casserole. It's so good, it's like magic!
One of the reasons I love this product, besides the amazing meals I make in it, is that it reminds me that everyday the Divine is working magic in me. It is as if God has put all these opportunities and people in my life, then all of a sudden, or it seems like it, I have done something with all the gifts I have been given. I am not sure I totally understand how these amazing creations have manifested in my life, but they have.
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is our collective presence on the tree of humanity that allows the tree to radiate the beauty and brilliance that it does into the world.

COMMUNITY

What do you look for in a community? What do you expect to give in return?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

May we focus on building bridges of similarity which bring us together, rather then build walls of difference that keep us separated

Just Like Me

A few years ago, I read a book called The Buddha Walks Into a Bar by Lordo Rinzler. One of the things he offered a practice which helps me to practice unity in my own life. He suggested that when someone is getting on your nerves, that you remember a time when you were like that. Marc Rosen offered a similar lesson in his book Thanks for Being a Pain. When I practice remembering that I too have been a pain then it allows me to stand in unity and remember they are being just like me.

When someone is irritating me, I say to myself they are being irritating just like me. I think, “This person is irritating, just like me.” It then makes me remember and stand in unity with all those who have ever been irritating. When I judge someone, albeit a compliment or a criticism, I add just like me to the thought. When I think someone is loving and supportive, I think to myself. “This person is loving and generous, just like me.” Doing so reminds me to practice being in unity with all of myself as well as with others.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We are each one drop in the ocean of life, but together we create an entire ocean. Collectively, as one ocean, we can do more then alone

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hold on to those moments when you were able to experience the oneness that comes when spirits transgress realms, touch and radiate love