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My favorite part of Christmas is going to church.
Not just church, but to the services where the candlelighting is done.
I was, at one time, a licensed minister. Actually, for about 20 years.
For a few of those years, I served as pastor of the local parish.
During our Christmas Eve candlelighting service, we would wait until after the sermon to light the candle, while at other services we would light it at the beginning of the service.
The CE service would start at 6:30. The church was lit subtly, the lights in the entry turned down, the ushers greeting people in the always cold and damp winter night air of Berkeley. There, people would be given a small candle for the service and ushered into the sanctuary and they would greet each other in hushed tones. People always decked out for the CE service.
So reverent!
The service would start, first with a carol, then the invocation, another carol following. The meditation would be given then a song from the choir. Brief announcements, then the sermon. A song would follow (we sang a lot!) and the ushers would turn down the lights very low.
All would rise. The candle at the podium would be lit and the candle lighter would say:
"This candle represents the light of the Spirit. That light which flames quietly, bringing a lifetime of contentment and the realization that nothing in this world is worth exchanging for it. As Jesus said, 'You are the light of the world. A city set on a hilltop cannot be hid, nor does a man light a candle and place it under a bushel, but puts it on a stand, where it may give light unto all who enter the house'. Let your Light so shine."
I had the pleasure of calling the ushers forward. I took my candle and lit it from the big candle. The ushers would offer their candles and I would light each, smiling and saying, "Merry Christmas. The Light of the Christ is within you."
The ushers turned and walked down the center aisle, offering their flame to the person sitting closest in the row and wishing them a soft 'Merry Christmas'. They would then turn and pass the flame down the row. One by one, the candles were all lit.
When the ushers got to the back of the sanctuary, the lights would be turned all the way down.
It was a magical sight to see so many candles burning, a soft glow coming from the congregation.
We would then sing Silent Night a Capella. All three verses!
"...sleep in Heavenly Peace...sleep in Heavenly Peace."
It was such a healing to look out at hundreds of people singing that song with One Voice.
At the end of the song, I would pause for just a few moments of quiet stillness.
Then, we would all sing, "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to you."
"Would you all make a wish and blow out your candle?" I would ask.
Laughter and merriment would ring out to the whooshing sound of hundreds of candles being blown out. The lights would come up and everyone was ecstatic and amused.
We would remain standing to receive the Benediction, the choir would lead a rousing rendition of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" as the ministers would proceed out. The congregation would follow and everyone would come to the Fellowship room where cake, coffee and a buffet of hearty food was awaiting all to partake.
God, I love Christmas Magic!
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
When Seekers Become Finders...
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Over the years, it's been my pleasure to make the acquaintance of many spiritual seekers. So many people are looking for answers, knowing that it's out there, seemingly just out of reach. Someday, if they keep the faith and continue their search, they will find the answer that will unlock the doors to their eternal happiness.
They want the answer. In their heart, they know what it is they're looking for. God only knows how many lifetimes they've been looking for it. Ask them to put it into words and almost all will give a baffled look. Put it into words? It seems almost sacrilegious to do so.
There comes a point when a seeker is on the path that they have to decide if they really want to find. In order to find, they are going to have to be willing to heal themselves. Answers provide healing. And sometimes, when there is a hurt to be healed, it can get messy.
Do you really want to know the answer you're looking for? Or are you more amused with the sport of seeking? After all, seeking can be so much fun. The answer can be had at the next workshop, seminar, class, retreat, lecture, study group or symposium they attend.
You know, and I know, that the answer they seek is not outside of themselves. The answer awaits within. This is sad news for the seeker. They keep themselves so busy with their search. It doesn't seem prudent to sit down and go within looking for the answer. It's so noisy in there. Who can think? Let alone ask the question. Can't someone just give them the answer?
Sometimes, that works. More times than not, however, an answer given freely is not appreciated. That's the easy way out. "I can't accept that as my answer; how do you know it's what I'm looking for? I' not even sure of the question!"
*heavy sigh*
For the Seeker to become the Finder, they first have to answer the question, "Are you ready to heal yourself?" How they answer this question will determine the next step...
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.
Over the years, it's been my pleasure to make the acquaintance of many spiritual seekers. So many people are looking for answers, knowing that it's out there, seemingly just out of reach. Someday, if they keep the faith and continue their search, they will find the answer that will unlock the doors to their eternal happiness.
They want the answer. In their heart, they know what it is they're looking for. God only knows how many lifetimes they've been looking for it. Ask them to put it into words and almost all will give a baffled look. Put it into words? It seems almost sacrilegious to do so.
There comes a point when a seeker is on the path that they have to decide if they really want to find. In order to find, they are going to have to be willing to heal themselves. Answers provide healing. And sometimes, when there is a hurt to be healed, it can get messy.
Do you really want to know the answer you're looking for? Or are you more amused with the sport of seeking? After all, seeking can be so much fun. The answer can be had at the next workshop, seminar, class, retreat, lecture, study group or symposium they attend.
You know, and I know, that the answer they seek is not outside of themselves. The answer awaits within. This is sad news for the seeker. They keep themselves so busy with their search. It doesn't seem prudent to sit down and go within looking for the answer. It's so noisy in there. Who can think? Let alone ask the question. Can't someone just give them the answer?
Sometimes, that works. More times than not, however, an answer given freely is not appreciated. That's the easy way out. "I can't accept that as my answer; how do you know it's what I'm looking for? I' not even sure of the question!"
*heavy sigh*
For the Seeker to become the Finder, they first have to answer the question, "Are you ready to heal yourself?" How they answer this question will determine the next step...
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Sunday, December 19, 2010
When Life Becomes Hopeless...
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Everything that is, or has been, created has been created twice. Once in the spiritual, or energetic, realm and once in the physical realm. Every idea is conceptualized before being manifested. The Master tells us "Believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth and, if you do not doubt, what you say will come to pass."And this is the creative paradigm; thought, word, deed.
Even God plays by these rules. God had the idea for light. He could see it as a concept. But it wasn't until God said, "Let there be light" that there was light. It didn't happen, even though He had it as an idea, before He said it. God had to say it in order for it to manifest in the physical realm. Yes, it's a parable, it metaphoric, but it was no accident that it was written in just this way. In fact, as the story goes, God said 9 different things that hadn't manifested until He said so.
Now, when we're looking at creative energies, there are distinct levels that have different intensities. The lowest creative (or weakest) is "hope". Hope is where we have an idea and very little certainty as to our ability to make manifest. We can hope for something, but once another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our creation can be destroyed.
The next level of creative energy is "belief". Belief offers a little more certainty than hope and when another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our creation might not be as easily destroyed.
The next level of creative energy is "certainty". Certainty is where we have an idea and even when another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our ability to manifest our creation is unwavering and comes to pass.
Let me give you a simple example; Let's say you decide it would be nice to take in a movie. There's a new release out and it stars your favorite actor. The pre-release buzz and hype whets your appetite and you decide to see it. Looking at the clock, you plan on how much time it will take to get to the movies. You decide you want to arrive in time to get some popcorn, a drink and a good seat. "I'm going to the movies! I'll be back later!!" you cry out. Your intention is set and now all you have to do is make it happen.
Your degree of certainty will determine how you experience this creation.
As you're driving to the movies, you find yourself stuck in traffic. As you look at the clock, you will make adjustments, again, according to your creative forces.
If you are hoping to see the movie and make your timeline, you would recalculate the time it might take to make it to the movies. Questions will come up "will there be parking? What if I take a different route? What if there's a line for the popcorn? If I can't get a good seat, what's the point?" Confusion creeps in. One thought attracts a like thought and another. Your head is swimming with "what if's?" If and when you finally make it to the movies, it's going to take some time to recover and finally start enjoying the movie.
If you are believing you'll make it to the movie, as you hit the traffic, you might recalculate the time it's going to take to get there. Decisions are made a bit quicker than when you're hoping. You believe you're still going to make it in time. There's still some doubt. There's a chance you might miss the coming attractions and might have to settle on less than a great seat. You still believe you're going to make it, but have a little doubt how it's all going to play out. By the time you get to the movies, time might be needed to let out a sigh of relief and settle in and enjoy the movie.
If you have certainty that you'll see the movie, even when the traffic comes up, you will be undaunted. It's not seen as a problem at all, but a situation that needs to be dealt with. You are certain you will make it. There is no doubt. A new route is selected, you're out of traffic, hit all the green lights, find a parking spot, happily stroll to the theatre, get your popcorn and drink and find a great seat. Just as the coming attractions start rolling! Just like you planned it all along. In fact, if you hadn't hit that traffic, you would have arrived too early and had to wait for the show to begin!
Can you see that? Can you see how it works? Do you see what it is that effects the hope and belief? Yes, it's doubt. Let's review how it's stated: "Believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth and if you do not doubt, whatever you say shall come to pass."
Doubt can certainly effect our creations. And it can erode our certainty. In fact, it can be stated that certainty destroys doubt, and doubt destroys certainty.
Hope and Belief are separate levels of Certainty, each with its own opportunity for doubt to enter. It depends on how clear your own creative energy is. When the clarity of our creativity is high, the space between hope, belief and certainty narrows. In fact, we can become so adept at this process that our doubt never gets to the Hope scale.
And this is when you can tell that you've mastered the process: Life becomes hopeless!
.
.
.
.
Everything that is, or has been, created has been created twice. Once in the spiritual, or energetic, realm and once in the physical realm. Every idea is conceptualized before being manifested. The Master tells us "Believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth and, if you do not doubt, what you say will come to pass."And this is the creative paradigm; thought, word, deed.
Even God plays by these rules. God had the idea for light. He could see it as a concept. But it wasn't until God said, "Let there be light" that there was light. It didn't happen, even though He had it as an idea, before He said it. God had to say it in order for it to manifest in the physical realm. Yes, it's a parable, it metaphoric, but it was no accident that it was written in just this way. In fact, as the story goes, God said 9 different things that hadn't manifested until He said so.
Now, when we're looking at creative energies, there are distinct levels that have different intensities. The lowest creative (or weakest) is "hope". Hope is where we have an idea and very little certainty as to our ability to make manifest. We can hope for something, but once another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our creation can be destroyed.
The next level of creative energy is "belief". Belief offers a little more certainty than hope and when another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our creation might not be as easily destroyed.
The next level of creative energy is "certainty". Certainty is where we have an idea and even when another thing to the contrary comes into our awareness, our ability to manifest our creation is unwavering and comes to pass.
Let me give you a simple example; Let's say you decide it would be nice to take in a movie. There's a new release out and it stars your favorite actor. The pre-release buzz and hype whets your appetite and you decide to see it. Looking at the clock, you plan on how much time it will take to get to the movies. You decide you want to arrive in time to get some popcorn, a drink and a good seat. "I'm going to the movies! I'll be back later!!" you cry out. Your intention is set and now all you have to do is make it happen.
Your degree of certainty will determine how you experience this creation.
As you're driving to the movies, you find yourself stuck in traffic. As you look at the clock, you will make adjustments, again, according to your creative forces.
If you are hoping to see the movie and make your timeline, you would recalculate the time it might take to make it to the movies. Questions will come up "will there be parking? What if I take a different route? What if there's a line for the popcorn? If I can't get a good seat, what's the point?" Confusion creeps in. One thought attracts a like thought and another. Your head is swimming with "what if's?" If and when you finally make it to the movies, it's going to take some time to recover and finally start enjoying the movie.
If you are believing you'll make it to the movie, as you hit the traffic, you might recalculate the time it's going to take to get there. Decisions are made a bit quicker than when you're hoping. You believe you're still going to make it in time. There's still some doubt. There's a chance you might miss the coming attractions and might have to settle on less than a great seat. You still believe you're going to make it, but have a little doubt how it's all going to play out. By the time you get to the movies, time might be needed to let out a sigh of relief and settle in and enjoy the movie.
If you have certainty that you'll see the movie, even when the traffic comes up, you will be undaunted. It's not seen as a problem at all, but a situation that needs to be dealt with. You are certain you will make it. There is no doubt. A new route is selected, you're out of traffic, hit all the green lights, find a parking spot, happily stroll to the theatre, get your popcorn and drink and find a great seat. Just as the coming attractions start rolling! Just like you planned it all along. In fact, if you hadn't hit that traffic, you would have arrived too early and had to wait for the show to begin!
Can you see that? Can you see how it works? Do you see what it is that effects the hope and belief? Yes, it's doubt. Let's review how it's stated: "Believe it in your heart and say it with your mouth and if you do not doubt, whatever you say shall come to pass."
Doubt can certainly effect our creations. And it can erode our certainty. In fact, it can be stated that certainty destroys doubt, and doubt destroys certainty.
Hope and Belief are separate levels of Certainty, each with its own opportunity for doubt to enter. It depends on how clear your own creative energy is. When the clarity of our creativity is high, the space between hope, belief and certainty narrows. In fact, we can become so adept at this process that our doubt never gets to the Hope scale.
And this is when you can tell that you've mastered the process: Life becomes hopeless!
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