"Spiritually Speaking" by Rev. Carla Golden

"The Cove" - An Important New Movie

A very important documentary film opened last week in LA and NY. I am looking forward to seeing it. Here is what I have read:

"The Cove,"is a must see for anyone who cares about the planet. Winner of audience awards across the world, including Sundance, "The Cove" follows a team of activists and filmmakers as they infiltrate a heavily-guarded cove in Taiji, Japan.

The movie is about a small town with a big secret and you can be one of the many people who are going to be moved by this film and pushed to action. The single most powerful thing everyone who sees "The Cove" can do is to spread the word.

"The Cove" will be opening at other cities this weekend.

Click hereto see where "The Cove" is playing near you.

To learn more about the film and how to take action, please visit TakePart.com

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

"Individually we make a difference. Collectively we transform the world."  Elizabeth Haugen

Science Confirms It: You Are the Light

Scientists in Japan have conducted studies which confirm that a light or glow emits from individuals at different strengths throughout the day. According to the studies, the glow rises and falls throughout the day and seems to hit its peak around 4:00 p.m. and then gradually weakens again. Faces glowed more than the rest of the body in these experiments.

The glow is not apparent to the human eye, these scientists report; it required a camera which is more sensitive and which photographs photons (a discrete bundle or 'quantum' of electromagnetic  energy).

So, our bodies are seemingly made up of this electromagnetic energy or photons and this energy is constantly in motion and has no mass. The Japanese scientists believe that the glow has to do with chemical reactions involving free radicals. But could it be that this glow comes from the soul energy or consciousness?

Have you ever seen a person's "aura"? Back in 1987, during the Harmonic Convergence, I experienced this ability as did many people who gathered on Chicago's lakefront on the day of this event. We were all meditating and praying for peace and when we opened our eyes, we saw a colorful glow surrounding many of the people who were attending. We began to talk with one another about this occurence and, for most of us, this was the first time we had experienced it. For me, it was a one-time experience and hasn't happened since. But there are some people for which this is common and they consider it a gift.

Regardless of what we believe, it is interesting to consider the possibilities. And it is important to always keep our mind open. I think most of us would acknowledge that there is more to us than meets the eye, and we are greater and more complex than science might ever be able to explain.

Cellular Memory

I just finished an amazing book called "A Change of Heart." It is the memoir of Claire Sylvia, the recipient of a  heart-lung transplant back in the 80's. It is inspiring and, for some people, a mind-blowing look at how organ recipients are affected by their transplants and donors.

Right after her surgery, Claire found she had an unusual craving for beer and Chicken McNuggets, things she had never been interested in before her transplant. She later learned from the family of the donor that her organs came from an 18-year old boy who loved both. In fact, they said "Tim" never drove by a KFC without stopping for McNuggets. There were a number of other changes that occurred after Claire received Tim's organs that she was later able to confirm were linked to Tim.

You may feel that this is coincidental and shrug it off, but studies have shown that Claire is not the only transplant patient who has had this experience. It is common. Why does it happen? There are many theories.

One theory is that our cells have a consciousness and memory of their own. Cells have intelligence, can reproduce and grow and responds to stimuli of all kinds.

In a research study, cells were scraped from a person's mouth and attached somehow to a machine which recorded reactions. When the donor of those cells was exposed to a situation which brought on extreme emotions, the cells reacted, even though they were no longer in that person's body.

If cells are intelligent and perhaps have a memory of their own, then it would seem natural that transplanted organs made up of millions of cells, would transfer memories. Those who have experienced this phenomenon have reported that these transferred memories or changes in preferences, faded over time or were gradually incorporated into the person's life to where they felt natural.

Life is complex and very much a mystery. Our bodies and minds are so remarkable that we are discovering every day new and exciting things about them. We are an incredible creation and only using  a fraction of the capabilities that we were born with. As the scientists say, the average person only utilizes 10% of their brain's abilities. Imagine what we will accomplish when we learn to tap into and utilize the additional 90%.

Another thing to consider...if you've not signed the back of your drivers license to be an organ donor, why not do so. And tell your family so they will know your wishes. Claire Sylvia is alive because a family made the decision to reach out in their grief and help someone else.

If you are interested in purchasing the book, "A Change of Heart," click on the Recommended Books link to Amazon. If you are a subscriber through Feedblitz or Feedburner, you will need to click over to the blog first using the underlined link above.

God According to Physicists

There is a tendency on the part of some Christians to see science as the enemy of religion. But many scientists are very spiritual. They may not be a member of an organized religion, but they believe in a higher power.

Max Planck, the father of quantum physics, writes: "All exists by nature of a Force. Behind the Force we must assume an intelligent mind. This Force is the matrix of all matter."

Max Planck is talking about God. Think about it. The father of quantum physics is saying that God holds everything together and is within all matter--human, animal, and everything else. He is saying that God is everywhere present. God is the very glue that holds our cells together. It is a powerful and awesome theory, don't you think? And it means that we can never be separate from God. Something to meditate on today.

If you'd like to read more about how quantum physics merges with spirituality, pick up a copy of The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot (see "Recommended Books" link to purchase from Amazon).

An Inconvenient Truth

Today is the Jewish holiday of Shavuos. It is about humility and blessings. Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger, who is a Board Member of the Coalition On the Environment and Jewish Living (COEJL), wrote the following:

Jewish environmental thinking brings together strands
of traditional Jewish theology and key points of contemporary
environmentalism; among those strands is the recognition that we have to move from thinking of the Earth as a mere resource for human benefit to something that is fundamentally not
"ours" to do with as we please. Some call this the ethic of stewardship, drawing a distinction between a steward and a master: the steward recognizes that he is not the owner, but one appointed to guard and protect something precious. Stewardship implies humility,thoughtfulness, and self-control, which any environmental thinker would agree are qualities that our society needs to rebalance its relationship with the Earth we live on.Click on the link to read more:
<http://www.coejl.org/celebrate/shv_humility.php>

I agree with the rabbi. We are stewards of this earth, and so far we have not been good ones. We have to do better because the very life of this planet depends on it. I encourage you to go see the documentary movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," about global warming. It is opening this week at a limited number of theatres around the country. Log on to: http://www.climatecrisis.net/ to read more about the movie, when and where you can see it. It's critical that as many people as possible go to see this movie the first week so that the theatres will continue to show it. Unfortunately, box office receipts determine if a movie stays in the theatres. This is an important movie and needs to be seen by everyone in the country.  Get the word out by telling all your friends, relatives and neighbors.

Religion and Science

For those of you who may have missed it, a new black hole has been discovered by astronomers.  It lies in the center of our galaxy and is called Sagittarius A. It is believed to be as large in diameter as the radius of Earth's orbit or four million times larger than the Sun. A black hole is formed when matter from a dying star collapses under its own gravity.

There is so much about our universe that we do not know. I am a believer in science and evolution and I am also a believer in God. My concept of God is different than the fundamentalist Christian view. My view of us is that we are all evolving souls that have come to experience human existence on this planet. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. As we awaken to this truth, we evolve and become more enlightened. We begin to live our lives from the standpoint that we are powerful expressions of God and can create through our thoughts and our beliefs. With this awareness comes responsibility. How are we going to create? Consciously or unconsciously? With love or with hate?

I do not believe in a God that is in human form sitting on a cloud in the sky looking like Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. To me, God is an energy, a divine essence at the core of us. It is that force of goodness and love within us that is unchanging regardless of what our human personality may choose to say or do. That force is within you and me now, waiting to be used to make our life and the world a better place. In the movie, "Star Wars" the characters would say, "May the force be with you." Well, the truth is that "the Force" is always with us. It is a part of who we are.