"Spiritually Speaking" by Rev. Carla Golden

The wisdom and love of Mother Teresa

Mothere Teresa would be 100 years old if she was alive today. Her words are alive though, and they continue to inspire us. Watch this video and be reminded of what is really important in life. What can you do today to show love and kindness to another human being?

Love is the New Religion: Join Us in the Conscious Army

There is a movement now--call it the Conscious Army. Rather than focusing on war, this army is focused on love. The goal of this army is to transform the energy of this planet and raise consciousness. Would you like to join our army? Or maybe you've already joined and didn't even know it. Use the link below and check out the short video, which will explain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89FNX7v3Zls&feature=player_embedded

Peace and Namaste!

 

The Perfect Mother

It's Mother's Day and mothers all across the country are being taken out to dinner and presented with cards, flowers, and other tokens of love and appreciation. Yesterday, at Wal-Mart, I was in line at the checkout behind a girl who looked to be about 13. She had a single rose, a bottle of perfume and a package of gum laid out in front of her. She took a wad of $1 bills from her pocket and counted them out. She had just enough to cover the gifts that she intended to give her mom.

I heard an interview the other day with mothers from different parts of the country and the common theme was that no mother thought she was perfect. They all felt that they had let down their children in one way or the other. None of them expressed that they were satisfied with their performance in their role as mother.

My mom wasn't perfect. She did a lot of things that I needed to forgive her for later. But from where I am right now in my consciousness, I believe that she was the perfect mother for me. Can you say that about your mom?

There are two things that I believe that help me embrace this idea. One is that we do not die. Our bodies die, but our souls live on. When you believe that nothing is truly fatal and that we will live on in some form or another, whatever happens to us in this current lifetime cannot endanger the eternal nature of our souls.

The second thing I believe is that our souls choose to be born into a certain situation and body for the purpose of learning lessons and experiencing life from a different perspective from the last lifetime (yes, I believe in reincarnation). In other words, we may actually choose our own mother and father. Maybe we've been with them in other lifetimes and perhaps we have even been their parent that time around.

Not only would we choose our mother to learn lessons in our relationship with her, but perhaps we agreed to provide her with an experience that her soul needed for its spiritual evolvement.

The book, The Little Soul and the Sun by Neale Donald Walsch is a wonderful illlustration of this idea. The "Little Soul" decides that it wants to learn about the concept of forgiveness and another soul agrees to show up in its life to do something that would require the Little Soul to forgive. It helps us to see the acts of others as more of a gift to us rather than something that we might see as needing to forgive. It also can help us see that perhaps we are not the victims in life, but maybe the orchestrators of situations in our lives for our highest good (remember, we are eternal, spiritual beings having a human experience).

As you consider your own mother, whether you saw her as the most wonderful mother in the world or a woman who you would have gladly traded in for a new model, think about what you learned in your relationship with that mother. What did you learn about yourself? What spiritual growth has come from your relationship with this other soul? Who are you as a person that you wouldn't have been without her presence in your life? Can you truly acknowledge that although this woman may not have been perfect, that maybe she was the perfect mother for you to evolve spiritually and awaken to the beauty and power of your true nature? It may be a big step for you, but it can be life changing. Try working with this idea and see what happens.

Mom Hit Us With Her Fist

A fellow New Thought minister and online friend wrote this poem. It moved me deeply. If you grew up in an abusive home, you may relate to her pain. Susanne has now found love in her life. She has done a lot of healing and is now helping others. It is a testament to the strength and courage of her spirit and the power of love. If you are experiencing abuse in your life right now, reach out for help. Tell someone--a pastor, friend, the police. If you are an abuser, the same is true: reach out for help. Now.

 

 

 

Mom hit us with her fist.  Hard.

She also hit me over the head 

with 1" thick broom sticks,

I can still feel the dent--

she striped our legs with lathe

 or switches, smacking with

either side of her hand,

hitting me with an iron skillet. Cold.

Anything that was handy really--

if she was mad and I was nearby.  

Mom slugged me when I was tiny.

I would fly across the room

and land on the furniture,

arms and legs akimbo, stunned.

Or I'd smash into a wall and drop

to the floor in a shriveled pile. 

I don't remember being hugged

or kissed, or having my hand held

gently, kindly, guidingly.

I remember my arm being jerked

one way or another,

lifted off the ground like a rag doll

My shoulder painful, sore. 

I don't remember being loved, but I remember loving,

I remember loving each of

my two sisters and two brothers,

and even the one who was sent away—

Adopted by strangers,

not spoken of aloud by the adults

in the room, whispered about

with my sister under the woven bedcover

in the chilly darkness at our grandparents,

or in the wagon wheel bunk beds,

When we were lonely and wished for someone

to love us more than a fist.

 

Please visit Susanne Freeborn on her blog: http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=97018

Living in the Past

There was a woman in my hometown who wore the same hairstyle for 60 years and also the same style of clothing. It was as if time stood still in Gertrude's life. She was quite satisfied with her outdated hairstyle and dress and it didn't bother her a bit that other people made comments and laughed behind her back.

Gertrude is one example of living in the past, but there are other examples that are not as harmless. There are people that live in the past through their anger and unforgiveness.

My father was once contacted by a man that he had served in the army with in WWII. The man was in the area and wanted to stop by and see my father. My father agreed to it, but when the man came over, my father was not very friendly to the man. In fact, he was downright rude. Later, my dad acknowledged that this man had done something that upset him when they were in the army together.

I was shocked that my father was still holding a grudge against this man 45 years later. I have no idea whether the man even remembered whatever it was that he had done all those years ago that made my father angry, but I'm sure he left shaking his head and wondering.

Any time we hold a grudge or retain anger against someone, we are living in the past. We cannot be fully present in the moment when we refuse to take our foot out of the door of the past. Have you ever noticed that you cannot walk into another room unless you remove your foot from the room that you want to leave?

Jesus told his disciples at one point to "shake the dust from your feet" and move on. His point was that we cannot carry the past with us if we are going to move forward. We must be willing to shake off the negativity, anger and resentment that we may feel about someone if we want to move on with our lives and be totally free. Otherwise, we live in bondage to our emotions and are connected to the person that we feel these strong emotions towards even though they may not be physically present in our lives.

Are you chained to your past? Is there someone in your life that you need to release through forgiveness? Take time to do that now so that you can be in this moment, fully present and free from bondage.

I Believe...

Sometimes our attitudes need a little adjustment. Here is something that a minister friend sent me that has some wonderful reminders about relationships and what is important in life.

I BELIEVE

I believe-

that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe-

that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe-

that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.  Same goes for true love.

I believe-

that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe-

that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe-

that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe-

that you can keep going long after you can't.

I believe

that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe-

that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe-

that regardless of how special a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I believe-

that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe-

that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe

that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe-

that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe-

that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel or rude.

I believe-

that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe-

that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays

you've had.

I believe-

that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-

that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe-

that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other and just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe-

that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe-

that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe-

that your life can be changed in a matter of seconds by people who don't even know you.

I believe-

that even when you think you have no more to give, when a true friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I believe-

that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

-- Anonymous

Professing and Practicing Our Religion

There are many people who claim to have found God, who are "saved", redeemed or who have been baptized. There are those who have confessed their sins and received their penance. Many have prayed for forgiveness and found peace. But how many people have been changed at depth by their religion and who truly practice its teachings? How many Christians follow the teachings of Jesus?

There are professed Christians who kneel in prayer on Sunday at church and then cheat on their husband or wife. There are "born again" Christians who spread messages of hatred and intolerance. There is much hypocrisy on the part of followers of all religions.

Is it because we are incapable of staying true to these ideals? I don't think so. Jesus showed us that it is possible. Jesus even boiled the Ten Commandments down into just one; the most important one of all, he said, was to love others and to love ourselves. Simple, straight-forward and with no "but" on the end.

And yet, it is probably the hardest commandment of all to follow. We can find many excuses not to love some of the people that show up in our lives. There are those people we feel have wronged us personally in some way or who commit horrible acts in the world. It is easy to say that they do not deserve love. But can we be like Jesus and choose to see that which is within them that is holy, sacred and divine? Jesus could see the soul of each person and regardless of the life they had led, know that they were capable of something greater. If we could only look at someone and see the "Christ" within, to see beyond what they have done to who they are at the depths of their soul--then that is love.

Today, if you encounter someone that you find it difficult to love, be willing to see the spark of the divine that dwells within that person. They may not know that it is there but by you acknowledging it, maybe someday they will too.

And don't forget to see that same goodness within yourself. For some people, it is harder to see that "Christ" spirit within themselves than it is to see it in others. How do you see it? Stand before a mirror for five minutes and look into your own eyes. There will be a soul looking back at you that you may not recognize. It is the real you--a holy child of the Universe.

Grudges--Living in the Past

I work part-time as the volunteer coordinator for a senior care center. The center has many residents who have various stages of dementia, including Alzheimer's. What I have learned being around these people, is that they do not harbor grudges. Because of their memory loss, they live in the moment and do not remember things or people that upset them the day before.

A man that my father served with in the Army during WWII, came through my hometown in Kansas back in the 1990's. He called and asked if he could come see my father. They had not seen each other since the war ended, so I thought this would be a wonderful reunion.

However, fifty years ago this man did something that my father did not like and which my father had never forgotten. When the man came to the house, Daddy was very cool to him. He still harbored resentment towards this man and let it stand in the way of them having a nice visit. I was surprised at my father's behavior and how tightly he still clung to his grudge.

When we hold a grudge against someone we are living in the past rather than the present. We're not able to truly embrace and enjoy the present and all it has to offer when we are clinging to the past. Is there someone from your past that you are harboring a grudge against or feeling resentment towards? If so, why not make a conscious decision to release it? Try focusing on the positive attributes of this person. See them through the eyes of your inner Christ.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. [Philippians 4:8]

Taking Time to Talk

I recently saw this story and thought I'd share it with you for Father's Day. It's a good reminder to all of us about "Taking Time to Talk".

For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 a.m., except Sunday, and went to work. For 52 years he returned home at 5:30 p.m., like clockwork, for dinner at 6:00 p.m. I never remember my father taking a "night out with the boys," nor do I ever recall my father drinking.

All he asked from me as his daughter was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other. I never saw my father home from work ill, nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap. He had no hobbies, other than taking care of his family.

For the 22 years since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. He was always interested in my life, how my family was doing, and I never once heard him lament about his lot in life. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.

Nine years ago when I purchased my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days in the 80-degree Kansas heat, painting my house. All he asked, was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk to my father.

Five years ago at age 71 again in the sweltering Kansas heat, my father spent five hours putting together a swing set for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.

Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight foot Colorado Blue Spruce in his trunk, so that my husband and I could have a part of Colorado growing on our land. I was preparing for a trip that weekend and couldn't spend much time tallied to Daddy.

The morning or Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister's home in Florida. We conversed about the tree he had brought me, "Fat Albert," but that morning he called the tree "Fat Oscar," and he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the previous week. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 p.m., that day, my father was in the hospital in Florida with an aneurysm. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I thought of all the times I had not taken the time to talk to my father.

I realized that I had no idea who he was or what his deepest thoughts were. I vowed that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him.

I arrived in Florida at 1 a.m., my father had passed away at 9:12 p.m. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.

In the years since his death I have learned much about my father, and even more about myself. As a father he never asked me for anything but my time, now he has all my attention, every single day.

~ Author Unknown ~

If your father is still alive, why not call him today. Don't wait to reach out and connect. We never know what tomorrow will bring.

A World Without Hate

Can you imagine a world without hate? I can. In my mind, it would be a place where we focus on our similarities rather than our differences. We would focus on our oneness as brothers and sisters of humanity. We would see that there is only one race--the human race.

I see us all as cells in the body of God. Each of us is important to the whole--a piece of the divine jigsaw puzzle, you might say. When we do our part to reflect the love of God into the world and the universe, our cell is active and alive. When we come from fear, prejudice hatred and disharmony, we are not functioning to the greatest good of the whole--we are like a dysfunctional cell, working against the natural order of life.

I invite you to view the short music video that I have linked below. It is by a wonderful couple, Karl and Jeanne Anthony, who travel the world with their songs of peace, love and oneness.  This video has been on Utube and has gotten rave reviews. Their song is called, "If I Had One Prayer." After you watch it, please send it on to your friends and family. I'd like to see us spread this message around the world. We need it now, more than ever.

http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com/1p.html

And, if you'd like more information on Karl and Jeanne, and a chance to hear more of Karl's songs, here is a link to Karl's site on myspace.

http://myspace.com/karlanthonyLIVE