"Spiritually Speaking" by Rev. Carla Golden

Enlightened Leaders - Are you one?

I recently read an article entitled “We Must Lead Ourselves Before We Can Lead Others”. That idea struck me as being spot on. I believe the most enlightened and successful leaders are those who are consistently growing and changing. They are growing as a result of their own spiritual journey and are using the gifts from life challenges to evolve in consciousness and then inspire others to do the same.

 

Enlightened leaders realize that growth comes from letting go—of the way things have been, ideas and beliefs that have been outgrown and are inconsistent with desired results, and behaviors that are habitual or self-defeating and not in integrity. Often, something has to “die” in order for new growth can take place. The apostle Paul wrote, “I die daily.” If we are truly allowing ourselves to grow and change, this is true for us. If we are stuck in our old habits, comfort zones, ideas and ways of behaving, then it isn’t.

 

The enlightened leaders acknowledge that they don’t have all the answers and are willing to live with ambiguity. They are open-minded about answers, open to the suggestions of others and don’t see things as black or white, right or wrong, good or bad. They see that things can be “both/and” rather than “either/or” and are inclusive in their approach to leadership.

 

When I think of the enlightened leaders that I have known, they have inspired me to be a better person, sharing their experiences, challenges and mistakes and being able to laugh at them as well as learn from them. The greatest of these leaders stand out because of their compassion and caring hearts. They genuinely care about the organizations and people they are serving. It isn't just a job. When the heart and mind are engaged, it comes together. But if the heart isn’t engaged, there is a shallowness, something missing. The saying that comes to mind is, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I don’t know who said it, but I agree with it.

 

Think about the enlightened leaders you have known. What characteristics did they have? Are you striving to emulate those leaders in your own life? Are you leading yourself before you seek to lead others?

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 Butterfly Effect

There is something called "The Butterfly Effect" which is the idea that the flap of one butterfly's wings can alter weather patterns across the globe.

This is a great metaphor for the effect that all of us can have in the world through our small acts of kindess and volunteerism.

I was the coordinator for a program called Mother to Mother. It was a mentoring program for mothers who were often young, single, struggling financially, and/or from abusive relationships. I paired these mothers up with another more experienced mother who I had trained as a mentor. The change in these "Partner Mothers" was often dramatic. They learned to trust and found out healthy ways of parenting that they had not experienced in their own childhood. They grew to feel empowered and several of the mothers went back to school to get training in massage therapy or in the medical field so that they could get off public assistance and be self-sufficient. This all came as a result of another mother giving four to six hours a month to be a listening ear and a person who did not judge but rather encouraged another woman who had felt discouraged and without hope.

Churches today need to find a way to serve the greater community. Our church in Hollywood, Florida opened its heart to the homeless. A woman who had only been attending the church for a short time, shared with the congregation one Sunday that she had been homeless herself, living out of her car. She wanted to start a project of putting together packets of personal hygiene products for the homeless in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. She contacted various companies and was able to obtain donations of various products such as soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Then on Saturday mornings, volunteers from the congregation got together and assembled the care packets along with a copy of Unity "Prayer for Protection". Over 1,000 packets were distributed to the homeless.

Programs such as the one for the homeless at Unity of Hollywood and the mentoring program of Mother to Mother have the ability to produce a butterfly effect in the world. Each act of kindness sends out an energy of love and compassion that can't help but spread, creating more love and kindness effecting the overall energy and vibration of the world at large.

What are you doing to have a "butterfly effect" in the world? What is your part to play in changing the consciousness of this planet? Listen to your heart and then spread your wings and fly.

 

The Odd Couple: A Story We Humans Can Learn From

Every now and then, I get one of these emails with a story that touches my heart and gives me hope for mankind. The link below is to a short video of a story of friendship between two unlikely animals. I couldn't watch it without tears coming to my eyes. The message? If these two creatures can form such a bond--why can't we humans learn to get along and love one another despite our differences?

Download TheAnimalOddCouple

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

"What About Me" -- A Great Song, Video, and Message

Someone sent me the link to this video (5 mins.) on YouTube. I think this video and song, and the message that it sends is powerful. What do you think? (You need to click through the Facebook page to access. It is safe.)

http://www.facebook .com/ext/ share.php? sid=70187553384& h=ECcq4&u= O0Li4

If you want to know more about the creator, Mipham, here is a link:

http://www.mipham. com/home. php

The "Sin" of Indifference and Our Oneness in Spirit

It is estimated that there are 19,000 homeless people living in Detroit. This man in the photo, who has not been identified, was found in the elevator shaft of an abandoned warehouse. The elevator shaft had flooded and frozen and all that can be seen are his legs, his shoes and socks.

How did this man die? Did he give up and take his own life? Starve to death? Die of hypothermia? Did he die of alcoholism or drug overdose? Was he murdered? Regardless, he seems to have met his death alone. A body encased in ice, the "unknown homeless man" was someone's brother, son, and maybe a father. I wonder about his family as I look at the picture.

The homeless are vulnerable. They often don't know where they're going to sleep or eat or if they'll survive through the night. There are not enough beds in shelters and when the doors close at night and are locked, the ones left outside are forced to find a doorway, alley or even a garbage bin that will provide shelter.

The homesless are also looked at with indifference in the urban areas in which they inhabit. They become almost invisible to the people who pass them on the streets. I lived in a large city for many years and I saw this happen. People got used to them, didn't look at them, ignored them, looked right through them. Well-dressed pedestrians walked down the streets, eyes averted, not wanting to make eye contact. Was it fear? Guilt? Shame?

In the case of this homeless man in Detroit, indifference even applied to the discovery of this dead man. His body had been discovered a week prior to its recovery, but the finder did not report it. He told a friend, who later called 911. The finder, an "urban explorer" who liked to prowl through abandoned buildings and take pictures of urban decay, had not wanted to admit that he was trespassing. So he and his buddies played hockey on the ice of the flooded warehouse basement and left.

The next time you encounter a homeless person, remember this man. Don't look away. The tragedy of homeless is one thing, but indifference is another. Every human being has worth. They deserve to be acknowledged. Mother Teresa, who worked with the poor, sick and homeless in Calcutta, India did not look away or show indifference. She looked directly into the eyes of these people. She said she saw Christ in the face of each one.

In Sanskrit, the word "namasté" is said to mean "The light in me honors the light (or divine) in you." If we cannot see that light in others, how can we truly see it in ourselves? For we are all one in Spirit; we are brothers and sisters joined together in our Christhood.

Playing the Cards You Are Dealt: Randy Pausch & "The Last Lecture"

Randy Pausch made his transition last week. His talk, “The Last Lecture” has had over five million hits on the internet. People are hungry for the inspiration and encouragement that Randy offered in his talk, which was given to the students at Carnegie Mellon, but which was really written for the benefit of his three young children.

 

Randy knew that he would not be there for his children as they grew up, and he wanted to leave them with a message that they could listen to time and time again and which would help them when they faced challenges in their own lives.

 

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand,” said Randy.

 

Life dealt Randy pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms. I have known two people who died of this disease. But during the course of his illness, with the time he had left, Randy lived life to the utmost. He didn’t spend much time feeling sorry for himself and he didn’t want anyone else to pity him either.

 

What’s up for you in your life now? What cards are you holding? Are things looking rather bleak? I would suggest that you pick up a copy of Randy’s book, co-authored with Jeffrey Zaslow, which is also entitled The Last Lecture. It’s a relatively quick read filled with Pausch’s wisdom and humor. Small enough to fit into your purse or briefcase, it’s great reading for commuting on the train or for those times when you’re sitting waiting for Mother Nature to take it’s course.

 

I’ll be doing some blogs on some of the topics that Randy wrote about in his book.  In the meantime, if you’d like to listen to Randy’s lecture, which is on YouTube, here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo .  

Crucifixions and Resurrections

When my first husband came to me and asked for a divorce, I felt like my heart had been pierced. As I look back on it now, that was a crucifixion experience for me. I felt like a part of me died that day. My trust evaporated and a hollowness set in that I thought would never be filled again.

But I recovered over time and learned to trust again gradually. My resurrection came little by little, like the sunrise coming over the horizon. My confidence grew and my self-esteem increased. It was a blossoming, of sorts, that continues to this day. Sometimes resurrections take more than three days. But the important thing is that they occur. Just as light follows the darkness and spring follows winter, the small deaths in our lives lead to new life and new beginnings.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

In case you haven't heard, Oprah has picked Eckhart Tolle's new book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, as her latest book club selection. She is also doing an online course with Tolle, starting March 3. This course is free and, so far, over 100,000 people have signed up.

What is the book about? Well, I have to admit that I've only just begun to read it--I'm on page 54. What the cover says is that this is an expansion of the ideas in his  book, The Power of Now, which I read and found to be very inspirational.

According to the back cover, A New Earth is about "transcending our ego-based state of consciousness" to help us find personal happiness but also to help end conflict and suffering throughout the world.

If you'd like to read more about Eckhart Tolle and the class, here is a link:

http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/begin/eckharttolle_invitation.jsp