Spirit Room

The other night at the Magdalene Circle Sedona, the presenter shared the following. When I heard it I chuckled, nodded in agreement, cringed, smiled, felt relief… Comments welcomed below

Dear Human:

You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering. But unconditional love? Stop telling that story. Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives. It doesn’t require modifiers. It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. And do your best. That you stay present and feel fully. That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU. It’s enough. It’s Plenty.

- Courtney A. Walsh

Celebrating Thanksgiving as an adult has always been different each year for me. This has mainly been due to my being single until about 50, with very little family. One year standing in the cold at the Macy’s parade in NYC with friends… another year flying early Thanksgiving morning from Taos, NM to Dallas, TX to be with a dear friend and her family… and, still another year, hosting a dinner for five women friends my first year living in Gilbert, AZ. It has been a holiday marked by little if no traditions or consistency, something that I pined for. Until recent years.

Since Thanksgiving 2004 there has been one consistency, a person, Roger Wyer, my beloved. Yes, this was our 9th holiday together. We’ve celebrated it differently each year, but always together – surely some kind of record for me!

This year we hosted a dinner at our cozy home in Sedona, AZ. We were joined in celebration and gratitude with dear friends and Rog’s mom, and enjoyed meaningful conversation mostly around spirituality and great food, of course.

And, I played a song that I consider my special Thanksgiving prayer (although it is relevant every day). I was delighted that our guests resonated with it and appreciated it as I do. “May the Light of Love,” by David Roth, is upbeat and folksy, and the lyrics are precious and pretty much say it all for me. Here’s the opening verse:

As we come around to take our places at the table
A moment to remember and reflect upon our wealth
Here’s to loving friends and family, here’s to being able
To gather here together in good company and health.

You can read the rest of the verses in my “You, Me, and Spirit” blog. Your comments are most welcomed!

Here’s a childhood story from Norman Vincent Peale with some poignant wisdom and guidance.

When my brother Bob and I were small boys growing up in Ohio, our father used to take us sometimes to an amusement park where one of the attractions was a maze, a labyrinth of artfully planned mirrors in which it was possible to get completely lost. Wherever you looked, whichever passage you chose, you ended by running into a reflection of yourself.

Being a minister, my father couldn’t resist pointing out a moral. “This maze,” he would say, “is just like life. No matter where you go, you can’t escape from yourself. So you had better try to be a worthwhile person, because you’ll never get away from that person no matter what you do!”

That was a valid lesson, and I remember it still. But what I remember best is the very first time we entered the maze and I somehow got separated from Bob and my father. Becoming more and more panicky, I finally cried for help. What a relief it was to hear my father’s strong, reassuring tones: “This way, Norman. I’m right over here. Just follow my voice. I’m right over here!”

And so he was. What a blessing it was to find him. And what a blessing it is to know that whenever we’re feeling lost of panicky as we move through life, a Person of infinite strength and love is calling out to us, “Just follow My voice and you’ll find the Way. I’m right over here!”

- Norman Vincent Peale, Daily Guideposts, 1994

Perhaps you’re familiar with the 1977 movie “Oh, God!” starring George Burns and John Denver, based on the novel by Avery Corman. The story centers on unassuming supermarket manager Jerry Landers (Denver), chosen by God (Burns) to spread his message, despite the skepticism of the media, religious authorities, and Landers’ wife (Teri Garr).

Although I was a John Denver fan at that time, I had not been interested in the movie because in those days I was a ‘devout’ atheist. So these many years later, after much personal and spiritual growth, I recently watched it for the first time with Unity friends.

I was amazed at the messages that were relayed in this movie 35 years ago and at the courage and awareness of the author, and all others who chose to be involved in this project. The material is spiritual, not religious, and thought-provoking. God’s messages then, as now, are timeless.

Here are some memorable quotes:

God: Why is it so hard for you to believe? Is my physical existence any more improbable than your own? What about all that hoo-ha with the devil awhile ago from that movie? Nobody had any problem believing that the devil took over and existed in a little girl. All she had to do was wet the rug, throw up some pea soup and everybody believed. The devil you could believe, but not God? I work in my own way. I don’t, I don’t get inside little children; they got enough to do just being themselves.  (more…)

During last night’s “Know Thyself: Become the Expert in Your Field” offered by websitesandcoffee.com, it became clear to me that no matter what one’s vocation is, we are all here to help progress healing in others. This, of course, helps in our healing as well.

So whether I coach people in website development, or you design jewelry, provide therapeutic massage, are an author, or a banker (yes, even that!), when we meet our client, it is an encounter for healing. An opportunity is present for awakening.

Of course, it doesn’t matter if the encounter is in the context of business – that’s really just a façade, an excuse if you will, to meet – or social. For “…where two or more are gathered in My name…,” it is a holy encounter indeed.