Are YOU ABLE? Walking & Living Through The Valley of the Shadow of Life & Death!

"Suffering requires us to descend into ourselves. As there is no other way out, we are obliged to call on the power of the soul and spirit. When we succeed in doing so, instead of groaning and crying out in rebellion, we exhale a delicate perfume."

Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

This was the "WORD FOR THE DAY" from gratefulness.org on Friday, Sep. 25.

The timing is good, as I know several peope now walking strictly by the Spirit within them and trying to rise above the daily challenges of life currently surrounding them.


The reason for acknowledging this insight is this: We all can talk about wanting to know God and seek him. We can ALL quote scripture until we're blue in the face, but until we have to walk the walk of FAITH, we honestly do not know what it means to be able to live through spirit!



Living through Spirit, by breathing, is what we do every moment of every day, as we remain alive. But LIVING THROUGH SPIRIT is an activity that is reserved for those who are able to get to a place within themselves where there is absolutely NOTHING else but to "let go and let God!"


From Saturday, September 26, Unity's Daily Word, invites us to "Let Go, Let God" with the following passage:

"I imagine that I have just walked through the desert and have now reached an oasis with refreshing water, a cool breeze and a hammock tied between two shade-giving trees. I have reached a welcome refuge."

Before getting to this place of refuge, we would have exhausted ALL our human resources and our ability to make a change or a difference in our lives.


We would have exhausted ALL our spiritual resources, such as prayer and affirmation. There is only one choice then: to continue to live by going within and seeking and actualizing that connection to SPIRIT, or literally dying to the self, as we know ourselves to be! Either way, it is a giving up of EGO struggles and walking the walk of faith...not knowing day by day...what will unfold.

It is not for the faint hearted.


That's when all the biblical passages about being content where ever we find ourselves become ever more meaningful and poignanat.


Those who are forced to live through Spirit by "happenstance" then begin to realize that there truly is an illusion about life and about being in control of life in their previous walk.

That's when the "Course in Miracles" begins to make sense when it talks about there being "only ONE problem and ONE solution" and that is separation from Spirit!


When we wake up to realize that the life we were and are living in the "flesh," is truly an illusion, then we wake up to the WISDOM and knowledge and connection to the ONLY source of our BEINGNESS: The Spirit within US!

God is Good...and ONLY Good!


He will not force his "beingness" on us, until we invite him through.

This process is a slow journey inward.

At first, it is seductive, as we begin to realize the power within us.


That's when vision boards and treasure mapping ALL WORK!



If we remain committed to going the DISTANCE with the Spirit within, as many find they MUST, then a weird thing begins to happen: Things of the world DO begin to fall away!


That is when the earth "does begin to move" and we become "rattled out of our cages" in life.

More than ANYTHING, we may want to turn back.


But as an old African spiritual says, "hold on," just a little while longer.

Tolstoy says about this period, "The person who suffers to the end will be saved, the says the scripture. Often, a person becomes desperate, stops and even turns back when only a little more effort is needed to reach the goal."


Even if you don't believe Tolstoy, believe me [;-)]! No actually, believe Jesus: "he who is in me is greater than he who is in the world!" 1 John 4:4


No matter what you're going through...and growing through...GIVE UP NOW! DO GIVE UP NOW!


Make the journey easier by laying your burdens down and seeking refuge within.

When you get there...REST...REST...REST!!!


"Be Still and KNOW that I AM God!" Psalm 46: 10


Namaste',

Che'

MONEY...MONEY...MONEY!!!

This picture came in an e-mail this week.

I immediately stopped what I was doing and thought,"Gosh! Wish it were so!"

Based on the excitement from those who had gotten the "forward" before me, I could tell this was an email NO ONE was taking chances about NOT FORWARDING!


You know the song, "Money, money, money (x6); Some people got to have it
Some people really need it!"

Money is the real separator of a man and his friends.

KNOW THIS!

DO NOT WAIT...DO...NOT...WAIT... for a crisis to find out about this!

Do not assume that a friend would give, loan or share even $10.

You honestly do NOT know people...until you have had to deal with them on the issue of money.

At one time in my life, I was casual about money. Didn't pay too much attention to it, as there always seemed to be a flow.

I spent it when I had it, as free as a bird, not thinking of "hoarding" it for a better day.

Then, came "the desert."



You learn.

Without a doubt, I KNOW and have witnessed first-hand the beauty and ugliness ...true ugliness... of people when it comes to money.

There are those who spend ALL their waking moments, obsessed about what they can possess with money. There are those who believe it will give them the status that they believe they NEED to associate with the class of people they WANT!

What they don't know is that MONEY will, and can never, ever buy class! (TRUE CLASS comes from the Spirit within....yet again "Class," as viewed by the world's eye, can be bred into some people.)

On the flip side are those people who handle money with a calm detachment, as serving and doing only good! Look at the late Ted Kennedy and his family as the example of what money and CLASS can DO to serve the common good! In the beginning, it probably was bred but then came Spirit!

Seeing how people operate with money was an awakening for me and a tremendous spiritual lesson and TREMENDOUS SPIRITUAL GROWTH!


There is NO GREATER LESSON about the Spirit of a person than the way he or she interacts with money.


I have heard some of the greatest people who would be spiritual claim ALL MANNER of commitment to God.

Then, ask them about or for MONEY!!!

ASK THEM about SERVING GOD...loving God...doing God's WILL...caring about their fellow man...when it comes to MONEY!

I guess because I never held money as something "SACRED," it truly dismayed me to see and witness the UGLINESS of folks when it comes to talking about or parting with money.

Some people make you want to RUN from their Consciousness and total lack of regard and respect for people...when it involves money.


There are some UGLY FOLKS OUT THERE.


The thing that makes me MOST glad about knowing them and seeing them at their "best" is because we can go a LIFETIME, interacting with, sharing a life, sharing a friendship, sharing our hearts, our homes with people and never ever truly find out about their Souls...until we have an occasion about money.

It's UGLY STUFF!


On the flip side, though, there are those people who share the light of their Spirit, truly, when it comes to sharing money with others.


These are the folks you never, ever really wondered about because the light always went ahead of them to light their way.


There are NO DARK CORNERS hidden in their Soul!

Their reflection was always so transparent for the world. There are absolutely NO hidden pathways or crevices.

Then there are those silent, loving ones.


Those who don't say a thing.

Then comes the "thing" about MONEY!

Their reflection, too, always went ahead of them: if they were dark and brooding, WATCH OUT AND RUN AWAY when it comes to MONEY! If they exuded light and goodwill in their Silence and quietness, WALK UP and see the WELCOME!

Life offers us few surprises!

The thing that we must do...before we are CAUGHT by surprise...IS TO DISCERN.

Pay attention to the people in your lives.

Get to know them. They send out their light or darkness always....in ALL WAYS!


Watch for those that would get preachy when it comes to money, using this as a total camouflage for a lack of compassion and really, coldness.


I've seen it when I've walked with some as a beggar happens by. Or if I share a restaurant meal and have to leave a tip. They do so grudgingly. One person even once said, "let them go out and get a real job," yet is the first to demand first-class service!

At this stage of my life, I believe...truly believe...because of the multiplicity of my experiences, that life can offer me few more surprises.


Sometimes, it does, though.

Thankfully, most of the time, I'm pleasantly surprised.

For that, I'm grateful.

Or...did I finally get wise about people, places and things? Have I truly learned to discern the "truth" of people, through their transparent skin?

I don't know whether I've become more spiritually discerning, more wise to the ways of the world, or simply just more cynical, but as Oprah Winfrey would say, "one thing I know for sure," is that people may try to wear many, many disguises, but few can truly fool me!

Now...back to that pile of MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! that came through my e-mail.



"Gosh. Wish it were so!!!"

Now cut/paste, then listen to the O'Jays sing about "For the Love of Money!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny_j-bAhq68

So true...so sadly...very true!

Namaste',

Che'

Book Review: "How to Use Your Twelve Gifts from God," by William Warch

There are several books written about the 12 powers of man, gifts from the Divine that accompanied us on this journey to Earth. Few books, though, are as simple and straightforward as this 100-page volume by William Warch.

In this volume, published by DeVorss Publications, Warch simply and clearly delineates the 12 Powers with simple, clear definitions before leading into his discussion:

Faith:
-is my ability to say "Yes" to God and Good.
-draws my good from the invisible to the visible.

Strength:
-is my ability to be still
-allows me to stick with divine ideas.
-is my patience, tolerance, steadfastness and balance.

Judgement:
-is my ability to discern, evaluate, and make decisions.
-allows Divine Wisdom to flow through me.

Love:
-is my ability to know oneness with all.
-is my ability to desire that only good come to all.
-harmonizes.

Power:
-is my ability to change and build consciousness.
-is my ability to choose thoughts and feelings.
-is my ability to transform energy from one plane to another.

Imagination:
-is my ability to give shape and form to unformed mental energy.
-is vision beyond appearances.

Understanding:
-is my ability to know that God stands under all things.
-is my knowing how to accomplish.
-is knowing with my heart.

Will:
-is my ability to be willing toward God.
-is always seeking the good for all.
-is my directive power that determines character formation.

Order:
-is my ability to develop consciousness in proper sequence- mind, body
and affairs.
-is my adjustment and harmony in health illumination, and prosperity.
-is my ability to keep "God first" in my continuous development.

Zeal:
- is my ability to move forward through spiritual motivation.
- results in my enthusiasm and joy.
- is my affirmative impulse of existence.

Renunciation:
-is my ability to give a "NO" response to the untrue and undesirable.
-helps me eliminate errors and expand good.
-is to release and forgive as well as to let go of old thoughts.

Life:
- is my ability to mend, restore, and draw upon the living Christ for all life functions.
- is my progress, attainment, and mastery.

I especially like Warch's calling out of specific scriptures from the King James Version of the Bible at the end of each "power" to support his position. Then, too, I like his offering of denials and affirmations at the end of each segment.

Warch explains in the Introduction that he drew upon the writings of Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity School of Christianity, Lee Summit, Missouri. I read that "Twleve Powers of Man," by Fillmore, which is a classic on the subject. With Warch's look at the 12 Powers, we are quickly made aware of how we may either be neglecting or misusing/misdirecting these gifts, thus misaligning our very lives.

I highly recommend this little volume as a quick read and pick-me-up and for realigning to the engine within you, especially during these challenging times. It truly is a gift for the Soul!

Namaste',

Che'
NOTE: In October, we'll look at the Charles Fillmore classic, "Talks on Truth," to dovetail on the profile of Unity Minister Rev. Joy Wyler.