The Greatest Gift of All: It Lasts A Lifetime

EDITOR'S NOTE: This post refers specifically to Christmas. For my readers of a different faith, please substitute your special religious holiday as is appropriate. 

'Tis three nights before Christmas. Not a creature is stirring...not a sound can be heard.

I'd created this space and this time to give myself the greatest of Christmas gifts I craved:
Time and Silence.

Should I step out of this sacred space I've created, I'd see the evidence of the Christmas holiday everywhere: gifts under the tree; holiday fruits and cakes; food to prepare and cards all around. They all speak to the activities of the last several weeks and days.

But just for tonight: this space is mine.

The profound sound of Silence.
The profound energy of Time. Alone. Silent.

I don't want to hear a Christmas Carol. I don't want to see the lights of the Christmas tree.
I don't want to feel the beauty of the Season.

I just want to be.

I'd prepared for this by settling in early for a nap. I was in such a determined mood that I'd drowned out all thoughts of tomorrow and the activities of the next few days ahead trying to flood my consciousness.

Now...I just want to be.

I can't tell you why this gift I've given myself seemed more urgent and important this year than any other.

Perhaps it's because the year literally just flew by in a whirl, December 2017 catching up with January of the same year in one tremendous breath.

There seemed to be little time this year to think about the 'morrows' coming, because one came right after the other.  All the holidays seemed to melt into one, and only yesterday we seemed to be celebrating Christmas 2016.

So, yes... give me this gift of Time and Silence.

Ahhhhhh.

Now that's out...let's measure the moment.

Let's truly look at this moment for what it means to you and to me.

This one moment in time.

What am I doing in this moment that brings me so much Peace?
What am I enjoying so much in this moment that brings me utter Joy?
What am I inhaling that brings me sheer Happiness?

Silence at any time brings the spirit of our being to the surface.

As I dwell seemingly alone in this sacred space, I have the deepest awareness
that I am not alone and that I am in communion with my Soul.

The sweet Joy, Peace and Happiness come from the Profound bonding with my Soul.
Even as I type, I feel its Presence guiding me. I feel the deepness of our Connection. 
I feel my thirst being quenched, as I feed from the trough of communion for which I'd longed over the past several weeks.

When we begin to hear and discern the call of the Soul, some people may run away for a vacation at a beach or someplace exotic, thinking that they need a change of scenery. But that's far from what they need, and eventually as they discern the Soul's more urgent calls, they begin to realize that those techniques do not work for them anymore:

The Soul wants what it wants, and often it's simply for us to: "Be Still and Know!"

The Soul will keep demanding this over and over, until we learn the lesson of "being still."

I'm swallowing the purity of its nectar, even as I type. I long to share it with you.

I want you to feel what I feel.
I want you to be as quenched as I now am.
I want so much for you to connect and understand the ground on which I now stand.

Hear me, now:
This communion is available any time of day or night, at a moment's notice, but it's not as profound as when it follows periods of great activities. For some, daily meditation might work. But the Holy Listening to the Soul is something more urgent.

It's a setting aside of our daily going to and fro, indeed a separation from the physical aspects of what keeps us thriving in the world, to pay attention to the Master within. It's about going above the normal frays of life and walking quietly into a sacred chamber that fuels our being.

When we are able to connect only in snatches of time...and then perhaps with strangers all around...the sweetness of the encounter is certainly not as  great. It's meditation, which temporarily refreshes, but we still continue to hear ...and even feel...the roar from within.

Stop now!

So, tonight, I'm drinking from a bubbling spring of Pure Essence. I am still.
I am listening.

I am with you. 
I am here. 

Thank you.
Thank you, O my Soul. 

I think now, too, of the origin of this awareness that we never walk alone.
I think, now, of my mother, who instilled in all her children a love of God.
I think of how much my life would be missing if she had not taught us about prayer and given us an awareness of a power greater than ourselves at work in our lives at all times.

*My mother's Soul remains with me even though it's been decades since her death in 1993.

Her Soul still lives with me.

I know this is so because in the Presence of my own Soul I bear witness to all that was, is, and will be.

I observe people each day... especially during this special time of year... the holiday season... carrying forward their own family traditions: this is evident in foods they cook and share, and what they do during the season. The activities may seem to surround the birth of Christ, or about the Festival of Lights, i.e. Hanukkah, but if we truly get into the "spirit" of the celebrations, we'll see that it's really about our reconnecting with Souls from many generations and centuries ago. (How Santa Claus Originated.)

Each year as we become a year older, the subtly of aging is never more noticeable than in the habits and traditions we've formed. We become our parents, as they live in us and in all we do and say, and in how we navigate our way through the world.

Some of us may spend this time of year entertaining and fixing special meals, and hosting parties.
Others may see this time as one of reflection, honoring the religious rituals of the Season.
Yet others may see it as a time to connect with old friends, family and others.
Then, there's the shopping and gift giving in which we all participate and is a rite of the Season.

Living only from the surface of things, we may miss the gifts inherent in the Season.

It's a time for prayer.
It's a time for reflection.
It's a time for connecting with our Soul.
It's a time for celebrating those who have passed on but whose Spirit, Soul and Essence remain steadfast in us. 

If you learned how to reflect or pray in childhood, in adulthood, or somewhere in between:
You were given the greatest gift of all.

When we pray, we are not praying to some strange, unknown God.
We are praying to our Essence...our Soul... where God resides.
He is more familiar with us than we are with ourselves.

This is a gift of communion with ourselves, and it cannot be packaged, then bought or sold.
It can be taught to others, but it can't be shared.
No one can steal this gift from us, or cheat us out of it...only we can
cheat ourselves by not recognizing its value. 

This holiday season, I want you to put aside all the gifts that money can buy and do this, especially with your children: 

Teach them how to pray. Teach them how to                                                                                           just... be...with themselves.

As the years pile onto their human frames, they will realize and deeply appreciate that
you would have given them the greatest gift of all....as it lasts a lifetime and will also carry them through any and all vicissitudes of life.

Make this Christmas really special: teach your children how to pray!

Happy Holidays! 

Have a tremendously blessed 2018!

My heart belongs to you!

Namaste',
Che'

* Note: Pay attention to this trait in the passing of your parents or a close family member or even friend. See their essence has lingered and become a part of you.

Generosity of Spirit: "Born To Be Awesome"

               "I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any                             kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now.                               Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way                               again." Etienne de Grellet, Quaker Missionary

Celebrations often mean bringing out our favorite champagne.  Those living middle-class lives, and liking French champagnes, may choose brands such as Veuve Cliquot or Dom  Pérignon. Then, there's  Moët et Chandon. To my untrained palette, the only real difference between Dom Pérignon and Moët et Chandon  is the cost, as the difference in taste is so subtle, it's almost indiscernible. And both champagnes come out of the *house of Moet et Chandon. 

But many would rather have the higher-priced Dom Pérignon, at twice the price ...because we want the best for our friends and family. Then, there are the "neighbors," who may watching us too.  

Question of the day:

Why is it so easy for us to serve the best when we want to leave a lasting impression among our friends, acquaintances and family, yet there's a lack of generosity when serving our thoughts to those same people?   

Serving up spiritual gifts is one of the most generous gifts we can give to a person.  Doing so, too, costs us nothing. But in life, we find that many people would rather give tangible things as gifts...real expensive items... yet  skimp on compliments. 

"Generosity of Spirit" is an elixir so rare that when it's served up, it often takes us by surprise. This should not be. 

"At the end of the day, people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

I tend to remember both how people made me feel and also what they did and said.  

And this past week was a week filled with gifts. 

Each day brought blessings from Souls who popped into my space just long enough to pour out their wealth of spirit, making me feel rich and truly prospered.  

It started with a very early birthday card I received, screaming on the cover in black and red:  "Born to be Awesome...that's YOU!" The words inside also elaborated in even more magnificent ways the reasons the sender thought I was awesome. I was truly struck by the "generosity of spirit" that prompted my friend to send such a card.

Then, the next day,  a sweet man, with a wonderful demeanor and style paused at my desk to tell me something: 

"I had some extra time last night, so  I was reflecting on the good things in life. I was thinking of the early morning sun and how it blesses us with its positive, vibrant energy each day. Immediately upon thinking of the sun and its gifts, I thought of you. As you bring this same energy into my space."

Wow. Just wow.

Two days in a row.
On the third day, another person, knowing I had grown to love Welch's mixed fruit snack bought the hugest box she could find and left it on my desk. "Happy Birthday, Cheryl. Enjoy."

Merlyn, my sister, back far right,  pictured with her
two daughters, Shondelle, back row, center, Saudia, front center,
Stephen, back row, 3rd from right!
and their families, recently visiting Seattle.  (Happy Oct. 3 birthday, Saudia!)

On the fourth day, one of my truly awesome sisters, who in the past had forgotten my birthday until the last minute in her busyness with her real estate work, was taking no chances this year:  she called me with a generous offer for my birthday celebration. I truly was touched that this year, she'd taken the time to plan ahead.

Wow! Just Wow! 

My birthday still is a few days away. And I tell you, if this keeps up, I won't have a heart big enough to accommodate the gifts of love and generosity being poured onto me. 

 "Thank you, Universe! Thank you, people!"

These gifts will outlast any sparkling champagne, as they nurture my Soul.

We must then ask, "How much did it cost these Souls to bring me these gifts?" 

We know the cost. Yet, few people seem able to afford them. 

We must understand, though, why:  

• When we're not feeling our best selves, or operating from a place of wholeness, it becomes very difficult for us to give good feelings to others.
• When life has thrown us some seeming cruel, curved balls, and we don't know where we're headed, we may become disillusioned enough to believe that there's little to life than the superficial.
• When we're separated from the center of our being, our Soul, there's no way we can see beyond the circumference of our own bodies, much less to give or bring joy to another. 

Sometimes, it becomes too costly to tell someone else that they are cool.

Sometimes, it becomes more than we can bear to see others strutting their brightness, when our world may be filled with darkness.

This is human. This is real. This is a direct result of our separation from our Soul.

For many of us, this separation is causing real riffs to develop in our lives.

When we feel a sense of inadequacy in some way, it's difficult to celebrate the light shining from someone else.

When we're feeling that way, most of us have the tendency to turn surly and unpleasant. We believe that by looking sour, and acting that way, we will dim the light in others.  Somehow, in our distorted state of mind, this makes us even. 

On the other hand, those who truly have a light that no man on Earth can dim do the exact opposite; they present a bright, cheerful demeanor even when life turns sour on them. One such beautiful soul, Zaudia, told me that she smiles harder when life presses her on the inside.

"I want people to see me smiling during my most difficult times. By doing so, I am able to camouflage my pain and eventually the pain goes away."

We've all heard the saying, "Smile and the whole world smiles with you." This is truth.

Surliness will never win friends. Compliments, and a spirit that expands to see the world beyond the circumference of our body, always will. 

"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others."                                             -Barbara Bush, via Gratefulness.org

Generosity of Spirit
comes back to us

We so long to celebrate life with  the best of champagnes and the best of life's offerings. My strong belief is that we'll always have to keep breaking out the Dom Pérignon, Cristal and  Salon Blanc de Blanc, or Louis Roederer Cristal Brut, until we reconnect back with our Souls. Champagne and other external "tools" may lift our spirit for a day or two, then it's back to "reality."

For those looking to enjoy a permanent spark,  connect within and then learn to reach out.

We should give generously of our spirit. When we do, joy does come back to us...even in little ways.

We should remember, too, that when it comes to people, we don't often  get "do overs." We may meet someone this year and never have an opportunity again to say, "Thank you for being in my life. I think you were born to be awesome, the way you shine." 

Say your kind words now, heeding the words of Etienne de Grellet at the beginning of this post, and do not defer your good deeds and thoughts, "as (the people we meet) may never walk this way again."

As I move closer to my October 5th birthday this year, I feel tremendously blessed by the Souls in my life. When I reflect on my past life, where I was known as "the hostess with the mostest," and where champagne poured freely at my celebrations, I see a tremendous difference today. With the consciousness I had back then, I was tremendously happy. But my Soul today has filled the center of my being with its energy:  I am totally at peace...because ... I am home!

Thank God for the journey, and the long, slow walk that brought me here.

On Thursday, I may choose to have a rare sip of alcohol. If I do, I know it will not be Dom Perignon or any of the others. I will choose my perennial favorite:

                                Chandon  Brut!

I raise my glass to all of you among us...all of you, my friends and readers...who don't wait to be invited to give gifts:  

Thank you for your generosity of Spirit!

Please remember, too: You were Born To Be Awesome!

 Namaste',

Che' 

**********************************************************************************************

EDITOR'S NOTE: Moët et Chandon began in 1743 by Claude Moët, a wine trader.  In 1973, the then Moet -Hennessy company, founded Domaine Chandon, as an outpost winery in Napa Valley, California. Domaine Chandon was the first French-owned sparking wine operation in the United States. 

From A Higher Perspective: "The Second Coming..."

"For Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required, and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask more." Luke 12:48 KJV 

In our striving to arrive to a place of success, we often seem to forget the second part until life comes screaming at us to pay attention.

My heart did not permit me to watch newscasts and all the videos of the thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Harvey. But I knew it was bad...very bad. I needed to hold onto my heart. 

Not watching television did not excluded me from seeing reams and reams of social media reports of rescue efforts. I did my part contributing where I felt called. And amidst the many reports I saw scores of other reports:  of those Houstonians who remained un-involved, praying for others from a distance, and doing little else to help.

One such person, sadly, is the prominent Houston Pastor Joel Osteen, who often talked in his Sunday sermons about how God "gifted" him with the Houston arena. This is a mega arena, a former NFL stadium, seating 16,500 people each Sunday. Osteen’s doors remained closed in the early days, as Harvey lashed its fury upon residents in Houston.

I didn't read all the reports coming through, but the sheer volume of them streaming through my Facebook feed made reading a few of them inevitable.

As many of you know, I have long been an admirer of Osteen. I've long celebrated his rise and style of preaching and teaching. Like Osteen, I believe Jesus was our way-shower, not wanting to be deified but wanting only to show people the way to open their own consciousness to The Christ consciousness within them. So, I did not want to believe that he, Joel, stopped short of demonstrating that Christ consciousness when it was most critically needed.

While thinking of Joel Osteen, I began thinking of my own  lapses and the lapses of so many of us. Almost on a daily basis, if we're aware, we're called to do more than just talk about TRUTH and preach/teach to others. Often, we are called to actions of "The Christ," but just as often we miss those opportunities.

There's one thing to be gifted with the power of the tongue to bless many to awaken to God's presence and power in their lives. It's another to step forward and be counted when those among us are "dying," yet we turn a blind eye to them.

I will not repeat what the news reports said about Osteen. You can access those yourself. But the message I want to share today is that we have to awaken to TRUTH each moment of each day, as opportunites knock on our doors of consciousness to "Be Christ" in the moment.

Unlike some of my Christians brothers and sisters, I do not believe there is ever going to be "a second coming of Christ!" I believe that Christ already arrived once and now the second coming is about us.

Believe it or not: the second coming of the Christ is about you and me and Joel Osteen.

DEMONSTRATING THE CHRIST SPIRIT:
 *Saudia Solomon Turney is a therapist in Houston,
working with people
in crisis of some sort on a daily basis, was moved during Hurricane Harvey
to contribute to Hurricane Harvey victims from
her own contributions and those of friends.  See photos of some of their donated items below. 

It's about us stepping out of the shadows of our lives and going out of our way to demonstrate that we know and understand the "Christ" teachings. It's about us awakening from the stupor of our own successes and the grandeur of our lives and realizing that we may have been blessed...not because we may be beautiful, talented and gifted...but for a purpose! The gifts of spirit are never only about us, though they do come through us and our ways (talents) in the world! Our gifts of spirits are not intended only for us to stand out from the crowd, but they intended for us to be among the few who should be counted as the next generations of Christ!
(See Michael Dell's response to the Hurricane: Michael Dell donates $36 Million to Hurricane Recovery,)

 Yes! We are the "next gen of Christ!"

We are all being called to be Christ-like 
in our ways and step out of our shadows 
and step up to the TOP of our own pulpits and do what is right...without being told what to do.  

If we truly are believers in the Christ way, we must be believers all the way:

1. We must walk barefoot among those who do, so that those without shoes would not be shamed in any way. OR, if we want to wear shoes, we must ensure that those who walk beside us wear shoes, too!

2. We must preach and teach not from an elevated platform, but from the plateau on which our Souls have rested in a new consciousness of The Christ.

3. We must see within the eyes of our friends and colleagues the silent pain they carry and reach out our hands so they can hold something tangible when they are in pain.

4. We must reach into our own Souls to see into their Souls the silent tears so many wear beyond their smiling facades.

5. Whether Christian, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist or Pantheist: we must all form a brotherhood of love and unity and fight with every breath of our being those who would seek to divide us and our shared humanity.

One person visiting victims
of Hurricane Harvey wore high heels. 

6. We must all learn from the examples of those who have amassed the greatest sums of money on earth and have chosen to give it all away (See the Giving Pledge); make these people our heroes and role models.

7. In the end, we must fight like Jesus did when he threw over the tables of the money changers and throw over the tables of engaging useless sports, like cocaine and other indulgences; we must think of the lives being lost to drugs and be grateful for the privileges we've been given so that they can be used to serve in some way.

Religion is often disparaged by many who seek Spirituality. The greatest thing we can learn along the way as we strive for spiritual growth is that spirituality is at the base of all religions. Spirituality without a Soul is meaningless. We can learn all we want about meditation and getting into the center of our being, and about the Spirit of God being within us. But if this learning is not coupled with transformation in that Spirit, like Christ, then our spirituality has a BIG HOLE in its soul. 

Jesus said:

 "O faithless generation; how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?"                                                             Mark 19:19  (KJV) 

Esentially, Jesus was asking his disciples when will they truly learn his ways.

Yet. Many of us still wait... with hands and arms folded... in anticipation for his "Second Coming."

Unfold those hands and arms and use them instead to reach others in some way. Doing so, we'll then find the waiting will not be in vain.

Unfolding our hands and arms, one day we'll each wake up...in the not-too-distant future... and realize: Christ has come again!

Namaste',  
Che'
*NOTE: Saudia Solomon Turney is one of my nieces. Being the youngest of my parents' nine children, I have several nieces and nephews living throughout the United States.