A New Earth

I'm re-reading Eckart Tolle's A New Earth for a class that begins March 15 and remembering how deeply nourishing that text is. It holds a vision that we can become aware of our deep soul nature and live from the peace of that being. In spite of all the things that demand our attention each day, we can still be connected with the wholeness that is the Source of life. No matter how we choose to place our attention as we move from task to task, there is still the hope that we'll remember that at our core we are one with all beings and one with God.

I'm heading out for a few days of R & R in warmer climes. I hope you've each had a chance to find rest this winter, too. In that rest is the hope that we'll re-member who we are and re-connect with the Source that gives us life.

During February a wonderful group of folks has gathered to talk about the book The Four Agreements. This book invites us to look at our beliefs about life to see how they either support our happiness or undermine it. Our basic beliefs are "agreements" we've made based on the way our families, schools, friends, and society have told us life is.

My agreements include "I am not an athlete" and "one can't own too many books." Each of us has thousands of these agreements which govern our automatic responses to life situations. If we have a fender bender we might respond from our "I have rotten luck" agreement, or from one which says, "accidents happen and they are no big deal." Clearly, the way we handle this situation will differ depending on the agreements which are operating.

The more aware we are of the agreements influencing us, the more control we have over our life choices. We can always choose to be happy, no matter what the situation. That choice becomes easier when we make new agreements that support happiness.

One of my new agreements is to blog more regularly, so watch for blog posts soon about the "four" agreements author Don Miguel Ruiz suggests will promote happiness for us all.

Almost Ready!

One scripture I love says the world is "standing on tiptoe" waiting for God to make life new. This is a tiptoe kind of time.

I keep checking the to-do list to be sure I haven't forgotten anything for Christmas preparations at home and at church. It's a tip-toe feeling that our celebration times are almost here!

Right after we celebrate God coming among us, then we celebrate a new year. Standing on tip-toe we can almost see the year coming. A new calendar is like a new box of crayons or a clean, blank piece of paper. So much possibility! I always have high hopes for how I'm going to be a better person in the new year. Then I try to remind myself that I'm the same person, just hoping for some more productive habits.

I'm looking forward to a New Year - New Life class I'm offering in January (Tuesdays, beginning the 4th, 10 am or 7 pm). We're going to bless the year that's closing, for better or for worse. Even the struggles of the year give us opportunities for growth. Then we're going to bless this present moment and remember that offering gratitude for the present grounds us. Finally, we'll look ahead at our goals for 2011. Sometimes that feels like wishful thinking, but I'm hoping we can gain some clues about how to insure that our dreams come true.

May this holiday season hold many blessings for you and yours, and may 2011 be an amazing year for us all!

Gretchen

It's been cold and windy in North Dakota for three days. All that time it's been cold in our office, and we've been shivering while we worked. I've been muttering and blaming the weather for our discomfort.

Now the wind has stopped and it's still cold in our office! Clearly, we have an equipment malfunction, and I just now called to have a repair person check it out. If I had called on Monday, we'd be warm by now.

In our lives, it's easy to blame people or circumstances for our problems. A family member, the weather, or God take the brunt of our discontent. Then we discover that no one is to blame, there's just some adjustment that needs to be made. As long as we're in blame mode, we ignore or avoid actions which would actually make our lives better. When we set aside blame (and the muttering that accompanies it!) we can take action and see improvement.

It's good to ask ourselves from time to time what situations are being held back by blame. Then we can turn blame off and start addressing the real causes of our discomfort. Then things can get better!

New Beginnings

Every January I find myself writing about new beginnings. The turning of a year helps us all think about fresh starts and resolutions for improvements in our lives.

Here it is October and the middle of fall - not really the beginning of much of anything and close to the end of a year. But today is still a day for new beginnings. Today I can do what I've put off for weeks. Today I can focus on that decision I've been postponing. Today I can choose to see life with new eyes and new energy.

All it takes to make a new beginning is one deep breath and a resolve to make a fresh start. Think a positive thought. Look on the bright side. Find one thing to be grateful about, even if it's a small thing. Smile and your world shifts in that simple action.

Then get busy and do what you've been putting off. Not the whole list, but just one part. Take a walk around the block. Write an email to a friend. Clean out a drawer.

Small shifts in attitude and simple actions are the beginning of a new way of living, and they are always possible for you today.

sunny days

Today is a beautiful sunny day, and our spirits rise to that occasion. Last week when it rained all the time (didn't it?), many people talked about how they were longing for sun and trying not to be down in the dumps because of the clouds.

I work in an office with no windows, so as far as I'm concerned, every day can be a sunny day. Since I can't see out, I try to assume that the sun is shining. It's a choice I make.

In our lives, we get to choose every day - not whether or not the physical sun is out, but if our dispositions will reflect sunshine to ourselves and others. Our attitude toward each day is always a choice. If the day is bright or gloomy, we can still keep a positive outlook.

Spiritual communities help us do the work that it takes to focus on the positives no matter what life brings. We are a gift to each other as we remind one another to look for blessings and assume the best. I hope you do that for someone today, and someone returns the favor to you.

Friends, here's a poem I wrote last fall. I hope it reminds us that when we go looking for God and asking God to fill us with divine presence, we discover that God is already fully within us. We're not looking for more so much as we're asking to see more completely what we already have. Enjoy!

Deep within
A hunger longs to be filled
With the pure light of divine joy;
A thirst for life
Begs to be quenched
At the dancing, singing spring
Of the Beloved’s love.

And deeper still God whispers,
“I have already satisfied all hunger;
I have already slaked all thirst.

“Are we not one being – sacred Life?
Are you not born of all that I am?
That which you seek, you are -
All that and more -
For I have joined my Life with your living.
Let loose the joy
that rises from beneath your sighs.
With open heart
Receive what has already been given.
Sink deep into the waters of my love
And as you drown in the abundance of I Am
Rise to Life."


-Gretchen Daneke Graf
© 2009