But What Does That Mean?

“I speak the universal language of kindness and love.” Beca Lewis

Many times I want to write, but the actual process of adding a post, inserting all the tags, designing and editing the composition, and even finding the right category seem like way too much work.

So I don’t write.

Recently, through working on another website as a guest, I found out about this “QuickPress” option in WordPress. It’s right on my Dashboard, and easy to just start writing some quick snippet, and before I know it, I’m writing!

Speaking of categories, I started a new one – What Does That Mean?

Background – my favorite minister in the whole world designed all of his regular Sunday sermons in the same way. He would select the scripture reading for the day, and spend his sermon time clarifying what the passage meant during the time it was written. He didn’t translate the passage into modern language, he explained what life was like then, and took us there. (think Muhammed to the mountain.)

So that’s what I’m trying to do with my new category.

Just clarify the environment around the passage. For myself. And of course, I’m sharing it with you!

Stay tuned for a Quickpress on “I speak the universal language of kindness and love.” Beca Lewis

Turning Things To Thoughts

I have often grappled with the concept of misperception. I always feel like I’ve done something wrong! In the Spiritual sense, I guess I have, but I don’t like to do “wrong,” so it’s an uncomfortable place for me to be.

This morning, I found a different way to look at the idea of person, place and thing. It isn’t comfortable, but it’s less uncomfortable than walking around feeling like my old view of “sinner.”

We see things as person, place, and thing in the human view because that’s the way we can understand it. Remember Bruce Almighty? He had a heckuva time keeping up with that omnipresent thing!

Well, here’s how I framed it so my human point of view could understand it a little better.

Example – take the quality of Order. I give up the old habit of disorder, and Choose Order. Which reflects itself through me as being orderly, neat, clear in my choice of words and communication, whatever. Perhaps it’s another person who has the habit of disorder that shows me my old habit of disorder.

As I focus on Order, that “person” starts to be more orderly, because that “person” is only displaying what I think of him or her, and I think of him or her as Order.

Perhaps that person does NOT start reflecting Order to me. That person gets angry and leaves.

Either way, my point of view starts to reflect Order rather than disorder.

Am I happy that the “person” started to show Order? Yes, thrilled!

Did I make that “person” clean up his or her act? Absolutely not.

Am I unhappy that the “person” got angry and left? Yes, I’m sure I am, because I Love that person (doesn’t matter whether I know them or not, in my Spiritual sense, I know only Love.)

However, I must let them go, if that’s what they choose to do. The quality of Order is natural and habitual and Loving in my Life. And I know that I am not alone as a result of them leaving. The only thing that left was the perception of disorder.

Made it a little easier to understand the perception/misperception concept, and the idea of detaching from the outcome.

Hope it helps you, too!

Shifting to Spiritual Perception

Didja ever notice how hard it is to type the word Spiritual? It always wants to type out sprit, not spirit. The motor process of typing the sequence of the word requires paying attention.

I find that very interesting, and symbolic of the concept that to be in Spirit, one must be Present, Aware, Conscious. That I must pay attention!

I find that enlightening today!

How about you?

The Joy of the Simple Detail

Today I recalled a couple of sections in the In Her Name series.

Point of information, when I read a powerful story, sometimes it sticks with me for days and I have a hard time coming back to my own story, instead continuing on in THAT story. I’ve decided to allow the distraction rather than combat the feeling, choosing to learn from the story – earn what I learn, so to speak!

In this particular part of the story, the hero is not living in his chosen world, but back in his birth world. One of his close friends observes how much care he takes in his daily dress – not the care of choosing, but the care of dressing. His are the garments of his chosen world, which he has brought with him, and no one dares deprive him of them.

As he dressed, one paragraph said, he enjoyed it so much that he would sometimes remove the body shirt and put it on again, just to feel the joy of slipping on the garment. And later, much later in the book, his friend recalls how much care and pleasure he took in dressing, and spends time enjoying the feel of her high quality garments that she is wearing in honor of herself, her service, and him.

It sticks with me. So that’s what I’m going to do today. A form of Being Present. I am going to enjoy the beauty of the feelings and sensations that I have, because if I weren’t meant to enjoy them, I wouldn’t have them.

Be Present, folks, and Enjoy what is all around you!

That’s just Clear, Simple, Common Sense.

The Hardest Lesson I’m Learning

First of all, right off the bat, this blog contains a plug for my teleclass The Shift Study Group starting this Thursday evening, May 10 at 8PM EST.

Why? Because I think the hardest lesson we learn in life is how to be present in every moment. And why do I say “learning” instead of “learned?”

Because it’s something I diligently, vigilantly practice.

It’s not something I have learned.

It has not become a habit.

But with guidance, and a community of those who diligently, vigilantly practice along with me, I’m getting better at it.

Being present is something we are not encouraged to do in the everyday world. A lot of the things we do and think, we wouldn’t do and think if we were practicing being present.

For instance, I have started and deleted at least three sentences right here, as I’m writing this, because I am forgetting the purpose of this blog and being tempted to run off on a tangent. I could easily turn this into a novel of distraction and dogma, example, temptation, conspiracy theory, the whole works! Lord knows there are stories enough out there to recount.

But my purpose in this blog is to ask you to practice being present in every moment –

and give you a place to come to to learn what that means –

and give you a place to meet others who want to do the same thing –

and discuss the practice of being present with them, with my guidance, using a book that gives me the tools to practice being present, written by Beca Lewis, and loved by me.

The Shift Study Group is a seven week book study group of Living in Grace – The Shift to Spiritual Perception by Beca Lewis with the use of The Shift Home Study Course.

Would you join me? The link to check out the course can be found anywhere in this blog post that says The Shift Study Group

Please hurry. In order to get the materials to you to maximize the benefit of The Shift Study Group, registration closes early Wednesday, May 9.

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Are You Conscious?

We live in a contradictory world. At least it seems that way. For every action, there’s a reaction. For every deed, there’s a consequence. Even if you choose not to act at all, there’s a consequence to that. You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. Sound like familiar comments, experiences or thoughts?

Let me use a specific example. In my profession, accounting, I deal in income and taxes. Here’s the question I get; “How do I maximize my income and minimize my taxes?” It’s the taxation version of “I want to have my cake and eat it, too.”

It’s also a way to subconsciously choose to base my income on what the government says I should have. Did you ever think of it that way? Because if you earn money based on what your tax liabilities are, you are earning based on what it will cost you, not what you can joyfully earn.

I have different questions for you.

Are you doing what you choose to do, or are you choosing to do what somebody else chose for you to do? Are you conscious of the difference?

Are you conscious of the reaction, consequence, result of whatever you are doing?

Are you consciously living your life?

Most of us are pretty much NOT. Because the world moves very fast, we are busy with daily tasks, while worrying about the next thing we’re supposed to do. Our lives are filled up with a tight schedule of “to dos.” And in order to keep up with the schedule, we run through our days on a sort of auto-pilot, and measure our lives at the end of the day by how many things we crossed off our lists. We even tend to spend our vacations that way! Rest as hard and fast as you can! Hello?

But are we conscious of what we are doing?

I’ve got a little secret for you. An accounting secret.

If you are conscious of what you are doing in business, you already are maximizing your income and minimizing your taxes. Because you are conscious of the taxes related to your income. Because you know if you “do” something, you will either benefit from a tax deduction, or not. Because if you are conscious, you know what the tax laws are, or ask someone who does know, and act on that premise. And, with that knowledge, you can choose to focus on earning, not cost. And, you will have enough to pay those taxes when they come due!

Conscious. Conscious choice. Intentional action.

You are conscious of what you are doing.

I’m conducting a five week class called “Intent” starting next Thursday night, January 12, 8 PM Eastern Standard.

It is NOT about taxes. Yes, I know I’m busy right now with taxes, but this is more important than that.

This class is what helps me to stay focused on doing my job, whatever it is.

This class is about becoming aware of what you love in life, and then consciously choosing to focus on your own actions instead of reactions and consequences. This class is about establishing direction and action consciously.

Taking this class helped me become conscious of what I was doing, so I consciously chose to learn how to share it with others. And now I consciously share it which helps me to stay conscious of what I am choosing to do.

Can you tell that becoming “conscious” is a key to this class, and really, really important to me?

Go here to learn more and register.

It’s a very small class. Only five people in the class, for five weeks. It starts next Thursday. And it only comes around once a year.

So go now and register.

In the meantime – consciously do what you do!

The one with the clearest Intent prevails.

P.S. – we talk about God in this class. Not religion, but we talk about spiritual awareness. If that really turns you off or makes you uncomfortable, please don’t register.

A Holiday Message

Last evening I was suffering from a case of “the blues.” You know that feeling, we all experience it at one time or another, that vague sense of sadness, without real rhyme or reason. So you make one up. You wish you could have done more for someone. You wish you had more, and then feel guilty about wanting more, when you’ve got so much. Dis-quiet.

Disquiet tends to happen at the holiday season, because there is so much merriment being advertised, shared, told, pictured, imaged and experienced in the world. All that joy tends to provide a great foil for loss, lack, disease, fear. It just seems that the more “have” you see, the more “have not” you also see. Conundrum.

That’s where I was last night. Looking at the beautiful lights adorning the houses as we drove by on errands, I felt like bursting into tears. Have I mentioned that I really dislike that feeling?

That’s when the thought came to me – Why am I wasting precious time feeling depressed? This moment is right now, and it’s a moment that will never come again. Why would I, on the other side of 50, waste one precious moment feeling like that?

And I answered my question – I won’t.

If we have limited moments on this earth, I am not wasting one of them.

Instead of being sad, or wishing for something I think I don’t have right now, I’m going to be grateful for what I do have.

Instead of being depressed, I’m going to spend this moment really appreciating the fact that I can look through my eyes and see the beautiful lights on the houses. The stars in the clear sky.

The smiles on the faces of those around me. And if it breaks my lips, I will smile back. And if they’re not smiling, I’m going to smile first.

And if I am still feeling that disquiet, I will go ahead and continue being grateful, in spite of it. I’ll smile through the tears, and turn the tears into a cleansing bath for my soul. I’ll turn them to tears of Joy, and let them crack open the locks on my heart to open it wide to the sheer joy of being alive, being able to breathe, being able to experience my physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell. I’ll shed tears of gratitude for being able to cry!

So, if you’re feeling mildly or greatly saddened or depressed, would you join me in gratitude? Would you join me in giving thanks for the sheer incredible gift of life? No matter how hard it seems to be? No matter what the challenge you face?

Don’t waste another precious moment of your time. Spend it in gratitude! I am.

Blessings of this wonderful season, no matter what your faith!

“…it is a question in my mind, whether there is enough of a flatterer, a fool, or a liar, to offend a whole souled woman.” Mary Baker Eddy

So How Do You Know It’s Simple?

How do you know it’s clear? How do you know it’s common sense?

I’ve spent most of my life in pursuit of the clear, simple concept of common sense.
When you hear it, it rings true.
When you see it, you recognize it.

But, how do you initiate it for yourself, knowing that it’s the simplest action to take, the right idea to follow, the most common sense path?

Those aren’t the simplest questions to answer, because for each of us, the answer looks different.

However, there is a common thread that runs through every clear, simple, honest action, and that’s awareness.

Awareness

Let me give you an immediate example, using myself as the star of this little drama.

This morning I sat down to my computer to write, and looked for my wrist guards. I looked on the desk in front of me and saw one, the medical ace bandage-y thing, kind of tan in color. I didn’t see the other one. Hmmm, I really thought I had left both of them on my desk, as I switch off between them. Hmmm, well, maybe I left it out by the couch where I was working on my crochet. Hmmmm.

Oops, there goes the computer screen, so I turn to the keyboard to log in. I turn back to the desk and there it is, right in front of me, within hand’s reach and clearly in view. My bright red plaid, larger than life sheepskin wrist wrap.

Why didn’t I see it the first time? Well, let me ask two questions.

Question number 1 – How many things am I doing at once?

In recent years there has been a huge surge in popularity for multi-tasking. I’m no holdout; I used to brag about how many things I could do at once. However, I realized something not too long ago about multi-tasking; the more things I try to do at once, the less well I do all of them. Go ahead, don’t take my word for it, give it a try. With the most mundane of tasks.

Question number 2 – What am I looking for?

I thought I knew what my wrist guard looked like, and I thought I knew where I had left it. I had a pretty strong picture in my mind of both those images. Apparently not, since I couldn’t see it right where it was. When I got distracted from what “I knew,” and turned to log on to the computer, I wiped out the faulty picture and when I looked back at the desktop, I looked with no preconceived illusions, and immediately saw the wrist guard. It kind of happens that way. I heard it called, “Detach from the outcome,” and that concept works really well for me. Again, don’t take my word for it, give it a try.

Same morning, next drama. My desktop crashed a while ago, and I haven’t found a model I really like, so I haven’t replaced it. I really love my laptop, but the numeric keypad is kind of a pain (I’m an accountant) and the keyboard sometimes aggravates me because it’s smaller than a standard keyboard. Among other things.

Well, I’ve been tripping over the absolutely stellar wireless mouse that I had gotten just before my pc crashed. I thought to move it, but then rationalized that I would be getting a desktop soon, so just kept tripping over it. It has most recently been a rest for some great quotes I wrote down to keep in front of me.

Are you ahead of me yet? I’m sure you are.

Took two minutes to connect up my wireless keyboard and mouse to the laptop, and now I’m a LOT more comfortable. And yes, I’m wearing my wrist guard! Which may prove unnecessary because the setup is so much more comfortable.

Trouble was, I kept thinking of the mouse and keyboard in relation to the desktop, and not as they are, independent and useful tools with any computer.

I also didn’t see that the solution to my annoyance with my computer setup was sitting on my desk all the while. So I was using the mouse for an unintended purpose (holding up paper) because I just wasn’t paying attention!

I hope you’ve found these examples helpful, or at least identified in some way with them.

Because the key to Clear, Simple, Common Sense is really Awareness of what you are doing, thinking, listening to, looking at. If you pay attention to where you are right now, you’ll know whether or not you are choosing Clear, Simple, Common Sense, and you can act accordingly!

Here’s to Awareness!

A Case Of Mistaken Identity

I believe that we are each born with unique gifts to contribute to the glory of our existence. Our existence as represented by what we experience as earth, our lives, that time we think we own between being born and dying.
These gifts, or talents if you will, are meant to be shared with all who come into our consciousness. And those who come into our consciousness are sharing their gifts with us.
It looks like a big jigsaw puzzle in my mind, with each piece having its own unique place in the whole. Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle, and gotten it all put together and there’s a piece missing? How does that feel? Pretty discouraging, eh? And then, all of a sudden, you see the piece, which was camouflaged by the puzzle itself. You pick it up, pop it in its place and – Ahhh….. Relief! Success! Complete!
Sometimes I imagine that’s how God, or whatever you call the Force of Nature, feels as He watches us struggle in life. Here we are, each of us with the most incredible, unimaginably beautiful gifts to share, thinking we are not good enough? Broke? Sick? Bad? Criminal? Failures?
Well, I’ve got news for you, if you’d like to hear it.

We are all born with a unique gift to contribute to the world.

Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

No matter what you think you are, there are no exceptions to the rule.

And if you don’t believe that, and you are not experiencing that, you are simply suffering from a Case of Mistaken Identity.

Look in the mirror. Face yourself. If you don’t see the gifts you bear, then simply state to yourself, “I was suffering from a case of mistaken identity, and I am suffering no more.”
Every time you feel of twinge of doubt, whether it be in finance, health, relationship, security, whatever, if it doesn’t feel like expressing your unique gift to the world, repeat the statement, and then know that you are an integral piece of the puzzle, with a gift to share. If you steadfastly hold to that, you will actually begin to see that gift more clearly. You will begin to see your place in the greater scheme of things. Not to fail, but to hugely succeed, to contribute to that beautiful whole.
We didn’t ‘come’ here to do damage, to suffer, to hurt ourselves or others. We ‘came’ here to complete the puzzle. So did everyone else. If we hurt, in any way, shape or form, we are simply suffering from a case of mistaken identity.

Clear And Simple Common Sense

Three terms that stand for who I am, who I want to be, how I want to be remembered.

Clear – well defined, easy to understand, unconfused, straightforward.

Simple – this only comes second in the list because it flows better off the tongue.  It’s really my foundation.  My core Principle.  Simple.  Direct, easy to follow, unconfused, easy to implement, remember, and convey to others.

Common Sense – Well, I can only say that I would trade three college degrees for one big dose of common sense any day.  Because it’s available to EVERYONE (hence, ‘common’) and it keeps everything 1- Clear and 2- Simple!

If I am living Clear and Simple Common Sense, I am trustworthy because I have the least risk of confusing others with misunderstanding.

If I am living Clear and Simple Common Sense, I am calm, conscious and congruent because I’m not complicating my life with fuzzy directives, double meanings, and other tedious and “hard” tasks.

If I am living Clear and Simple Common Sense, my daily path is easy to follow, low maintenance, and highly productive, all of which are also important to me.

Easy to do?  No.  Simple? Yes.

Here’s how:

First, sit down and THINK about who you are.

Then, THINK about who you want to be.

Then, BE who you want to be.

Yah, and Jet, how do I do THAT?????

Simple – Find a mentor.  Someone you trust.  Someone you admire.  Someone who exemplifies who you think you want to be (you don’t really, but at this stage of the game you probably think that.  You really want to be YOURSELF.)

Four names for you, out of the dozens I’ve read and admired over my lifetime.  They stand out in the crowd because they write about and counsel Whole Life Enrichment, not just Spiritual Development, Business building, or Marketing.  They stand out in the crowd because they start with a solid foundation of Who You Are and What You Stand For, and THEN they give you tools to Enrich Your Life, Build A Business, Market Your Business.

Beca Lewis.  The Four Essential Questions

Michael Port.  Book Yourself Solid

Perry Marshall. Definitive Guide to Google

Michael Masterson.  Automatic Wealth

So, check these people out.  Maybe you already have mentors and guides of your own.  Choose one.  From your list or mine.  These four are REALLY working for me.  Beca’s been my guiding light for nearly seven years – a record for me!

Next, get an eReader and save a tree.  It’s so Simple for me – I can carry eight books around with me all the time, and don’t need a backpack to do it!  You can make notes, highlights, read anywhere.  It may be a little learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’s so SIMPLE.  (And I was a die-hard book reader until I got my Kindle!)

Finally, Execute Your Plan.  Doesn’t matter if the plan is complete.  Doesn’t matter if you’ve finished the book.  The key is to START.  SOMEWHERE.

Once you start, you can alter, enhance, correct your path, change your mind, and take any number of actions based on Clear And Simple Common Sense.

But you gotta START.  SOMEWHERE.

Why not Now?  Why not Here?