Choose Love

Today and every day I choose love.

I appreciate the polarities that Life expresses, honoring both the darkness and the light within all.

I hold them in a close embrace of tender, loving care, and affection.

I see everything and everyone through the eyes of love because I am love, and it is my nature.

I am loved, loving, and lovable.

Beached!

I've been living on the Central Coast of California for close to two years now.  It's radically different living here than it was living in the Silicon Valley.  There it seems everything moves at a breakneck pace and here things move in a very chillaxed way.

I believe the ocean does something to the people who live near it. The waves, salt water, and beauty are healing and meditative. The variety of colors of the sunsets and the water are magnificent, like a great painting, only real.

In the Silicon Valley you have to plan your life around the traffic patterns lest you'll spend two hours traveling a short distance of 20-30 miles.  The only traffic here I've seen regularly is coming around the bend of 101 South into Pismo Beach.

The ocean suddenly appears to your right and it's jaw dropping beauty causes one to stare.  Traffic slows to a crawl here and then inches along.  It's not troubling though because there's this expansive beauty to gaze upon while you wait.

Living in a beach town you plan your life around the ocean tides and the rising and setting of the sun.
You ask yourself when and where might I find the most beauty?  Instead of how can I avoid traffic?

I am so much more connected to Mother Nature - Mother Earth - Pachamama - here and I am grateful and LOVING it and living it up!

Grateful To Be Me

I used to compare myself to others, thinking oh how I wish I were more like this person or that person.

When I stopped doing that and started appreciating my own gifts, talents and awesomeness, a whole new world opened up for me.

A world filled with self love, affection, joy, appreciation, acceptance, and freedom.

Today I am grateful I get to be me!

There's no one else who I would rather be.

New Beginnings

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Sometimes I am so focused on the ending that I cannot see nor experience the joy, possibility, and beauty of the beginning.

I may be in denial or disbelief of what's just ended.

Slowly as I begin to detach from the past, a new hope emerges. I start to realize that what just ended was no longer serving me and my highest potential good.

As I begin to bless my past, my heart forgives, and an opening or a clearing is made for brand new baby energy to reveal itself.

And then, boom!

Bloom!

Tadaaaa!

Voila!

Magic begins to happen.

Today I say yes to the magic blooming in my life.

Oneness Does Not Equal Sameness

This is a rewrite of a previous blog post I wrote back in 2011.  What a joy to revisit and edit this important topic to share with you for such a time as this!

Often times our brains get busy trying to understand and make sense of Spiritual principles intellectually while the body is unknowingly re-tuning itself to the vibrational match of a newly (re)introduced eternal verity.  Something which was always known, but at some point became unknown or hidden, as the result of the conditioned experiences of one’s life.

What I have learned along my personal Spiritual path is that my body often gets it long before my brain does.  Then when the time is right, the spark occurs followed by a resonant mental understanding, followed by a heartfelt sense of grace and knowing.  Magic.

“Oneness does not equal sameness.” 

Consider the simple hindu greeting and salutation upon meeting or the valediction upon parting ways of “Namaste.”  Namaste literally translates as “I bow to you.”  It also has the deeper spiritual meaning that the life force, the divinity, the Self or the God in me is the same in all. “Namaste - the God in me honors the God in you.”

Honoring the God in another person is becoming aware that we are all made of the same stuff, yet we are not identical expressions of that stuff!  Wouldn’t that be boring if we were?  A bunch of me’s or a bunch of you’s walking the planet and nobody else?  Spooky thought.

I had an experience of embodying oneness at a 5 night silent retreat with one of my favorite enlightened guys, Adyashanti.  There were 400+ attendees on this retreat and we were four days deep into the container of silence.  In the second silent sitting of the afternoon I opened my eyes suddenly, looked around the room and noticed that everyone was together in the same silent container, observing the same things: passing thoughts, coughing, inner peace, still body, still mind - through different eyes, in different bodies.  Suddenly I was hovering above the crowd. Then I was looking through the eyes of the person next to me, then before me, then the person across the room to the right, and then across the room to the left.  

I shook my head quickly in an attempt to think something.  I have the subtle memory of attempting to get back into my body or brain but I couldn’t seem to locate that little me.  Another good head shaking was enough to wake up my thinking and all I could say was, “WOAH,” to myself silently in my head before closing my eyes again. 

While it may sound a bit strange or different, it was a profound mystical experience that transformed me.  I recognized that the magnitude of the realization for me at that time, in where I was spiritually, was a bit vast for me to reside in for more than a few seconds.  Gratefully it has gradually integrated within me over time.

The realization of this type of eternal verity - oneness - presents the same dilemma as many other realizations on this path.  It's the great paradox that we are, in fact, spiritual beings having a human experience. Not one or the other, but both at the same time.  God in form.  Individualized, unique expressions of the Divine.  I have discovered that as long as I am having this human experience I must honor both the Oneness, the Divinity in me that is the Divinity in you, and the uniqueness of me and of you.  I can't afford to forget nor undervalue the human experience expressed in so many different ways.  Nor to pretend that we are all the same.

I’m a 5’3”, 40 (something) year old, female, Hispanic, with brown hair, hazel eyes, and athletic.  You may be a 5’8”, 22 year old male, person of color, with brown hair, brown eyes, and not athletic.  Each of us with our own unique life experiences, conditioning, ancestry and heritage.  Privileged or burdened by circumstances that we were born into, beyond our control.

Living in this paradox makes life a thrilling adventure.  God is all there is and you are God in form in your own uniquely fabulous way.  Divine and human.  Just like the quarter has a heads side and a tails side.  Both are the quarter yet each side is uniquely different.  Yes we are one, but we are not the same. 

We are called to honor the Divinity within one another, and simultaneously honor the uniqueness of one another as the individualized expressions of the Divine that we are.  We cannot honor one without the other.  To do so is to bypass or dismiss the human experience and pretend that it is not happening.  This is like saying the quarter is only the heads side or only the tails side, or it is neither heads nor tails, it is just a quarter. That's the mistake or conundrum we may find ourselves in after embodying the verity of oneness.  It’s actually both and.  Many individualized expressions of the One.

I honor the Divinity within you that is you, and simultaneously honor the unique individual, expressions of the Divine AS you!  Now time to take that eternal verity and see the world through the eyes of the Beloved Presence, honoring all of it.

Today I invite you to look at the people around you with love and compassion, without judgment, noticing their unique beauty.  What do you think is their nationality or ethnicity? What kind of body shape do they have? What color is their hair and their eyes? What age are they? How tall, etc.?  Be curious.  What brought them to where they are today?  What was their ancestry like? What might their privilege or burden be? And then ask the same questions of yourself.  

Lastly ask yourself this: How might I help create a world of inclusion?  How may I contribute to creating a world that works for everyone? 

Namaste.

Which Frequency Are You Tuned Into?

Guitar players adjust the strings of their guitar to a specific tuning.  They do this such that when they play, it will sound a certain way that is pleasing to the ear. They are adjusting the frequency (the vibration speed) so that the strings are in harmony with each other.  When they aren't in harmony the sound is wobbly.  When they are in harmony the sound is smooth and steady. 

Setting my intention for the day is exactly the same. I get to choose the way I want my day to look such that it is pleasing to me and in calibration with Spirit.  This is how I ensure that my values and my actions are aligned for my greatest good, and the greatest good for all.  If I notice a wobble, I embrace that wobble, consider my values, adjust my frequency, and take new action based on my values!  

For example, if I value being grateful and I intend to be tuned into gratitude, then find myself complaining, I stop, sit, and write a gratitude list.  I continue to contemplate that which I am grateful for throughout my day.  

I'm not a victim to the circumstances and conditions of the world that may arise because that's not the tuning I'm in. The frequency I'm tuned in to is of the Spirit: love, beauty, perfection, wholeness, peace, compassion, joy, gratitude, and abundance!

Which frequency are you tuned into on this day? 

Finding Your Good

Remember when you were a young child and Easter was so thrilling because you knew there would be an Easter egg hunt?  You also knew that there were, without a doubt, eggs out there meant for you to find.  And those eggs were filled with some great treasure especially for you.  It just had to be something good.

When given the green light to find the eggs, off you went, searching for your good with joyful anticipation.

I am reminded of what Emma Curtis Hopkins once said,"there is good for me and I ought to have it."

As adults we don't participate in this sort of activity but when I contemplate it I am filled with that same wonderful energy as when I was a child.  That thrill of knowing my good is here, and it's already mine,  it's just a matter of me finding it.

Just thinking about it creates a new vibration within me and I feel uplifted.  Good and more good is mine.  I have adopted this habit in my daily life and I always look for and find my good everywhere I go!  In practicing this I've also discovered a multitude of ways that Spirit communicates with me.  My life has been filled to overflowing with joy in finding messages from Spirit everywhere.  It's like a game of hide and seek!  The best game ever!

I invite you to adopt this as a spiritual practice for the day, the week, the month, or however long you are called to do so.  It is fun and I believe that spiritual growth should be fun.  There is good for you and you ought to have it.

Go out and find your good, it's waiting for you.  It's here, it's there, it's everywhere, just waiting for you to notice it.

Happy Easter dear friends!

3 Frogs Sat on a Log...

Three frogs sat on a log.  One decided to jump off.  How many frogs are left on the log?

THREE!  One made the decision to jump off but did not follow it up with the action of jumping off.

A decision without action is nothing.  I've also heard this stated as "faith without works is dead."


Sometimes it can be far easier to not make decisions, or to remain stagnant, than to expend the energy necessary for us to learn and change our mind-sets and heart-sets.

It is a simple fallacy in the thought process that can keep us unconsciously woven in non-action.

JUMP!

Love Everyone and Don't Get Angry!

I just finished reading the new book by Ram Dass, "Polishing the Mirror."  Within the book he shares the story of a time when he was in India with some of his devotees, and his guru, Maharaji-ji.  He went to India to flee from the Western culture only to find himself in the midst of the western culture that exists within India.  This angered him.  He was so upset that he locked himself in a room.  When his Western devotees came to see him, he angrily told them to go away.  Within a short amount of time he alienated the entire group of people who were there to see him.

Ram Dass was upset and confused.  His guru constantly told him "tell the truth and don't get angry," but the truth was that Ram Dass was angry.  One night in an angry fit, he threw a plate of food to the ground.

Maharaji-ji then wanted to know what was troubling him.  Ram Dass said he couldn't stand all of those people and he couldn't even stand himself.  He hated everyone.  Maharji-ji responded with "Love everyone and don't get angry."  Ram said, "But I don't love everyone."  Maharji-ji got nose to nose with him and said, "Love everyone and tell the truth."  Ram started to say, "But..."Then he realized what Maharaji-ji was really saying to him, which was this:

When you finish being who you think you are (unable to love everyone), this is who you will be (love everyone).  He thought he was somebody who could not love everyone and tell the truth.  Maharaji-ji said, "when you give that one up, I am still here, and the game is very simple.  Love everyone and tell the truth."

Is it just me, or does anger feel like a hostile takeover within?  I am grateful for spiritual evolution and the ability to identify anger and allow it to pass by like a taxi cab on the street, rather than getting in the cab and going for a long and bumpy ride!

Most of our anger comes as the result of things not turning out the way we think they should have turned out.

When anger arises, you may find it simple to move past it by saying to yourself - "Love everyone and don't get angry."

Or take these additional steps to move through anger and liberate yourself from the bondage of it:

1. Feel your anger fully.
2. Set a specific amount of time to rant about it.
3. Take responsibility - What could you have done better?
4. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person (or people, organizations, institutions).
5. Wear a rubber band on your wrist and flick it when you begin to obsess on angry thoughts.
6. Return to loving everyone once again.

I believe that if you look hard enough you will find something to love in the eyes of another, and if you can focus on the part that you love, the anger will fall away naturally and immediately, if you allow it to.

Love everyone and don't get angry.

Change Your Lipstick Shade, Change Your Life: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Last Thursday I was walking past a Sephora at the mall when I was pulled in like a magnet.  Without being mentally aware of where I was going within the store, I found myself standing in front of a plethora of makeup and I suddenly become aware of a compelling desire...no, it was a need...a compelling need for a new, bright, happy lipstick shade.

"MUST HAVE," I thought.  And so the search began.

My eyes moved quickly over the various shades of lipstick in their diverse array of tubes of different widths and lengths.  I was delighted by the numerous options before me but I didn't see what I was looking for just yet.  I continued along the lovely smorgasboard of makeup when I saw one jump out at me.  If it were a snake, it would have bit me.

On that day I went from this shade of lipstick:

To this shade of lipstick:

I was so thrilled about my new lipstick shade that I put it on right there in the store.  I was reminded that this is how my meditation practice often occurs for me.  I LOVE to meditate.  I mean LOVE it!  Sometimes I am drawn like a magnet to take that time out just for me to go within.  I realize that as I sit down to go within I never know how deep or far I will go with my meditation until I am in the midst of it.  I always go with an intention though, and it is usually to strengthen the muscle of non-attachment, surrender, or release, such that I can be more present in each moment, which always leads to greater peace and happiness for me.

My new lipstick shade had an impact on everyone I came in contact with that day, including myself.  That's right, my attitude was a little more cheery because I knew that I was wearing a new, bright shade, and it was a noticeable, beautiful color.

I have heard that if we want things to be different, we've got to do things differently.  When we first awaken to the Truth of our existence, we are careful with the thoughts we think, as they become our words.  As awakened beings who continue to evolve and blossom ever more each day like a flower, we have the awareness that our actions are a result of the thoughts we have had and the words we have spoken.  Now we can use our actions to altar, boost, or enhance our thinking (or mental attitude) which is a fun spiritual tool.  So ladies, as you travel along the path of enlightenment,  and you find yourself stuck, or lacking the enthusiasm you were used to once having, a new lipstick shade is just what you need.

Change your lipstick shade, change your life.

Much LOVE & Many Blessings,

Rev, Elizabeth Rowley

5 Fun & Easy Spiritual Practices

5 quick and easy spiritual practices that you can do daily:

1. Pranayama Breathing (extension of the breath)
1. Inhale through your nose for 6 seconds.
2. Exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds.
3. Do this 10 times. 
2. Practice Random Kindness
1. Pay someone a compliment (nice shirt, nice tie, love your shoes).
2. Hold the door open for the person walking in behind you or exiting from the same door in front of you.
3. Post a lovely comment to someone’s facebook wall for absolutely no reason.
3. Gratitude List
1. Stop whatever you are doing and write down 5 things you are grateful for.   (Stop reading this and do it now!)
2. Before you begin your day every morning.
3. Just before you fall asleep at night.
4. Start Your Very Own “Brag Book”
1. Carry it with you and write down every compliment you receive.
2. Refer back to brag book when you forget how completely AWESOME you are!
3. You will develop a greater awareness of the constant influx of your good.
5. Higher Power On the Hour
1. Set an alarm on your phone or in Outlook to make time for your higher power every hour on the hour for one day.
2. Stop whatever it is your are doing and make conscious contact with the Divine.
3. Get back to work!

We have a 5 point spiritual practice in Religious Science of Prayer, Meditation, Sacred Service, Circulation and Education.  I believe with the new organization we also have three additional practices being added and those are visioning, mindfulness and the creative process.  These are definitely important to be practiced within every spiritual community and in our individual lives too.

However, in order to continue to grow and expand your mind and consciousness, I believe that a balanced practice plus a variety of other practices sprinkled in will open you up to greater joy, happiness and possibility in your life.

I have discovered that when I do the exact same physical exercise daily my body becomes efficient and even though I have a killer workout routine, my body is no longer responding the way it did when I first began the routine.  Time to switch it up.  My doctor said that in the case of exercise you want your body to be inefficient because this is what causes muscles to grow and fat to burn.  I believe the same is true for Spiritual Practice.

I have also found that if I use the same shampoo in my hair over and again and then one day I switch it up, my hair responds in a wonderfully new and different way...usually a new shine with more volume.

Variety is the spice of life.  Please leave a comment here if you have additional spiritual practice ideas.

Namaste!