I was reading an article today about different ways that we can be more sustainable in the way we live.  It talked about things like not driving our cars, but using public transportation, walking, or riding a bike.  Also mentioned were replacing appliances and fixtures around the house.  Just installing a toilet that uses less than 1.6 gallons per flush saves thousands of gallons of water per year.  Two things came to mind, actually one because the other was mentioned in the article.

Many people don’t want to try to conserve or to become more “green.”  They are happy that gas has gone down a bit because that means they can drive their SUV more.  The can get out the RV and take a trip.  They can stop carpooling and drive themselves.  Some people cannot see past their own greed.  That’s a shame.

The other thing is that I wondered what might be done in our world if we just put our efforts and thoughts into making it a better place rather than how we can consume more.  Because of the fuel crises, we have already made some changes.  What if, instead of those changes going by the wayside, even if gas does come back down, we continued to look for ways to improve life?  Would you like to bet that what China is doing now to clean up the smog will be undone once the Olympics leave?

What if we put our energy into curing diseases instead of finding ways to destroy each other and ourselves?  Could we cure cancer? I bet we could.  Could we find a cure for nearly ever ailment that afflicts the human race?  I’m sure of it.  I think we are unlimited in what we can do, but we have to want to.

What do you do when you feel you know your life’s purpose, but it seems everyone thinks you’re crazy?  What does it take to keep going in the face of overwhelming odds?

There are really two choices.  The first is to give up.  If everyone thinks you’re crazy, they must be right, right?  I mean, just because this thing, whatever it is, makes your heart skip a beat every time you think about it doesn’t make it right. Just because you can’t sleep at night thinking about it, doesn’t make it all that important.

Well, you can take everyone else’s opinion and declare it true, but then you might miss out on what your true heart’s desire is.  Is it worth the risk?  If this thing is something that you can’t seem to get away from and you have given it much thought, then I would be fairly confident in assuming that this is your mission, your heart’s desire.

The second thing you can do is join the ranks of people like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and know that your mission, your purpose is what you must do, no matter what, no matter who thinks you are less than sane.  Many of those who were great inventors or true visionaries had a bunch of people saying that they were crazy.  Many of them were laughed at on the streets, some thrown out of their homes.  They didn’t let this deter then. They went ahead with what they felt called to do. 

What is your calling?  What is your purpose for being here on this planet at this time?

I was just listening to a CD about energy in the body.  It was a mailing I received as a Kripalu Yoga instructor.  The CD was about energy and how it effects the body and the mind.

The thing I found interesting is the reminder that where our concentration, or our awareness, goes, our prana flows.  For those who are not Yoga practitioners, prana is the force or energy of life.  If we are concentrating on one specific body part, then our life energy flows to that part, to bring healing, to bring strength, whatever it is we need.  If we are concentrating on our work, whatever we are concentrating on, whatever we are fully aware of, our life force, our spirit, call it what you like, flows to that same thing.  We lose this if we are attempting to multi-task.  We are unable to concentrate on one thing to our fullest abilities and so our force of life, our spirit does not low into any particular thing, but is fragmented.

This idea of flowing prana or life force into whatever we are concentrating on is true whether we are aware of it or not. If we are unconsciously directing our thoughts into negative thoughts or feeling, then our life force is flowing in the same direction attempting to bring about whatever is the point of that concentration.  If we are thinking that we are terrible people, unable to do anything, then our life force flows into those thoughts and attempts to bring them to reality.

What have been your thoughts lately?

What are your good days like?  How about your bad days?  Are you like me and the good days are those where you are able to get things done and you feel like you contribute?  Are your bad days those where you just can’t seem to get motivated and you slog around all day accomplishing nothing and hating yourself for it?

We all feel that way, or at least most of us do.  We feel good if we are being productive and able to accomplish something.  Know why?  It is because we were created, hardwired, to be co-creative.  We are given a bit of the creative nature of the Source of all things and then sent out into the world to do something with it.  If we don’t, then we feel less than complete.  If we do then we feel happy.  Our spirits tell us that we are doing what the Creator wants from us.

Think about it next time you are having a bad day.  Look to see if you have been co-creative.  If not, see if you can accomplish something and see if it doesn’t brighten you day.  It doesn’t have to be big, just productive.  Try it. I bet you’ll like it!

Have you ever done a spirit led self assessment?  What I mean is, sit in a quiet place, open yourself to the Spirit and write down all you good points and all your bad points.  What are the things you are proud of and what are the things you wish were better than they are?

The trick is to not judge, but to just let it flow from the Spirit and write down whatever comes.  After you have done that, step back and evaluate where those things come from.  Are they from a lack of spirit in your life or are they from a lack of the expressive?  When you realize what they are and where they come from, they are much easier to work on.  They almost fix themselves!

Lessons learned and acted on are sweet lesson indeed!  This morning I woke feeling somewhat apprehensive and just a little upset. You see, I had to go to the dermatologist this morning and get a couple of spots of pre-cancer cut off of me.  It really isn’t a big deal, but I knew it was not going to feel good and there was so much I wanted to do this morning.  I hated the idea of wasting most of my morning just to get hacked on.

 
The other thing that bothered me was that I needed to do some work outside that included spraying some of my lawn.  It is the kind of thing that cannot be watered or rained on for forty-eight hours afterward.  This morning was bright and clear and it would be my only chance for a week.  I hurried and got it done before the Appointment, went and got hacked on and came home.  Shortly afterward, it rained so hard, and hailed, that there was no way my spray was not washed away.  There went $20 down the drain.

 
I started to get really bummed.  I wasted the morning, was now way behind in the work I had to do and now the rain washed my lawn stuff away.  In the past I would have been on the slippery slope of the downward spiral.  I stopped, took a breath, and said to myself, “This will not, cannot, ruin my day.”  The bad feeling left and no matter the weather outside, the sunshine broke out in my mind and things were right in the world again.  That’s how it’s supposed to be!

 
We must all work on those things in ourselves that need changing and continually strive to feel the opposite emotion, live the opposite life.  We are created to be so much more than we are, but we cannot continue on the way we have and expect things to change.  Change today!  You’ll enjoy the result.

If we listen, it is surprising what we will hear.  Sit in meditation and listen for guidance and you will most often get it.  The trick is to expect it, listen for it and then respond to what is given.  It isn't easy to do this; we so often want to discount what we hear and what we receive. 

This isn't something new; we have been doing this for years.  Think about the last time you asked someone for advice. You listened, but more than likely, you listened for that advice that agreed with you already chosen direction.

When we ask the Infinite for some advice, some direction, we need to listen and believe that we are being given the thing we need.  Try it.  See if it isn't true.  Try it and see where it might go.  This is called faith.

Last night, just before dark, my wife and I saw someone we know.  This person was about twenty-five yards away and the evening was changing from dusk to dark.  The person was wearing what might be described as a minister's shirt.  You know the kind, black with the type of collar that would allow the insertion of a white priests or clergy collar.  Now I have to admit that I do not know this person well.  I have no idea what they do for an occupation.  He could be a member of the clergy, a hit man, or anything in between.  What got to me is my wife's comment.

My wife commented that if this person were clergy, that would explain his usual sour disposition.  This piqued my interest because I myself am a member of the clergy.  Is the general opinion that people who are professional members of the priesthood or clergy always sour and disagreeable.  I mean this statement came from my wife who has been married to one for many years.

I have to admit that my own view would probably be that many of them are indeed, sour faced and disagreeable.  I don't like talking to other ministers because I hate always feeling as if I have to be very careful of what I say in case they become offended, or worse, feel the need to correct my errant beliefs.

What does that say about the state of religion?  What does it say about the people who are, supposedly, there to help us on our faith journeys?

Yesterday, I failed to write anything in my blog.  I could have sworn that I did it.  I even checked it off on my list of things to do.  I guess I need to check a little more closely when I do that.

Speaking of letting things slip by; how many days, weeks months, years, have you let slip by?  I think if we are honest, we all have too many of those, including years, that have gone by unnoticed.  We get caught up in the business of the day and pretty soon, many days have gone by and we have no idea where they went.  Have you ever eaten a meal and later wondered what it was or what it tasted like?  This is much the same thing.  We go through life and then, all of a sudden, we look back and can't remember what we did, where we were, or who we were with.

Being in the moment is one way to be more aware of what is going on around you.  Another is to simple slow down enough to enjoy, savor, what you are doing.  We all have a choice in how we live our lives.  We can either live them as if we were constantly in a rush to bail out the ocean one bucket at a time, or we can purposely and purposefully live our lives.  We are, so why not be?

It is really hot today where I live. The thermometer is nearing on hundred degrees F.  I don't know about you, but that's hot, as far as I am concerned.  I like the heat much more than the cold, but this is getting near the limit.

Speaking of hot, I saw an interview with Joel Osteen on 60 minutes.  As part of this, 60 minutes interviewed a theologian asking what he thought about Osteen's message.  He called Osteen a heretic.  Now I might be a bit prejudice about people who are called heretics since I am in their camp.  The thing is, this theologian said that Osteen talked too much about good things and not enough about hell.  Osteens' answer was that people knew how and when they were wrong, he wanted to give them hope.

I agree with him.  Religion has turned off so many people because it has wanted only to scare the hell out of people (yes, pun intended).  Religion has very seldom been about giving people hope or telling them that God loves them, even thought scripture says that.  When one reads scripture, and here I am talking from a Christian tradition, the central message is of hope.  If this is true, and it is, then why do so many preachers, priests and theologians want to ignore that message of hope and dwell on the negative.  That seems to come from someplace other than God, the Infinite source of all. 

To be a heretic means to choose what to believe.  I guess Joel Osteen, myself, and a few others choose to believe that God loves us, makes a way for us, gives us ways to live that are truly remarkable, and is more than an evil tempered Tyrant. Here's to choice!