"...but we've always done it this way!"

There are very few original thinkers in the world. Most people are secondary thinkers, allowing others to do the thinking for them, and never questioning the why and how of their thought. This is often true in our society, in company structures, and wherever groups of people come together...even churches!

Just ponder on the following story of a study of a group of monkeys and their actions. Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs underneath the suspended banana. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey will make an attempt for the banana. Again, spray the other monkeys with cold water. After another period of time, when another monkey makes an attempt for the banana, spray the other monkeys with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs to reach it. To his surprise (and horror) all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for thebanana. Why not?

Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been done around here. And that, my friends, is how behaviors become accepted without understanding. Human beings sadly sometimes act in the same ways. Doing a certain thing, a certain way, and defending that action fiercely—all the while, not really knowing why they're doing it.

True God-given creative genius can not come through the mind of the unconscious follower of secondary thought. Choose to live your life being bold, creative and unique. Have the courage to look at life and ask the question WHY we are doing something a certain way. You will see things in a new light!

I'm holding the high watch!

Rev. Donna

Running...

Sarcasm, jitters, cigarettes, drugs, candy, tantrums, silent-treatment, yawning, yelling, obsessing, cheating...these are some of the wonderful ways we ruuuuuuuuuuun from our pain.

We must continue to disengage from the delusion of the ego by facing the pain head on...whatever your pain may be. It's the only way to find the reality underneath.

We have to ask...in what way am I hiding from reality? In what wonderful way am I running from my pain? Hmmm.

Rev. Donna

Religion vs. Spirituality

I have a t-shirt that reads, "Religion is for people afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who've already been there."

Sprituality is not the same as religion. Religion is not spirituality. You do not have to be religious to be spiritual. And being religious does not make you spiritual. Going to church every Sunday and donating a portion of your income does not make you spiritual. It also doesn't make you religious. It makes you a religious-follower.

Spirituality is a self-directed and personal inner path. It is the idea that there exists something outside the experience of our 5 limited senses, and the belief that we can understand and be in relationship with the sacred. Most spiritual paths, while individually different, are also unlimited and inclusive.

Religion is a man made, culture-based doctrine that guides it's people in the practice of spirituality. Because religion is man made and culture-based, it naturally has some of the rules and taboos of that particular culture built into it. Many cultures have chosen to use fear to enforce the man-made rules of that culture, making their religion exclusionary and limited.

In choosing the paths which best express our personal truths and innermost beliefs, we honor ourselves and each other, and most of all, we celebrate Spirit.

Be religious or be spiritual...either way, connect with your Source and celebrate Spirit. Come to Unity of the Hills for unlimited, inclusive spirituality!

I'm holding the high watch!

Rev. Donna

PS: I have a new t-shirt. On the front it reads, "UNITY" and on the sleeve, "Namaste." I love my new t-shirt!

Give til it hurts...receive til it feels good!

Our ability to give and receive is directly related to our capacity to create and experience true prosperity, true love, and grow in consciousness.

Many of us have difficulty with giving, receiving, or both. Giving and receiving are opposite energies that are linked together, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect of that cycle doesn't function, the entire cycle doesn't function and life force cannot move freely. If you can't inhale, you will soon have nothing to exhale, and before long, your body will be unable to continue living. Giving and receiving isn't always seen as being as vital as inhaling and exhaling because our bodies can live without the giving and receiving cycle, but we won't live as well as we could live with that cycle.

I believe the inability to truly receive is more common than the inability to give. There are a number of reasons why receiving is difficult for so many of us. One factor is cultural conditioning. Giving is generally viewed as honorable and praiseworthy. Receiving, or taking, seems perilously close to selfishness, which has a lot of negative connotations for most of us.

Giving is seen as power and receiving is seen as weakness. When giving, we're "in control" in a way. Our actions are willful and deliberate. When receiving, we must surrender control and open to the feelings that are awakened in us by the giver. We may feel awkward, embarrassed, unworthy or even ashamed. When we stifle our receiving energy, we stop the flow of gratitude and, ultimately, the flow of prosperity and good in our lives.

Life can change for us when we realize that giving and receiving are 2 sides of sharing love. Giving has more meaning when the receiver has the strength to be receptive, because the art of receiving is itself a form of giving.

Live a full, complete life...be both a grateful giver and a grateful receiver.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

What the world needs now is love, sweet love!

When Jesus was asked, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" he replied, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind' - this is the great and foremost commandment, and there is a second like it, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself'. The whole Law and Prophets hang on these two commands." (Mtt 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-34).

The ancient Greeks had four words for four different sorts of love. At the bottom of the scale of love is epithemia, meaning simple desire or lust. Think of Jimmy Carter's famous campaign confession. Next up is eros, the Greek word for a love of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Further up the scale of love is philia, the affection that one has for one's family and friends. Highest of all on the scale of love, though, is agape. Agape is the apex, the greatest form of love. It is actually agape that Paul means when he says, of faith, hope and love, ". . .the greatest of these is love."

"What the world needs now is love sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love sweet love,
no not just for some but for everyone."

We need agape love; the love that takes us out of ourselves and our own selfish concerns, challenging us to love not only those who love us, not only those who need us, but even those whom we do not know and may not yet understand, and...most difficult of all...who may not even like us.

The 20th century theologian Daniel Day Williams wrote:
Love does not put everything at rest; it puts everything in motion. Love does not resolve every conflict; it accepts conflict as the arena in which the work of love is to be done. Love does not separate the good people from the bad, bestowing endless bliss on one, and endless torment on the other. Love seeks reconciliation of every life so that it may share all the others.

Those of us in long-term, committed relationships, know that love is change. It is never static. To build a relationship on epithemia only is folly. We can't always manage to be eros or "good, true, and beautiful." We do not always hold each other in philia or brotherly or sisterly affection, either. So what are the odds that we can reach agape? Whatever the odds, we must try. Where there is love, there is transformation...and transformation IS what the world needs now!

I'm holding the high watch!

Rev. Donna

Get out of your "woe-boat!"

Yesterday during church services, we talked about how our thoughts affect our lives. When we spend most of our time reiterating our list of "woes" all we are doing is "woe-ing around in our woe-boat" and generating more woe in our life. We are using our faith backwards!

Eric Butterworth said, "There is no such thing as a lack of faith. We all have plenty of faith, it's just that we have faith in the wrong things. We have faith in what can't be done rather than what can be done. We have faith in lack rather than abundance but there is no lack of faith. Faith is a law."

Have you ever stood in front of your closed refrigerator door, feeling hungry, and wondered why you couldn't feed yourself? Of course not, because you know that all you have to do is open the door. And what happens when you open the door? A light comes on! There's plenty of food waiting for you.

There's plenty of everything waiting for us in the universe. We simply need to open the door and the light of Spirit will lead us to our good. Give up fear and worry about what others will think of us or how scary it is to step out of our comfort zone. Open the door and let in the light...and you will also let in all the abundance and joy you can hold.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Quit Exercising Your Lips!

Beginning this coming Friday evening and continuing through all day Saturday, I'll be part of a silent retreat. I am looking forward to this time of peace and quiet...to walk, to think, to pray, to meditate...to be alone in the midst of a group. But when I tell people my plans, they shudder as if I'd just told them I was becoming a cannibal!

For most people, unconsciously, the greatest place of fear is within the stillness of their own minds, away from all activity and thought…just present to the moment and themselves.

You would think itwould be very simple…to sit quietly in a room without a care, worry or thought. However the ego doesn't want us to find that place. The chatter of the mind is how the ego grabs our attention and focus and keeps us from seeing what is real and true. The ego likes to keep people small, running, and locked in their insecurities and doubts. This is what sustains it…gives it life. If people were to begin to practice the art of stillness for just fifteen minutes a day, the ego would no longer have control...we would control the ego.

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, one of the main characters is an alien named Ford Prefect. Many things about earthlings puzzle him, such as the fact that they seem to talk all the time—even if only to repeat the obvious. Over the course of several months, he comes up with a number of theories for this behavior, one of which I found particularly insightful: “If human beings don’t keep exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working.”

Take some time today...quit exercising your lips and let your brain start working! Sit in the silence. Aaah, just breathe.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

SHINE!

This week I had one of those "aha" moments. I made a gift for someone, and they absolutely loved it. As they exclaimed over it and admired it, they asked if it had taken me long to make. I shrugged and said, "Not very long" - when in fact I spent many hours working on it. I poured alot of heart and soul into it. Why then, did I diminish it? Why did I feel the need to fib about how much effort I had put into that gift?

You know that song, "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine?" How many of us are afraid to let our "lights" shine? How many of us hold back a large part of ourselves?

Maybe we are afraid of being braggarts. Nobody likes a boastful, prideful person. From a young age, our parents teach us modesty and humility, which is not a bad thing in itself. But where do we draw the line? There is a very big difference between sharing our gifts with the world, and showing off. Even if we're fearful of ridicule or rejection, we need to realize that by hiding our gifts, we are hiding an essential part of ourselves.

Each of us has a little spark of the Divine within. By denying that part of ourselves, we also deny God within us! We have a responsibility to share ourselves with the world; not in a way that proclaims us to be better than anyone else, but in a way that uplifts and enriches others. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the world, and we owe it to God, the one who gave us these gifts and abilities to begin with. What good is a gift that doesn't get used? Imagine a flower being afraid to bloom, rain being afraid to fall, the sun being afraid to shine. We need to shift our perspective and realize that by hiding our lights, we are not serving anyone. Love, unexpressed, is not love at all.

OK, light a match...hold it up high...and sing..."This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."

Faith versus Giants

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”

Two Sundays ago we talked about giants in the Promised Land and how and why that kept the 12 tribes of Israel from obtaining their promised land. Their fear of facing the giants…their lack of faith in God’s promise of protection…kept them wandering in the wilderness for 40 more years. (Numbers 13)

We defined the wilderness as our old consciousness and the promised land as our new consciousness or awareness, and the giants represent our fears. We have to have faith that God will handle the giants as we leave the wilderness and enter our own promised land.

We can all use some advice in facing our giants, can’t we? Well, here are FIVE TIPS TO SLAY GIANTS!

1) Know who God is.
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present. God tells us to enter the promised land (a new awareness or a new consciousness) and God promises to take care of the giants for us.

2) Know who YOU are.
You are a beloved child of God. In Truth, you are whole and perfect. Connected to your Source, you can do all things.

3) Face the giants with the right weapons.
Put on the whole armor of God…faith and right action and love. Have faith, take right action, and BE love.

4) Go on the attack.
Don’t just stand around and complain. Confront your problems. Hunt them down and annihilate them.

5) Be prepared.
David needed only one stone to slay Goliath but he took 5 just in case Goliath’s brothers came out too. Without God, David was an ordinary boy. With God, David could slay giants. The same is true for us. Connected to our source, we can face our giants. So whatever your giants are, whatever form they take, we might as well face them now because they’ll come again and again. The giants won’t go away until we face them and defeat them.

I’m holding the high watch!


Rev. Donna

Every Moment is Unique

Do you remember days or do you remember moments in those days?

There is a story from the book SPIRITUAL LITERACY (Touchstone Books)
by authors Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. It is about a Brooklyn cigar
store manager named Oggie Rand. Oggie has an unusual habit...at
precisely eight o'clock each morning, he photographs the front of the
store. Always at exactly the same time and from exactly the same spot.
Every morning. Oggie collects his daily snapshots in photograph albums,
each labeled by date. He calls his project his "life's work."

One day Oggie showed his albums to a friend. He had not told his friend about his unusual hobby. Flipping the pages of the albums, the man noticed in amazement that the pictures were all the same.

Oggie watched him skim through the pictures and finally replied, "You'll never get it if you don't slow down, my friend. The pictures are all of the same spot, but each one is different from every other one. The differences are in the detail. In the way people's clothes change according to season and weather. In the way the light hits the street. Some days the corner is almost empty. Other times it is filled with people, bikes, cars and trucks. It's just one little part of the world, but things take place there, too, just like everywhere else."

This time Oggie's friend looked more carefully at each picture. No two were alike. Every picture was unique, just as every moment is unique. Through a series of photographs, he became conscious of one of life's great truths -- that each minute that passes is special, even sacred.

Author Henry Miller said, "The moment one gives close attention to
anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome,
indescribably magnificent world in itself."

And those are the moments we'll remember; the ones for which we stopped everything else long enough to pay close attention.

The lesson for me is this: to pay close attention to each moment. If I look closely enough, I know I'll see that each moment is unique and sacred. And I suspect it will be these moments...not whole days, weeks, months or years...that I will finally remember.

Perhaps much of the happiness and joy we find in life comes from taking
care of the moments.

I'm holding the high watch...in this moment!
Rev.Donna

Who? Me? Addicted?

I spent some time recently with a friend that I don't see or hear from very often any more. Addiction takes up most of my friend's life now. There are many reasons for my friend to hide in addiction, beginning with a horrific childhood. But all I know is...I just feel a loss and a sadness from what used to be to 'what is' today.

And as I contemplated my friend's habits, I started reviewing my own. Ouch! That didn't feel good. Yes, I have a few habits I'd like to change but, for heaven's sake, I wouldn't say I'm addicted. I mean, I would never consider stealing to pay for my habits. I don’t lock myself in the bathroom and shove a needle up my arm or snort things through my nose. My addictions don’t cause car accidents or impair my ability to make decisions. So my addictions aren't dangerous or serious...OR is it just that my addictions are socially acceptable?

I could be dangerous if you try to take my computer or my cell phone away from me! And talk about serious...what about shopping for stress relief? I especially enjoy shopping on QVC or HSN. They make it so easy. I see it, I love it, I order it. The very act of ordering relieves my stress, and I forget almost immediately that I've ordered something. Then there is the "surprise" when the items come to my home. I love getting "surprises" in the mail.

Exercise, internet blogging/gaming, eating, caffeine, shopping, cell phones...all socially acceptable addictions...and I've overdone most of them at one time, as most people have. So perhaps we don't bankrupt the family by shopping, or cripple ourself with exercise, or hide to use the internet...but maybe we are all more addicted than we know.

And maybe some of the sadness I feel for my friend, I'm also feeling for myself.

Matthew 7:3-5
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

I'm holding the high watch...even with a beam in my eye!
Rev. Donna

Watch your language...your body is listening!

Have you heard of Dr. Masaru Emoto and his research into water crystals? Dr. Emoto discovered and documented with photographic evidence that the crystals formed in frozen water vary in appearance depending on the thoughts directed toward them.

The first photo shows water exposed to the words "you make me sick." The second photo shows water exposed to the words "love & gratitude."

Dr. Emoto found that water which had been exposed to loving words show beautiful, complex, and colorful snowflake-like patterns when flash frozen. He also found that water exposed to negative thoughts formed erratic, disjointed shapes with murky colors when they were flash frozen, just like polluted water does.

Notice how the water that received thoughts of love and gratitude formed crystals that were symetrical and clean looking, while the water that received the thought you make me sick is discolored and severely deformed. Perhaps giving thanks for our food is more than an exercise in religious expression!

If you saw the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know," there was a scene where the movie's principle character, Amanda, missed her train. This gave her time to view photos of Dr. Emoto's frozen water crystals that were on display at the train station.

As Amanda was contemplating the photos, a stranger walked up to her and said, "If our thoughts can do that to water, what can they do to us?" Since our bodies are about 70 percent water, that's an interesting question to ponder.

Our self-talk can affect many areas of our lives, such as our self-worth, attitude, energy level, performance, relationships with others, and . . . our health.

A lot of us have one or more negative, self-critical dialogues that repeat themselves day after day in our minds. We may be so used to it we don't even notice what we say to ourselves. If someone else said to us some of the things we tell ourselves we'd likely be highly offended.

By changing our self-talk from negative to positive we can greatly influence our health, relationships, performance, attitude, and outcomes for the better. When we notice these negative repetitions of the mind we need to replace them with positive affirmations.

When you catch yourself talking negatively to yourself, remember the water crystal experiment . . . your water-filled body might be listening!

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Enjoy life!

SPIRITUAL AEROBICS

Last Saturday I talked with a friend I hadn't seen in several weeks. We met at a funeral...a sad occasion. I said to her, "It's good to see you, too bad it is a sad occasion." Her response to me was, "I enjoy seeing you even on a sad day."

Her response made me think...if I waited only for the sunny days to enjoy life, I would miss out on some great rainy days. How often we put off enjoying life until life is going in the way we think will make us happier...
---- when we make more money
---- when we own our own home
---- when we start that new job
---- when the weekend comes, etc.

We need to live each day and enjoy it. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have dreams and goals. What I am saying, though, is that we need to remind ourselves that everyday is meant to be lived. We are exchanging a day of our life for whatever we are doing. Let's make it worth it!

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Pain is weakness leaving the body!

Pain is weakness leaving the body.
~U.S.Marine Corps T-shirt

Perhaps the hardest thing to remember in the throes of a crisis is that every bad break can also be a blessing. There are always unexpected benefits in misfortune, IF we meet our crises with a shift in outlook...IF we recognize that Divine Order is always present.

Look back on your difficult times. See them in perspective. Did you make lemonade out of the lemons that were handed to you? We sometimes play our best hands when the chips are down. Perhaps our character works like a muscle: the more we exercise it, the stronger it gets!

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

The Taming of the Ego!

Just pondering an incident in my own life...and I realized I was taking it personally. My ego was shocked and bruised and I couldn't imagine how this could happen to a nice person like me.

I wonder how much of our pain and trouble is caused because we misinterpret what people say and do to us?

Our ego-centric nature is what causes us to think the worst and to take everything personally. It's not in our nature to think...I wonder what's going on for him right now? What pain inside caused him to do or say that?

When we take the actions of other people personally, this is our ego speaking, telling us that we are the center of the universe, that everything that happens in our lives revolves around us. Our ego is the veil separating us from the true, spiritual reality.

Today, I am believing that the more I tame my ego-centric thinking, the more I don't take it personally, the more connected to Spirit I will be. Hmmm, I feel better already!

I'm holding the high watch!
Donna

Our Daily Practice

Ironically, when we get busy, the first thing that tends to get cut back is our meditation practice. Most of us know from experience that we function much better when we give ourselves time each day to sit in silence. And the more "things" we have to do, the more we need that solitary, quiet time for the day ahead.

Expanding our morning meditation by just 10 minutes can make a big difference, as can the addition of short meditations into our daily schedule. The truth is, no matter how busy we are, unless we are in the midst of a crisis we always have five or 10 minutes to spare. The key is convincing ourselves that spending that time in meditation is the best choice. We could be getting our dishes done or heading into work earlier instead, so it’s important that we come to value the importance of meditation in the context of all the other things competing for attention in our lives.

We can also add short meditation breaks into our schedule, from five minutes before or after lunch, to a meditation at night before we go to sleep. When we come from a place of centered calm, we are more effective in handling our busy schedules and more able to keep it all in perspective. If more time in meditation means less time feeling anxious, panicky, and overwhelmed, then it’s certainly worth the extra time.

Here's a Buddhist 21 day practice I recently started. It takes ONE MINUTE! Read the practice below. Perhaps a minute or two of centered calm will help your day and your night.

21 DAY DAILY DHARMA PRACTICE

Daily Gassho (gosh ho)

The act of gassho is done by putting the palms of one's hands together in front of the heart and bowing the head. Gassho may be done sitting or standing; with eyes closed or open; and with or without beads.


Harmony Gassho

The verbal recitation accompanying your morning gassho can be the word “harmony.” Other recitations can be introduced later. Your recitation can be spoken with any degree of loudness or simply be said to yourself. The depth or power of the recitation is facilitated through your breath. After a moderately deep (but not overly long) inhalation through your nose, make your recitation as you exhale through your mouth. The sound of the last syllable should be extended until the end of the exhalation. As an approximate guideline, your inhalation can be about 3-5 seconds long, whereas your exhalation should be about 9-15 seconds long. Keep your body and head erect as you inhale. As the last syllable of the recitation is being extended, slowly bow your head, keeping your hands and body still.

At the end of the recitation most people like to stay in the finishing position for a while (perhaps for 1-3 normal breaths, saying the words harmony, understanding, wisdom) so that one doesn't get the feeling of rushing off immediately after the recitation. The underlying sentiment of the Harmony Gassho is that you will try your best to have a spirit of cooperation with others, and always be as calm and patient as possible. The seed of this sentiment will gradually blossom into an understanding that can be called wisdom.


The Gratitude Gassho

Use the same procedure as described for the Harmony Gassho except that your recitation is the word “gratitude.” On your normal breaths say the words gratitude, blessed, wisdom.

The underlying sentiment accompanying the Gratitude Gassho is an awareness of interdependency—that one is supported by nature, by other people, by everything. There is a feeling of “counting one's blessings,“ of “grace,” or of “how grateful I am.” The seed of this sentiment will naturally blossom and be expressed in compassionate ways.

An Important Consideration

The Buddhist way is “purposeless purpose” or “effortless effort.” In the context of this program, this means being as earnest and sincere as possible while doing your daily gasshos—and letting their effects gradually and naturally spread into other times of your day.

Let The Light In

In order to find the Light, you must first find the darkness.

If are in a room whose windows are curtained off, first you find the curtain!

The Light is always there. It never leaves. When we take down the curtains (low self-esteem, self-hatred, egotism, elitism, judgment, doubt...all our old enemies) we let the love and happiness pour in.

Today, remember the Light never left. It's only covered up. Find, and tear down, the curtains within. Let a little Light in.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

Peace

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize?

The King chose the second picture. Do you know why? "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

If there were a hurricane where you are right now, things would be spinning, whirling, and flying around. But if you could get to the center of the hurricane there would be absolute quiet and calm. This is a good analogy for life.

When your life is spinning, whirling, and flying around, GET TO YOUR CENTER...and we do that by going within to the presence of God within each of us. We connect with our Source and there is absolute quiet and calm.

When a storm blows through our world, most of us panic and look for cover. It's as if our minds go numb. We may feel lost, isolated, separated from God. So how can we survive life's storms?

Remember to get to the center...that's where the peace, the quiet, and the calm are. That's where Spirit is. Take a deep breath and connect to Spirit. You'll be safe as the storm passes.

I'm holding the high watch!
Rev. Donna

A Spiritual Faith-Lift

Love yourself--accept yourself--forgive yourself--and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.
~Leo F. Buscaglia


When we continually beat ourselves up for a mistake we made, we're just feeding our ego. In order to move on in our lives, we have to forgive ourselves.

OK, we said something stupid, we hurt someone's feelings, we disappointed a friend. What good does it do to keep reliving it? The best thing to do is to make what amends you can make, and think about how you can do it different next time.

Most people hold on to their guilt because they have the misconception that our depth of guilt reflects our level of love and remorse. But the truth is...when we hold on to our guilty feelings, we commit the ultimate betrayal: abandoning ourselves.

By letting go of self-hate and stopping the replaying of the event in your mind, our ego has nothing to chew on and we remove the judgment from the action.

Let yourself off the hook today.

I'm holding the high watch!
Donna

Cleaning Day

This morning I cleaned out my home office. I re-organized and rearranged. I also threw away a lot of "stuff!" Some of that "stuff" had sat in my office for weeks or months because I thought it was very important...and yet today, it had little or no value for me.

Cleaning and straightening this room made me feel lighter in body and mind and spirit. It was a relief...whew, no more piles of paper and books and folders staring at me saying, "do something!"

Well, this made me think of spiritual house-cleaning. Don't we all have some old thoughts and habits that need to be tossed out? Just like my important things that seemed so valuable in the past, but today are only taking up room in our minds. They may be the cause of our confused thinking and they may be blocking our progress.

How about taking out the garbage in our mind and spirits that gets in the way? It is the clutter and accumulated junk that makes our minds, spirits, and our homes crowded and unpleasant places.

Get rid of that garbage! Enlighten up!

I'm holding the high watch!
Donna

What goes around, comes around, doesn't it?

"Life is a perpetual instruction in cause and effect."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Someone close to you is acting like a real jerk and you want to smack them. But you are a "spiritual" person, so you sit back and say with a nodding head, "What goes around, comes around."

When we wish revenge for someone, or we're smug and content because we know they'll get theirs in the end, we are acting as channels of judgment. And just as a cold cup becomes scalding when you add red-hot coffee, we too take on the energy of the judgment we wish upon others. No matter how perfect we think we are in comparison to that person, trust me, we've get our own negative files we'd rather not have reviewed.

That's why we always want to be on the side of mercy and in the frame of helping the situation, not contributing to the problem.

Today, focus on your ex-husband, your ex-employer, your ex-friend, or anyone you've been waiting for cause and effect to pounce on, and ask for mercy for them. Believe me, you need it.

Donna

Today's Potpourri...

Affirm: I am increasingly abundant, prosperous and successful. My cup runneth over with riches, wealth and every good gift of a generous God. I am designed to joyfully receive countless untold blessings and bounty through my relaxed willingness to receive. (If you hesitate to make this affirmation, take the opportunity to look closely at what obstacles lie within you - and to remove them.)

Eggplant Lasagna

This eggplant uses no wheat and no pasta noodles of any kind. The eggplant is used in place of the noodles.





1 1b eggplant


2 Tbsp olive oil


3 cloves garlic, minced


2 ribs celery, minced


2 sprigs parsley


6 mushrooms, sliced


Salt to taste


2 cup tomato sauce


2 eggs, beaten


1 ¼ cup cottage cheese


1/3 pkg. grated jack cheese (1-½ cups)


½ cup grated Parmesan cheese


1 Tbsp sweet basil


1 Tbsp oregano





There are 3 basic items that make up this dish (A) the eggplant, (B)the cheese-egg mixture and (C) the vegetables in sauce





Preparing the items


(A) Peel, slice and steam eggplant until tender, set aside


(B) Beat eggs, and combine cheeses and eggs in a bowl, set aside(


C) Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil





Add spices (garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, celery) And tomato sauce. Simmer on low heat for an hour.





Assembling the Lasagna


A: Use 1/3 eggplant cover the bottom of the baking dish


B: Use 1/3 of the cheese mixture and cover evenly


C: Use the vegetables in sauce spread over entire bottom of dish





A: Use 1/3 eggplant cover and layer on top


B: Layer with 1/3 of the cheese mixture


C: Layer with remaining vegetables in sauce,





A: Place a layer of eggplant on top


B: Evenly top with the last 1/3 of the cheese mixture





Bake uncovered in 8 x 8-inch baking dish at 325 F degrees for 1 to 1½ hours.

You are a Divine Child of God with Unlimited Potential.

You are meant to live all that you desire.

You were born worthy, lovable, deserving, and complete.

This is the only vision that I hold for you.

Monday musings...

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Life is but a dream.
***************************
This little ditty is a wonderful spiritual metaphor...a great metaphysical teaching tool.

"Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream"

Keep on keeping on. Keep moving in the direction of your good. If you don't pay attention to the direction you're traveling, the stream of life may be turbulant. Be gentle, don't struggle as you go. Let God choose the direction...the waters will be still.

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream."

Be happy...be joyful. Know that happiness and joy are choices we make...not something that happens to us. Choose then to make your daydreams positive and affirmative. Even if you come to the rapids or the rocks, it will be smooth sailing.

Enjoy the ride.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

More relationship tips!! Some ideas to keep the communication lines open.

Appreciations: Share five things you appreciate about each other. These can range from the simple "I like your smile" to the sublime "I like it that you were able to be so low key after I forgot to pick you up last night." Appreciations can be a nice surprise to realize just how much our friends/family members/partners notice and appreciate.

Wishes, Hopes, and Dreams: Describe three things you hope for in the long run ("I hope to complete a marathon by the time I'm 40") and in the short run ("This week-end I'd like to spend a half-hour alone with my dad when he visits.") Afriend/family member/partner who understands your dreams is able to help them happen. Remember that hopes change as we go along and it's important to keep each other current.

New Information: We often forget to update our friends/family members/partner about a change in plans or circumstances. We tell people at work and think we've told others. Make the updates a ritual. Information like "The dentist said Bobby won't need braces after all" or "I'll have to be in San Francisco an extra day" is crucial to staying in-synch and feeling connected.

Puzzles: Clear-up big or little mysteries before they become suspicions, false assumptions, or resentments. Most "puzzles" have simple explanations. "You promised you'd water the tomatoes before you left this morning. What happened?" "The water was turned off. Was it back on when you got up?" You have to ask!

Complaints with Request for Change: Get in the habit of saying what you want rather than what you don't want. Describe a specific behavior that bothers you and explain how you'd like it done. Instead of "I get furious when you call and don't leave a message," say, "When you call and get the machine, please don't say 'It's me' and hang up. Say why you're calling, and when you'll call back, or be home, or whatever it was you were calling to tell me." If you forget to say why you were calling. Call back. Even if it's long distance. It's an inexpensive investment in your relationships.

Prayer for Our Church Family

God's order and harmony are established in each of us and in Unity of the Hills.
God's wisdom guides us in all our relationships and interactions with each other.
Renewed trust, loving communication and forgiving love, now heal any discord or misunderstandings.
We respect the feelings and needs of ourselves and each other as we cooperate in a space of peace and harmony.

And it is so!

Amen and amen and amen!

Make this a beautiful day!
Donna


Remember this...
You are a Divine Child of God with Unlimited Potential.
You are meant to live all that you desire.
You were born worthy, lovable, deserving, and complete.
This is the only vision that I hold for you.

Rainy morning musings...

The transforming power of Spirit is actively moving through Unity of the Hills. We are centered and focused on the path before us as we move to blessings beyond our highest expectations!

This is the only vision I hold for us!

Rev. Donna

Have fun and fill up the universe