What's Up, Rev?

A New Vision

2012-01-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

What's the intention for 2012 and what have we done to begin to realize it? We start the new year with tremendous intentions - I'm going to be in a body building contest by the end of the year - I'm going to weigh 50 pounds less by summer. How about - I'm going to Europe by spring - I'm going to make $10,000 a month by September. All of these things are intentions, serous intentions, but what do we do to make those things happen?

How do we keep up the enthusiasm, the positive attitude? Why do we fall away from these great intentions and wind up being yet another gym membership casualty? I think that we make big plans, huge intentions, and we don't have a reasonable expectation of success. I think we hope and wish but lack a concrete plan for getting from here to there and when we don't "magically" manifest our intention, we give up and revert to pattern behavior. We don't think of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of little baby steps it takes to reach the destination of our dreams.

Hold the intention - keep the goal in mind - don't jettison the worthy intention because it does not manifest overnight. Keep taking the baby steps, do one more thing today that we didn't do yesterday. Acknowlegde our progress. Write one page a day of that great American novel. Paint on that masterpiece for one hour a day. Save $3.50 a day, the price of a trendy cup of coffee, toward that trip to Europe. Make baby steps in the direction of the goal. Little by little, step by step, day after day, and then we realize in one month, six months, one year, how much closer we are to manifesting our goals. Then we must acknowledge how far we have come, not how much more we have to go.
Most of us manifest the big vision, not overnight, but by one baby step at a time.

New Year New Day New Me

2012-01-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

So, this is the year I blog consistently, faithfully and daily. Stop laughing...It just seems like life is happening so quickly that it is difficult to take the time to write about life happening so quickly.
Another year has gone by and I get to look at a brand new, shiny, never been used year and set my intentions for it. One of my spiritual practices is to daily read something, anything, by Ernest Holmes, founder of Centers for Spiritual Living. This morning I read, "The reflection of an image in a mirror is an exact likeness of the image which is held before the mirror. And so it is the Law of Good reflects back to you a likeness of the images of your own thought. Thus we are told that we reflect the glory of God. But too often we reflect the fear and limitation of the human rather than the glory of God."
With that in mind, I set my intentions for the new year. I set my intentions with love instead of in fear and I set my intentions with power instead of doubt. So, 2012, I accept more love, more joy, more peace, more prosperity, more unity, more wholeness, more health, more of the good that life has to offer.

Love Who?

2011-07-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

"One of the first things to do, is to Love everybody. If you have not done this, begin to do so at once." Ernest Holmes, Science Of Mind, Text p.298.3

Simple, eloquent, life affirming advice. Simple, yes, easy, not so much. Well, not always, not with everyone, all the time. It's easy to love everyone across the globe. Especially those people who are far, far away. The ones we never run across are the easiest to love, aren't they, because we don't have to deal with them! We can love everybody - at a distance! It's those people we bump up against on a daily basis that make it so difficult to love! Family, friends, the drivers on the freeway, the slow pokes in front of us and the speed demons coming up on our tails - those are the people that bug us.
And that's why we call it,"a spiritual PRACTICE." We are practicing all the time. We are forever being reminded to practice, practice, practice, being the Love in the world. We are forever being given opportunities to be the love in the world. We are forever at choice to, "be the change we seek" in the world.
So, just for today, let us be the love. Let us be the thing we seek. Let's strengthen our practice, like being at the gym of our consciousness, and let's give our love a work out! Just for today, love everybody.

Dog days

2011-07-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Summertime, filled with hot air, trashy fiction and doing nothing...but enough about congress.
How is the summer going for you? Thinking about it? Are you taking some time to check in with yourself and examine the fruits of your labor? This is the time when things have come into full bloom. The things we planted into the soil of consciousness in the spring sprouted, and are in full bloom in the heat of summer. What have you grown? And do you like what you got? Is it time to go back to the drawing board of your thoughts and set new intentions? Or is it time to celebrate your harvest of good fortune, wonderful company and delights of your manifestations?
Whether we manifested the summer of our dreams or are in the process of choosing again, I know that Spirit always supports its own expression, and we are that.

Give Up and/or Surrender

2011-03-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday and yesterday was the first day of the Lenten season - Ash Wednesday - which, when I was a child, always meant there was something for me to "give up" for Lent. I tried to "give up" broccoli for Lent one year but my mother would have none of it. Off and on, I tried to "give up" those things I hated in an effort to circumvent the whole denying myself things I enjoy because I never saw the point. Let's deny ourselves the good things in life and suffer so we can say that we can suffer. Life can deliver suffering to us free of charge, unexpectedly and out of the blue, so I feel no need to add to it by making up more ways to make myself suffer.
If I am to keep a true Lent, then I believe I must "give up" those things that keep me stuck in my false and limiting beliefs. I must "give up" my judgments about people, my condemnations regarding events, and my cynicism around situations. I must give up those things that keep me from seeing the beauty, the perfection, the oneness of all life. If I am to keep a true Lent, which means to loose and let go, then I want to let go of my prejudices, my small mindedness, and my petty ideas of how it "should" be.
So, I'm giving up on "giving up", and I'm surrendering my small self in these next 40 days to grasp an image of the Divine as all things. I'll let you know how it goes...

This Comes With Attachments

2011-01-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

I keep noticing where I am attached to things, I suffer. Yeah, I know, so what else is new? What's new, I suppose, is when I'm noticing how many things I seem to be attached to. Big things, little things, insignificant things, important things, all sorts of things can be the source of my attachments. I'm learning, once again, to let go. Another turn of the wheel, another year, another opportunity to practice the presence. Sometimes, I must remember day by day, other times I need to remind myself minute by minute and there are those times, crazy times, forgetful times, high stress times, "everything should go the way I want it to" times, when all of it seems to go out the window and I am attached to everything! Oh yeah, "If I ruled the world, then (fill in the blank here) would or would not be happening!!!"
Then, I remember to breathe. Then, I remember Love. Then, I remember Forgiveness.
Ah, yes, the old f-word. Forgiveness, self-forgiveness, because that's where it begins. We cannot forgive others if we are unwilling to forgive ourselves. Extending forgiveness to others is an extension of self-forgiveness. I'm not talking about condoning, or blaming, or "letting someone (or the self) off the hook", I'm simply saying self-forgiveness is the practice of releasing oneself from the behaviors of the past. It is choosing to suffer no longer from events which occurred before this present moment. By extension, forgiving others is also a practice of releasing oneself from the past, because when we imprison someone else in the past of their behavior, we must remain there to be the warden.
Indulging in the head talk of "When he said this, then I should have said..." or the endless stream of "What if..." scenarios, or even the "If I ruled the world, then this would not be happening!" thoughts dis-empower us. When we are busy regretting the past, worrying about the future, awful-izing about conditions, we are in the effect, attached to all of the "stuff" of life.
Well, wait two minutes, the stuff will change. Everything in life changes. Nothing is here to stay. As they say in the Bible, "It came to pass..." Everything in life came to pass, not to stay. Sometimes my affirmation is, "This too shall pass..." Only the Eternal remains unchanged.
When I remember to breathe, to Love and to Forgive, I can release my attachments, and bring myself, fully present, into the Eternal Now. Breathe, Love, Forgive, Breathe, Love, Forgive, Breathe...some days that's all I do!

New Year, New Me?

2011-01-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we are 10 days into the new year and have you been keeping all your new year's resolutions? Have you made any new year's resolutions? Yeah, me neither. Let's face it, they don't work. Ask anyone who is a regular gym member. At this time of the year, January, the regulars can't find an open stair master, and unoccupied elliptical or a free lane in the swimming pool. The gyms are packed with the January resolute. The regulars don't have to be concerned, though, having been through this year after year, the regulars know too well that the newly resolute will be gone before January ends.
Real change comes from within, not at the gym. We are reborn every morning, every new day brings a new you. Newness happens every moment, every time we remember who we are, not when the calendar turns a page. We can set an intention in the morning, for that day, for that hour or minute, and we can see it realized. In this way, we build success upon success, victory upon victory. Then go to the gym, just for one day at a time.

It's the Most wonderful Time of Year

2010-12-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

It's the holiday season, Christmas time once again, and we are right in the thick of it! How is it going for you? Is all your Christmas shopping done? I'm still actively gift searching and loving every minute of it. I enjoy walking around the malls and shopping centers looking at the displays and observing the hustle and bustle of the people going by. I must admit, I do alot more looking than actual buying but I enjoy it all. Christmas music on the radio since Thanksgiving weekend, shopping and looking since Black Friday, all's right with the world...
Every Christmas season brings memories of Christmas Past, my past, growing up on Staten Island, NY. I recall tree shopping with my Dad. It always snowed when we were out picking a tree from one of the corner lots. The Christmas lights were strung across Victory Blvd. and Manor Rd. from light pole to light pole. Ribbon candy and maple sugar Santas. Ice skating at Silver Lake. It was usually so freakin' cold my ears felt like they would fall off if I didn't cover them! I remember visiting the big tree at Rockefeller Center and walking down 5th Ave. looking at each store's Christmas window decorations. Wonderful memories!
What kind of memories are you making this year that you will look back on in the years to come? Make them happy ones.

Everything Old is New Again

2010-10-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

I reached that age where I am recognizing the repeating cycles, cycles of fashion, cycles of politics, cycles of learning, cycles of fads, cycles of everything. I suspected it a while ago when I started to see high school kids wearing bell bottoms, ugh. If bell bottoms can come back, what could be next? I wore bell bottoms in high school, along with other highly questionable fashions. There were the bell bottoms with all the patches, the Danskin body suits, orange construction boots, overalls, all those gauzy woven shirts made in India, headbands, puka beads, platform shoes and carpet bags. Blast from the past, right? But seriously, what else can one do with jeans? Bell them out, peg leg them in, make them tight as can be, make them elephant legged, low rise, high waisted, zipper fly, button fly, stone washed, acid washed, but that's about it. The cycle continues and round and round we go...
Same is true with those other things I mentioned. Just watch.

Everything That's Old, is New Again

2010-07-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Things run in cycles...
We plant seeds, we see the sprouts spring up from the ground, they grow into full bloom, we harvest, we turn the soil under and see the ground as barren, fallow earth, then begin to plant again.
And the cycle repeats itself...
What would you plant this time? We have the power to set our intentions, to make manifest what we would experience for ourselves, so again, what would you plant this time around?
I know for me, I would have Peace of Mind, I pray into Joy, and I affirm Abundance for all. I know God's gifts come to all alike and I pray rain for the parched, Wisdom for the ignorant, Unity for the separate, Balance for the tipped, Freedom for the bound, Love for the despised, Order for the confused, Power for the weak, Wholeness for the fractured.
I know the gifts of Spirit come to all alike and as we affirm the gifts are ours already, I know we experience them. Blessed be.

YoufromNY?Nokidding!ImfromNYtoo!

2010-07-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

So, I'm reading the book, "Revolutionaries" by Jack Rakove, which is a wonderfully insightful look at the a 20 year span before, during and just after the American Revolutionary War. It provides great detail about the lives of our Founding Fathers and the events surrounding the birth of this great country.
The part that made me laugh out loud, however, was in the telling of the journey some of the delegates made from Boston to Philadelphia to attend the first Continental Congress. As the men made their way south, they stopped in various cities, New York being one of them. They loved the city, thought their accomodations were first rate, but John Adams had this to say about their New York hosts, "They talk very loud, very fast, and alltogether. If they ask you a question, before you can utter three words of your answer, they will break out upon you again-and talk away."
It just made me howl! The country wasn't even a country yet, and already NYers had a reputation! It took only 100 years for a colony of European settlers to acquire "the New York state of mind." Hilarious! Some things never change. I know, being born and raised in NY, it is still the same! And so am I. I really have to practice speaking slower, lower and not interrupting. It's a spiritual practice really, breathe & listen, breathe & listen...

Where Does the Time Go?

2010-07-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

This grand experiment called my blog is being neglected by me. I don't know what is blog worthy and what isn't. I find that the sharing down to one's toenail clippings is way too much information and yet I can't decide what is appropriate to share. I guess the bottom line for me is to make a decision regarding what I want to share and stick to that. I still wonder why on earth someone would want to know what I'm thinking about.
So, we just celebrated Independence Day yesterday and it got me thinking about the Founding Fathers and their contribution to the endeavor. I'm reading the book, "Revolutionaries" by Jack Rakove and it's a facinating look at the men who were in the forefront of the fight for independence.
I don't know about you but I was taught that the founding fathers were this group of cohesive men, icons really, all together on the same page, good Christian, God fearing men, united in the cause. What hooey! Politics is politics and these guys were no different than the ones we have in government today. Well, except for the powdered wigs. They were all over the place regarding the fight for independence, some moderates, others wanting to stay loyal to the crown and still others were radical firebrands. These were men, products of the European Age of Enlightenment, who fought against each other almost as much as they fought against the British.
And, most of these men were not the "good Christians" that the right wing conservatives would have us believe they were. But more on that later...

On Being Invisible

2010-05-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

I suspected it in my 40's and now that I've spent several years in my 50's I'm convinced of it. I've become invisible. Really. I am not the target audience for new movies. Clothes are not designed with me in mind. The only thing on TV that market to me are the commercials for high cholesterol medicine and that yogurt that Jamie Lee Curtis is hawking. It is an interesting time in my life. I've never been invisible before. It takes a little getting used to.
I have to tell you, though, that being invisible has its advantages. I don't feel the need to fix my hair and put on makeup to go to the grocery store anymore. Think about all the time that saves! I don't change my clothes before going to the mall. Whatever I'm wearing at the house will just have to do at the mall. Sometimes my purse does not match my shoes and I don't feel self conscious about it. I will even wear white after Labor Day and not care! That's an east coast thing.
Being invisible frees me up to enjoy things that maybe I would not have done when I could be seen. I might even wear crocs!

Buzz off!

2010-05-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have a hummingbird feeder outside my family room door and I can see it when I'm at the computer. I try to make sure there is food in it all the time so the lovely hummingbird family, male and female, get used to it being there and will hang out in the area. The interesting thing about the male is how super protective he is about the food! Here is this large feeder with more juice in it than he could ever possibly drink in a lifetime and all he does every day is hang on a neighboring branch and dive bomb any other hummingbirds that might happen upon the feeder. Scarcity mentality! Really, there is enough to go around...
The other day, he was double teamed by two males. One flew in to distract him and when he flew off to drive the guy away, the second bird flew in and got his fill. They then reversed the dodge and the first fellow got to drink. Very clever. "They're organized, I know it." (Chicken Run, the movie)

What Do We Think?

2010-04-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about thinking today and I wonder why I do so much of it. There is just no down time when it comes to consciousness. Even when I meditate, random thoughts pop in just to make me aware that I need to dust the mantel or that dogs bark for no apparent reason. I suppose its no different than, say, my kidneys or my lungs, which do what they do all the time whether or not I give them any attention. It's a good thing that I don't have to remember to circulate my blood or digest my food, because I don't think I'd remember in a timely fashion...I'm too busy thinking about that damn barking dog when I'm trying to meditate!

My First Time

2010-04-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

So, how's it going? I've entered the blogosphere, myself. It seems quite pointless right now but perhaps I'll get the gist of it soon. I named the blog, What's Up, Rev? because I am a fan of Bugs Bunny from way back. He was my very favorite cartoon character when I was a child. Smart, funny and always on his way to Pismo Beach or some other destination point west. That's probably why I wound up in San Diego! I was following my inner Bugs.
It truly is a strange journey we are all on, isn't it? Regardless of where you are in life now, do you occasionally look back over your life and think about the twists and turns, the side roads and the curvy paths that you took along your way? I know it's just a mental exercise but sometimes I think about the long, strange trip it's been up to now and I wonder, a)how the hell did I get here? and b)what's next?
Sure, I make plans, we all make plans, and in the words of that guy on the TV, "So, how's that working out for you?" I make plans, I have goals, I set intentions and life keeps unfolding around me. Next step on the path, next step on the path. I'm just not in any hurry.
There are different kinds of people in the world, thank God, and I'm one of those "long runway" kind of people. A dear friend from many years ago coined that descriptive phrase about me, and I do resonate with it. I take as much time as I want, to meditate, think about, weigh, contrast, compare, and generally muddle over things before I decide to go one way or another. Then, I take off. Takes all kinds, doesn't it?