Unblocking Your Spiritual Wealth

admin — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:30:39 +0000

Having visited the Life Enrichment Center, one of the many Flint churches, on numerous occasions, I am thrilled to add my voice to the Center’s positive, uplifting Spiritual message of Divinity within every being.

We don’t hear the term, “Godspeed,” as often as we used to. There was a time when it was commonly said to someone who was taking off on a long, possibly dangerous journey. And, it was often used as a loving sentiment towards the deceased at a funeral.

I used to believe that Godspeed meant “faster than the speed of light” or “at the speed of Spirit.” So, when I heard the minister conclude a memorial service by wishing the newly departed “Godspeed,” I assumed that the pastor was asking God to rush that soul on to its next plane of existence as quickly as possible. But, recently, while looking up another word under “g” in the dictionary, I stumbled upon Godspeed. I discovered that the word originated in Middle English and was taken from the three-word phrase: “God speid you,” which meant, “God prosper you.”

So, a farewell salute of “Godspeed” was actually a wish for the journeyer, whether going across the oceans on a dangerous mission or through the ethers to destinations unknown, to have a prosperous journey. Most of us, of course, would prefer to begin our journey of prosperity on safe terrain, and right here on earth rather than waiting until we land somewhere beyond the “Pearly Gates.” We want an abundance of good in our life, here and now: lots of money, a great career, a terrific relationship, and plenty of physical comforts. We are ready right where we are to let God prosper us!

Is it wrong, especially in these troubled times, for us to desire to improve our individual worldly experience? There are those who believe that the philosophical tincture of “New Thought” is self-centered, that the inspiration for its practice is to obtain a comfortable material lifestyle, and that the ultimate goal of so-called “spiritual enlightenment” is earthly luxury. But, this is not the case…

New Thought is founded on the concept that All Creation is forever One with the Creator and that each and every being is imbued with the richness of Spirit. Life knows what every creature requires and, therefore, knows what we need before we ask. You could say that we come into life “fully loaded” with all the accessories that make us a “luxury model.”

So, how do we discover and experience our spiritual wealth?

Teachings on prosperity and “mental control of conditions” are often misunderstood. Learning to manifest abundant good in our life is not about our getting something for nothing. Certainly there are those who are looking for “secrets” to get-rich-quick, or to get-love-quick, or to get-healed-quick. But, they usually aren’t interested in learning a new way of being, or in obtaining spiritual enlightenment. They are more interested in manipulating the outer world of things than in discovering the richness of the life within them.

A doctor friend of mine, who believes that true wellness for her patients occurs as they take responsibility for the health of their bodies, often suggests to them changes in diet, exercise, and other activities; lifestyle changes that will not only help them with their current physical challenge but will have long-term benefits to their health and well-being. She told me the other day that after giving advice to a patient who was suffering from a painful problem brought on by years of unhealthy living, the patient asked, “Isn’t there just a pill I can take for this?”

Sometimes we approach our mental-emotional-spiritual health the same way. We want pain relief without making the kinds of changes that bring about permanent relief. “Can’t I just pray to win the lottery or that my bills will disappear?” Yes, you can. “Isn’t there some sort of ‘secret’ or ‘mental trick’ to getting the money I want?” Yes, there is. But, the results of such prayers and “mind focus” are often only temporary, and then we’re back in a state of need and want. Why? Because nothing in our life changes permanently until we do…

There is not enough money in all the lotteries combined to buy one bit of spiritual awareness. Prayer and visualization can sometimes improve our physical situation. But, when improvement occurs, it can be fleeting if it is not the result of a permanent change in our thinking, a transformation of our perception, and an alteration in the way we see ourselves and our relationship to the spiritual life within us.

Change comes with a price tag. Impoverished thinking such as intolerance, blame, selfishness, and greed leaves us “spiritually bankrupt” because these things are the antithesis of the richness of Spirit. Bloated self-interest blocks our ability to experience the abundance of our inner life and renders us insatiable in the world. An empty human vessel can’t be filled from the outside in.

We think that having worldly things will make us happy. Isn’t it “happiness,” then, that we’re really seeking? Why not go to the Source of Happiness? Happiness is fulfillment, and the experience of being “full” and “filled” can only come from within.

If we want to experience abundant good in our life, if we desire true prosperity in all the ways that it can express, not only in our finances, but in the richness of our relationships with others, we must pay the price…

The cost to us is the surrendering of our petty grievances, grudges, victimized thinking, excuses, and blame. This is the poverty we carry with us, and these dark, hardened beliefs block our experience of something greater. We don’t “create” prosperity when we let go of limiting thoughts and ideas. Rather, we remove the junk so that we can see the Good that is already present as the fullness of our original state of being, and allow it to flow into our life experience unimpeded by contradiction.

True wealth is a spiritual condition. When we discover the richness inherent in our inner life, the goodies of the world pale in comparison. Material things suddenly become the byproduct of our inner fulfillment rather than the motivating force behind our spiritual quest. Our improved material life becomes the residual effect of our spiritual enrichment, growth, self-discovery, and self-expression, and not the ultimate aim. “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

We unblock our spiritual wealth as we let go of “things on the outside” and turn within to Spirit. It is a journey without distance. Enter in peace. Godspeed! Thank you to Life Enrichment Center, a church Flint MI.

Partially-excerpted from Unlimited Visibility: Lessons and Processes to Improve Your “I” Sight

Technorati Tags: flint church, spiritual wealth

Bringing Peace to the Planet Through Meditation

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:21:39 +0000

No one would argue that the world is noisier these days than it has ever been, in some cities and countries reaching nearly intolerable decibels. War, bombs, and explosions have multiplied around the world. The intense and heated shouts of antagonist political and religious fanatics merge into indecipherable racket. Faster, noisier, and more “extreme” seems to envelope the market. What doesn’t disturb our ears, affronts our eyes. Billboards, once merely ugly, now digitally light up the night with advertisements. Unwanted ads float across our computer monitors like phantoms, and then stop, blocking our ability to read more valued words underneath them. In addition, what we see is horrifying. Acts of violence and catastrophic events that have produced pain and suffering are played over and over again, in full color, on the news. Where can peace be found in these times? How can we get there from here? Peace can be found within each of us, at the still, quiet core of our being. And the way to get there is through meditation.

By closing our eyes we turn away from the world, and by turn within, we find what seemed unknowable and elusive, but was always there…peace. As we slow the pace of our breathing and allow our body to let go of stress and anxiety… we find peace. Through the slowing of the hyperactivity of our thoughts, until they gently drift, like falling leaves, and settle into nothingness…we find peace.

This type of meditation enlivens every cell, fiber, and tissue of our being. In this way, this type of meditation can be healing. This type of meditation momentarily ends the jabber of our mind. In this way, it can be revealing.

The constrictions of body and mind disappear when we meditate in this way, and they frequently do not return when we open our eyes and face the world again. The peace that we have experienced within becomes the peace of our actions in the world.

It is, perhaps, more crucial than ever for each of us to meditate — to bring forth peace in ourselves and, therefore, bring peace to the world.

Technorati Tags: healing, inner peace, meditation, peace