Day 181 - Lesson 180

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
169 - By grace I live.  By grace I am released.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
170 - There is no cruelty in God and none in me.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

The sun came out today.  The relief was palpable.  I had a long and beautiful hike.  I played in the dirt and in my flowers.  I watched birds.  I watched dogs run with abandon.

"With eyes brimming with love, sing his name.  All inner mysteries will be disclosed....
O dear one, keep chanting God's name while sitting, or standing, or involved in the world."
~ Swami Muktananda

This is what I felt....when the sun came out.

Day 180 - Lesson 179

* I completed my blog last night and then blogger malfunctioned.  When I opened it today, much of what I had written had not saved.  Apparently, this is what I was meant to share....

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
167 - There is one life, and that I share with God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
168 - Your grace is given me.  I claim it now.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I have been feeling blue all day today.  I maintained my rituals - I woke up and meditated (I even meditated longer than usual), I practiced my sun salutations, I drank my ginger tea.  I worked hard for my company and for a board on which I serve.  I walked the beagle.  I meditated some more.  I prayed.  All day I said extra prayers for some folks I know who are really struggling.

As I reflect on my day, on my blue heart, I take comfort in knowing that I share my life with God and grace is mine. 

Day 179 - Lesson 178

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
165 - Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
166 - I am entrusted with the gifts of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I participated in a webinar today for my Perfect Health teacher certification course.  Davidji was the instructor for much of the class.  He gave a fine pep talk that encouraged people not to give up, to continue their studies, and to believe that the information is logical, easy, and meant to be taught by each one of us participating in the class. 

While I have gotten a bit nervous about the class and have asked myself if I'm really prepared for the commitment and investment to pass the course, I feel pretty good about it.  Normally in situations where I've felt nervous - that nervousness gives way to fear - that fear gives way to flight and I sabotage any success I might have had.  Thankfully that isn't the case this time.  In those moments that I feel nervous I sink into love and release the tension.  If I am meant to become a Perfect Health Instructor, I will indeed become one.  I need but set my intention and let go of the outcome.  Obviously I need to continue my studies - that's part of setting the intention, but then allow things to happen as they will without trying to force a solution.

Thinking of God and recognizing the gifts from God helps me to release fear.

Day 178 - Lesson 177

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
163 - There is no death.  The Son of God is free.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
164 - Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I have been sitting here, struggling with what to say tonight.  My mind is zipping around in several different directions.  I actually wrote out a couple of paragraphs and deleted them.  I am all over the map.  It is incredibly windy this evening, steady 30 to 40 with gusts to 70.  That could be part of my problem.  I didn't hike or walk this evening (too windy), so that's likely part of it, too.

I recently wrote out a list of significant life events - my life events. One of the things I put on the list was this feeling I've had my whole life that I'm going to be involved in or part of something 'big' - I have no idea what it is.  It's almost like seeing a fuzzy picture that you can't quite get focused, and the more you try to focus it, the more blurry it becomes.  This feeling has been stronger the last few months.  Maybe I just need a vacation?

I am confident that whatever is to happen in my life - there is a divine purpose.

Day 177 - Lesson 176

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
161 - Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
162 - I am as God created me.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

See the stars, look how they shine for you....this song, Yellow by Coldplay, is on right now.  I love that line.  That line, these lessons, getting outside and drinking in the sun, wind, sea, and chirping birds all remind me of our many blessings.

Earlier today I found my jaw setting as I looked at some comments on a social networking site.  My jaw setting means I was irritated.  I allowed myself to be irritated for a few minutes before recognizing that there was truly nothing to be irritated about.  We are each experiencing and responding to life based on our current level of awareness.  I don't say this as being 'superior.'  It is a simple statement of fact.  It's so much easier to listen with compassion (read with compassion) and look with love when I remember this.  Plus it's such a relief to lose any desire to get caught up in things that I don't need to be involved in.

I have also been actively reminding myself to let life unfold as it may - without forcing solutions.  For someone with little patience (me) this can be a challenging goal.  However, I am, in this moment, appreciating the goal.

I am as God created me.  Whether I can see the stars shining or not, I know they are shining for me....

Day 176 - Lesson 175

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
159 - I give the miracles I have received.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
160 - I am at home.  Fear is the stranger here.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I recently had a long talk with a friend who has suffered a great personal loss.  I shared my thoughts on spirit and how spirit lives eternally.  The truth of this miracle is something I only recently truly embraced.  I do feel at home and so much less afraid.  For many years I have carried around an Audre Lorde quote that I often refer to when I am feeling fearful or uncertain about things:

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
The reality of this quote has taken on a much deeper meaning given my journey.

Day 175 - Lesson 174

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
157 - Into His Presence would I enter now.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
158 - Today I learn to give as I receive.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I have been practicing deep listening and when I don't know how to respond or if I worry that I may not respond well, I ask to be a vessel of love, I ask God for guidance in that moment.  What have I learned from this?  The answer comes every single time.  Sometimes the answer is simply to say nothing at all, but to look with eyes of love - to express love through my eyes.  This can be a powerful experience. 

I was recently inspired to practice deep listening because I ran across this quote:

Deep listening, compassionate listening is not listening with the purpose of analyzing or even uncovering what has happened in the past. You listen first of all in order to give the other person relief, a chance to speak out, to feel that someone finally understands him or her. Deep listening is the kind of listening that helps us to keep compassion alive while the other speaks…During this time you have in mind only one idea, one desire: to listen in order to give the other person the chance to speak out and suffer less. This is your only purpose. Other things like analyzing, understanding the past, can be a by-product of this work. But first of all listen with compassion. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace is felt in the heart when we listen with compassion and look with love.

Day 174 - Lesson 173

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
155 - I will step back and let Him lead the way.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
156 - I walk with God in perfect holiness.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I read a little something today from Dr. Wayne Dyer in which he encouraged us to think about being a soul and having a body, rather than being a body and having a soul.

As I have changed my life and continue the daily rituals and practices that nourish spirit, that feed my soul, I find it becomes less of a stretch to identify with my soul rather than my body.  This may be especially fortunate as I age and my body becomes less reliable.  I say that in part humorously.  I am in better health now than I was a couple of years ago.  But seriously, I am going to have my soul, my spirit for all eternity.  I am only going to have this body a short time.  Therefore, soul nourishment is ultimately important.

I did a good job of feeding both my soul and my body this evening - a couple of good hikes - a nature meditation!  Beautiful - I stepped back and let Love lead the way; I walked with God in perfect holiness.

Day 173- Lesson 172

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
153 - In my defenselessness my safety lies.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
154 - I am among the ministers of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I had a session today in which I learned a bit about vedic astrology - jyotish.  It was fascinating.  While my chart couldn't be definitively read because my birth time is uncertain.  It was an opportunity to embrace uncertainty - something I struggle with.  However, it all ties in so nicely with these two lessons.  I am of pure consciousness and, therefore, there is no reason to defend anything.  I am safe.  My dharma, my purpose in life, is to serve others in whatever capacity I am meant to - in this way I am a minister of God, of Love, of Source, of Pure Consciousness.

Let go....let it be....let go and let God.  It makes sense.

Day 172 - Lesson 171

This begins another review.  In this review, we precede each though - each lesson - with this statement:

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
151 - All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
152 - The power of decision is my own.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Today was a rather discombobulated day.  I didn't feel very well all day.  I have way too much work to do.  I need sunshine....warm sunshine.  I was distracted by my heart and by my head.

However, as I reflected upon this lesson...these lessons, I went back reviewed my entries for 151 and 152.  It took me back to 'glowing.'  This caused me to chuckle.  I think I figured out the reason for the glow.  Though I want to maintain some mystery around it because the lesson ended up being powerful for me in trying to live my life as big as it wants, as it is meant to be.  I have a tendency to pull in and keep my world small.  I needed this little reminder this evening.

I have also been reminding myself to embrace uncertainty and to remember that I can't predict the future.

Day 171 - Lesson 170

There is no cruelty in God and none in me.

You make what you defend against, and by your own defense against it is it real and inescapable.  Lay down your arms, and only then do you perceive it false.

This is one lesson that I so often want to beg the world to pay attention to - stop killing, stop 'defending,' stop harming others.  And yet I recognize that I change the world by changing me.  I change me down deep - deep inside, what I put in my mind I may as well flop out onto the world.  Being more aware of thoughts that don't serve me or anyone else well can be a surprising (and sometimes disappointing) process. 

There is this amazing and beautiful book called Nonviolent Communication A Language of Life written by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. that speaks so well to this very topic.  The forward is written by Arun Gandhi, Founder and President of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.  The entire forward, certainly the entire book is worth reading (worth living), and this particular paragraph sums up the topic of this lesson for me:

Nonviolence means allowing the positive within you to emerge.  Be dominated by love, respect, understanding, appreciation, compassion, and concern for others rather than the self-centered and selfish, greedy, hateful, prejudiced, suspicious, and aggressive attitudes that dominate our thinking.  We often hear people say: This world is ruthless, and if you want to survive you must become ruthless too.  I humbly disagree with this contention.  This world is what we have made of it.  If it is ruthless today it is because we have made it ruthless with our attitudes.  If we change ourselves we can change the world, and changing ourselves begins with changing our language and methods of communication.

Indeed....it means changing our very thoughts.  In the words of Lao Tzu:

“If there is to be peace in the world,

There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,

There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,

There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,

There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,

There must be peace in the heart.”

Day 170 - Lesson 169

By grace I live.  By grace I am released.

This lesson ends with a beautiful prayer:

By grave I live.  By grace I am released.  By grace I give.  By grace I will release.

Today was an incredibly beautiful day.  While this wind-swept, gray, remote and rocky place is always ruggedly beautiful - the scenery always spectacular, the roughness of it, the grayness can sometimes smother me with sadness.  Sometimes I feel claustrophobic here.  But on days like today my heart sings with joy to be here.  It was sunny and nearly 60 degrees.  I had a wonderful hike with three four-legged friends.  I sat back in the cushy tundra and stared into the sky and recalled being five again.  I captured that joy and kept it in my heart the rest of the day.

Even when life feels complicated and sad and dreary....if I will remember this prayer, I may then recapture the joy.

Day 169 - Lesson 168

* I am a day late in posting this....the day got completely away from me yesterday....

Your grace is given me.  I claim it now.

This lesson starts out by saying, "God speaks to us."  I notice that when I maintain my consistent routines and rituals (mediation, study, healthy diet, etc.) feeling a close connection to Source is all encompassing.  When I divert from my rituals, I feel out-of-sorts - it's not that I don't feel Love, I do!  I just recognize how important these rituals are for my health and well-being.  I was out until very late last night.  It was fun.  I volunteered to photograph a local event.  There was a crazy competition that involved mixology (alcoholic beverages), there were costumes (I wore one, too), there was loud music and dancing.  I haven't danced in a long while.  I love to dance!  At the end of it all, I walked away thankful that I don't drink anymore.  And yet, I still woke up with an awful headache, a lack of sleep headache.

I enjoy my daily routine of feeling good, having immediate morning clarity, ready and happy to embrace the adventures that each new day brings my.  I feel the Love!

Day 168 - Lesson 167

There is one life, and that I share with God.

I didn't give this lesson as much thought and time and reflection as it deserved, as I deserved today.  I was distracted by too many other things - things that aren't as important and a thing that I am struggling with finding an answer to....because the decision, no matter what decision I make, the consequences of which will end up hurting someone.  I keep putting it aside; I think about it, then put it aside.  I guess the one thing I have avoided is really asking Source, asking Love what the answer is - ask the question, live the answer.  I guess in that sense, this lesson has answered the question - There is one life, and that I share with God. 

Day 167 - Lesson 166

I am entrusted with the gifts of God.

Last night, at the goddess gathering, I selected Artemis, the Greek goddess of light and protector of the vulnerable.  That selection and this lesson make a powerful combination. 

The combination is powerful because it reminds me that when I act through love, when I make decisions that offer consequences that don't harm others, when I give, serve, and offer my time, my care, my love - I express the gifts I was entrusted with....

Day 166 - Lesson 165

Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.

I think about God all day long.  Really, sometimes I wonder if I'm obsessed?  I am fully living life.  I am being aware of the present moment - much more often than ever before in my life.  I strive to make all decisions through love, and when I struggle with that, I strive to acknowledge that and move on.  So, I guess if I am obsessed it's a healthy obsession.

I really like this part of the lesson - it helped me keep some challenges in perspective today:

Practice today in hope.  For hope is indeed justified.  Your doubts are meaningless, for God is certain.

One perspective is that God can not be seen; while another is that it is impossible not to see God, for God is everywhere.  When I look at life as a miracle - I see God everywhere.  When I look at life as a grievance - I don't see God anywhere.

I choose love, miracles, and the mystery we call God....

It's a full moon - the strawberry moon - and I am off to gather with the goddesses.  Who will my archetype be this month?  I leave the decision to the universe.

Day 165 - Lesson 164

Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.

This is a powerful lesson - this part reached right out and grabbed me:

There is silence into which the world can not intrude.  There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost.  There is a sense of holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched.  All this today you will remember.

I know I experience that silence occasionally during meditation, and often on my hikes, and sometimes when I hear a beautiful piece of music.

My day started with this lesson and meditation.  Then from 7:30 in the morning to 6:30 tonight I was engrossed in work - though there was a short time that I spent in my Perfect Health studies (a webinar).  I came to realize with more clarity that there is no denying my dosha (mind-body type).  My competitive nature burst forth this afternoon - and even though I totally recognized it, acknowledged it, and told myself how ridiculous it was....it nearly had a life of its own.  The sad thing is it's over an item that in the grand scheme of things isn't even important.  Yet, I was reluctant to rein it in.  I am slightly embarrassed by this.  Difficult to recognize anything 'holy' in me when these kinds of things happen.  I suppose the thing to do is stop judging it and let it go.  Anyway, then I ran to the grocery store to prepare for tomorrow night's goddess gathering (the strawberry moon).  Finally, I went for my hike.  The hike was such a healthy way to release the negative energy I was holding onto.  I was able to breathe deep, to feel the muscles in my thighs, to sing, and to explore.

It was nice, at the end of my day, to reflect more deeply again upon this lesson.  Acknowledging the ancient peace within me is an amazing experience.  Remember this.....breathe it - soak it in.

Day 164 - Lesson 163

There is no death.  The Son of God is free.

This lesson includes a beautiful prayer.  A prayer of blessings, of reflection, of love, of connection.

There is no death.  We are spiritual beings having a human experience.  I am free.

Day 163 - Lesson 162

I am as God created me.

While this is a repeat, because it simply can't be repeated too often, this lesson begins with: This single thought, held firmly in the mind, would save the world.  I love that!

I often, too often, find myself criticizing me - I'm too fat, I'm too slow, I'm not smart enough, I'm too critical....I know these messages are not healthy.  I also know that where my attention goes, energy flows.  What I think is what I manifest.  So, I'm not sure why I allow these thoughts to enter my head?  A lot of social conditioning likely - and then there's the lot of human suffering.  We just seem to have a long history of choosing to suffer.  And yet I know that I am created from the divine.  I know that I am filled with holy spirit.  I know that I am made of light (after all, my fingers and toes have glowed - twice!).

I know that when I choose to be happy - I am happy.
When I choose to feel good about my body - I feel voluptuous and healthy.
When I choose to be smart - I am smart.
When I choose miracles, the grievances go away.

I am as God created me....a spiritual being having a human experience.

Day 162 - Lesson 161

Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.

This lesson talks a lot about how "one brother is all brothers, every mind contains all minds, for every mind is one."

These can be difficult concepts for me to fully grasp.  I was thinking about this a lot during my walk this evening.  Ave Maria was playing.  I had also listened to Dr. David Simon repeating the Sanskrit terms for my studies.  I felt a bit all over the map.  However, the deep-seated comfort and the underlying joy remained steady.  While I may feel confused and even a little lost at times, these things - comfort and joy - remain ever present. 

Day 161 - Lesson 160

I am at home.  Fear is the stranger here.

This lesson begins with this:

Fear is a stranger to the ways of love.  Identify with fear, and you will be a stranger to yourself.  And thus you are unknown to you.  What is your Self remains an alien to the part of you which thinks that it is real, but different from yourself.  Who could be sane in such a circumstance?

I was afraid for a long time.  I did not know who I was.  It's really only been within this past year that I've embraced the truth of this - that I have embraced love.  Each morning upon waking I am filled with gratitude for another day and ask the mystery we call God to use me as a vessel of love in all of my interactions.  I strive to remind myself of this and speak with God all throughout the day.  Some days are more fruitful than others; some days I remember more often than others - the blessing is that I am indeed less afraid, I feel a greater sense of connection to all sentient beings, and, overwhelmingly, I feel a deep sense of joy.  I am less a stranger....I am beginning to know me.

Day 160 - Lesson 159

I give the miracles I have received.

Parts of this lesson seem very natural and even easy - other parts seem more difficult and, in some cases, nearly impossible.  Maybe, however, those are the parts I make too complicated.

This section in particular has been on my mind the most today:

You understand that you are healed when you give healing.  You accept forgiveness as accomplished in yourself when you forgive.  You recognize your brother as yourself, and thus do you perceive that you are whole.  There is no miracle you cannot give, for all are given you.  Receive them now by opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.

I've read this section several times.  The 'brother' part is the sentence that I struggle with the most.  I still have a hard time with the concept that we are all one, that when I look at a stranger, or someone that I don't really like, I am looking at myself.  I'm not suggesting that the idea or concept isn't true - I'm sure that it is - it's just one that I have a particularly hard time wrapping my head around.  Surely I'm not the only one struggling with this....  It is exactly this type of topic that makes me yearn for a mentor or a guru to seek advice and counsel and instruction from.

There is, however, true comfort in the knowledge that I give the miracles I have received....

Day 159 - Lesson 158

Today I learn to give as I receive.

This lesson reminds me that:

What has been given you?  The knowledge that you are a mind, in Mind and purely mind, sinless forever, wholly unafraid, because you were created out of love.  Nor have you left your Source, remaining as you were created.  This was given you as knowledge which you cannot lose.  It was given as well to every living thing, for by that knowledge only does it live.

This lesson speaks to happening upon this knowledge, this awareness, in a way that we cannot predict.  This is so very true for me.  I wasn't looking for Source specifically - I was looking for better health, a greater sense of peace, I felt lost, but also on the 'right' track - and then I just suddenly felt the presence of Source.  This was something I was anticipating or expecting.  The ritual, the practice of meditation, of exposure to the great lessons of the great belief systems, allowing myself to enter a space of possibility, I think, all combined to show me Source; to feel connected to Source.

This lesson also talks about the fact that we all 'get it' eventually.

Day 158 - Lesson 157

Into His Presence would I enter now.

I embraced this lesson with vigor today.  It helped me let go of some old baggage, it reminded to embrace uncertainty - or what feels uncertain, to keep my world open to all possibilities, to appreciate more, to accept more and to 'check' my expectations.

I felt 'in service' almost the whole day.  I felt in tune with cause and effect.  I especially felt that this evening.  It feels so good to make choices that honor light and love.  To make the connection that my choices dictate how I'm going to feel - that it really is up to me to think, act, and respond using love as my guide.  Or if I choose to use fear that I'm going to feel bad and others will likely feel bad as well.

Day 157 - Lesson 156

I walk with God in perfect holiness.

Today was one of those days that everything just felt a little bit off.  I woke up feeling good, well rested, and ready for the day.  I meditated, studied, practiced my sun salutations, and embraced the law of the day (giving and receiving).  However, as I walked into work it felt like the world tilted and I didn't quite recover from it. 

Even though, in each encounter, I practiced the law of giving and receiving and, beyond that, I reflected on this lesson over and over throughout the day.  I practiced the mantra - I walk with God in perfect holiness.  I light the world, I light my mind and all the minds which God created one with me.

After leaving work and during my walk with the beagle, I reflected upon my day and how I still felt 'off.'  The world still felt tilted.  The only thing I think I may have figured out is - okay, a couple of - three things:

• I still struggle with believing that I really am a divine being, and
• I struggle with forgiving myself when I think I've made a mistake, oh - and,
• I still struggle when I think people don't accept me - I look for external acceptance much more than I'd really like to admit.  However, now that I've admitted it right out loud it will have less power over me?

So, there you have it.  While I know I was of good help and acted in good service to others today, it was still an 'off' day.  I feel blessed and I know that I am loved.  I appreciate this very moment of recognition and I will repeat, several more times this evening, "I walk with God in perfect holiness."

Day 156 - Lesson 155

I will step back and let Him lead the way.

At the start of this lesson it says:

There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be.  You do not change appearance, though you smile more frequently.  Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet.  And the ones who walk the world as you do recognize their own.  Yet those who have not yet perceived the way will recognize you also, and believe that you are like them, as you were before.

I also read this today, by Alan Cohen, "We may live in a jungle, but whether it is heaven or hell depends on the thoughts we carry with us."

And I quoted a statement on Facebook today (for my quote of the day) by Deepak Chopra, from The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, "In the ecstasy of my own silence, and by communing with nature, I will enjoy the life throb of ages, the field of pure potentiality and unbounded creativity."

So, these were the lessons, the words of wisdom and love in which I pondered, reflected, swallowed - the seeds I planted in my heart and in my mind as I went about my day.

I realized that I have been hanging onto a pattern of behavior that has not served me well.  It's one of those long term patterns that is such second-nature that I didn't notice it so much, until just yesterday, I recognized that it was something I needed to stop doing.  It has to do with external validation - a certain type or way of being 'validated.'  The light just 'went on' and I realized this just doesn't serve me particularly well....more than anything I now recognize that I need to: step back and let Him lead the way.  Brilliant!

Day 155 - Lesson 154

I am among the ministers of God.

And this is exactly what I desire and intend to be.  The mantra for this lesson today is:

I am among the ministers of God, and I am grateful that I have the means by which to recognize that I am free.

Each lesson, each daily meditation, supports this mantra - this new way of life for me.  Each time I ask myself the soul questions, I find myself living them in ways I hadn't before dreamed possible. 

Who am I?
What do I want?
What is my purpose in life?

Ask the questions....live the answers.

Day 154 - Lesson 153

In my defenselessness my safety lies.

     You who feel threatened by this changing world, its twists of fortune and its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the "gifts" it merely lends to take away again; attend this lesson well.

And later....

     Be still a moment, and in silence think how holy is your purpose, how secure you rest, untouchable within its light.  God's ministers have chosen that truth be with them.  Who is holier than they?  Who could be surer that his happiness is fully guaranteed?  And who could be more mightily protected?  What defense could possibly be needed by the ones who are among the chosen ones of God, by His election and their own as well?

I held this lesson in my heart today as I conducted a training for 50 individuals in leadership positions.  Holding it there guided me through a session of training and dialogue that helped me to feel a greater sense of connection with all those gathered in the room.  We talked about leadership from the perspective of 'choice.'  How we make a decision, a choice, no matter how subtle it may seem, to appreciate or to feel frustrated, to react or to respond, to direct or to guide.

 I held this lesson in my heart as chaos swirled around me, as laughter bubbled from belly, as the soul questions swung through my mind like a pendulum - back and forth throughout the day I feel safe and secure.  I feel less inclined to defend my position.  I feel more inclined to look to life through eyes of love.

Day 153 - Lesson 152

The power of decision is my own.

The 'mantra' for this lesson is: The power of decision is my own.  This day I will accept myself as what my Father's Will created me to be.

This lesson, again like so many of them, complemented so well the law of the day - The Law of Intention and Desire.  Which encourages, among other things: I will accept the present as it is, and manifest the future through my deepest, most cherished intentions and desires.

This lesson addresses plainly - No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision.  And - You may believe that this position is extreme, and too inclusive to be true.  Yet can truth have exceptions?  If you have the gift of everything, can loss be real?

Life really is about choices - I love that quote that says, "Whether you believe you can or you can't, you are right."  I also love the reminder from this book of lessons that - I can either choose grievances or I can choose miracles.  It is terribly easy to get caught up in the ego dramas that exist in life....but -

The power of decision is my own!  I choose miracles and I believe I CAN!

Day 152 - Lesson 151

All things are echoes of the Voice for God.

My day began with this lesson - as most days begin with my ACIM lesson.  I meditated for 40 minutes.  Then I got up and began my sun salutations.  I sometimes really enjoy the simple movements of the salutations without any intrusive light.  As I moved into hand to foot pose, I observed my toes and then my fingers glowing with white-ish, with blue-ish and green-ish light - much like phosphorescence.  As I continued through my poses, each time my feet were pressed against the floor, each time my fingers were pressed against the floor, they seemed to glow.  At first, I thought, "Oh, well, we're made of light as Claire (Chopra Center Yoga Instructor) says."  However, as I continued the routine, I felt a sense of disbelief and then I just sort of quietly freaked out.  I ended the routine early.

I don't quite know what to make of this experience.  Maybe Deepak Chopra, or David Simon, or Marianne Williamson, or other sage spiritual guides would recommend simply allowing the experience without label or judgment.  Adhering to that advice takes practice.  And, of course, I want to package and label the experience as a way to explain the logic of it - why it happened.  Though it may be more beneficial to let it be and let it go.  My ego asks, "So, is this where crazy starts?"  I assure it that, "No, crazy is just another man-made logic label, and we are not going there."

The lesson....there is so much beauty and comfort in this - You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings, and teach the single lesson that they all contain.  Later, it goes on to say - Let Him evaluate each thought that comes to mind, remove the elements of dreams, and give them back again as clean ideas that do not contradict the Will of God.

I appreciate this lesson because it reminds me to keep things simple, to believe in the power of love, and to feel my divine spark.  When we look upon life with love we see the presence of God, of Source, of Spirit everywhere.