The Spiritual Forum

During the course of our lives we go through many seasons – seasons of death and birth, creativity and stagnation, joy and sorrow, and many more. There is no schedule or specific duration of these seasons. We have to honor them as they arise. The outer world may want us to conform to its demands, but we don't have to conform. The world will go on. Our job is to walk the path that is laid before us. In this episode, we share our experiences with seasons that arise in our lives and how we moved through them. This topic was inspired by the very recent passing of Rev. Carol's father. There is some rawness to this one.

When faced with ill treatment, oppression, or bullying, we are conditioned to react in two ways: 1) fight back as hard as we can or 2) submit/run away. The third way reveals the power in resisting the desire to respond to violence with violence, while also not submitting. The third way teaches us to respond in a way that establishes equality with our oppressor. This is so important because it snaps us out of victim consciousness. We retain our God given power.

2020 vision is the term used to describe normal vision acuity, or clarity. It’s 2020 and a good time to commit ourselves to seeing more clearly. Clarity helps us see through the muck of our own stuff. It distinguishes reality from our story about it. It shows us what is really happening as well as what we do and don't know. It reveals our part in our own life dramas and also who our friends are. It is also a gift we can employ to keep us focused on what is important and avoid falling prey to distractions. And ultimately, the highest expression of Spiritual Clarity is when we see God in all things.

As a New Year begins, we have the opportunity to let go of thoughts, beliefs, habits, grievances and behaviors that no longer serve us, and then set our intentions from a new, 'cleared out' space. We do this symbolically through the ritual of the Burning Bowl. In this episode, we share our experience of letting go of blocks and setting intentions for the New Year. Be inspired to perform this ritual yourself as you discern who you want to be in the world and what blocks need to go.

Every Christmas season we can pause and reflect on how a new Light is being born in us. How will we live more completely as our God Self? The characters and events in the timeless Christmas story reveal meaningful symbols for us to ponder. Their journey is full of ups and downs and also risks and disappointments. It's not a short or easy journey, but it is one of purpose, where eventually a new Light is born that is a gift for all people. Metaphysically, their journey is our journey. In this episode, we take a deep dive and find ourselves in the story of new birth. A star is born, and that star is each one of us!

Metaphysically speaking, an angel is a spiritual idea direct from God. We may see them, hear them or experience them as bright ideas that come to us. Dreams are another way we can experience the 'voice of Spirit.' In a dream, our psyches use recognizable symbols to show us what is happening or what needs our attention. Angels and dreams guide us in profound ways when we are open. In this episode we follow the Christmas story’s use of angels and dreams and share how these voices of Spirit guide, inspire and inform us.

In our own way, we are each chosen to do what we are called to do. Using the Christmas story as allegory, we share in this episode what happens for us when we receive a "You are highly favored" call from Spirit. Like Mary in the story, the choice to surrender our personal will to Divine Will is the choice to be active as our Divine/Higher Self. From this place, we live a purposeful life, acting on inner guidance, and authentically expressing who we have come here to be. We each hold the potential to bring into manifestation a new Light for all people.

In the documentary, A Prayer for Compassion, filmmaker Thomas Jackson traverses the globe on a quest to seek answers to the question, “Can compassion grow to include all beings?" Interviewing dozens of people from multiple faith traditions, he finds the common theme among all faith traditions is Compassion, and being compassionate toward animals, while generally overlooked today, is a key teaching of every tradition. In this episode we share our experience of this ground-breaking film, what/who inspired us and how we were changed by it.

Before you do anything, do you visualize it? Do you anticipate its perfect fulfillment? Do you stand in Faith knowing only a Good outcome? When you want to attract something into your life, do you give thanks, knowing it is already yours? In this episode we talk about the joy of living in expectancy, the impact of giving thanks in advance and how doing so is energetically different from being grateful for what already is.

The Universe operates in accordance with law. Some laws are physical; some are spiritual. Just as we participate in the law of gravity and manifest the presence or absence of bodily injury depending on our understanding, we participate in spiritual laws and manifest the presence or absence of prosperity, joy and abundance, depending on our understanding. It is up to us. In this episode we share about The Law of Circulation and how when we give freely of our time, energy, knowledge or money, it will come back to us multiplied. There are many factors that feed into how successfully we experience this law. Giving wisely and freely without guilt, self-sacrifice, duty, coercion or strings attached, opens a space in our consciousness to receive. There is a Flow to the Universe and Abundance is its natural state.