The Spiritual Forum

Who do you think you are? That is THE fundamental question that frames your whole life. We struggle with ideas about ourselves that someone else gave us. We believe ourselves to be a mere humans with faults, limitations, and fixed personality traits. We focus on some form of “I’m only human” or “I’m not enough.” We confuse who we think we are with our feelings. But all that isn’t true! We are image and likeness of God, the Divine idea of human perfection. When we are conscious of our perfection in the Infinite, we manifest who we have always been in Being. In this episode we engage in dialogue on how our beliefs about ourselves show up in our lives and how we remember and live the Truth.

Many of us talk about the conditions in our bodies, minds and hearts that we wish were different. But if we are meant to be whole and healthy, and these conditions are still present, what's going on? We have to ask ourselves, “Do I want to be healed?” In this episode we dig deep to find what healing opportunity – illness/pain in body, unhappy relationship, past hurts, negative ideas, etc. – is before us now, and discern truthfully if we want to be healed. Because while healing can be spontaneous, it often requires changing ourselves in some way (lifestyle, forgiveness, release of addictions/thoughts, etc.), which we resist.

In today’s world, giving and taking offense is everywhere. We see it expressed on social media and by news commentators and government officials every day. And when we look closely, we also find ourselves frequently being offended by someone or something. When we hear or read something that disturbs our sensibilities - what we think is right - or that seems hurtful to us or another, we often respond by taking offense. Why do we do that? What is the payoff? What are the consequences? In this episode we explore these questions, share our offense triggers and discover how being offended shuts down conversation and blocks our inner calling to “Love one another.”

Within each of us is an Internal Guidance System. Our guidance can come in the form of intuition, a gut feeling, a sense of peace or a voice. But there is also the voice of ego in us, which is compelling! Sometimes we have a hard time discerning whether our guidance is Divine (from our Higher Self/Spirit) or rooted in ego (separation/fear/lack/limitation/etc.). In this episode we share experiences of inner Guidance and what we do to cultivate our Divine Self so we can trust its 'voice.'

Bad things happen. We may do everything we can to be our best, do our best, be loving and caring to others, and even do 'the right thing' when doing so is really hard. But living a life of Goodness and Virtue doesn't guarantee an escape from hardship. When unfortunate circumstances or trauma happens, we often launch into questioning why. Why does suffering exist? Why me? In this episode we explore the timeless story of Job which reveals how such questions bind us to perpetual suffering. There is a way to live with trauma without becoming its victim.

The Sacred Feminine, which resides in both females and males, has been prominent as an archetype in many of the world's cultures for thousands of years. Each of us -- as well as the world at large -- thrives when she is in balance with the Sacred Masculine. When masculine energy is not balanced by feminine, we experience dominance, aggression and action without Wisdom. We all suffer. In this episode we share how the Sacred Feminine expresses through/as us and our blocks to balance. If we want to restore balance in our world, this is an important inquiry.

The Camino de Santiago has been a Christian pilgrimage since medieval times. It traverses the northern part of Spain and has many routes, all of which lead to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Today hundreds of thousands of people are called to make this 500-mile journey on foot for retreat, spiritual growth or cultural reasons. Inspired by the 2010 movie, The Way, Katie O'Meara was called to walk the Camino, and in this episode we learn about her calling and unique physical, mental and spiritual setbacks and overcoming. She completed pilgrimage in 40 days, walked an additional 50 miles to the western coast of Spain and returned as a new person.

Inspired by the fable-like film, Joe Versus the Volcano, we engage in dialogue on how and when to apply, "I have no response to that" in our lives. A regular spiritual practice will hone our Divine gift of Discernment so when a situation arises, we will know when a response is a good use of our time and energy and will add to the conversation. Here we share our life successes and failed attempts at choosing to not respond.

The words, "It's all in Divine Order" are thrown around a lot, and they mean different things to different people. Two common interpretations are that everything happens in the right and perfect time/way and/or some outside power has created the current state of affairs for some purpose - maybe for us to learn. We turn to these ideas when things are chaotic/challenging/unpleasant or when circumstances force us to be patient. In this episode Rev. Carol introduces another way of looking at Divine Order – that it is not so much a state we are in, but the primary Universal Law by which all things come into existence. We are the ones ordering what happens! In this episode we engage in dialogue on Divine Order, particularly in light of the recent tragic mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

We conclude our series on The Four Agreements (and The Fifth Agreement) by exploring the process of moving from the Dream of the First Attention (Victim) to the Dream of the Second Attention (Warrior) to the Dream of the Third Attention (Master). This is the arduous path to Oneness consciousness. It is arduous because we are constantly pulled back into Victim consciousness, which is society's dream, and we must do the work of the Warrior to identify and reject old agreements. This is where the Divine gift of Will comes into the picture. Will is the directive power that can choose a new course of action.