Exposed

I’ve been feeling extremely vulnerable lately. It started last Thursday when I got sick with bronchitis and could not to go to work; I’m still recovering. I’m not used to feeling sick or at least so sick that I can hardly move, let alone trying to do all the things I normally do on a weekly basis. It’s left me in the position of relying on others, even to the point of having someone pick up medication for me.

Beyond feeling vulnerable I feel exposed as well. The experience has made me realize how much of my life I’ve had to discuss with my family this week, things that I normally keep to myself because I’m busy being busy. They want me to stay in bed to rest. I try to explain that I have a weekly blog to get out, a talk to write for Sunday, an article to prepare for a publisher due by the end of the month, and another chapter to write for my upcoming book, From the Trailer Park to the Pulpit:  How the wisdom of Grandma Esther helped shaped my life and ministry. The response I got was a blank stare with a slightly raised eyebrow and a stern finger pointed in the direction of the bedroom. For those of you who know my partner, Paul, I need say no more. We’ve gotten used to his British accent, but how he can look at me with a British accent is beyond my comprehension.

Another way I have exposed myself is by sending out a few sections of my new book to people who have agreed to read the sections and critique the direction I’m taking with the project. In doing that I’m exposing my work and leaving myself wide open to criticism, even ridicule. However, there is something else that relying on others during my convalescence and inviting critiques has done for me, and that has been the blessing this week.

Asking others for help allows them to serve us. Most people genuinely want to help and given the opportunity will jump at the chance. When we help others we find our own problems set aside for at least a moment. When we have completed our task and return to our own challenges those problems will often seem less monumental.

In allowing ourselves to be critiqued, be it our writing, a new hairstyle or the possibility of making a major life change, we open ourselves up to two benefits many of us forget might be possible:  agreement and support. Often when we are starting on a project, like writing another book in my case, there may be a bit of doubt in our minds, what I call “fear of success.” It is fear of success, not fear of failure, which stops most of us from being the people we want to be and doing the things we want to do. Yes, I’ve received some hard critiques, but even those have included great support for achieving my goal of having the book published by the end of the year.

Consider opening yourself up a little more this week to people you know you can trust. Can you allow others into your life to help you with a project or support you in a change you want to make? Would you be willing to ask for someone’s opinion, not to make a decision for you, but to garner another, less biased viewpoint? We’re all One in the universal consciousness, but on this earth plane we are here to love and support one another. I invite you to give it a try.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

Do You Have a Dream?

I thought I’d risk being one of many people writing this week about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Everyone pretty much knows the story of his life, his historical speech in Washington, D.C. and his tragic death. I don’t want to focus on any of those events. I want to focus on what allowed him to succeed where others didn’t seem to be able to do so.

He had a dream – I know, you’ve heard that and it’s no surprise. We all have dreams, but Dr. King truly believed his dream would be reality. Unfortunately, our country has still failed to reach the lofty goals he set for us, but in many ways we are closer than ever before. For us to realize our dreams we must have the patience and the tenacity to hold on to that vision until it moves from the thought to the thing. It is impatience and neglect that causes many dreams to fade away or die an untimely death.

The founder of the Science of Mind philosophy, Dr. Ernest S. Holmes, had a dream, too. He wrote, “We all look forward to the day when science and religion shall walk hand in hand through the visible to the invisible.” We are closer to that dream now than ever before. Quantum physics has proven that we are all one, just energy vibrating at different frequencies. I imagine that Holmes would love to see the advances we’ve made since his death in 1960 to bringing science and religion closer together.

Do you have a dream? I don’t mean something you hope will happen, or something you don’t feel could ever happen, yet you continue to pine for it. I mean a “stomp-your-foot-down-I-know-this-is-possible” dream. Perhaps it is something that you wanted as a child, or a goal you had as a young adult. Something squelched that dream. Is the seed still there deep inside you? It most probably is. Would you be willing to do what it takes to help it germinate once more and assist it to grow into a vibrant, healthy plant?

There is a power within us that knows no boundaries and refuses to accept anything but what it expects. That power is at our disposal all the time, but we have to utilize it. It’s as simple as turning on a light instead of wandering around in a dark room bumping into the furniture. Be willing this week to turn a bright light on your life and remind yourself of what it is you dream could be a reality. The more you know that’s possible the more you’ll believe that in the mind of God it is already a reality.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry

It's Time

With the arrival of all the New Year’s resolutions last week I’ve heard, more than once, “It’s about time I                         .” It’s about time. I got to thinking about that while I was listening to a program on NPR this past weekend about how time is inconsistent from one person to another.

“HUH?!?” you might be saying. I know that was my first thought. But then I got to thinking about it. If you’re a five-year-old waiting for Santa Claus to come again it will seem like an eternity. Her grandfather on the other hand is wondering how Christmas got here so fast last year. Why the difference? Part of it goes back to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. For the little girl, a year is one-sixth of her entire life. But for her sixty-five year old granddad, it is only 1/65^th of the time he has spend on this earth.

Another aspect of time is whether or not we are enjoying ourselves. Suppose I’ve returned from a two-week vacation wondering what happened since it seems like I just left. Contrast that with spending three hours in the dentist’s office for a double root canal, which is going to feel like about three weeks. I think you get my point. Rev. Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones suggested in his recent “Huffington Post” column that we be very mindful about what we put on our calendars for 2014. We’ve got this whole blank calendar before us – how much of yours is already filling up? If we have everything planned out to the nth degree it’s pretty unlikely to have any spontaneous experiences.

So for me it’s time; time to stop what I’m doing and take stock of where I am in my life. Perhaps you’d like to join me in this endeavor. We each have approximately 24 hours each day to do what we need to, want to or have to do. On the one hand you could rationalize that we are immortal spiritual beings having a human experience, so it doesn’t much matter if we schedule our time or not since we will always have time. I see the point, but here’s something else to consider. There will never be another “now” in your life. There never has been before “now” and there never will be another one in the future. Even if we are immortal spiritual beings, which I firmly believe, each moment of our existence is a precious commodity to be enjoyed for what it is, nothing more, nothing less.

This makes taking charge of our lives a priority so that the time we are spending is wisely spent with people we want to be with, doing things we want to do, and doing them in the style in which we want to enjoy. There are very few things you “have” to do. There a LOT of things you probably think you “should” do, someone ELSE thinks you “should” do, but very few things you “have” to do.

How about this week, or just for one day this week, you stopping “shoulding” on yourself, refuse to let anyone else “should” on you and just enjoy being the now, experiencing the magnificent being that you are and expression God as only you can. Seriously. It’s time.

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry