Existential Angst Anyone?

 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs

I find myself feeling stuck lately, without a vision or inspiration and when this is the case I tend to just do what is right in front of me. I take care of the details of life with a gnawing feeling of purposelessness. During a period like this lots of "why" questions tend to come to the fore and the I end up with "what's it all about Alfie?"
My sister's motto is a quote from Longfellow " I myself must mix with action, lest I wither by despair." It sounds like good advice.

Im very good at keeping busy, being a creative type, there are often not enough hours in the day. Part of that busy action must involve heart connection or it can feel very empty; heart connection with other humans, with animals and most of all with the creative self. There are so many rewarding ways to be involved in life.

And I think there is another layer to this involvement.
I have always been a proponent of Vision Boards for setting intentions, getting excited about new possibilities, creating goals, imagining a future we can feel happy about.

Michael Beckwith Spiritual teacher, leader and Minister of Agape church in Los Angeles says "...the visioning process is about engaging creativity at its utmost, embracing transformation, and saying 'yes' to the best within us ...creating a reality that is literally beyond your imagination."

The visioning process on which he built his very successful church involves getting very quiet, going within and really listening for guidance. We are each here with a unique gift to give. What works for another may not be for you. In the visioning process we ask a series of questions such as, what qualities do we need to embody, what things do we need to know, what do we need to change in our life, and how do we need to unfold spiritually in order to bring forth the vision? This process puts us in alignment with the one energy that animates us all and is a unique expression through each according to who we are. Going with this flow within each of us serves the world in a way that gives us purpose, feels authentic and enriches those around us. We may be called to let go of fear, to take action, to find a new courage in ourselves but for me the alternative is not an option.  
Please leave a comment if this blog was helpful to you, thank you and Namaste.

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." —John 10:10.
(For more information on this process and Michael Beckwith's book on the subject;
 http://www.dailyom.com/library/000/002/000002846.html)

Infinite Abundance

Arriving home from work yesterday thinking about what to make for dinner I resisted calling my husband in response to my first impulse. I was thinking of New Moon our favorite restaurant and the meal we had shared there last week. I remembered our intention to not eat out this month so we could save for what we really wanted, which was to give a money gift to our nephew who is being married October 2nd. It seemed like good money management and not an action taken from a belief in lack. It is our way of keeping us in the flow of giving generously. I went through the food items in our fridge in my mind as I drove home and came up with a plan for dinner.

On my arrival at the house I found the door open and a large empty shipping container for perishable goods on the couch and my husband looking very pleased with himself! "Whats all this" I asked and he delightedly brought me to the freezer which was full of boxes. "Gifts from heaven," he declared. "Salmon fillet, sirloin steaks, creme brulee, pot roast, accompanied by a set of knives and a cutting board! From my mother!"

Needless to say my dinner plans changes slightly and we ate like kings. I believe there is only One God and the nature of God is Infinite Abundance! We gave thanks to God and toasted my husbands mother!! We live in the flow and as we focus on giving we are putting the law of circulation to work which cannot help but result in the inflow of all kind of good. This was never so clear to me as while I ate dinner last night!

Jury Duty

“I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to take the best possible human doctrine and the hardest to disprove, and to ride on this like a raft over the waters of life”
Plato (428 BC-348 BC)

The attorneys acknowledge everyone wants to be out of the courtroom. When we get the notice and have to call in and see if we are required, we pray to be released from the burden and the disruption to our lives of the dreaded jury duty! We resist and complain and moan loudly! We think up excuses and discuss strategies to evade it. We give it a lot of energy.
Naturally I prefer to get on with my life too and I understand the frustration but isn't it a bit like a child's tantrum when he is told it's bedtime. Isn't resistance futile! Might it not be a great opportunity to practice non resistance and allowing the flow.
Emmanuel Teney said “As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.” This includes jury duty as much as you may resist it! If you are meant to be the one to hear and judge the validity of the testimony of someone accused of a wrong or someone trying to escape the consequences of his action then you will be there. And your world will not fall apart though it be disrupted. If not, you will not.
This is my truth that I "ride on like a raft over the waters of life." It's not so much, what will be will be and things are preordained but that I have control of my response to what happens to me. What I think is right for me is often out of self preservation or wanting to maintain the status quo but in the bigger picture there is so much more going on. I affirm today that we let our greater good prevail and loose the ties of our small thinking. And may you be most pleasantly surprised by the results.