Power

That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God.  - Albert Einstein


When you think of power what comes to mind? Presidents, world leaders, military forces, natural forces? How about authority, rules, accepted beliefs? Who has power over you? I like to think I have power over my choices and beliefs, and I do to a degree. Yet there are ideas already set in consciousness that pervade society and are accepted as truth by the majority to the extent they dictate their decisions and actions.  We are all subject to these.


Here's one harmless example - jackets should be worn with buttons in front. If I decided to wear my jacket backwards I would be ridiculed or at least pointed at in public, definitely thought of as odd at work and  loose some credibility I would imagine. 
This is just an example of going against the flow. Nicolaus Copernicus came up with the new idea that the earth was not the center of the universe but the sun, to much controversy. In 1616 Galileo came to his defense yet  the Catholic Church authorities banned Copernicus' ideas. Now there's power!
Or is it? Authorities may tell us how to think but just like Galileo who kept silent following his trial, still held to his beliefs, we too have the freedom in our own minds to hold to our own truth. Those in authority, those with the big bucks, those with seeming power can not hold back the tide of new thought, of innovation and change. Ideas that have truth in them will win out in the end. Truth has power, love has power, imagination has power. You have power in how you choose to think and what you choose as your truth, a reasoning power of which Einstein speaks. This is God in you, closer than hands and feet. Be open to it today and align with the Power in you. Listen to the words of Steve Jobs and be inspired. God speed Mr. Jobs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

A New Beginning

Each day is an opportunity for a new beginning. I think that's why I love early morning so much. Its like untrodden snow, no one has put there mark on it yet and I have a feeling of optimism and expectation as I begin the day, (especially if I have had a good nights sleep!)
Its so interesting to me to observe my highs and lows - day to day - like night and day it can all change with a conversation, a piece of news a realization or a thought. Those thoughts are most powerful! My thoughts about what I perceive or hear have the ability to change my mood and my feelings tend to follow them down to the abyss or to the peak like the children to the pied piper! It all starts with a thought.

This is the reason I meditate. There was an elderly lady I used to receive prayer from when I first came to church at Centers for Spiritual Living. She used to say to me that the mind was like an untrained puppy, you had to keep calling it back and directing it. I remember back then this used to irritate me and when I wanted prayer I would seek out someone else but of course I got her, with her profoundly simple message which I most needed to hear!
So today if I feel low or depressed I ask myself where are my thoughts, what am I telling myself? Once I identify where my mind has gone I call it back.
What do I know is True? What do I believe about myself and the world? What counsel would I give another? How can I love myself in the midst of all that is going on?

I know that I am deserving of love, that I am loved, that I can love, I know that nothing can make me less precious in Spirit. I know that I am part of all life, one with the very source of all potential outcomes and variations in the universe. As I go through this process I begin to feel a shift - slowly I begin to grasp my connection to the Divine, and now releasing the small fearful thoughts I allow in something new, something positive, powerful with the potential to create something more desirable. I choose rather than become a victim. So I say thank you to that lovely lady today, who is no longer with us on this plane but so much with me in Spirit, and begin a new day, making it a good day as I go no matter what comes my way.

Meditation

I recently recommitted to meditation as a daily practice. I vary my method depending on what I feel I need that day. Somedays I use Vipassana - becoming the observer of my thoughts thus giving me the distance I need to realize the real "I" is separate from my worries and fears. Other days I use a mantra or affirmation that I repeat silently. My favourite at the moment is "God is the love that I am." Another way I like to meditate is while hiking to try to be fully present with nature, observing my surroundings and listening to the sounds I hear; all the time being aware of the solidness of the earth beneath my feet.
Of course meditation for some takes the form of a creative activity such as playing an instrument or painting. Its a time they are so absorbed in their task they forget themselves, loose track of time as if they have been absorbed into everything around them and merged as one.
Joseph Campbell says meditation is simply where we place the majority of our thoughts in any given day. He believes we meditate a lot on how to procure money and how to spend it, how to provide for our children, how to improve our lives and of course whats wrong in our world!
This idea I find very interesting because it is my belief that what we focus on grows. Being aware of what occupies the majority of our thoughts can help us realize how we are creating our life circumstances. Ernest Holmes says trained thought is much more powerful than untrained thought, the more one gives conscious power to one's thought the more power it will have. So be watchful today of where your thoughts are going. Where you feel it necessary try to make more of a conscious choice of what thoughts you think. Then observe the difference in how you feel, and how others respond to you. Add to this better posture, speaking with more confidence in your more positive thoughts and really notice the shifts that happen. Have fun with it and know your own power to create.