by Christine Green | Aug 8, 2021 | Spiritual Journey, Spiritual Practice
“Be still and know… I am in the flow.”
– Eric Butterworth
We’ve been waiting and hoping for some normalcy to return to calm the free-floating anxiety, confusion, chaos, and uncertainty of the world. The good news is that the new normal is here. The bad news is that unpredictability is the new normal.
Before Covid, there was a sense of confidence in making plans for the future and an expectation that those plans would come into fruition. In the new normal there is no certainty our plans will happen, just an eery I’m-not-sure-what-will-happen-next feeling. The more we resist the uncertainty, the more stressed we become. We can resist, blame, and complain but it won’t change the circumstances.
Our opportunity is to learn to live in the flow. In his book, In the Flow of Life, Eric Butterworth writes, “God is a circle that is centered in you. All the attributes of the Infinite are in focus as you, flowing forth through you. You are in this flow.” Allow being in the flow to empower you. During this time of change and uncertainty it can be difficult to trust externally. Being in the flow allows you to trust internally.
Use this affirmation from Butterworth in your daily practice: “I am in the flow of life, and I move easily with the flow. I am radiantly and enthusiastically alive. I am free from tension, stress and strain, and I go forward in the flow of life – unhurried and unworried.”
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by Christine Green | Jan 12, 2018 | Spiritual Journey, Spiritual Practice, Universal Law
Author Lynne McTaggart states: “Faced with some of the greatest upheavals and challenges in the entire history of humanity, we are one of the most important generations that have ever lived. Each of the major choices we make today will affect our children’s children – and indeed the world for all time.”
In today’s world we are all called to be engaged, standing up for justice and speaking out against racism, inequality, and abuse. There is no road map for what Barbara Marx Hubbard calls, “…this new Age of Conscious Evolution.” While the old systems are failing, new ideas and creative strategies are coming forward. The soul is awakened to a conscious expression of creation.
In order to allow the awakened soul to thrive, it is important to stay conscious and do the work to stay clear so our soul can shine. We practice letting go, forgiveness, gratitude and the art of allowing.
James O’Dea created a simple but powerful prayer practice in his book, Soul Awakening Practice.
Soul Awakening
Heart Opening
Light Shining
Love Flowing
Wounds Dissolving
Peace Radiating
The book is an instruction manual of meditations and prayers along with powerful essays and inspirations. The prayer is a call to newness, a transmission of love, a revelation of peace. Author Lynne McTaggart says, “People who have worked with the simple Soul Awakening Prayer report experiencing a cascading flow of transmission as they move from one line of affirmation to the next.”
It is important as spiritual peacemakers that we collect the tools and resources that nurture us when the days are dark and support us in staying on the path of love.
May Love light your path, harmony soothe your mind, and peace radiate in and through and as you each day.
Blessings,
Rev. Christine Green
by Christine Green | Mar 14, 2015 | Spiritual Practice
Would you rather give yourself an electric shock than sit alone with your thoughts? It’s not as strange as you may think. A recent study at the University of Virginia found that 67 percent of men and 25 percent of women choose to give themselves a mild electric jolt than to spend time alone with their thoughts.
It’s easy to understand why. In our rare moments of silence the inner critic uses the opportunity to criticize, chastise and remember every failed endeavor and disappointing venture we’ve ever had. It’s a wonder that we get anything done at all!
Mindfulness is a technique that keeps us focused on the present. When practicing mindfulness we notice our thoughts but resist the need to react to them. We don’t give the inner critic the power to throw us off track. We can retrain our thinking and notice our good behaviors and focus on the positive results in life.
Mindfulness allows us to be in the present and not re-hash the lost moments of the past. When we live in the moment we release attachment to our circumstances and experience freedom. Imagine all the time you would save not being activated by what your co-worker said or worried about what your friend thinks of you. When the mind is calm, we allow those creative ideas to bubble up as possibilities.
Practice mindfulness: stop, breathe and release. When you find your emotions stirring and your mind reacting to circumstances, stop what you are doing, breathe deeply, and release the chatter of the inner critic. Accept the moment of silence as a golden opportunity to receive all the good that God has to offer.
by Christine Green | Jul 16, 2014 | Spiritual Practice
Are you on the Friends and Family Plan? Not the one that gives free minutes on your phone; the plan where you try to manage, fix and control the lives of your family, friends, spouse and co-workers. After all, their problems are infinitely more interesting than yours. And they are so easy to fix, if they would only listen!
Helping others is so attractive because it takes attention away from our own challenges. When we focus on solving someone else’s problems, we take time and energy away from our own goals, dreams and desires. It’s easy to become resentful.
It is one of the strategies we use to avoid and procrastinate. It usually happens when we experience doubt about what we are doing. Doubt stirs feelings of fear. Even if we have ample experience and expertise, the fear of failure can keep us stuck. So we avoid by helping others. Or we procrastinate by finding meaningless tasks to accomplish.
Taking one small step toward a goal can begin to eliminate the feelings of doubt and fear. Every accomplishment, no matter how small, gives us encouragement to keep moving forward. Every step we take is helping us to build faith. Charles Fillmore defines faith as “the perceiving power of the mind linked with the power to shape substance.”
Faith is an individual process of growth, patience and willingness. It is up to us to let go of doubt and decide how we would like to express love in the world. Ultimately, love is our highest vision and faith is our guide.
Faith is the freedom in knowing that whatever I need will be provided; whether it is strength to face the day, courage to speak my truth, or help for a loved one. Faith is appreciating every day as a treasure and every experience as a gift.
by Christine Green | Nov 12, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
My favorite childhood memory is of my Dad reading bedtime stories to us. Whether he read them or made them up, they were uplifting and had a happy ending.
I realized recently that I make up stories all the time, usually in the middle of the night. My stories are not very uplifting – full of “what ifs” and “should haves.” Rather than happy endings, they inflict enough emotional pain and suffering to cause any self-respecting insomniac to run for cover!
My greatest anxiety comes from my expectations about outcomes. Expectation comes from the mind and has me hoping and wishing that what I want will show up. The difference between expectation and expectancy is attachment. Expectancy comes from the soul and – rather than forming an attachment to the outcome – motivates me to look for the good in life.
Making up stories that create expectations leaves no place for God to show up. Most of my intuitive answers come out of the silence of the question. If I can remember during stressful times, I write a question in my journal and resist the need to fill in the answer. God has many more possibilities to solve my problems than I can ever imagine! I have to be willing to sit in the silence and listen.
It comes down to having faith in God and trusting the process. Saying a prayer is far more productive than creating scary stories. God’s abilities are far more inspiring than my worries.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 )
by Christine Green | Oct 30, 2013 | Spiritual Practice
It is always a joy to observe the transformative power of love!
My client Monica shared about her visit to a salon on her day off. The person scheduled to give her a pedicure was grumpy and out of sorts. Monica felt frustrated and resentful. She had looked forward to this simple luxury, and now it was ruined by the very person who was supposed to pamper her.
Monica remembered that she had the power to change her experience. She silently began beaming love to the pedicurist. Soon the pedicurist began to share about her day and what was on her mind. Monica listened and continued to send her love. She later reported it was the best foot massage and pedicure she ever received!
We interact with dozens of people throughout our day, barely acknowledging their impact on our lives. Taking the time to appreciate and acknowledge others makes the world a better place. Compassionate listening, kind words, and loving thoughts are the simplest acts that have the greatest power to change our lives.
I invite you to experiment with practicing random acts of loving kindness. Find something uplifting to say to your co-worker, spouse or friend. Take a few moments to listen to someone who is having a difficult day. Send loving thoughts to the person who serves your coffee or is sitting in the car next to you at the red light.
A life overflowing with happiness can appear to be an elusive dream. It is not. It begins with the smallest drop of thoughtfulness and expands into a stream of love. Each act of loving kindness radiates out from us to be magnified and multiplied by Spirit, and we are all lifted up. Love blesses us all.
