Spirit Rising Ministries

I recently received an e-mail from a young woman who claims she is living in a refugee camp after fleeing from a war torn country and the constant threat of being raped, if not killed, like her parents were. She said she read my profile and was interested in knowing more about me. Being that it’s the internet and anyone could be sending these messages, I am proceeding with caution. At the same time, my heart goes out to her and to anyone else who may be in a similar situation. I am also sitting here asking spirit to help me understand why has she shown up in my life right now? Am I supposed to help? Is there a lesson to be learned?

 I’m inclined to believe that it has something to do with my continued study of A Course in Miracles that I’ve spoken about previously. I am two thirds of the way into the year long course. Applying its teachings everyday has brought a tremendous amount of peace and ease and joy into my life. I’ve also had the pleasure of introducing the course to a few friends and seeing them experience some amazing results. However, none of us are expecting to meet a rapist or murderer lurking around the next corner! I don’t mean to trivialize our problems. We are each where we need to be, learning what we need to learn, including the young woman in the refugee camp. But I suspect that a continued conversation with her will provide fertile ground for me to test what I’m learning (and sharing) in a much more profound way.

 When an unexpected situation arises in our life, often our first question is, “What should I do?” But, on the advice of a good friend, I’m beginning to see that sometimes the most helpful question to ask first is, “What is this for?”

Let your spirit soar!
Paula
Photo by Kathleen Geraghty

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All in the asking   #38

 I stayed at my friend’s house for supper the other night after minding her nine year old daughter for the afternoon. We sat around the table chatting after our meal and my friend and I began talking about our careers and such. After quite a while her daughter politely spoke up. “Excuse me, Mommy” she said, “I’m feeling left out of this conversation and I really want to talk with you and Paula. Could we talk about something else for a while?” I was stunned. I don’t know many adults who can state their needs and make a request so clearly, with so little drama and so much respect! I couldn’t help but think how refreshing it would be if more of us would do the same. Now, to be sure, this little girl has plenty of typical nine year old moments as well, but that night she set a shining example that we all might want to emulate the next time we’re feeling needy.

Let your spirit soar!
Paula
photo by Kathleen Kliskey (Geraghty)

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No thoughts   #37

 I’m chuckling to myself as I sit here trying to think what thought I want to write about. Usually the topic arises rather spontaneously from some conversation or event I am experiencing, but not this week. The irony is that I’ve spent a great deal of time and effort during the last few years trying to quiet my thoughts in order to meditate more deeply and just be in the moment in a more conscious way. Spiritual author, Eckhard Tolle, says that “thought requires consciousness but consciousness doesn’t require thought.” Hmmmmm. That’s something worth thinking about, don’t you think?

As you can see, I’m having fun with you today, but I’m also seriously considering that we all need to take all of our thoughts less seriously and make a conscious effort to just be. Or . . . . .
 we can just think about it some more.

 Let your spirit soar!
Paula

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Well, there are no big events to talk about in my life at the moment. My house is still under contract to sell and going smoothly, the decision about whether or not to take the job is behind me, and my big trip to the San Juan Islands in the Pacific northwest is now a fond memory. I still have appointments and social engagements to keep, speeches to write, and my book to work on but, all in all, my life is fairly quiet for the moment.

 This is when I have to be vigilant. Every day I wake up grateful for having this free time and the luxury of being able to turning down that job offer. I’m grateful that I have time to develop my yoga practice, learn Tai Chi, go for long walks, cook healthier meals, etc. But I have to be vigilant that I do those things I profess I want to do and not succumb to the temptation of regularly sleeping in late, watching too much television, and fixing the fastest, easiest food in the kitchen.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of those things. What is wrong, in my eyes, is knowing that my actions don’t match up with my thoughts and words I speak about what I want for my life. I’ve always considered myself to be a very reliable person. If I make a commitment to someone else, I’m very good about keeping it. I know that there is relief and a certain freedom in being able to depend on someone else’s word. But I’m learning that there’s an even greater freedom in knowing that I can trust myself. So I’ve been making nutritious fruit and vegetable smoothies for my lunch all week and I feel good about that. And I would write more about this but, right now, I think I’ll go do some yoga.

Let your spirit soar!
Paula

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A shining example    #35

 At the risk of talking too much about my recent job opportunity, I have something else I want to share. I was just blown away at the high level of integrity, mutual concern for each other, and transparency that was brought to the interview itself. If I were to have a boss, I would want this man to be it! Each of us entered the interview process with open minds, complete honesty, and a genuine interest in making sure that the other person would be well served and happy with the final decision. It was so refreshing! I wasn’t there to “sell him a bill of goods” and he wasn’t looking to just “get a position filled.”

In fact, at one point he asked me to tell him more about the work I do through Spirit Rising and about the seminar I’m giving in November. When I finished telling him, he said he could hear my passion about my speaking career. Even though I could tell he liked me and wanted me to be right for the position, he voiced his concern that I might eventually be angry that this new job was taking me away from the work I love. How’s that for being perceptive and caring?!!!

 He wasn’t surprised when I called him back a few days later to withdraw my application. As it turned out, they had just made a decision to go with someone with far more experience in the field than I had and I’m very happy for all of them. He told me to call him if there was any way that he could help me with my career and I know he meant it. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll do a seminar for them someday!

 Anyways, I just had to share my beautiful experience. It was a shining example of how joyful the world can be when we remember our Oneness and desire the highest good for everyone.

Let your spirit soar!
Paula

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