dailydatewithgod

Our bodies and minds are instruments that we are given to navigate our way in our experience on this planet.  They are our first responsibility.  We tend to think of both our bodies and minds and being automatic and certain elements are, but we have much more authority than we give ourselves credit for.  We can control what food we put in our bodies, how we move them, what environments we expose them too, etc.  We can choose what thinks we watch, read, listen to, and ideas that we let take up space in our minds.  How much time do we spend consciously choosing how we treat ourselves and consequently others?  I cannot give of what I don’t have so if I am cruel, judgmental, and intolerant of my body and mind, how can I expect to be loving and tolerant of others?  I remember learning early on that when I am pointing out something I don’t like in someone else, I really have three fingers pointing back at me.  Even more profound was the recognition I had years later: when I am seeing what I think is wrong in someone else, it is simply an outward manifestation of how I am seeing me and my life.  People are our mirrors.  This is why my date time with God each morning is so crucial for me.  It gives me time to tune the instrument of my mind by centering my thoughts and tune the instrument of my body by breathing consciously.  And during that sacred time I can ask God to come into my heart, mind, and body and restore those elements that are out of alignment with who I truly am and why I am here.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to open ourselves up to how God might tune the instruments of our minds and bodies (perhaps in a way we cannot imagine) so that we can play music and rock out!  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

There is a time period in our lives when we are trained to look for acceptance and recognition from other people in our lives. Then, as we mature, we begin to realize that the most important acceptance and recognition comes from own acknowledgment.  Acknowledgment is a skill that is sometimes foreign to us.  Especially those of us who have spent a lot of their lives waiting and hoping for acknowledgment from outside of ourselves.  It is only natural to do so as a young developing child, but if we are to be able to stand on our own two feet, we need to begin to be for ourselves what we expect from other people.  Besides, the acknowledgment and acceptance that we get from other people is very fleeting and extremely circumstantial.  People are only able to be and do for us to the extent that they are for themselves.  We cannot give what we haven’t got.  So, in learning to acknowledge ourselves, we become a gift for the world.  If we draw our strength from within, the God that dwells within, then we can extend that energy outside of ourselves, not the other way around.  I know for me, at times it has been a painful lesson to not seek acknowledgment from outside of myself, but it is often the most painful lessons that bring us the most freedom.  It allows us to let go of old ideas that no longer work.  I realize now that looking for acknowledgment from others makes me dependent upon them and their moods which have nothing to do with me.  When I take a step back and look to God and my own heart and spirit for acknowledgment it comes from a deep firm place within that is much more resilient. I am not perfect at this by any means. I still get tripped up and find myself looking for acknowledgment and acceptance from outside of me, but I am better able to catch it.  The funny part is of course, that when acknowledgment from others comes it is a lovely and unexpected surprise. My prayer for us today is that we start with something small that we can acknowledge ourselves for so that it may grow a little more each day.

It is a sobering experience when you realize that you have little control over anything in your life.  The relief is that you do have control over how you perceive things, no matter what they are.  In fact, it is when we stop trying to foolishly gain control over the things we don’t have and fully embrace the control we do have that we experience freedom.  There are many things that happen in our lives that we don’t like, don’t think “should” happen, or wish to not have experienced, but who is the ultimate authority on what is supposed to be.  I have found that the more I try to fight the reality of what is, the more dis-ease I experience.  I am not recommending that we pretend that we love everything but acceptance is the gateway to freedom.  When my body is in pain and needs to move slower, I don’t like it, but fighting it and further injuring it has never sped up the recovery process.  Getting help, resting, keeping my mind healthy, being open to learning from what the situation is here to teach me are the keys to moving through it.  This requires an attitude adjustment.  An attitude that I am a student. Life is my lesson plan and God is my teacher here to support my learning and my growth.  If I maintain the humble attitude of being a learner, then I can remember that there is no perfection there is only action.  How can I possibly know how to handle something I have never experienced before.  Does it scare me? Does it bring me face to face with who I am and who I want to be in this world?  Yes!  Do I need to connect with others and ask for help?  Yes!  Will doing so remind me that I am not alone and that we all need to be intertwined to make it on this earth? Yes!  Will being a learner expand my heart and give me compassion for the others learners walking side by side on the same path? Yes!  Will this attitude of being a learner make me more loving?  Yes!  And that seems to be the bottom line.  All of our experiences and circumstances are to help us head in one direction–LOVE!  If in experiencing strife and difficulty I am adopting an attitude of anger, resentment, and discontent, I have to stop and ask myself if this attitude is bringing me closer to or further away from love.  The further from love (my inner essence), the greater my dis-ease. There is a time for everything in this world, so sometimes in order to appreciate the peace we must know the dis-ease. Whatever it is when my attitude is a firm acknowledgement that I am love and headed in the direction of love then I can have the confidence to accept what the reality is today, for this moment.  It is all part of what the Beatles would call the long and winding road.  Remember there is another bend around the corner that will be here before you know it. My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to adopt an attitude of acceptance of what is.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

There is one sure way that I am completely aware of the presence of God and it is in the shaping and softening of my own heart.  Years ago I had an experience that I have described before on this blog, when I felt as God was breaking open my chest to get to my heart where a lot of darkness existed.  Unlike me, God was not daunted by this, he was behind me with his arms wrapped around me and letting me know that although it was painful We needed to open this up and let some of the darkness out.  The tears streaming down my face as this was happening spoke of my fear and relief at knowing that I would change and grow in ways that I had not imagined.  For a long time I was not aware of the chains and ice that surrounded my own heart. It had been there for so long that I had come to experience it as part of my heart.  It was not clear what exactly that would entail, but I would start each day on our date and take the next indicated step.  I have gone on retreats, attended workshops, had healing sessions with various kinds of healers, expanded my meditation practice, read a lot of books, cried a lot of tears, and basically just did what was right in front of me to do.  Somehow by showing up each day and connecting with God, I can tell you that the heart that dwells within me today is soft and supple.  It sounds strange to me to tell you that I know the composition of my heart is different, but it is.  I am more sensitive to things and sometimes that can be daunting, but then I remember that I am not doing any of this alone. It is as though my heart feels again and I am more alive than ever before.  I do not know what your path is but whatever it is I encourage you to be willing to have your heart softened.  My prayer for us today is that we be open to how we can be transformed by love and be the transformation of love for others.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Today on this national day of gratitude many people will be getting together with family and friends to feast on food and friendship.  Many people will also spend another day going hungry and being alone.  I have spent Thanksgivings surrounded by loved ones, on my own, and even had an “anti-Thanksgiving” (that’s right, I didn’t even have any turkey). The interesting thing is that even times when I was surrounded by loved ones, I was not really connected to them.  I was too busy in my own madness and fear to extend an open heart to those whom surrounded me.  Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.  Sometimes it is only when we are left all alone inside our hearts and minds that we dare to reach out for something greater.  I am grateful today that I reached that point of aloneness where my heart ached enough to let down the walls.  It was not a pretty process and I had to let go of a lot of ideas about love, family, friends, stories about who I thought I was and “entitled” to.  Only by going down that path did I get to the point of an open heart and mind about what life is really about.  Because of that I am able to enjoy the simplicity of the chance to genuinely connect with other human beings with whom I have great love and have taught me great love.  Today I have the choice to celebrate connecting with them and myself, not exchanging one for the other anymore.  My prayer for us today is that we see the gifts of the people and the experiences given to us by the Creator of love and recognize the choice and the opportunity to connect with and say “Thank you.”  Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen

I never really understood the expression, “Live and let live,” until recently.  What I get from that expression is that we live fully and we let life live out the way it does.  We don’t fight reality but we don’t let it knock us down either.  None of gets through this life without a few scrapes–some minor, some major.  The major ones are the ones that our mind attached too and in an effort to protect our survival, stay to remind us to be ever so careful when we experience something that generates the same feelings or potential of the same feelings.  But by the very fact that our mind is pulling something up from the past means that we are no longer experiencing the present, we are simply replaying something from the past.  It is an amazing mechanism of our mind to insure our very survival.  This comes in handy when needing to protect ourselves from the grizzly bear or the mountain lion, but last time I checked my grizzly bears and mountain lions were everyday people and circumstances.  It is imperative that we wake up from our sleep and recognize that we are not all alone in the wilderness of life.  We can take the risk of being present in this moment, no matter what our mind conjures up.  Then we have the opportunity to live from the heart (without fear or resentment) and let life unfold as it does.  It is the confidence that comes from an inner-knowing that God truly is as Great as God has shown us to be and no matter what happens, it can be turned to good.  Those scrapes we experience, while seemingly devastating actually scratch away our defenses around our heart.  They open us up a little bit to be touched in a way that we could not create ourselves.  Those scrapes become our portal to love.  Only by facing them and inviting God in can we heal them and heal our hearts.  My prayer for us today is that we be willing to sit with our scrapes and open the door ever so slightly to show our scabs to God and be open to see what he can do to transform them.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

We have no idea the tremendous power that God has given us.  We will not begin to get in touch with that power until we learn to focus outside of ourselves.  In order for the focus to be outside of ourselves we must be in touch and grounded within our own hearts.  Being of service to others is not an ego trip.  It is not a way of justifying our existence or proving our worth.  We do not prove our worth.  The fact that we are breathing means we are meant to be here–no explanation necessary. Just by being present we are helpful to others.  By showing up as ourselves to the best of our ability in any given moment, we fulfill our destiny of service to others.  When we think too hard and try to change ourselves to be what we think others want us to be, we miss the point.  God does not want us to be what we think others want us to be.  God wants us to show up as ourselves.  God wants us to keep God as our God, not make others our God.  The best way we can be helpful to others is to show up as ourselves, share of ourselves, and be supportive to their process and growth in life.  We do not need to save anyone or be anyone else’s God.  We only need to help lead them to their understanding of God.  My prayer for us today is that we get in touch with our hearts so that we may know the best way to be helpful to others and ourselves is to be the best version of ourselves.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

In a world plagued by instant gratification and immediate results, it can be hard to see the value of consistency and constancy.  We become accustomed to looking for the next greatest thing.  Stopping to be present in the moment, however provides an energy and a an experience that fuels the next moment.  It may go contrary to what the world tells us, but if we stop long enough to be present to where we are in the moment, it will transform our experience of that moment and each moment to come.  It lays the blueprint for our experience of life. We know this because we are often awe-struck at the times when we are fully present in that moment. We look back on it and begin to crave that kind of experience over and over again. It fuels our hearts and our spirits to be present in the moment.  However, sometimes in the desire to create more of it, we miss out on the moments in between.  We attach the experience to only “big” moments.  Our life is a series of little and big moments woven together.  It does not matter whether we are experiencing a little or a big moment, only that we are as present as possible in the given moment.  If we find that we are struggling to build moment in our lives, perhaps it would behoove us to stop and breath and take in this moment right now.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to stop and breath in as many moments of this day as we can.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

Shhh!  Be still.  Listen closely.  Can you hear it? Take a deep breath.  Listen again.  Its you being called. A sense that someone or something greater than you is calling you to drawn within. The call is to come to your own heart.  It is one that if you get quiet enough, you can sense that it is always there.  I think our whole being makes this call.  It can only be heard in the stillness when we separate ourselves from the clamor of the outside world.  That is how we know it comes from within us.  If it came from outside of us we would be able to hear it screaming loudly.  If we begin to attune ourselves to listen for the drawing, then we will see it happening outside of ourselves as well.  We will notice the signs and the experiences that are asking us to stop and go within.  All of the universe is designed to get us to return home to love.  Where else would love live than within our own hearts?  Just because we don’t remember it being there, or feel like it is not there, doesn’t mean it is not.  Love is more than a feeling.  It is a decision, an action, a way of being, seeing, and accepting the world.  Everything is motivated by love and as cliché as it sounds, it is really what makes the world go round. Either a desire to obtain it or get rid of it, depending on what one’s definition of love.  When we give ourselves the gift of being drawn by God to a space of quiet contemplation then we have a chance of learning what love is from the Creator of love.  Meaning it will be a learning that is beyond our preconceptions and limited expectations of love.  In my limited lifetime experience, I know that my understanding and willingness to love has grown by leaps and bounds in the time that I have spent on these dates with God each day.  When I began dating God my basic definitions of love were intense like, betrayal, pain, confusion, and doubt.  Not exactly a hallmark card in the making.  Over time, love as I understand dwelling within me and all those around me is passion, courage, pain, peace, joy, silence, and comfort.  I know that in another ten years it will expand to so much more, the more I draw within.  My prayer for us today is that we take the time even if for just a minute or two drawing within and ask the questions-what is love?, how am I love? and is love?  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen

The paradoxical truth that we come to know and understand the closer we grow in love with God, with ourselves, and with all those around us is that we are here to be of service to each other.  We recognize how we are all connected.  Our ego convinces us that we are alone, know one truly understands what we are dealing with, and we have to figure it out.  When we go through life that way, it often works for a while but because it is not based in reality–we are not alone (hello-have you noticed how you heard the latest population count on the planet?), there are those who understand what we are going through (even if it doesn’t look exactly the same, the feelings and experiences are the same) and there is nothing to “figure out” (God has already done that for us); it breaks down.  It is then that we are faced with a choice, we can continue to trudge down the path that we are on and experience continued suffering, or we can be open to a new way of thinking and being.  It calls for a surrender and an offering up of our ego.  A willingness to let go of “edging God out” and take the risk that maybe we don’t know all that we think we know.  These surrender experiences come in small and large doses. It is not a one time event, nor is it meant to be.  Each new day we are offered the chance to let go and let God.  The funny part is that as much as our ego fights it, it is the one thing that brings us to peace and ease.  When the dis-ease of self-focus (us having all the answers) is great enough we take the action and offer up our hearts to a new experience.  It is in this ego perspective of weakness that we find our greatest strength because we are now reconnected consciously with the source of all-knowing and loving.  We find ourselves at home.  We can be grateful for the pain and the dis-ease that brings us to these moments because they are the portal through which we will experience the greatest love, passion, and fulfillment.  This makes no sense in the ego-mind, but we can offer that up too.  One of the most profound prayers that I find myself saying more and more theses days is where I offer up to God all that I think I know, all that I think I believe, and all that I have experienced thus far so that I may be open to what unfolds next.  It is humbling to let go of “knowing” or needing to know and be “right”, but each time I do even just a little bit, I experience God in a new and enchanting way and my heart is softened.  Then I can be of service to another, see my connection to another and the world about me, and not be in the dis-ease of the aloneness lie.  My prayer for us today is that we offer up what we think we know and ask God to help us to be open to the greater reality that God has for us.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen