It is so easy to react to what is happening in our lives. It is like we are on automatic pilot. Something happens and we have a reaction. Or so it seems. What actually is going on is that something happens, we have a thought about what is happening which creates a feeling which then becomes acted upon. What we often don’t recognize is that there are spaces in between each of those happenings where we can pause and become conscious. This takes practice but it can be learned. It is also a much more powerful place in which to engage life. It keeps us from being thrown about by life’s circumstances and from being victims of our circumstances. When we reach for that pause (reach for God) we can choose to then act and respond to life versus react to what is happening. There is nothing wrong with either way of doing it, it is simply a choice as to what kind of life we want to live. My prayer for you today is that you ask God for the courage to reach for the pauses, take a breath, and go from there. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be One!
Unity and clarity of purpose creates a powerful life. I have seen it over and over again in successful persons and groups. When we know what our purpose is, when we are in touch and have clarity about what we are united with, we are much more apt to live fully. We all have times in our lives when we are wandering through the desert, discovering who we are and what we align ourselves with. These times are most important and it is helpful to be patient with ourselves as we engage in the process. It becomes an examination time where we can go into our heart and our minds to discover from the perspective of our soul why we are here, what our role is in life, and how we can best serve out our lives. When we come out of that time there is a sense of peace in knowing what we are here to do. I believe that we experience this cycle in every area of our lives if we are open to it. It is a maturing process when we begin by questioning the ideas and beliefs that were handed down to us to ascertain if they still apply. Sometimes we let things go easily, knowing clearly upon just questioning , that it is no longer a good fit. Other times, we hold on to it because the person or situation in which we learned it holds sentimental value. And yet other times we cannot imagine letting go because to not keep that idea or belief seems like death and we fear death and the unknown. The old saying, “The devil I know is better than the devil I don’t,” applies. The funny thing is I am not even talking about ideas/beliefs that are positive. Recently I have been facing the old idea that I must be doing something wrong. No matter the situation, my head will tell me, “maybe you did something wrong,” and that is why it didn’t work out or “its your fault that this is happening.” One way that we can recognize these old ideas and beliefs is that if we said them to other people they would probably look at us like we were crazy. That is because they were most likely not present during the experience, however long ago, that formed the idea and belief. Most of our ideas are created from a situation and we somehow take them into new situations even if they do not apply. Over the last decade or so I have had to stop and question so many of my deeply held ideas and beliefs. Some were easy to let go of, others I would not touch with a ten foot pole. Sometimes it wasn’t until the idea or belief became painful that I was willing to take out the ten foot pole and start poking around. Each time it is a process of looking at the idea or belief, often with the help of someone else and their perspective, and laying it before God. Upon laying it before God, I ask, is this true? How does this idea/belief serve me? How is this idea/belief useful to me? How is this idea/belief holding me back from the life that You have envisioned for me? Lastly, my prayer becomes, Lord show me how to release this idea/belief even when I am afraid of what is on the other side. At the end of the day, it is me alone with my mind, my heart and my spirit and I must be at one with myself in order to have peace. If I cannot stand with me, who will? As painful and uncomfortable as this process can be, I find both a greater freedom and capacity to love on the other side. My prayer for you today is that you have the courage to question one of your long-held beliefs (a repeated thought) and see if it really does fit with you. Ask God to see it from his perspective and be open to possibility of greater freedom, love, and oneness with yourself. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Determined!
There is great power in making a decision. In fact, very little action can take place until we make a decision. Making a decision requires a level of commitment. In a world where the possibilities are endless for mistakes and mess-ups, someone who is afraid to make a mistake often has difficulty making a decision. Fear seems to drive perfectionism and so it is a perfect (excuse the pun) combination–fear and non-commitment that keeps us from living the life that we dream. God is all about commitment and decisiveness. When he chose to create us out of love he went all out. He was determined for us to know love in all the ways possible. He designed us from the atom and each of our cells, he knew which gifts he was going to give us that he wanted the world to experience through us. There is a scripture that refers to God knowing every hair on our head and in the book of Jeremiah (1:5), God says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” You may find yourself asking, how am I a prophet? Prophet’s carry messages, prophets bring hope, prophets remind us of the power of God. Who says you are not a prophet? Perhaps you have not decided what you are a prophet of. But I assure you, your life carries a message, your life speaks of hope, and your life reminds us of the power of God because you are alive and present in this world. When you determine what message you want to carry to the world, you can step into it with your whole being. When you decide to keep going forward with what you connect to in your heart, despite the fear that appears, you are a prophet. I believe that God designed us all with unique gifts to give to the world. He is waiting upon us to share the unique version of him with those around us. We can be determined that God has great things for us to give and all we have to do is make a decision to take one step in that direction. The funny thing is that when we do make a decision the fear shows up immediately–so that is why God is right by our side. He is determined to show us a way through the fear to the other side. Courage is not he absence of fear but the decision to go ahead anyway. My prayer for you today is that you decide how you are portraying God to the world in a unique way and make the decision to take one step of action in that direction. It could be as simple as choosing to make your bed. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Opportunistic!
Our experience in life is directly correlated to our perspective. Our perspective is shaped by our experiences. The build on each other. When my perspective on life was that it was something to be endured, gotten through, etc. my experiences mirrored that to me. Even positive experiences were something to fear because I thought for sure they would come to an end. My perception so clouded things that I could not even enjoy the positive experiences. As my perception began to shift, so did my experiences. When I was able to get out of my own way, let God into the areas of my life that I did not want to let him into, things began to transform. All of a sudden it was though life took on new meaning and I was seeing things through different eyes. My perception changed and so did the experiences I was having. It is not as though more positive things were happening in my life but now I appreciated them when they came. I spent less time worrying about how long they would last and how soon they would come to an end and more time appreciating them while they were here. “This too shall pass.” A motto that works for the good and bad of life. If I am present in the moment with God. If I take advantage of everything that happens as an opportunity for growth, for expansion of my heart, then there are no “bad” experiences. I had a spiritual mentor once who would always tell me, “Life is a gift or a chance to grow.” If I am willing to take up the challenge with God’s help to grow today then life always holds wonder for me. My prayer for you today is that you see a “bad” or “challenging” experience as an opportunity to grow. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Taught!
I have heard it said that humility is about being teachable. If life is about learning experiences, then that makes sense. I keep learning over and over again that I am not God. LOL! It may sound ridiculous, but every time I find myself forecasting the future I am taking on God’s role. I am referring to the seemingly harmless way I envision things turning out. My thoughts are either very extravagant like something out of block buster movie or they are the worst case scenario. It reminds me of something I heard once on a tv show. There was this God character, a little girl, who was reading a fairytale and she remarked , “You humans sure do like that ‘and they lived happily every after’ line.” The young woman to whom she was speaking asked, “what would you have it be?” And the God-character said something to the effect of “they grew in spiritual enlightenment and grace.” If I am open to being taught by God, essentially taught by the experiences of my life, then I will grow in spiritual enlightenment. It may sound very ethereal, but basically it means that my capacity to love will expand. I will find myself able to be accepting and tolerant of others and situations that used to bother me. I will look to how I can be of service in any given situation. It may not be a blockbuster set to music kind of moment, but it is one that speaks to my heart and soul. My prayer for you today is that you have the courage at this moment to ask God, “What do you have for me to learn today teacher?” Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Satisfied!
Many years ago I came across a prayer that was entitled, “Believe and Be Satisfied.” The prayer was geared toward someone who was single and looking to be in a relationship and married. But I think it has some key points no matter where you are in life because there are many times when we are looking at where we want to be. In our professional, family, emotional, mental, financial life, etc. In the “waiting” time there is a balance that we are called to embrace. A balance of hoping for something more all the while being content with what we have and where we are currently. This time calls upon us to trust that God is preparing us, creating a space in us to fully appreciate and be worthy of the gift that we are going to receive. The prayer speaks of trusting that God knows the desires of our hearts and hears our prayers and his answer is not “no”, it is “not yet.” If in fact we trust that everything happens for a reason and there is a time and a place for everything in our lives as it speaks of in Ecclesiastes, then we can believe and hope all the while being satisfied and grateful for where we are in the moment. In a world that moves at such a fast pace and provides instant results at every turn, we are called to be people of patience and understanding with where we are in our lives. They say that patience is a virtue and I always disliked that because I never truly understood what a virtue was. A virtue develops character and strengthens our soul. In my human mind, I do not see the value of waiting because it looks like it is wasted time–in line at the post office, in traffic, etc. But God does not see anything as wasted time. Everything is an opportunity to learn. When I look back at my life I recognize very humbly that the in-between times when I was waiting and called upon to be patient, I grew in my heart. During the waiting time we are able to focus on what we appreciate and are grateful for in our lives at that moment. This provides the lense through which we will then experience the next thing to come. My prayer for you today is to find the balance between being patient and not giving up hope for whatever it is that you are waiting. Just remember, God is right there next to you in the waiting room. (Check out the magazine he is looking at.) Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Valiant!
Often times this faith stuff sounds like its nice and fluffy. As if those who walk a spiritual path float on clouds in which they trust in God and believe that everything will turn out the way it is meant to be. Trusting in God takes great courage. We are trusting in something that our minds cannot fully wrap itself around. We live in a world that lives and dies by evidence and proof and hard facts. I could go into an explanation of perception and how that is what influences proof and facts, but I won’t do that right here and now. Today I am struck by the fortitude that is required to be a person of faith, to truly trust that God is who God says God is. When I look back at my life I can see the power of God in many, many ways. The “evidence” is hardly palpable to others but it is something that speaks to my heart and unfolded in a way that moved my life and changed my heart. Nice and fluffy is not the stuff of God–perseverance, fortitude, courage, and strength are the qualities that must accompany faith if it is to come alive. My prayer for you today is that you may have the courage to believe that God is who God says God is in your life. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Attuned!
I have found over the years as I have this time in the morning with God that the eyes through which I see have changed. My heart has changed and thus my mind is changed. What I am in tune with and aware of broadens and deepens. I used to think that the gem of meditation time in the morning was always going to come during the actual meditation time. However, I have come to recognize that it actually is more subtle than that. The true gift is in the pause that I experience during the course of my day. This allows me to pause when agitated or doubtful and check in with God. What do you want me to see and experience here in this moment? How can I be of service in this interaction? What gems and surprises should I be on the lookout for? In that moment of pause I become attuned to the bounty and abundance that God has created and I feel a part of and at peace. What are you tuned into? What do you want your antennae to pick up? What one action can you take today to make that happen? My prayer for you today is that you have the courage to take that action. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Persistent!
“They”(whomever “they” are ;o)) say that what you tell other people is what you need to hear yourself. Lately I have been talking about my experience when I used to teach middle schoolers. The primary job of a young person at that age is to test and push boundaries and I was always fascinated by the fervor with which these young people would keep pressing for what they wanted. Usually it showed up when they didn’t want to do something or they hadn’t done something they were supposed to do and had an excuse as to why they should not suffer the consequences of their actions. I taught in a predominantly upper class school in my last years as a teacher and was told by more than one that when they exhibited this behavior worked with others in their life. They were often mystified by how I would hold out with a firm “no”. I knew from not always being that way that consistency was what they needed more than anything. Not to mention the example of being a person of my word. Also, if I made an exception for one student, the rest would soon be lined up with their elaborate excuses. I was no means perfect at this and would sometimes get caught in the worry of them not liking me, but in the end I knew in my heart of hearts that what they needed was to be able to count on the consistency. Being that age, life is amuck–you have all these new hormones coursing through your body, you feel older but aren’t old enough yet to be given adult responsibilities, you are beginning to differentiate yourself from your family, the people you are closest to are going through the same ups and downs but nobody really talks about what is going on so your relationships fluctuate–it’s a crazy time of life. Honestly, I think it is a miracle that we survive our pubescent period of life. When all of that is going on, I knew from experience that they needed some level of consistency. In my classroom the rules were the rules, when I said yes or no, I meant it, and I would hold them to the standard and push them to be more than their excuses. Teaching is a rather thankless job because you spend most of your time planting seeds and the students don’t stick around long enough for you to see them grow. Sometimes I think back and wonder if I made any kind of impact, I hope and pray that I did. I believe that God is consistent and he models that for us through those who throughout history have followed Him. Jesus was always consistent in thought and deed, as was Buddha and Muhammad, not to mention great leaders like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Lincoln. In their realm of purpose they kept their eyes on the prize. I think they were able to do that because they stayed connected to what was important to them at their core. I cannot speak to how they lived in every part of their lives, but in their main message and purpose they did not waver. I am pretty sure that Jesus never said, forgive one another except when . . . Actually, when asked how many times we are to forgive, he said 7×70, meaning as many times as you need to. What areas of your life do you stop doing if it doesn’t work out the way you want the first few times? What would have happened if the makers of 409 gave up at the 406th trial of their cleaning product? No one said it would be easy to live our purpose, but it is always simple. Stay on the path, embrace the opportunities life hands you to throw you off the path and use that as a time to grab hold of the Creator who is walking with you on the path that was created just for you. Stopping and questioning if the path you are pursuing is the “right” one for you is part of the path. It is in those moments of questioning and doubt that we can further clarify ourselves and our intentions. It does not automatically mean give up, perhaps it is calling for an attitude adjustment (clearly I need to be hearing these words right now). I need God’s help with my attitude adjustment and I need a reassurance that I am headed in the right direction or be open to the idea that I had to start on this path to get me onto the path that I meant to go on. If I truly trust God that I will be okay no matter what then I do not have to be tied to the outcomes because in the end I will be closer to God and to myself which is the ultimate path. In the meantime, I put one foot in front of the other and I keep on going. My prayer for you today is that you find an area of your life where you easily give up instead of persisting and ask God to help you clarify if the desire to give up is a bump, a redirect, or veering into another path. Listen closely for the answer that comes with tremendous love. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
Be Definitive!
The beauty of this life is that we are given opportunities at every moment to make decisions. So many of them we make unconsciously and aren’t even aware that we are making them. A number of decisions are done out of habit. Have you ever noticed that when you get out of the shower, you always dry your body off in the same order? Somewhere along the way, you decided which part to start with first and you probably stuck with it. To make a new decision every time you take a shower would take up too much brain power. How about the route you take to work? Have you ever gotten to work and not known how you got there-probably because you went the same way you always did and even though your car is not on automatic pilot, your brain is. Even more ingrained are the ways that our body automatically responds to situations. When we are in fear we tense up, we get ready to fight or the flee. This goes way back to our ancestors. What can happen as a result of all these unconscious decisions is that we can begin to think that we do not have a role in what happens in our lives. But that could not be farther from the truth. Yes, these things becomes patterned grooves in our brain, but neuroscientists have studied and proven that we can change those pathways and create new grooves. That means that you can make a conscious decision to do something differently and change the course of your life. Now you may experience some resistance at first, because the brain is going to want to default to the usual pattern, but it can be done. God provides moments every day, many times a day, to open our eyes and see things differently. If we are walking through our life on automatic pilot we can miss some of those things. But once you decide to be open to seeing things in a new way, believing that there are possibilities where you thought there were none, the world begins to look differently. I consider this a definitive decision to believe that God can do what we cannot do for ourselves. I just have to be willing to ask for God’s help. I also think that God welcomes the opportunity to open our eyes to see His presence more in our lives–not only welcomes but does with giddy excitement. Like the meditation experience I had many years ago that I described in one of these blogs where God kept telling me how excited He was to see me and happy that I came. If I definitively make a decision that God can do the impossible, then I no longer carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I no longer have to resign myself to believing that things are just the way the are, and they will never change. Being definitive is the opposite of being defeated. My prayer for you today is that you decide in one area of your life (we all have to start somewhere) that God might possibly be able to accomplish more than you have and turn it over to him. Make it a great one! Peace~Colleen
dailydatewithgod 