dailydatewithgod

Sharing my experiences and understandings of the Great I AM.

Be From Yes!

Our world is filled with choices. Sometimes it can be daunting when it comes time to choose so instead of evaluating what will most contribute to our wellness and vitality we choose what is right in front of us or what someone else recommends.  There is power in the pause between having a decision to make and making it.  We get to take the time to decide what yes will be for the greater good.  Choosing what is acceptable is not always the right answer for us . When I started on the path of recovery I learned that a response of “let me think about that and I will get back to you” was an answer.  I did not have to respond yes or no on anyone else’s timetable.  I personally need a moment at least to check in with God.  What I might perceive as a yes or a no for the greater good of myself and others is no more than an attempt to seek approval from another person or organization.  I used to say that I was a people pleaser until God helped me to see that what I labeled as such was more of an attempt to be approved of by others. As long as what I did and said met with their approval, I was okay.  I realized I was giving them a God job. Saying yes to life is the gift of choice and my relationship with God has shown me that I want more than anything to say yes to the ideas and activities that draw me closer to God and thus to love.
My prayer for us is the courage to be in our hearts when we come from a yes to life so that we might experience the love present in our decision.
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Be From Travel!

I realize that when I say, “Life is a trip.” I am usually referring to a situation that has taken some unexpected twists and turns.  The same goes for people for whom that description is used.  Why would they not be? We are all travelers on this road of life.  We plan our vacations and think things are going to go according to the plan, but often they do not. We might be disappointed but eventually we roll with it.  After all we are in a different place and usually for a limited time.  Some of us travel just to have those experiences of letting go and letting things happen as they do.  When we travel we see the experience of going with the flow as a natural part of the dynamic.  We chalk it up to the inevitable and accept it. It’s only for a short time and we will return to normal life soon enough.  But why do we expect our normal life to be any different? Life is one long travel path.  We are not here permanently.  In normal life, when things don’t go according to plan we fight it.  We tell ourselves this is not supposed to happen or that things should have gone the way we expected.  What if this trip is just a longer one than the one we planned to some unknown destination?  How much do we know about our normal lives really? What if there are still things to explore in this normal life?  What if the twists and turns that pop up are what are the things that make the trip memorable and worthwhile?  If we approached our everyday life as a trip we are meant to travel, might we find some gems that God has hidden in our normal life?
My prayer for us is the willingness to approach our lives from a travel perspective today and see what twists and turns make the day?
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Be From Guidance!

On this daily walk with God I have found a source of guidance that goes beyond just our date time.  Everything is nice and fresh on our dates.  Not much has yet occurred in the day but then I go out and face the world. What has changed is my heart-knowing that whatever I come across during the course of my day I need only bring it back to my relationship with God.  I envision the hand of God placed over my own as I bring it to my heart.  I take a deep breath and center myself in my heart space and ask for guidance.  Sometimes it comes right away, other times I just keep moving forward to the next thing and when it is time for me to know, I know.  The guidance from which I live is connected to my commitment to live from the love of which I am and all are created.  God reminds me above all things of the innocence of myself and others.  The guidance I receive often does not make sense to me which usually just means I am being given a different perspective.  I am given God-sense which is about the innocence of the presence of love that I am blinded to in the moment.  Other times it is so simple I am surprised I did not think of it myself at which time God reminds me it is about the process of engaging in relationship not about having the answers.
My prayer for us is the courage to seek our connection with God as the tool through which we can find guidance in the way of love today.
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Be From Feeling!

Tranquility is such a lovely word and when I came across it in the lesson from A Course In Miracles the other day I was struck by its immediate association for me with a body of water.  I suppose that is not unusual but I am tuned in more these days to the associations that my mind makes in images and memories to words and experiences.  There is an element of discovery that comes from being awake and alive that feeds into my curious nature like a child unfolding a mystery. Water is often a symbol for feelings.  The message from the course says: And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him.” It reminds me of the daily message on my calendar that beeps on my phone every day at 2:30pm saying, “Hey Colleen, I got you on this one!~Love, God.” I believe based on my daily dates with God that we are guaranteed to receive whatever it is we need.  In times of transition, which are actually all time, the reminder of a calmness about what I am feeling is most needed.  I lived most of my life invalidating and stuffing my feelings.  Doing the contrary these days takes courage.  It is creating a balance between paying attention and validating them while not letting them run my life.  On our dates sometimes I incorporate a gem of an idea I learned from one of my spiritual teachers years ago.  I invite a younger version of myself to sit on my lap as I begin my meditation and I ask her how she is feeling.  Whatever she says I say thank you and let her go on her way.  God always sees us as those innocent and pure little children we once were and when we acknowledge our feelings it is almost as though we acknowledge our innocence too.
My prayer for us is the courage to recognize and acknowledge our feelings and others so that we may see what they are calling out for us to love today.
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Be From Relation!

I am always amused that in the midst of living in a city of massive numbers of people I can feel disconnected from others.  Being surrounded by bodies means nothing if I am not able to relate.  Finding others with which to make genuine connection is part of what it means to be human.  As an introvert I know that I generate energy from my alone time and I cherish it a great deal, but nothing lights me up like being able to relate with someone even if it is just over an idea or an experience.  Some of our relations are life long, some are momentary, and most come and go.  I’ll never forget a wise woman while trying to console me after a break up told me “Everyone is in our lives for a reason, some for a season, and some for seasoning.”  Connecting with people brings a wholeness to our experience because we are engaged with the whole of ourselves.  We fall for the illusion that because we are in separate bodies that we are not related to each other.  Yet I have walked into many a room of strangers and became present to the energy of the room.  A room full of hundreds of separate bodies who all seemed to be connected somehow.  The relating began when we all set the intention to show up for the event.  The relating continued when we focused on our relatedness.  At a very biological level we do this when we mirror other’s facial expressions.  It is a built-in mechanism that we cannot help but do.  It allows us to know that we are in relationship.  God designed us to be able to relate to each other. Maybe the only reason we come in so many varied cultures, sizes, colors, and experience is so we can see the myriad of possibilities that exist in God’s eyes.

My prayer for us is the willingness to seek out how we relate to the person near us (maybe just for seasoning) and discover God in a new way today.
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Be From Simplicity!

The complex systems that constitute the operating system of our mind and body seem to tell us the story that we should by extension live a complex life.  Maybe the reverse is true.  Perhaps the design is such that it enables us to live simply.  God has taken care of automating so much of our existence so we can take a step back and engage in the simplest and deepest space of abundance and appreciation. God encourages us to bring it back to the simplicity of love. We do like to create drama and make things complex.  God knows I like a good story. Yet it seems to cause us to waste energy unnecessarily.   I have become more mindful of how I expend my energy and the simplest way for me to keep myself in check is to bring it to God and ask, “Is this where you would have me expend my energy?  How I can use this experience to simply generate more energy of love for myself and others?”  I get the chance to charge my batteries on our daily prayer and meditation date but as I go through the day I need to create a way to connect back into my power center.  So as I turn to God, he takes my hand, places it on my heart and encourages me to breathe.  God whispers: Here, always here Colleen, simply return to me here.
My prayer for us is the willingness to take a look at the elements in our lives that are a simple call back to love and not the complex story we have created today.
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Be From Awareness!

I am someone who for many years walked through life not in touch with all the energies and ideas within me that kept me from connecting to my true self.  Because of this I can acknowledge the power and value of awareness.  I used to think it was about being fully aware all the time.  I figured now that I had woken up and was no longer on the path of just plodding away at life, I was not going to let anything go uncovered.  Then, I woke up to reality that living a spiritual life means a willingness to be aware and trusting in God’s timing.  I cannot fight to make it happen.  I cannot push myself into being open to an awareness of myself or others.  Most importantly I realize that it is not a failure on my part if I am unaware.  God is in charge.  I trust that His whispers of insight will come to me when I am willing to hear them with love.  As we reflect on the closing of a year, I am grateful for the things that I was made aware of that I had not seen before and I hold with anticipation at what might come into my awareness with this next year.  The difference I know in my heart that comes from my dating God is I am not afraid of what will become present to me.  I know whatever I am meant to face, God has got my back and is invested in the awareness ultimately being an opportunity to be more fully the love from which I was created.

My prayer for us is the courage to be thankful for what we are aware of today and trust in our hearts where our courage to love lives, that God will guide us to be made aware of more when it is the perfect time.

 

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Be From Charge!

Awareness of one’s energy is empowering.  Being on a spiritual path mean being willing to look at the things that we don’t want to look out.  For me the end goal is always peace.  When I am at peace I am free to love without boundaries.  When I am at peace I see the connection to all things and know in my heart that I am not separate from anyone or anything.  Peace brings the knowledge that all is one in God.  Paying attention to where my energy charge is gives me the tools to look out where I am placing my focus.  Starting the day on my date with God means I am getting my charge from the ultimate source. I know I will have the energy needed to be present in the day because I am full of charge from a source of power greater than me.  It does not always feel like it, but it is not always about the feeling.  It is about knowing in my heart that the charge for my life has come this day from the Creator of Love.
My prayer for us is to pay attention to where we look to charge ourselves setting the course for our energy source throughout our day.
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Be From Fluidity!

I was recently watching one of those fountains that dances in rhythm to the music being played and I was absolutely mesmerized.  I was struck by how the movement of the water through the different sprinkler angles and shapes conveyed the vibration of the music.  I got the sense that even if I hadn’t heard the music I would have come away knowing what the message of the song was based on the movement of the water. Given that our human body is made up of 55-65% water, I wonder what the music of our mind directs our body to move in rhythm to.  We have a fluidity in our own system that happens mostly without our knowledge.  What if we were able to create the vibrations and essentially conduct the fluidity of water in our system?  The sounds that we make with our voice and even our thoughts carry a vibration.  In my daily prayer and meditation date with God I take the time to align my mind and heart so they work in conjunction with one another and create a fluidity of connection back and forth.  This step influences the flow all of my body.  I want my body to be able to dance to the rhythm of love as much as possible.  God guides me daily in how to do this.
My prayer for us is the courage to look at what is conducting the fluidity of our body, mind, and spirit systems today.
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Be From Stillness!

If the water in the pond never goes still I can’t see my reflection in it.  If my mind never goes still I can not know what it is that is in constant motion within me.  The stillness behind a mindfulness or meditation practice affords one the chance to see what is underneath the hood of one’s car.  Only then can I appreciate what my mind does so automatically all the time.  I can also begin to make changes to the wiring and connections that need to be repaired.  Just because its functional does not mean its optimal.  Our brains are not going to tell us what they have created a work around for. It will simply do what needs to be done to insure survival.  We typically do not question it until it breaks down.  We are willing to get still when the effects of the mechanism no longer do things in ways that work for us.  Stillness affords us a chance to look.  You would not open up the hood of your car while driving down the road would you?  You would wait until you were stopped and the engine had cooled before touching any of the wiring.  If we want to move our lives into a great space to experience love and the power of our hearts and spirits, we must be still enough to take a look at our mind.
My prayer for us is the willingness to incorporate a moment or two of stillness and take a peak at what is under our hood today.
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