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Live Wild and Free is the online educational arm of Center for Spiritual Living Carson City.  LW&F features podcasts, videos, online classes, self directed classes and live online discussions about practical applications of spiritual principles.

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11709981_10207274755486543_7958070936812802295_oI've been doing a lot of thinking lately on how the basic laws of life work.  You may have heard about one of those laws:  it's called the Law of Attraction.  Almost every spiritual, scientific, philosophical and psychological discipline throughout the ages has either proven or spoken of this law.

It is powerful, and it works.  It works even if you don't believe in it, because it will simply honor your intention of disbelief and not work. ...continue reading "Three steps to activate the Law of Attraction in your life"

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Thank you to Jeff Anderson for this quote. There are traditional ways to refer to a process which allows us to open up to our highest good. In traditional language, words like powerless and surrender are used. For me, these words evoke a return to victimhood and I do not resonate with them. But the concept is powerful. This quote allows for an opening. To let go of resistance to the total openness of who I am implies that anytime I am feeling resistance, a fight, a nudge that says, "something needs to change here," I can acknowledge that perhaps the way I've been doing and being is no longer working, and then I can contemplate and allow for a new way of being and doing. This is why contemplation is so important in our lives, and this is why I am doing a workshop that will give you some new ideas about incorporating contemplation into your life. Won't you join me on Friday, April 17, at 6 pm, at the Center for Spiritual Living in Carson City, to explore this together?

I found myself saying this today to someone, "Sometimes the best decisions are the most difficult ones to make."

Today I had a wedding scheduled.  I showed up at the appointed place and time and proceeded to wait for my couple.  A man drove up alone but he waved at me and so I knew it was my groom.  I greeted him with a smile and a question, "what did you do with your lovely bride to be?"

He responded, "We decided not to get married."

Oh.

Dear.

In almost 30 years of doing weddings, this has only happened to me one other time.  It does happen, but rarely.  I shared with this man the story of the other time it had happened, in the hopes that it would allow him to feel a bit better, knowing he wasn't the only one to experience this.  While he wasn't talking much, it was clear to me that he was upset. ...continue reading "Sometimes the Best Decisions are the Most Difficult"

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Are you busier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs?

I'm writing to you today  to tell you about a wonderful new workshop I've created called "Action and Contemplation:  A Beautiful Partnership."

I'm really excited about this workshop!  Somewhere along the line I learned that contemplation allows for more action, and action creates space for more contemplation.  It is a beautiful symbiotic relationship that has allowed me to experience life full on!

I quite frequently hear from people that they think I am very busy.  Some think I am too busy!  Would you believe it if I told you I was able to enjoy one hour of contemplation every day?  It's true!

Would you like to be able to do the same?  If so, join me on Friday night, April 17, from 6-8 pm, at the Center for Spiritual Living Carson City, 3579 Highway 50 East, Unit 301.   For a cost of $25, you can learn:

  1. How to accomplish everything you want to accomplish, every day
  2. How to carve out at least 20 minutes of quiet time, every day
  3. How to experience that fully alive feeling, every day

Call me at 530-906-9336 for more information, or to sign up.

imageRecently I heard a story that I've been thinking about....a lot.

I just finished teaching a class called Prosperity Plus at the Center for Spiritual Living in Carson City.  This incredibly powerful material was put together by Mary Morrissey, and my students experienced many shifts in their thinking, some were subtle, some were more like the "wack-upside-the-head" variety.

I also experienced a shift that I want to share with you.

As a minister in New Thought, one of the things I get to do is take ancient wisdom, such as the Bible, and translate it metaphorically so that people can hear and understand the lessons, and apply them in their lives.  The Bible was written by many people, in the language of their times.  Back then they taught in metaphor.  The Bible was never meant to be taken literally, the mistranslations have not served us well.  I'm not an expert on the Bible, I learn new things all the time, and I learned something new in this class.

Mary Morrissey told us about the David and Goliath story in the Bible. You know, the story of the little shepherd and the giant?  David ended up slaying the giant, but what isn't often told is the inner process he used to do that.

See, we live in what is called a "condition based world."  This means we place more importance on our outer conditions, and we base our decisions and our actions on those conditions.

It's backwards.

There is an inner world, which is so much more important than the outer.  This is the world of our thoughts, beliefs and dreams.

David was able to slay the giant in spite of the outer conditons:  Goliath was huge, powerful, mean and had a lot of weapons.  He was also arrogant.  David was small, had only one weapon, and he refused to buy into the common fears of the time, that the giant was too big to slay and he certainly couldn't do it with his one little weapon, a sling shot.

But David wasn't into condition based thinking.  He knew the power of his thoughts.  He had heard that the king would give a castle, freedom from taxes and the princess to anyone who slay the dragon.  David heard about the princess and kept his eye on the prize.  All he could think about was the princess.  He kept his eye on the prize.  He would listen to the naysayers who told him it couldn't be done.  He kept his eye on the prize.

And he slayed the dragon.

Have you ever had anyone tell you it can't be done?  I have.  Very recently as a matter of fact.  I listened to them tell me it couldn't be done, for a little while, then I told them I didn't want to hear it anymore.  See, I've got my eye on the prize and someone telling me it can't be done is not the direction I want to take my thoughts.  I've got my eye on the prize.

Conditions would indicate that what I am trying to do can't be done.  But I don't live in condition based thinking.  I keep my eye on the prize, and my thoughts are more powerful than conditions.  So I keep my thoughts tuned to the prize.

And I know that if I keep doing this, what some told me wasn't possible will happen.  It already is beginning to happen!  I just need to keep my eye on the prize, just like David did.

Are you living in condition based thinking?  Do you think you can't do that because you were told, or because conditions would indicate you can't?  Or are you keeping your eye on the prize, knowing that your thoughts are much more powerful than any conditions?

I'd love to hear your stories about how you got the prize!

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I was having a conversation with someone recently about loss.

She, like so many others, has experienced a lot of loss in her life in the last few years.  Her story is much like many I hear:  careers up in smoke, homes foreclosed, marriages unable to survive, sickness; these are only a few examples of what I know has happened at almost epidemic levels.

I happen to think that such losses can be doorways into new and wonderful opportunities.  All the time I hear stories like this:  the man who lost his job, and took the opportunity to start a business doing something he always wanted to do.  Or the woman who lost her home and moved to a place she always wanted to live in, but didn't feel as if she could because she was tied to her home.

It isn't necessary to experience great losses to make such changes in our lives, but if you have experienced such a loss, it may be time to look at it as an opportunity.  However, in order to do so some work may have to be done.    Properly grieving the loss, self inquiry, faith building and intention setting are just some of the things that might need to be done in order to move forward.

If you've experienced a loss of any kind and feel as if you haven't yet recovered from it, I encourage you to attend a workshop being held this Sunday, March 23, at 12:30 pm at the Center for Spiritual Living in Carson City, NV.  Ramona Goodge, a recent graduate of Holmes Institute and a good friend of mine, will be giving this workshop and is also the guest speaker at CSLCC that same morning at 10:30.  She will be revealing some healthy strategies to dealing with loss.

The address of CSLCC is 1927 North Carson Street in Carson City, NV.  CSLCC is located in the Frontier Plaza, on the corner of Winnie Lane and North Carson.  Again, the talk begins at 10:30, the workshop at 12:30.  And a bonus:  a potluck in between!  Both are being offered on a love offering basis.  I hope to see you there!