Insights from Don

Money and Love

Even those of you who are into mathematics may get ruffled by this equation, but let me throw it at you anyway. Money equals energy equals love. Can I explain?

We were taught in school that money, that is dollar bills and quarters and dimes, didn't always exist. We know that way back in historical times mankind (or should I say personkind), exchanged goods and services instead of money. I would cut your hair and you would give me a chicken. Eventually money came to be exchanged instead. But what was happening is that human energy, skill, know-how and possessions were determined to have a value expressed in so many units of personal endeavor and then translated into corresponding units of money. (Possessions are included here also, because we acquired them by some kind of personal energy.)

So we can say that money equals energy, personal energy. We only have money if we have expended some personal energy. We can also say that money represents me, or at least a part of me. And when I give it to you, for something, I am giving you a part of me. And since I am good, since I am an extension of God, I am God expressing Him/Herself, then I am giving you goodness. And the act by which I give this goodness to you can be called an act of love. Certainly to receive "goodness" is a benefit. One of the definitions of Love is "goodness in action." Granted we sometimes clothe our monetary giving in a selfish, self-seeking garment. But in general our goal is to be a reasonable, unselfish giver. This probably needs more elaboration, but for now I leave you with the thought, the equation, for you to ponder: money equals energy equals love..

Affirmation: I am a loving and giving person!

Connecting With God

A well known quotation is: "Our hearts are restless, until they rest in Thee." St Augustine wrote this in the 3rd century. It embodies a thought which many people have experienced; namely, that we long for happiness, we search far and wide for it, and we always are unfulfilled if we don't look in the right place. Fulfillment comes when we possess truth, when we are liberated from fear and open to the energy and activity of love. This is what God is: truth, beauty, love and joy. We need to remind ourselves (in order to reach fulfillment) that the kingdom of God is within. And how do we do this? By practicing the presence of God in daily life.

Those who write treatises on the spiritual life consider "practicing the presence" as a particular exercise; not unlike an exercise one might do in striving for fitness in the physical realm. They have hints, suggestions and techniques to assist.

There are, however, people who in their daily lives of being "on the path" have constructed a habit of practicing the presence almost without knowing it. They have found a way to relate everything around to God who is the creator and sustainer of these things. They have been able to establish a connection to their souls and come to know they are God expressing.

Today, let's re-affirm our belief and commitment to God's presence within us and around us by taking this saying as our affirmation: I am always with God!

Natural Energy

For most of us the words "natural energy" conjure up thoughts of the physical energy that we use to go dancing, or to mow the lawn, or to walk through the shopping mall. But to John Randolph Price our natural energy is LOVE. For him the inner vitality which makes us go and thrive and succeed is not bodily energy derived from the five basic food groups, but rather a force derived from God, wherein we do what God does: give, share, promote the welfare of all beings.

The inspiring and invigorating aspect of this thought is that it's natural for us to love; that is, to be loving is a part of our nature. In fact, it is our nature. We tend to deny this, or to suppress this thought because our awareness tells us of the many times and ways that we have not been loving. We are only too aware of the times that we have been nasty, petty or selfish. To dwell on our negative side is obviously to restrict and constrict our existence. To remind ourselves of our true nature of lovingness is to open ourselves to healing, progress and joy.

So today, let's bask in the sunshine of a beautiful idea and truth. I am a loving person. It is my nature to be loving. Each time I think good thoughts for the welfare of another person, I am loving. I can remind myself that it' s natural for me to be this way (thank you,
God). And if it's natural, it's easy, free flowing, spontaneous. And yes, it's that way that I am me!

Affirmation: I am a loving person!

Past Relationships

We all have "past relationships." And by relationship I mean a connection with whatsoever kind of person: another family member, a spouse, a friend, a friend of the same sex as well as of the opposite sex, a neighbor. Relationships end for various reasons: we change jobs (or they do), our interests change, our personalities change, someone dies or our love or friendship dies. With many past relationships we have a feeling of "nostalgia," a feeling of longing to share what we had before; with others there may be a bittersweetness ( a remembrance of good times and bad, of happiness and pain). And with still others there may be only pain, or grief, or sorrow, or sadness or guilt.

It makes you wonder, when you recall reading or hearing phrases like: we determine our own lives; like begets like; God sends us teachers to learn what we need to learn, and then we ponder....
Just what role did these people have in our lives? We know that it may actually be possible to reconnect with some of them, if only by letters; others are over, gone, never to resurrect. I'd like to think that we can look back with love about these people (if not always about our relationship).

We can thank God for the good that we derived. We can ask God to bless these people who were once a part of our lives. Doing this may lead to the point where we can be forgiving, if that is in order.

Just the remembrance, accompanied by love and gratitude, may win for us some personal growth enabling us to do better in our present and future relationships.

Affirmation: I wish good to all the people who have been in my life!

Patience

Every once in a while we find ourselves waiting. You can probably remember that really long line at the post office; or the short line at the supermarket that turned out to be an eternity before they finally got to you; or the minutes that seemed like hours at the doctor's office.

Sometimes we spend the waiting time feeling the awareness of being annoyed. Sometimes we just daydream the time. Sometimes we get slightly hypnotized and drift into a trance. We're out of it for awhile. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use the time in some more profitable way?

I'm not suggesting that we have to make 100% good use of all our time. It may be helpful for us to daydream once in a while. But this idle time that comes to us may also be an opportunity to be in the present moment; to practice the presence of God; or at least to practice paying attention to the world around us and thus discover some aspect of the divine as it is manifested right before our nose.

For example, going back to the post office, as we wait in line we can turn our attention to something specific, like our breath. We can identify whether we are breathing in a deep or a shallow way. If it is shallow we can take a few deeper breaths and remind ourselves that we are doing a good thing for our body. We can savor the awareness that we are loving ourselves; that we have the gift of existence. We can think silently a "thank you, God." And then we might be moved to visually become aware of something around us that is pleasing. It might be a color. It might be an object, or a person, or a child, or a tree outside. Again we might be moved to feel some gratitude and we can utter with the lightness of a breeze, a "thank you, God." It's a pleasure when we learn to think this phrase without any effort. Then it's like we feel it rather than having to say or think it.

Well there's a thought or two for the next time that you find yourself waiting and not enjoying it.

Affirmation: I find pleasure in patience.