SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 275

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ This is a post on the style of The Way of Prayer as we continue to explore Heavenliness through the lens of the 12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian.  There are 3 more Mandala styles to explore after this: Reason, Relationships and Wisdom. After that, we move on to the 9 Attributes of Heaven.

+ Prayer enables us to transform the world because it transforms us. From the moment we awaken each morning, our minds are at work in one direction or the other. Either we are slaves to the fearful mental habit patterns that dominate our world, or we are consciously taking part in the counterforce to the world's despair.

 ... To go within is not to turn our backs on the world; it is to prepare ourselves to serve it most effectively.

-- Marianne Williamson in Illuminata

This was the One Spirit Daily Inspiration on October 15, 2015.

+ This wise woman has discerned the essential connection between prayer and mindfulness.  As we continue to explore these heavenly realms, we need to keep our intention on our ultimate goal of transforming the world.  This is an attitude.  We might call it a Be-attitude.  I like to say we need an attitude of gratitude.  Slowly but surely our intention creates more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance in ourselves and in others.  If we can become so mindful that we are in constant prayer, then the miracle of transformation grows and grows in ourselves and in others moment after precious moment.

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213. They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:

·         Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes)

·         15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process

·         2 hour lecture & conversation

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 248

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ Continuing with the 12 styles of the Mandalaprocess, we are exploring the style of Love and Compassion as taught by Edward Bastian who writes:

+ The Way of Love and Compassion leads us naturally and unquestionably into the service of others. It is the foundation for spiritual activism, or engaged spirituality. When our motivation is love, then we compassionately engage with everyone in our families, communities, and professional lives. Our lives become living examples of our highest ideals, irrespective of our occupations, relative wealth or social status. Through this altruistic, spiritual love, our compassionate engagement with others becomes an unselfish insurance policy that guarantees our own personal happiness and well-being.

While there are some who are naturally infused and surrounded by the experience spiritual love, many of us need to be led into it through prayer, contemplation, meditation, ritual or even nature. Of course, it helps greatly to be in the presence of someone who embodies and radiates spiritual love to give us confidence that it is possible, and to help guide us along our path. We cannot achieve spiritual love through will-power alone; for this supreme love will elude our needy, egotistical grasp. It is subtle, delicate, and refined; yet once embodied, it is indestructible.

To begin on the Way of Love and Compassion, we need only to develop the honest and sincere wish and intention to be infused and surrounded by it. With intention as the starting point, the path opens up before us and beckons us inexorably to its source.

+ Ed keeps me and so many others on track as he reminds us again and again to work on intention and sustained commitment to this way, this essential way.  Oh, how the planet needs Love, Sweet Love.

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213.  They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:  Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation

+ Spirituality & Practice offers abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The Practice of Love | The 12s Gallery on Love | The Practice of Compassion | The 12s Gallery on Compassion  

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 247

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ Continuing with the 12 styles of the Mandalaprocess, we are exploring the style of Love and Compassion as taught by Edward Bastian who writes:

+ The Lover naturally experiences the universality of love and seeks to bring happiness and relief to the suffering of others.

·         Do you have a natural empathy for others?

·         Do you long to create happiness and eliminate suffering?

·         Do you have a naturally kind-hearted feeling toward others?

·         Do you feel embraced by a universal love and compassion greater than yourself?

LOVE IS PERHAPS the most profound and complex word in the human language. Its varied meanings range from intense liking or desire, to the experience of universal inter-connectedness and unconditional empathy with the whole of existence. Love and compassion are at the heart of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Love is often said to be synonymous with the divine essence and the well-spring of all life by whatever name it is given.

When we are in love, we often feel as if we are ‘one’ with our beloved. There is an irresistible magnetism toward them and a palpable physical sensation pervades our whole being. We experience a nearly unbreakable force that unites our souls, whether we are together or apart. When we are truly in love with someone, we will do everything we can to protect, nourish and support them. We make their happiness our first priority.

When we are in love spiritually, we experience an undeniable universal inter-connectedness, oneness, empathy and compassion for the infinite whole of existence. We instinctively experience love as an all enveloping cosmic embrace. Love is perceived as a force inseparable from the fundamental impulse of life. We feel ignited by the spark of the divine that infuses the deepest essence of our being. Every cell of our body resonates with the bliss of the divine. We are as a drop of water infused within an infinite ocean. We realize that we are joined inexorably in the web of being and have no choice but to accept our universal responsibility to help remove the causes of suffering of all living things.

+ Ed soars to heights of divine ecstasy here which inspire me immensely.  I hope you are touched as I am by his amazing clarity and wisdom. 

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213.  They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:  Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation

+ Spirituality & Practice offers abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The Practice of Love | The 12s Gallery on Love | The Practice of Compassion | The 12s Gallery on Compassion  

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 207

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ Humanity stands at a crossroads between horror and hope. In choosing hope, we must seed a new consciousness, a radically fresh approach to life drawing its inspiration from perennial spiritual and moral insights, intuition and experience. We call this new awareness interspiritual, implying not the homogenization of religion, but the recovering of the shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.

-- Wayne Teasdale in The Mystic Heart

+ I am not going to say that the way of the mystic is more important than any other way but I am sure you could make that case since there is that “shared mystic heart beating in the center of the world’s deepest spiritual traditions.”  I can’t imagine that Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and so many other great wisdom traditions could ever have been started or continue to empower without  this “mystic heart.”  So, whether or not you and I have mystical experiences, we do need to embrace what the mystics teach us.  This is truly an essential dimension of the practice of Heavenliness. 

+ I invite you to check out the Amazon author page for Wayne Teasdale.  His books are well written, comprehensive, inspiring, illuminating and timely. 

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 188

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DELIGHT

+ Happy people see life as an opportunity. Challenges are blessings in disguise. When we feel happy, our minds are open and expansive. Conversely, when we're open and expansive we feel happy. Happiness is an “upward spiral,” as one researcher describes it. It makes us not only feel better but be better — better able to forge fulfilling relationships, find meaningful pursuits, and handle the vicissitudes of life. Happiness helps us stay healthy and whole no matter what the circumstances. Best of all, we can pass it on to those around us.

-- Joan Duncan Oliver in the introduction of her book Happiness: How to Find It and Keep It.

+ I have often shared a Chinese translation of our word Crisis.  They use 2 symbols for a crisis: Danger & Opportunity.  No matter what happens in life, we can practice Delight.  It is a decision.  It is an attitude.  It definitely is a practice, a discipline, a continuing commitment.  Delight opens us up to all kinds of new opportunities and even dangers as we continue on our amazing journey.  The challenge is to put the emphasis on opportunity rather than danger.  

+ Delight is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Delight in their Search Engine and you come up with 85 items including 67 quotes, 16 books, 1 practice, and 1 film as of 6/14/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Delight.  However, it is clear that Mary Ann & Frederic Brussat are big fans of Joy. Therefore, put Joy in their Search Engine and you come up with 2057 items including 867 quotes, 835 books, 160 practices, 11 teachers, 24 arts links, 29 e-courses, 98 films, 26 blogs and 4 traditions as of 6/14/16. Oh, and Joy IS one of the 37 spiritual practices. You can also be inspired by their Twelves Gallery on Joy.  The meme here comes from that gallery.

+ Joy will come up again very soon in these explorations since it is the second of 9 heavenly attributes we will be exploring.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Delight page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Delight” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 146

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HOLINESS

+ Each great spiritual tradition, in its own way, suggests a model of what it means to be a holy person. Each of them shines a light on the human ideal. Each of them talks about what it takes to grow, to endure, to develop, to live a spiritual life in a world calculatingly material and sometimes maddeningly unclear.

Yet, most of the responses to these great life questions do not come from catechetical manuals of theological treatises. In each of the traditions, we find the kind of wisdom literature that transcends both spiritual techniques and sacred theory. This kind of wisdom literature sets out simply to illuminate those passing moments in life that too often seem to be transitory, even worthless, but in which, underneath it all, some of the most disturbing, most challenging personal themes of life — ambition, success, security, exhilaration, endurance, romance, abandonment, depression, failure — are crystallized.

— Joan Chittister in Welcome to the Wisdom of the World
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/quotes/quotations/view/33360/spiritual-quotation

+ Holiness is, of course, closely linked to wisdom.  We all have our favorite teachers and guides when it comes to becoming wise.  Sometimes we have to go deep into our own tradition to find the wisdom we need to move on.  And, sometimes we get moving toward our ideals as we seek wisdom from other traditions.  

+ Holiness is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Holiness in their Search Engine and you come up with 460 items including 227 quotes, 168 books, 28 practices, 14 teachers, 12 arts links, 7 e-courses, 3 films and 1 blog as of 5/11/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=holiness.

+ The Body gets a lot of attention from Spirituality and Practice as you can see when you go to a link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Holiness Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Holiness” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 132

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DEVOTION

+ Our deeds are but catalysts to change the world. Their size and visible impact are not really what matters. In everything you do, consider that there is but one last fine adjustment the world needs before it may transform. Who knows - maybe this one is it.

 -- Rabbi Menachem Schneerson

+ An important, perhaps essential, way to view Devotion is to come to an awareness that every moment is filled with possibility and promise.  In other words, be devoted to the Now, to the Here.  This is it.  This breath.  This heartbeat.  This glance.  This touch.  This taste.  This bliss. 

Each person, each creature, you meet along the way benefits from your full attention to what’s happening right now, right here.  Be awake.  Be aware.  Be connected.  It’s amazing.  Right now.  Right here. You are amazing and every one else is too.  Let them know it.

So, the Rabbi is on to something.  When a critical mass of humanity reaches this new consciousness which is emerging, “who knows” …

I am / you are / we are / God is creating the New Faith for the New Earth which is creating the new, most holy, glorious, fantastic realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom.  It’s just around the corner. 

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Devotion.  You can explore even more with this link to “Devotion” on their search engine. You will find 2153 items as of 4/26/16.  And, of course, there is a Twelves Gallery of Memes on Devotion.  The meme above comes from that gallery. The Body also gets a lot of attention from S&P as you can see if you go to this link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Devotion page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Devotion” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 120

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SOLITUDE

 + You do not need to do anything; you do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You do not even need to listen; just wait. You do not even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

 -- Franz Kafka

+ This is the last post on the practice of Solitude.  Hopefully this exploration of this essential practice is making it possible for you to embrace your holy body which is both earthly and heavenly.  As Nouwen points out, solitude is the furnace of transformation.  Keep making space for solitude and be transformed.

The ecstasy Kafka promises is both an Earthly and Heavenly blessing.  Your Earthly body makes it possible for you to receive this gift here on Earth.  When we get to the Journey of the Soul, we will explore the mystery of our heavenly body.   

The next spiritual practice we will explore is Devotion which certainly requires a level of comfort with Solitude as well as a commitment to a community which shares your values.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Solitude.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Transformation and a Twelves Gallery of Memes on Transformation. The meme above comes from that gallery. Thank You S&P.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Solitude Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Solitude” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 94

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DISCERNMENT

+ Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. And the faith to trust our own admission. The admitting is often very difficult.

-- Julia Cameron

+ The transition from being an admirer of Jesus to an imitator of Jesus, from living primarily for self aggrandizement to living for aggrandizement of the Lord, from doing the works of the Lord to working for the Lord, from being inspired by personal desires to being guided by the Spirit, is indeed a very frightening transition. It is a movement from what is known and clearly defined to what is unknown and not clearly defined. The Law of the Commandants can be seen and clearly defined. The Law of the Spirit cannot.
-- found on the La Ermita website in 2007 (I think).  I can’t find the quote in 2016 but the website is excellent.

+ Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

– Howard Thurman

+ “Difficult.” “Frightening.” Are you sure you want to go on with this?  Yes, of course you do because you know the alternative is even worse, far worse.   And you want to “come alive.” The goal of discernment is transformation to our greatest potential so that we can be effective reconcilers, healers, teachers, guides, companions, friends, mentors.  Our planet needs us to be passionately and joyfully involved in the creation of heaven on earth, the glorious realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom.  Make it so. 

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the practice of discernment.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers 37 Spiritual Practices with an abundance of ideas and resources for this essential practice. Some of my favorites are Attention, Being Present, Connections, Enthusiasm, Imagination, Listening, Meaning, Openness, Questing, Reverence, Silence, Transformation and Vision. Pick one or 2 and see where you are led as you continue to discern your purpose, your path, your mission, your next step.

+ I have work to do on my Discernment page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Discernment” to John@abundancetrek.com. 

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 84

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DISCERNMENT

+ To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

-- E. E. Cummings

+ Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

-- Howard Thurman

+ Be who you really are. The world wants you to believe that you are somebody like everybody else. You are not somebody else. You are you and God wants you to be who you really are. 

As Paul said: “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).  God does not want you to adapt to the ways of the world. God does not want you to be who others think you should be or to do what others think you should do.

So let us discern who we really are and what we can accomplish beyond any previous, limited expectations.  It’s OK to be different, to be fully alive and courageous in the quest to become an authentic heavenly being.  Human, of course, but divine as well.  Our true identity is heavenly even more than it is human.  We are definitely made in the likeness of God.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the practice of discernment.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 81

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DISCERNMENT

+ I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual* worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

-- Romans 12:1-2

+ We are striving for perfection, for wholeness, for holiness, for heavenliness.  In order to become more whole, we need to know what to do next, and next after that, and next after that.  Immersion in the world keeps us from perceiving and achieving this heavenly state of being.  The world is wonderful but it is not everything.  The wise figure this out and let go of all kinds of worldly ambitions, desires, enchantments and illusions.  This is done on a daily basis, even breath after breath.  Heaven is here now but we don’t know it unless we can discern it.  We can never grasp it but we can let it grasp us.  We each have gifts heaven has given us to unwrap and share freely.  In order to know our gifts a discernment process is essential. 

As we continue to practice stillness, detachment, humility and silence, the discernment process unfolds naturally.  We become more authentic, more compassionate, more perceptive, more integrated, more heavenly.  This is a promise.

+ I invite you to enjoy Hymn of Promise sung by Debra Nesgoda with great photos by Lynne Townsend and Catherine Hopkins on YouTube. 

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the practice of discernment.

+ I have work to do on my Discernment page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Discernment” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 73

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SILENCE

+ Hospitality consists in a little fire, a little food, and an immense quiet.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

+ That’s because authentic hospitality does not mean that you have to make others into close friends.  They can remain strangers.  Not enemies.  But strangers because no one is required to reveal themselves to you or to anyone.  That comes with patience, with trust, with humility, gentleness, kindness over a period of time, perhaps more time than you would like.  Friendship can and does happen but it ordinarily requires time and definitely, at least from time to time, "an immense quiet."  

Our society has become frantic and loud.  We cannot create much intimacy, much depth, until and unless we learn how to be silent and trust significant periods of silence in our lives.  Will you make a commitment to create sacred spaces of silence so that genuine transformation can take place in yourself and in others?

 

+ Spirituality&Practice offers many resources on the Spiritual Practice of Silence and a wonderful photo and quotes gallery.

+ Spirituality&Practice offers many resources on the Spiritual Practice of Hospitality and a wonderful photo and quotes gallery. The meme above comes from that gallery.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 67

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SILENCE

+ No spiritual exercise is as good as that of silence. — Saint Seraphim of Sarov in The Spiritual Wisdom and Practices of Early Christianity by Alphonse Goettmann, Rachel Goettmann, Theodore J. Nottingham

+ In silence we allow our minds to be transformed.   It is, of course, not the only practice which produces transformation but it is a necessary one if we want our  transformation to reach its fullness.  Our minds are constantly bombarded by all kinds of stimuli.  We need time to think about things in the realm of silence in order for our thoughts to become holy.  Saint Seraphim of Sarov definitely knew what he was talking about.  Find times to get away from the noise, both the noise from beyond your senses and the mental noise of so many thoughts which need to be slowed down and in some cases discarded altogether so that the discernment process can take effect and produce the desired healing and transformation.

+ SpiritualityandPractice offers many resources on the Spiritual Practice of Silence and a photo and quotes gallery. The photo and quote above come from that gallery.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 62

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY

+ It is a mystery we are dipped into. Two-thirds of Jesus' teachings are about forgiveness. A good third of Jesus' parables are about forgiveness, directly or indirectly. Forgiveness has nothing to do with logic. It is the final breakdown of logic. It is a mystical recognition that human evil is something we are all trapped by, suffering from, and participating in. It calls forth weeping, humility, and healing much more than feverish attempts to root out the evil. The transformation happens through the tears much more than through threats and punishments.

-- Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs

+ As I write this reflection today, February 1, 2016, I am aware of synchronicity which is a great topic in itself and an important theme James Redfield has featured in his efforts on behalf of the Celestine Vision.  Today, I received Lesson 10 in the current Spirituality and Practice e-course: Learning to Accept Grief as a Lifelong Companion.  This course will be available for some time and it is one of the best e-courses I have experienced.  The February 1 lesson in the course is on Forgiveness.  This is the  synchronicity or divine coincidence which I experienced.  God is always teaching us, guiding us, challenging us and comforting us.  

It takes humility to forgive.  The hardest person to forgive is yourself.  Humility allows us to engage the process where we can face the reality of the situations and events of our lives where we need to forgive ourselves.  If you are like me, there are plenty.  We can forgive others as we progress in the important process of forgiving ourselves.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers a wonderful 12s gallery of images and quotes on Humility
> http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/2#/37/12-humility. The photo and quote above comes from that gallery.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 40

+ updated at 2:42pm EST on Friday, January 25, 2013

+ TRANSFORMATION is the theme of THE TWELVES for this month. Mary Ann and Fred say: "There is an inherent human quest for transformation. We seek wholeness for ourselves so that we can then be agents of change to help heal the world. We offer 12 quotes to help ignite your personal transformation." | See the 12

+ I never thought I would hear "Namaste" at a Presidential Inauguration. What a fabulous poem Richard Blanco wrote and delivered on Monday: ONE TODAY. Excerpt: 

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

Read it all | Watch the video

+ A new lesson for a new week in the Inner Frontier Inner Work series on Learning to Be. Here is an excerpt from "Affirming the Higher:" "Having seen through our false I and continuing to look for who we are, we find that one in us who does what we do and sees what we see, the one who lives our life, the one beyond all the myriad thoughts and emotions, beyond all the noise of our personality and false I. Here I am, as myself. If we could be, just be, really be, we would be ourselves, our true I. That is a revolution in our inner world, because instead of being driven by our automatic reactions to what happens to us, the flow of our actions begins with us, with our real self."