thx btw

Thanksgiving has a lot of emotional heat associated with it. Family drama, the actual Thanksgiving story which was not so thankful day for the Wampanoag people. However, there is a lot about Thanksgiving history that is interesting to know. So here are a few fun facts about Turkey Day:

First Thanksgiving was a harvest feast in 1621 ... in October. There's no record of turkey being eaten at the meal this holiday is based upon, just waterfowl, venison, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. So, per Rogers and Hammerstein, "chicks and ducks and geese better scurry."

The mother of Thanksgiving Day was Sarah Josepha Hale; the 19th-century author of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is called Drinksgiving. A usual time of being back home and visiting old friends at the bar before the family festivities begin. Since we all must stay home, it's a good year to celebrate this event - you won't need a dedicated driver, UBER, LYFT, or cab.

Black Friday, is of course the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year. It is also the busiest day for plumbers.

"Jingle Bells" was a song written in 1857, originally called "One Horse Open Sleigh." Its composer, James Pierpont, intended it to be a Thanksgiving Day song, but it became so popular around December 25th, that in 1859 the title was changed to "Jingle Bells" and it was dedicated as a Christmas carol.

Thanksgiving became a federal holiday in 1863. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." Lincoln's GPS might have been a bit off on the location of the beneficent Father or Mother or Force or Divine Intelligence or The Thing Itself 's dwelleth-ing-ness, but the sentiment was certainly there.

Speaking of location. Have you decided how you're gonna do it this year? many are having an online family get together on FaceTime or Zoom, etc. So here I would like to offer you a short primer of 9 to save your Thanksgiving Zoom Dinner:

1) Can also use Google Meet, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams

2) You don't have to zoom through your Zoom holiday dinner as Zoom is deferring its 40 minute limit for Turkey Day, so talk politics and religion all you like with Uncle Charley.

3) Be sure to designate yourself the host. Be in charge...of the mute button; especially for using on Cousin Fred, whose questions always get too personal.

4) Plan ahead! The placement of cameras is important. Maybe put a laptop next to the turkey or on one end of the dinner table, place an iPhone near the cranberries, a webcam in the kitchen and by the stuffing, and perhaps an Ipad or tablet next to the pies.

5)   Have a practice run. You'll have some more time with the family you like, and more opportunities for holiday food! Perhaps on Drinksgiving.

6)   Remember since it is your Zoom Turkey Day, you have control over the mute button. I know that's a bit of a repeat, but important to remember.

7)   Don't get stressed out about the usual hiccups from slow internet; lost connections. Use it as a good excuse to lose Cousin Fred and Uncle Charley for a bit or forever – other than using the mute button.

8)   You might want to pick a background for the Zoom call, that way you don't have to tidy up the house.

9)   Most people won't know about the unlimited Zoom thing for Turkey Day. So, go ahead and keep it as short as you like. Maybe stick to the usual 40-minute limit. You know, have a prayer or two, the meal, some quick dessert, then ...  “nice to see ya, thx btw, goodnight!”

Gratitude comes from the Latin, gratia, meaning grace or graciousness. Gratitude then is a thing of grace to be thankful.

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.  ~Henry Van Dyke

GRATITUDE is more than a holiday experience, it is a daily part of living. Bad or good experience, let us be in gratitude. Whether it is a happy time or a challenging time with something learned, let us love it even if don't like it. Living in gratitude expands what you have now; it opens up a Power within you to have more from this ever-emerging infinite Universe.

Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.  ~Rumi

Gratitude and manifestation go together like turkey and mashed potatoes! It is full of feeling, impulse, and action.

Feeling ALWAYS precedes demonstration. The creative process is set in motion by our thoughts and feelings, whether conscious or unconscious, individual or collective. And It inspires an impulse.

Impulse is the act of following your inner guidance as you make decisions. Listening and heeding to the voice of the Divine within you. That which is instructive and constructive. That which inspires each step of the way. When you follow your Highest Self's guidance, it should feel effortless and fun! and leads you to...

Action. The Universe doesn’t act until we do. We set the Law in motion with our thoughts and feelings of gratitude and being physically engaged. So let us say, thx btw, as we harness the Divine Power that is our birthright, and: 

• Center ourselves in the quiet place within, where all possibility lies - communing with Spirit, our Highest Self;

• Thx btw, as we set our intention for manifestation, the starting point of everything that takes place in the Universe. When we see it, feel it, imagine it, taste it, smell it, experience it in our minds and hearts - we manifest it; 

• Thx btw, as we let go and let God handle the details of how / when / where it comes about; 

• And thx btw, as we follow the intuition stirring in our bellies and live as if our intention already is.

Ernest Holmes reminds us:

...Universal Subjective Mind is a doer and not a self-conscious knower. It knows how to do it but It does not have any conscious knowledge that It is doing. Man calls It forth into expression.

The Universe is only motivated to create when you are! Our job is to know, accept, and expect with gratitude and thanksgiving. I invite you to make Thanksgiving a daily holiday; maybe without the overeating and arguments. 

Say "thx btw" as you watch the gratefulness turn into an abundant expression of great love, health, creativity, prosperity, and if your anything like me, another slice of pumpkin pie.

Affirmative Incantation 

I show up in the world today with my best attention, my best intention, and my greatest powers of Love and wisdom to freely share the richness of my being, my talents, my time, and my treasure.

I have the courage to be my Authentic Self on this day, knowing my mind is the mind of God Itself at work and play. I give thanks for the gracious use of my best self in this life, for me, my family, my community, and my planet. I am in great gratitude for taking my unique place in expressing the creative energy of the Universe.

I am awake! I am aware! I am revealing my magnificence … eternally grateful to the Divine Intelligence within!

YOUR OBLIGATION

There is a meditative process I use where you place a thermometer or some sort of a
gauge in your mind's eye to see where I am and to move it to where I declare it to be. It reveals the conscious energy flowing to and from the Universe. It is moving the bar between desire and fire, from have not to have now.

To have a have consciousness about something, we have the obligation to set the bar of acceptance high. To engage the intellectual, imaginational, and spiritual tools and energy modalities into action

Spirit is 100% engaged with us...

...are we 100% engaged with It?

Being spiritual does not mean we are not active in the material world. Most of us are not here to live in a cave contemplating our navel in the Himalayas or to live under a rock, ignoring the happenings of life around us. We are equipped to be 100% Spirit-led and, at the same time be 100% material world-lived.

Florence Scovel Shin talking about the Law of Resistance reminds us:

So long as man resists a situation, he will have it with him. If he runs away from it, it will run after him. ... The inharmonious situation comes from some inharmony within man himself.

Are we each heeding the call to participate fully in life and Spirit?

In Spirit, we do so by using our tools:  

• Spiritual Mind Treatment
• affirmative prayer
• affirmative incantations and affirmations
• meditation
• visualization
• contemplation
• gratitude
• forgiveness and the ho'oponopono
• and silence

pushing that thermometer to 100% connection and belief. In the material world, we do so by heeding the call to action:

• speaking our word
• walking our talk
• living our values

It is our obligation to use our powers intentionally, both inwardly and outwardly. Otherwise, as Rev. Dr. William Barber asks us:

How will the haters learn that they’re wrong unless they learn of God’s love?

It is in gratitude that we manifest our desires. It is in gratitude that we learn from others what not to be or do. It is in gratitude and love that we speak out; even when steeped in fear of rejection, even when we have to get in front of our own anger, stubbornness, or obstinance, and/or in the disbelief, shock, and awe of someone so full of hate, ignorance, injustice, or gross entitlement (and for some, with pride).

Yet, we must speak anyway. 

We need not leave the world; for we may engage in all of its activities without being controlled by them; we may be in the world of affairs as masters [of ourselves and our minds] and not as slaves [to lack, fear, social pressures, upbringing, etc].    ~Ernest Holmes [mine]

An Ethiopian Tale of Wisdom tells the story that:

Long ago, Fire, Water, Truth, and Falsehood lived together in one large house. Although all were polite toward each other, they kept their distance. Truth and Falsehood sat on opposite sides of the room. Fire constantly leapt out of Water's path.

One day they went hunting together. They found a large number of cattle and began driving them home to their village. "Let us share these cattle equally," said Truth as they traveled across the grasslands. "This is the fair way to divide our captives."

No one disagreed with Truth except Falsehood. Falsehood wanted more than an equal share but kept quiet about it for the moment. As the four hunters traveled back to the village, Falsehood went secretly to Water and whispered, "You are more powerful than Fire. Destroy Fire and then there will be more cattle for each of us!"

Water flowed over Fire, bubbling and steaming until Fire was gone. Water meandered along, cheerfully thinking about more cattle for itself.

Falsehood, meanwhile, whispered to Truth. "Look! See for yourself! Water has killed Fire! Let us leave Water, who has cruelly destroyed our warmhearted friend. We must take the cattle high in the mountains to graze."

As Truth and Falsehood traveled up the mountain, Water tried to follow. But the mountain was too steep, and Water could not flow upwards. Water washed down upon itself, splashing and swirling around rocks as it tumbled down the slope. Look and see! Water is still tumbling down the mountainside to this day.

Truth and Falsehood arrived at the mountaintop. Falsehood turned to Truth and said in a loud voice, "I am more powerful than you! You will be my servant. I am your master. All the cattle belong to me!"

Truth rose up and spoke out, "I will not be your servant!"

They battled and battled. Finally they brought the argument to Wind to decide who was master.

Wind didn't know. Wind blew all over the world to ask people whether Truth or Falsehood was more powerful. Some people said, "A single word of Falsehood can completely destroy Truth." Others insisted, "Like a small candle in the dark, Truth can change every situation."

Wind finally returned to the mountain and said, "I have seen that Falsehood is very powerful. But it can rule only where Truth has stopped struggling to be heard."

There's a Hebrew word, hineni. Abraham says it to God in the Book of Genesis and Moses said it to the Burning Bush in Exodus. It means “here I am” - available, engaged, ready and willing. It is our obligation to say hineni to the Universe and Life:  

 

Here I am - not hiding, not ignoring circumstances or the Divine within. Here I am in full view - open to the possibilities, waiting to surrender to the inspiration and wisdom of the Divine, and taking action where action is due.

Some of us will carry signs, some will run for office, some will make a scene, and others will write letters or send money, but all of us can speak up and pray.

The consciousness of this nation is a work-in-progress. And though I stand in the disgusted and sad awe of so many taking a stand for hate, unfairness, and a lack of dignity; I still heed the call that rings in the Universe:

...a call for love and thanksgiving
...a call for peace and justice
...a call for sharing and forgiveness
...and for treating people equally, lifting up those in need

In Project Gratitude, I wholeheartedly take hold of this obligation to speak and live the word of love, peace, calm, wisdom, thanksgiving, and justice. And I do so with this affirmative incantation now:

I am listening and I am engaged. 

I am listening for the cries from my heart and the hearts of this world

   ...listening for the ideas and words that will heal

   ...listening for the best expressions of peace, prosperity, good health, and love in my life

   ...and I am listening for the inspirations Spirit has for me to illuminate my whole Being.

I am listening and engaging the calls to action. Engaged in the fullness of living, I match my heart, mind, and gut with Divine Love, Divine Wisdom, Divine Source, and Divine Light.

I am listening and I am engaged and I expect joy to spread throughout my life and the lives of those around me.

WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

Today I must give credit where credit is due. I am grateful that so many came together to vote with their consciousness so that they wouldn't have to continue to live steeped in their conscience. Though all the votes have not been counted as of this morning, a large number of citizens chose integrity over party, fairness over politics, cooperation over chaos, wisdom over policy, and character over personality.

We tend to forget that the Universe has already made everything available to us. It may not always feel like it, because it is our job to awaken to it, reveal it. And, by believing in It and ourselves as It, we can learn and create a better us, a better nation, and a better world.

The most direct approach to prosperity is through the Absolute. If it is true of God, it must be true in manifestation. God is all in all. It is both desire and fulfillment, prayer and its answer, idea and its manifestation.  ~Robert A Russell, "Putting the Prosperity Idea to Work"

If it is true of God and God is all in all, then it must be true of each of us. We are the prayer and its answer, the idea and its manifestation, and the desire and its fulfillment.

Much celebration has occurred for a return of decency, faith, calm, and the removal of a little less cray-cray in our nation. Still, many will say...

Really? So what?”What's to be grateful for? We are still staying at home. People are dying or getting sick. Businesses are being lost. 

What is to be grateful for is our birthright, power, and ability to awaken or re-awaken, if necessary, to the Truth and transcend the limiting beliefs of any of our present conditions. That can never be taken away. Still...

Are you struggling in the “I can’t” world; allowing the edges of your limitations to show? playing small? limiting the Universe?

Are you playing at the level of Tic Tac Toe or Kirby's Dream Land on a Game Boy?

Are you stuck in Level One or Two manifestations like parking spots and misplaced keys? Or are you playing full out? Not just in the process of getting things, but in the end result of being things and ideas by shining your Truth and Light as a customer of the inexhaustible source of the Universe.

There's nothing wrong with the small-play if we use their success as the basis of strengthening our faith and gratitude muscles, perfecting our best words, fleshing out our praying, as well as using our affirming, imagining, and visualizing skills by mastering the smaller stuff. You've done it – you've proved yourself. Go ahead and take the credit and get on Faith Freeway and the Energy Expressway to manifesting fabulous ideas and stuff.

Modern Mystic Vivian May Williams wrote:

We cannot possess money until we perceive that the substance of our own form or identity is the same substance of wealth [or abundance] of which money is the identity. If you believe you are spiritual and money is material, you separate yourself from it by accepting such a belief. But when you realize that money is a spiritual idea that stands in the same relationship to Mind [and] God, as a rose does, it will be visibly expressed without anxious thought.

What is the spiritual difference between a rose bloomed in your garden and a check for a million dollars? Nothing....in Spirit...only in consciousness, only in the energy of allowing and expecting the idea to come into fruition, only in the frequency of being in gratitude for receiving that rose or the million-dollar check or whatever amount you can be a bit out of your comfort zone with. The Universe is ready, able, and willing to manifest either or both.

From David Spangler, the "practical mystic":

Imagine with me:  your inside a dark house, dressed in a swimsuit. You are cold. You wish for warmth, you wish for light. You step outside the door of the house, into the sunlight, out into nature. You go out to your lounge chair and lie down and sunbathe. You feel the warmth and light penetrate your being. You feel so good, no longer cold. You see a tree near you and you see how it also takes in the rays of the sun, turning sunlight into food and energy. It is like you, a sun-bather, absorbing the light and warmth. Now look at the sun and feel your being begin to expand and rise out of your scene, towards the sun. You meld into the sun. You are the sun. You are radiating out your light upon the trees and plants, on nature, shining your light onto solar panels that people convert into energy, people sitting and absorbing your rays. Feel what it is like to give out from an inexhaustible supply. Feel the difference of being the sun and being the sunbather. Feel the connection between the two.

Are you seeking the warmth, taking the action to step into the light, and accepting the rays of the sun?

Or do you think of yourself as the very power of the sun! Not catching the light...

Being the Light!

You are the sun. When you pass by, people should sing, “Here Comes the Sun...”

Living in Project Gratitude means we show up shifting our point of view from getting to expecting. Not by some entitlement, taking away from or using others, but by an expectation of an infinite availability. I am not here to train you to manifest. I am here to lead you in recognizing/acknowledging your ability to manifest; your God-given right and power to energize the consciousness and having-ness within you of the rose and the check, of health and the loving relationships, of the great career and a peaceful world, etc.

In I of the Storm, Rev. Dr. Gary Simmons of Unity Spiritual Center Spokane wrote about an experience he had with Jyotish Hindu astrologers:

One of the Hindu ascetics looked at me and said, “The future can only be regarded as probabilities floating upon a sea of infinite possibilities. What makes us so predictable,” he added, “is that attention and awareness continuously re-frame the present moment in the context of past influences. ... If consciousness is in bondage to the past or if attention is mesmerized according to ingrained patterns of awareness, the future is simply an extended line from here to tomorrow - and that's what makes the future predictable.

In Project Gratitude we re-frame our past and present, realign it and release any bondage. It may happen in 7 seconds or 7 years. You see, prayer is like a seed. Like the oak tree contained within the acorn, so too is the manifestation of an idea already contained in the Universe - ready to crack open. Our example to the world is to:

• Rid ourselves from a Lack of Awareness
• Live the words of infinite availability/possibility
• Do our work in the Absolute
• Shift our viewing point from future to now...in gratitude

You are the conduit, the sun, the connection. Soak in the energy of the Universe and creation.

...it's your thoughts and the feelings backing them, and your beliefs

...it's your connection to the energy that is Spirit 

...it's your consciousness that makes your life as it is.

So take a bow, take the credit! Enjoy, be grateful, live, laugh, love, thrive!

Affirmative Incantation

I acknowledge that I Am backed and sustained by the Power and Presence of Spirit.

Today my heart opens to the energy, liturgy and synergy of gratitude, constantly renewing Itself in a beam of Light that illuminates everything I do. 

This brings unto me...

the inspiration, affirmation, confirmation, and divination of love, 

the expectation, Installation, and habitation of calm, 

the liberation, mobilization, and navigation of bodily ease, 

the realization, ordination, and propagation of grace, 

the stimulation, transformation, and verification of prosperity, 

and that frequency called peace of mind broadcasts perpetually.

I radiate my Divine communion. And joyously shout from the rooftops my gratitude for these things being in my life today and in all my tomorrow's tomorrow.

Title Photo by Thibault Dandré on Unsplash

Vote Your Consciousness

When we vote, we are told to vote our conscience. I beg to differ. I believe when we vote, we must vote our consciousness. How that, you may ask?

Let's look at the word conscience versus consciousness. Conscience is that part of your personality that guides you to determine between right and wrong in behavior. Freud equates it with guilt; feeling guilty when you do something bad and good when you do something kind. Thus conscience is something that shows up after the fact. So...

When we vote our consciousness, we vote from something we are now.

It is said that God’s Will looks like this...

...some anthropomorphic idea of an outside power guiding, choosing, and leading us from the outside like a Santa Claus type figure doling out the good and the bad, the positive and the negative.

In Truth, this Power resides within. It is an energy that radiates like this...

...the energy of inspiration

...the energy of pure potentiality

...the energy of Divine Love

...the energy of the Big Bang

...the energy of infinite wisdom

In fact - in Truth, God's Will, if you want to call it that, is to say “yes” to each of our choices!

We have the Divine Authority to choose how to think, act, and be; to choose the energy we exude and attract, and to choose to do that through wisdom and compassion. Spirit is so giving of ItSelf to ItSelf -that's you and me- that it accepts the choices we as incarnate beings of It's Divinity choose to declare. Does it not benefit us to always choose from a place of consciousness and character? of compassion, self-care, integrity, goodness? 

Choice is the engine of evolution...The power of choice is the greatest gift you have been given, second only to the gift of Life itself.  ~Gary Zukav

Consciousness is a choice. Awakening to and living as our authentic selves is a choice; a choice we either use unconsciously and be beholden to our conscience or consciously, and be intentional and full of purpose, ethics, and values from the start.

All Intelligence abides in you … and awaits your call upon it. You may say you do not know what to do. But at the center of your mind is the clear decision that you should make. It is right there.  ~Raymond Charles Barker, “The Power of Decision”

THE WISE MASTER

a story from Jataka tales of India

There once was a teacher who lived with a great number of students in a run-down old school. The students supported themselves by begging for food in the bustling streets of a nearby town. Some of the students grumbled about their humble living conditions. In response, the old master said one day, "We must repair the walls of this temple. Since we occupy ourselves with study and meditation, there is no time to earn the money we will need. I have thought of a simple solution."

All the students eagerly gathered closer to hear the words of their teacher.

The master said, "Each of you must go into the town and steal goods that can be sold for money. In this way, we will be able to do the good work of repairing our temple."

The students were startled at this suggestion from their wise master. But since they respected him greatly, they assumed he must have good judgment and did not protest.

The wise master said sternly, "In order not to defile our excellent reputation by committing illegal and immoral acts, please be certain to steal when no one is looking. I do not want anyone to be caught."

When the teacher walked away, the students discussed the plan among themselves. "It is wrong to steal," said one. "Why has our wise master asked us to do this?"

Another retorted, "It will allow us to build our temple, which is a good result."

They all agreed that their teacher was wise and just and must have a sensible reason for making such an unusual request. They set out eagerly for the town, promising each other that they would not disgrace their school by getting caught. "Be careful," they called to one another. "Do not let anyone see you stealing."

All the students except one young boy set forth. The wise master approached him and asked, "Why do you stay behind?"

The boy responded, "I cannot follow your instructions to steal where no one will see me. Wherever I go, God is watching me and I am always there watching myself too. My own eyes will see me steal."

The wise master tearfully embraced the boy. "I was just testing the integrity of my students," he said. "You are the only one who has passed the test!"

The boy went on to become a great teacher himself.

To make choices that engage both the wisdom of the Divine and compassion, we must cultivate these qualities within ourselves and express them habitually and intentionally. Our goal here is to bring forth what is already within us; to awaken our true power, love, wisdom, and joy by focusing our minds on wise and compassionate choices.

The human mind is a vessel for receiving divine inflow. Yet what is divine does not flow beyond our smoothing of the way or our opening of the door.  ~Emanuel Swedenborg 

Conclusion and Call to Action: 

Let us say YES to choice and commit, over and over and over again, to choosing a consciousness of our best Self. 

Choose fairness, respect, kindness, wisdom, joy, compassion, generosity, integrity, loyalty, sincerity, peacefulness, patience, courage, boldness,  trustworthiness, responsibility, and citizenship

And when you vote, whether on a ballot or any decision you're making, vote for and with character - yours, mine, ours, and that of our nation

Affirmative Incantation

My authentic Self is in all I do, think, feel, and Be. 

My character is illustrated by kindness, compassion, love and peace. Everyone and everything I come into contact with today shall be talked with as another Divine Appointment in the world. 

On this day I have decided to choose wisely, compassionately, and decisively with all that shows up. I have the consciousness of being an extraordinary, authentic expression of Divine Love. 

This day, I habitually glow brightly in the joyous Light of Spirit.

CARVING MY PUMPKIN

Your life is your mirror. 

Look around you. 

Do you see a world that works for everyone? 

Do you see a world that feels free from discord? 

A world where all needs are met and all people are living in peace? 

Creating a world of love, peace and prosperity begins with creating love, peace, and prosperity in you. 

Are you living with love, peace, and prosperity and the fulfillment of your fondest desires in your heart? 


Are you reconciled with and in forgiveness of stuff that you feel have hurt you in the past? Have you done your ho'opanopano healing work? Can you improve upon what you see when you look within your own being? These are questions I ask myself!

The good that you are seeking is also seeking you. The highest good – the innermost God – is ready to reveal Itself in you and through each of us. We all seek to recognize the reflection of God -the highest and best expression of our good- in everything.  When we see this, we see the potential for creating a world that is free of discord for ourselves and all beings. Soaking in this awareness, there is no separation from God or our Good.

I know that it is sometimes hard to understand and honor the unique characteristics of some with whom we come into contact, however, we must realize that each encounter is nevertheless a Divine Appointment. We may not understand how or why we may not like it, but if you are a Divine Appointment, all are. The Universe knows not good and evil – it only knows Love.

There is but one Presence in the universe. It is in and through everything, It must be in and through you. This Presence manifests Itself in and through all forms, all people, all conditions. This Presence is Life Itself. Its nature is love and givingness. ~Ernest Holmes, "This Thing Called You"

What do you see when you look at the reflection of you? Anything you want to change? Anything you want to redesign?

Conclusion and Call to Action:

No greater good can come to you than to know that the Power already within you is the power to live, the power to create. Not only to create for yourself, but for others -- the power to do good, the power to heal, the power to prosper. You are to realize that the Power within you is a Divine Authority. It is a dispenser of the Divine Gifts. It is a giver of life, of joy. It proclaims the ... harmony of the soul, and the unity of all being. ~Ernest Holmes

We have the ability to redesign, to carve the pumpkin of our lives!

Carving My Pumpkin Step by Step

Fortunately, you don't have to pick a perfect pumpkin to carve, because you are one. And for those of us "at an age," a mature pumpkin is the best kind – ripe with wisdom and knowledge. And don't concern yourself about any asymmetrical parts or thoughts you might have, that just makes for a more interesting design.

Start off by giving the pumpkin and yourself a good scrub with castile soap. It helps reduce the number of microorganisms hanging out on the skin, as well as, refreshes our body and mind.

Display your pumpkin uncarved until a day or two before the big day and honor who you are right now and the history that made you, you.

To carve your pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern as well as, your life to its best, you’ll need a couple of tools for cutting, scraping, and carving. For your mind, you probably have some in your spiritual toolbox right now (how many are you using?).

A sharp, sturdy, long-bladed knife and a paring knife to carve the jack-o’-lantern. And an awl for making holes to start sawing from - makes for safer fingers and quieter nerves. Finally, an apple-corer works well for making round holes or rounding corners. (awareness/mindfulness/quiet/meditation/rest/ fun cuts holes for the mind)


Your hand makes a good scoop for extracting the bulk of the seeds and the stringy fibrous goo. Add a scraper or a tablespoon, soup spoon or a melon-baller for getting the last of the stringy guts out of a pumpkin. (radical forgiveness)


Step 1. Cut into the pumpkin.
Place your pumpkin on a solid surface you can wash or spread newspaper to catch any drips. 

Draw the proposed bottom cut on the skin with a felt tip marker, then make a straight-sided opening into the center of the bottom of the pumpkin. Using the bottom vs the top has three advantages: you won’t have a lid to fall in as the pumpkin softens; weeping liquids won’t build up in the carved pumpkin to attract insects and encourage spoilage; and it will be much easier to light the jack-o’-lantern with a candle and your experiences by digging deep using affirmative prayer or Spiritual Mind Treatment (SMT) work.

Use a heavy knife with a sharp point or an awl and pumpkin-saw to cut through the skin and flesh and into the seed cavity in the center of the pumpkin. Caution: pumpkin skin is tough and raw pumpkin flesh is HARD! Be very careful as you will have to push hard and it is easy to slip and cut too far or yourself. Once you finish the cut, lift/pull the cut part out. It's like the first step of SMT, to recognize the Universal Power, Divine Intelligence, God, Spirit, Love, or Presence.

Step 2. Pull out the guts and seeds.
Scoop out the stringy pulp and seeds with your hands or a long-handled spoon, placing the seeds in one bowl for roasting later and the pulp in another one for the compost pile. Scrape the inside of the pumpkin to get out every scrap of the stringy, soft pulp, leaving only firm, hard flesh. Wipe the inside dry. In SMT, you would be on step 2, Uniting with that Power from step 1, Reveal the Divinity in you.

Step 3. Draw and cut out your design.
Use a felt tip marker to sketch it out. Then you use an awl and poke small holes where you plan to cut. Draw simple shapes with straight sides, such as triangles (like having small goals) or you may want to use a pre-made pattern (Step 3-reveal, and A.I.'s)

Use a small, sharp knife or an awl and saw to cut along the edges of your marked design. Then gently press the loose bits into or out of the pumpkin with your finger. For large or complicated openings, such as toothy grins, it works best to cut out small sections of the shape at a time. Like the idea of the small goals when you are revealing and declaring what it is you are calling into your life in the third SMT step. 

These bits of flesh can be cooked and eaten, or tossed to the chickens or into the compost. Or release the energy of these bits removed back to the Universe.

Step 4: Condition your jack-o’-lantern.
Once you have finished carving your pumpkin, spray or wipe the inside of the cavity, and all the cut surfaces, with an essential-oil-based cleaning spray or soak the carved pumpkin overnight in a tub of 1 tbl of borax per gallon of water. Similarly, when you are in the fourth step of SMT, gratitude, and maybe later in a hot bath with essential oils and candles or sitting quietly.

Step 5: Illuminate your jack-o’-lantern.
Once you’ve carved a pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern, you’ll want to show it off by putting a light inside to shine through the design. This is like the fifth step in SMT, release, getting your intention and Word out there to shine!

Now, some you may want to avoid carving the mean, nasty, angry pumpkin or bringing into your life something like this...

or the emotional vampire pumpkin, like this, thinking it has to take to have...

or the frightened pumpkin – even if you think there's a reason to be one, like this....

Others are good to carve, like the above...it's where we should always begin - joy/happiness!

Whichever you choose to be...

REMEMBER TO SHINE!

                                      

You are a divine being, endowed with infinite potentiality, infinite capability, infinite creative intelligence, and a capacity to live life in tune with all the laws of Nature.

That's the pumpkin you've been given...start carving!





Affirmative Incantation

Awake and mindful, I make the most positive difference in my life. Conscious and aware, I make a significant difference in the world around me. 

At one with the great frequency of Love, I spread my compassion upon the land. And with the great wave of Light empowering me, I soar with the wind at my back on an adventure of happiness and success. 

Energized with this Divine Presence, I illuminate my world with beauty, vitality, and wisdom. 

Awareness is my watchword today - aware of the Power of Divine Intelligence within me to propel my life to its best. 

I stand empowered to shine brightly all day.

2020 the New Thought Guy

TAKING COMMUNION

Photo by Heike Mintel on Unsplash

Between God and me there is no in-between  ~Meister Eckhart

When you commune with the Divine Presence, you are communing with your highest self; the part of you, that is really all of you, the sense of Self which, inseparable from God, bridges with Divine Intelligence. It is the Divine in you, revealing ItSelf as you - a communion with all creation.

What have you done lately to commune with your Self and to exchange intimate thoughts and feelings on a deep spiritual level? We all have barriers to connecting w/Divine Intelligence. Most of us began by praying to God. As you begin to transform your thinking, you pray through God and, once transcended, you pray with and, ultimately, as God. You may wonder what can we do to release barriers of communion?  Take a walk with me...

God is where we are, who we are, all the time. Each of us is God showing up as [place your name here], and this Divine Intelligence continues to flow no matter what is happening in our lives; grief and unemployment or the best day and a big fat checking account. 

We are in an Infinite Mind and Infinite Mind is also in us.  It is by this Mind that we think. This Mind is eternal, therefore, we are eternal.  This Mind is complete, therefore, we are spiritually complete, though we do not appear to be so.     ~Science of Mind

Between our body and our soul or essence of our Being...there is no in-between. There is no duality between our bodily and spiritual experiences. When we understand that our spiritual identity is one with the Divine, we realize we are never alone. Each of us is filled with the Power, Presence, Love, Joy, Wisdom, and Beauty of the Divine; unique, but at one with all; individual, but indistinguishable. You are a flask, ready to be filled!

Let us take communion seriously. 

The most powerful prayer, one well-nigh omnipotent, and the worthiest work of all is the outcome of a quiet mind. The quieter it is the more powerful, the worthier, the deeper, the more telling and more perfect the prayer is. To the quiet mind all things are possible. What is a quiet mind? A quiet mind is one which nothing weighs on, nothing worries, which, free from ties and from all self-seeking, is wholly merged [with] God... Such a one can do no deed however small.   ~Meister Eckhart

The quiet mind is a trusting Mind in ourselves as God. When we open our hearts, minds, and souls to receive love, joy, and wisdom we can release any barriers or old stories that we’ve told ourselves. This open and quiet mind allows us to Truly feel that Divine connection to the Divine Intelligence and receive our greatest good. 

Some people prefer solitude. They say their peace of mind depends on this. Others say they would be better off in church. If you do well, you do well wherever you are. If you fail, you fail wherever you are. Your surroundings don’t matter. God is with you everywhere — in the market place as well as in seclusion or in the church. If you look for nothing but God, nothing or no one can disturb you. God is not distracted by a multitude of things. Nor can we be.  ~ Meister Eckhart

It's like bandwidth with the internet.  In the range of frequencies, there is a signal only you can transmit to the Universe. It may sound like mine, look like mine, but it is not – it is like each of us, universal but individualized, shared but unique, and we must widen this bandwidth with the power of conviction, spiritual practice, and love.

Conclusion and Call to Action

God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a walk.  ~Meister Eckhart

To realize God is not just living, but God is Life, is to experience a connection with God. Happiness is a state of mind-wandering. Joy is a state of Being at one with the Presence within. In joy, we heal what is ill or dis-eased. 

To realize God is Truth – absolute and ready to serve is to experience a connection with God. When your gut feeling speaks, listen to the inspiration it brings. When you seek inspiration, open your heart and listen. 

To experience love and compassion is to experience a connection with God. There is no condition that enough Love will not heal. With fear, love is stunted. The important thing to realize is that Divine Love must be in your own heart and cannot operate from outside of It.

Got unanswered prayers? Remember Life and Truth expresses Itself through each of us. Practice love every day; watch your thoughts, your tongue, your deeds, and your prayers so that nothing contrary to love finds expression there. 

When you clearly realize that this is an intelligent universe run in principle, you experience your connection with God. Spirit has no limitation, and is infinite, all-knowing, timeless, boundless, unconditional with Its love, the Source, and Substance of Creative, manifesting our beliefs without exceptions. It does not change its stripes

When we realize God is a soul Spirit, we experience our connection with God. You are Spirit. Spirit cannot die. Your true self was never born and will never die. You are eternal, divine, unchanging Spirit in your true nature.

All we humans are doing is allowing God to “complete the circuit” within us—until we both see from the same perspective.  ~Richard Rohr, "Immortal Diamond: The Search For Our True Self"

When you feel out of it, it's like looking out at the street through a window made of fluted glass; it is a distortion made crooked by your perception, a false vision causing us to know ourselves through an illusion. 

This is the Truth:

The eye with which I see God is the same with which God sees me. My eye and God's eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love.           ~Meister Eckhart

If some responsibility or task seems too great for you...

• Relax and Surrender to Life
• Remain in the Now
• Commune with Divine Energy, the Universal Flow
• Radiate with an open heart
• Cut through the noise to clarity by communing with Source in a spiritual practice
• Realize that you are one with God and the task will become “our business” instead of “my business”
• Laugh, howl, be a warrior to your open heart and liberated spirit

When you speak to yourself, you speak to God - that is taking communion. Best to do so intentionally.

AFFIRMATIVE INCANTATION

I Am mindful of how magnificent I Am. 

I Am mindful of the gratitude I have. 

I Am mindful of the faith and ease which dominates my thinking and the deep feelings with which I back my desires. 

I Am mindful of the Power that is within me and the Love that surrounds me. 

With this mindfulness, I lead a life of health, prosperity, creativity, love, peace, and honor. In the vast infinity of Life, perfection, wholeness, and completeness reign supreme, and today I continue to be mindful of my part in It all.

2020 The New Thought Guy