A Spiritual Cure for Crankiness

Ever have one of those days when things don't go as planned, and while you know eventually you need to move into acceptance and "just get over it already," you seem to find yourself in a chronic state of crankiness? That happens to me sometimes; in fact, that is where I found myself this afternoon.  After some healthful venting, acknowledging my feelings and being with them for a while (rather than stuffing them down), I decided it was time to transform the energy.  I find it helpful to do something creative with my energy, and I remembered the power of expressing gratitude in the form of writing.

For this year's World Day of Prayer, Silent Unity sent out a packet of cards to send to loved ones which let them know that they will be included on the prayer list for 30 days. With all my involvement this year as Chair of the UISA World Day of Prayer Team, my WDOP prayer list has been on my mind for weeks, however I had neglected to put pen to paper until today. As I considered the people who have touched my life in this past year, the list grew beyond the number of lines allotted on the form!  My prayer list became a gratitude list, and allowed me to see my life from a higher view -- to step back from my focus on a singular experience and see the whole picture.

Now I am seeing all the good things I have to be grateful for, but what about that something that didn't go as planned? What about the disappointments? Do we just "get over it" and move on?

In Spiritual Economics, EB cites the Apostle Paul, who said, in effect, "In all things, give thanks." (p. 88) So that situation that went awry...that, too?  EB emphasizes that the phrase is not "for all things, give thanks," but rather, "in all things, give thanks." What's the difference? It is not a matter of feeling gratitude that a seemingly negative event occurred, it is the practice of having a grateful heart in all circumstances. EB explains: "Paul is stressing the importance of a grateful heart, not simply an expression of gratitude for things, but a heart that is grateful (full of greatness)....A grateful heart actually opens the way to the flow and becomes an attractive force to draw to itself great things." (p. 89)   
In shifting my awareness, I am now in a place in consciousness where I can confer a blessing upon even that difficult situation and those involved. I have an opportunity to grow, to learn and to transform my thinking from a grateful heart, and I now am seeing this situation from a whole new perspective. I recognize I have a choice as to how I will move forward, and I am choosing gratitude. Rather than stewing in my "rightness," I would prefer to radiate happiness, and gratitude takes me there.

I invite you to experience the greatness of your being, and choose an activity of gratitude today.  If you received those prayer cards or have some blank cards available, find a few minutes to bless a loved one with this gift of gratitude. You could send an email or text, but a handwritten note is such a rarity these days that it can truly touch someone's heart to know that someone took the extra time to acknowledge them. Just a few moments of gratitude can reset you to your natural flow of joy, and is a certain cure for crankiness!

Please join us, in person or via LiveStream, Thurs. Sept. 12th, 11am CT, for our Silent Unity prayer service with our future Unity ministers joined by Rev. Lynne Brown & music by Spiritus (from my home ministry, Unity of New York). We have a beautiful musical meditative experience planned for you featuring Myrtle Fillmore's affirmative words on this year's theme: "Living Well: Nurturing Mind, Body and Spirit." I hope you will join us & add your comments on the experience.

Blessings to you all, and Namaskar!

The Continuing Experience of Living from Within-out

Yesterday I had the sacred opportunity to give the talk and meditation -- as well as singing a lively version of one of my favorite Karen Drucker songs, "Song in My Soul," with Spiritus backing me up -- at the Sunday service at my home church, Unity of NY. I am at the beginning of my third year in the Masters of Divinity program at Unity Institute & Seminary, and as my June 2014 graduation and ordination draws ever nearer, and questions of future plans arise, I am reminded of the spiritual understanding that guided me to where I am today.

In my talk, I quoted this from EB's DTPWY: "The most profound knowledge that you can attain is that your whole existence flows forth inexorably from a universal process, which is always from within-out." I recognize that as I have set my intentions for expanding my consciousness in spiritual Truth and expressing my talents in service of Spirit, that the opportunities to learn, serve, and create the experiences I have been envisioning have continued to present themselves, and for this I am grateful. My inner work has been to maintain awareness of my thought patterns and notice when I have fallen into the "auto-pilot mode" of preparing for worst-case scenarios. (Practicing Insight Meditation has been a valuable tool in this process of present moment awareness.) We all have "default" settings of habitual thinking that are the products of our life experiences and coping mechanisms, and when we bring awareness to them, we then realize our power to choose where we will focus our energy -- either on energizing what we would like to create, or on feeding fear and negative thought states. 

As Truth practitioners and creative artists, we practice the art of living from within-out, trusting in knowing that our inner guidance is always available and will lead us to our highest good.  When we choose to act from heart-centeredness and wholeness, we align ourselves with the Truth of our being as a whole and perfect expression of God. When EB explains that our "whole existence flow forth inexorably from a universal process," he reminds us that God Consciousness is constantly flowing forth through our Higher Consciousness, or Christ Consciousness, and into our conscious awareness at the level of consciousness we are currently expressing. Therefore, if we are choosing to react in violence or anger, this minimizes our capacity to experience the free flow of the Good inherent in the moment.  This flow, however, is there, regardless -- but awaits our choice to be known to us. When we make a conscious effort to center in prayer, let go of resistance and open our minds to a higher understanding of the situation, we allow the conscious mind to be receptive to greater possibilities and expanded awareness. 

When I give talks, the talks serve to teach and feed me spiritually as the process of writing and preparing them offers me the opportunity to deeply reflect upon what I know as Truth and reinforce my commitment to continue to walk this path. While the details of my future plans beyond graduation are unfolding, I center myself in the knowledge that as I remain open to the flow of Good and act in faith from that awareness, that Good will continue to flow forth. It is exciting to envision the possibilities, and I am enjoying the process. Right where I am -- and right where you are -- is the place of optimal potential for the expression of Christ Consciousness in the world, and as we all choose together (I am knowing you are joining me in this) to shift our consciousness to living from within-out, we create a positive impact in global consciousness. 

Thank you for reading my birthday blog! I invite you to view my talk and meditation at www.jeanmarieeck.com. Many blessings of All Good always!