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GIVING THANKS FOR IT ALL! “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving weekend! This is always a time to be mindful of our many blessings, even the blessings of those and that which challenge us to step outside of our comfort zones into that sacred space where living, learning, and growing happens. Where we are able, in the discomfort of the living, learning, and growing experience to question and discover more of the truth of what, who, and why we are in this life. The spiritual path and process of life and living invite us to question. The root word of the word question is ‘quest’. Questions initiate and sustain our quest for self-discovery (Self-discovery), self-awareness (Self-awareness), and self-realization (Self-realization). Questions lead us to new and next-level answers, and new and next-level answers lead us to more new and ever next-level questions, and so on. The quality of the answer is determined by the quality of the question: small and insignificant questions lead us to small and insignificant answers; big, life-changing questions, lead us to big and life-changing answers. “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” The Apostle Matthew FEAR: HELPFUL OR HARMFUL? In our questioning and quest for self discovery, awareness, and realization we all come face to face with the shadow of doubt and fear. The topic of fear comes up often in my spiritual and integrative wellness life counseling and coaching. Does the emotion of fear help or hurt our desire to live full, whole, healthy, and happy lives. Like most emotions, fear can be harmful, disabling and disempowering to us, hindering our health and happiness, and like most emotions, fear can also be helpful, enabling and empowering our wellbeing, health, and happiness. Fear can be used constructively as a reliable ally, a warning system of situations and experiences that may be hurtful or harmful to us. Yes, there are times in life when fear may help us realize that it’s a helpful response to freeze, fight, or flight. Embrace fear in a holistic and healthy awareness, as a friend and not a foe, an ally that is there to warn you of danger, helpful to your wellbeing, health, and happiness. For more detailed info on the lesson content of this blog or any other Unity Magna Ministries services contact Rev. Clive deLaporte at: admin@umagnam.org
Clive deLaporte Spiritual Director at Unity Magna Ministries UWM Ordained Minister & Licensed Teacher CSL Affiliate Minister IWA Integrative Wellness Life Coach I looked for you here, I looked for you there, between here and there I’ve looked for you everywhere. When finally I sat down to just be, it was then that You came to me. Meditation is essentially the practice of being present in the here and now. Mostly our minds are out there wondering and wandering, meandering mindlessly from one thought to another. Meditation teaches the mind to be more disciplined in its thinking, bringing the mind back to the this, here, and now. The meditative practice of focusing the awareness and attention on the this, here, and now enables the mind to become quiet, the heart to become calm, and the body to relax, returning mind and body to its innate state of wholeness, health, and happiness. Meditation is good medication for the mind, heart, and body. There are a variety of ways to practice meditation and I would encourage you to explore your own experiences of such until you find one that works for you. The daily practice of meditation, morning and evening, has many benefits, one being: the enabling and empowering of mindfulness. Meditation not only enables me to be present to the this, here, and now of every moment of life and living, but also empowers me to be mindful in the moment, open-minded and openhearted to all I am and can be, and all the potential and possibility of life and living, offered in the opportunity of the experience before me. Another benefit of meditation is the integration of spirit, mind, and body. Meditation enables and empowers the mindful integration of all dimensions of your being, into all aspects of your life. This integration enables and empowers you to live with personal integrity and authenticity, mindful in the moment of what you are, who you are, and why you are, and how you choose to show up in the life experience before you. This mindfulness in the moment results in living life with purpose, power, and prosperity. If you don’t already practice meditation, give it a try. Meditation is good medication for the spirit, mind, and body, and enables and empowers you to live more fully, affecting better intentions and outcomes in life and living. For more detailed info on the lesson content of this blog or any other Unity Magna Ministries services contact Rev. Clive deLaporte at: admin@umagnam.org
Clive deLaporte Spiritual Director at Unity Magna Ministries UWM Ordained Minister & Licensed Teacher CSL Affiliate Minister IWA Integrative Life Coach If you live long enough and are blessed to live with a conscious intention for life and living, you will have come to the recognition and realization that life flows in and through beginnings and endings. “The flow of life reminds us that endings are beginnings, and that every sunset is a also sunrise”. Clive deLaporte. The story that is your life contains many chapters, many experiences, always yours to decide how to be used to develop the story of your life, and determine its ultimate conclusion. Don’t let the first lines define and determine the conclusion and outcome of the last lines, of the story of your life. We have enough authority and determination to decide how we are going to use the endings in life to work constructively to serve as the stepping stones of new beginnings to what is now, next, better, and eventually best for us. That Was Then, and This is Now! Sometimes we have little or limited control over the endings and beginnings in life, and other times, we have absolute and total control. It’s okay to end something that you’ve decided and determined no longer serves what is best for you now, and denies you the prospect of what is next, better and best in your future. Take time to receive clarity, to then know, communicate, and demonstrate your truth. Do so with as much loving kindness as possible. It may be painfull for others to receive, and it may be difficult for you to communicate and demonstrate, but do it anyway. Without it you remain stuck, where you are, suspended in unfavorable circumstances of indecision, as the opportunity, potential, and possibility that is your life, moves on. Saturday, November 13, 2021: World Kindness Day! “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi. Be the kindness you want to see in your life, in the world, today, and every day. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate, doing intentional, voluntary acts of kindness. Not only when it's easy to be kind, but when it's hard to be. Happy World Kindness Day! For more detailed info on the lesson content of this blog or any other Unity Magna Ministries services contact Rev. Clive deLaporte at: admin@umagnam.org
Clive deLaporte Spiritual Director at Unity Magna Ministries UWM Ordained Minister & Licensed Teacher CSL Affiliate Minister IWA Integrative Wellness Life Coach |