New Thought: A Path of Spiritual Awakening

Presenting Rev. David Alexander, senior minister, New Thought Center for Spiritual Living, Portland, Oregon USA, at Kelowna Center for Spiritual Living, Kelowna, BC, Canada...

Online Radio: How Religion Can Harm Relationships (with host Jim Stacey)

Join me, along with show host Jim Stacey, in this uplifting and encouraging discussion...

How Religion Can Harm Relationships

http://cosozo.com/radio-show-episode/how-religion-can-harm-relationships

It's less than 50 minutes and, I think, well worth your time.

Thanks, and enjoy!

(Jim's website: http://thedivineiswithinus.com/divine-within-us/ )

A Special Report from The Alzheimer's Association International Conference

Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2013: A Very Special Update

Thank you for your support!

Mindfulness: Making Friends With Myself (A Meditation)

So, then, what is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is more than just being aware of what we are doing; it’s also an awareness of what we are thinking and feeling.

Mindfulness allows me to be aware when my mind keeps turning onto some well-worn karmic rut of worry or fear, inadequacy or pride.

I can still spend untold hours, days, or even weeks criticizing myself or justifying myself, blaming myself or blaming others. Yet I never would think of making a conscious decision to spend all that time enveloped in self-criticism or blame.

It seems like my thoughts and feelings are out of my control. Sometimes I notice that my whole day has an undercurrent of worry flowing through it. Worry may be telling me that some aspect of my life needs attention, yet the activity of spending the whole day endlessly replaying my fears is a useless waste of my energy and causes me considerable pain.

Through attention, being willingly and deliberately mindful, I can become aware of how much pain I am causing myself with my worrying. I then can also see that I have been choosing to worry and that I have a choice to let go of my worries and return my awareness to my present activity.

Mindfulness allows me to see that I can choose to turn toward something positive like trust rather than worry, choose to forgive rather than blame, choose faith rather than doubt.

If I feel despair, it is my choice if I allow myself to turn away from my faith and project a future without hope. And in each situation, if I am willing to really look, to see, the gift will appear. It has to. Nothing exists in a vacuum.

"By choice I become the conscious observer...of my life, my surroundings, my relationships. I watch to see when I step out of awareness and shift into automatic, allowing old habits to take over and control the situation. In that moment I say, 'Halt.' And I regain the command position. In doing so, my life is simpler, more satisfying, and I am in better relationship with my family, my friends, my colleagues, and the community in which I live. And most important, I am in grand relationship with myself."

Living In Pairs: How to Keep Your Relationship Humming Right Along!

Sometimes we wonder why our partner might wander or even consider wandering. It’s hard to read another person’s mind, but if you’re serious about keeping your current relationship on track and not becoming another ‘separation statistic,’ here are some powerful tips to help you keep it all humming…

•  Pay attention and be aware of your partner’s needs. Do your best to meet them without sacrificing your own integrity.
•  How did you behave when you were wooing your partner? Do those same things now.
•  Find ways to make sex more fun. Use your imagination. The brain is the largest and most powerful sex organ.
•  Look for and make opportunities to listen…and to talk when necessary.
•  Romance should never die. Send cards, gifts, flowers. Date again!
•  Avoid high-risk situations. Discuss this with your partner and ask him/her to do the same. You know what this means. Like not allowing yourself to be tempted…
•  Be polite. Say nice things both to and about your partner, in public, and privately.
•  Spend regular alone time together.
•  Greet your partner when he/she comes through the door. Don’t just take them for    granted.
•  Show how glad you are to see him/her. Do it with gusto, energy, sincerity.
•  Recommit to your shared values.  
•  Accept that you are responsible for your own well-being while at the same time allowing your partner to treat you well. And do the same in return.
•  Be proactive in nurturing your relationship. It’s the most important investment you’ll make. Give it the time and attention it truly deserves.
•  Look for a thousand ways to express appreciation and respect.
•  And let your partner know he/she is safe with you, including secrets, esteem issues, physical conditions, and spiritual challenges.

Relationships are never easy. But the more we commit to making them work, the better they’ll be and the more satisfied we’ll be.

Only you can decide if it’s worth it.

It is, right?

I Just Don’t Know, Or, When Ignorance Is A Blessing

The Mystery...

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” -Stephen Hawking

Each morning, I wake up ignorant. And each morning, I say a word of gratitude for that amazing reality.

There was time, not too long ago, that I would have said it’s possible to actually know something about life, about the world, about the universe. Now I realize it’s a continual awakening, that every moment of existence presents new and powerful challenges to the status quo, to my personal view of things.

That’s how it should be. Anything less would be stagnation.

I sit in this room, in front of this computer, a very different person than I was even just a few short years ago. I think differently, I look differently, even my tastes in furniture and books and people have changed. If I were under a microscope, I could see myself changing. But I’m not, so I make an assumption. Hope I’m right.

As long as I draw breath, I will marvel at all that comes my way, mysterious though it is. Then, one day, I’ll simply close down, disappear. The journey will end and I will make room for all kinds of new.

And that will be much OK, too. The idea of eternal existence as the same person has never really appealed to me. I think, though, that the energy that made me what I am all these years will still be around. It was here to make me when I arrived, so why would I think it would just go poof? In some way, I will remain and maybe even rise again in some new form.

But I won’t know for certain that I’ve done it before. In fact, I won’t have done it before. It, I, the universe will all be brand new.

Such is life. Such is the Mystery.

“Today, I open my mind and my heart to whatever presents itself to me. And I will use it, even abuse it, but definitely release it as the day draws to a close. Whatever remains tomorrow, I will use again. And release again. And I will share myself with the world. I remain ‘eternally’ grateful.”