posted Dec 18, 2008 11:38 AM by Rev Cynthia
The other evening we began a new Introduction to
Meditation and Mysticism class. Very often during these classes people
share about their Spiritual backgrounds and what it is that brought
them to be interested in Meditation and Mysticism. On this particular
night we kept in our pattern and our participants shared what those
initial experiences were of opening and Love that showed them there was
more to their physical existence than the day to day trivia we get
caught up in. Some were more recent experiences...some from years
ago...some were memories from childhood. I was so moved by each story and in awe of the many ways God finds to reach each one of
us...What is your story? What brought you to be on this
website...reading this blog page and the blog pages from our other
Centers? What are you curious about? What do you want to Know? What
is waking you up to the Light and Life Force that is in the Center of
your Being. I for one would love to hear your story...our stories are
as vast and varied as the fingerprints on the palms of our hands...and
it is a testimony to the great Matrix of Love that we live in. I
invite you to come join us and share your story and experience our
beautiful community of seekers and finders. Our new intro series just
began last week and its not too late to join us.
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posted Nov 6, 2008 7:54 AM by Rev Cynthia
The consciousness is rising...
How happy I was
to wait 2 hours in line to vote on Tuesday! There were plenty of
machines in my precinct. The workers were very cheerful and efficient,
having people fill out forms and checking them off while they were
waiting. There were just so many people turning out to make sure their voices were heard! The other people in line were in good spirits as well. The times are changing.
People are following the deeper urgings in their hearts and they are feeling good about it. Each one of
us does matter...This is how God has always seen it. The people are
beginning to catch on. This is a great thing!
Blessings to you in this day~Rev Cynthia
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posted Nov 1, 2008 8:39 AM by Rev Cynthia
I just returned from another Order of
Mercy clean up in our neighborhood. And today as I was participating
in the contemplative practice of picking up trash I was moved by the
deeper lesson of how easy it is to give. There is so much fear in the
world today...a lot of bracing, tightness and restriction...people
struggling with not having enough time, finances, resources etc. What
does it mean to have enough? When we look for places to give and to
help the resources of Grace, Spirit and Love find a way to enter in to
move through us. When people hold back from giving to one another it
creates more tightness and fear. There are so many simple ways to
give: picking up trash, checking on a neighbor, voting
(always but especially this week), praying, meditating, cleaning up our
own homes (internal and external), helping in causes that mean
something, taking time each day for stillness and quiet and grateful
reflection of the abundance we do have. As we enter into this new week
where we will elect a new president I am feeling a renewed sense of
hope in people around me. It is a perfect time to honestly reflect on
how we have been living...have we been living for ourselves more than
others, have we been caring about the greater good in how we live and
spend our time and resources? Recently our Master Teacher, Father
Peter Bowes, posted in his own blog a story of basic loving kindness.
I have posted it here below for you to enjoy. To read more of his
personal blogs go to: www.TheMysticalPath.blogspot.com.
Blessings to you in this day ~ Rev Cynthia
I was at a cellphone store and the simple act of kindness of one of
their agents impressed me so much because she was so thoughtful,
faithful and helpful above and beyond anything really required. She was
paid the same no matter who she was serving and she expressed a deep
concern for everyone who entered the store. She was vigilant to the
nuances of each person's needs and would come to each person with the
answer and the help each one came for. In a way, customer service was
exemplified in this simple person's commitment to be caring and
supportive. She was just doing her job, but it was much more than that.
Few might have noticed, but I watched as she kept her consciousness of
each need and each situation and as each person was greeted as they
entered, they were brought into her energy, her desire to fulfill the
wishes of each one. She actually nurtured each person that entered. She
didn't have to. She could have been as jaded as many people are who
have to greet people and answer their questions. But she looked at each
person and went out of her way, taking more time than most people in
their impatience and intolerance would have been able to stand. This is
an example of loving one's neighbor in the most simple way. It is not
religious and has no over-arching self-righteousness in it. It was
simple as a child and it was a light in the otherwise opaque landscape
of most people's dull lives. Thank God some people get how to care for
other people and get a kick out of being conscious of people.
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posted Oct 26, 2008 11:00 AM by Rev Cynthia
This a verse from the hymn "Let All things Now Living," we sang today in our Sunday Service: The Law God enforces, The stars in their courses, The sun in its orbit obediently shine, The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains, The depths of the ocean proclaim God divine. We, too should be voicing Our love and rejoicing With glad adoration, a song let us raise: Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving To God in the highest, hosanna and praise.
How wonderful and amazing it would be if each of us lived in our true nature as God created and intended for us. If each of us would simply "obediently shine," with love with hope, with radiance, with the goodness we are each endowed with we could live in Peace and Harmony in one mind. I love this hymn because of its reminder that we are all connected and we all have a purpose. Thanks be to God. Blessings to you on this day of the Sun/Son. In Christ, Rev Cynthia
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posted Oct 5, 2008 11:08 AM by Rev Cynthia
I enter this day with a Grateful
Heart.. One of the most life changing things I have learned on this
spiritual path and in my training is that I have everything to be
Thankful for. Each moment, each experience, each challenge has
something to teach us if we open to receive the lesson in it. It can
change your life to change your perspective and ask in every situation
no matter how hard..."What can I learn from this experience? How am I
being blessed in this situation?" Start with "Thank you." When we
give thanks and actually feel it...not just say the words but truly
feel it our hearts open and give loving energy out. Try going through
the day with the intention to be Thankful in each moment and you'll
start to recognize all the amazing things you are given that you
usually take for granted: your breath, your hands, your feet, your
sight, the gift of being able to wake up each morning, the gift of
being able to go to sleep at night, to have access to so many
resources, to have others to share your experiences with... Life is a
gift, not just something to endure. Instead of complaining all the
time about every little thing and everything that is bad and hard try
giving thanks for the opportunity to stretch and grow and learn and
love and live. It will change your life. I enter this day with a
Grateful heart.
With Blessings of Abundance,
Rev Cynthia
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posted Sep 15, 2008 4:26 PM by Rev Cynthia
It is Sunday afternoon....our community just left the Center. I am
overwhelmed with love and gratitude: for this path, this Center, and
our community that is full of conscious, striving, loving souls who
have chosen to make this their spiritual home. We spend a lot of time
with one another. Daily morning communions. Classes. Meditations.
Viewing conscious movies together. Sunday services and community
brunch that follows. What everyone here has in common is a desire to
connect with God, to strengthen their spiritual consciousness, and for
most to come to a deeper understanding of why they are here and what
their purpose in life is. It is so incredibly joyful to spend time
with people who have put this at the forefront of their lives. If you
are such a seeker or have simply been curious about our Centers of
Light and what we do here I hope you come join us so you too can
experience an intentional community of devoted disciples.
Blessings to
you in this day.~Rev Cynthia
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posted Aug 29, 2008 4:03 PM by Rev Cynthia
We just had our first Order of Mercy Clean-up in Atlanta! Praise be to God for this service our Order of Mercy Sisters and Brothers are planning in our cities all over the country. It was so joyful to participate in this event spreading light and consciousness in such a direct way. Sister Olivia (our Order of Mercy Sister here in Atlanta,) found a stretch of sidewalk along Memorial Drive in the Kirkwood/Edgewood area, near the Center of Light, that was quite inundated with litter. It was striking to me as I was walking with my "Litter Gitter," (the long sticks with claws on the end) just how much there was. What are people thinking as they toss their scraps and rubbish from their vehicles? It is a behavior that wreaks of selfishness and entitlement. Instead of focusing on that I chose to focus on enjoying the gift of being able to love and bless the earth alongside my brothers and sisters. It was deeply satisfying to love our City/our Planet in this way. My heart is full of love and gratitude to be serving and loving in a community so dedicated to Peace and consciousness spreading light and love. Thank you Sister Olivia and all our community members and ministers here and around the country who participate in this work.
Peace and Blessings to you.
To find out more about the Order of Mercy or to find out when our next clean-up is please feel free to contact me, Reverend Cynthia at: RevCynthia@CentersOfLight.org or you can reach me by phone at 404.371.9281.
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posted Aug 20, 2008 5:33 PM by Rev Cynthia
[
updated Aug 20, 2008 5:38 PM
]
I hesitate at putting the word Me in
the same phrase as Mother Theresa and Gandhi but that is how it came
out and so it is. While my own mission is far from what their's
was I do believe we are each called to a mission by God and if we fully
realized and lived this mission our planet would be filled with
LIGHT...with LOVE. This morning I read a quote by Gandhi...one of those
amazing quotes that simply inspires us to be real and true and full of
Love for the mission we are given on this Earth. I know it is
possible. When I contemplate beings such as Mother Theresa, Gandhi and
even my own teachers Father Peter and Mother Clare I see that they live
in God's love and abundance all of the time...that their concerns are
for the greater good rather than their petty needs. I have heard all
of the four mentioned say they are not special...that they are nothing
in fact...they just got out of the way to be fully available to God.
It is my striving to live this way. I have a long way to go but it
just doesn't seem right to sit back and hope someone else will pick up
the mission I am called to. What mission are you called to? |
posted Aug 20, 2008 5:28 PM by Rev Cynthia
[
updated Aug 20, 2008 5:49 PM
]
Pay it Forward....
I saw the movie "Pay it Forward," more than 10 years ago and we
just showed it last Friday for our Conscious Movie Meet-up. What
an inspiring film! A social studies teacher gives his 7th grade
students the assignment to come up with a new idea to change the world
and then to implement it and make it happen. This one boy comes up
with the idea to "Pay it forward," to do some thing out of the
ordinary/extraordinary even, for someone else and in exchange ask the
person they helped to "Pay it forward," to three more people. So the
idea is that this giving would spread exponentially. While it is a
heavy movie with some adult themes it challenges the viewer to really
examine themselves and their willingness to truly give and to look into
the hearts, minds and very lives of those they interact with...To
really see someone's need and do something about it. In our discussion
that followed many people shared how it is clear that most people give
to "get," something in return, whether it is to look good, get praise,
material goods etc. It also came up how people hold back from giving
because it isn't convenient, they feel in lack somehow, or just too
overwhelmed. And then there were testimonies and reflections shared
that it is when we do extend ourselves, when we go out of our way for
someone just because we feel called to that this well of overwhelming
love opens in our heart...and everything looks different/is different.
Another heart opening piece to this film was the boy with the idea
began to get discouraged because he thought it wasn't working but in
fact it was...and the giving was spreading, huge
life-saving/life-changing gifts that he couldn't see right away. In
fact those he gave to...as broken as they were...let the love they
received open in their hearts to extend themselves to others....We
can't always see the ways that Love is working but I have total faith
that any kindness spread, prayer asked, forgiveness extended, and help
given truly does change the world. What an amazing World this would be if everyone sought to give in all situations!
"Everyone can be great because everyone can serve."-Martin Luther King Jr.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."-Anne Frank |
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