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Showing posts with label Religion and Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion and Spirituality. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Psalm 32 Acknowledging Our Sins

Do your sins define who you are? Are they opportunities for you to learn and grow? Or do you hide your sins from yourself and others to maintain a facade? To sin is merely “to miss the mark” and we are all constantly doing that. How we process our missteps is just as important as the actual sin.

It is important to remember that we must acknowledge our sins before we can be healed of them. What does that mean? It does not mean that we wallow in them, feel guilty about them, give them power over us, or punish ourselves over them. It merely means that we must delve deep enough within our consciousness to know they are there. We cannot heal a trait that we do not recognize. As the psalmist says, we try to hide our iniquities from God. In reality, God is omniscient and so we have really only tried to hide our sins from ourselves.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Psalm 27 Spiritual Warfare

When we are in the middle of difficult circumstances, there is nothing more powerful than knowing that God is there with us and that all is well. Our needs are already known and supplied. We do not have to ask God for anything, we merely have to open our minds to the knowledge that there is only good in our life and bless our circumstances. God is the source of our wisdom (light) and our inheritance (salvation). In the knowledge and understanding of our rightful place as children of God, what should we fear? If all that is God’s is ours, how can there be any lack?

If God is for us, who is against us? (Rom 8:31)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Psalm 40 Obedience

We, as Truth seekers, know that in order to achieve full realization of our Christ potential, the only thing that is required of us is obedience. It sounds very simple, but for us to get to a state of mind in which we are fully compliant to Spirit is an arduous process. In many respects those who are considered to be on the fringes of society have a much easier time with this demand. This is because they often times do not have to release all of the things we are taught to help us fit in to the social order. As any one who has walked the path can tell, there are times when spiritual realization is a lonely road. The decisions we make do not fit the mold of what society tells us, we should want and do. Those around us think that we have truly lost our mind. This is called living in the world but not of the world. In order to be obedient to Spirit, we must go within for guidance and direction in making decisions, because God’s way is never the way of the world.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Psalm 29 Renewal and Glorification

Psalm 29 is a call to worship and glorify the Lord. It has been said that glorification is the highest spiritual state of consciousness attainable by human beings. In order to glorify the Lord, we must understand God. This is a difficult concept to convey in words because typically when we think of understanding, it implies some intellectual or analytical exercise. Spiritual understanding does not have this connotation.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Psalm 96 All Things Old Are Made New Again

God is our refuge in a world of chaos. Our planet is undergoing dramatic change the likes of which has never been seen before. There is no sign of an ebbing of the rapid pace of transformation. In the midst of all of this turmoil, there is a source of stability and permanence in our lives should we choose to embrace it.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Psalm 122 Shalom

There is no joy like the delight of finally approaching the gates of the kingdom within. When we step through the gates, we can permanently abide in God. The Hebrew word shalom, which has been translated here as peace, is referred to three times in this poem. If we look more closely, the word’s meaning is closer to well being or wholeness. Shalom also encompasses good health, prosperity, peace, safety and happiness. The only path that can lead us to the Christ consciousness is one that makes us whole or complete. This implies a balance and harmony between all aspects of our being.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Psalm 100 Present in Praise

Have you noticed that it is difficult to praise God when we are focused on the past or the future? The only moment in which we can truly experience the Divine is now. This poem calls our whole being in to joyous praise. We are to be fully present in the present. Giving thanks to God should be done with gladness not fear or moroseness. Singing is an activity that draws our whole being into praise. When we sing the sound causes vibrations within and around us, creating harmony. Also singing relaxes the left or analytical brain. It allows us to be fully present in the moment.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Psalm 46 Permanent Sanctuary

The SanctuaryImage via WikipediaGod is a creative force. Underlying these words is a great truth. There is nothing in the world that is consistent but change. If we attempt to maintain the status quo or prevent things from changing, we ensure our own unhappiness. It is out of harmony with nature and God to attempt to hold on to anything. That includes love, money, and joy. By allowing all things to course through our lives rather than stagnate, we clear room for more good. When we understand that life is change, we can begin to relax and go with the flow.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Psalm 98 Breakthrough

Spiritual development is not a straight upward climb. We find that we have times of major forward progress. Then we reach a plateau stage, where things kind of roll along smoothly. After this phase of development, we typically have some sort of major upheaval in which our faith is tested. If we pass these tests with harmlessness, we begin the cycle again. The shift from upheaval to major advancement is called a breakthrough.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Psalm 149 The Two-Edged Sword

As we sing the praises of God, we create changes in our consciousness. The power of the uttered (and thought) word cannot be underestimated. We can use the creative authority of the word to craft a life of joy or pain. It is our choice. The throat is the power center through which our understanding is expressed. Our spoken word in tone and vibration always reflects that which we truly believe. Regardless of the actual words spoken, our true intention can always be discerned. This is why the tongue is the two-edged sword. On the one hand it is the source of all creative energy in our lives. However it can also be the most destructive force in our lives.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Psalm 32 Acknowledging our Sins

It is important to remember that we must acknowledge our sins before we can be healed of them. What does that mean? It does not mean that we wallow in them, feel guilty about them, give them power over us, or punish ourselves over them. It merely means that we must delve deep enough within our consciousness to know they are there. We cannot heal a trait that we do not recognize. As the psalmist says, he tried to hide his iniquities from God. In reality, God is omniscient and so he has really only tried to hide his sins from himself.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Psalm 65 Jehovah-Jireh, The Provider of All Things

In those grace filled moments in which we see the world from the God’s eye view; we see pure, perfect potential in every circumstance. We know that there is no limitation in the world. There is no situation that does not have its ‘silver lining’ in a spiritual context. Every moment is an opportunity to be loved and loving. As children of God all that is God’s is ours. However, we can only receive that which we understand. And so we must come to the realization that we are and have all that we need and want. We have the steadfast love of God.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Psalm 119 The Living Law

So many of us as sincere believers read the Scriptures looking for principles by which we can live our daily lives. While this is a helpful and important part of our spiritual journey, literal adherence to ancient texts can be problematic. The Word is a living Presence which cannot be limited in a word (or many words). The true power of Scripture is its ability to open our minds and hearts to the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, so that It can guide us in God’s way.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Psalm 66 God is Great

Most of us are blessed with grace filled moments in which we recognize that all of the blessings of our lives are not because of anything that we has done to deserve them but because of the One (who has kept us among the living and has not let our feet slip). All of the marvelous works in our life and in the world are because of the nature of God (his name). When we realize that God has taken care of every detail—from our conception, to the beating of our hearts, to the way the brain processes information—we cannot help but give praise. There is so much around us that we cannot explain or replicate with human understanding. All of these gifts give us clues to the character of God.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Psalm 91 Protection

To live in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty, both mean to decide to turn our life over to God or turn our thoughts to Spiritual Truth. When we live in Christ consciousness, we dwell in the house of the Lord. By turning our thoughts to Truth, we establish the seeds of faith (v. 2). Once we have faith there is no fear, for in the spiritual realm the opposite of fear is faith, not courage. But it is our choice to “make our home in God.”

Friday, September 17, 2010

Psalm 79 Blasphemy

We blaspheme against the Lord when we do not acknowledge and embrace our oneness with God and each other. As we hold on to duality, we cannot be healed. We experience physical, mental and emotional sickness in their multitude of forms. Psalm 79 is the cry of a person who has been struggling with irreverent thoughts. Fortunately the laws of Being exist to help us find and unearth those mistaken thoughts and correct them. Every day is a new day when we decide to give up our old beliefs for new ones.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Psalm 14 Foolishness

The dictionary says a fool is someone who lacks understanding. It is true that only a fool would say that there is no God. When we believe there is no God is we have undoubtedly been seduced by the trappings of intellect and the physical realm. If we look to the world for strength, purpose, and support, we can be tricked into believing that there is no higher power. Unfortunately, when we succumb to these ideas our thoughts and deeds are all corrupt because we believe them to be of our own doing and for our own exaltation. The intention with which we act is erroneous and the results can be nothing less.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Psalm 139 God, the Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent

When we sit back and truly contemplate all that we are, we cannot help but be mesmerized. Each beat of our heart takes so many interrelated processes working in exact harmony, we know that it is impossible that human being could create something so perfect. If we sit and observe the precision of nature, we are filled with a profound reverence for life and for God. One can only take comfort in the immanence and steadfast love of God. We should take time to contemplate our lives and marvel at the wonder that is our existence.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Psalm 81 Effective “Problem Solving”

It is interesting how most of us only approach God only when we have exhausted everything we know how to do. Instead of making God our partner in life, we try our own hand at troubleshooting. We spend our mental, emotional and physical energies in a process of trial and error with the limited information we know. Our left brains are highly effective at organizing ideas and detail but cannot appropriately orient the ideas in the larger context. Effective problem solving requires the whole brain.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Psalm 71 Maturity

As the years pass, our bodies, minds and spirits go through changes. Conventional wisdom says that as our stay on this planet is prolonged, we must experience deterioration in our bodies and minds. We have been taught that these changes that take place are negative and that we should fight them to the extent that we can with medical and scientific intervention. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, we must inevitably experience change in our bodies and minds, but none of this should be viewed as negative or as deterioration. It is just different.