Consciousness Caravans

Living Life Consciously as Vehicles of Spirit.

Category: Spiritual Ministry

  • Failing Forward – A Wednesday Night Talk

    Failing Forward – A Wednesday Night Talk

    Introduction

    This post is from a talk I gave for the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.

    The discussion that took place within the space of this talk was rich and enlightening. I hope you enjoy the talk and will consider joining our book study. I am also considering organizing a group to share The Chosen series. I imagine us watching an episode and then taking time to break bread and discuss what resonated with us from the given episode. There are forms at the end of this post for you to let us know if you are interested in joining either.

    Rev Sally’s Talking Notes

    Hello Everyone! It is good to see you all. I’ve got you on Gallery View so that I can see your responses tonight. If you are comfortable, please leave your video cameras on for a bit or you can use the Zoom reaction buttons to let me know how what I am showing you tonight is resonating with you. 

    Let me see a raise of hands…how many of you have ever failed at something? 

    How about an epic failure? Yes, I can see we are all in good company.

    “Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success” ~ Arianna Huffington

    Tonight, we’ll be sharing a video and ideas to help us dive even deeper into this topic of “failure” andwhat we can do with it. We will be continuing with the weekly topic of Failing Forward, which was advertised, as Rev Katherine Saux said in her talk on Sunday, as Falling Forward. Either way, it is about exploring the ideas surrounding “failure.” Keywords that were given included: change, perspective, resilience, and perseverance. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to watch the YouTube video of Rev Katherine’s talk to hear more about these words.

    “Failure does not mean the loss of something.  Failure occurs only if the loss of that thing takes our enthusiasm, our courage, our zest for life, our faith, our conviction, and our happiness from us; that is failure indeed.  The Power of an Idea (1965) (p. 56.3)

    As we live, grow, and learn, “failure” is a given, but what we choose to do with the experience of failure makes all the difference. We are going to play a video. I was introduced to Dallas Jenkins and his video series, The Chosen, by Paul Presutti during one of our Dr. Dan noon time Spiritual Journey Meetings (look for the Journey for Spiritual Living Zoom link) when we were talking about Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well.  I must admit that I’ve been binge watching The Chosen episodes ever since. 

    I’d like to put in a plug for the Dr. Dan group. If you have never participated in this noon time discussion group, I highly recommend it. As a teaser for Dr. Dan’s group, let me share with you a “mashed-up” affirmation from September 27th and 28th:

    I am building my consciousness all the time. Hour by hour, and moment by moment, I am building good or evil, failure or success, happiness or suffering into my life by what I entertain right now. 

    I vision often heavenward and dream anew. My consciousness determines the things that manifest in my life. I center my attention on God: Ever Present, All Powerful, All Wise, All Knowing and Loving. 

    One more thing before we start the video, I want you to consider for yourself…

    Where does your enthusiasm for Life reside? 

    What is the Idea or Vision that is calling to your heart? 

    What would you “go after” if you knew absolutely in your heart that you could not fail?

    Play the video. Thank you.

    Here is the link to the video, What God told me about my failure that led to the Chosen / Dallas Jenkins, https://youtu.be/evqanx-4XpI 

    Okay, show me your reactions to this video… What did Dallas have that allowed him to proceed? (FAITH)

    The Truth about failure is that it does not mean one’s idea is flawed, not valid or that the dream isn’t good enough. Failure means there is something to be learned (gained) or a course correction is necessary.  In short, failure points to the possibility that there is always something more, better and blessed ahead.

    We all experience success and failure in life (like the Dr. Dan affirmation said). Just as life teaches the lesson not to allow success to “go to one’s head,” we are wise not to allow failures to consume our hearts.

    Remember:

    “The mind is a magnet, and we attract that with which we identify the self.” Ernest Holmes (2007). The Art of Life, p. 22,

    Take a breath. 

    Monday and Tuesday of this week, I participated in the annual CSL Ministers’ conference. It was held virtually and gathered over 100 of our CSL licensed ministers from around the globe. The theme was Liquid Spirit – The Rhythm and Flow of SHIFT. I bring this up because the conference introduced me to an author and his book that I want to share with you. In short, it offers ways that we can move from what I will call our societal failures more fully towards a world that works for all. The CSL Global Vision is of a “World That Works for Everyone (All).”

    Some of you may already know about the book or have read it. The title is: The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves by Shawn A. Ginwright. Dr. Shawn was the keynote speaker at our CSL Minister’s conference. We have a short video to introduce his book and ideas to you. 

    To start with, I really resonated with his use of the word “pivot” instead of “change.” It reminds me of dancing and using a pivot to move in a new or different direction. Let’s listen to the clip and see what resonates with you.

    Play the video. Thank you.

    A video was shared with the CSL Ministers group using Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/670362901.

    I am open to starting a book study group to diver deeper into the book.

    Know that often, things will not go as planned…and that is perfectly fine.  When failure seems inevitable, the secret to moving forward is cultivating a sense of FAITH (like evidenced by Dallas Jenkins) and everyday wonder (this month’s theme as encapsulated by Dr. Shawn’s Pivot #3 Vision) as a guide and constant companion.  

    A One Sentence Affirmation: 

    I persevere with the strength of the Spirit within me.

    In Conclusion and Call to Action: 

    There is potentially more to gain from failure than there is to lose.  Failing forward in your work means that you are growing, productive and willing to adapt.  Beloveds, go forward knowing success and failure are akin to one another. The real work is determining what’s next.   Wonder allows a person to move beyond the stigma of failure into the wonder of “What if…?”  No matter what, keep going and don’t give up.   

    “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” ~ Robert F. Kennedy

    “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” ~ Ken Robinson

    “Failure is success in progress” ~ Albert Einstein

    A final question for this evening to contemplate: What works for you to help you bounce back from disappointments?

    And so it is.

    Movie Group RSVP

    Book Study RSVP – The Four Pivots

  • If You’re Happy and You Know It

    If You’re Happy and You Know It

    If You’re Happy and You Know It

    Hello Consciousness Caravans! Rev Sally spoke at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living May 15th.

    Rev Sally’s talk begins around 50 minutes into the service. Noted below are Rev Sally’s speaking notes.

    I’m happy to be alive living a joyful life. I am Happy to be back at OCSL, where we teach spiritual principles and practices of Religious Science. In our travels, one of the questions I’m asked most is: What does Religious Science teach? My answer is the single most important and possibly most challenging teaching of RS is Oneness. Quoting from the global CSL website:

    Oneness: There is One Infinite Reality. We call it many names, including but not limited to God, Life, Universal Spirit, Infinite Intelligence, First Cause, or the Thing Itself. The One Infinite Reality is undivided, complete, and whole within Itself. This Oneness creates everything out of Itself, and therefore includes both the absolute and relative, tangible and intangible, physical and metaphysical aspects of reality. 

    “One Infinite Reality” 

    “Undivided, Complete, and Whole within Itself”

    “Creates everything out of Itself”

    “Includes both the absolute and relative…”

    We are the relative. Our individualized lives are relative expressions of the absolute Oneness. There is that within us that is both relative and absolute. Now, I may not be able to mentally grasp or fully explain the absolute, but I can, we can, explore and talk about the relative and being happy, absolutely Happy, as a relative expression of Oneness. My talk title for today is “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” It’s an exploration of the emotion of Happiness.

    Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, tells us in Help for Today p. 166 “This is the secret, we must enter into the Spirit of Life, into the joy of living, into the usefulness of creative endeavor. No one need grow old in attitude if he has faith, purpose and enthusiasm. If we feel then that we are simply onlookers and not participants in the game of life, we should rediscover the youthful spirit of that childlike joy which gave to us the energy, happiness, security and faith we had as children.  

    Are you ready to rediscover that youthful spirit? Those of you who will be joining me this afternoon in the “Get Your Happy On” workshop certainly will be rediscovering your youthful spirit. In the meantime, I invite all of you here now (and on Livestream) to sing along with me… 

    “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.”

    Thank you for sharing happiness with me. Robert Holden, a noted PhD who studies Happiness, said in his Happiness Now books and videos that “The good news is that happiness waits not on time or any other external condition, but on our welcome. Choosing the welcome is using our minds to control experiences. 

    Ernest Holmes tells us in his Seminar Lectures: “The ability to control your experiences and have them result in happiness, prosperity, and success lies in your own mind and the way you use it.” 

    “Happiness is a state of mind.”

    Happiness lies within your own mind and the way you use it. Your mind is the relative use you make of the One, Absolute Mind. One of the ways you can use your mind is through using your imagination to set expectations for what you think might happen and/or want to happen. 

    Maybe you’ve experienced or been taught to expect the worst to happen (just to be safe, so you can prepare yourself). I can understand the relative wisdom within this teaching that inspired our ancestors to pay laser focused attention to what could go wrong in their immediate (relative) surroundings, so that they could outrun it or hide from it. Their success in doing this is why we are here today. The thing is that many of the dangers they faced are simply not present for most of us today. 

    Arguably, the most prevalent danger for us, as a human race, today is being too plugged into what could go wrong. Information overload, especially of the variety of what could go wrong or needs to be fixed prevents us from feeling and being Happy. 

    The news certainly focuses our attention, “as we come on the air this evening…the worst-case scenarios that happened today…” And don’t even get me started with advertisements for medical fixes – take this pill, because this must be wrong with you, never mind all the potentially deadly side effects of the pills you might take. 

    Focusing on worst case scenarios generally leads to a feeling and expectation of victim consciousness, sooner or later, this will be your experience. Most of us can’t (individually) stop (the war in Ukraine, rising gas prices) by running or hiding. So, even if your life is relatively “good,” the hyper vigilance of what could go wrong keeps our focus on the relative storyline of the drama triangle with a victim, relative to a villain, relative to a victor. 

    “Happiness is a state of mind.”

    Last Sunday, Rev Geri shared a clip from the movie, Inside Out. It revealed the emotional personalities that can be playing out the roles of this drama triangle in our heads. As we saw in the clip, those voices in our heads are not always feeding happy thoughts. Many thoughts of calamity race through our minds…as Rev Jeff used to say, sometimes it’s not a safe place to be, up there.

    Religious Science teaches us to return our attention and awareness to Absolute Oneness, allowing ourselves to feel Happy, even if only for brief periods of time throughout the day, as one way to break free of this drama triangle. 

    Let me share with you 10 more things you can stop doing right now to be happier from Rev. Edward Viljoen’s, our Center’s for Spiritual Living – Spiritual Leader’s, blog.

    https://cslspiritualleader.blogspot.com/2021/03/want-to-be-happier-stop-doing-these-ten.html

    Want to Be Happier? Stop Doing These Ten Things Right Now.

    1. Stop watching too much television.
    2. Stop having no quiet time in your day for reflection
    3. Stop depending on your own counsel alone
    4. Stop criticizing yourself when you make errors
    5. Stop trying to make other people different
    6. Stop hiding behind “that’s just the way I am.”
    7. Stop putting other people down
    8. Stop wishing for a better past
    9. Stop holding on too tightly
    10. Stop complaining

    At the end of his article, Rev Edward encouraged the readers to make their own list of things they can quit doing.  He challenged us to stand up for our happiness. That sounds like a fun idea…will you join me? Stand up (or do this seated).

    “If you’re happy and you know it, stomp your feet. If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet. If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet.”

    You can sit down now. Returning to Rev. Edward’s blog. I’d like to share with you one of his further explanations he provided for #3 on his list. 

    #3. Stop depending on your own counsel alone

    Rev Edward shares that another way of saying the same thing is: stop notlistening to others. Stop having no way for wisdom to find its way into your mind. Stop being self-dependent (listening only to that little voice in your head) and let yourself benefit from the wise (and even the not-so-wise) counsel of those around you, experts in their fields, role models, and the people who love you. Instead, make a habit of asking people what they think. You don’t have to accept their advice and opinions, but you will find your world expanding and your sense of community growing. You’ll definitely be doing something that can contribute to a feeling of happiness: connecting.

    Everyone loves to be heard. In our travels with Consciousness Caravans, we routinely connect with other travelers and ask: “how’s it going?” and “what’s your favorite place to camp?” And my favorite, “how does it get even better than this?” People love to connect and share about themselves and their travels through this thing called Life. And, in the process of listening, we find out about some really happy places to go visit. 

    Speaking up can be a powerful way to invite happiness. Let’s try it now.

    “If you’re happy and you know it, shout hooray. If you’re happy and you know it shout hooray. If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it shout hooray.”

    Yes, that feels better already. We’ve seen that happiness can be found in taking actions: clapping your hands, stomping your feet, speaking your word. Yes? I’d like to clarify that happiness is not something you need to chase or “do,” although taking action does help. Happiness, Joy is a state of consciousness that is natural and normal for everyone. Let me share this story with you…to help illustrate this point. 

    A grown dog saw a puppy chasing its tail and asked: “Why are you chasing your tail that way?”

    “I have studied philosophy and solved the problem of the universe, which no other dog before me has ever solved,” the puppy answered, “and I have found out that the best thing for a dog in life – is happiness, and that my happiness is in my tail. That is why I am chasing it, and when I catch it – I will reach happiness.”

    “Son,” the dog said, “in my young days I was also interested in the questions of the universe. I also thought that happiness is in the tail and in the beginning I was also chasing it. But later, I noticed that wherever I go and whatever I do, the tail was always with me. And then I understood that I don’t need to chase it.”

    Happiness is. Happiness is a state of mind, consciousness, and awareness that we get to welcome, to KNOW is our natural state of being. If we live life from a place of childlike enthusiasm, joyous expectancy, and positivity, then it lifts our spirits and creates a pleasant aura about us.  Life then feels less like drudgery or a battle, regardless of how bad things may be in our circumstances or in the world.  As we set our expectations use our imaginations to experience fulfillment and happiness, recognize the Divine treasures within, remember our tail is already attached, we are more apt to realize that happiness DOES begin within us as individuals and in that KNOWING, we seize more control over our own destiny through the use of our minds.  

    “If you’re happy and you know it, say amen. If you’re happy and you know it say amen. If you’re happy and you know it, then your life will surely show it. If you’re happy and you know it say amen.”

    And so it is.

  • Reveal, Release, Rise

    Reveal, Release, Rise

    I spoke recently at the Oakland Center for Spiritual Living’s Wednesday Night Service. I called in from our “Landing Pad” home in Antioch, CA, just back from our first official Consciousness Caravans excursion. 

    We explored together the talk title: Reveal, Release, Rise (repeat). I requested the participants to prepare themselves to act during the discussion…have pen and paper ready. As you read this post, you might want to do the same. Here’s the talk outline prepared in advance of the meeting.

    Let’s start with “Revealing the Truth”

    The Truth of Who and Whose we are is a given…it already is. God is Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. Wherever we are whatever we are doing or being…God is. Revelation (bringing our God-self out) comes from the recognizing our Divinity combined with the willingness (our own free will choice) to cultivate, willingness to be consistent in our awareness of that Divinity within us. By our very own recognition, we create an opening for higher knowing and activate more, greater volumes of the flow of Divine Energy. Yes? Does this sound familiar? For those of us who have been studying the Science of Mind (SOM) for some time, it does. This concept, Recognition, is the first step in a Spiritual Mind Treatment, or SOM prayer.

    Eckhart Tolle tells us in Stillness Speaks that: “You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.” (Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle; © 2003, page 64)

    Raymond Charles Barker says in The Science of Successful Living that: “Those who know they are the inlet and the outlet of Ideas born of a larger Mind and a greater Love become the vehicles of the Spirit.” (The Science of Successful Living, by Raymond Charles Barker; © 1957, page 127)

    Consciousness Caravans Vision is that: We are the vehicles of Spirit and Consciousness. Life is our grand adventure! And we intend to live it consciously and authentically. Everyone does this…reveals their own understanding of Truth.

    Let me say a word about authenticity…what is authenticity? Authenticity is the difference between performance and expression. Performance is for others, but expression is for the Self. That is the “self” with a capital “S,” or the God-self within. The focus is key…I ask the question…Knowing each of us is a fully formed Divine Idea in the Mind and Heart of God: What is calling to be expressed and can only be expressed by, in, through, and as you?

    Dr. Holmes wrote in the SOM text on page 147.4, “We all have the ability to transcend previous experiences and rise triumphant above them; but we will never triumph over them while we persist in going through our old mental reactions.” 

    TIME TO PRACTICE

    Willingness is a key to Revelation. Are you willing? Let’s do a simple practice that you can repeat again and again after this talk…Get out that pen and paper I mentioned earlier. Take a few minutes to consider some good you are willing to experience and wish to affirm for yourself. Write an affirmation of this good for yourself. Keep the statement in the present tense, begin with “I am…” Ready? Put that aside for now.

    I AM… I AM HEALTHY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN LIFE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES EVERY DAY.

    “Releasing the Blocks”

    Ernest tells us on page 283 of the SOM text that: Releasing the weight of past limiting beliefs and judgments frees us to rise in faith (faith being the “mental assertion” of our good) and be elevated to the plane of realization (of that good).

    “We believe that Heaven is within us (here and now) and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of It.” – from What We Believe. So, if we are not experiencing Heaven or the good we desire, then there must be some blocks (imagined or physical) in our way.

    What blocks are keeping you from attaining your good, or rising-up? When challenges show up (and they will whether personally or in the collective – has anyone listened to the news lately?), it can be difficult. The real challenge is not in any of that, it is in remembering to “name and claim” not the challenge, but God as Source, Substance, and Truth. 

    Our recognition of this Truth opens us up for Life’s vitality and creative energy to reveal Itself in, through and as us – the Whole, Perfect, and Complete ideas of God that we are. Working with a Practitioner, Minister, or trusted prayer partner is a good way to identify patterns of blockages. I know from my own spiritual work with myself and others that patterns of blockages, or repeating behaviors, can tend to block the good from expressing when recognition of who and whose I am is missing. Remember, in Truth, we are unlimited channels for possibility. 

    Last Sunday, Rev Katherine Saux spoke of rolling to stones away from the tomb. She used props of stones and gave examples of various blockages we may have getting in the way of our rising up from the tomb. The idea of rolling way the stones from the tomb is even more powerful for me, when I substitute the word “womb” for “tomb.” I may not relate to the idea of my body being placed in a tomb, but I have had the experience of catching an idea (being impregnated by Spirit’s call for me in the womb of my heart) and then having stones – my false beliefs, doubts and fears, and/or other ideas of “not-good-enoughness” pop up and keep me from taking action on Spirit’s call.  The easiest example for me is Consciousness Caravans…this idea of Spirit was planted deep in my heart early on in my ministry and I needed to do the work to roll away the stones that kept me from birthing it. 

    MORE PRACTICE – My affirmation

    I AM… I AM HEALTHY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN LIFE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES EVERY DAY.

    Let’s take that affirmation you wrote down earlier…read it to yourself and be aware of any “negatives” or blocks that arise when you imagine yourself having or being that good…Even if you don’t hear anything immediately, you can do this practice by writing down the opposite of the good you affirmed. This is a twist on our normal practice of identifying a limiting belief and then stating its opposite. Write down the opposite of your good. Got it? Now, using your writing instrument, strike out the opposite statement. Do it in such a way that you can see the opposite and see it has been struck void. 

    Opposite of my good?

    HOW CAN YOU SAY YOU ARE HEALTHY? YOUR KNEE HURTS WHENEVER YOU EXERCISE…THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU, IT…

    CROSS IT OUT!

    HOW CAN YOU SAY YOU ARE HEALTHY? YOUR KNEE HURTS WHENEVER YOU EXERCISE…THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU, IT…

    Now rewrite your affirmation. Many of us are kinesthetic learners, we learn by taking physical action…this practice gives us the ability to kinesthetically learn our good. 

    I AM… I AM HEALTHY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN LIFE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES EVERY DAY. (Wow! that feels good to release the blocks to my expression of good.)

    All creation, any idea, must gestate before birth. Design comes before form. There’s a period of time, a design period, for the idea to take form in Mind. All creative ideas and possibilities must gestate (in the womb of Divine Mind) and remember, RECOGNIZE, you are an inlet and outlet of Divine Mind. Every creature (humans included…and ideas) progresses through a period of hidden darkness, trials and tribulations that are part of the birthing process before being brought forward into its Whole, Perfect, and Complete physical form. I can think of a couple of examples: the acorn itself is Whole, Perfect and Complete (WPC) when formed, an acorn must break open its shell in order for the seedling, which is also WPC, to then be able to break free of the encasing soil where it’s been planted and grow into the giant oak tree; in honor of Easter, a baby chick must peck open its eggshell before bursting out to live as a bird. And, in each of these “forms” in whatever stage that it’s in is WPC.

    In our own creative lives, when we are willing to go to God first, i.e. reveal Truth in and as we are, then the guidance we seek is Divinely inspired and informed by Infinite Loving Intelligence – expansive once released from the blockages and challenges. It does not mean that blockages, challenges won’t exist, or that they will completely disappear, but we won’t stay stuck or mesmerized by them for so long. Revealing Truth allows us to Release Blocks and rise up.

    Rise up and Bless the World

    The Infinite Invisible is always wanting to create through Its creation (you) and It, Divine Intelligence, will not be denied. Rising beyond our blockages, resentments and fear-based stories frees up spiritual bandwidth (energy) for innovation and as-yet-un-dreamed-of creations. Consciousness Caravans…taking SOM to the people where they camp, it’s never been done before. It took a willingness on my part to say Yes!

    Ernest Holmes wrote that the SOM is: a teaching and a practice. If we want (if we are willing to) rise up, we must practice rising up, we must practice releasing that which is not spiritual Truth, and daily, discipline ourselves to practice rising up, above the race consciousness or blocked ways of thinking and being. “Cross out the opposites.”

    Create a new and transcendent narrative for your life based on what is possible, not what has been blocking it. Write a new story of self-love, self-care, and self-expression. Dare to “cross out” the doubting words of others, the negative news headlines, and the dogma of religious fear. 

    Every step we take in growing our awareness of God and our awareness of our Oneness with God will, yes, lead us further and further from familiar, comfortable realms of thought and belief that keep us small and restrained. It may feel scary, unpredictable, or nerve-wracking. But this sacred life we are living is not a rehearsal, nor is it a punishment.  I encourage you to dare to see yourself as a victorious being of Pure Spirit. Dare to LIVE as more than you ever have. 

    Reveal Truth. Release Blocks. Rise up! And, do it again and again. Blessed Be! And so it is.