Exploring Visions of the World
One of our favourite Unity Ministers is Bruce Kellogg.
Bonnie worked with him when he was the Spiritual Teacher at Unity of Vancouver.
We recently created a website for him at https://brucekellogg.com.
He is available for personal sessions to help you discover and enhance the authentic, real you.
Learn more at https://brucekellogg.com.
I have been happily addicted to playing Mahjong on my phone.
The goal is to match pairs of identical tiles until all are removed from the board.
I rarely win. Maybe it is the soothing Chung Chong sound it makes when I match a pair.
The main strategy is to free up as many options as possible as soon as possible.
For example, clearing the tile with the two circles at the top of the pile opens up many possibilities.
The same with tiles on the edges.
The worst scenario is when a tile blocks copies of itself. I think there is a lesson in that! We do get in our own way sometimes.
It took me a few months to become aware that I was wasting a lot of mental energy mapping English names to the tiles: red sword, ‘n’, M & M, 1-bar, …
All that did was slow me down.
It is much easier to scan for patterns without thinking verbally.
Like when a person learns a second language and stops translating in their head and starts thinking directly in the new language.
Or a musician simply plays fluidly without thinking about theory or technique.
Simply playing in the moment.
Some would call that Flow.
If you find yourself with a Noisy Mind, no matter what you are doing, ask if the mental chatter, calculations, second-guessing, and like are helping with the task at hand or holding you back.
Look for the simplest, most direct way.
Easier said than done, but important for your success and peace of mind.
Practice Calm Mind, Grass-hopper.
I recently came across this podcast by Danielle LaPorte about letting go of things that weigh us down so that we can come out the current crisis lighter in spirit.
“Binding identities, grievances, expired dreams, regrets, possessions. Can you feel the pressure to let go?
Energetic stagnation makes us more vulnerable to all kinds of viral things—from negative thought patterns to viruses. I’m rolling out “The List of Letting Go” so we can lighten our emotional load to fit through this portal of change.”
— Danielle Laporte
Danielle has an amazing voice and something in this podcast resonated with me. It may also resonate with you.
Reverend John McLean of Unity of Nashville offers a coffee talk every Friday morning.
This week he talks about the relevance of The Optimist Creed by Christian D. Larson.
This is a well needed message for these times and for our lives.
“THE OPTIMIST CREED
Promise Yourself…
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”
― Christian D. Larson, The Optimist Creed
Join Unity of Nashville on Facebook Live every Sunday at 10 am Central Time.
John McLean, the Peace, Love & Sunday Morning Orchestra, plus solo vocalists are fabulous!
You may know actor Rainn Wilson for parts in The Office, Six Feet Under, and Many others.
The interview that appeared in Religion Unplugged provides a great introduction to The Baha’i Faith.
I know very little about it, though the following quote is why I am interested in learning more.
“Baha’u’llah’s teachings are very much progressive social teachings that are here for the unification of humankind,” Wilson said. “This is why I’m a Baha’i right now, especially because of this current political climate, Baha’u’llah’s message is one of love and unity and bringing people together. It’s the elimination of racial prejudice, the equality of women and men, elimination of extremes between wealth and poverty, universal education and the harmony of science and religion.”
Rainn Wilson
I have often said that if you were to only by a single book on how to understand and live a life from a spiritual perspective, it would be Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success.
The book is short, barely over 100 pages.
Yet this book explains ancient ideas and Sanskrit words from Hinduism and Buddhism that we often use casually without fully understanding.
Words like Karma and Dharma.
Some may seem contradictory.
How do you reconcile The Law of Intention and Desire?
Deepak Chopra makes it look easy! A true Enlightened Master at work!
Each chapter on a spiritual law is followed by short set of instructions for applying the law of to your life. Here are the steps from Law Seven.
“I will put the Law of Dharma into effect by making a commitment to take the following steps.”
A simple recipe for life!
My challenge is to know what my special gifts are?
The other six laws lead to the seventh law.
Each one has steps to follow for “Applying The Law of …”.
Read the book frequently.
Actively follow the steps to apply each of the Spiritual Laws of Success.
Repeat to make it a daily practice. By some coincidence, there are Seven Laws and Seven Days! You could loop through and practice a new law each day of the week.
Eventually you will integrate each of the Laws of Success to simple be living the Seven Laws of Spiritual Success every day.
Enjoy!
— Greg Dixon
Here is a simple meditation to ground yourself.
The words may have come from Deepak Chopra.
Repeat to create a lightness of being and love in the world.
Here a version you can do with simple breathing.
Tip: Breathe deep into the bottom of your lungs, expanding your lower rib cage.
Your Body
Love is the Key
The stream is on the Xenia Retreat Centre on Bowen Island, near Vancouver, British Columbia.
The retreat centre is open for bookings such as weddings, silent retreats, artist retreats, writing retreats, executive retreats, yoga retreats, and more.
I am embarking on a new adventure to explore various spiritual paths and beliefs, starting with my own notions. It will start with blog posts and will likely involve interviews with a wide range of seekers and thinkers. There could be a book or two. There could be a documentary.
Let’s see where this path takes us.
My mother fled the farm and the Catholic church when she was 18. She raised us to be independent thinkers and make our own choices choice about religious or spiritual beliefs or lack thereof.
When asked, I will often give the following smart-ass answer:
I am an Existential Christ-ian Taoist Shaman with a Buddhist Interpretation. Or perhaps simply a Free Agent.
Greg Dixon
I say it mostly as a joke, though it begins to hint at a very broad range of enquiry and experiences.
Although I seldom had a plan, there are a few interesting patterns visible when look at the ground I have covered in my life:
Always a guest observer, never a member.
There will be blogs and articles on topics that include things like:
If you are inclined to dogma and fundamentalism, you will probably resist almost everything I will write about.
If you want to explore a range of perspectives, then this could be for you.
Join our list to receive notices about new posts, articles, and videos related to Walking This Path ~ An Exploration of Spiritual Perspectives.
© 2021 Shared Visions Unlimited
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
