Thursday, January 29, 2009

Thinking, Believing, Perceiving, Experiencing

The thoughts we think have a tendency to become our experience. If we think thoughts centred on God, good, acceptance and service we will be aligning ourselves with Truth. Truth is known, by some, as God, good, acceptance and service.

What we think tends to become our belief. With thoughts aligned with Truth we come to believe in the Truth.

Our beliefs become our perception. I believe in the Truth, and so as a Practitioner I can perceive the Truth in all that I see and meet. This includes the person I am working with.

Perception knocks on the door of our thinking. And so, as we perceive the Truth we think in Truth, and so open the doors to heaven.

The next time you flip a power switch notice how you did not ‘will’ the light to come on. You obeyed the law of electricity and your actions made it possible for the light bulb to receive a current. You flipped the switch thinking, believing, and perceiving that light would flood your experience. And so it is with everything else, if you will but know it.

My One Word Ministry: "Divine"

One aspect of the beauty of language is that it is filled with context, ours. And in turn I am coming to realize that contemplation of ideas and how we associate words with our way of life is a powerful practice. For example, a few months ago I embarked on a journey of what I have come to call, One Word Ministry.

In response to the commonly asked question, "How are you?" I now reply, "Divine." In my professional life, at the Centre for Spiritual Living, in a public place, greeting a retail professional, or when meeting any stranger I simply respond to the customary process of greeting that I am, "divine."

I would have to say that from the very first time I used divine as my answer, to this day, I find myself inspired by the responses. Perhaps my favourite response so far has been; "Wow, that must be better than best!" You might imagine how the conversation went from there.

Of course, the journey of this one word ministry has evolved. At first, I would pause to check in to make sure I really did feel divine. A moment later I would feel divinity and respond. I then came to realize that taking that moment to determine if I was divine or not served a purpose of elevating my mindfulness. I will readily admit that sometimes I would check in and find that I wasn't quite divine. At other times my answer would be 'good' without that pause to check. And then as I left such a moment I found myself reviewing what had just happened. Such enquiry is a good thing, so long as we do not linger too long.

With my focus of fueling a constant state of consciousness I am finding it easier and easier to respond immediately that I am divine, knowing within my heart that my state of consciousness would have it no other way. But then practice is about persistence of knowing is it not?

And so, if you are in a place where the standard greetings of 'not bad', 'just fine', or even 'good' are not quite making the grade, consider greeting people by telling them that you are divine. I can say with the assurance of my experience that you will be inspired by the many smiles and happy conversations that subsequently flow from this one word ministry. It amazes me how much one little word can light up moments. And with more consciousness surrounding such simple exchanges we can effortlessly give birth to a way of life, inspiring others and ourselves with a six letter word.

Divine.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Integrity

Until a moment ago integrity was, for me, a perception that my actions, values, methods and principles were consistently good. In this light integrity is the alignment of all values. By living in integrity I have a value of goodness and acceptance for, and through, all actions.

Wikipedia defines integrity as “the quality of having a sense of honesty and truthfulness in regard to the motivations for one's actions.” As I read various definitions for integrity I started to wonder if could integrity mean more than this? What if integrity is to seek God without purpose?

God has been defined as infinite intelligence, infinite wisdom, and infinite understanding. Seeking God without purpose is also considered by some to be the ultimate spiritual realization. Assuming these axioms are true, could integrity be demonstrating God in everything you think, say and do?

I have come to believe that living in integrity is essential to a conscious life, regardless of which of the above definitions may resonate with you. In the past I have certainly had moments where I was not in integrity. Before my mother made her transition I often failed to approach her with integrity, and I believe I opted to treat her differently. Sometimes this was out of fear and at other times I thought out of love. I do not believe I was treating her badly in trying to ‘soften’ the blow of some of our interactions, but as I look back I think that the only person that was being hurt through my choices in this regard was me. I now note with interest that since my mother made transition that I have not only been more conscious and mindful throughout my life, but the following Sunday was the first service I attended at the Centre for Spiritual Living in Edmonton. Is the timing coincidence or symbolic? I like to think both; but then the beauty of perceptions is that we do have the option to choose how they sit in our minds (insert knowing smile here).

In finding God for the sake of allowing God to work in me and through me I allow that which is God to be my values. And if I seek God in every moment I seek to let the values of God live through me, in alignment with the Divine intent, in every moment. Surely there can be no better alignment of all my values if each thought, word or deed is a seeking an expression of God in, through and as me. When looking to others we must see the integrity of the God that is their true self, and know that they have what they need to live in integrity. If this is true then I would propose that a path to mindfulness is to be loyal to our integrity and to those in our awareness in all that we think, say and do.

I offer the following treatment for your contemplation:
That Thing that pervades everything, that Truth, is here with me now. In this moment I recognize Divinity. I think of all things created and see them as an Effect, but more than that I bask in and recognize the Cause. I only have to choose It and It chooses me.

I know that every moment in this incarnation, every thought that I think, every word that I utter and every action that I take is seeking God without purpose. For the joy of joy I live. In surrendering and allowing God to work through me I become divine. I look forward with delight at seeing what God does. From this moment on I need only one desire, I need only experience God. In this experience I realize God. I walk forward on feet unburdened by the ball and chain of desiring anything but the One Mind in my life, and I celebrate the knowing that the joy of communing with God is enough.

Just as God maintains and sustains the world we live in without advice from man or woman, I place myself and these words in the care of God Governance. I trust and understand the idea behind these words, the words themselves, and the faith I place within and about them. In turn, these words are fulfilled. It can be no other way. My whole heart and soul yearns for God and in this place of self-surrender I offer joyful thanks and gratitude. And so it is.

Monday, January 26, 2009

A Light Through Me

My choice is a torch,
Through which light can shine.
Mindful, specific,
Brightly lit Divine.

God equals Oneness,
Not something brought about.
Yes, a state of being,
Inside also out.

When we experience,
And we see worth,
Harmony with God,
Intelligent re-birth.

God has no favoured,
Our limits our own,
In our awareness,
Is consciousness known.


© Copyright 2009, Carmien Owen

Sunday, January 25, 2009

An Idea That, I Am

Heaven is a place where,
There is neither good nor bad,
There simply is One Presence,
Neither happy, neutral or sad.

God is an idea, that
only wants us to choose,
To see One in everyone,
An instrument It can use.

© Copyright 2008, Carmien Owen

Friday, January 23, 2009

A Calling: Let Us Leverage the Law of Collaboration

On Monday May 5th, 2008 there was an article in the Edmonton Journal about two NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) graduates who had come up with a way to help the homeless connect to the world. Assuming this goes forward clients, of the Bissell Centre in Edmonton, will be given a contact phone number and an extension number. Whenever a client deals with a doctor, a potential employer, family or someone who might provide them with permanent housing, they give that contact and extension number. Dialling those numbers would put a caller into the client’s individual voice mail box. This simple and cheap solution will bring a dramatic increase to their quality of life.

The article also noted that the system runs on freely available software, developed through open sourcing. Development on such programs is performed by computer enthusiasts throughout the world. The NAIT grads simply linked the appropriate programs with some of their own code and a new collaborative tool was born.

Contemplating such a beautiful idea being so easily and cheaply produced leads to wondrous possibilities. It could easily be argued that mass collaboration in the modern world is evidence of raised consciousness. With the focus on the negatives in the world sometimes one is required to make a conscious effort to dig harder to expose the light. And sometimes strenuous digging reveals a profoundly beautiful Intelligence.

The software this solution was built on has its roots in an event that reaches back to 1991 (a time period approaching ancient history given the pace of technological evolution). Before the World Wide Web had even been invented, a young programmer from Helsinki named Linus Torvalds created a simple version of the Unix operating system. He it called it Linux and shared it with other programmers via an online bulletin board. By revealing his code to the world Torvalds was able to eventually assemble a world-class computer operating system over the Internet. This action was the first of many steps that indirectly empowered these two NAIT grads to create this wonderful new phone system for the homeless.

In 1999 a Canadian mining company, Goldcorp Inc. had pretty much tapped out its reserves and was close to bankruptcy. The CEO took some time out for personal development, went to an MIT conference for presidents and heard about the story of Linux. Upon returning to Canada he concluded that maybe the key to finding more gold would be to open up the exploration process in the same way. Taking all the data they had, going back to 1948, they put it into a file, and shared it with the world as a part of the “Goldcorp Challenge”. With $575,000 in prize money and 55,000 acres of property to analyze the race was on. For the first time ever a company from an extremely secretive industry had bared all.

However, the gambit paid off. Within weeks submissions flooded in from around the world. As expected, geologists got involved. What was not expected was that of the 110 targets identified, 50% had not been previously identified by the company. And over 80% of the new targets yielded substantial quantities of gold. Today Goldcorp is reaping the fruits of its open source approach to exploration, and what was once a failing $100 million company is now a $9 billion juggernaut.

As we move into this 21st century it’s clear to see that mass collaboration is here to stay. Wikipedia, Linux, Facebook, Flickr, Second Life, YouTube, and the Human Genome Project are all examples of mass collaboration. In a perfect storm a global platform has appeared, a new generation that grew up collaborating has grown up and a global economy that enables new forms of economic cooperation is driving deep changes in the world. From the first tangible evidence of social cooperation in the cave paintings and primitive tools left behind some sixty to seventy thousand years ago to this new interactive Internet, or Web 2.0, one common theme could be considered a Law: Groups with cooperative habits are more successful than those in isolation. I shall call this the Law of Collaboration.

These examples of mass collaboration all have a common theme yet might be missed in this world of ‘stories’. One might even argue that these stories occurred as a result of forces driving upon them. But if one can accept the profound Intelligence acting in all things it is hardly a leap to consider these series of apparently disconnected events as anything but connected.


And even the business world is noticing. For the first time since commerce started taking serious hold in civilisation the rule of business collaboration is
changing. In the coming years those businesses that find ways to tap into multitudes of external knowledge, resources and talent will gain competitive advantage and agility. Those companies that stick to old customs of control, secrecy and fail to learn the rules of this new game will be left behind. In short, those organizations that utilize the Law of Collaboration with integrity will prosper.

With ideas such as working together in the open and strangers cooperating towards common goals, it is easy to imagine that there is a beautiful, virtuous Intelligence at work. As we begin to contemplate the growth of the spiritual awareness a series of new possibilities begin to dawn. The distance from the philosophy of our community to the communities of mass collaboration is not that far. Openness, sharing, cooperation, goals somehow being met without controls, individual choice to support the greater good, amongst other ideas of mass collaboration resonate with this teaching.

The Calling
This is a call to those intrigued or entranced by the potential of the Law of Collaboration. It is time to break the ground on building a new technological vision for spiritual living and awareness. Some of the possibilities that immediately come to mind include; the power of a Wiki being used as a Science of Mind encyclopaedia, published articles from bright minds, discussion forums loosely moderated by students, Practitioners and Ministers, video archives of Services, the blogosphere, podcasts of highlighted material, virtual classes taking our educational program to a global audience through video and audio streaming, all pulled together through a growing online community inspired by something wonderful happening here and now. I know a volunteer driven effort to translate 'The Science of Mind' into many languages through SpiritPedia would crack open this philosophy to a much wider world audience.


Now that's a bigger idea, is it not?

If one can be inspired by the series of events that led to the creation of the telephone system for the homeless through collaboration, for collaboration, just imagine what can be done by a spiritual community consciously applying itself to embrace mass collaboration!

Please comment below if you are interested in exploring this vision with me. If there was ever there was a moment to transcend how we share and build community around this beautiful philosophy this must surely be it.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Tidal Wave of Vision

On this day I have witnessed a man exemplify what a vision and knowing can do. It is inspiring to see Barack Hussein Obama capture the moment as he does, present a vision, remind us of our responsibility, and to conclude that our vision is at hand if we will but know it.

On January 20th, 2009 the world paused to witness history. A scan of YouTube.com statistics showed over 40 countries had the Inauguration video in the top 5 watched clips of the day. People from across the world stood transfixed upon a moment. It is almost as if a tidal wave of hope and vision has surged as a backlash to the tsunami of our time. But you may be sure of one thing; we have a responsibility and the more we live up to this the greater the momentum’s success.

To those that would say, ‘The expectations are too great for one man’, I would ask, ‘What is your vision for the world and how will you know it?’ To those that would doubt and say there is too much to fix, I would ask, ‘What is your affirmation for world’s healing, awakening to consciousness, and knowing of plenty for all?”

As I look inward and contemplate this moment I often find my eyes welling up. After contemplation I have come to believe that the inner-Me, that part of my experience that is God Consciousness, feels the swell of awakening. Collectively we have been stirred. This is not chance or coincidence. Nor is this a time to set your consciousness up to provide a break to the tsunami’s force. This is a time to ride the waves like a ship, swaying with the consciousness about us, knowing that your course is sure and sails are as strong as they need to be, and to be clear about the moment you are in. If ever there was a day to see God in this wave, this is that day.

In all moments we have an opportunity to be mindful. Sometimes we must look to the eye of our own storm and ride through via a course of vision, mindfulness and knowing. On this day we are needed to collectively hold consciousness of what we know to be so. If ever there was a day to turn hope into knowing, to hold the vision firm in your heart, to treat for its complete success and to release this knowing into the Universe, this is that day:

That Thing that pervades everything, that Truth, is here with me now. In this moment I recognize Divinity. I feel it within me and throughout the world, heartened by the dawning of this new season of blooming vision, knowing and renewal.

I celebrate my own mindfulness and knowing of a further awakening of the world. I realize God in every moment and each step that I take is lifted by the joy of consciousness. And as I move my own feet I know that there is enough in all things, that our vision is already so. I rejoice in knowing that there is plenty for all, and that acceptance is first and foremost on my mind.

I know that Barack Hussein Obama is successful in all that he does. Every word and action that he utters is Divinely inspired. He is surrounded by the right people at the right time. He is thoughtful in all decisions, understands the consequences, grasps all the facts that he needs to be informed, hears the right advice that support the process, and concludes in perfect ways. I know that he holds to his vision, he is strong in his resolve, his words inspiring, and that love and acceptance guides him at all times in all ways.

I give thanks and stand assured that a God that can create so much beauty and wonder in the world can surely take care of what is known in this moment. I am inspired at my knowing that nothing is too great. I celebrate the many people that step up, heeding the call to responsibility and action to fuel the momentum of this time. With complete knowing in the power of these words and knowing that it is already so I release these words to the Divine care of the Love and the Law, and know that they were so the moment I shaped and thought them. And so it is.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Consciousness of lack in the world

When we come to realize the grace of God how bright we must appear in the world. With the great privilege and honour of assisting others as bearers of the light comes the responsibility of knowing our worth.

Where am I with my sense of worthiness in my life?
The good and bad of my life have taught me compassion. In particular, looking back upon the bad and realizing where I now am makes it easier to love others caught in their illusion of bad. But more than that, I can know what they truly are and the potential of what they could be, should they so choose.

Through practice I have come to more regularly feel the presence of God. In such moments I do not need courage. I am connected to Infinite power and cannot be shaken. In exposing my own stories to myself for what they are I find my compassion. In the midst of compassion I can see the Cause in others in spite of the Effects. And the more I practice, the more readily I can recognize when I am not in the presence of God.

I have come through a desert of self-esteem from a place where the water of knowing my worth was barren. Where I would seek to shout aloud from the rooftops to tell the world how good I was, only to suffer as people heard the underlying tone in my voice that echoed the lack I hid within my heart.

And now as I look to today I see through eyes brimming with self-esteem that I do not need to shout but to be full so that I may support. It is my time now to simply be, because with God within I can think of nothing more worthwhile than the God that I am.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Gratitude

There is always enough time to remember those who supported you, to hold whose shoulders you stood upon in gratitude. Contemplation on those events and experiences supports us in seeing the story for what it is. The shift from the perception of ‘it was bad’ to it was ‘good’ allows us a deeper knowing. But do not limit yourself merely to expressing gratitude toward others. Remember that you have lifted and touched others as well. In taking the time to realize and know the gratitude of those you have supported you allow and gift yourself with a deeper knowing. For in thanking others and acknowledging the thanks of others toward us we complete a cycle of love that can never be too big or too beautiful.