Years ago I read a beautiful statement written by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, the founders of the New Though church called Unity.    The Fillmore’s wrote this in 1892 as Unity was just beginning.  Their covenant was later discovered among Myrtle’s papers in  1942.  Here is what it says:

“We, Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore, husband and wife, hereby dedicate ourselves, our time, our money, all we have and all we expect to have, to the Spirit of Truth, and through it, to the Society of Silent Unity. 

It being understood and agreed that the said Spirit of Truth shall render unto us an equivalent for this dedication, in peace of mind, health of body, wisdom, understanding, love, life and an abundant supply of all things necessary to meet every want without our making any of these things the object of our existence. 

In the presence of the Conscious Mind of Christ Jesus, this 7th day of December A.D. 1892.”

Beautiful, powerful, and clear!  That is what I feel when I read this.

Ours is to listen to that which calls us in life… that creative urge to express that moves in each and ever one of us.   When we follow that call, Spirit, by  it’s very nature,  assures us of all of the resources needed to fulfill that call.  And the beauty is, we never have to make the procurement of those resources the “object of our existence”!

What is the good to be experienced and expressed that is calling you?  Your covenant is waiting to be written.   I’d say feel free to use some of the Fillmore’s words.  I think they would be honored.

You are Precious.  Your are Awesome.

Rev. Kristin

You know the T-Mobile ad featuring easy access to your “Fav 5”?  I was reminded of it recently as I read an ad that Mary Morrissey sent out, inviting minister’s to join in a day of expanded thinking.  She wrote about what she called the “Rule of 5”.  She asked,  “Did you know that people’s income will be very close to the average income of their five closest friends? “

There may be exceptions to this “Rule of 5”, but my hunch is it plays out in many areas of life.  Income, eating practices, exercise, vacation spots we go to, our spiritual practices and more.  We either attract people, places, circumstances and thoughts that mirror our current reality, or we have those experiences because of the thinking that we continually expose ourselves to.  Either way we tend to enjoy being with people that behave and think like we do and engage in similar activities.  We find common ground with them.  We find agreement with them.  We are comfortable with them.

We know that to experience life in different ways, we have to think differently.  One of the easiest ways to do that is to expose ourselves to different thinkers!  That means expanding our “Fav 5”!    I’m not suggesting we ditch our friends,  but rather expand our circle.  For every like-minded, like-behaved, and like-habited friend we have, consciously cultivate another friend who is differently-minded, differently-behaved, or differently-habited!  Consciously spend time in activities, with ideas, and asking questions that you might not have considered within the comfort of your “Fav 5”.

Beginning this Sunday and for the month of August at Namaste we are taking on the challenge of “Living from the Infinite”.  Let’s start by creating a “Fav 10”, and making room for some new friends – people, ideas, and habits! 

You are Precious.  You are Awesome.

Rev. Kristin

Rumor has it there is a support beam someplace in my kitchen, soon to be discovered in the remodel process.   Yep .. I’m not done with the lessons, or the metaphors from this project!  So bear with me for as long as the remodel goes on 🙂

Interesting things, support beams.   Without them the whole structure would sag, or worse yet crumble.  And yet from the outside, we don’t often know where they are, nor are we always even aware that they exist.  But we all have them, and we all need them.  Unsung, they do their thing .. keeping our homes strong, straight and in integrity.  I’d not want to try to live in a house without them, nor ignore them in remodel plans.

You and I have support beams in our lives, too.  Those things that, although we don’t always give them the time of day, are doing their job to keep us strong, straight and in integrity.  We may not always be aware of what is holding us up, but rest assured that when we experience any major remodeling in life -like happens when we go thru health, relationship, work or financial changes,  we will be grateful for our support beams.   It is at those times that we especially need to be sure that we keep our support beams in tact.

So what are the support beams in your life.  Are there essential relationships that sure you up?   Support of family, of friends?  How about our awareness of the Divine?  That surely is a support beam in our lives. 

If you are remodeling, ( and how is not!), give some extra time to considering what lifts you, what holds you up no matter what.  I call those things “sacred structures” of my life.  They are the relationships and practices that have to be held inviolate in order to provide the fundamental support beams of life that make everything else work.

Happy remodeling.

You are Precious. You are Awesome.

Rev. Kristin

I’m writing this while listening to sawzalls, hammers, and other noise producing equipment in my usually very peaceful, harmonious, and quiet house   Yep .. It’s remodel time!!

With every wall shattered, beam exposed, and wire dangling that urge to say “STOP!!! I CHANGED MY MIND!!!”  grows inside of me.   But I say nothing.  I just continue my mantra … “This will be awesome .. This will be awesome .. This will be awesome.”  And I look the pictures of what we plan, take a few deep breaths .. And trust.

For those that have remodeled, either in the physical world, or the internal world, you may know the process.   We have great ideas and vision of what we want to create, what we want to experience, what we want to craft.   But we’d really like those end results without the remodel mess. 

So I listen the destruction below, and just keep remembering this is all for the better.  And I remember that sometimes, stripping out the old is the only way to make room for the new.    It’s all part of the process.  And  in the end, we get to enjoy the beauty of what we have newly created.  Until the next remodel, of course.   Because if we honor the creative creatures we are, we’ll always be drawn to expand and express, and remodeling is unavoidable.  Thank goodness for short memories.

What are you remodeling this summer?

You are Precious.  You are Awesome. 

Rev. Kristin

Do you remember your favorite pair of sneakers when you were little?  Remember the feeling of getting a new pair?   You could hardly believe that you put up with those old ones for so long …  so springy and alive the new ones felt.  You might have even thought you’d keep the old ones for backup, but after tasting the fresh tread of the new ones – fat chance the old ones would ever come out again.   Washed up or not 🙂

My sneakers of choice were, of course,  “PF FLYERS”.  I so remember the feeling of going to “The Dime Store”  – ( yes, that was really what it was called ) –  to get the annual beginning of summer new pair!   Ahhh … the feel of fresh rubber under foot!  School was out, freedom was here, and the whole summer lay before me like a silky smooth water slide.

I don’t have PF Flyers any more.  Sadly, there are lots of rituals that we leave behind as we get older.   Some we replace with grown up versions that may give us some of the same feel.  We may take yearly retreats.  Perhaps at the beginning of summer we may pause to ask ourselves what would give us a sense of summer rejuvenation and freedom.  I might suggest that we could spend a moment looking at what thoughts we’ve been wearing all year that we need to put some fresh tread on! 

But, it’s summer.   And truth is sometimes, you just need a new pair of sneakers to bring a whole new perspective to life.  I just googled “PF FLYERS” and discovered they still make them!  Course they are $59.00, but what the heck, I’m going to get some new tread for the summer!   How about you ?

See you on the water slide.

You are Precious.  You are Awesome.  You are FREE!!!

Rev. Kristin