Spiritual Living Podcast Archive

Dr. Kenn Gordon speaks about radical change in life and evolution in action, as seen through the lens of fatherhood. Everything evolves, and it always evolves for the highest and the greatest good. It is stepping into a new idea, growing, expanding. Evolution in consciousness. It can be sped up through awareness and connection. We can make choices that are different than the ones we made in the past. Life works because it evolves. And consciousness evolves before form.

In this week's talk, Rev. Patrick speaks about magical relationships. Rama Maharish said this about ourselves: "Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes." Mark Nepo gave this insight about relationships: "Everyone personalizes and projects. Personalizing is mistaking what happens in the world as always having to do with us. Projecting is the reverse, when we place the thing that happens in us onto the world around us. The truth is, no one can avoid personalizing and projecting. There are only those of us who are aware of it and those of us who are not, those of us who own it when it happens and those of us who don't. But this difference is crucial. Not owning these things can end relationships, owning them can deepen relationships."

Gratitude is magical. It is key to a prosperous, abundant heart. Whoever has gratitude will be given more. What we appreciate appreciates. We start by deliberately saying "thank you". As we practice this, the more we start experiencing the feeling of gratitude. We have then taken it from the head to the heart. And the more gratitude we feel and experience, the more abundance we receive.

Rev. Connie admonishes us to remember to remember: Who we are, where we are, and why we are. The energy of our lives can be quite turbulent, especially when dealing with uncertainty and life's many distractions. Our focus can be restored by truly feeling our emotions, by being mindful in the present moment.

Rev. Patrick speaks about loss, attention, and intention. Our attention energizes, and our intention transforms. Whatever we put our attention on will grow stronger. Intention, on the other hand, triggers transformation of energy and information. Our intention organizes its own fulfillment.

We celebrate Mothers---and all family ties---and how we sometimes must leave home and go on a pilgrimage, to find our real and larger home. "So much unnecessary suffering comes into the world because so many people will not accept the legitimate suffering that comes from being human." -- Carl Jung So yes, it can feel like suffering sometimes, to feel disconnected to Spirit, or to have to wait for results that we want so badly. That is what it is to be human, but if we can tune in to our intuition, we can know that our true identity is eternal. "The surrendering of our false self which we have usually taken for our absolute identity yet is merely a relative identity is the necessary suffering needed to find the pearl of great price that is always hidden inside this lovely but passing shell." -- Richard Rohr

Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones leads us on a journey of self-contemplation and self-inquiry. We came from the ethers of the great unknown, from the formless. Yet our life itself is no less a mystery than our origin. There's no place in our lives where uncertainty does not exist. We have the opportunity to become conscious in the mystery in our lives. This changes the dynamics of it. We do this by changing our perception. Three questions for self-inquiry: What role does fear play in keeping me stuck on the edge? What do I need to let go of? Do I take time daily to contemplate the miracle of the mystery of the gift that is already given to me?

The Persian poet Hafez wrote, "Come rest your head upon my lap, because the work in separation is the most exhausting thing you do." Separation is saying, "I'm not enough, there's not enough, the world is a scary place, fear, fear, fear, fear." Living in fear is living in separation. But we are here to live our lives in Joy. We choose to come and we are chosen to come. There is no one greater than us. Our purpose is to be ourselves, our pure selves. We are here as co-creators with God. Let us do the work of letting go and allowing our true selves, our magnificent divine selves, to shine through.

Anita Moorjani was often asked, "Why do you think you got cancer?" Her answer: Fear. Fear of failing, being disliked, letting people down, and not being good enough. Most of us are taught at a very young age to be afraid. But we already are what we spend our lives trying to attain. We come into this life knowing our magnificence. But the world seems to erode this sense as we grow up. Whatever we're up against, we're creating. The nature of the particular conflicts that each of us experiences is directly related to the false beliefs we hold about life. And consequently, every conflict and problem that we face is intended to wake us up to the fact that we're believing something that's not true about life. We always get what we feel we deserve. We can inspire one another. We can live from inspiration.

Drawing from the teachings of Anita Moorjani and Marcia Sutton, Rev. Patrick brings us through a process of healing and the acceptance of our true magnificence. We're here to experience and to evolve this physical universe and our own lives within it. We don't have to wait until we die to experience Nirvana. Nirvana, heaven, our true magnificence, exists right now. As our fears are dissolved, the obstacles in our lives are removed and the opportunity is provided for the newness of spirit to reveal itself as an experience of heaven on earth. "I am the Presence of the Living Spirit here and now. I love myself unconditionally. I am so grateful God is the Love I am."

Rev. Patrick begins this month with the story of Anita Moorjani and her book Dying to Be Me. In it, she tells of her four-year experience with cancer, how she tried to heal it, how her body eventually gave up, and how she passed through a very lucid near-death experience. In her near death, she felt a profound awareness, a state of unconditional love. And she was able to learn why she got cancer, and how it was a transforming gift in her life. We can learn to see that all of life is perfect. There is a perfection to our experiences. It doesn't matter where we are on the consciousness continuum---it only matters that we are on the continuum, that we are awake enough to acknowledge that we are Spirit incarnate. Life is perfect as it is, because this dimension, this form, allows us to experience maximum results. Two things are necessary to grow in consciousness: An intense desire, the drive to know God. The discipline to act with constant and universal forgiveness and gentleness without exception.

We can be great by choice. It takes discipline, not the regimented, follow-the-rules type of discipline, but the kind of discipline that is a consistency of action. There should be a consistency with our values, our long term goals, our performance standards, our methods, and our performance over time. Happiness is not a constant, but satisfaction can be. Satisfaction is a deep underlying sense of fulfillment, a sense of doing a good job with life. We alone are cause to our material experience. Once we decide, everything starts shifting and changing.

Decision is everything. At the center of our Consciousness is a purpose, but not a plan. It's not about actions or facts, it is about making decisions without fear. Our decisions about the future should always have a loophole. We can decide to live by nature or by grace. We can decide to live by intuition. "Intuition is the process by which you become aware of yourself, not as self but as the all-ness and fullness of being." -- Dr. Raymond Charles Barker in The Power of Decision

Teaching from the book The Power of Decision, Rev. Patrick shares with us the wisdom of Dr. Raymond Charles Barker. How we think and feel determines our place in life. All the ideas we need reveal themselves in the right order and sequence once we've arrived at a decision. Why do we have spiritual practice in our lives? For preparation. It is so that we are better prepared for when the storms come. This requires discipline, a discipline not based on obligation, but on devotion. Progress happens when leaders arise with new ideas. These men and women are undaunted by material beliefs in material situations. Theirs is, instead, a spiritual mindset.

Rev. Patrick speaks more on his experiences at the conference in New Orleans. He shares with us a speech by Dr. Kenn Gordon, the spiritual leader of the new Centers for Spiritual Living organization. "To move forward, we need to move into a new consciousness, into a new idea, a bigger idea. "It is a time for transformation. We know this because we have felt that something has occurred within us. Now is the time to let go of all of our opinions and all of our judgments. We are in the process of transforming the world, creating a world that works for everyone."

Rev. Patrick talks about the recent reunion of our two organizations, Religious Science International and the United Centers for Spiritual Living, to become one organization, the Centers for Spiritual Living. He highlights the lessons learned and the vision put forward.

Families are there to love us, guide us, and bring us to that point of maturity---physical, emotional, and spiritual---so that we can go out into the world, knowing the highest Truth of Who and What We Are, and, to be that light of Oneness in the world, to let it shine, and to pass that message on. And as we go out into the world, we find that we often expand our idea of "family" as our love for all of humanity grows.

Speaking on the subject of love and relationships, Rev. Catherine McLeod shares with us the teachings of Oshi, a Zen spiritual guide who combines Buddhism and Taoism into Zen, bridging them both to Western scientific thought. He uses the dualism of the Tao to work with relationships, accepting both the goodness and not-goodness in the other, and also in ourselves. In fact, every relationship is really about a relationship with ourselves, and understanding our own reality. Rumi says, "Our task is not to seek love but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it."

Love. Everyone has a different definition of love. Is it true: "All you need is love"? Love is extremely important, but we also need faith, fun, joy, and celebration! We cannot talk about love without talking about suffering, for both lead us to give up control. The buddha said that suffering is clinging. If we cling to something we take to be true, when Truth knocks on our door, we won't open it. Richard Rohr in The Naked Now says that suffering is simply having the experience of something we cannot control. "Great love and great suffering are the tools to transition from a fear-based life to a love-based life." If we have great fear and we can't transform it, we end up transmitting it to others.

The White Stone Ceremony allows us to slow down, focus, and crystallize our goals, desires, and the direction we wish to take for the coming year. Our thoughts can be so nebulous, but when we are able to put them in writing, we achieve a greater clarity. The White Stone Ceremony takes its origins from the white stones---clean slates---that were given to Roman prisoners upon their release, symbolizing their freedom and their entitlement to every good thing granted to ordinary citizens.

Rev. Patrick presents the practice of Process Science of Mind, an idea developed by minister Dr. Arthur Chang. "Our minds should swing from inspiration to action, from contemplation to accomplishment, from prayer to performance. No greater mistake could be made than to think we must separate life from what it does." It spurs us to "get going" in our spiritual lives, to put the kernels of truth that we know into actual practice. Rev. Patrick then introduces a new book by Julia Cameron, The Prosperous Heart. "Prosperity is a spiritual matter. It is the amount of faith we have, not cash, that determines our feelings of abundance." We are encouraged to adopt Julia's daily practice of "Morning Pages" as a way to seek clarity, comfort, and priority in approaching our day.

Rev. Patrick continues on the theme of setting intentions. There is a subtle power within us---the essence of Spirit. Every thought impresses an idea upon this infinite aspect of the Infinite. Its operation in our lives is simply to support us in whatever we bring to It. Creation is not an accident. It's part of a preparation. Our intention is really about preparation, preparing ourselves for Spirit's support. Inspiration is the revelation in conscious mind beyond what the conscious mind could come up with.

Intention is a prerequisite for effecting change. What is our intention for our lives? What are the three things we will work on this year? We will focus on the moment-by-moment care and mindfulness of growing our consciousness, so that we can be the finest expression of an individual that stands in co-creation with Spirit.

New Year's is a time for making resolutions. In New Thought, we can translate this into setting intentions. It is also a time to reflect on the past year: What worked well? What didn't work so well? It is a time for remembering the people we've said good-bye to, old things we've released, and new things we've embraced. We were made for these times. How do we know this? Because we are the ones who are here. There could be no others. And we could be no other way.

The Centre celebrates the Season of Light in song, story, and inspiration. This talk includes two songs from the celebration---one featuring Belle Hodge and the Centre's band, and one featuring Brian McLeod---and then Rev. Patrick tells a story about manifesting a penguin!

The storytelling continues! Rev. Patrick relates the main themes of L. Frank Baum's book A Kidnapped Santa Claus. In it, he reminds us not to be afraid of the dark sides of our nature; we can step back into the light at any time. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers: The Story of Success, we learn of the small town of Rosetta, where the inhabitants' long, happy lives are thanks to the caring, loving nature of the community. The values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are. What kind of community have we surrounded ourselves with?

Rev. Patrick reads to us from the 1957 children's story How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. Life is a blackboard upon which we consciously or unconsciously write those messages which will govern us. And we hold the chalk and the eraser in our hand, but we are ignorant of this fact. What we now experience, we need not continue to experience. But the hand that holds the eraser must do its neutralizing work. At the beginning of the story, the Grinch is stuck in envy and jealousy. In the end, the expansion of the Grinch's heart serves as a metaphor for the expansion of his consciousness. "I really think that it's possible to continue to change the consciousness of this planet. I believe we're here for a reason. I don't think it's any accident that you're here today. We are here to give birth to the new consciousness, and that's happening all the time." -- Rev. Patrick Cameron

Rev. Patrick begins today's talk with a simple children's Christmas story about a shift in perception. We learn that it is in the sharing, in the generosity of spirit, that the consciousness is shifted. In Creative Mind and Success, Ernest Holmes said this about spiritual practice: "We have this Law in our hands to do with it as we will. We can draw what we want only as we let go of old order and take up the new. And this we must do to the exclusion of all else. "Generosity is Grace. We need to believe in the Grace of God, the Divine Givingness. But we must recognize that the Divine Givingness can mean nothing to us until there is a Takingness on our part. It requires our participation in it. "The Self must raise the Self by the Self because the Self is God. We have to do the work. No one can do the work for us."

It's always a special treat when the teens help out with the celebration! Rev. Patrick expands on his discussion of Deepak Chopra's book Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You, expanding on the four main practices we can use to move from being a "fight and flight" person to become a visionary: Remain centered. Be clear. Expect the best. Wait and watch. We can get out of our reactive mind (the chattering/monkey mind) and move into the witness mind (present moment awareness).

Our bodies are made up of cells. In fact, each of us is a living community of over 50 trillion cells. The idea of waking up spiritually is to shift from living unconsciously to living more consciously, moving towards where we would like to take our lives. According to Deepak Chopra, life brings many situations where letting go isn't easy. Fortunately, there is always one strategy that works for letting go: instead of focusing on our reaction in the moment, we can step back and assert who we really are. The real us has no agenda. It lives in the present, it responds to life openly. Let us say to our reaction: "That's not me, it's just an experience that I'm having." What is there for each of us to do in the moment? Remain centred. Be clear. Expect the best. Wait and watch.

Healing is ultimately a shift of our perception, moving into a greater sense of who we are and what we are. Ernest Holmes said this, "Spiritual mind healing is a revelation, even though we go through a process to arrive at it. Each must work out their own method and pursue their own logic. If their method and logic lead them to the right conclusion, they will be rewarded by an affirmative answer. It is not the spirit of the person that needs to be made whole; it is their mental reactions to life that need healing---their perceptions, how they filter life. These mental reactions are both conscious and subjective. Successful spiritual mind treatment neutralizes negative reactions on both the conscious and the subjective levels."

Rev. Patrick explores healing of the body and healing of the soul through the book Cell-Level Healing by research scientist Joyce Hawkes. In it, she says that appreciation is the first step in our spiritual practice, as a bridge between ordinary reality and spiritual reality. Gratitude leads to devotion, resulting in compassion that flows naturally to the heart as profound healing. Spirit is the potential that lies within each one of us. Our soul is not in our body---we are in our soul. The foundation for all thriving is the trio of love, happiness, and knowing. Together, they bring us back to Source, back to Union. Our call is enlightenment. To continue to wake up and do our practice. Whatever moves us in the direction of Source.

Living our lives from "Why" According to the Romans, Genius is a universal presence that "lives in the walls of the artist's home." It's something that we can have, that we can host, that we can welcome. It's not personal, it's not individual. It's a Universal Intelligence: "I don't know, but something within me does know."

Blazing means fire. Fire is symbolic of transformation. Something gets ignited and changes happen. The trail represents the path that we're on. Joseph Campbell said this, "If you can see your path laid out for you, in front of you step by step, then you know it's not your path. Your own path that you make is with every step you take. That's why it's your path." The key to hearing our calling is paying attention to what is going on in our lives. To be still and know that I am God. To be still and hear that inner voice.

If we are irritated by every little rub, how will we get polished? -- Rumi In this week's talk, Rev. Catherine McLeod discusses life's ultimate lesson and the subject of relationships: our relationships to ourselves, to our partners, to our community, and to our world. Our ultimate lesson is to learn unconditional love, which includes all others, but also ourselves. Rev. Catherine also compares internal spirituality and external spirituality. The internal encompasses our inner spiritual practice. The external, our spiritual practice as it plays out in community. In community is where we demonstrate love, respect, forgiveness, compassion, and a generous spirit towards one another.

When we are grateful or thankful, we are lifted up to a higher realm of consciousness. Expressing and focusing on gratitude and appreciation is one of the most powerful things we can do. Steve Jobs made an enormous impact on the world. He taught that, "You have to trust in something---believing that the dots will connect.... If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle... Stay hungry. Stay foolish.... Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." Ernest Holmes said, "There isn't anything to do. There's something to know."

Our lives are either an expression of our spiritual magnificence or a reflection of our unhealed past. Do we consider ourselves a "finished product" or in the process of a makeover? Daniel Pink's book, Drive, suggests three areas to focus on: Autonomy---to direct our own lives Mastery---to desire to get better and better at what we do Purpose---to be in service to something larger than ourselves In speaking to author Chip Conley, the 17-year old King of Bhutan said that in his country they don't measure Gross Domestic Product. They measure Gross National Happiness. He said, "We cannot create happiness for one other. We create the conditions for happiness to occur." Rev. Patrick concludes with a profound quote from Robert F. Kennedy.

Reading from The Mandala of Being, Rev. Patrick quotes Richard Moss about our emotions: "We are enlightened only to the degree that we are able to fully experience and not become identified with and captured by our emotions. "We evolve in consciousness by turning toward our immediate experience and learning to be present yet non-reactive." Tamed emotion is simply the emotion that we are used to. It is that which we can identify and name. Untamed emotion is a feeling that we cannot readily separate ourselves from. Drowning, desolation, disillusion, terror, annihilation, suffocation, free-floating anxiety. Yet even in the experience of untamed emotion, there is a place within all of us that is untouched, that feels good at all times. That is our centre, our grounding, the Divine Grace. "Yesterday ended last night. Only the negative should go. Take time to look and think. The past is great with good, and to meet your past, that is fine, but you can never return. The world will not do you any good. It is too easy to go the world's way. Stand still and know what the world doesn't know." -- Raymond Charles Barker

Core issues from our childhood can give us a road map of how we operate in the world. For example, chaos and feeling like a victim can lead to anger and then feeling lost. We can use affirmative prayer to counteract that old belief and clear our consciousness, such as, "I release my belief in chaos. I release my belief in anger..." This helps us rediscover who we really are and who we are not! Jill Conner Browne, in The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love says, "Life is too short and too long to spend it being miserable. Life may indeed be short but it is, for a fact, wide. It's high time we started settling for more!"

On this Labour Day Sunday, Rev. Patrick leads us through a celebration of work. He first examines the Path of Wrong-Headedness, using a work story from the early life of our founder, Ernest Holmes. He then discusses our life journey and our life purpose. Our journey is really about finding our own way in the world. And as we discover our path, we find that everything is shaped for us. As we consider where we find ourselves now, and where we have come from, it is best to realize that our journey is our journey---We could have come no other way. So what is our purpose? Surprisingly, it may not be connected to our career. As an example of a life purpose, some have been called to "work to give the best to the world, with no thought of reward. To teach and demonstrate living from Spirit."

Rev. Patrick speaks on the importance and power of forgiveness, and prepares us for the September 11 "Peace in the Park" event. Forgiveness is not for the enemy---it is for us. In addition, the other side of forgiveness is atonement. As spoken by Desmond Tutu, forgiveness makes the future possible, while atonement makes the present possible.

I want to know, and know I know. In The Essential Ernest Holmes, we read, "It is the divine spark that impregnates everything, and is buried in everything. And it contains within itself the upward push of evolution. This evolutionary process impels things upward and onward, from lower to higher levels of intelligence. Everything has within it that intelligence as unconscious or subconscious memory." We each have a unique presentation of the Cosmic Whole that seeks expression through us. "Life is infinite energy, coupled with limitless creative imagination. It is the invisible essence and substance of every visible form. Its nature is goodness, truth, wisdom, beauty, energy, and imagination. Our highest satisfaction comes from a sense of conscious union with this invisible life."

Rev. Connie Phelps talks about her life journey, including her experiences in Africa. Stillness is one of those experiences and spiritual practices that allowed her to be in Africa. Spirit is always talking to us, through us, and as us, if we but take the time to listen to It. We must allow It to expand us, be us, live us, and reveal what it is that needs to be revealed by means of us. Our teaching is simple and universal. It is applicable to every person. Stillness is the means by which we can relate this teaching to every person no matter their background. As Ernest Holmes taught, listening helps us to understand that what is happening in our lives is happening for us rather than appears to be happening to us.

Poetry is the experience. Great poetry is timeless, it crosses all cultures, and it speaks to that longing that we all have in common. -- David Whyte. Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself, saying things you didn't know you knew. We need to overhear the tiny but very consequential things we say that reveal ourselves to ourselves. We are desperate for a sense of belonging, a moment of eternity. Belonging is the ability to live in the world without fear. Belonging is belonging to oneself. Can we be people whose belonging is stronger than our fear?

This week's talk by guest speaker Rev. Gail Muzio (Schultz) encourages us to focus on our relationships as an art form, and even includes pertinent kissing advice. We are our children's model for spirituality. We are our children's model for relationships. So are we good teachers? Do we hold relationships as a top priority in our lives? What if "making relationships work as never before" were an art? (1) Are we willing to learn that art? (2) Are we willing to apply what we've learned in that art daily? (3) Are we willing to live as love?

Rev. Patrick shares an excellent affirmative prayer: If it is right, make it easy. If it is wrong, make it obvious. As we learn things intellectually and speak to Source, we must open up to the deeper Love, and learn to love ourselves. The beautiful and profound wisdom of John O'Donohue's book Anam Cara---which means "soul friend"---reminds us of deep truths about love. Excerpts from Anam Cara: "You can never love another person unless you are equally involved in the beautiful but difficult work of learning to love yourself." "When love awakens in your life in the night of your heart, it is like the dawn breaking within you. Where before there was anonymity, now there is intimacy. Where before there was fear, now there is courage. Where before in your life there was awkwardness, now there is a rhythm and grace. Where before you used to be jagged, now you are elegant and in rhythm with yourself. When love awakens in your life, it is like a rebirth, a new beginning."

Ten or twenty years from now, the questions that you choose to live will have become the shape of your life. In this week's talk, Rev. Patrick uses Socrates and his method of inquiry to encourage us to live in the question. Socrates was all about the question. He wanted people to think. He encouraged the inquiry. Why do we make the decisions we make? Why do we come to the conclusions we do? Why do we respond to things the way we do? Socrates held that the unexamined life is not worth living. Our challenge, then, is to live an examined life.

"Find me one person who can get his own littleness out of the way and he shall reveal to me the immeasurable magnitude of the Universe in which I live." -- Ernest Holmes Dr. Rev. Sue Rubin, in her wonderfully expressive way, reminds us that the Law is impartial, automatically responding to what we know about ourselves. Our beliefs become our experiences, and in every word we say to ourselves and each other, we communicate with Spirit. She speaks of the lessons found in a unique YouTube video about the words we use.

Prosperity, abundance and success come from accessing the space between our thoughts and being willing to stretch ourselves and "fail better". Timothy Ferriss says, "success can be measured in the number of uncomfortable conversations we are willing to have." The Prosperity Plus class teaches that the first form of prosperity is peace of mind, the second is our physical body, and the third is our relationships. Samuel Becket says, "you won't believe what you can accomplish by attempting the impossible with the courage to repeatedly fail better."

Looking at mentors on Father's Day, people like Ernest Holmes, John Bradshaw, Howard Thurman and Robert Kennedy Jr. inspire us to live life fully, be informed, and make a difference in our world. Howard Thurman, one of Martin Luther King Jr's teachers said, "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Great moments in life don't take place in the light, but in coming from the darkness into the light.