In a recent class students submitted thought papers and gave permission for them to be edited for our newsletter.  We look forward to publishing more writing by our members in future editions. This is our first “Community Voice Article”, but not our last!

Last week I attended a circus with performances by kids 6-18 years old.  It was inspiring to see the passion for this art form by so many young acrobats, clowns, and jugglers; guided and coached by adults who have obviously dedicated their lives to the same passion.  The creativity and risk-taking was amazing.

You can find God in the most unlikely places—like that cheery chatbot residing on your phone.

Tech reporter Taylor Lorenz recently observed: “Thousands and thousands of people are claiming that ChatGPT is sentient and that the AI is a type of all-knowing god, or that it has been sent from the future or an alien civilization to save us. Is this a new form of religion or mass psychosis?”

The saying “good fences make good neighbors” speaks to the truth that boundaries can be very beneficial.  A boundary is a line in the sand; a fence you place delineating what you will and won’t do or accept.  Just as you can choose what kind of and where to put your fence, you also get to choose your type and placement of your personal boundaries.  Setting and honoring your boundaries is so beneficial.  Boundaries help you maintain healthy relationships, protect your emotional well-being, and increase your self-esteem and happiness.  Attending to your boundaries, increases your self-awareness and improves your self-care.

After the Sunday lovefest that was the celebration of the 8th anniversary of my ministry at CSLTB, all I can feel is the energy of gratitude flowing all around me.  I know I use that word so often, and you may be weary of my emphasis on it, but please bear with me.   I do have a point!

November 9th is known as World Freedom Day, established to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.  On that day so many years ago, officials declared that the borders were suddenly open between East and West Germany.  That day people crowded along the wall and passed freely without resistance, without fear of being arrested or killed for trying to get to the other side.  Immediately individuals in the crowd began to dismantle the wall, destroying the symbol of oppression that had stood for nearly 30 years.

As the month of October closes and we step into November, there are two special days on the calendar – Halloween and All Saints Day – October 31st and November 1st.   Halloween is a shortened version of the phrase “All Hallows Eve”, meaning the day before All Saints Day, the Christian celebration from the 4th century to honor the saints.  We all know how to enjoy Halloween, but perhaps we could be more mindful the following day.

After taking a two-week media break while on vacation, I feel very ambivalent about returning to the nonstop public flow of information that basically says that the world is falling apart.  I found it was much easier to maintain spiritual poise surrounded by chosen loved ones in gorgeous natural settings, than it is to practice mental discipline while in the bombardment of judgment and conflicting opinions.  I found it simple to see the good in harmonious conversations and delicious experiences with no divisiveness present, but I had to resurface at some point, right?! 

It might be a stretch to say a single episode of a talk show changed my life—but it absolutely changed my thinking. And that change in thinking transformed my life.

As this newsletter is published, I am travelling in the northeastern United States, enjoying the season I miss the most as I am living in Florida – Fall.   There is something about autumn that gives me joy and also awakens fresh awareness of the wisdom of letting go.

When you hear the word “surrender” what image do you see in your mind? I used to imagine a soldier leading troops waving a white flag, with everyone’s hands in the air. I imagined dejection in their downcast eyes, tension in their shoulders. I imagined them feeling fearful, sad and hopeless because I thought of surrender meant giving up. 

With all the battling over religion that seems a part of our daily discourse, it can be hard to call this moment — or any moment — spiritual.

Last week I went with some friends to see comedian Kristin Key.  Her humor is intelligent, quirky and often she writes song parodies to communicate her message.  I wish I could have recorded one part of her show because the point she made was poignant and timely, but I will just have to paraphrase to share it.

I believe that deep within each one of us is a longing to belong. The question is, what are you willing to risk finding places where your belonging is unquestionable?

As I have taken all the spirituality classes over the years, there have been many opportunities to learn the affirmative prayer techniques established by the Science of Mind founder and author, Ernest Holmes.   At first, I felt intimidated by this formal way of praying however, over time I realized that, as Holmes says, every thought is a form of prayer and Spirit is always listening.

During this past week’s lesson, I invited everyone to denounce any known or unknown vow of poverty they may have made previously in this lifetime.  I specify known or unknown because so often we make these kinds of decisions too early in our lives to actually remember making them.  In exchange, I also invited each person to take a  new, conscious “vow of abundance”.  I also  gave all attendees a copy of set of my written vows so they could take them home and contemplate.  I am including those vows here in the newsletter to extend the invitation to our wider community.