2009 Resolved...

Postponed from mid-December due to three feet of unexpected snow, we finally held the Candlelighting service on Sunday, January 4th in the morning, in lieu of the regular Sunday service (saving me from having to give a sermon!) I intended to light the candle of Faith, upon recommendation from a close friend, since I've been struggling with both career and relationship issues this year just past (would Faith have any help there?) But, during the description of the various powers, I became drawn to Understanding. I actually lit that one and the one next to it, Judgment, and then Zeal and Life on a whim.

Of course, there's nothing magical to me about lighting the candle (actually, the candles are lit, and we light our small candle from the appropriate lit power.) I think, for me, that the power chosen allows me to set an intention for the year. Having the ritual in January was just as powerful as having it in December, and perhaps even a bit more apropos, except for the fact that all of the music we rehearsed so intently, and performed that morning, was Christmas music - Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The Twelve Days of Christmas, O Little Town of Bethlehem, etc... A bit of a flashback, especially since we were hit with snow, again, after the first bit had melted away on the 2nd.

So, what powers speak to you in this year of 2009?


THE TWELVE POWERS

Faith: Ability to say "Yes" to any good thing and have it happen; draws my good from the invisible to the visible

Strength: Ability to be still and hold my center when I am in chaos; allows me to stick with Divine Ideas

Love: Ability to see and know all as one; ability to desire that only good come to all

Power: Ability to change and build consciousness; to choose my thoughts and feelings

Imagination: Ability to give shape and form to unformed mental energy; vision beyond appearances

Understanding: Ability to know that God stands under all things; knowing how to accomplish; knowing in my own heart

Judgment: Ability to discern, evaluate, and make decisions; allowing Divine Wisdom to flow through me

Will: Ability to be willing to say "Yes" to God; always seeking the good for all

Order: Ability to develop consciousness in proper sequence: mind, body and affairs

Zeal: Ability to move forward through spiritual motivation; results in enthusiasm and joy

Renunciation: Ability to give a "No" response in or to the untrue and undesirable; helps me eliminate errors

Life: Ability to mend, restore, and draw upon the living Christ within us for all functions

The Power of Life

Life: Ability to mend, restore, and draw upon the living Christ within us for all functions

We've come full circle. Here it is, December again. Life goes on, sometimes in health, sometimes in sickness, sometimes in wealth, sometimes in poverty and struggle.

Our neighbor, Fanny, a lovely young lady not even yet 40, took her life a few weeks ago. I can only think that she lost hope. No matter how bleak things appear, or how weary we feel, if we can get up in the morning and find at least some hope in the future, we have the power to go on.

That's what the Gospel, our spirituality and our religion offers us. Hope for today.

Christ is within us, but we have to seek. We have to ask. Sometimes we have to hit our knees and pray for help - not from without, but from within.

There's a wonderful prayer that most 12-Step groups recite at every meeting:

God, grant us the serenity
To accept the things we cannot change (the past, other people)
The courage to change the things we can (the present, ourselves)
And the wisdom to know the difference.

In Christ's name,
Amen

The Power of Renunciation

Renunciation: Ability to give a "No" response in or to the untrue and undesirable; helps me eliminate errors

A close companion to the power of Will, this power is essential to your sanity. The universe is infinite in its possibilites, so as you become open to those possibilities, you can be overwhelmed, distracted and even misled. The power of renunciation allows you to say "no" to those things that are not in your best interest. It may be a job, a bad habit or even a relationship. Not that any one of those things are good or bad in and of themselves, but they may not be what is right for you.

Renunciation also allows you to move beyond the past. For instance, about a year ago I let my Certified Public Accountant status expire - it was just too much to try to keep up. This year I let my real estate license go. Although I am sometimes suspicious that those things are an important part of who I am, deep inside I know they are not necessary for me in the future. They are not needed on my path, as an author, a speaker and a spiritual leader. Still, it was hard to let them go. Especially the CPA designation. My father (here on earth) was especially proud of that one. But when I walk by a CPA office now, I cringe. I could never go back to that. My dreams, my future and my calling lead me in a different direction.

Renunciation - the ability to say no, and the ability to let go of the past.

What things do you need to let go of in order to move forward?

What distractions could you turn away from?

The Power of Zeal

Zeal: Ability to move forward through spiritual motivation; results in enthusiasm and joy

Perhaps the power of zeal, as un-glamorous as it sounds, is one of the most crucial powers to master.

Do we really understand zeal? Besides being a synonym for passion, zeal also stands for devotion and a tireless diligence. Zeal gives you the power to go on, even when the obstacles seem insurmountable. In that sense, zeal, rather than a form of uncontrolled enthusiasm, is more closely related to patience - the ability to slog on despite hardships and setbacks. And yet, this kind of patience is a driven patience, not passive, but active.

Although the current popular definition of enthusiasm is "great excitement and interest," the word originally described a state of being possessed by the Holy Spirit. So zeal could be described as the ability to follow your dreams and desires with patience and joy, relying on a higher power for strength.

Zeal gives us the ability to persevere, and in any endeavor, whether it be a spiritual quest or a material goal, persistence is the key to success.

As Calvin Coolidge said:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

If your cause is true, then God will give you the strength to persevere, and zeal is the power that will see you through to your goal.

The Power of Order

Order: Ability to develop consciousness in proper sequence: mind, body and affairs

Now that September is finally here I can write about order. That was the other power I selected in the ceremony last year. Was it that long ago already? At church, we are already in the early stages of preparing for this year's ceremony on December 21st. Yes, it takes that long to get the music, service and people organized.

The other odd thought I'm having about order these days is how out-of-order my life seems. My mind is in turmoil, by body seems to be suffering (I've been sick for almost two months and I'm tired all the time) and my personal affairs, other than my family, are a shambles. I just don't believe that it has to be that way: to be a writer and to live in abundance - both must be possible.

Anyway, how can I write about order? Is it in fact true that when we choose a power we are tested by the polar opposite? Do we learn order by experiencing dis-order?

I ran into a couple at church on Sunday who pleaded with me: "Don't let us light all twelve candles this year, please!"

So many of us do that - take on more self-improvement than we can handle. And yet, God never gives us more than we can take on.

Why did I couple order up with imagination anyway? Doesn't that seem like an odd mix?

The Power of Will

Will: Ability to be willing to say "Yes" to God; always seeking the good for all

Interestingly, in the American Heritage Dictionary, the number one definition of the word "will" is: The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action.

This means deliberately choosing our course of action - and then taking responsibility for our choices. The only way to do this without running rampant is to rely on our connection with our higher power for guidance.

When you face a choice, where do you go for help? Friends, parents, advisors? Runes or the Tarot? Whatever form your consultation takes, ultimately you have the responsibility to make your own choices. Where does the Bible tell you to go? That small, still voice within.

Listen to the voice. Take action. Take responsibility.

That is the power of will.

The Power of Judgment

The solstice passes, and judgment arises: the ability to discern, evaluate, and make decisions; allowing Divine Wisdom to flow through us.

They say that good judgment comes with experience, and that experience comes from surviving the consequences of poor judgment (however, I hope that is not true for airline pilots.) Actually, judgment is the process of judging, which, in turn, is the process of forming an opinion. Although we may think that judging is all about discerning "truth," it is more about discerning a personal truth - about being honest with yourself.

What is honesty? Is it saying exactly what is on your mind at the moment, without regard to the feelings of others, without regard to consequences? Is it "truth" and if so, what is the truth? Do we always tell the truth, or do we sometimes lie a little to either save face or to protect the feelings of others.

Now, here's a tough question: are you always honest with yourself and with others?

Here's an even tougher one: what would your current relationships be like if you were totally, completely honest all the time? Would they be better, or would they fall apart? And, if they did fall apart, would living a life of open honesty bring about even better relationshsips, based on real feelings and truth?

With honesty comes the power to judge wisely, to form an opinion. Anyone can judge, and we all do. The rub is this: how well is your judgment serving you? Are you simply judging others? Oh, she's rude. He's unloving. My kids are out of control.

In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus admonished:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Is it possible that he was trying to tell us to turn our judgment inward? To be honest with ourselves before we ever tried to apply any standards to others?

Certainly, this is much more difficult than it sounds.

One of the dictionary definitions of "judgment" is: a misfortune sent by God as punishment for sin. If to sin is to "miss the mark" then judgment arises naturally as the consequence of actions born of an opinion that is not in alignment with your true nature. In other words, if you are dishonest, with yourself or with others, you will suffer misfortune (i.e. you cannot achieve true happiness and fulfilment.)

Divine Wisdom is not some etheral principle reserved for the holy few. It is the peace and freedoms that comes from living a life of total honesty; with other, and with yourself.

Namaste.