Twelve Powers

2009 Resolved...

2009-01-05T14:33:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-06T16:50:00.003-08:00

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

2007-11-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

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.

The Power of Understanding

2007-05-31T11:54:00.001-07:00

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

The word "understanding" implies a deeper knowledge of things. It comes from the old English and Scottish versions of the modern word "ken" which means "to know." By adding the suffix "under" we have broadened the word, allowing us to use it to describe compassion and sympathy as well as our ability to comprehend.

Whatever we are facing in our lives, our power to understand allows us to overcome our challenges, to transcend our circumstances and to be at peace in the midst of a raging storm. Understanding gives us the ability to respond, rather than to react. Whether our challenges are financial, relationships, health or spiritual, we have the power within us to move forward with courage. And perhaps, one day, we will look back and say, "Ah, now I understand."

In the meantime, we have no way to see the future. We have to trust. And perhaps it is trust that lies at the heart of understanding.

Trust in yourself. Trust in your higher power, call it what you may. I'll use the term God here. God creates us and sets us on our voyage. God brings the sunrise and the sunset. God brings us to safe harbor when we need it most. It is God as well that brings the rains and the storms and the doldrums. God is the water that holds us up and the wind that fills our sails. God is the magnetic force that leads the compass toward true north. And it is God that finally takes us home to rest at the end of our long journey.

There is a familiar prayer, posted on my wall. it goes like this:

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

For me, that summarizes the power of understanding pretty well.

Serenity, courage and wisdom.

Forgiveness, compassion and understanding.

Simple words, but are we living them every day?

The Power of Imagination

2007-05-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

"I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I'm saying."
River Tam, from the movie Serenity

Here it is the end of May and this is the May posting. This was the main power I intend to invoke this year, the power of imagination, the ability to give shape and form to unformed mental energy; vision beyond appearances.

Why is imagination so important?

Imagination is the ability to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind; it is resourcefulness: it is the power to form a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses.

The word itself is the infinitive version of the Latin imago, which literally means image. The suffix tion creates a verb, which then means: the act of creating an image. Imagination.

The ability to give shape and form to unformed mental energy

Everything begins here - with imagination. It can move you forward, toward great works, and it can hold you back in fear. If you've studied the works of those who have achieved great works, from Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa to Andrew Carnegie and Jack Canfield, they all acknowledge the power of vision.

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich

The building you now occupy, the chair, the computer on your desk or lap, they all began from a vision, from a thought, an idea. Without the initial mental image, nothing is manifest.

Here is a powerful tool to assist in visioning, whether it is a lifestyle, a product, a service or world peace. Take thirty minutes each morning. Write out your daily manifesto - your daily statement of intent. What is it that you are working toward in your life? What are your dreams, your ideas, your desires? What will you do over the next year or so to move you forward? What will you do over the next few months, the next few weeks, the next few days and the next 24 hours? If you do this every day, you will find your vision becoming more and more clear. It may change with time, slightly or dramatically. And with your vision, you will change. You own life will become more clear. With clarity of vision come clarity of purpose, and with clarity of purpose comes an life of accomplishment.

Vision beyond appearances

A few final words on imagination. You are always creating mental images. You can't help it. The trick is to be purposeful about it. But even beyond the physical manifestation of what you want in your life, imagination and vision is a key element of true faith. It is the ability to see what cannot be seen, the ability to understand the unimaginable and the ability to touch the invisible.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Heb 11:1 (KJV)

I started this post off with a quote from a favorite movie of mine because it accurately conveys how I feel most of the time. Using your imagination can feel a bit like leaping without a net. We are conditioned to say and do things that everyone else says and does. It's sometimes hard to step out of the box and do something entirely new, entirely unexpected. People will disbelieve. they may ridicule, scoff and even revolt. Maybe that's why there are twelve powers. Any one by itself is not enough. With imagination, you need power and faith and strength and order. And, of course, love. As they say, the greatest of these is love.

May peace be with you.

Joe

The Power of Power

2007-04-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

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

Here it is: the secret behind the Secret. We have the power to choose how we feel, how we react, how we think.The media is all in a frenzy over the movie and the book, but it's really just New Thought Christian theology. In fact, it's certainly not limited to New Thought. Steven Covey has been preaching response-ability (our innate ability to choose our own response) for years.

Jesus taught us to choose our response when he said, "turn the other cheek."

This is a tough lesson though. There is something within us that would often like to either be victim (they did it!) or blameless (it's the fault of the other idiots!)

The power of Power means that we have to take responsibility for our lives, for our thoughts and for our actions. It's a bitter drink at first, but once we get it, we realize that we really do have the power to change our lives.

Your character arises from your habits;
Your habits arise from your actions;
And your actions arise from the way you think and feel.

It's certainly not as easy as it sounds. We all struggle at times with feelings of powerlessness, guilt, remorse, anger and any other number of bad feelings. Exercising the power of Power means that we have to take control of the way we feel, we have to learn to control our own mind, and by that, we take control of our own lives.

The Power of Love

2007-03-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

The Japanese symbol for love is composed of three elements: at the top is the Paw, in the middle Kokoro or heart, and at the bottom of the kanji is the symbol meaning "to follow." The AI kanji depicts the imprint of the paw in your heart that you follow. It represents a human who evolves, inspired by love and generosity.

Love is the power that keeps your feet moving even when you feel like giving up. Love is the power that gets you up in the morning even when the sky is dark with clouds. Love defeats the failures of the past. Love overcomes the fear of an uncertain future. When you know true love, you know that it has no limits. You can love as much or as little as you want, but the more you love, the more capacity you have to love. We can't define it because it runs through everything, pumping our blood, creating our thoughts, holding the atmosphere to the planet, keeping the stars on fire.

We all have the power of love within us, because it is us. We are love. We may misplace it or misuse it, but we are all entwined by it. This is the true power of love - the realization that we are all connected, united and interdependent.

When you choose the power of love, you choose to understand that we are all manifestations of one spiritual essense.

Love God. Love the Christ within you. Love to love. And love everyone as you love yourself. This is the greatest good thing that you can do for our world.

Then, one of [the Pharisees], who was a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, tempting him by saying, "Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
On these two great commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matthew 22, 35-40 KJV

The Power of Strength

2007-02-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

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

Your success, however you define it, is just one idea away. Creative Spirit, God, Divine Order, whatever you believe to be a higher power in your life, feeds you with Divine Ideas. Are you listening? Are you acting on these Divine Ideas? Do you have the strength to choose a course of action and stick with it?

Your center is the Christ within you. That consciousness sees the order in a raging storm, the order in a community of people, and the Divine Order of the Universe. Chaos is a micro-view that we take of certain events in our lives, and it is a way that we treat ourselves. We sometimes choose to see ourselves in chaos, by letting our thoughts run rampant and out of control.

When we pray for strength, we are praying to be calm, to be the eye of the storm, to know that everything is fundamentally in order.

True strength lies in living in the very moment, not in the past and not in the future. The mistake we often make is that we live, not in the present where all things are possible, but in the moments just past. We see ourselves as broke, tired, sick and lonely, when those states of being are simply the culmination of all we have thought in the past.

Think of this: each word you read, as you move along the page, moves from the present to the past with each moment. The next word, just like the next moment of your life, is undetermined. You create each next moment based on the thoughts you are holding right now, in this moment. Want to change your life? Change your thoughts - right now. Find something, a dream, a purpose, an ambition, and then stick to it. Choose something that lights a fire within your heart. Choose something that provides peace, joy and abundance for all people.

As Neale Donald Walsh says, "There is no blackboard in the sky with your purpose written on it. Your purpose is what you say it is. Your mission is the mission you give yourself. Your life is what you create it to be.

Find your passion, focus your thoughts, be still within your center and know that all is well.

The Power of Faith

2007-01-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

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

Faith is more than belief. Belief is an exercise, a mental habit where you place your trust or confidence in some person or thing, usually based on observed evidence. Belief is closer to "acting as if" or "fake it till you make it." Faith moves beyond "belief" and into the realm of "knowing."

In the King James version of the Bible, faith is described as "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb 11:1

That same passage in the New International Version goes like this: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Here are some questions on faith, just to get the conversation started:

Being "sure of what we hope for..."

What do you hope for? Are you sure that is what you want? Are you sure that it will manifest?

Being "...certain of what we do not see."

Do you have faith in the Universe? Do you feel the fundamental laws of the Universe at work within you? Do you know what these laws are? Are you certain that your life is unfolding based on the thoughts you carry with you? Are you creating your life deliberately, or by default?

What is Faith to you? Why is it important? How do you apply it in your life?

Invoking the Power

2006-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

This year, I chose two powers: Imagination and Order. It seems like every year, the spirit moves me during the ceremony to pick something that I might not have chosen if I used traditional "logic." For weeks, I had planned on choosing Imagination, just based on what I had read about it as I prepared the programs and the music for the ceremony. But last night, during the meditation and the responsive reading, the power of Order spoke to me. I'd be interested in hearing how you chose your power(s) and what you might be expecting over the next year or so based on your decision.

An Introduction to the Twelve Powers

2006-12-16T11:54:00.000-08:00

Each year, during the Holiday Season, a group of us gather to honor our unique gifts and as well as the gifts in ourselves. We associate each Apostle with a power based on the Biblical and historical character of the Apostles, such as Andrew's strength of character when facing execution, or Judas's desire to improve others' lot in life through charity. For each power, we light a candle. During our ceremony, we choose one or more power that we would like to more strongly invoke in our lives during the coming year. From that flame we then light our own candle. As "new age" as this all sounds, it is actually based on sound principles - especially the principle of Intention.

During 2007, I would like to track the effect of this ceremony on people lives. Each month I will post an essay on one of the powers, starting with Faith in January. Readers can comment on the power that they are invoking in their lives, how that process is going and what it is like. For instance, experienced candle-lighters say that by lighting the Love candle, you will bring love into your life, but it might be in unexpected ways.

Feel free to post your comments anonymously if you wish, or feel free to just read.

May peace be with you,

Joe Cooke

The powers and associated Apostles are: Faith (Simon Peter), Strength (Andrew), Love (John), Power (Philip), Imagination (Nathanael Bartholomew), Understanding (Thomas Didymus), Judgment (James, son of Zebedee), Will (Matthew), Order (James, son of Alphaeus), Zeal (Simon the Canaanite), Renunciation (Judas Thaddeaus) and Life (Judas Iscariot)

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