Happy Birthday to these United States of America!

 The  Ideas of religious freedom and self governance by the people launched a movement 235 years ago that continues to evolve. Thank you to those military & civilians who have paid with sweat & blood over the years for the freedoms we enjoy. We are not perfect and we are not finished yet. May America be a blessing now and always.


I say may America be a blessing because I often hear people say God Bless America. And yes, I too want God's Blessing on America and the entire planet. We are not separate from each other. All of the nations, people, life and this planet are interconnected on multiple levels.


Technology has made it possible to communicate with and, often, see and speak with almost anyone, anywhere at anytime. A couple of years ago, I officiated a wedding in Royal Oak Michigan that used Skype to link with the bride's family in Mongolia. They were able to be a part of the ceremony in real time. I met people in South Africa in 1997 that I regularly email, Facebook and Skype with. More than 500 million people are connected on Facebook alone. Of the worlds 6.9 billion people, 2.1 billion are Internet users.


Corporations span the globe, rapidly moving goods around the planet. Our economies are increasingly intertwined in complex ways. While global commerce has positive and negative aspects, we are still learning how to live on a massively integrated scale.


The ongoing movement of Spirit, by all the names and ways we understand It, is the ultimate connector. More and more, people are realizing that we are not separate beings with individual lives. Rather, we are individualization's of One life. We are part of one living organism called Life.


The rate of interconnections is increasing. Have you noticed? We can allow this transformation to drag us along or we can choose to be intentionally  involved with this exciting evolution in consciousness.


God Bless America and may America continue to be a blessing to all.










(c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie

Minister Resigns After Church Vote for Gay Clergy, Christian News

Minister Resigns After Church Vote for Gay Clergy, Christian News

In this article, The Rev. Andrew Coghill announced that he was stepping down from his pulpit in a Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) church because of his opposition to gay clergy which the General Assembly moved a step closer to ordaining.

He is quoted, "The Cross is not simply to be preached, it is to be lived." And I absolutely agree.

The cross bridges the apparent gap between divinity and humanity & calls us into a life in relationship to God based on Grace and not on the Law. To live the cross is to follow Jesus and his admonitions & instructions to "Love one another as I have loved you."

To be anything less that I was created to be is blasphemous. Someone recently asked how many homosexuals does God need to create before we get the message that everyone is made in the image and after the likeness of God.

Celebrate your life for it is a wonderful and unique expression of the very Life of God.

Only Love!

Ric

(c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie

Love is the Guide

Dear God,

We remember that You are the unifying force that links all life.
In the stillness, we connect as One—heart to heart and mind to mind.
From this Oneness flows the guidance, ideas and courage we need to:

Cool reactors
Calm fears
Feed children
Love one another
Restore the planet
Heal the broken
End wars
And change course.

The effects of our error thinking are evident in many places on our planet.
Today, we move beyond effect to the deeper level of cause.
Now is the time for us to unite in thought, prayer and Love.
Remind us God that in You, All is well.
Thank You.
Amen

(c) Copyright 2011 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved

Waiting for the Storm

I love snow storms. Perhaps I should say I love to be safely at home (or in a cabin with a fire and someone special) with everything I need to stay home for several days when a storm is raging.. I enjoy the imposed slowdown as well as the display of quiet power. Frozen water is tiny flakes that weight almost nothing accumulate as a formidable force capable of stopping our machinery, shutting down airports and train depots.


For several days the weather people have been predicting the big storm was coming, 10-15 inches of snow and the likelihood that most everything would be shut down for a couple of days. The church was closing early so that we could all get home before the storm made its appearance. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store to make certain that I would not have to go out for several days if needed.


When I got home, I noticed that I had bough ingredients to make comfort food, or the food from my two grandmothers' kitchens.Supplies for chicken soup, chili and chocolate chip cookies. As I work through "A Course in Weight Loss," I'm simply noticing the connections between my emotional state, in this case, the storm and being safe with Grandma by recreating the smells and tastes of her kitchen.


I don't know if the storm will deliver as forecast, but I have experienced another important aha about my eating habits. 


Keeping it as real as I can!
Ric

A bunch of Oneness

It is January 11, 2011 or 1/11/11 for some reason I have been noticing the clock at 11:11 frequently for the last few days, and then again today. I take both the date and my noticing the time as pointing to our oneness. We are all connected for these is only Life which expresses itself in so many wonderful ways including you and me.


I am one with the One!


Peace,


Ric

River Rushes Over Me

Hey God,

You are the River like in this song
running through my life.

Sometimes gentle

and sometimes

wild and raging.

W i d e then narrow, 
fast and all at once still and serene.

I am once again navigating the rapids of change.
Life is asking more of me.
my past life 
is rushing up in its wild and raw state-- flooding my mind and emotions.

In the very moment I am overwhelmed by shame and anger

The River washes over me
Grace floods my heart and awareness.
I am a little smoother for the journey.
Oh Yeah!

Always in Love,


Ric

"Rolling River God" performed by Bridgette Bryant at Agape

(c) 2011 Richard L, Beattie , all rights reserved.

Lesson 1 continues - The voice -vs- The Voice.

(This post is in relation to Lesson 1 in the book, A Course in Weight Loss by Marianne Williamson. This is a journey that I am traveling personally and facilitating a group of people through at Renaissance Unity.)


From the emails I have received, conversations shared and posts in our group area, I am not the only one who is having a tough time getting started on or processing through this list of 25+ words. 


There are two voices in my mind. The voice of my ego: shrill, judgmental, fearful, absolutely committed to keeping things, me stuck exactly where I have been for so long. The other Voice, the Voice for God: the voice of Love, calling to me to rise up and into a higher possibility, calling me to face the fears and move through them, reminding me that we are all connected and that I am not alone, reminding me that I do not have to rely on myself alone.


Just reading the list slowly, as MW suggests, triggers my monkey mind  to go in several directions at once. One direction is something like, "Oh really Ric, what do you know about changing your image in relation to weight, have you looked in the mirror lately?"  Another direction my ego takes is, "If you are really openly honest about all of these things, they (the congregation/you)  will know how weak, messed up, incompetent, nuts you really are!"  Looking at the ways I have shamed myself, judged both myself and others, dealt with injustice, been unjust, been fearful -  oh there is the trigger word for today, fear.


Fear of  letting myself down, fear of failing the congregation, fear of failing, fear of not being able to follow through. Fear of being a fool. Fear of allowing myself to be vulnerable & transparent and being ridiculed. No, that isn't the big one. Fear of having shared publicly in a sermon,  in the class,  through this blog and my conversations and then failing to make the changes personally.


I realize I am at choice, I can continue living the way I have been which is slowly killing me by limiting my physical activities and isolating me, even in a crowd of people. Crying tears in silence, rather like the tears of the clown. Or I can dare to follow The Voice for love & life and my highest and best - calling me to change and be the man I was created to be - and encourage others to live their best lives too.


So I press on, a word at a time, a painful memory at a time, a thought at a time. It's just a thought. I can hear Katie say, "a thought has no bearing on reality". If the thought is bringing me stress, I question it until it lets go of me, releases my mind. Each thought is bringing me useful information that I can take to inquiry. 


I am grateful for "A Course in Weight Loss"  that I am certain Marianne Williamson wrote for me. And I am grateful too  that I have The Work to process the list of stressful thoughts  my ego would use to keep me stuck. I find it interesting that earlier this year I attended The School for The Work. Then again, is it interesting or Divine Order? I find the universe is very friendly and supportive when I notice. More importantly, I am grateful for those sweet souls who are traveling this path with me.


Yes I can do this work and transform my life! And you can too because together, we create an incredible field of potentiality.


Only Love,


Ric

The Connection Between Food Stains & A Wall of Bricks

One hundred thirty-five people showed up for the first class in the series focused on Marianne Williamson's book A Course in Weight Loss this afternoon. So many people holding an intention together has created a powerful field of resonance. I am so grateful to have such a band of travelers on this journey. Many dear friends that I know well and another group of people that I don't know so well yet. 


My approach to teaching this is very different that anything I have done in the past. It isn't like I have mastered this material already and am now sharing what I know.  This class is live and alive.  The strategy  I have been guided to follow is to share my own journey as honestly and self revealing as I can. We are going to travel this journey of discovery and healing, together. 


The assignment for our next meeting on January 23 is to read and journal the items in Lesson 1, Tear Down the Wall. The idea behind the lesson is that we have  built a wall of bricks between ourselves and other people/life in order to protect ourselves.


The first "brick" in the wall is shame. So many images flood my mind, so much shame in me about my body, food, eating, clothing, etc. 


On New Year's Eve, two of my dearest friends and I decided to check out the "scene" in Royal Oak after we finished our annual Burning Bowl service. Royal Oak was host to a free concert and ball drop and it had been years since any of us had done anything on New Year's Eve.


We began our evening with dinner. After a wait for a table (we did not have reservations) , we were seated in a booth.  I normally do not sit at booths in restaurants because I cannot sit forward at my current size. Most people do not realize that they sit forward as they eat to keep the fork and food over their plate. If something drops from fork or mouth, it ends up back on the plate. 


When I sit in a booth that is fairly narrow, I often find that I am reclining slightly,  away from the table. If any food falls from my fork or a drip of soup or whatever, it ends up on my shirt. I knew that a couple of items had fallen as we had eaten our meal but when I went to the mens room and had a look at myself in the mirror, I was mortified. Several small stains were plainly visible along with the mother of all gravy stains, clearly visible. My attempt to clean myself up just left a larger, more visible smear.


I hurriedly got back to my friends and let them know that I was tired and going home. I was too ashamed to share that I was going home because I had stains all over the front of my shirt. I  know that my friends love me unconditionally and would not judge me and still the shame was so great, I could barely stand. Carefully, I moved through the crowd to the relative safety/isolation of my car and then home. 


This is just one shameful incident and shame is only one brick in a wall that is high and thick and so very effective at keeping others/love away.


Dear God,
Help me notice the feelings and thoughts that have formed into bricks.
Help me release them to You so that I might be whole.
I want to love and be loved.
Help me let Love into my life and heart.
May we all experience the transformational power of Love on this journey of discovery.
Give us all the courage to open our hearts to each other and to You.
Shine a light into this darkness that causes it to vanish forevermore.
Thank You God!
Amen


On the journey,
Ric

Happy New Year, New You & New Me too!

Happy New Years Day! I am watching the final rays of a most glorious sunset as this first day of a New Year slowly gives way to the nighttime.


I have enjoyed this day spent reading Marianne Williamson's new book, A Course in Weight Loss, listening to a webcast on emerging consciousness, walking the neighborhood and quietly reflecting on the areas of my life that have been in motion lately. Front and center of which is my recent participation in The School for The Work of Byron Katie in Los Angeles this past October.


It feels like there is a huge connection between The Work and A Course in Weight Loss for me. When I was getting ready for The School for The Work, I set and held an intention of developing a new relationship with my body and of learning to release this barrier I had created that keeps people at a distance personally. As I read A Course in Weight Loss in order to prepare for our first session in the class I am leading at church, this seems to be next in this process of personal transformation that began in earnest at The School in October.


I don't know exactly where this is all leading, yet I feel big energy moving in and around me. I believe this process is the next step in several areas of my journey. I surrender myself to the process, trusting that Love is my guide and is leading the way.

How do you measure a year?

As we come to the end of 2010, it is hard not to remark about how quickly it has passed. Indeed, how quickly this decade has gone by. 


525,600 minutes - How do we measure the passing of a year? Cups of coffee, miles driven, thoughts thought, money earned? 


For me personally:  funeral services officiated, counseling appointments, meetings attended, weddings performed, sermons preached? How about measuring the increase in Love on the planet? Or in how many people I have loved? How many people have I allowed to love me?  How many people are enjoying a real, dynamic, life changing experience of God? 


I love this song because it brings up such a strong emotional response from the very depths of my soul.

Who is that man behind the curtain/mask/insulation?

Many speakers, preachers & teachers (including me) say, "I always teach what I most need to learn."  During last Sunday's sermon, when I shared the plans for the upcoming class I'm leading on Marianne Williamson's newest book A Course in Weight Loss, I knew that it would touch others though I underestimated just how many. I am encouraged and humbled by the number of people who want to travel this path with me.


As I prepare the class outline,  I notice how many of the questions in the book take me directly to the process of inquiry known as The Work of Byron Katie. I notice the many stories I have created or adopted (from other folk) about my body and my weight. Who am I without the stories?


My ego is screaming at me, "I can't believe you dumped it all out in public during a sermon. Why are you doing this to us? Don't you see that everyone knows now. They are all laughing at us now. Who do you think you are? You are not smart/serious/grown up/ enough to pull this off. How will you explain it away when you fail miserably? How are you going to lead a group of people into a place you have only visited, and never for very long?" My ego is trying to drag me into The Hole:

So I say to my ego, Peace - Be still. Now is the time. I am not relying solely on myself for I have surrendered this deep stuck place to the Holy Spirit, a power greater that I am which does for me what I have not been able to accomplish. I am not afraid of my own darkness for it is merely the absence of light and not real. 


I am not alone and neither are you! Make this an awesome day in some way.


Only Love,


Ric

Farewell Miss Jeannie

I attended the memorial service for a giant of a woman this afternoon. Rest In peace Jeanne Frazier, thou good and faithful servant. Miss Jeannie as we called her at church, was an amazing woman. Her faith was enormous and her word was impeccable. She would often call you, "my love" in a way that made you know she meant it.

Miss Jeanie was grateful for every moment and rooted in the present in a powerful way. Thank you for sharing your gifts and faith with so many of us.

Otherwise, this has been a slow down take it easy day off. A bit of a cold is trying to settle in so a great day for some reading in " A Course in Weight Loss" in order to finalize our upcoming class. Many people expressed interest in being part of this journey. Come Holy Spirit and take us to the core of the issue.

The Beginning of the Beginning

Two weeks ago, I announced from the platform on Sunday, that I was forming a class/group to study/experience Marianne Williamson's book, A Course in Weight Loss because it is my journey to me

I was very touched by how people responded. Some thought I had a new diet to share, or wanted to share a new diet with me. This is not about diets or food or exercise. There is no magic pill, potion, lotion or drink. No perfect melt away the pounds exercise machine, video, system or wand. To lose weight eat fewer calories than you burn.

This is about transforming consciousness at the deepest level. This is about discovering the stuck story of me and healing it, releasing the story so that it releases me.This is about living the abundant life, a journey toward life in it's fullness. It is the story of my life.In a couple of hours I am going to share this beginning with a coup[le thousand people. Am I nuts? Maybe, but it is the thing that I am guided to do.

Hold onto your hats, this could be an interesting ride.

Only Love!

Ric

Happy Birthday to Me

Hey God,

It's been another year already. Fifty five years ago in the early morning hours, I entered this experience of the Journey. I have come to understand that You are the Life that lives me. Life, Your life, the One life expressed in, through and as me.

As I begin this new year, my heart is very full. This song by Jami Lula, speaks to my heart. Into Your  "hands" I surrender. Maybe into You as Your hands but those are not the words that Jami wrote. Into Your will, your plan, Your divine design I yield myself once again.

My birthday is an interesting day in that it is both not a big deal and I like people to remember.

No time to be weighed down

Have you ever experienced having an idea float into your consciousness over and over in a short period of time from many different places and angels? Almost as if the idea is trying to get your conscious attention.

One of my great challenges in life has been maintaining a reasonable and healthful weight. Twice in my life I have released (not lost because I tend to find what I lose, like duh I found it again, over in the corner) more than 100 pounds. I am now embarking on that journey again.

Life/Spirit/God has been nudging me in the pesky way It does for a while and over the past few weeks, the pace has definitely quickened. This video below floated up in my face recently and as I watched it I laughed and cried. I know the story all too well. Now, I do not think I will be running anytime soon--the knees and hips of a 54 year old are not designed to run with the amount of weight that I am currently carrying which I am so not comfortable to post at this point.

Nudges and subtle pushes have come recently in a variety of ways:

• Really paying attention to the way I feel when I exert myself
• Watching a DVD of myself preaching, great sermon but who is that man?
• Intentionally standing naked in front of a full length mirror
• Trying to date someone recently (who pursued me) and having it bring up so many insecurities that I have never experienced before. I have been out of the dating scene for a few years, but there was a time, a long time, where fat or not I was a busy dating dude. Not now it seems.
• I am a spiritual teacher, a pastor. To teach is to demonstrate and it is time for me to demonstrate leadership over my self, in this area. I know that the outer world is a reflection of consciousness. To change my life, my body starts with changing my mind and I know how to do that.
• Desire to reduce or eliminate some of the medications I take for diabetes and my heart, hence part of My Heart's Journey
• I will turn 55 in November and I am so not ready to sit down and be an old man, there is more Life to experience and express.
• If Ben Davis (video dude) can do this, I can too! Thanks Ben for the push! Ben has also inspired me with his blog about his journey: http://bendoeslife.tumblr.com/

Five Freeing Ideas

Originally a sermon, these ideas are my personal signposts.

Five Freeing Ideas

1. It is what it is. No matter how much we might try to convince ourselves that a situation is different; no matter how hard we “push”, things are just the way they are. We accept what is at this moment. No rose colored glasses, no drama, no denial, no aggrandizement. We realize that accepting what is does not mean we cannot change; it simply means that we stop deceiving ourselves and we stop fighting with the current reality.
2. It's not about me (or you). No one is out to get me; in fact "they" are not nearly as concerned about me or focused on me as my ego would like me to believe. I am not the center of the known universe nor am I a target of ridicule. I am an intrinsic part of the whole.
3. I forgive and I am forgiven. True forgiveness is coming to realize that every experience I have ever had-- every condition or circumstance in my life--is a perfectly designed opportunity for the unfoldment of my soul. I release the past and open myself fully to the opportunities I am presented with in this moment to evolve spiritually. I let go of my "story." I let go of the trauma and drama that I thought was who I was. I consciously shift from victim to victor.
4. God Is. I am. We Are. One. Who and what I am, in reality, is so different from and so much greater than I dared to think or dream until now. God is everywhere present in my life. The universe is wired in my favor. I am an emanation or expression of the pattern of energy that some call God. God is another name for the life that lives me. Wherever I am, God Is!
5. Freedom is Surrender. Surrendering to the moment-by-moment guidance of Spirit is the ultimate freedom. We do not have to try to figure it out! As we listen with our hearts, get honest with ourselves, and release what we think we know we will be led through any and every circumstance.

Five Freeing Ideas, copyright © 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010

by Richard L. Beattie all rights reserved

Magnificent You

In this moment, right where you are, know that you are Loved. The world is waiting for you to be who you are here to be.

So be It!

(c) 09/27/2010 by Richard L. Beattie

A Prayer for Healing of the Gulf of Mexico

Loving Spirit,

We join in prayer for the healing of all creatures, people, plants and waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
We have long known that we are connected to all life.
Now, more than ever before, our hearts are also aware of this truth.
There is only One Life, One Presence, One Power.
This One Life is shared by all living things.
We recognize that there is no them only us.
We know that all things are working together for our good.
Divine wisdom and guidance are now directing the efforts to stop the oil spill and restore the balance.
May this tragedy become a point of awakening and transformation.
We are willing to become better stewards of this beautiful Earth.
We are willing to change the way we live.
Teach us Your peaceful way to be a harmonious part of the whole.
We pray in the name and nature of our Way-shower, Jesus Christ.
Thank You.
Amen

Copyright © 06/23/2010 by Richard L. Beattie

Avatar is amazing

I went to see the movie Avatar this evening with a dear friend. I left the theater with tears in my eyes, a smile in my heart and feeling more deeply connected to life.

I love movies that touch & inspire me. Avatar does both, extremely well. There is so much I want to say but this is a new movie and I certainly do not want to ruin the experience for you.

Below are a few general thoughts. I'll preach several of the themes the film explores in the near future and I will definitely see the movie again, soon and I will buy the DVD as soon as it is released.

In my collection, I place this movie next to Star Wars, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz and Dune, among other movies, that use a fantasy (at the time) setting to communicate universal spiritual themes.

I marvel at the many people, forms, formats and methods that Spirit is using to help us awaken. A shift is happening in our consciousness. The old paradigm of the few taking what ever they want by force, consumer driven greediness and duty as a method for control are giving way to deep heart connections, life as a unified field and Love being real. This movie is another of those channels for a universal message that now is the time to arise.

I have added Eywa to my list of words that refer to that presence and power some people call God. Thank You, Eywa for this stunning reminder that we are all connected in You.

By all means, go see the movie (in 3D) and lets chat.

Copyright (c) 2010 by Richard L. Beattie. All rights reserved.

Welcoming 2010

It has been an oddly quiet New Years Day. Perhaps that is in comparison to the extremely busy December that has just passed. At any rate, I am guided to share more of my own journey via this blog.

My Intention/Prayer for this morning (which I set as my Facebook Status) is:

Holy Spirit: I invite You to move in and through me as peace, strength, faith, wisdom, courage, hope, guidance, joy and Love. I dedicate this New Year to increasing my experience and expression of Your presence. Speak, write, witness, dance, walk and live me, as You will. Thank You!

One of the recurring messages for me has been that the "work" before me is to get out of God's way and allow that which Is to express. Not exactly sure how this happens, but I am open and inviting the process.

Happy New Year & New Decade.

Copyright (c) 2010 by Richard L. Beattie. All rights reserved.