STREET CLEANER October 1, 2009

Conflict comes to all of us at one time or another; it’s a fact of being human. Conflict is a natural disagreement resulting from people that differ in understanding of their needs, values, beliefs, and attitudes.

Needs are things that are perceived as essential to our well-being. Conflicts arise when we ignore our needs, the need of others’, or a group’s needs. “I need a certain amount of income to sustain me in the manner to which I have become accustomed.”

 Values are priorities or standards, or the misperceptions of what is of priority to our well-being. “There is value in earning an honest dollar.”

 Beliefs are firm opinions; trust or confidence of something beneficial to our well-being. “I believe my God is better than your God.”

 Attitudes are opinions, a way of thinking or behavior reflecting this opinion. “She walked into the room with the attitude she was far superior to anyone else in the room.”

 Power is another important influence on the number and types of conflicts that occur. This also influences how conflict is managed. Conflicts can arise when people try to make others change their actions or to gain an unfair advantage.

Serious conflicts arise when people hold incompatible values or when values are not clear or one party refuses to accept the fact that the other party holds something as a value rather than a preference.

 Many people let their feelings and emotions become a major influence over how they deal with conflict. Conflicts can also occur because people ignore their own or others’ feelings and emotions. Other conflicts occur when feelings and emotions differ over a particular issue.

So, what do we do with conflict? How does a Lightworker handle conflict? Ignoring the situation won’t work, because we know sooner or later the issue must be dealt with or it will keep showing up until we find a remedy. So, one of the first steps is to get honest. I mean really getting honest with ourselves and that honesty enables us to ‘clean up our side of the street’. Once we are able to identify our crap, then it’s time to start cleaning up our side of the street, and that ain’t easy, but it is necessary.

 I was introduced to the twelve steps by my Cowboy. He came to Harmony looking for answers, which he found after a divine intervention, most likely orchestrated by his deceased spouse, the compulsion to drink was removed. He began to download metaphysical information and was led to join AA to maintain his sobriety and fulfill the calling to helping others toward recovery using both metaphysics and the twelve step program.

 The following are the steps that are outlined in Alcohols Anonymous’ “Big Book”. The subject is alcohol, but we can substitute alcohol for drugs, food, all addiction, fear, anger, hostility, the list is endless. Here are those steps toward recovery as provided by Bill W. and tweaked just a little to work for all of us:

      I.        We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (fill in the blank) that our lives had been unmanageable.

    II.        Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

   III.        Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him.

    IV.        Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

     V.        Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

    VI.        Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

  VII.        Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

  VIII.      Made a list of all persons we have harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

    IX.        Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

    X.        Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

    XI.        Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him,   praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

  XII.        Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics (and any others that can benefit from these steps), and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

 Now I image that anyone facing these twelve steps would be overwhelmed at the prospect. So don’t look at the twelve steps as one, but look at each step as just that, one step at a time. With time, and patience, we can work toward our spiritual growth. We are the authors of our own story, therefore, we can write a different ending.  One thing to keep in mind is the actor, which is you, can be self-centered, ego-centric, mean spirited, self-pitied, self-deluding and retaliatory, so let’s claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. Life doesn’t stay put, life is fluid, always moving, so there is always change and that change must be factored into your plan of recovery.

We have to quit playing God, it doesn’t work; only God can play God and that’s alright. We are the actors of our story and God is the director. With our connection to the God of our understanding, we can find the power, and wisdom and the will to walk these steps. As metaphysicians we know that the road may be rocky, but we are equipped to take on all the challenges that may be further down the road.

 Action is the last character to our story. Without action, we are no further along than sitting back and looking at a post card. We see paradise but have no way to get there, and we want to get there and bask in the light of Mother/Father God, or the God of your understanding. We want to see and experience it all for ourselves.

Once we walk through all the steps, when we have taken our own inventory; when we have connected with the God of our understanding then I believe we have cleaned our side of the street; after that we can sit back and see what new adventure life has in store for us.

Namaste’

“Is You the One?” January 21, 2009

Many years ago I was told a story of a heroic woman named Sojourner Truth. A black woman, born in 1797 as a slave in upstate New York, originally named Isabella changed the course of history. As I recall the story I find it remarkable on so many levels. Not only was she a slave who eventually found freedom, in later years she was both an abolitionist and a suffragist fighting for women’s rights.

As the story goes God would periodically speak to Isabella. One of the first things She told her was to change her name to Sojourner Truth. She traveling the Underground Railroad to the South leading runaway slaves to freedom. Every time she made another perilous trip she would pick up a new baby, raising it above her head to the heavens and ask, “Is you the one? Is you the one”…to lead us to freedom?

Well, it’s been one hundred twenty-six plus years since Sojourner’s death and in that time many African Americans have asked the question,  Who will lead us to the next chapter in our country’s history? When will we, as African Americans, be totally free in the eyes of this country and its citizens. We have had many, many civil rights, political, religious and spiritual leaders over the last century who helped us traverse the defeats, the challenges, the hatred, the discrimination, and the victories. There were the Martin Luther King’s and the Malcolm X’s, who had great exposure, and were well known for their contributions, but there were even more of the William Huffs who were little know, but made a big impact on many lives throughout the country in their own way. Each taking us a step forward in our quest for eqality.

Less than four years ago a young junior Senator for Illinois made a keynote speech for the Democratic National Convention and we all asked, “Who is this young man, Barack Obama?

Today Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th president of these United States. He “Is the One” we have been waiting for. The one person who could not only unify the races, but unified a nation. This nation has had a celebration like no other. We have been able to elect a man for the “content of his character rather that the color of his skin…”, as described in Martin Luther King’s historic “I Had a Dream” speech.

This dream was not reached by any one person, but all of us,back to Sojourner Truth. He is the one, but all of us can also be “the one.” There is so much work to be done, by all of us. but at the end of this night we can all take a collective sigh and bast in the knowledge that we have found “the one”.

Namaste’

Mr. President November 13, 2008

After 20 months of campaigning, Barack Obama has been elected our 44th president. I had hoped and prayed, but never imagined he would win in so many states, especially the states that traditionally had been considered Republican. There is no doubt, these United States are ready for change.

After Obama was declared the winner, I was stunned. Dreams really do come true, and there was a sea of people in Grant Park to prove it. All these people were there to celebrate what so many worked and prayed for. There were people representing all walks of life in the park. When the word came out that he had in fact won, there was a tremendous outpouring of love, hope, celebration and relief. Tears flowed freely, and there were hugs and kisses all around. These tears were for all our ancestors that had laid the groundwork for equality from the time of slavery, through the Civil Rights era until today. Many gave the ultimate gift, their lives, and we can now see none of the work and sacrifice was in vain.

I fell to my knees in appreciation. Thank you Mother/Father God for helping this country shift to a higher energy vibration. I felt validation. This country and her citizens were finally ready to work for humanity. I knew President-Elect Obama was special when I first heard him speak over four years ago, as many others did.  His light suggests amazing intellect, humility, fairness, courage, resolve, peace and commitment to service. If I can be so bold, I believe he has been chosen to lead us, by divine mandate. Martin Luther King Jr. saw from the mountaintop a time when our children and grandchildren would be judged by the content of their character. Equality and peace is the mandate for the world.

For those who don’t know, the Myan calendar ends in 2012. Most metaphysicians believe the ending of this calendar signifies the ending of this old greedy, selfish financial energy toward a loving, respectful and peaceful energy. I believe President-Elect Obama is the one to lead the way.

There is much to do, for all of us, and we are at the beginning of an amazing ride. There has been more validation with the picture below. If you recall, there was no rain that night; the orbs are angels and or energy bodies. November 4th, was a time for celebration for all of us! Now let’s roll up our sleeves with President-Elect Obama and get the work started. We all have much to do!

Namaste’

When its Time to Say Goodbye October 13, 2008

My family had another death in the family; my mother’s oldest sibling. Aunt Dorothy was the eldest of the 12 siblings and had a tremendous love for her family, immediate and extended.

Her death was a shock to the family although she had been in poor health for a number of years. As much as her passing was a blessing to her, it was a tremendous blow to her four children, 26 grandchildren, and a number of great-grandchildren. She was the foundation of her family.

The day of her death started as it normally did, until she began having chest pain. She told her daughter, her primary caregiver, that “something was wrong”. She began to struggle and became combative as the discomfort intensified. One of her grandsons was summoned, and arrive quickly. As a police officer, he was trained to work under pressure and immediately began to perform CPR. He knew it wasn’t working and she was slipping away. As she laid on the floor she said, “Tell everyone goodbye and that I love them.” That being said, she crossed over.

What I found interesting about the recounting of the story was how calm and peaceful Aunt Dorothy became as the end quickly approached. You know what you know, when you know it. And she knew here time was up.

I hope that when my end nears, I too will be able to say ”I love you”, because that is all we have, and all we can take with us. A lifetime is summed up in those three words. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve accumulated; how many toys you have; the size of your house; your address; or what you drove. Only the love is real and that is the only thing we take with us.

Peace and blessings to all of you!

Namaste’

The Peaceful Warrior September 1, 2008

The Democratic Convention is now history. If you are old enough to remember the 1960s, the war in Viet Nam, civil rights demonstrations and Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech, like I did, then you too were moved by this new chapter in our country’s history. Seeing Barack Obama, an African American, accept his party’s nomination as president of the U.S. was an incredible moment.

If you are too young, hopefully you have had enough exposure to our country’s history to know REGARDLESS of your political affiliation, that we were all witnesses to history. I, like many other African Americans shed tears for hope, dreams deferred, and promises of a brighter tomorrow. All those that went before us, to make changes in this county, did not do so in vain.

As a Lightworker, (One who feels called to help Earth and her inhabitants by way of using spiritual energy.) I feel compelled to assist the planet by using my spiritual power, and as a citizen of the world I also feel compelled to speak up for any injustices I see.

For some, a Lightworker should take a neutral stand in the political arena and ”hold the light” on any particular issue. I do hold the light on all that makes up our world by sending peace, compassion and hope out, but I feel I must also be a voice for those who do not have one. Some of us must speak up, I believe it is a duty for all citizens of the world.

With that in mind,  I will continue to write about topics in the news, hopefully with a slant on finding common ground so that we all have a chance to experience that which makes America great.

As Barack Obama said in his acceptance speech, we may disagree on the solutions for America’s issues that so many of us face, but we can find common ground where ”…the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.”

This too is my prayer, that we can find the common ground where all of America’s citizens may live lives of peace, prosperity, compassion, hope, courage and freedom.

Namaste’

Psalm of Plenty July 16, 2008

As a 30-year Buddhist, my knowledge of the Christian Bible is limited. This is something I’m working on changing. My intention is to read and learn as much as possible about all religions and philosophies. To better understand people, I believe, we need to look at what empowers or fuels their soul. I believe there is wisdom along all paths to Enlightenment, Buddhahood, Nirvana and Heaven, et al.

I came across the following Psalm as I studied “manifestation” as outlined by the Universal Harmony Foundation. I do realize this particular Psalm closely resembles the well known 23 Psalm. The words have been changed specifically for increasing OUR prosperity.  The instructions are to read said Psalm every day for the next 30 days. What do I have to lose? What do you have to lose? What can we ALL gain?  Are you game? Day 1!

Psalm of Plenty

The lord is my Security; I shall not want. He maketh me to dwell in higher Consciousness:

He leadeth me beyond the Thought of Poverty.

He restoreth my faith; He leadeth me in the Path of Prosperity for my own sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Need, I will fear no want; for Thou art with me; Thy law and Thy good they secure me.

Thou preparest an Opportunity before me in the presence of mine inadequacies: Thou anointest my thought with Truth; my Abundance runneth over.

Surely Supply and Increase shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the Plenty of the Law forever.

 

Namaste’