Greetings! Let’s take a moment to review the above words. Caritas ~ love for all people. Are you feeling the love? Yesterday, I bumped up against someone where I was not feeling the love. I am still working on sending the greeting Namaste’ – the divine in me honors the divine in you; trying to see underneath the toxicity I felt from this person, to the divine aspect within. It’s a process.

Are you showing loving kindness to yourself? Take a moment to breathe, enjoy the present moment and revel in the blessings of summer. Are you being true to yourself, moving towards those with whom you can be yourself and away from those with whom you cannot? How are you doing with having faith and trust in yourself? This is a moment-by-moment process of being true to you. No beating yourself up!

Today I want to talk about spirituality and creativity which, when practiced, can lead to peace. I am all about finding peace in this crazy, topsy-turvy world in which we live.

Spirituality

Spirituality can be defined as the experience of connecting with the Divine. This is done through regular, spiritual practice and affects your heart and soul. As you do this on a regular basis, feelings of love, peace, grace, faith, hope, belief, joy, open-mindedness, compassion and connection can occur. I want you to consider adding a spiritual practice to your life. I have found when I sit in sacred space daily, life goes much more smoothly and when I don’t, life is not so good.

How do you begin a spiritual practice? It starts with finding comfort spots; developing a sacred space where you can go on a consistent basis. This can be your favorite chair, a room where you can close the door, church, nature ~ any place where you can find peace and solitude.

What do you do once you have found your sacred space? I believe daily spiritual reading is a must. I read the Science of Mind magazine and am also reading The Naked Now by Richard Rohr. A friend recently told me how his son works through a book: As he is reading, he writes the important parts down and then writes his thoughts about the passage. My first thought was Hmm, it would help me to remember what I read. My second thought was it would take too much time. My third thought, the one I am working on, is this is what I want to do. I have found the journal and will begin soon. This will help me reflect on what I am reading and clarify what I believe.

Other activities you can do in sacred space is prayer/meditation ~ talking to God and listening to God; journaling; counting your blessings; saying thank you; breathing.
I get a daily email from Renaissance Unity. This contains a quote, affirmation, and meditation. I just started receiving Notes from the Universe. They warm my heart and make me smile!

It is time to begin your spiritual practice, to find peace in your daily existence. Begin today!

Creativity

What are your creative endeavors and are you doing them? Doing something with your hands, creating something, brings peace. We all have something within our heart and soul that is waiting to be created. If you know what this project is, I want you to begin. If you don’t know…

I had the most incredible aha moment about why we don’t follow our creative urges.  It is called the Law of Inertia ~ the first law of motion by Sir Isaac Newton.

Aha! This is why I suggest patients make themselves be creative for 20 to 30 minutes per day! I then promise if they can do this for 10 – 14 days in a row, nothing will get in the way of their creativity. Matter remains in its state of motion and direction unless acted upon by force. Once you get going, you keep on going unless some force stops you. Be aware of the forces which can stop you from being your joyful, peaceful creative self.

Tasks

Begin a spiritual practice. Find your comfort spot/sacred space. Get up 15 minutes before your usual time – read, meditate, pray, journal, say thank you. Maybe light a candle to set the tone of sacredness.
Determine or recall how you would like to express your creativity. Is it something you already know how to do? Is it something you would like to learn? Is it time to create or recreate you? I get goose bumps as I think about recreating myself.

Peace be with you.  Until next time ~ Mary