The Blessing of an Internal Compass

May your Internal Compass be strong 

And point you to where you truly belong. 

May you feel your purpose deep within your heart 

And in your thinking may it play a big part. 

May it guide your actions hour by hour 

And connect you with your love, your joy, your power.

The Way Opening (Quote)

I have been feeling very stuck lately. Stuck, stuck, stuck, stuck. Did I mention stuck? While rereading How to Let God Help You by Myrtle Fillmore, I found the following quote, which seems to address my frustration. I have been contemplating the message all morning.

When we know just what we want and why we want it, we usually find the way opening toward it.

Prayer for Somalia

Dear God,
Please be with the people of Somalia today. Send your power so that relief comes to them quickly and easily. Supply them with more than enough food to sustain their bodies. Fill them with your life so that they can be healthy, strong, and thrive. Spread your protection over them so that they can be safe. Spread your love over them so that they can feel hope. Spread your comfort over them so that their hearts can heal.

Please be with those of us around the world who watch, sometimes feeling helpless. Guide us to know how best to help.

Lastly be with the leaders of government and business, with scientists and entrepreneurs, and with others who can be agents for positive change in the world. Help them to make decisions from a place of wisdom and compassion. As the climate of our planet changes, guide them in creating a world where all people can be safe and healthy. A-men.

Prayer London Riots and Recent Mob Violence

This morning when I checked the news, I read a disturbing story about the riots in London. On a smaller scale—if a hundred people can be considered a small scale—we had mob violence in my community, here in the United States, this weekend. I realize that this has been going on elsewhere in the world for a long time. Somehow it is feels different when it is one’s own community. Here is a prayer for all of us: those in London, in US cities, and elsewhere in the world.

Dear God,

Please spread your protection around those in London and in other cities that have been experiencing mob violence. Send your healing power to diffuse the tension and the anger. Fill the hearts of those who would behave violently with your love and peace. Send your strength, courage, and wisdom to the police forces and community leaders. Lastly, send your guidance to help create long-term solutions that help eliminate the root causes of the recent violence. A-men.

Prayer for the Nuclear Power Plant Workers in Japan

Dear God,
Please be with workers of the nuclear power plants in Japan that were affected by the recent earthquakes. Fill the workers with your guidance and wisdom so that they can make the plants safe and stable. Send your courage and strength to them so that they can continue on with their work. Help them feel your love and the well-wishes of all those around the world who are thinking about them. Protect them and infuse their bodies with your perfect health. Lastly God, please be with their families and loved ones, helping them to feel your comfort, strength and love. A-men.

The Blessing of Clarity

Today, when you reach into the blessing bowl*, you pull out a small metal token embossed with the word CLARITY. What does it mean to you? My reaction was “yes, this is what I need today.” New Thought philosophy believes that we benefit from thinking about what our lives would be like if we had what we now want. For the last few days I have been asking myself: “What would this situation be like if it was blessed with clarity?” In response, I found myself writing a series of mini-blessings, rather than a longer blessing like I normally do.

May the Spirit of Clarity bless you today.

May any confusion quickly disappear
And the truth of the situation become perfectly clear.

May any scattered thoughts quickly melt away
And focused thinking rule the day.

If too many details threaten to overwhelm
May the big picture take the helm.

May any hidden influences no longer be concealed
And the answer you need now be revealed.


*The idea of the blessing bowl was inspired by the novel Troubles Waters by Sharron Shinn. I have also been to bookstores, churches, and workshops that have had baskets or bowls from which people could draw small cards to be used as inspiration or as a focus for contemplation.

Vulnerability

In the last few weeks I have seen the vulnerable sides of different people. A friend shared her poetry with me. Another friend confided that she wanted to find a soul mate. A bus driver had a small collage on a clipboard, placed discretely where he could glance at it from time to time when he was stopped at a light. It included pictures of his family, Martin Luther King, Jesus, his dog, his home, and President Obama—one of the weeks that Obama was on very, very few people’s good list. Part of me felt sarcastic, but at the same time I could almost see the strength that the collage gave to the driver as he went about his job that day. I realized that each of these experiences was a soul moment for me.

Teach me, Divine Creator, how to hold a person tenderly in my consciousness. Help me to see that they are surrounded by your protection and infused by your power and strength. Help me to look with curiosity and awe at the unique path they have chosen for this lifetime. Help me to appreciate their talents and abilities, and yet see them as beings who are continuing to grow in the sun of your love. Help me to see that any cynicism I feel is only a misguided attempt to protect myself against my own vulnerability. Help me to see that we are all one, a part of your wonder.

Guidance--Goals

I have often heard the parable of the man who put his ladder against a wall and worked hard for years to climb to the top only to find that he has put his ladder against the wrong wall. Today I am feeling conflicted, not so much scattered as feeling unclear as to what is the best use of my time.

Dear God, I like to work hard but I know that isn’t enough to succeed and to be happy. You can are present everywhere and know everything. You can see the larger picture. Guide me to know what is the best use of my time and efforts today. Guide me in creating my long term goals as well as my daily “to do” lists so that I can manifest the greatest good for myself and those whose lives I might touch. As always, I am grateful.