Steve and I celebrated the International Day of Peace in Escondido on Sunday, September 21st .  It was a lovely celebration with many faiths and children participating.  We had beautiful cool weather with a light breeze and we all were seated in the shade.  About 50 people were in attendance. As part of the program Steve and I lit candles representing 12 faiths while saying the Kinship Prayer as a responsive reading with the audience. I would like to share this prayer with you.

A Kinship Prayer

In striving to recognize the primacy of Fire and Light,                                                        I feel kinship with my Zoroastrian brothers and sisters.

In striving to obey the Ten Commandments,                                                                      I feel kinship with my Jewish brothers and sisters.

In striving to be kind to neighbors and the needy,                                                               I feel kinship with my Christian brothers and sisters.

In striving to surrender myself completely to God almighty,                                                I feel kinship with my Muslim brothers and sisters.

In the recognition that wisdom flows from enlightened masters,                                        I feel kinship with my Sikh brothers and sisters.

In remembering that serving people should be the goal of religion,                                    I feel kinship with my Baha’i brothers and sisters.

In knowing the power of our mind and heart to create our life,                                           I feel kinship with my New Thought brothers and sisters.

In my respect and reverence fro Nature that sustains us,                                                   I feel kinship with my Native American brothers and sisters.

In feeling that these and more are all paths to the same Divinity,                                        I feel kinship with my Hindu brothers and sisters.

In my love and laughter, joy and pain,                                                                                I feel kinship with all my fellow humans.

In my need for nourishment and instinct to live on,                                                             I feel kinship with all beings on the planet.

In my spiritual ecstasy with this wondrous world,                                                                I feel kinship with the Cosmic Whole.

*** Inspired by the Parliament of World Religions , South Africa in 1999                    Composed by Dr. V.V. Raman.                                                                                          New Thought Kinship addition composed by Rev. Dr. Abigail & Rev. Dr. Stephen Albert after the 2009 Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, Australia.

There are no mistakes; none have ever been made and none ever will be made. Nothing ever happened in the past to hinder or hurt. There is no past, and I know, and can see, that there is no belief in any past to rise against me. I live in the Now, free from any yesterdays or to-morrows.* Now, I am Happy, Free and Complete. My Word erases any and all beliefs in mistakes and sets me free. I Am Free!                                             I am free from any beliefs in the past.
– Ernest Holmes

In New Thought we generally say, “There are no mistakes made.”  And yet, there are times we truly feel we made a mistake! I had that feeling after purchasing a new Apple Iphone! I originally upgraded to a new Droid, when a friend said, “Oh no, you really need to get an Apple.”  So I returned the Droid for the Apple.  Then the annoying journey began….  With my new iPhone, my emails were  DISAPPEARING faster than a speeding bullet (actually after an hour or so.)  One minute they were there and the next minute they were gone. I watched it happen over and over again.  I felt like Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) when she said, “Things come and go so quickly around here.”  We have poor cell phone reception in our house anyway and to add this disappearing act on top of it was disconcerting and frustrating.  So I called the store where I purchased the iPhone and explained my dilemma. They told me to go to the Apple Store.  After 3 visits to the Apple Store and their techies restoring the cell phone system twice, the phone would still NOT KEEP the emails that came in. The lady at the Apple Store said she couldn’t do anymore and  suggested  I call  Time Warner, our internet provider.  I called  TW 3 X and was disconnected twice before I finally connected to a TW techie. He couldn’t figure out why my phone was not keeping my emails so he handed me off to his supervisor. At this point I was about ready to throw my phone against the wall!   
Throughout this entire scenario I was praying for the right direction and was about to pay the price and return the Apple and re-purchase the Droid!!!
However, God is Good, and his name is Sheldon.  Did you know God lives in Sacramento?  🙂 Bless the Time Warner Apple Techie!  He walked me through my computer (not phone) and helped me make the account adjustments which were somehow not connecting to the phone.  God as Sheldon said, if you still have trouble email or call me.  Here is my personal contact information.  I love my personal connection with God! Well, with bated breath I kept checking my phone emails every hour.  So far so good.  The next morning I checked my emails and guess what, THEY WERE STILL ON!    Yeah!   I think we have COMPLETION here!
So, did I make a mistake?  Here is what I believe.
All “Mistakes” are lessons needed to be learned, re-learned, remembered with new opportunities to engage in.
• Even when we listen to people trying to be helpful, we need to listen to ourselves more.               Lesson re-learned and remembered.
• Even on a journey that is not where we need/want to be, God is there and can turn everything around for our highest good!        Lesson re-learned and remembered!
• Don’t give up. Do all the human footsteps necessary, then surrender to the Highest Good.     Lesson re-learned and remembered!
• So I am about to make lemons into lemonade by taking an Apple Class next week so I can learn more about my new phone!       New opportunity to engage in.

It is September!  Kids are going back to school, and our centers and churches, and temples are beginning new classes. It is that time of year where we quest and thirst for new learning. We take what we have learned from the past and move forward being open and receptive to new knowledge and understanding of who we are, why we are, and where we are going.  We read books, maybe even do the same papers, but eventually we realize we can be creative and not necessarily follow the crowd. We begin to add that something “extra,” a new idea, a new concept, a new way of expression.
The quote above really exemplifies the idea of choosing our own way, our own path.  We have a choice to follow the crowd or to be a trailblazer.  How do you think NEW  inventions became household words and experiences?  Someone stepped off the common way of thinking and had  a NEW IDEA or a new way of looking at an old idea.  It takes courage to step away from the crowd and pursue a calling, a desire, a purpose uniquely your own.  And yet, when you do, it is so rewarding, fulfilling and joyful!  You are Gods Unique, Creative Expression, unlike any other being on earth or elsewhere. Use it, love it, be it.
***