Dear Friends,

Have you felt like you have put your life on hold these past two years? Do you feel like you are in your cocoon and feel like it is time to break out and start flying again. I have and I do! These past two years both Steve and I have been extremely careful and have stayed at home except for food shopping, errands and appointments. We have been inside a church once and all other gatherings have been outside. I am grateful we have had the opportunity to participate in church services, conferences and other interfaith events via zoom. I feel we have kept ourselves safe and secure. We have a sweet      21 month old granddaughter so being with her and staying healthy is our top priority. All these safety measures were needed and necessary! And yet, I am getting the “God Pull, God Push” to continue our interfaith work beyond our cocoon and comfort zone.

I have been reading a book by my friend and interfaith colleague, Sande Hart called The Liminal Odyssey; The Alchemy Power of the Spaces In-between. It is a fabulous book about her soul journey with pivotal moments in life where she took a leap of faith, spread her wings to make new choices and discover new paths of spiritual opportunity and growth. I can relate to her story and saw where pivotal moments in my life came to me by the still small (sometime loud) voice of God to bring me where I am today.

I feel I am at this moment at a pivotal place where I can either stay in my cocoon or reclaim by purpose of promoting Interfaith in a greater way.
I have been in a quandary about whether to attend the 2023 Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. The fear of traveling and being with a huge group of people is telling me NO. Yet, the still small voice of God within is saying
GO, BE THERE. Who shall I trust? My fear or my God?

That is a no brainer. GOD has always led me to my greater good!
Two quotes from Sande’s book
“When your passions meet the needs of the world, therein lies your calling.”
Aristotle
“When your passions meet the needs of your soul, therein lies your soul’s freedom.”
Sande Hart

I still plan to be extremely careful, always wearing a mask. I will get my second COVID booster and when I come home, I will get tested for COVID.

God’s PUSH and God’s PULL and my diligent PREPARATION will always bring me safely to where I need to BE.

Are you ready to break out of your cocoon? Is there something brewing in you , a thought, an urge to be and do something different? LISTEN to the still small voice within. Go for it….!!!

Pushed, Pulled, Prepared,
Abigail and Steve

Dear Friends,

Steve and I had the opportunity to listen to Rabbi David Zaslow the other evening hosted by Rev. Michelle Ingalls, minister of One Heart One Mind CSL, on a zoom presentation. Rabbi David Zaslow’s presentation focused on:
“How the Israelites, like other indigenous peoples, had a view of reality that is markedly different than the way Western thinking perceives and processes the world around us. It has been called Hebraic thinking – a more wholistic view of reality. Unity rather than duality, harmony rather than antagonism. It looks at the relationship between time and space, between the creation and the Creator, and even in our perception of God.”

One major idea Rabbi Zaslow presented was G-D IS ALL THERE IS. G-d is not only in people, but in the trees, flowers, animals and everywhere present. Everyone and everything is ONE. We are all Unified and part of the ONENESS of G-D. Does this sound familiar? Reading the first Daily Guide in the July Science of Mind magazine Rev. Dr. Jim Lockard says, our first relationship is with God, our journey in life is “discovering and expanding this relationship.” What we discover is God is not out there somewhere, God is here now, in us, as us and is us. I wrote in the Chat, “God in us, as us, is us.” and the Rabbi commented how much he agreed with that idea.

Quotes from the SoM magazine emphasizes the Truth Rabbi Zaslow presented and our New Thought Beliefs.
“You are not separate from the whole, You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don’t have a life, You are life. – Eckhart Tolle

“We say we are one with God and one in God. This is a mistake; we are one of whatever the nature of God is. Whatever it is, it is one.”
Ernest Holmes

The thought struck me, the reason I resonate with Hebraic thinking and the Mystic traditions ( Sufi, Kabbala, Christian, Hindu Buddhist Mystics and other Mystics) is because NEW THOUGHT is a Mystical religion founded by Mystics! The Truth of ONENESS is in the core of its Beliefs and Universal Principles.

All Mystical religions believe in the ONENESS of all nature and union with God. The Rumi quote has new and more profound meaning for me.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field,
I will meet you there…”

That is the field I want to meet people, where dogma, creed no longer mater or exist. The only thing that matters is seeing GOD in the field showing up as the many unique and variety of people, animals, flowers etc. LIFE Itself.
The last part of Rumi’s quote is profound;
“,,,even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make sense.”

THERE IS NO ‘OTHER.’
I am you and you are me. We are One. We are God.

We are LIFE ITSELF.

Mystically ONE,
Abigail and Steve

Dear Friends,

The other day I was sitting with Steve in an outside restaurant having lunch.
It was a beautiful day, and there was a slight breeze blowing through the outside veranda. I thought to myself, I want to remember this when everything came together for a perfect moment in time. I will cherish this and not forget it. With so many unfortunate happenings around the world, I must always be aware and appreciative of the little moments of wonder, joy and awe.

Even something as simple as washing and drying our dishes brings us joy.
We laugh, look at the beauty outside our window and the job gets done with grace and ease.

I love sitting out on my balcony in the mornings with my cup of coffee. The weather is perfect and I see the sun rise and hear the birds singing.
I am grateful for that moment in time.

Spending time with family is so important to us. We look at the baby pictures of our granddaughter and have loved each monthly moment of her growing up.
Now she is 20 months old and we cherish the time we spend with her.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so all we have is NOW to be fully present and grateful. The little moments you spend with your loved ones,
and/or by yourself having a splendid moment, always be grateful.

YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE

Dear Friends,

“My body is the temple holding my soul.
And it is up to me to take care of it and love it as it is”
Kelly Robbins

How often do you think of your body as a Temple of the Living God? Probably not often. We look at ourselves in the mirror and find all the things we do not like about our body, rather than looking at it in AWE and respect. Our human body is holding our soul and spirit while we are here on earth. And every atom, cell and molecule are keenly aware of their Divinity. Our monkey minds/ego forget how precious our bodies really are.

I love the topic of the June Science of Mind Magazine “THE BODY TEMPLE.”       Kelly Robbins has a wonderful article in there. She says,
“According to Genesis, the body is a creation of divine life…” Our body holds our Divine Life. Our body is a vessel to experience life in this world.”
When we come to terms with that idea, we realize not only can we love the soul, spirit, and God within, we can and need to LOVE our body, flesh and bones.

T – TALK to your body. It hears you. All is consciousness so what you are THINKING is bringing relief or hurt. TOUCH the area of pain and whisper words of healing, wholeness and love.
You are the TEMPLE of the Living God
E – EXERCISE. Stretching and moving the body will keep it feeling good. Find something that appeals to you; biking, jogging, swimming, yoga, the treadmill, and/or walk with a friend. Make it fun. Your body will thank you. When my legs start aching, I know it is time to MOVE and do something. Yoga and Walking keep my legs, feet and the rest of my body feeling good.
EAT Healthy foods!
M – MIRROR MIRROR on the wall, who is the most beautiful of all? I AM!
Say that to yourself every time you look in the mirror. Saying I AM is your Truth. God is the Mighty I AM Spirit which you are
P – PRAY and affirm PERFECT health. Whether you stand, kneel, sit, dance or sing your prayer, wholeness is your Divine birthright!
L – LOVE every part of you inside and out. When you LOVE yourself, you are respecting, honoring and appreciating all the GOOD you are. When we love and respect ourselves, others will love and respect us.
E – ETERNAL YOU is in your human body. ‘I believe that heaven (God, Spirit…) is within you and that you will experience it to the degree that you become conscious of it.’ This is taken from “What We Believe” by Ernest Holmes. Once you are conscious (thinking and feeling agree) of Spirit as your health and wholeness within and AS your body, you will experience health and wholeness.
Your eternal wholeness continues when it is time to slip through the veil to the other side.

Blessings,
Abigail and Steve

Dear Friends,

I know there are days in all our lives when we feel we just didn’t do that job well, or speak with a person in the best way, or just feel not good enough.
Life can throw us curved balls and sometimes we hit them and sometimes we don’t. The one thing I always try to remember that even in the midst of challenges,
trials and situations, I AM ENOUGH! Sometimes I do go to the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” mentality, and when I do, I think of the things I have done well,
the people I have helped and my internal goodness as an emanation of God.

During my morning meditation one day, I pulled out my basket of “Affirmation Rocks,” which I give freely away at our labyrinth walks. They make me smile
and remind me of my truth, I am a spiritual being living in a human body, here to learn and grow. The one that makes me laugh is “YOU ROCK!”
I decided to carry that with me all day. Every time I see it, I smile.

I also thought it would be fun to create my own “Affirmation Cards.”
I have lots of cards, Tarot, Angel, the Four Agreements, Nature etc. I decided to just create my own. I printed “I AM ____” on slips of paper taped to the
back of a deck of cards. Perhaps that would be a fun activity for you. On days when you feel a bit lost, lonely, sad or not enough, pick one and say the
affirmation to yourself 20x and really FEEL that truth about yourself.

As the quote above by Nathanial Brandon says, Feeling ‘I Am Enough’ still means there are lessons to learn and things to achieve. It also means I accept
and love myself with all my qualities and faults, the light and the shadow.
I look at who I am and know I AM LOVED. I recognize places in myself that need some work or change. It is all good. It is all part of the process and
journey in this earth dimension.

Accept and enjoy the journey and know in ALL of it, YOU ARE ENOUGH!
Always have been and always will be, because you are created out of GOD.
The Divine is internally YOU. Remember your HOLINESS and your GREATNESS. REMEMBER your SPIRITUAL MAGNIFICENCE.
I AM, WE ARE ENOUGH,

Abigail and Steve

Again, we are saddened and heartbroken by the horrific acts of violence in Buffalo, New York and Laguna Woods.
The All Faith Center and Friends stand together to continue to promote interfaith education, awareness and understanding
in order to change the consciousness of people who do not realize, when they hurt another person, they hurt themselves.
We are all in the web of life and when part of the web is pulled, torn or shattered, the entire world is affected.
We must continue to spread the news of our ONENESS, and how we value ALL people. Everyone has the right to live, work and pray in freedom and joy.
All faith traditions have the basic humane value at the core of their religion – LOVE. When love, caring and compassion is not shown to another individual,
that person is not practicing his or her belief system.
Let us model LOVE in our thoughts, words, and deeds on a daily basis.

Here is a beautiful poem I read on Rev. Dale Suggs Facebook. When the world seems like too much, read it and visualize the beauty of the lake.

The Peace of Wild Things
By Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Dear Friends,

I love the quote above. We know water, in its gentle easy flow and in its fast and furious pace, will in time change rocks, mountains, and the earth’s surface. With erosion, the ground around a river changes. The ocean waves change the seashore. Water is persistent, never failing to know its purpose.

I believe prayer is like water. The continuous prayers we say, no matter how hard or resistant a situation or person is, will change the outcome. We must never lose hope or give up on our prayers and affirmations for the world, for ourselves, family, friends and others. The human condition is inherently resistant to change of any kind, yet change is a given. We may not see results of our prayers, however outcomes are always in the NOW of Spirit. We must trust the Divine Timing and Outcome of God. At the end of our prayer treatment we always say, “This or something better.” We, from our point of view, may not have access to the BIG picture, however God does. Once a prayer is said or an affirmation made, the mold is formed and what ever action needs to take place is doing so and flowing behind the scenes.

Prayer is also like a theater production. Before the audience sees the end result on stage, the writer must come up with an idea, propose the idea to producers, find the right director, actors, musicians, and then practice the performance. Your prayers, visioning the outcome, and keeping the desire in mind, helps to continue all the action behind the scenes.

Stand firm in your prayers. Don’t give up. Know God has already set in motion, like water, to create the highest and best outcome for all involved.
“Waiting is not God’s denial.” – Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith
“Sometimes a prayer takes time to manifest, and sometimes the universe has a slower pace than you or I.” – Deborah Perdue, RScP
“Hold steadfastly to the thought that all of life is in a state of eternal flow.” Dr. Ernest Holmes
( Quotes from the Science of Mind May Magazine)

Be prayerfully patient and know God works everything together
for Good!

Prayerfully,
Abigail and Steve

Dear Friends,

“I am standing strong on my mountaintop of all good, giving and receiving all the abundant blessings of life, including peace, joy, prosperity, health, love, creativity and harmony. This mountaintop is on a bedrock of faith and trust with a gentle breeze of grace and ease blowing.” –
Emma Curtis Hopkins (May Science of Mind Magazine)

I loved reading this quote and read it several times to fully embrace the meaning. I was looking out over the hills in the back of our house and imagined standing on the hills and looking over the countryside. I did feel a sense of peace and all was right with my world. Reading this quote and affirmation truly states how we all can feel and be when we just allow our faith to be strong and stand on our belief in the Universal Life Principles (love, joy, compassion, peace, oneness, unity) which never wavers regardless of human thought or action. GOD, Life, Universal Energy is always working FOR us , not against us. The Universal God, Spirit, Holy Mystery is always GOOD – GOOD and very GOOD. That is the energy and vibration I choose to live in and with whether I imagine myself on a hill, mountaintop or here on level earth going about my daily purpose.

We can read the paper and get upset, angry, irritated , fearful, OR we can read the paper and see an opportunity to Bless people, see the good in them, know they are God’s children living life from a different point of view….
Those who appear to have lost touch with their God-ness, need prayers to help them remember who and what they are.
Spiritual Beings having a human experience.
People rise to the level in which we see them.

Today let us be and give goodness to all we meet. Let us accept goodness from all we meet. Let us know we are already filled with abundance, peace, health and prosperity. As we give, so shall we receive ( smiles, kind words, actions, tithes, donations to our spiritual centers & charities).

Bring people with you on your mountaintop so everyone can be the best
and see the best view of the world.

We know there is POWER in Prayer, POWER in intentions, POWER in action.          This Saturday at the Labyrinth Walk we will be gathered in a sacred circle
to raise the consciousness and vibrations of the world through prayer. We will be connected to the collective of all Labyrinth walkers that day
and others praying and affirming Divine Intervention, Divine Peace and Justice throughout the world. With all of us in the ONE MIND, we can
shift the consciousness of the planet. Prayer with intention is “Purposeful action.”

An Old Chinese proverb says,
“If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
If there is harmony in the nation , there will be peace in the world.”

PEACE IN THE WORLD,
BEGINS WITH THE LIGHT (PEACE) WITHIN EACH PERSON!

“Today I remember that nothing is greater than God, the one presence and power in the universe. I pray that I may know this great power
as my own, as part of my divine birthright. I use my power wisely to speak up for what I believe is right, to be strong for someone who
feels weak, to be brave when others feel afraid. I draw my power from a deep well of faith that the nature of God is all good and that
adversity will wither under the light of truth.
My power keeps me strong in God.” (April Daily Word).

Peace and Light,
Abigail and Steve