The Law of Service

The law of service, according to Two Worlds Wisdom School, says, "You only grow through serving others." In the cosmology of the law, it goes on to say that as we do what we can to bring light to this world - we create space that is then filled with more Spirit. This new down flow of Spirit allows us to broaden our service and ministry which then creates more space that again is filled by Spirit. This creates a beautiful spiral of giving and receiving where we can never out give God/Source/the Universe.

As our circle worked together on this concept last night, many of us had personal stories of times where we were invited to do something or create something that felt outside of our abilities or outside of our comfort zone - but when we moved forward in spite of not really feeling "capable"we became a part of something larger than ourselves.

I thought of the time that I had volunteered at my children's church-affiliated school to do some classes for the Gifted and Talented. As I went from teacher to teacher to ask of their needs, I repeatedly got the same response, "Where I need your help is with the students that struggle to read at level - not my gifted and talented students." I didn't know the first thing about teaching reading to those who don't learn easily by traditional methods but I decided to do what I could and began to look for some training. Eventually I ended up in California taking a three week intense course on reading tutoring for students with specific reading disabilities. At the end of the third week, I felt totally overwhelmed with all that I had learned and totally unable to successfully use this method with real students who had real reading issues.

My weak self-esteem filled my emotions with doubt and my mind with all the reasons why I couldn't facilitate this program in my children's school throughout the long trip back from California. Finally, it came to me: I might feel totally inadequate but I was the one that at this moment had more training in reading disabilities than anyone else in the entire school. If I didn't at least try - who would help these kids? By the time I reached home, I had a new resolution in my heart to try to do what I could. I soon learned that this is all the Spirit really needs from us. Many people had heard of my trip and the taking of the class and by the end of the first week after arriving home, I had five students who wanted my help. And even more surprising to me - they all improved rapidly!

The last paragraph of the cosmology on the Law of Service says, "If you only have a small piece of bread, share it with those who hunger. You will then be rewarded a whole loaf. You can't out give God." God is not asking you to raise the dead if you have never seen yourself as a healer before. But maybe he is asking you to try to enhance healing in the people in your personal circle by lovingly applying the healing salve of acceptance and no judgement to the areas of their wounds. All you have to do is step forward and try and the Spirit will empower you and show you the way.

A New Level of Commitment

I was raised in a Christian home where we went to church every weekend, confessed and truly felt love for a God that we believed cared for and loved us in return but who was distant and did little to transform our lives. The spirituality of my childhood worked for me for many years until I approached the turbulent teens. It was in those tough moments of change and peer stress that I knew that I needed more than a weekly visit to a far-off God. I needed a God who was up-close and personal in my life and who had a significant impact on who I was trying to become. It was at that moment that I knew that I needed a new level of commitment or I needed to give it up and be done with the whole thing.
I was thinking about this concept of the spiritual walk's periodic demand for new levels of commitment while I was hiking one of my favorite trails on the Oregon Coast. There are many different trails to the top of Cascade Head. My favorite trail begins in dense green ground cover and old-growth timber, includes steep rocky sections, slick muddy sections, the crossing of streams and the maneuvering around giant tree roots. Finally, when it feels like you are going to wander forever through the dense forest, the trail breaks out onto a treeless head. Eventually, you near the edge of the cliff and can see the vast ocean before you, the mouth of the Salmon River to your left, the Cascade Mountains behind you and the high point of the head to your right. From there the trail turns into steep switch-backs that seem to go on forever toward the highest point of the head. Besides the usual challenges of the hike, there is often heavy weather and dense fog to complicate your climb.

On my last trip to the Oregon Coast, as in the spiritual life, I had picked my trail of choice - in truth, like the most of us, I was born onto a trail. I began to follow in the steps of countless feet that had walked before me. I felt committed. I felt like I was doing a good thing. Yet, it was not long before the steepness of the trail and the dense fog made me breathe hard and I had to find a new level of commitment within me to keep moving, buckle down, and move with new energy and determination. This occurred many times on my way toward my goal but I finally reached the edge of the cliff. The thick fog encircled me. There were no breathtaking views. There was only the trail extending on and up to my right - seemingly forever into the fog. Again, I had reached a point where I needed to make a new level of commitment to continue on and up. But, this time, after sitting for a while, I couldn't find what it would take within me and I headed back down the trail.

The analogy of the spiritual life being like a hiking trail breaks down easily when pushed too far, but I believe that it has value. As in hiking, I have reached the point many times in my life where, for one reason or another, my spiritual life no longer worked for me: dark times of illness and depression where I lacked the required level of surrender to a trusted, nurturing God; times of transition where I lacked the grounding in a firm, unwavering God; times of loss where I lacked wisdom to know that what was happening was for the highest good of all involved. Each of these times - it was not God or Source or The Universe that was lacking. The problem always was rooted in my level of commitment, surrender and/or groundedness. Each time, I grew angry. Each time I grew tempted to give up on a Spiritual life. But each time I eventually found my way down to a new level of commitment and thus found a new level of relationship with the Divine that saw me through the fog and on up the trail.

Is your spiritual life working for you today? Does your God feel too small? Does he/she feel too far away? Too powerless to handle what is happening in your life? Check your level of commitment.

Abundance

I teach special needs language arts two mornings a week at a tiny private school. Because school started only two weeks ago, about all that I have gotten done so far this school year is individualized testing to see who needs my help. Last week, as I was pulling my things together to head off to school, I felt compelled to grab some healthy snacks, some colored paper clips and a set of tuning forks.

Entering the front door of the school, I found the principal talking to a small first grade boy, whose clouded face told me was having a very difficult day. This young one (I will call him Pauli), if diagnosed, would probably be labeled ADHD. But to me, he is just a bright little one who probably needs another year to run free in nature. School seems to be torture to his little soul and seems to become more difficult each new day. My heart went out to him as our eyes met.

I don't really have a set schedule yet, so I said, "Pauli, I brought some special things to show you - would you like to come with me for a little while?" The Principal's eyes filled with gratitude as Pauli whined something like, "sure," and slid out of his chair to follow me into the room where I work.

Little ones with focus challenges will often calm down and focus better if you can get them to listen to a tuning fork from the time that you tap it until the time that it stops vibrating. Pauli and I played with the tuning forks until he had forgotten his unhappiness and was calm and settled down a bit. I got out the colored paper clips and let him look at the bright colors. I told him, as I laid out five in front of him, that these were going to be my signals to him. When he was focusing on the words and trying hard to match the letters with sounds and words that I would every once in a while lay another one out for him. But when he forgot what we were doing or refused to try to figure out the words then I would signal him that he was not engaged in helpful behavior by slipping one on the clips back into the sack. I then asked him if he was ready to try a few pages of his book. He looked at me skeptically but said, "ok".

The book was difficult but it was interesting and the paper clips coming and going kept him engaged until suddenly we were on the last page and he had read the entire book. He grinned up at me and said, "Would you like to see the rock in my pocket?" I of course said, "yes", so he pulled a small green rock out and told me that it was a piece of jade that he had found. Because of my love for rocks, I truly was interested to study it and appreciate it. Then I asked him if he would like to see the rock in my pocket and his eyes got huge. As I pulled one of my favorite rocks that I often carry with me out of my pocket, he gasped as if he had never found a kindred spirit before. As he looked at me and then at my rock, a little bit of unnamed magic seemed to fill the room and our hearts. I thanked him for his hard work, gave him a healthy treat, hugged him and walked with him as he skipped back to his classroom - his rotten day completely forgotten.

The next evening, our Wisdom Circle was discussing The Law of Abundance. In our culture, the idea of abundance usually calls up thoughts of monetary abundance or wealth. As our group members read quotes from famous authors about how to attract abundance into one's life, I suddenly remembered my time with Pauli the day before. Wasn't my time with Pauli a perfect example of abundance flowing into a situation? First, I prepared to go to school to serve in a loving way the highest good of whoever I got to spend time with that day. I then paid attention to something higher than my conscious self when it prompted me to grab some unusual things and take them with me before I walked out of the door. Next, I recognized a need and did my best to fill that need without an attachment to what the result would look like. The end result was an abundance of wondrous occurrences: an entire difficult book read, a feeling of pride and accomplishment, a magical connection between two kindred spirits and the total release of a bad day.

The universe is made in such a way that abundance is always trying to flow into our lives. We can either open to that abundance with high intentions to serve in whatever way we can, not being attached to the outcome and paying attention to the inner "knowing" that always moves to help us. Or, we can put a kink in the abundance hose with fear, self-doubt, or lack of attention to the leading of the Divine.

Are you living a life of abundance? If not, what is kinking up the hose that is trying to bring that abundance to you?

Surrender to the Moment

The New Mexican desert surrounding Santa Fe and Taos is full of inspiring and beautiful natural scenery as well as man-made wonders. One day last week, on our recent trip to the area, we encountered a unique and beautiful site. El Santuario de Chimayo sits in a green valley in the middle of the desert north and east of Santa Fe. It is known as the Lourdes of America. Legend has it that early in the 1800’s people found healing and miraculous cures in the dirt of the hills surrounding this small chapel. Testimonies of the miraculous spread over the years until today hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to this spot every year.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I could sense that we were entering a special space where countless people have come with hope seeking healing and peace and have left a bit of their essence of faith. As we walked through the grounds, the rough hewn sculptures of wood and stone stole my heart and pulled me deeper into the feeling of this place. Walking into the sanctuary, the too-warm stuffiness of the small dark room that might have otherwise made me want to retreat was quickly forgotten. The inside of the chapel was just as rough hewn and quaint as the outside but again completely stole my heart. My husband and I sat on a rough wooden bench toward the back on the left side, closed our eyes and just surrendered to the moment. I cleared my mind, my emotions and my connections to my physical surroundings, visualized a grounding cord descending from the end of my spine down into this unique piece of earth, visualized a beautiful golden cord of light ascending from the crown of my head up to the Divine and just tried to be with this place.

Where did the legends of the healing dirt begin? What prompted the first pilgrims to be so drawn to this spot? What continues to bring over 300,000 people per year to this place? As my heartsong began to vibrate with the heartsong of this place, I did not receive answers to these questions but I did deeply “know” something wonderful. . . my deep desire for healing and transformation into who I am meant to be resonated deeply with some kind of help that resided in this simple but sacred spot. Almost an hour passed before I felt full, satiated and ready to move on.

If we pay attention, there are sacred places and/or sacred moments that are trying hard to help us. Whether it is the hopes, dreams and faith of those who walked there before us or whether the place itself holds some kind of special feeling or essence – these moments and places abound. Yet we can completely miss the blessing if we don’t stop and surrender to them.

The universe and/or the Divine provides us daily with a rich environment full of help, wisdom and love tucked into obscure circumstances, places or encounters. Do you watch for them? Do you find them? When you encounter them, do you surrender to them?

Attraction

Have you ever felt strangely attracted to something? A pine cone by the trail that just seemed to need to come home with you? A painting in a gallery that you just couldn't seem to walk away from? A place on a map that you have always yearned to go visit? A certain type of bird or animal that you have always loved for some unknown reason? A book that seemed to jump off the shelf and into your hand?

These seemingly random attractions are not random or silly at all. These are Sacred Heartsong moments that are trying to catch your attention. When the essence of who we are finds resonance with the essence of what something else is - there will be an attraction. By paying attention to these attractions, we can learn a lot about who we are at our soul level and who we are trying to become in our daily lives.

I have always loved rocks. As a kid, I would constantly pick up the ones that caught my eye until I had quite a collection - a piece of Marble from high in the mountains of Colorado, a piece of basalt from a field trip with my Earth Science class, a piece of petrified wood from Ginko National Petrified Forest, etc. Then as an adult I discovered an amazing thing called a Rock or Crystal Shop. The first one that I fell in love with was near the Oregon Coast - south of Lincoln City. The feeling, as I walked into the store, felt almost holy - like an old cathedral. The beautiful colors and delicate structures of the crystals created a lovely, full feeling in my heart. But almost without fail, there would be a single one or two that would really attract me and pull me in.

The Heartsong Moments created for me by these precious stones each contained a sacred lesson. I caught a glimpse of my own Heartsong as I understood the lessons...the rose quartz cut into a heart shape beckoned to me to open up my heart more to giving and accepting love...the black obsidian sphere invited me to become more connected to the center of the earth and to be more grounded...the stunning piece of clear crystal inspired me to clear my space of old toxic emotions. These stones that I have loved, and many others, have helped me to open, ground, clear and heal into a version of myself that is just a bit closer to what God had in mind when he created me - my true essence.

To what are you attracted today?