Spiritual Solutions

Today, Saturday, February 28, is the fourth day of Lent. Lent is a time of preparation for the Easter experience.

I like to think of the word “Lent” in the form of the acrostics:

“Lessening Every Negative Thought”

and

“Loving Each New Today”

Assignment 4

As human beings we are lost in seeking. We seek here and there and everywhere for “something” that will give us a sense of well–being and a release of power that will make us capable of adjusting in every phase of life.

We seek with our sense mind in the outer world of forms and things. Since we seek with sense-instruments, we can only bring the results of what we call material existence into our consciousness.

We are all seeking peace of mind, power, and authority in our own experience and in our own soul! Some have ignorantly used this power and authority over other human beings. They become dictators – and the world is full of little ones and big ones. They do not understand that all power is Self Rule and no man was given dominion over another, but only over the lesser creatures.

All are seeking God, their own true power, their God-self, at the point where the power moves – and that is within the individual! We are God contained and have power to “live and move and have our being” in complete awareness of the Presence.

This power is not in us, but We Are this power. This Power is Omnipresent. It is the Life of all creation of which we are the highest. We are the Highest because we are visible and yet capable of comprehending and merging with the Invisible which we are also.

We can contain, embrace and include all power because we are contained, embraced and included as this power. God is “built-in” every one of us.

There is nothing to heal, to destroy, to change by applying God. There is nothing to be handled, manipulated or managed by the Law of God. We cannot maneuver God, for God is changeless. God is Law! God is All! God Is!

We must know God in expression. We are God moved and God movement, God is Being. God is being You and God is being Me. To be is to know I Am God! “To be” is to be God! To recognize every feeling as God is to know there is no separation. We must be self-aware and we shall be God-aware.

There is nothing to change but something to know. To know is to be aware of by feeling. Feeling is not the touch of the hand but an inward movement, an impression on the innermost “sensitive state” of our Being!

(This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.)

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

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Today, Friday, February 27, is the third day of Lent. Lent is a time of preparation for the Easter experience.

I like to think of the word “Lent” in the form of the acrostics:

“Lessening Every Negative Thought”

and

“Loving Each New Today”

Assignment 3

“God is Spirit.” (Jesus) Spirit means to breathe – which is Life.

I remember years ago, when Kathryn and I were attending a conference at Unity Village, Kathryn became ill and had to stay in her room. One of our Unity ministers brought her some chicken soup, and another of our Unity ministers, John Tant, came to see her and to pray for her. He said for her to affirm over and over, “With every breath I breathe, I breathe the breath of God, I breathe the breath of Life.” It worked, and Kathryn recovered quickly. This is something you can do also to help yourself when you are not feeling well.

God is the life in the body now. Life is an involuntary action. When we interfere with the breathing process or cut off the flow of blood to any part of the body we endanger life. When we give ourselves to Life within we are restored. Whenever we suffer any kind of unpleasant, troublesome, painful feeling, we have ignorantly thwarted Life. Life itself will put it right if we cooperate with this Power and give up our pathetic blunder of trying to live “on our own.”

We try to live life, to force life, to have our way or to do what others expect of us. We cheat ourselves out of life because we are afraid to trust Life! Life is God, the law and power of our being. The inner Life is called the “voice of the Lord.” “Take fast hold of instructions; let her not go; keep her, for she is thy life.” (Proverbs 4:13)

The power within breathes in us, causes the heart to beat and carries forth all functions for the sustaining of the body. We follow the instructions of Life: when we are hungry we eat, when we are tired we sleep. We love and share because we are instructed from within. If we do not follow inner guidance we are sick, poor, and unhappy. Our great sin is to follow what man thinks from outer judgment instead of listening to our own God-given directions. “The wisdom of man is foolishness with God.” (I Corinthians 3:19)

Let us close our eyes, laying aside in our mind all conditions, other people’s opinions, prejudices or beliefs. Let us put aside our own fears, tremblings or beliefs in our own inadequacy. Ask yourself, “What does the inner desire, the longing of my soul insist is mine? Why do I not have it?” Because you do not Feel it as your own! 

You cannot have what you will not feel. Life is Feeling and feeling is experiencing! Feel as if you held, possessed and were filled with the thing needful. “Ask believing as if you had already received.” We must live every moment with the awareness that God is Life and we are God Living.

(This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.)

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

——————————————————————–

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

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Today, Thursday, February 26, is the second day of Lent. Lent is a time of preparation for the Easter experience.

(This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.)

Assignment 2

Life is the movement of Spirit. Spirit is the breath of life. Life is the movement of a ceaseless energy in and through all manifestations. “Life is a vital force lying back of, in, and through all created form,” it states in Webster’s Dictionary. In man, mediating between body and soul, all that appears in contained, retained and sustained by this One vital force. Man calls this One power “God.”

(Romans 13:1)

Man has believed he is a separate entity or being, completely cut off, functioning in the instrument he calls his body. This is man’s “sin.” Sin is man’s separation, his missing the mark, his unawareness of his true being which to know aright, the Scripture tells us, “is life eternal.”

Man’s ignorance of the Life that is the fullness of his being has caused all outer conditions that are adverse to his true unfoldment and expression. His troubles and woes, his sickness, and his wars are the result of his not knowing. “There is none else, there is no God besides me; I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” (Isaiah 45:5) “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

How shall you know the Truth? Only where God is can you find Him! God is the Life in your body, the Spirit that indwells you. You can find the Source of Life by turning within and thinking and feeling in your own body and mind.

Life is the Power. Repetition of the word will make your mind aware, but you must dwell on what life is, and what you are. You are Life in Action! All Power is in You! Feeling is knowing.

Your own feeling is the secret. What you feel deeply is yours and will affect you and every part of your life. To Know, You must Feel! We are so near to the Life-giving mystery that we call “God,” that we can feel it in every breath we draw, the beat of our heart, the warmth of love – yet we are far away from it, unless we Feel It in our own body as Life and Know it as God, the Only Power! We affirm, or make firm in our own consciousness, our true self.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

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Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Lent is a time of preparation for the Easter experience. I like to think of the word “Lent” in the form of two acrostics:

“Loosening every negative thought”

and

“Loving each new today”

For each day of Lent, starting on Ash Wednesday, through Easter Sunday, I would like to share with you some thoughts first expressed as a series of Lenten lessons by a former well-known and well-respected Unity minister, Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, and author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age, as well as other books and articles.

Here is the first of those Lenten lessons:

Ash Wednesday

That you are reading this is proof that you are consciously aware and on your way to a complete revelation of your true self and of the One that dwells within you.

To learn the true message of this Presence, to have full awareness of it and to work instantly and consciously and constantly with this power is the most important assignment of your life today. It is the vital business of existence. To understand your own body, mind, and being is to understand the universe of which it is the miniature.

This is not scientific research. This is the reverse; not looking at yourself as the physical body, as material and objective; not something to be studied from without, but to begin practicing a new way of learning from within. We shall listen to our own living body and let it teach us the truth of itself.

Become as a Little Child.

Sit quietly and close your eyes. How do you know you have a body? Forget the feeding, clothing and your reflection in the mirror. Forget the important business man or woman you are or the position you hold in life. To Know Yourself is the end of all education and experience, the goal of all human effort. All great things are simple!

We let go of all that has gone before, all preconceived ideas about ourselves. We are letting go of anything contrary to this Truth – regardless of any appearance – or apparent condition or situation. Your body, this moment, is known to you as that which makes you aware of something else!

You feel strength and power, firmness and support; you feel that heart beat. You feel your chest rise as you breathe. Something within you, yet not you, moves in your body. It is Life! Life – we know It only in feeling the effects or signs of Its Presence! Life is God – Life, There is None Else. Be content at this point to feel Life and know it is working within you! This is God, God Expressing as You! Here – Just as You Are!

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

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I have been asked recently if I would post the well-known quote on Love by Emmet Fox, so here it is. It can serve as a wonderful opening reading for your time of meditation, if you go deeply into the truth represented by these words.

Love

There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;

No disease that enough love will not heal;

No gulf that enough love will not bridge;

No wall that enough love will not throw down;

No sin that enough love will not redeem. . . .

It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;

How hopeless the outlook;

How muddled the tangle;

How great the mistake.

A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. . . .

If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world.

-         Emmet Fox

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

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The season of Lent this year begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25, when millions of people the world over enter into a period of fasting and self-discipline that is unsurpassed at any other time of the year.

As with many religious observances, there is no real basis for Lent found in the Bible. Lent is a church institution. However, as Georgiana Tree West points out in the foreword to the book Keep a True Lent, by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of the Unity movement, the idea has a sound spiritual basis. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus himself set a precedent for it. Each observed a forty-day period of prayer and fasting as a preparation for spiritual work.

It should be noted that the number forty is frequently used in the Scriptures to indicate a completed preparation for something to follow.

Lent can be a true season of preparation for Easter; a preparation for the resurrection of the mind from old limiting thoughts, doubts, and belief systems. Even on a superficial level, Lent can serve a very good purpose. Denying oneself certain foods or other indulgences is helpful to one’s health. No one who disciplines himself unswervingly in some manner during a forty-day period will fail to reap some kind of blessing. But there is so much more involved in this, potentially.

Lent can be an excellent time if we take the best and leave the rest, a time of self-examination, self-discipline, and self-commitment; a time to work with habit patterns in thought and to create new personal ways of being and expression; a time of preparation for the awakening of the soul, much like nature getting plant life ready to burst forth in the springtime.

Unity minister Eric Butterworth made the comment that though many of us may work very hard toward positive thinking, how many really work on the level of thinking expressed in words. In reference to the idea of fasting during the Lenten season as a spiritual discipline, he presented what can be a workable fast: fasting from negative, fearful, limiting words for the forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday (Note: omit Sundays in the forty-day count).

Following this discipline, he says, you would experience one of the most interesting and profitable seasons you have ever known, whether or not you are oriented to the Christian philosophy.

Work with this; begin to check your words, spoken and unspoken. Replace those that do not fit into the Divine pattern of harmony with health-building, peace-creating, good, beneficial words of Truth.

Eric Butterworth says to let your theme for Lent be: Let Something Good Be Said! Whether speaking about people or things or ideas, Let Something Good Be Said! This slogan, or just the initials LSGBS, might be placed in some spot you see frequently, such as on your desk, or over your mirror. It might be used as the start of a conversation, or when there is a pause and people are wondering what to say next.

I remember that my wife, Kathryn, and I had a little saying we would share with people in counseling or in teaching a class. It was that three questions were to be asked of oneself to determine whether what one wanted to say should be said at all: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? If it did not pass the test of all three questions, perhaps it should not be said at all. There were some people who didn’t have much to say after that!

Let Something Good Be Said! Refuse to indulge in conversation about things you do not wish to happen: war, old age, recession, depression, unemployment, foreclosure, sickness, shortages, inflation. Magnify the good; emphasize that which has worth; talk only of those things that should live and grow. When you have something good to say, say it!

Wrong thinking makes us tired, irritated and nervous. We can’t improve disagreeable things by making ourselves just as disagreeable. If the day or night has been unpleasant or trying, do not dwell on the fact even for an instant. To talk about it will only produce further unpleasantness in your system.

Change the trend of your thought, and Let Something Good Be Said! In working and living with others, to remind them of their faults, or to keep faults alive in your consciousness by spoken or unspoken criticism, will tend to fasten those things upon the other person and they will continually become more troublesome. When you are conversing with people and the tone drifts down into the negative and destructive, make every effort to change the subject by calling attention to the better side. There is always a better side.

Following this Lenten fast will be interesting; not easy, for sure, but the most productive period of your entire life. In the Bible we are told, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” (Ps.19:14) and “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Ps. 141:3)

So, Let Something Good Be Said!

During this Lenten season, starting on Ash Wednesday, February 25, through Easter Sunday, April 12, I will be sharing a special Lenten Message each day on my blog and, naturally, to all on my mailing list. This series of Lenten messages was first developed by Unity minister Dr. Sue Sikking, founder of Unity-by-the-Sea, Santa Monica, California, author of God Always Says Yes and Seed of the New Age.

I pray that the series will be a real blessing to you during Lent and in the months to come, and that it will help and encourage you in your spiritual discipline as you Let Something Good Be Said!

Remember – God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions, at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

To subscribe for free weekday inspirational quotes, Rich Words, go to www.alanrowbotham.com.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

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Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. And we know that stress has been linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Just about everyone has heard the hit single Don’t Worry; Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying to everyone its message of being happy. Bobby McFerrin’s simple message surely made a lot of people happy by telling them not to worry.

One of the better things ever said is, “The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change.” And we have the power to make necessary changes in our lives if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too can change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, so accept people for whom or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable you can still try to make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along well.

Happiness is actually found within everyone; increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also healthier.

To be happy is relatively easy; just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook will be. The choice is simple really; choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner, and thank the person who cleans your windows. Thank the person who brings you your mail, thank the policeman for making your place safe, and thank God for being alive. You may want to start a gratitude journal, and every day write down something you are grateful for. You will find more and more things to be grateful for.

News is stressful; get less of it. Some people just can’t start their day without their daily dose of news. Think about it, ninety-nine percent of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A spiritual connection is also recommended. Being part of a spiritual or religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that need to be understood in order to develop an effective personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine-tuned further to include the finer points of each skill to give you that extra reserve in bringing about the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily each day. Yesterday my wife and I watched the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire. I recommend that you rent that movie if you want a good belly laugh. It’s a good practice to watch funny movies on a regular basis. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family members about it. As they say, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

Express your feelings, your affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most like reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent-up anger or frustrations; this is bad for your health. Instead, find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us; they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel are worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try to learn something new every day. Learning makes us expand and broaden our horizons, and could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk, swim, and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do every day to be happy.

Always remember the quote by Abraham Lincoln when he said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

And always keep this in mind:

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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In this current recession and uncertain economic future, we may sometimes feel that we’re just looking at our life as it bobs this way and that, according to whatever outside waters are propelling us. We think we have to work this many hours because of our house payment, instead of looking at it from another direction like moving into a smaller house or finding a job with better pay.

We say, “I’d just love to . . . write, travel, paint, ride horses, learn yoga, but I just don’t have the . . . time, money, energy . . .”

It could be that some of these “valid excuses” are just ways to hide from risks. In her book, Simple Abundance, Sarah Breathnach writes, “Many of us have unconsciously erected seemingly insurmountable barriers to protect ourselves from failing or succeeding. We may think we’re protecting ourselves by ignoring or denying our creative impulse, but what we are really doing is burying our authentic selves alive.”

Doing our own thing is risky; we don’t want to risk failure or, worse, looking silly. But look around. The happiest people are those doing whatever is their passion despite difficulties or fears.

My son, Geoffrey, and his wife, Andy, really want to move from England to live here in the United States. It’s over two years now since I made the application with Immigration for him to come here under my sponsorship as his father, and still we’re not getting anywhere with it. He and Andy sold their home and moved into a rented house in preparation for the move. They then came over again last year for an extended vacation, and looked for a job with a company that might possibly sponsor one of them to be able to get their green card, without success.

In the Fall last year, Geoff and Andy decided they wanted to travel through France and Spain for about six months while they could. They bought a motor home and moved out of their rented house so they could get used to living in the motor home while they were still in England. They quit their jobs. Then toward the end of the year, they crossed the English Channel on the ferry with their motor home, and since then they have been touring France and Spain, staying in Spain for Christmas and the New Year.

They have visited friends and made many new friends on their travels and signed up with an organization of organic farms which provides people with lodging and food in exchange for working on an organic farm. They’re open to all kinds of work to help supplement their travel. The other day Geoff told me they may stay longer if they get a job they enjoy doing.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is just to show you it’s possible to do the things you really want to do. They’re not just sitting waiting to come over here and fretting that nothing is happening with their visas.

What kind of barrier or excuses do you use to keep yourself from the life you really want to live? From what fears are you trying to save yourself?

So many people have worked to make their dream come true. They may have had to do a drastic thing like sell their house and live in a trailer so they could travel the world. Some may have had to cut some of their spending in order to quit their hated job and start their own business.

Maybe you will have to take the risk of saying “No” to someone in order to take time for an art class. Or you may have to toot your own horn and talk to someone you don’t know to sell your idea. You may have to get out of your comfort zone by doing without some luxuries for the moment. And, yes, cable is a luxury!

Read up on people that are doing what you long to do. Let them help you find solutions to your barriers.

Take Action

Write down your three main excuses for not living the life you want.

1.

2.

3.

Brainstorm ways to work around these barriers. Research online. Talk to people who have done what you want to do.

Look behind the barriers and journal what fears may be behind the excuses.

This week take one risk each day to forward your dream.

Whose life is this anyway?

I wish you every success, and remember:

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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These ideas on genuine happiness come from a friend of mine. Enjoy!

Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find happy people who continue to live fascinating and wonderful lives. Then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so sweet? How come they still can manage to laugh and play despite a busy stressful life?”  Then I pause and observe for a while… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.

So, how does one become genuinely happy?

Step 1 is to love yourself.

My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.”  To love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfection is the courage to discover ways on how to improve oneself and recover from mistakes.

Genuine happiness is also linked to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have – truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life like it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

Someone has said that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, winning and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder you from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? I tell you… every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in the NFL. Every time you take a step forward, you make scoring points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.” instead of looking at it and murmuring “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!”

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, the bravest or not even the best.

So, how do you become genuinely happy?  Every one has his own definition of ‘happiness’. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much best selling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success.

So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy? Simple. You don’t have to have the best things in this world. It’s about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling yourself “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try – that will make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults you pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely happy”. For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love back tenfold.

Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?” and I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted: “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Because then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”

God is Blessing You, right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Meditation is a state of being where your body and mind are consciously relaxed, yet alert and focused. People who practice meditation report increased awareness, focus, and concentration, as well as a more positive outlook on life.

Meditation is often linked to an image of monks, mystics, and various spiritual disciplines. However, you don’t have to be a monk or mystic to enjoy its benefits; you don’t even have to be in a special place to practice it. You can even do it in your own living room.

There are many different approaches to meditation, but the fundamental principles remain the same. Among the most important of these principles is that of removing obstructive, negative, and wandering thoughts and fantasies, and calming the mind with a deep sense of focus. This clears the mind and prepares it for a higher quality of activity.

Negative thoughts you have, whether of noisy neighbors, bossy office personnel or workmates, that parking ticket you got, and unwanted spam in your e-mail, all tend to contribute to the “polluting” of the mind, and shutting them out allows for the “cleansing” of the mind so that it may focus on deeper, more meaningful thoughts.

Some meditators seek to shut out all sensory input of sight, sound, and touch, and try to detach themselves from the commotion around them. If this is your goal, you may now focus on a deep, profound thought. We are all too accustomed to constantly hearing and seeing things, so it may seem deafening at first, but as you continue this practice you will find yourself becoming more aware of a deeper level of being.

Some body positions you may have associated with meditation, those with impossibly arched backs and painful-looking contortions, may seem threatening. But you need not worry; the principle here is to be in a comfortable position conducive to concentration. This may be while sitting cross-legged, standing, lying down, and even walking.

If the position allows you to relax and focus, then that is a good starting point. While sitting or standing, the back should be straight but not tense or tight. In other positions, the only no-no is slouching or falling asleep. If this happens, then you might try a different position more conducive to being alert.

Loose, comfortable clothes help a lot since tight fitting clothes or belts tend to make you feel tense.

Your place of meditation should have a soothing atmosphere. It may be in your living room, bedroom, or study, or any place in which you feel comfortable. If you plan to take on the more challenging positions (if it makes you feel more focused) you might want to use an exercise mat. In any case, you may want to have your meditation place arranged so that it is soothing to your senses.

Silence helps most people to relax and meditate, so you may want a quiet, isolated area away from the ringing of the phone or the humming of the washing machine. Pleasing scents also help can often help too, so using an aromatic candle can sometimes be a good idea.

You may have seen monks on television or movies making monotonous sounds while meditating; they are actually repeating their mantra, a simple sound which, for these meditators, holds a mystic value.

You do not need to use a mantra, though it should be noted that focusing on repeated actions such as following the breath and humming can help a practitioner enter a higher state of consciousness.

The principle here is focus. You could also try focusing on a certain object in your mind’s eye or on a particular thought, or, with your eyes softly open, focus on a single sight such as a candle flame, a pattern in the carpet or an apple on a plate.

Another routine could be to, while in a meditative state, silently name every part of your body while focusing your consciousness on that part. Be aware of any tension in any part of your body and mentally visualize releasing this tension. It works wonders in relaxation.

Mediation is a relatively risk-free practice and its benefits are well worth the effort (or non-effort, since we are relaxing).

One of the important side effects of meditation is that it has been found to bring about beneficial physiological effects in the body. There has been a growing consensus in the medical community to further study such effects. So in the near future, that mystical, esoteric practice we call meditation might become a science itself.

God is Blessing You, right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions.

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