Spiritual Solutions

When we lived in our previous home we had some French doors put in from our bedroom to the back deck and garden which overlooked the bayou. They had been delayed along the way and finally they got the doors in and painted and so on, and the head of the company came and apologized for the length of time it had taken. We got to talking – he was a young man – and he began to tell us some of his life story.

He shared with us that he was the eldest of nine children and that he’d had a pretty tough life but he had focused on this goal of developing this company. He remembered people along the way that had helped him; he said that his father had died when he was about five years old, his mother had remarried and he didn’t get along with his stepfather who, he said was a drinking man and was away a lot of the time and abusive when he was home. He said his mother always seemed to be working.

But he remembered a person who often came by to look in at the kids and bring them food if they didn’t have any; she would also come and take them to Sunday school – she was a Sunday school teacher. He remembered her as being one who had nurtured him and he told us he had just seen her again after many years and was going to have her over to dinner on the weekend.

As I listened to the story I thought that all of us

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Spiritual growth is the process of inner awakening, and becoming conscious our inner being. It means the rising of the consciousness beyond the ordinary existence, and awakening to some Universal truths. It means going beyond the mind and the ego and realizing who you really are.

Spiritual growth is a process of shedding our wrong and unreal conceptions, thoughts, beliefs and ideas, and becoming more and more conscious and aware of our inner being. This process uncovers the inner spirit that is always present, but hidden beyond the ego-personality.

Spiritual growth is of great importance for everyone, not only for people who seek spiritual enlightenment and choose to live in far away or secluded places. Spiritual growth is the basis for a better and more harmonious life for everyone, a life free of tension, fear and anxiety.

By discovering who we really are we take a different approach to life. We learn not to let outer circumstances influence our inner being and state of mind. We manifest composure and detachment, and we develop inner power and strength, all of which are very useful and important tools.

Spiritual growth is not a means for escaping from responsibilities, behaving strangely and becoming an impractical person. It is a method of growing and becoming a stronger, happier and more responsible person.

You can walk on the path of spiritual growth, and at the same time live the same kind of life as everyone else. You do not have to live a secluded life in some far away place. You can raise a family, work or run a business, and yet at the same time engage in practices that lead to inner growth.

A balanced life requires that we take care not only of the necessities of the body, feelings and mind, but also of the spirit, and this is the role of spiritual growth.

10 tips for spiritual growth:

1. Read spiritual and uplifting books. Think about what you read, and find out how you can use the information in your life.

2. Meditate for at least 15 minutes every day. If you do not know how to meditate, it is easy to find books, websites or teachers who can teach you meditation.

3.  Learn to make your mind quiet through concentration exercises and meditation.

4. Acknowledge the fact that you are a spirit with a physical body, not a physical body with a spirit. If you can really accept this idea, it will change your attitude towards many things in your life.

5. Look often into yourself and into your mind, and try to find out what is it that makes you feel conscious and alive.

6. Think positive. If you find yourself thinking negatively, immediately switch to thinking positively. Be in control of what enters your mind. Open the door for the positive and close it for the negative.

7. Develop the happiness habit, by always looking at the bright side of life and endeavoring to be happy. Happiness comes from within. Do not let your outer circumstances decide your happiness for you.

8. Exercise often your will power and decision making ability. This strengthens you and gives you control over your mind.

9. Thank the Universe for everything that you get.

10. Develop tolerance, patience, tact and consideration for others.

Spiritual growth is the birthright of everyone. It is the key to a life of happiness and peace of mind, and the manifesting the enormous power of the inner spirit. This spirit is equally present within the most material person, and within the most spiritual person. The level of the manifestation of spirituality is dependent on how much the inner spirit is close to the surface, and on how much it is covered and hidden, by thoughts, beliefs and negative habits.

Remez Sasson writes and teaches about spiritual growth, meditation, self-improvement, positive thinking, creative visualization, success and mind power. He is the author of several books about success, creative visualization, affirmations and the development of inner strength and power.http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com for articles, quotes and e-books.

Visit his website

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

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When something deep within you

gives a nudge

to do some kindly thing,

obey it.

When it suggests you smile

at a stranger, or utter some

appreciative word,

say it.

When the impulse is for good,

don’t question: “Will I rue it?”

It may be only you

are there to hear and heed,

to be Love’s instrument,

so do it.

How often, when we felt

discouraged and alone,

our faith at lowest ebb,

some word, some token

of reassurance came,

and through another’s voice

or kindly deed we felt –

oh, more than felt, we knew

that God had spoken!

                By R. H. Grenville

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Thanksgiving Day is almost upon us, so I’d like to offer you a way to make this Thanksgiving season even more special, with a new and different way of celebrating our traditional Thanksgiving.

Recently a woman told me of a wonderful demonstration of prayer that she had experienced and how very, very thankful she was feeling. But she admitted that she wasn’t sure how she could truly express her thankfulness to God. She said, “It somehow doesn’t seem enough just to say ‘Thank You’ to God.”

Have you ever had a tremendously wonderful answer to prayer? Perhaps a loved one who was very ill suddenly had what the medical profession calls “an instantaneous remission,” or had an exceptionally fast recovery to complete wholeness and health?

You would feel very, very thankful to that life-giving Spirit which is the Source of all healing and that humankind calls God, wouldn’t you? So how are you going to express your thankfulness?

Would it be enough to go into a church and silently say “Thank You” to God’s invisible Presence?

Would it be enough to go out on some mountainside and shout “Thank you, God” into the air and hear it echo and re-echo back to you?

I certainly think that silently giving thanks to God in prayer is very good. I think going out on a mountainside or wooded place or seashore and shouting “Thank you, God” with a fervent feeling of gratitude is a wonderful thing to do.

But I think perhaps that this is not enough. This is consciously being grateful. This is accepting a blessing, what might indeed be a miracle, from God with gratitude. But it is not what we might call “Thanks-giving,” except the giving of your time and perhaps an overflow of your emotions.

So let me suggest to you how you can really give thanks to God in this Thanksgiving season . . . and all around the year.

Here is what you do . . .

You’re grateful to God for your many blessings . . . good! You say “Thank You” to God in a quiet time of prayer . . . good! Then, because in your heart you know God has done so much for you and through you, you arise from your prayer time and determine to be on the lookout for someone who has a need that they can’t fulfill themselves . . . then you fulfill it!

Then you are truly giving, to express your thanks. And you are giving directly to God, too.

How are you giving directly to God?

Well, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:24), “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Spirit means “breath,” or Life. God is Life in expression through every person as their individual Being.

When you give something of yourself to someone who has a need, you are giving to God expressing as that person!

This is what the Bible is pointing out when it says, “Whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do also unto me.”

Thankful prayer is “Thanks-feeling,” and it is good. “Thanks-giving” involves an action of giving.

Often in my years of ministry, people have done things for me that fill my heart with gratitude. And in my retirement from full-time church ministry, I have been overwhelmed by the expressions of love and appreciation that have come from so many, many people.

I thank God, and I try to thank persons with a note or a letter which includes everyone. But this never seems enough. So I figure the only way I can truly express the fullness of my feeling of thankfulness is to work diligently at doing the best job possible of teaching the Truth principles that have helped others, both today and in the future.

In short, you can express gratitude or “give thanks” by giving back more of yourself to the people whose lives touch yours.

There are Many Things You Can Give

There are many things you can give to express your thanks to God.

You can give a little time and understanding to your teenage son or daughter who needs to know that you love him or her.

You can give a happy attitude around the house that will brighten up the atmosphere.

You can give a little extra service to your customers, or do a little better job at work.

You can give a word of appreciation to the fellow who fixed your car instead of a look of suspicion that he overcharged you . . . even if he did! Then you are really giving something, and it costs a little more than just a perfunctory “Thank You, God” in prayer.

Do you get the idea?

Here’s an idea that could be better than a hundred Sunday school lessons for your children: When you sit down to your Thanksgiving table, what if you said, “Kids, we sure are grateful for all our blessings. We are grateful for this food, for our health, for your Mommy, for you, and for all the good things that we enjoy and sometimes take for granted. Tell you what we’ll do, we’ll say our Grace and acknowledge that God has given us these things, and then we will take an equal amount to what the dinner cost and we will send it to ____________ (you add whatever organization your family feels is doing a real good job in helping people).”

Later in life, when they imitate their Dad and Mom, they will find that you always get back, in some way or another, more than you gave when you give out of a feeling of thankfulness. It comes back to you, increased and multiplied!

Make this the most unique and rewarding Thanksgiving of your life. Give thanks to God in prayer, yes, but then start looking for needs that people can’t fulfill by themselves, and fill the need for them . . . and don’t tell a soul that you did it!

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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