Spiritual Solutions

Many of us have had great dreams for ourselves and then let them die. They were dreams that started within us and then perhaps we let them get caught up in outer things and we’ve lost our direction and motivation for their accomplishment.

There’s a great analogy I find in the book of Ezekiel about the valley of dry bones. It says, “The hand of the Lord was upon me and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered ‘O, Lord God, thou knowest.’

Again, he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Of course, this wasn’t really about bones at all. It was about lost dreams. He was talking to the Israelites, who had started off with great dreams of God’s presence and the things that with God they could achieve. Then they got caught up in creating idols and so on.

But he is speaking not only to the Israelites; he is also speaking to us. We have started off sometimes with great dreams, guided from within, and then we’ve let them die. We’ve let them get caught up with outer things, outer concerns, outer circumstances, outer situations that have caused our dreams to shrivel up and die. And we end up with a valley of dry bones.

But he says it’s not all over yet, because you can prophesy to these bones that the Lord God will come and clothe them with muscle and skin and sinew, and will breathe into them and make them live.

So the prophet prophesies to them, and the bones begin to come together, and the muscle comes on them, and the skin comes on them, and they stand up. But there’s no life in them. It’s like us, we sometimes look like living beings but we’re not; there’s no life in us, there’s something missing. And what was it? It was the breath of God.

So God says to Ezekiel, “Breath on them, speak to them again, prophesy again and say to them that the Lord God will breath on you, and the breath will be in you.” So when the breath comes in they live, the dreams live again.

Our dreams live when the breath of God moves in us. This is what makes us uniquely human and uniquely divine; the breath of God is that which moves us to our highest good. If we align ourselves with that awareness, then we find that our world has changed. The outer things are still there, but we’re not so caught up in them; they are transformed because of our inner perception of them as we put God first in our lives.

No matter what is happening, no matter what challenges come along, we are centered in God’s presence and live in a conscious realization of our oneness with God. We really know for ourselves that there is only one presence and one power; we are centered in that knowing and able to move out into all situations with confidence.

When we are not living according to the Truth of our being, not living God’s purpose, we’re not living our wholeness and we feel divided, separated from God and separated from the Truth within ourselves. In order to come together, it takes the breath of God. We only find real life when we are moving with that breath of God.

You may remember some of the last words that Jesus said to the disciples before his ascension. He said, “Wait for the presence of God and the Holy Spirit will bring the power to you.” The “breath of God” and the “Holy Spirit” are the same. The Holy Spirit is the movement of God; it’s the whole Spirit of God in action through you. We can identify it with the wind or breath; we cannot see the wind and in the same way we cannot see God’s movement, but we can see what the wind does and we can see what God does in our lives.

We may think of ourselves as being like sailboats, only moving in the right direction when we open our sails to the breath of God. In that way, we become more malleable to the movement of Spirit within us instead of thinking that we have to force the pace. We become still, and listen more in order to open ourselves to the Spirit of God.

Remember, in the story of Pentecost, it said they were all together in one place. That means they were in integrity, they were united in prayer in one place or one consciousness. And it said it was as though there was a mighty rush of wind that came to them and filled the house, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

They were all changed after that experience. They began to speak and to understand one another even though there were different races; in other words, they spoke with the language of Spirit. And they were permanently changed.

So we know that change is possible within us and for us, as it was with the disciples; when we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit or the “wholeness” of potential within ourselves, our dreams can live again.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

—————————————————–             

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

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

——————————————————   

Tweet This Post

Today, Thursday, April 7, is the twenty-sixth day of Lent. Lent is the period of time during which we can prepare ourselves for the Easter experience.
 

Assignment 26
 
As human beings we are not restricted or limited although we accept limitation on every hand. There is no boundary line for our accomplishment. We belong to the illimitableness of time and Spirit. We think of ourselves as restricted by the limitation of our human concept of ourselves or by the accepted limitation of our physical bodies. In truth there is no limitation.
 
The whole world, as we see it, is the wrong side of the picture. We see only the back of the canvas. The beauty is on the other side, the side which is named the “within.” This inner side is the side of feeling, knowing and true expressing and it is the real of life. How you feel about something is the real of it!
 
We have glimpses of this illimitable, immeasurable essence of our being in our sleeping dreams as well as in our waking dreams and visions. This very age in which we live is conclusive proof of the reality of the dreams of man. Proverbs tells us, “Where there is no vision the people perish.”
 
The very dreams, visions, plans and true desires of our heart are but the urgings of the Indwelling Power and Spirit of our being for expression and fulfillment. Never forbid your Soul the right to dream, for to dream is to conceive as possible a new state of being and it is the first movement of reality; much like the quickening of a child in the womb. The dream is the quickening of that which is to be, brought into reality by believing.
 
There is a realm of pure ideas within us that is to be brought forth through our minds, faith and word. It is from this realm that we bring forth Life and all its implications. This realm was called the Kingdom of Heaven and was the main theme of all the teachings of Jesus.
 
Heaven is within you, the storehouse or treasure chest of your good. It contains all that is expected of you on your earthly journey. All that we are and can ever be is stored in the round tower of your heart. We open the windows of heaven by acceptance, with praise and thanksgiving the invisible abundant mind essence. This essence flows through our minds from ideas to expression. Heaven is the orderly realization of ideas and they must be completed by bringing forth on earth.
 
 
(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-nine 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.
——————————————————————–
 
 
                                                  

Previous in series Next in series

Tweet This Post

Here’s another great post by Karl Moore

I love inspiring quotes!

They motivate me on a slow day or boost my mood whenever I feel a bit low.

Today, I have three quotes for you which certainly resonate with me.

Perhaps they’ll resonate with you?

Let’s start with Eleanor Roosevelt:

‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’.

That’s just so true!

When you’re passionate about your goals … when you truly see the beauty in what you hope to achieve … you begin that journey into the future.

So believe in the beauty of your dreams!

Next up is Katharine Hepburn:

‘If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun’.

I like this one!

What are rules if they’re not to be broken from time to time?

Sometimes the best experiences defy the rule book … or should I say ‘what rule book?’!

And let’s hear it from George Bernard Shaw:

‘Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself’.

Isn’t that just so!

Many spend most of their lives asking ‘who am I?’ … Well, you don’t need to go looking.

You find yourself by creating yourself. There really is no better way of discovering the true you!

Have these given you something to think about?

I hope so!

Have a fantastic day!

I love inspiring quotes!

They motivate me on a slow day or boost my mood whenever I feel a bit low.

Today, I have three quotes for you which certainly resonate with me.

Perhaps they’ll resonate with you?

Let’s start with Eleanor Roosevelt:

‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’.

That’s just so true!

When you’re passionate about your goals … when you truly see the beauty in what you hope to achieve … you begin that journey into the future.

So believe in the beauty of your dreams!

Next up is Katharine Hepburn:

‘If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun’.

I like this one!

What are rules if they’re not to be broken from time to time?

Sometimes the best experiences defy the rule book … or should I say ‘what rule book?’!

And let’s hear it from George Bernard Shaw:

‘Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself’.

Isn’t that just so!

Many spend most of their lives asking ‘who am I?’ … Well, you don’t need to go looking.

You find yourself by creating yourself. There really is no better way of discovering the true you!

Have these given you something to think about?

I hope so!

Have a fantastic day!

——————————————————-

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.

——————————————————-

Tweet This Post

Have you ever been excited about a project you had embarked upon, and then after putting your energies to it for a while realized that it wasn’t working out in the way you had hoped? You became discouraged, maybe continued with it half-heartedly but the bottom had dropped out for you and finally you gave up on it.

Didn’t it make you heart-sick, disappointed, disenchanted? What you hoped was going to be something you would make a success of turned out to be just another money-sucking promotion. You perhaps felt cheated, and stupid for being taken in again. How many times had that happened before?

This is what is called in Proverbs 13:12, “hope deferred.” In fact it says right there in that proverb, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

You’ve experienced it, and perhaps sometimes you’ve caused hope to be deferred in the hearts of loved ones. Maybe your wife or husband or partner had been looking forward to some outcome you’d led him or her to expect, but then it didn’t happen after all. That was hope deferred, and it makes the heart sick. If it happens often, then the person loses hope entirely.

Perhaps you had promised your child or children something special that they were excited about, but then for some reason your promise was not fulfilled. That was hope deferred, and it makes the heart sick.

Some wise person has said that we ought not to promise a child something if we didn’t intend to fulfill that promise in the way we had led the child to believe. If it happens a lot for a child, it not only defers hope but often can limit the power of hope for that person throughout life.

Is there one among us who has never deferred hope for someone? I doubt it. We have good intentions, but sometimes don’t follow through. How about in our work life? Has hope ever been deferred for you by an employer who implied that you would soon be promoted or given a better-paying job? Or have you deferred hope for an employer who expected more of you than you delivered?

I believe we’ve all probably experienced hope deferred, and have all probably deferred hope in others without even realizing it.

The proverb says it makes the heart sick. That means a kind of soul-sickness, a shriveling up inside of ourselves which becomes a limiting factor in making real progress in life and in relationships.

But the converse of hope deferred holds tremendous promise. Here’s what the proverb goes on to say:

“. . . but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

A desire fulfilled, a project completed successfully, a promise delivered, a reward realized . . . is a tree of life!

Have you had the experience of that kind of fulfillment?

And if you have, didn’t it lead you on with renewed enthusiasm, with excitement, with greater desires and confidence that you could achieve them? If you’ve fulfilled any special desire or expectation of a loved one, hasn’t that person responded with joy and gratitude, with excitement?

So how can we fulfill our desires more readily and not defer hope for ourselves or others?

At the risk of repeating myself from a couple of weeks ago, I would suggest that you create a clear and precise vision for your most important desires or dreams, then for each vision to write down the specific goals, steps to take, and any tasks involved. In this way you will have a detailed roadmap to follow in the achievement of that vision. Go to my previous article on “How to Achieve Your Dreams” to see a more detailed outline of the process.

As you complete each task, each step, each goal, it will confirm the hope within you and move you ever closer to the achievement of your dreams.

Hope is not just a wish; it is a tremendous power within you. Hope is of the Spirit, it gives us an inner confidence to keep moving forward against all the odds. And when we have a roadmap to follow it doesn’t even matter if someone along the way defers our hope; we still have other steps we can take to reach our goals. Hope activates the Spirit within us which then brings right answers to us and guides us in right directions.

“Desire fulfilled is a Tree Of Life.” Each fulfilled desire brings new energy and new ideas. Just like a tree spreading its branches in all directions, a fulfilled desire generates other ideas and expanded dreams that would never have come to you without the fulfillment of that first desire. A tree of life is a thing of great beauty, birds (other ideas) rest in its branches. It provides shade when the sun (or circumstance) gets too hot for comfort. It gives a sense of belonging to the earth and a realization of purpose in life.

When you’ve been the agent of a desire fulfilled for someone else, it gives you great joy and satisfaction to see their delight and feel their excitement.

I remember when I first brought my family to the United States, my daughter Diane came running in the house one day to say, “Daddy, can I have a bicycle?” I said to her, “Diane, can you ride a bicycle?” “No, Daddy, but I can learn.” She was so excited; she had been playing with a little friend who had a bicycle and to have her own bicycle was a desire planted deep in her heart and mind. I said, “Well, Diane, I suggest you learn to ride a bicycle. Maybe you could ask your friend to let you try to ride hers. Then when you show me you can ride a bicycle, we’ll buy a bicycle for you.”

She ran out of the house to her friend and I didn’t see her in the house the rest of the day; she didn’t even come in for lunch. Every so often I would peep out of the window and would see her wobbling along, falling off, hitting a tree, getting on again with her friend running alongside shouting encouragement. Then, late in the afternoon, she came in the house all out of breath, flushed and excited, “Daddy, I can ride a bicycle! Come and see.” So out I went and sure enough, she had mastered the art of balance and riding her friend’s bicycle. Proud and excited, she said, “Daddy, can I have a bicycle now?” And what could I say but, “Yes, Diane, we’ll get you your own bicycle now.”

As I look back and remember that experience, I’m so glad I didn’t defer Diane’s hope and that I fueled her desire by giving her some steps to take and a goal to accomplish for her to achieve that very important desire of her heart at that time in her life. It still brings me a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction to recall her delight, her joy, her excitement, on that day.

“Desire fulfilled is a Tree of Life.” Take a little time today to remember the feeling when you were the agent of a desire fulfilled for a loved one, or when you experienced the excitement of a desire fulfilled in your own life. Just the remembrance will stir up the gift and the power of hope within you. And that hope can take you places that you’ve never even dreamed of.

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.

——————————————————————–

Tweet This Post

Gaining a clear vision of what you want in life gives you the inner power and energy to bring your dreams into manifestation.

Without a clear vision, your soul is deprived of the spiritual energy needed to achieve and it begins to shrivel up and waste away. We read in the scriptures:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Do you have a vision for the various aspects of your life, a roadmap for achieving the desires of your heart? It is important for you to have well-defined visions; if your visions are just vague wishes you’re never going to get there.

What are your dreams? What do you want to achieve, in your career or business, in your relationships, in your finances. Have you written down your desires in these areas of your life? If not, there’s little chance you will achieve them.

I’d like to encourage you to use a vision-mapping process to create a clear and precise vision for your most important dreams, then for each vision to write down the specific goals, steps to take, and any tasks involved. In this way, you’ll have a clearly defined vision and a detailed roadmap to follow in the achievement of that vision.

You might be asking, “Do I really have to write it down?”

If it’s not an important goal or dream, you don’t have to write it down because it won’t really matter to you in your heart of hearts.

But if these things are really important to you, then you do need to write down your dreams and visions and create a detailed roadmap for their achievement.

The first step is for you to get a notebook or journal and write down a list of the most important areas of your life to which you want to apply this process. You decide the important areas of your life you want to address.

The second step is to go to your journal and make a list of the dreams or what you want to achieve in that particular area of your life. Just write one or two sentences per dream that is important to you.

The third step is then to create a goals page for each specific dream or desire of your heart. Write your dream or desire at the top of the page, and under that make a list of the goals you need to achieve to fulfill that heart’s desire.

The fourth step is to create a page for each goal and put at the top, “Goals to Steps,” and under the heading list the steps which need to be completed to achieve that goal. (Next, if there is any complex step then break that down into a list of tasks that have to be completed.)

The fifth and final step in the process is to assign a target completion date to each task and each step.

All that’s left then is to achieve the goal one task or step at a time until you achieve your dream.

At first it may seem like an overwhelming project. But remember, there’s no deadline; it’s a life project. Simply apply this process to one dream a month or one dream a week or one dream a year. You don’t have to do it all at once. What is important is that you start, and continue, the process at your own pace.

Wherever you apply the vision-mapping process you will be amazed at the life, joy, and successful achievements you bring into your experience.

If you want to kick the Law of Attraction into high gear and accelerate the manifestation process to the achievement of your dreams, I suggest you also consider making a treasure map or, better yet, use the Vision Board system, which will provide you with the key to harness the power of visualization!

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.

——————————————————————–

Tweet This Post