Spiritual Engineering

Today, let’s be grateful for what we don’t have.

June 10 from "Totally Within©"

Perhaps we no longer have hangovers, cold sweats, or fear of impending doom; perhaps a racing mind does not control our day with anxiety, fear, misery, heart-wrenching pain, or keep us from sleep night after night; perhaps the anger, guilt or worry that used to dominate our life has subsided for today. Perhaps we are no longer controlled by the magnetic pull of an addiction; we may have shed some old habits that used to cause us problems. Maybe we don’t sink into those previous depths of hopelessness; we don’t experience the loneliness and isolation that pervaded our body, mind, and soul before we discovered the peace and power of our indwelling spirit.

Sometimes being grateful for what we don’t have is easier than being grateful for what we have and let’s not forget: Gratitude is a mighty expulsive force. It’s impossible for anger, fear, resentment, anxiety, jealousy and so on to dominate our thoughts and emotions when we feel grateful.

Today, let’s pass the searchlight of honesty across our life and find gratitude for what we don’t have. Truly consider the improvement in life since shedding each of these. Misery may visit but leaves without taking residence.

Prayer: Dear God, help me not forget where I came from and be always grateful for all your blessings of removal. Your love has blown away many of my leaves of misery as the autumn wind clears the branches of the tree. Thank you.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

June 9 ©

Strength and resilience often come from defeat.
Our best lessons come from the darkest, hardest times.

Life may sometimes overwhelm us with tragedy or adversity; we may feel defeated and hopeless but these dark times provide the fire that forges our character. We can take something positive from any situation rather than brooding and whining about it. Defeat and despair offer the chance to gain:

Strength: the ability to resist being moved or broken by a force; the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined and effective way. The strength of any muscle improves with use. Facing defeat and then moving forward builds an inner strength that is impossible to achieve any other way.

Resilience: the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress. After suffering defeat and finding that it is not the end of the world, we have the knowledge, the certitude, that we can face anything, overcome it, and move on with our life.

Wisdom: a reliable ability to decide with soundness, discernment, prudence, and intelligence; a sense tempered and refined by experience, training, and maturity. Experience is a necessary part of wisdom; the worst defeats and mistakes offer the greatest opportunities to gain good judgment.

Prayer: Dear God, help me to see the positive aspects of defeat; let me not dwell and brood about my losses but to see my failures as necessary stepping stones to gain the attributes you desire in my life.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

Sharing problems decreases pain; sharing happiness increases joy.

June 8 from "Totally Within©"

Share: to accord a portion in something to another or others.

When we share something, we give away a portion of it to someone else. So it makes sense that sharing our pain decreases the amount of pain we have left. When we are hurting, simply talking about the source and depth of our pain with a friend seems to ease our anguish a little bit. Shedding tears, venting our frustration, or shouting our anger to the walls releases some discontent.

But sharing joy and happiness does not have the same results. Different rules seem to apply in these cases. Expressing these positive emotions, perhaps even communicating gratitude for them, does not diminish what remains in our heart and mind. In fact, the opposite occurs. As we share happiness and love, something expands inside of us; we are filled with more than what we gave away. The more we share, the more we have. Sharing love compels our divine source, our indwelling spirit, to open the floodgates of infinite love and we reap the benefits of the spiritual response flowing through us.

Prayer: My inner spirit, help me to find joy and happiness this day; increase my awareness of the blessings in my life; let me share my gratitude, hope, and love with others and reap the ever increasing rewards in my life.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

We must sometimes surrender to win.
June 7 from "Totally Within©"

Paradox: a statement that appears to contradict itself but may nevertheless be true.

Stubbornness or the urge to overcome any challenge, to preserve against all odds may dictate that we never admit defeat. This can be a great quality in many cases but there are times that wisdom dictates surrender is a better option. Individual battles may be lost and sacrifices required in order to gain ultimate victory. Surrender may yield the battle to achieve success in the war.

Surrender offers the opportunity for humility, the chance to acknowledge and accept that we are not all-powerful; on our own, we do not have all the answers. Surrender presents a chance to seek understanding, guidance, and power from sources other than our self; it often breaches the armor of self-righteousness and opens the door to a spiritual path, the ultimate solution for life. We are beaten; we become willing to accept the transforming embrace of our inner spirit; we welcome the hope, security, love, and power that can lead us to ultimate victory.

Any time we feel turmoil, we haven’t surrendered something; struggle and surrender cannot exist in the same time and place. We need to pause, ask for help, and release whatever is blocking our inner peace.

Prayer: I pray that I may surrender all my self-driven ways. Help me accept that I no longer want to struggle alone and become willing to accept divine help. Grant me the assurance of your love, mercy, and power.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

God is not Santa Claus.

June 6 from "Totally Within©"

• He doesn’t keep a list of who’s naughty or nice.
• He doesn’t keep score and then visit once a year.
• He doesn’t bring gift-wrapped presents from a wish list of toys and material desires.
• He doesn’t put lumps of coal or other negative gifts in our stocking because we’ve made a few mistakes.
BUT
• His wonderful love has already forgiven his children so he doesn’t need a naughty or nice list; we experience the feeling of that wonderful divine love and forgiveness as we develop healthy self-love and forgive other people.
• He is with us every second of every minute of every day; we simply have to learn to be conscious of his presence, power, guidance and love in our life.
• He continuously offers peace, courage, tolerance, patience, compassion, hope, and wisdom to each of his children.
• He gives us solutions, not problems; hope, not despair; peace, not turmoil, and love, not pain.
Let us pause and say “Hello” and “Thank you” to our indwelling spirit.

Prayer: Dear God, enlighten my understanding of your role in my life. Help this child to see you as the divine source and spiritual power that can gift me the strength to conquer all challenges, the love to heal all wounds, and the direction that leads to my best life.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

We need never hurry to achieve spiritual growth or emotional maturity.

June 5 from "Totally Within©"

Do we enjoy peace most days or do we yield to the pressures of the world and join the parade to insanity? Stress, worry, and anxiety dominate the society but we have a choice in whether we participate in this unhappiness. Do we choose the way of the world or the way of the spirit?

Jesus never hurried; Buddha was never frantic; no true spiritual devotee rushes to accomplish unimportant tasks. Slowing down in this hectic world takes practice, strength, and commitment. When we find our self scurrying to meet real or imagined deadlines or feel the pressure on our body or emotions, let us pause and reflect on what is truly important. Is our real purpose in life to attain more things, satisfy a relatively unimportant deadline, or enjoy the day?

Which action in this moment will contribute to our best life?
Rushing seldom contributes to our inner peace; pausing always does. Pausing for a moment to breathe, to inhale the peace of divinity, unleashes the power of the spirit to ease our emotions and re-direct our mind.

Prayer: Dear God, help me to slow down this day; open my eyes that I may see with spiritual, loving vision and not be blinded by the short-sightedness of the material world. Grant that I can disregard the trifles and accomplish all that must be done.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

Spirituality is not a spectator sport; Watching a football game is vastly different than playing on the field.

June 4 from "Totally Within©"

Some view spirituality and religion similar to their involvement with a football game. Many are completely oblivious that the game is even being played—it’s not important to them and they totally ignore it; some watch it on television with varying degrees of passion and interest; still others go to the stadium and share in the enthusiasm with a group of fellow supporters; a very few actually play in the game.

How do our actions demonstrate our personal connection with God? Has our secular culture so biased our mind that we ignore this awesome power and love? If we don’t ignore it, are we an observer or a participant? Do we play in the game—actually expend the effort, demonstrate commitment, and stay willing to put forth that final effort to sn**ch victory from defeat? Do we demonstrate a passing interest, participate only under extreme personal stress, or are we actively engaged? Do we expect the rewards of a participant although our actions show us to be only an observer?

This day, this moment, let us take the time and effort to participate in the most important and rewarding activity in our life.

Prayer: Help me honestly assess my commitment to the spiritual life. Enhance my desire for the best life; let my heart and mind open to your guidance and fill me with passion to follow your divine will. Grant me strength to move forward when I feel overwhelmed, tired, and defeated.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.

Irritations and discomforts will occur; however, we can continue as we are or we can change.

June 3 from "Totally Within©"

How much of our day do we feel happy and at peace? How often do we get upset over trifles or start the day a little uneasy for no apparent reason? This is not about serious challenges but refers to those times we simply feel off-center; perhaps we find ourselves over-reacting or being overly sensitive. Face it; we’re human beings, not angels. It’s our choice how deeply we allow our self to sink and how long we choose to stay there.

Three important factors affect this self-inflicted distress:
1. Awareness: We cannot solve any problem until we realize there is problem. We will not stay happy and joyous all the time so we try to become more sensitive to the least of a disturbance to our peace.
2. Decision: After awareness, we must decide if we want to stay where we are or do we want to change?
3. Action: We start with the fundamental source—we pause and pray; we ask that we see specifically what is shredding our peace, what physical actions we need to do, and for the guidance and power to improve our mental attitude and outlook. Then we do something positive for ourselves.

Prayer: Dear God, every moment of this day, help me be aware anytime I allow the slightest intrusion into my place of peace and to take action with you so that I may regain my serenity.
Take three relaxing breaths; ask your inner spirit to guide your meditation; pause for a few minutes in silence.