California Free Press

Consumer Culture

Dear friends,

     It was wonderful to look out this morning and see that it had rained!  That is a rarity here in Southern California, which is mostly desert. Have you noticed how it is often the natural world that makes us so happy in the moment? It might be a sunrise or sunset, meteor showers, the full moon, starry skies, an owl hooting in the distance. The list is long, but the point is made. It is more than likely we could be very content, living as John Lennon sang “with no possessions, too.” Nice image, but unlikely in this consumer culture we have created.

     It isn’t what is attached to us that matters, but what we are attached to, as someone said recently.  We can own beautiful things, but the problem arises when we fear their loss.  That, of course, is what the insurance business is all about.  The fear of losing our possessions, be they objects or relationships or titles or jobs, plagues our society.  On the grand scale it infects countries and mostly people with power.  They will do about anything to hold on to what they deem theirs by right of their position.

     The juxtaposition between the way we live and how Nature carries on, is dramatic. We are so out of accord with her, but we can make small changes that will help us feel more present and less concerned about the future (which is where loss occurs).  We can recycle things in our home, like clothes and toys and gadgets that we don’t wear or use.  We might consider doing this on a regular basis. Bring in some house plants that clear the air and help us feel more a part of nature. Foster cats or puppies if it works with your lifestyle.  It’s important to be in the company of living things. It is health promoting to care for them. It is soul nurturing.  That is what we have “lost” in this world. Our own soul, which loves beauty, order, play, celebration, interaction with the kingdom: all the things we have ignored and replaced with “stuff.”

Affirm “I take steps to make my world more natural and soul nurturing.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Mother Nature Is Mad As Hell

by Carol Carnes

Mother Nature is mad as Hell, and she is not taking it any longer!  Extreme temperatures, fires, floods, pandemics are effects. They have a Cause. The cause is in humanity’s cavalier treatment of our home. Polluting our rivers and streams with dangerous chemicals, clogging the oceans with trash, killing off wildlife for sport and poisoning them with our waste, clear cutting timberland, filling the atmosphere with lethal gasses, nuclear plants that fail, not to mention the terrible treatment of our own species.  What are we to pray for, if not the complete transformation of our shared belief system?

Dominion does not mean that rape of the land and women and children is permitted. Dominion is responsibility for the care and welfare of the flora and fauna and each other.  Dominion is not power over, it is restrained power, managed for the good of all.  Our religious superstitions are at the core of our ignorant attitudes.

Today let us know together:

The only true Power there is, is God as Love. That power lies within every heart and at the center of every mind. It is always present. It is greater than any false power we may have thought real.  It is the Power that Makes All Things New. Today we call on that Power within ourselves to take precedence in the minds of all people.  Today we call it forth to transform our beliefs, lift our vision, raise our expectations, heal our unbelief.  Today we allow the Love that is our Source to have it’s way with us; to lead, guide, direct us into right action.  We are the people of planet Earth and we are her loving care-takers.  Love abounds; understanding rises; fear is abolished.  Today we claim our rightful place as co-creators with the One Power. We use it to promote, create and allow global awakening. We are living in harmony with our true Nature, the Mother. We are blessed in return.

And so it is

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

What is there to be thankful about today?

What is there to be thankful about today?  Do we need a reason? If so, there is always color, music, rain, sunshine, trees, water flowing, a child’s laughter, the smell of brewing coffee, movies, sports, comedians, puppies, kittens, old dogs, art, literature, a beautiful singing voice, bacon and eggs, snow-covered mountains, blue sky, clouds, covered bridges, jump-roping girls, tap dancing, a good haircut, falling leaves, flowers in a vase, flowers in a field, radios, television, technology, video chats, instant messaging, our children, our oldest friends, our mentors and teachers, our work, the morning light, the birdsong, the butterflies, the good earth, the smell of fired onions, dentists, doctors and nurses, horses, meditation, soft blankets, newly mown grass, buzzing bees, train rides, sailboats, surfers, bicycles, ice cream, road trips, wheels on luggage, farmers markets, roller coasters, swings in the park, flush toilets, good roads, super highways, wishing wells, magic, avocados, Hawaii, language, jazz musicians, artists of all kinds, paint, poetry, prosecco, parachutes, sewing machines, needles, safety pins, quilters, sandals, sunsets, inventors, astronauts, trash collectors, babysitters, shoulders to cry on, voices to soothe us, hands to hold, memories to cherish, Life itself.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Borders of Our Perceptions

Dear friends,

When we reach the outer borders of our perceptions, we either leap into a new awareness or we spin around in the circle of repetitive experience. Eventually we will come to a stop when we must make a change. Things fall apart when they have outlived their usefulness.  In human life, that means when we are no longer learning and growing from them. Time for a leap. Not a leap of faith but a leap of consciousness. That might be the time for some “what if”” ideas.

What if I were living exactly the way I would choose? What would that be? What if I were perfectly healthy? How would that change things?  What if I never worried about money? What would I be doing? Those are personal questions that could get us started on a possible leap into more conscious living. I believe that humanity is right there on the edge as well.  We cannot continue the way we have been up until now.  What if the human race leaped out of our fear of difference?

What if we were living with one another in peace and harmony? What thoughts about people would we be having?  What decisions would we make regarding the distribution of wealth, of goods and services?  What if war were obsolete, completely out of the realm of possibility? What would our young men and women be doing instead?  What if we knew that God was in us, not outside of us?  How would we access that power? 

“What if” questions are a good way to challenge our current beliefs and to get us thinking from the potential we all possess.  The human race has only just begun, really. We haven’t been around very long in universal terms. Can we make some leaps from survival to thrival?  I think we can. What if we believed that?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Love is an Energy That Restores Wholeness

Dear friends,

What could love do for you today?  Perhaps a release of old pain and resentments? Could it restore your faith inhumanity?  How about self respect and a change of habits?  If you desperately want to stop abusive drinking or smoking, would love be a factor in your decision to seek help?  What kind of love are we  speaking about here?  Love in its true power is not about romance; that is the least of it.  It is an energy that restores wholeness where there appears to be brokenness.

Love seems to cause us pain when it is withdrawn by another. Yet it remains within us, available to us whether we are alone or in a relationship.  Love is not something that is given to us. It is generated from within our very own soul.  Self Love is the starting point, the first use of Love.  From there it extends out into the world attracting and affecting a response.   When we see it as the most powerful energy in the universe, we might have more respect for what we can generate.

Ernest Holmes called love a “cohesive energy” that “brings things together what belongs together” and “maintains it in harmony” (as long as Love is active and present.)  We all know what happens to friendship, romance, business, anything really, when Love is withdrawn. Those things tend to unravel and fall apart. Love must be present to maintain harmony in every situation.  On this Valentine’s Day the question remains: What could I do with Love today?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Energy of Joy

Dear friends,

There are many ways to speak about God.  Joy is one of them.  Joy is such a little word, yet it has tremendous energy if unleashed as our experience.  We seldom let it out, perhaps feeling it is inappropriate when there is such suffering in the world.  Some people think joy is not even real, that it is some temporary up leveling of happy.  But no, joy is a natural state that makes grass grow, birds to fly, babies to squeal, all of us to whistle while we work, dance and sing.  In humans, Joy is the energy of aliveness and the awareness of what a miracle it is to be in a body, able to experience our own Being in form. It is God knowing itself as us.

We are meant to carry that energy throughout our life, all the way into transition.  “Well,” we are told, that is just silly.  It is an unsophisticated way to think. It is childish and will only cause pain.” What?!! Joy causes pain? I suppose if we think we have to chase it or that it does not actually exist, they might have a point.  The truth is that Joy is essential.  It has to be present for us to grow, physically and intellectually.  It is enthusiasm, curiosity, the willingness to learn something difficult. Joy drives our life.  When we deny it, we fail to thrive.

Joy might best be defined as Spiritual Life Force.  We all have it, but it can be somewhat suppressed by fear, hate, anger, chronic disappointment, limiting ideas; really the business of living in this dimension can shut down the flow of that powerful energy.  Our well-being is linked to the awareness that the Life Force is forever available and always accessible.  We do not have to be happy to know Joy.  Joy is quietly present, even when we are sad. People say “Oh yes, I knew that Joy before I learned of all the terrible things in the world.” Exactly.  That is the point. All the terrible things in the world have no power to lessen our very Being. They dissolve in the presence of Spiritual Life Force, coming through us, refining our thoughts, raising our sights, making us available to the Power that makes all things new. We make the world a better place when Joy is alive in us, when we let it have its way with us.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Finding your Roots

Dear friends,

One of my favorite television programs is “Finding your Roots.” Assisted by the host, guests trace their ancestry centuries into the past. They are always surprised, and often shocked, at what they discover.  It made me wonder how great it would be if we could see our descendants in future centuries.  Wouldn’t you like to know what impact your life made on those yet to be born?  What if one or more of them were researching their ancestors and found you?  What would be impressive to them?

In New Thought spirituality, we believe that consciousness produces outer events.  We work in that realm of mind, affirming that peace and plenty prevail on earth. We are aware that we may not live long enough to see the results, but we do it anyway, knowing it is our legacy.  Did Abraham Lincoln affirm freedom for all with the Emancipation Proclamation?  The results of that are still forming and shaping our current reality.  Black Lives Matter is a descendant of his affirmation, and of the enslaved themselves.

Emerson was an abolitionist. He was vocal about his views, writing that no man is a gentleman if he supports slavery. His writings have greatly affected my own life. His legacy is an active gift to all who study his words.  Ernest Holmes was deeply influenced by Emerson, helping to shape the basic tenets of The Science of Mind that Holmes first put down in writing in 1926.  And so it goes. Those who have come before us have left treasures for us to discover and use. Can we imagine, today, what our legacy will be? Give it some thought. It might be useful in reordering our priorities.

Stay tuned  in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Let's Have Loving Thoughts For Our Neighbors

Dear friends,

Every so often I get a spam e mail with the headline “make your neighbor jealous of your lawn.” I always think, why would you want to do that?  Making someone jealous for any reason is soul damaging. The idea of competition has already gotten its claws into young children, to the point of a loss of shared victories. The one place it is healthy is in the children who are “disabled” in some way, who cheer each other on in sports events.  You don’t see that in professional sports, mostly because so much money is involved. The language around winning is awful; “we will crush them, wipe them out, smash them” etc. That level of competition is unhealthy.

Wouldn’t you prefer to live in a world where your neighbor’s lawn was as important to you as yours, metaphorically speaking?  That is a world each of us can create. We always start at home. There is that old saying, “charity begins at home.” Right now, there is so much in the world that looks chaotic and competitive in a rather brutal way that we might feel as if we are powerless to help make it shift. But we are not.  We are important to the Whole and we have inner resources that might be a bit under-used.

What do we think about all day?  How much space do we allow for loving thoughts, for creative ideas, for seeing through the appearances?  Our minds are key to the future of humanity. I do not say that lightly. It is true. Everything we see now on the news is the result of ideas!  Ideas come from consciousness. Consciousness precedes form and experience. Let’s take care of our inner life first so that our outer life will be one that helps to make everybody’s “lawn” lush and green and not just metaphorically.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Recent Events Were Explosive

Dear friends,

Usually there is no Living Consciously on Sunday, but something wants to be said today. It is simple; hang on, there is a new and glorious time emerging. Things will change faster than we might think possible.  It is quivering in the quantum field right now, ready to come through us with stunning results.  What is it?  The Power that makes all things new.  It is the answer to our cries for peace and love on planet earth. Our voice is stronger than the voice of anger or fear. That is because our voice resonates with the TRUE intention of Life, to create heaven on earth.

Recent events were explosive, out of control, a raging tsunami of misplaced intention. It was a disruption but not a success.  The energy of order and peace contained in the structure itself is so strong it cannot be destroyed. It is stronger today than it was a few days ago. Our representatives finished their work after having their lives threatened.  That is the Power at work.

Democracy is fragile yet resilient.  It requires the support of the larger populace. It is a spiritual idea in the sense that it grants certain freedoms and rights to all people.  The fact that we have not entirely lived up to the possibility inherent in it, is why things got crazy in recent years.  There is a fomenting desire in the collective unconscious for us to live up to the intention of our founders. They did not do it either, but they intuitively knew what needed to be in place to give Democracy a chance to thrive.  I find it symbolically fascinating that the Statue of Liberty is Feminine.  It is that very quality of the inclusive welcome of diversity that is so needed right now.  There is much to do but first something to know.

The help we seek lives within our personal and collective field of awareness. It is available to come through each one of us.

“I am an open outlet for the Peace and Love that is trying to happen in my world.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Out With the Old. In With the New.

Dear friends,

Well, we got here.  The last day of a very challenging year. I had big plans for 2020, beginning with a women’s retreat on the ocean in Santa Cruz.  That went away quickly as we entered a new reality.  We have been through troubled times before, but not on such a Global scale; not since World War II.  Our hearts were broken as we witnessed suffering and death, violence in the streets; the loss of livelihoods; music and the arts diminished; our neighbors lining up for food. Now we are entering 2021 with high hopes for healing of all kinds. 

Let’s get real.  What we want is a different kind of shared life.  We want goodness to prevail, compassion to be common.  We want our children to be safe and respected, our difference to be celebrated, our planet to be cherished.  There are so many issues, but they all require one leap of awareness. We are the people of planet earth, all of us.  We are the current highest evolution of consciousness in our species.  We have an open doorway to an infinite intelligence, which is ready to co create with us.  We are One with all life, the entire universe, the folks next door and across ocean. We are capable of making all things new. 

Patriarchy must die, in ourselves and our governments. The other half of our nature (the Feminine) must be welcomed into every conversation, every decision, every policy making session, on any level. Without it, we could easily perish. The important thing to know right now is simple: We do nothing of ourselves, by ourselves. The Power within does all the work by means of us. We begin by turning within and asking for its help. 

Affirm: “Beloved God within, I am your servant. Make me a channel for your infinite love and intelligence.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

P.S.  Dr Bill Little gave a beautiful talk yesterday, about contacting the Power within.  I am sure it is on you tube or on his Centers website. www.centerforspiritualawakening.org  

What We Want For 2021

Dear friends,

We all want the New Year to be different than 2020.  But that begs the question: are we different?  Have the challenges we faced made us bitter, angry, afraid, or are we more aware of the need for community, shared resources, equality and compassion?  Have we been changed at depth by the suffering of others that we have seen?  Will we enter 2021 resolved to be involved in solutions, rather than ignore the problems?  It seems that many of us might have been playing the game of pretend.  Pretend all is well when it is decidedly not.

While it is intelligent and necessary to notice and appreciate all the wonderful things humans have done and created; the beauty, the art, the music, the science; it is unavoidable that we also admit to the inequity humans have created for themselves with greed and fear.  As a New Thought teacher, I feel the two overriding causes of many of our injustices are the belief in Lack and the fear of difference. But the worst thing we can do is to think we are incapable of creating a world of fairness and prosperity for all. 

As we prepare to release this year and embrace the possibilities inherent in the new one, let’s not forget that consciousness creates everything. What we believe is the energy behind our choices, our actions our expectations.  It is up to us to identify those limiting ideas in ourselves and to consciously choose to change our own mind.  Instead of resolutions, let’s make some serious intentions.

Affirm: “I leave behind what does not elevate the human condition. I take the transformation of human consciousness personally. I am a full participant in it.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

In Decades to Come ...

Dear friends,

In decades to come, it will be interesting to hear the memories of young adults who were toddlers or born during the pandemic.  What did they experience when they saw people wearing masks? What was it like for them when it was over, and their parents went back to work?  What about social connections with other children?  Was that difficult for them, having been at home for so long?  Some of us remember the fear of atomic bombs and how we had drills to “drop and cover” at school.  Prior to that there were black outs during WWII.  There was a real danger of an enemy attack on the pacific coast.  I remember huddling in the dark with my parents and sister.

It is amazing how adaptable kids are; normal is whatever is happening in the moment. There was a wonderful movie a few years ago, “Life is Beautiful” about an Italian Jew who was in a Nazi camp with his young son. He led the boy to believe everything was great, that they were on an adventure, that life was indeed beautiful. The boy was not traumatized but had a “normal” childhood, despite the horrors around him.

What we are conscious of becomes how we experience anything. People right now are trying so hard to live the way they always have, refusing to wear masks, gathering in large groups, taking trips on airplanes, storming the stores on “Black Friday” that they might miss the opportunity the pandemic has brought to us.  They are not conscious of the call to quiet, the possible self-awareness that is inherent in “retreat.”  This in no way trivializes the suffering of so many, the loss of life and the disruption of families.  Despite the hardships, Life is still beautiful. If we can remain conscious of that basic truth, we will be more available to the insights, revelations and intuitions that are pressing to express through the human mind and soul.  This is a time of potential awakening.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

There Is Enough To Go Around

Dear friends,

Giving is the most natural of human impulses.  Before we are taught the “lack principle,” the one that tells us “there is not enough to go around,” we are inclined to share what we have.  We respond to a need without reservation.  Children are great givers until they pick up the fear of “not enough.”  Those of us who practice spirituality, meditation and affirmative thinking tend to revive that giving self.  We do not fear loss when we circulate our good.

     The other day I saw a tired looking man sitting on the curb with his meager belongings in a shopping cart beside him.  He looked forlorn.  I wanted to give him some money, but he was on the opposite side of the street. I pulled away, headed for home but I could not ignore the need in me to share.  I circled back and handed him a five-dollar bill.  He thanked me profusely but that is not why I did it.  I wanted him to know that people care; that things can change in a minute; that there is enough to go around; but mostly I wanted him to know he had been seen. 

     It is easy to lose one’s identity in this culture if one is not participating in commerce, that is, gainfully employed.  We place so much value on earning our way that our identity is attached to work and money. I noticed so many people ignoring those on the street or simply not seeing them.  That is the one thing that destroys hope: not being seen; not being of value, not worthy of recognition. Give a little or give a lot, but when you do, look that person right in the eye, letting them know they are not invisible, they have worth, they are still part of the human family. That is the gift that keeps on giving. It won’t solve the larger problem of why so many are homeless, but it will make a difference right then and there.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Be Open to New Thinking

Dear friends,

Emerson wrote that we are wiser than we know, and we are better than our theology. Imagine the sheer brain power it took to get humanity to this place in time where we communicate with each other on tiny devices, anywhere in the world. The ingenuity to develop railroads and airplanes; to build bridges and skyscrapers; to erect dams and the great ocean liners, is a tribute to our innate intelligence.  We have also used our brains to create superstitions and theologies that do not stand up in these times.

Theology is a kind of map of reality. It attempts to explain why things happen, not so much how they happen. That is the role of science. New Thought spirituality is a combination of science, philosophy and progressive ideas regarding our Source. It is meant to evolve, including scientific discoveries about the universe and our place in it. Having said that, it seems there will always be a great mystery about how the universe came to be in the first place; not the Big Bang itself, but what was the cause behind it?

Carl Jung said something about the blessing and the curse of human consciousness. Once we evolved into self-awareness we began to question everything.  Because we could not answer our own questions with any certainty,  we made up theology to explain our existence.  If we do not allow our map of reality to evolve, we become “stuck in the metaphor,” as Joseph Campbell observed.  New Thought spirituality encourages us to expand our own perception of who we are and what we have to work with beyond our own brain.  We have an innate intelligence, an intuition, creative imagination, all of which are components of Creation itself.  Will we ever know for sure how this universe is even possible and what it actually is?  Perhaps not, but we can do many wonderful things in the meantime. 

 Affirm: “My mind is free to entertain new ideas about everything.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

About the "Holy-Days"

Dear friends,

The holidays this year will be different as we commit to keeping ourselves and our families healthy and safe.  But we need not miss out on the good cheer and heart-warming feelings we have when we are with the ones we love. They can be generated by giving to others.  What if we bought what is required to make that big Turkey dinner, and then donated it all to a family in need? Would that be a way to experience gratitude ourselves? There will be many opportunities to give this year. Rather than sit out the holidays altogether, why not participate in them by sharing our good?

Remember, everything is temporary. Everything changes, evolves, disappears. The day will come when we are mask-free and together again.  Let’s not bemoan what we think is missing but act on what is real in us. That is the natural tendency to circulate, to participate in creating happiness.  We are hard-wired to bless, to unite with, to facilitate good will.  It is nature’s way of making sure we thrive as a species.

 One year I chose a family to support through a program at my bank. I never met them but I had names and ages.  The young son wanted a bicycle.  I doubt that he expected to see one on Christmas morning. It gave me great pleasure to buy him a super bike that any boy would love.  I could only imagine how happy he would be. I was living in Canada, far from my own family and I was alone that holiday, but it did not matter. I had a wonderful time thinking of Ramon and his new bike.

Let’s rethink what it means to have “Holy-days.”  Perhaps it is an inner experience of our own wholeness. No matter what, we always have something we can share that will bring more joy into the world.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Everything Seems Quieter

Dear friends,

Everything seems quieter. The collective unconscious has exhaled. Not that all our issues are gone, but many feel we will now see some serious efforts to solve them.  For those of us in the Spiritual community, as it were, our part now is to charge the atmosphere with love and compassion.  Gloating is not a healthy response.  Neither is shaming and blaming.  It was, and is, our shared creation whether we like it or not.  Now is our best chance to shape our future by being in the Light, not succumbing to the temptation of the Dark.

Emerson: “It is greatest to believe and to hope well of the world, because he who does so, quits the world of experience, and makes the world he lives in.” 

     Our personal day to day life is filled with our own thoughts and not much else.

The quality of our experience is the content of our mind.  Knowing that, let’s not give any space to anger, resentments or fear.  Let’s take up the hue and cry of the evolved “Life is Good right where I am.” Jesus. Buddha, Eckhart, and my Grandma all pointed us to Love as the highest healing energy.  Are we ourselves big enough to widen the circle to include those we thought were our enemies?  It is important for those who know the power of mind to use it wisely.  If we want peace, we must be peaceful.  Our inner awareness is the Cause of our immediate reality.

Affirm: “I use my mind to shape a glorious experience for all of us.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Let's Stop Calling Things Political When They Are Human Issues That Affect Us All

Dear friends,

You cannot predict what will be your teacher. It could be a wildly inappropriate leader or a pandemic. With a bit of hindsight, we might see how the worst of times led to the best of times, or at least the beginnings of a higher level of awareness.  While we would never be thankful for the effects the disease had on so many, if we can pull back to a more expanded point of view, we might see how “even this” is a kind of gift.  Anything that awakens humanity to its inner power and its oneness with all life, is beneficial.

Are you not a bit more compassionate, loving, appreciative, caring, generous, self-aware than you were, say, a year ago?  I believe our collective consciousness has been accelerated by the threat of the loss of freedom and the violent rhetoric coming from so-called leaders.  We woke up and we got up and we voted them out! Now we have more work to do, but we know we are up to the task.

We need to stop calling things “political” when they are issues that affect us all. We must address them, not as adherents to a particular party, but as human beings who care about the entire population of this planet.  It is time for us to see how powerful we are.  When we care about our future together and are willing to give up some unwarranted prejudices that have held us back for too long, we unleash tremendous healing energy.

 “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes

http://www.carol-carnes.com

Consciousness is a Continuum

Dear friends,

Good old Marcus Aurelius with his stoicism. He often has just the right advice for us when we may be floundering a bit.  He said to do what is in front of you and to do it “as if it were the last thing you would ever do.”  Now, if we want to combine that with the wisdom of the Buddhists, we might add “because the way you do the last thing you do is the consciousness you will take with you into the next incarnation.”  I think the point Aurelius was making is that we do not have all the time in the world to get it right. He is encouraging us to be here now and to not wait to be happy, useful, kind and in love with things as they are.

Consciousness is a continuum.  It flows forward, like everything does. When I was teaching classes in New Thought spirituality, I would use the analogy of the cowboy hero in old westerns.  He would do what he came to do in the little town needing help, then we would mount his horse and ride out and he would ride into the next town on the same horse!

Nothing changes until we adopt some new ideas and act on them.  Do it now and do it in the consciousness of gratitude.  That is the best way to build a future, wherever that may be.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Off the Top of My Head

Trump Holds Super Spreader Events with Old People as COVID Sets Record in US

by John Lawrence

Yesterday a record was set: 83,000 COVID infections, the highest ever. Meanwhile, Trump was holding a mainly maskless event in the Villages, a retirement community in Florida.The New England Journal of Medicine reported on October 8, 2020:

Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.

The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China. The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower-middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000. Covid-19 is an overwhelming challenge, and many factors contribute to its severity. But the one we can control is how we behave. And in the United States we have consistently behaved poorly.

Is this Vietnam's revenge? Vietnam is the country we ravaged burning women and children alive with Agent Orange while affecting our own soldiers as well. The number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat. Be that as it may, the fact that the death rate from COVID in the US is 3000 times greater than the death rate in Vietnam is astonishing. Could it have to do with the fact that Vietnam is the least obese country in the world while the US is among the most obese? Out of 191 countries Vietnam has an obesity rate of 2.1% while in the US the obesity rate is 36.2%. As we know obesity is an underlying condition for COVID morbidity. The American diet may be the main underlying condition. Burgers, pizza and fast food may have been a contributing factor to the COVID death rate.

We also know that countries that have got the pandemic under control have been able to reopen their economies successfully. China is on track to expand by roughly 5% in the third quarter roughly at the same rate as in 2019 before the pandemic hit. On the other hand countries that haven't gotten the pandemic under control such as the US have not been able to reopen successfully see sawing back and forth between reopening and reshuting as the COVUD infection rate see saws back and forth. Consumers are wary to come out in public as long as the infection rate is high. Since consumption is 70% of the US economy, much larger than the European consumption rate of 50%, it is more important in the US that consumption remains high in order for the economy to sustain itself. After the election, providing Biden wins, there will probably be another installment of the CARES Act putting money directly in consumers' hands thus preventing the US economy from free fall.

Expert opinion holds that US leadership, namely Trump and his cronies, has abjectly failed in its response to the COVID pandemic. Elections have consequences. Electing clowns like George W Bush, who lied us into a tragic war in Iraq, and Trump who was Missing in Action with respect to the COVID pandemic shows the ignorant mistakes the American electorate has made. Gore and Hillary Clinton would have been infinitely more competent in dealing with the crises that America has had to face. Let's not make the same mistake again! This time we must elect Joe Biden or the US is finished as a world leader. A democracy is only as good as the competence and intelligence of the citizens comprising it. So far the American people - some of them - have displayed their ignorance and incompetence by not wearing masks and complaining that they have a right not to do so. Freedom may just be another name for nothing left to lose as the Kris Kristofferson song says.

The Garden

Dear friends,

Ralph Waldo Emerson loved life. He was effusive in his joy at being alive. Here is a quote from him: “I will at least be glad of my days, I who have so many of them, and having been informed by God, though in the most casual manner that my funds are inexhaustible, I will believe it with all my heart.”

Can we be glad of our days?  Can we believe that our supply is inexhaustible? The casual manner he speaks of, I believe, is his intuition, his inner knowing, his relationship with Nature.  It is as if he were saying “look around, pay attention, Life is complete in and of itself.”  The error in most minds is our tendency to think little of ourselves.  This comes from religions that are rooted in sin’ those that teach us we are guilty of something terrible, which most of us have yet to define, yet we feel unworthy of the inexhaustible supply that we intuit to be real.

It seems to me that humans have misspent their days on earth trying to repent for something we did not do. How sad to be kicked out of the Garden because the feminine aspect of our nature said “eat the fruit! Be happy! Enjoy the days you are here!”  But the masculine had to make it into a battle with the natural forces of his body.  He had to see his freedom to name everything as some kind of retribution, as an obligation.   Without the influence of the Feminine he went to war with God, with his perception of evil, with Nature.

None of us knows how many days we have here.  Emerson’s advice would be to relish every moment, to be like a child discovering her freedom again and again.  We have never actually left the Garden. Only our perception of separation from God makes it seem so.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

When Things Look the Worst

Dear friends,

Many of us are facing scary financial situations with the loss of income due to this pandemic. I remember the title of a book by Rev Chet Castellaw “When Things Look the Worst.” That is the time our beliefs are really put to the test. That is the time we must reinforce our spiritual connection to the Source of all. We may be tempted to think there is no way our coffers will be filled. With unemployment running out, no possibility of income looks real. My living mantra has always been “Spirit has never failed me and it won’t fail me now.” I look back on my life and see the many gifts that have come my way seemingly “out of the Blue” that were exactly what was needed in the moment.

The great Emmet Fox used to say God provides “money or molecules” depending on our situation.  With all that in mind I offer an affirmative statement regarding our supply:  Know this for yourself:

There is only One Life being all life, the Cause of the universe and everything in it. It is pure Love and Absolute Intelligence. That one life is right where I am, all the time, all of it, all at once. It hears my call and responds in kind. I declare that I am wealthy, debt free and always have plenty of money to spare and share. I know that my supply may come through many avenues here on earth. I am grateful and delighted at how creative Spirit is in fulfilling my request. I have everything necessary to live this life with boundless enthusiasm and with deep peace.  So it is.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol.carnes.com

Th Body Heals Wihout Our Knowing How

Dear friends,

I can’t get over how fast my fingernails grow. They were so long a couple of weeks ago that I had to cut them down.  Now they are long again! I did nothing to make this happen. I could not see the actual growing, only the results. Somehow the intelligence within took the food I ate and turned it into fingernails, and hair and tissue and bone.  Everybody knows this but how often do we stop to consider what a miracle it is and, furthermore, what else it implies?

That same intelligence heals major and minor wounds.  It grows new skin over abrasions, it digests our food and eliminates waste. Amazing!  Leading scientists who study this relationship are now realizing that the intelligence responds to our thoughts and energized feelings, such as fear and love.  It seems that we can, and do, interfere with its natural tendency to keep us in optimal health.  Here is the most intriguing part of this.  It is not the intelligence of the body, itself. It is the intelligence manifesting the body and maintaining it.

For me, this is a perfect example of Mind outside the body but operating as the body.  It’s first responder is the brain.  The initial impulse is to maintain wholeness; that signal is given to the brain to provide direction to the cells. However, the brain is so highly individualized that we each have a unique experience of our own wholeness. 

Depending on the quality of our thoughts, the signal either comes through as intended or it gets compromised en-route.  That is why New Thought spirituality puts such emphasis on healthy thinking, on affirmative beliefs, on cheerful expectation. It doesn’t ask us to be reckless with our health, rather to be grateful for it and mindful of its ongoing dedication to our well-being.

Know this: “My health is a given. It is the visible evidence of an incredible intelligence at work.  It is forever responding to my most energized thoughts. I think, speak and express Love for myself and all Life.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Highest Image of our Shared Future

Dear friends,

Trust the process. It is all unfolding exactly as it must. There is a critical mass of us holding the highest image of our shared future. Nothing less can manifest. Things must come unglued before they are recreated in a new shape. The glue that holds everything together is Love. In this sense Love is attention, commitment, caring, energy, inclusiveness.  If these are missing what has appeared will dissolve into the nothingness from whence it came.

We are in the dissolution phase of everything that does not include Love. Racism, sexism, homophobia, greed, violence, fascism, inequality, inequity; they are all coming apart in our collective consciousness. We cannot thrive with them in place. Often the epitome of everything we do not want is revealed so that we can be resolute in our refusal to put up with it any longer. We see that now.

Our votes this year are not for a person. They are votes for the future of humanity.  We will not allow a world without Love. We are better than what is before us.  We are greater than anything we have ever done. We are more aware of our interdependence than ever. We are the ones with the truest voice, and we shall be heard.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Nature Is My Antidote

Dear friends,

It was a small moment of joy.  My friend, Roger Egret, has returned for his annual visit, although he is about a month early. I had been wondering if he would be back this year and suddenly, as I started to climb the stairs to my place, there he was, standing regally about 30 feet away.  I silently greeted him and watched as he took flight into one of the towering trees nearby.

I am finding that with all the ugliness that humans are displaying, Nature is my antidote.  Left to its own devices, it thrives effortlessly. It is an integrated system that works. We have not learned from her because there is a long-held belief that we are superior to her. What nonsense!  Those in power have raped her and pillaged her resources and left her barren in their wake. It continues to this day.  It is also how women have been treated.

Helen Reddy died yesterday. She was the Australian singer who was a feminist icon for her original song “I am Woman.”  She was one of the voices attempting to pierce the thick skulls of those in power, to include women in policy making. The battle continues to this day.  Women represent Nature. We have her best interests in mind. We know that we can advance the species by interacting with her in intelligent ways. Men who have activated their whole self, that is, included the Feminine aspect of their Being, are carrying the message into the all-male ranks of power. 

If we continue to dismiss Nature and her human representatives, women, we shall perish.  Vote for those who care. Vote for the inclusion of the Feminine. Vote for wisdom.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com 

A Tendency to Wholeness

Dear friends,

In the essay on Compensation, Emerson wrote something pertinent to any age; “Things refuse to be mismanaged long.  Though no checks to a new evil appear, the checks exist and will appear.”

There is a tendency to wholeness and the magnetizing power of Love in Life. It is almost as if universal mind will not allow us to mess up for too long. She will set things to rights by any means necessary. Perhaps it seems random but there is nothing random in the universe. There is always the cause behind the form or event. The Cause behind human cause will eventually push through.That is what is happening right now.  To say it in relative terms, it’s as if God has said “just stay home for a bit and let me handle this.” Meaning, there will be events and challenges that demand more of us, that call us to insist on what seems unavoidable if we are to survive.  We must have liberty and justice for all, or it is game over.  There are too many of us on the planet to do it any other way.

Emerson wrote “there is a deep, remedial force that underlies all facts.” What seems to be the worst of times will one day be seen as necessary to the greater good. What looked like loss will be revealed as the path to gain. Emerson’s overall message is usually some version of ‘don’t be fooled by facts. They are movable and temporary. Something good is trying to happen.’ That is the message of modern New Thought spirituality as well. We must stay alert, while remaining in trust of the process. We do what we are called to do, but we do it with good cheer, not angst.

To once again quote Dr. Jean Houston:

“This is the time and we are the people. Do not be afraid. You were born for this.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Living Up to Our Potential

Dear friends,

When the properties of the quantum realm in physics were first proposed, the leading scientists of the time could not accept or believe what the evidence was showing. Even Albert Einstein denounced the new theory.  It seems that is inevitable.  When a larger Reality is perceived, the human mind resists. Our perception is shattered. We are rattled, as it were. Loathe to adapt to the new, we often try our best to put Humpty-Dumpty together again.  Clinging to the way it has been has never advanced the species and it will not work in today’s world.

     The larger reality we have recently been forced to see is the rampant use of force, the common injustices, the misuse of power, the rape of the environment, the abuse of children and on and on. These things have always been with us but we refused to see them. Even those of us who were the victims of child abuse did not speak about it in fear of retribution.   In juxtaposition to the beauty, order and perfect balance of Nature, we look like raving maniacs. But things are surfacing to be removed. It is a long-term commitment we must make beginning with whom we allow to represent us at the level of policy and law-making.

     You have noticed how many are in denial of the dis-ease we have created, and I am not merely referring to a virus.  There are those who refuse to accept the atrocities done to our fellow humans, to the greed and lack of compassion for the oppressed, the hungry, the powerless. Some of those same people have been adversely affected but they do not recognize it.  Aligning with the abuser is a survival tactic that is not uncommon.

     And so we come to the moment we are facing and it is not a political one. We are in the most potent time in human history. Shall we live up to our potential? Shall we survive and thrive as a species? Shall we right the wrongs and live in harmony with each other and nature?  It begins with taking Power away from those who are corrupted by it and placing it in the hands of those who believe in what the new physics is proposing: we are One. We all arise out of the same common field of Love and Intelligence. In our difference is our sameness.  We have everything we need to create a world that works for everyone.  Insist on it. Speak about it!   Vote for it!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

What is Mine to Do?

Dear friends,

     The air quality here is so bad we are told to stay inside.  Like many of you I have been inside for 6 months, alone and unable to see my children. My only outing is to get groceries, or the car washed.  I am not complaining.  I know how blessed I am to have a place to be, to be healthy and away from the fires. Yet I wonder what I can do today to be of any use.  I donate money to various good causes. I write this daily blog, which some people find helpful.  Is that it for me?

     The question “what is mine to do?” has never been more important than right now.  Perhaps what is ours to do is to simply look around and see what is needed. There may be folks in your neighborhood who need a bit of help keeping the lawn mowed or the trash receptacles taken out.  Little things can mean a lot right now. The issues facing humanity are so big that we might succumb to feelings of powerless-ness, but solving them begins with our interactions with each other.

     The more connected we are, the more power we have. Divide and Conquer is the tried and true tactic of those who would keep us downtrodden and oppressed.  We cannot allow that to happen. We are not enemies. We are neighbors.  We must not allow our natural tendency to reach out and touch to be co-opted by those who seek to rule.  Perhaps what is ours to do is to insist on our oneness, in thought, word and deed. We begin with our own perceptions.  The first action to take is always within our own mind. Let’s not let old ideas turn us against each other. Let’s be kind and careful. Let’s be helpful and aware.       Let’s talk truth, not trash.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Gratitude is a Powerfully Healing Agent

Dear friends,

If we cannot find much to praise right now, we can always praise Nature. We can celebrate color and how it varies with the light. We can marvel at the stars in the night sky or the clouds drifting by on agratitude is a powerfully healing agent sunny day. Praise the rain and the wind and the trees. The point is to not keep praise in your body, but to let it out and lavish your surroundings with it. Your body will thank you because praise leads to gratitude and gratitude is a powerfully healing agent. Gratitude pushes out the toxins that clutter our inner life, whether they be thoughts or anxieties or chemicals.
If we do not praise now, we might never feel our most natural state again. I read a quote from Pema Chodron today about praising life in the moment. She said, “this might be the last strawberry you will ever eat.” Taste it, praise its sweetness, its redness. Feel the simple happiness that comes with appreciation. Some people think that if we are not agitated and angry about current events, we will do nothing to change them. Those energies are not sustainable. They will flare up and burn out.

The secret is, we will act to protect that which we praise!

Praise diversity. Praise kindness, compassion and wisdom. Praise good leaders and praise their actions. Praise democracy and praise the freedoms we enjoy. Praise the continuation of conscious evolution. Praise these times as the ones for which we were born. Praise your mind and Praise the Source of all Life. Gratitude will follow and we will know exactly what to do.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Do You Feel Like Happiness is the Truth?

Dear friends,

Have anyone ever asked you “How can you be happy at a time like this?”  It seems logical to be sad or angry when certain events take place but those are fleeting emotions.  Happiness is a state of mind, a default setting, that our awareness returns to again and again.  Better said, happiness rises up again, it will not be kept down. Why? Because it is vitality and joy, both spiritual energies, felt at the human level.

A truly happy person cannot remain negative for very long. That does not mean they are oblivious to the pain of others; it means they are more available to helping others.  How does one become happy?  There is not a long list of habits to cultivate; only one, really.  It has to do with removing as many distractions as possible and being with our Self.  There is an inner wellspring of joy that can be felt in silence.  With regular practice we discover that we are happy for no reason. That is the most natural state of the human mind. It is not a mood.  It is a constant.

People chase happiness with drugs, money, sex, power and success.  Seeking happiness in the outer world will always leave us bereft. Remember when you were very small, the joy you felt in chasing butterflies, picking petals off flowers, lying in the grass, or running through sprinklers.  You were feeling the bliss of being alive, happiness.  It is that natural enthusiasm for living that is the root of happiness. It elicits gratitude and a belief in the higher Good. It can be reawakened.  Times like these are a true test of our happiness quotient.  Is there some reason not to find it again?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

We Will Have to Become Spiritual Warriors

Dear friends,

It is easy to see the driving forces of our time: Vision and Fear.  Fear is the energy of those who carry weapons, who loot and riot. Fear drives those who do not think things through but react to whom or what seems to offer something that will assuage the fear for a moment. Their hue and cry is “My lousy life is all your fault. You are the enemy!” They may have legitimate concerns, but their voices cannot be heard above the sounds of hate and gunfire.

Vision is the driving force within those who have hope for humanity. They believe that people can change. They see through the appearance to possibility. They know what needs to be done to begin the transformation of our shared world. 

The clash between the two is the inability to communicate with one another. Fear cannot believe Vision really cares about them. Vision can be too big picture and miss the pleas for help that are cloaked in anger.

What can we do? The answer to every problem is a spiritual one. We will have to become Spiritual Warriors. We do not carry guns, but we do bring stability into our own mind, first. That is, fight off thoughts that denounce others for any reason. When we vision for a better more equitable world, we include everyone. Spread the vision like it was water to a raging fire. In your mind, think of humanity as one Being, expressing in many bodies, but essentially the same. There are no enemies.  We all want love and peace, happiness and prosperity, health and creativity.  Vote for those who have the experience and intention to bring about a more perfect union. Vote for intelligence, compassion, education and diversity. Vote for those who can further the vision into visibility. Support them in any way you can."Now is the time, we are the people. We are the ones we have been waiting for. " 

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Say Yes to Bliss

Dear friends,

In his book “Journey to Awakening” Ram Dass warns us of the traps of attachment, whether it be to a spiritual practice or to a memory.  They are both obstacles on the path.  What path? Any path.  Some become very attached to their religion and become method junkies. “This is the only way”, they insist. Others are plagued by memories of former days of happiness or are riddled with guilt about the past. In either case, there can be no bliss in the moment.  Bliss in the moment is what spiritual travelers are seeking. Call it peace or liberation, it is the bliss of Being that we are after.

We knew that bliss in early childhood, but it didn’t last long as we were indoctrinated into the world of time and space.  We soon learned that this is a deceptive place.  On the one hand there is fun and play but also anger and punishment.  Adults are different than they pretend to be.  There are hidden energies everywhere and a child learns to protect themselves from some of them. Hence, we develop various coping mechanisms.  Coping with life becomes normal.  We are not truly living it.  Look at your life today.  Have you been coping or living?

It might seem as if coping were the only option right now, with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.  But no, we can be truly alive under any circumstances.  It doesn’t mean we ignore the issues in our time, but that we are not attached to them as obstacles.  (think about that statement.) Opportunities come in disguise, sometimes.  This may be one of them.  Let’s allow ourselves to be more open to what is trying to happen and less attached to what seems to be opposing it. Let’s not be attached to how it will happen.  Let’s just say YES to blissful living and see where it takes us. 

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Time to Be Grateful

Dear friends,

There has never been a better time to be grateful.  It might seem like there are too many important issues facing us as a people to be grateful.  Perhaps we ought to be angry or resigned.  But grateful? Yes.  Sincere gratitude is a state of mind that breaks up stuck energy.  It is a catalyst for movement.  It puts us back in charge of our immediate experience, which is what is required for proactive future-building. A mind that is resentful, churned up with anger or frustration is a mind that has lost power.

Think about it this way; When we are grateful for the breath we take now, for the meal we enjoy now, for the sun on our skin, for the water we drink, for the people we love, and so forth, we are in effect saying to the ugliness “you have no power. I see through you. The real world is still here. I live in a state of grace.”  Of course, there are those who would say you are naïve or ignoring the facts.  Exactly. Ignoring the facts is important in this sense. I am speaking about a spiritual practice that opens the mind to power and possibility.  If we identify as downtrodden or controlled, we are in trouble. We are participating in creating a future no one would welcome.

Gratitude for what is real overrides appearances to the contrary, which are temporary and passing.  Our leaders are all temporary.  Dis-ease is temporary. All  the terrible effects that we are now observing, are temporary. They are nothing in and of themselves. A change of consciousness will bring new effects.  It is difficult to convey this principle without inciting resistance, but it is important that we revisit how things happen.  Perhaps  “we the people” is beginning to have real meaning in our collective mind. It begins with us and we are the way good happens.

Gratitude is step one.  Rather than argue the point, try it and notice the shifts in your inner experience. What we are creating is a better point of departure for our vision of a loving and prosperous world.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Our First Mistake

Dear friends,

Everyone has made mistakes, but what does that mean exactly?  Breaking down the word into a “miss-take”, it implies we had a flawed perception or “take” on Reality.  We tend to make wise decisions, with positive outcomes, when they are based in Reality.  For those of us who study these things, Reality means the responsive and creative universal Law fulfills our most energized ideas, regardless of what they are.  It behooves us to expect success, but to also make sure our choices are for the highest good of ourselves and all concerned.

Mistakes are often the result of fear.  We mistakenly believe that we are the victims of the weather, the economy or other circumstances.  We expect the worst and we usually get it. What is your take on Reality today?  It would be tempting to observe the current climate and mistakenly think we are being attacked or oppressed.  But there is more to it.  The huge shifts in consciousness (our collective take on Reality) are causing the old paradigms to break down and crumble. More and more of us no longer believe in luck or a God in the sky who favors some over others. We are tuning in to the finer vibrations of our universe. We are realizing that what happens to us, happens through us and we are actually creating our local reality.  The universe appears as place but it is actually an ongoing event, shaped by consciousness; ie our current take on Reality.

Our first mistake was thinking we had failed some test in the spiritual realm. The story of Adam and Eve suggests that.  But that story has a much deeper meaning. It is about naming the world of form, giving it meaning and having dominion over our experience. We mistook ourselves for something separate from our Source. We have been experiencing the effects of that mistake ever since. Now is the time to shake off those old superstitions and enter the next phase of human evolution consciously.

Affirm:  “My Reality is that God is within me. I am its expression. I own my experience. I believe love and vitality, prosperity and peace are mine to shape into my personal reality.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Infinite Night Sky

Dear friends,

There is something restorative about seeing images of exotic birds and other animals on the internet.  People are posting pictures of the most wildly arrayed parrots, lizards, frogs, cats and many other species that prompt me to utter “wow.”  Seeing these beautiful Beings gives me a sense of the intricate care put into this world; how there is purpose in everything.  It reminds me that I am one of them, alive in the natural world, and I have purpose. I see our planet as a garden of diversity and beauty.

On the other hand, when I used to visit planetariums or a few years ago when I went to the lower summit of Mauna Kea and saw the night sky illumined with millions of stars, so close I felt immersed in them, I had the realization that we are part of something so vast, so mysterious, so infinite, that there is no need to fuss over what is happening here.

When I was a young mother, we took our kids to the various museums in Los Angeles.  The dinosaurs, the early people depicted in dioramas, gave us the experience of knowing life goes on despite the times.  Evolution is real and the creative process is unending.  It served to remind us that our time here is limited, that we, too shall pass on, but there will be no ending to life, itself.

 When I was aged ten I saw something in the night sky that changed me at depth. It was a point of light traveling in a straight line and then stopping, pulsating and tearing off at a 60 degree angle, at amazing speeds, into the stars I knew then that there is so much to discover, so much more to life than this little lifetime. It made me want to find answers, to experience the More.  I also felt that I was part of the Cause of it all.  It was the beginning of my spiritual journey.

Life is magical.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Imagination is Silly. It Makes You Go Around Willy Nilly.

Dear friends,

Here is a lyric from an old song “imagination is funny, it makes a cloudy day sunny, makes the bee think of honey, just as I think of you.”  Take the last word and substitute it with what has your attention.  The implication is that what we think of with focus tends to be like honey to a bee.  We are naturally drawn to it in the outer world, and it to us.  Neville is the only spiritual teacher I have found who calls imagination the Christ. This is a somewhat radical idea, but it makes sense.

He postulates that when scriptures refer to “him or he” as the one who answers prayers, it is a reference to our imagination. “In him we live and move and have our Being.”  We are immersed in a field of quivering, expectant intelligence which is responsive to our imagined ideas, which become concepts, which turn into circumstances and things in the outer world.  This is the formula that Neville lays down at our feet.  It is so simple and easy to grasp.  The challenge is to manage our attention which tends to jump all over the place.

One-pointed thought or mindfulness is, indeed, a serious practice.  Serious because it is necessary in the manifestation process.  This does not mean tense concentration, but rather, spending time imagining yourself as already having what you desire!  It means putting your whole Being in the image. “I am that.” There is not a denying power that is a lesson giver. That is superstitious thinking. This universe runs on principles, not punishment.  I encourage you to find a copy of The Power of Awareness by Neville.  I plan to do an online class using it as a springboard for discussion. Let me know if you are interested.

Affirm: “I am that which I desire.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Imagination Summons a World of Possibility

Dear friends,

William Blake referred to imagination as the ‘eternal world.’  He said this physical universe is but a ‘faint shadow’ of the eternal.   Unfortunately, in our world, it has been relegated to the realm of fantasy. It has been trivialized and ridiculed as child’s play.  Yet, Einstein said imagination is greater than knowledge. Nothing happens without it first being used.  The beloved spiritual teacher, Neville, wrote an entire book about imagination, calling it the ‘Christ’ within us. How active is yours?  If it is the Creative Force, what are you doing with it?  

It is perfectly understandable that our perception is narrow, that we are mainly involved with our personal experience and do not much concern ourselves with the ‘eternal.’  That being the case, have you noticed that when you do go into that space (in meditation or scientific prayer) how everything seems better afterwards?  It is true that we can shift our mind from worry and doubt, emotional pain of any kind, into peace an optimism, simply by the right use of our imagination. In that eternal world, the problems do not exist!

The imaginative realm is pre-manifestation. It is pure potential. It is formless and timeless. It is where we draw inspiration and answers.  What is an answer if not the opposite of the problem?  The human mind is the entrance point for what is imagined into the world of experience. It is our relationship to the inner realm that keeps the entry way open. If we would spend even an hour a day visiting possibility our lives would be dramatically improved. The technique is simple.  Sit down, be still and do nothing.  Watch your thoughts come and go. Let your mind settle.  Wait. Let it be. After sitting in silence for some time, introduce your desire into the eternal. It might sound like this “I live in a world of peace and plenty for all.” You will be the first person to receive the blessing of a changed mind. The effects must surely follow.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Dear friends,

Marcus Aurelius: “what stands in the way becomes the way.”

We can be impeded but we cannot be stopped by the impediment. We keep on. Often the resistance clarifies our next steps. That has certainly been the case for civil rights activists and anyone earnestly trying to bring about a great change. Scientists encounter obstacles, yet their intention and their conviction push them forward.  The soul cannot be deterred. Non-violent social activism is soul driven. The ego would give up after the first violent backlash.  A higher purpose or a great idea gives us the staying power we need to accomplish what others think too difficult or even impossible.

We admire soul driven folks like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. but do we identify with them?  Do we see that they are human beings just like us?  The only difference is their refusal to give up and to persevere until they succeeded. The striking trait of those who achieve at the highest level is how they gather others into the dream. They do not act alone. We do not have to be the one who leads, but we can be one of the many.  An example is supporting a cause with our money.

“No Kid Hungry" is a charity I give to on a regular basis. I believe deeply that every child ought to have regular meals all year long.  I could not achieve that lofty goal alone, but I can help make it a reality.  That is exactly what voting is about. Each of us assists in making our world a better place by participating in shaping it. One of the great tenets of Democracy is that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.  The irony is that all of us come equipped with the only thing that has ever sparked the soul to do impossible things.  We have a mind that has access to its universal component. We can think beyond our current circumstance.  We begin with “what if” which becomes “why not” which transforms into “we can.” This is the secret that drives the soul. This is the start of lasting change.

Stayed tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carolcarnes-com

People Do Change

Dear friends,

Marcus Aurelius: “be attentive to the power inside you and worship it sincerely.”

If we are sincerely devoted to our relationship with the power within, we will not be inclined to deny the power in others.  That is what real condemnation is, declaring others incapable of change.  That is damnation.  It can be hard to see through the antics of ignorance but we really must try. Aurelius said what is divine is in all, what is human is like us.  We can  understand motives because we may have done something similar ourselves, or have been tempted to do so.

 People do change. I watched a true story involving the late Rep. John Lewis. During one of his many marches with the civil rights activists, he was beaten brutally by a young white man, a member of the KKK.  About 30 years later, that same man came to see the congressman in his office. He came to apologize, to tell Lewis that he had completely changed his perception, that he now denounces all racist inclinations.  Lewis said “I will forgive you.”

It seems important right now that we do not lose our vision of an awakened humanity.  Regardless of the ignorant actions of many people, we have to hold the higher idea as alive and well and on the move through the collective unconscious.  Of course that does not mean we are superior to others, just a bit more aware of our shared potential.  We see it, feel it and act as if it were so, in ourselves and everyone else.

Affirm  “ I see through the behaviors to the beautiful Self within. I am attentive to my own power and use it for Good.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

 

Now We Must Be Patient

Dear friends,

This week on Facebook, someone asked what one thing have we learned during this time of sheltering in place.  Almost everyone said “patience.”  That is understandable since we all want this thing to be over and yet we can do very little to make it happen. We must be patient.  However, it made me think about how, if we are truly present in the moment, we do not need patience.  In that experience, we are not wanting anything to change; we are simply being in the here and now.  “Now” there is ample opportunity to practice the ancient spiritual art of Being without much Doing.

I joked to a friend on the phone that this is almost like being under house arrest, except I can go out for groceries or even a long drive if I am alone. It occurs to me that this time could serve me well in the future if I do not rail against it but use it as a kind of chosen isolation.  A monk chooses to enter the cave, knowing he will face himself but also deepen his understanding of his true nature.  Devoid of interaction with other people, we come face to face with our habituated thoughts, perhaps our demons.

One thing I have discovered recently is how much my mind wandered into the past where I revisited family betrayals and once again felt the sting.  I was even dreaming about those times.  Suddenly, after a contentious conversation with someone I deeply care about, I had a realization.  It sounds so simple and of course, deep realizations often are.  I  realized I could let it all go and not speak of it or think about it again. That was a few days ago and it has actually worked. I feel as if I have more mental space, more peace, more time.  The dreams have stopped.  It was rather stunning how easy it was to do.  This was not suppression. It was truly a conscious release of a cluster of ideas and images that have no place in my right now experience.

What gift is yours to discover?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes  www.carolcarnes-com

Let's Go Forward, Not Back

Dear friends,

In the movie Cast Away, the stranded man cannot get off his island because the waves coming in are too high, too large, too fast for him to get over without a sail. Although he manages to build a fire, learns to spear fish and finds shelter, he is always longing to get back to life, which lies on the other side of what seems too powerful to overcome.

In his essay, “Circles” Emerson illustrates how we create the outer limits of anything, be it “the rules of art, an empire, religious rites.”  We erect a mental, psychological circumference that becomes like that impassable wave.  We need, not a sail, but a soul, as Emerson noted, to burst over the boundary and expand into another orbit. Life is circular and spiral-like.  We may feel hemmed in right now, even assuming this restriction is the “new normal.” What if it is a holding pattern, while we fortify our souls, coalescing energy to do what we need to do to launch humanity into a higher level of living together on this planet.

Not everyone will be able to use this time as a spiritual retreat, but there are enough of us who can, a critical mass of seniors who have the time to meditate, to consider possibilities, to imagine a world of peace and plenty for all.  What we have to work with is our magnificent mind and our wisdom and our higher self, which can open us to a vision for a “new normal.”

It feels as if we are not meant to be comfortable right now, but busy.  Spiritually busy, pushing out the boundaries of our own limiting beliefs, seeing beyond the reef, to the open field of beginnings. I think we have realized we do not want to “go back” to how it was, but that our souls long for deep, remedial change.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

But Act We Must

Dear friends,

It would not be surprising if many of us are having an “Arjuna” moment. Remember how world weary he had become? In the midst of battles raging all around him, all he sees is evil. He cries out to his Charioteer, (who happens to be Krishna) “why are we killing our kinsmen?”  He feels like he can fight no more battles.  Now we see our own battles everywhere.   People in the streets, shouting to be heard, brutality and despair.  Those of us who have reached advanced ages, have seen it all before. Perhaps not quite this dramatic, all at once and in the middle of a pandemic! But nevertheless, we hear ourselves cry “will we never learn to live together in peace?”

Krishna (the higher Self) tells Arjuna to do his job. He says to get up and participate.  He challenges him to see through his proclaimed compassion to the despondency it masks.  In a sense he is advising Arjuna to attend to what is right in front of him.  That would have to begin with remembering that this life is temporary, that our soul is eternal, that to be human is a gift, that we are here to help the evolution of our collective.  We cannot do that by giving up, retreating or ignoring the very real battle that is transpiring.  Krishna is more or less advising Arjuna to remember his Spirit and be not afraid for his life, but to do what is his to do.

Does that seem fitting for us right now?  Is there something we can do today to alleviate suffering for someone?  Have we claimed our inner Krishna recently? Are we tuned in to the finer vibrations of our soul? Are we listening to the Self that is our charioteer?   Be, first. Act second. But act we must.  There is a way to be in the midst of the action but above the fray. We are all warriors of some kind, battling for Good.  Krishna told Arjuna “Stand up and fight.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

All Things Shall Pass in Time

Dear friends,

As you well know, nothing lasts forever. All things pass in time. One does not need to be a Buddhist to notice the impermanence of things. However, it is all too easy to forget that simple truth when dealing with loss or pain or ill health or financial struggles. Marcus Aurelius said “Existence flows past us like a river: the “what” is in constant flux; the “why” has a thousand variations.” In his stoic manner, he goes on to say it would take an idiot to be either self-important or in distress. That certainly rings of the Buddhist “middle way” path.

New Thought, being an American spirituality, is a bit more proactive   Although equally stressing the transitory nature of things, New Thought teaches us to direct the flow.  In other words, do not sit and wait to see what happens, but use the power of your mind to help the thing either grow or diminish, whatever it may be.  In financial times, image wealth and sufficiency; when ill, imagine being healthy and whole; when the heart is broken, think of how much love you still have in your heart; affirm your desire to express it in relationship.

In these times of the pandemic, the racial tension, the obvious dying of very old paradigms, what ought we be thinking about?  As a beginning point, focus on beauty, color, music; then extend to Nature and her perfection, her ingenuity, her attention to detail.  Remind yourself that there is Something Else present and Causing this array of diversity.  Once we are centered in the consciousness of our oneness with it, we are prepared to affirm that our desire is in the making. We see a world of Love and peace. My personal affirmation is to me, all inclusive.  It is “In this world every child is safe with every adult and every other Being.”

That means they are well cared for, not abused in any way. They are well fed and loved, respected regardless of ethnicity.  They can thrive wherever they may be, encouraged to fully express themselves. In order for this to be true, there can be no violence, no racism, no sexism, none of the things we now put up with. The old ways have been defeated, not by the passing of time, but by the pictures in our mind. Then we have a foundation for action. We do the right thing, effortlessly.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

If Not Now, When?

Dear friends,

    We have had triple digit temperatures all week, yet there is a crew outside repaving the parking area.   This is hot, smelly work in the best conditions.  It must be almost unbearable right now.  Our world would be so different without trained men and women who are willing to do the hard things so the rest of us can live more comfortably.  Nowadays they are paid well but we have that ugly history of slavery.  Those Americans built this country without any pay at all, under terrible treatment and horrible living conditions.  Personally, I feel Black people who came from Africa as slaves, brought a richness to our culture that has enhanced our shared experience.  Some of the greatest inventions came from individuals of color, in every walk of life; science, medicine, agriculture, religion, entertainment, literature, the arts, music, athletics and so much more.  I feel grateful to them as I do for those outside doing the work right now.

      In some way, every group who came here brought unique gifts with them; their cuisine, their music, their language, their customs.   The First Nations tribes who were here when our ancestors arrived, made the greatest sacrifice of all.  Their land was stolen, their children kidnapped, their language and culture abolished.   My children’s paternal grandfather was full blood Choctaw. His sister Ida was once known as the “oil queen of Oklahoma.” During the depression, the U.S. government confiscated her land. She was left with nothing.  There is much in our history that is shameful.  The treatment of women is nothing to be proud of, either.

      Awareness is the first step in healing.  We all have a story of injustice of some kind. Together we are owning our story right now. It is painful.  It is shocking. It is regrettable. It is shaming. Yet here we are with the most incredible potential to create a country that exemplifies our highest values. As Dr. Jean Houston has so passionately said “this is the time. We are the people. If not us, who? If not now, when?”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Brighten Someone's Day

Dear friends,

The Dollar store sells books!  I buy several at a time and after reading them, they go to support the local university’s library.  It seems a simple and fair exchange. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to participate in the betterment of our community.  I was trying to put air in my tire and could not get it to work. I asked a young man who was delivering supplies to the gas station if he would help. He did not hesitate, but had the job done in no time. I gave him five dollars to buy himself a beer.  He gave me a big grin and a “thanks, lady.”  It was a good trade.  People are quick to help when asked. It is also  to not wait to be asked but to look around and see what needs to happen.

       I know someone who keeps a supply of dog food, water and little plastic bowls  in her car.  She often sees a stray who is obviously hungry.  I saw a report about a young man who wondered how homeless men could go so long without a hot shower and a shave.  He outfitted an old bus with showers and stocked it with clean clothes. He got Barbers to donate their time for haircuts and shaves. The recipients were overjoyed but I imagine the awareness that someone actually saw their need and cared enough to do something about it was the real gift.

      It doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day.  Let’s consider what we have that we could share.  In these times of social distancing, it is still possible to do some good.  Be nice to workers in the stores. Tell them you appreciate them. Say thank you for everything anybody does for you.  I know I am speaking to the choir, that you are already a generous giver.  It’s just that we can feel so cut off from the world now, we might forget how much need is still out there.  Giving without expectation of a return is a serious spiritual practice.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Dear friends,

     If you couldn’t see your coffee, would you know it was brown?  Take a sip with your eyes closed, it has no taste other than of hot water with a little flavoring.  Seeing the rich dark color seems to make it better. People have their favorite beverages but when asked to do blind taste tests they often pick another brand as the best tasting.  This happened with a group of folks who were devotees of a particular brand of vodka. They swore it was the only one worth consuming. In a blind taste test with several brands involved, they vehemently declared  it to be the worst tasting one!  They had a hard time believing the results.  They insisted they had been tricked.  Perception is very tricky.

     We can be so invested in a perception that we will fight for it even when it has been proven wrong.  Often we have become so attached to the idea that somehow our very self-worth gets involved.  “Wait a minute”, the mind argues, ”if  my beliefs about ‘them’ were completely false, what does that say about me?”   Fanatics will defend their position even when they no longer actually believe in the original premise. The question arises “what else have I been wrong about?” The ego mind does not want to hear the answer to that.

     Spiritual courage is revealed in the one who can honestly say “I got that all wrong.”  We are able to do it when we have a clearer perception of ourselves.  If our essential self is always intact, then our ideas do not define us. Therefore, we can change our mind and not fear the loss of anything real.  Ideas come and go. The I am remains. Perceptions are temporary. Updating them is always possible. That is the secret to emotional maturity and mental freedom.

Affirm:  “I let old ideas that limit me or anyone else, float away gently. No harm, no foul.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes  www.carol-carnes.com

Is the Pandemic a Wake-Up Call?

Dear friends,

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water…….!  You know I look at everything from the point of view that a higher Intelligence is always at work to bring about a greater good for all.  It needs our participation of course, but it does attempt to move us off previous positions that did not produce greater good for all. That said, we have been given the message ‘not so fast folks, you have just begun to see the problem that you could ignore when you were running around doing your normal life. Stay with the questions a bit longer.’

This pandemic is such a clear message from our collective unconscious. We want a more just and equitable society. We want a better relationship with Nature.  We want freedom for all. Our busy-ness, our pursuit of the dollar above everything else (subtly imposed on us)  caused us to be blind to the terrible chaos underneath our everyday experience. Now, with just a few months of having to stay out of the water….we have started to see what needs to be done.

This is a close encounter of the spiritual kind. It is sad and maddening that so many had to die. Perhaps compassionate leadership would have made a difference. However, now we also see the flaws there, too. Although those who mourn the loss of their loved ones would not see this and rightly so; it is becoming more evident that this has been a blessing. That does not lessen our sorrow for the fallen, but more and more of us who needed to be awakened now know for sure:

Black Lives Matter

Nature is our Mother

Leadership must be grounded in values that serve the Whole

We are our brothers and sisters keepers.

Our Power is really in our vote and what we support

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

We Are All Worthy of a Lovely Life

Dear friends,

Summer has arrived. We know it will soon be very hot. We know our utility bills will increase. We know we will not be traveling to tropical isles this year. Things are very different. There is not that feeling of being let out of school that often accompanies summertime. We are still somewhat confined to home and we will be asked to mask up in public places. It’s a new reality.  However, it is temporary.  It will serve its purpose, which is to unite us and make us more aware of how we interact with each other and it will move on.

Spirit never struggles. It moves into form with the ease of water flowing into the sea. This current event is our collective dis-ease in evidence. It is as if Spirit said “okay, here is what it looks like, now heal it.”  The virus is not separate from our issues with racial injustice. They are powerful forces that attack and sicken those affected. Both the racist and the one under attack are demoralized.  The great metaphysician, Neville, said, “no one deliberately does the wrong thing.” He meant we are motivated almost entirely from our own sense of self-worth.

The irony is that the one with the highest or healthiest self-worth will do no harm. It is the person with a damaged self esteem who takes it out on others. We are not looking for excuses, we are looking at Cause. Change the Cause and there will be new effects. It is no small thing to declare the goodness of all people. The Power that makes all things new is the power in or own imagination.

Affirm “Everyday in every way humanity is more loving, more compassionate, kinder to every one.  We are in this together.  We are all worthy of a lovely life.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Energy that Brings Us Together

Dear Friends,

It is rather like living in a global jigsaw puzzle right now. There are key pieces that complete the picture once we take a higher view of what is coming together. It is quite fascinating to see the downfall of the patriarchy in many forms, as the balancing energies of kindness and compassion rise, bringing with them a guarantee of freedom and justice for all. Is that too big a vision? Am I being spiritually naïve to think those in power with capitulate to the softer demands of the young?  Well, as the late futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard taught us, the evolution of the species happens by leaps.  In the time /space dimension it may seem like a “long time coming” but in Reality it is no time at all.

We are fortunate to be alive right now as this stunning shift takes place.  Do not doubt that it will, because it is unfolding right before our eyes. The pandemic has forced us to stop, look and listen.  We came to a screeching halt in the direction we were headed. Now we see the effects of our previous actions. With more of us tuning in to the news from many different sources, we are gaining in awareness of what has been going on in our world for hundreds of years.  We will  not stand for it any longer.

The crumbling of a certain style of leadership is almost comical to watch, only because I see it as a key part of the reversal of patriarchy. Things are falling apart so that they can come together in new ways.  What is the power, the energy that brings things together that belong together and maintains them in harmony and balance? LOVE!  Ernest Holmes described spiritual love in that way. It is the force that is driving us now. Love of life, love of the planet, love for all of Nature, love of each other, love of diversity.  These are real; this is what is driving the marchers. They are not protesting as much as they are insisting!  No more war, no more hate, no more desecration of the world, no more injustice, no more bullying, no more poverty, no more hunger, no more waste and want.

Affirm “This world is a joy to behold; a place of love and peace. I know it, I see it, I feel it!”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Compassion for All Lives

Dear friends,

We would not be surprised by the compassion the Dali Lama shows towards his oppressors. We expect him to act on what he believes. We know he believes in the value of loving kindness.  We should not be surprised at the behavior of someone who believes they are superior to others because of the circumstances of their birth.  However, we are often shocked by their cruelty because we do not share their beliefs. That is righteous indignation. How can you be so ignorant, we cry. It becomes clearer by the headlines that it is beliefs that need to change.

People are prompted from within to display their personal take on Reality.  We then act accordingly. When a young person is in military boot camp, the aim of his trainer is to strip him of his beliefs and replace them with those of loyalty and patriotism above all. Once a battle weary soldier has had enough, his former beliefs might surface.  He might find it very difficult to shoot another young person who speaks another language but who is very much like him. Our core beliefs will eventually surface unless they have actually been supplanted.

Here we are in a Reality warp. Those who see difference as the enemy are running amok, causing our society to suffer from the loss of peace and camaraderie. The rest of us are trying to find ways to change their minds. That is what protests are all about. We want everyone to love each other, to respect our diversity, to cherish life, all life.  And so we continue to pray, march, chant. That being said there is something else we must do.

Check our own take on Reality.

Make sure we are clear of prejudices.

Put our beliefs to the test.

Engage with others who are very different from us. Read their stories.

Most importantly, declare the Truth;  One Life is being all life. What we do to the rest of us, we do to the Source and we do to our soul.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Power of The Divine Feminine

Dear friends,

My dear friend Rev Dr. David Leonard said ‘the mind wants answers, the soul seeks meaning.”

I have chased answers all my life, but now at the age I am, I seek meaning in everything. There is always a deeper Cause running through our experience than what it seems to be. What if everything that is happening now is humanity’s way of seeking balance by bringing forth its own Feminine Power?  I am speaking of the spiritual feminine which has been denied, ridiculed, subjugated to the masculine. It has long been associated with the color Black (think witches clothing)  with ritual, rhythm and dance, with cycles and birth, with the moon and the mystery of darkness. The Divine Feminine is, in her full expression, a healing presence, bringing stability and protection wherever she is allowed to be active. She keeps us grounded in Mother Earth.

The Divine Feminine was perceived to somehow threaten the Power of the Divine Masculine, which has been allowed to run wild, building and destroying, conquering and inventing. He was not tempered by her wisdom and without it, the Masculine becomes toxic to the well being of the Whole. Men and women have denied their whole selves, even to the point of women acting like men to have any voice at all.  Men who have their feminine in partnership with their masculine are often vulnerable to attack or disrespect themselves. What I see as the meaning now, is that we are engaged in a kind of unraveling of myths that do not serve humanity in this day and age. Our Feminine is prompting us to awaken to our place in the creation of equality and justice. Equality begins in us. Do we value both aspects of our spiritual Being?

We must challenge the old ways of perception

1.   Black does not equate with evil
2. We all have both Masculine Vision and Feminine Wisdom within our wholeness
3. We need both to survive and thrive

Affirm:  “I am a Being of perfect balance.  I think, I feel, I act, from the wisdom and the vision of my true nature.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com 

 for more on the Divine Feminine read Matthew Fox's book 'Meister Eckhart"