California Free Press

What Are You Passionate About?

Dear friends,

For the most part, very successful business people did not set out to make money. That was not their primary goal. They had something, a product or an idea they wanted to give the world. Their enthusiasm carried them through the beginning times when there was ebb and flow of supply. Their passion for what they had to share with the world was the necessary energy to help them keep on keeping on, as they say.

I knew a man who owned a famous chain of restaurants. He started by thinking he made the best hamburger anybody ever ate. He began to sell them from a small stand near the beach. That was the beginning. People were lined up to get his burgers and soon he opened a real store where they could sit and enjoy his product. That led to a second location and a third, and he became one of the countries most successful restaurant owners.

The lesson is that love, enthusiasm, passion and a belief in one’s ability to grow with the business, can lead to either sudden or slowly unfolding success, or both! The key ingredients are within us, not attainable in any other way than to claim them, develop them and express them. What we want is the joy of creating something other people would love to add to their life. I feel that way about ministry in New Thought. My aim is to share this life-affirming teaching with the whole world. My passion for it has never dimmed and I know it never will. What are you passionate about? Can you find a way to share it today? That’s the first step. Who knows where it could take you?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Bubble Up Spirituality

Dear friends,

You have heard of trickle down economics. Well, spirituality is bubble up awareness. We have stored within our very Being, all the wonderful qualities of Spirit that turn themselves into every human experience. We have Love and Joy, Peace and Creativity, Vitality and Supply.  Like all   potentials, they remain dormant until we activate them. How do we do that, if not by claiming them, and expressing them? Put “I am” in front of any of those words that represent the quality we wish to see fully absorbed in our life, and watch what happens.

From within, the energy of Love, for instance, will bubble up. If we allow it, we will be moved into action. The same is true for Peace or Joy. They are each a trait of Being that everyone has in equal measure. In other words, all of it! The seeming difference in experience has only to do with how much we let ourselves reveal the trait. Love begets love. Peace gives rise to peace. Joy is contagious. Supply fills the place where it has a use. Vitality becomes the energy of our involvement with life. Creative ideas rise up as we trust the process.

The great realization is that there is nothing to get out of life, but everything to give into it, thereby fulfilling our desires. We have had it backwards for so long, it seems unbelievable that it could be so simple. How hard we have made life for ourselves. How sad it is to think God would be somewhere other than within. How quickly we gave up our power. How available it has always been. How perfect this moment is now. We are waking up. We are almost there.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Don't Worry. Be Happy.

Dear friends,

What is your happiness quotient today? Are you waiting for something to happen or change before retrieving your most natural state of mind? Happiness is a state of mind although most of us associate it with emotions triggered by pleasing events. Until they re treated too harshly or become confused, children are naturally happy beings. We call that innocence and assume it is lost once we have lived in this world for some time.

What does it mean to be innocent spiritually? Would it not be welcoming each day as if it were a new beginning, an adventure to be discovered? Would it be the assumption that all is well and that things work themselves out for the greater good? Is innocence a kind of trust in the invisible realm of Cause? When seen in this way, we might realize it is something we can cultivate or, better said, retrieve.

If you don’t believe happiness is still in, just watch how you react to what you consider “good news.” You will feel happy! But where is that stored? Do you really think the other person or event gives it to you? No, it is dormant and activated by us liking what we see. Why not find things to like even when we are going through some challenges? Why not be happy about being alive no matter what our bank account is, or our current state of relationships, or our health?   Do we believe that being happy anyway will deter us from solving problems? Not so.

HH the Dalai Lama once said “happy people do not cause problems, they solve them.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Time's Relativity

Dear friends,

You may have noticed how time slows down or speeds up according to how we perceive ourselves in the moment. It seems there is not enough of it when we are under a deadline and feel inadequate to complete a project. Time is like a slow moving stream of honey if we are waiting for something wonderful to begin. Einstein famously said, "2 minutes feels like an eternity if you are sitting on a hot stove; but it is no time at all in the arms of your lover.” How we interact with the moment is what gives us our personal experience of passing time.

The irony is that time does not pass. We pass from one piece of awareness to the next and the next and the next. It is we who create time by our internal reaction to stimuli. It has been said there is no such thing as time, but it is an experience of being here in this dimension.

One could also say there is no such thing as love but we do experience love in its many variations, in exactly the same way we experience time. We respond or react to something according to our internal state of mind. If we feel one with someone we are “in love” with them at that moment, in the field of love, for the duration of our experience of oneness. When the perception of separateness takes over, we “fall out of love.” We may still love that person but we are not “in love.” Living happily with a separate human being over a long period of time is what mature love is all about.

Let’s seize the moment and fill it with love!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Going on Holiday

Dear friends,

Starting tomorrow I will be off on holiday and will not be sending my daily message until the 15^th. Originally, when this trip was planned, I thought to take my laptop and to write from beautiful Kona, Hawaii. However, I realized how good it would be to have a few days “unplugged” as it were.

My grown children and I will be “going home” to the place that holds our hearts. They grew up on the Big Island and so did I, in a way. I was a single mom there, not terribly equipped for the job, either. Their childhood was a bit unstable but they also had the freedom that only island kids in the early 70’s had. I know it served their own evolution. I learned to meditate there, found New Thought spirituality shortly thereafter, began my studies and generally was launched into my own future there. It is my spiritual home. 

Everyone has one, a spiritual home, and it is not really a place. It is within us. Sometimes we are so tied to artificial intelligence we forget where to find our own. Reconnecting with myself is the idea behind being unplugged. We can do it right where we are if we decide it is something we need. I am so grateful for my wonderful children who are delightful companions on this life trip and who I know will provide us with many hilarious moments on this time together in our “laughing place.” I bet there will be much to write about on my return.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfieldcom

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The Authenticity of Being Yourself

Dear friends,

We are happiest when we are being ourselves. What else could we possibly be, some might ask. Oh, there are thousands of personas we could adopt to please others, to keep a job, to sustain a relationship that is not really sustainable.   We are very good at pretending to be what “they” think we should be. Over time, however, our heart, our soul, cries out for authenticity. That still small voice becomes loud and insistent. Our true self longs to be seen and known for who we really are.

Having said all that, there is nothing wrong about trying to fit in or please people;   it’s just that if we do not have some outlet for what our inner self needs, we will slowly shut down and become tired, bored and possibly angry, or maybe just cranky or sour on life. Those folks who tend to be optimistic are the ones who find some way to express their whole self.

It can be a matter of balance. Keep the job but bring something of yourself to it. Give of your time where it is needed. Learn something that can become a hobby. I know someone in her sixties who is the leader of an organization with lots of responsibilities. In her free time, she is a tap dancer. She actually performs with a small troupe at various venues. This kind of outlet gives the soul a chance to reveal itself. It is all too easy to get locked in a mental and emotional cage, thinking we have no way out. It is never true. There is some part of all of us that is lying dormant within us. Give it something to do and see how real you can be.

Affirm: “I am seen and known for who I really am.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforsp;irituallivingbakersfield.com

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Speaking the Truth

Dear friends,

Language forms our world view. The Inuit people have many, many words for snow because they live in it almost exclusively. They must interact with it, use it, build on it and deal with the effects it has on their experience. In Hawaii, the word Aloha means many things; hello, goodbye, welcome, love, good will and more. Ohana means family but it is about the extended family of the whole community.

English is a language about the objective world. Everything has a name and is considered a “thing.” Other languages reflect the cultural beliefs that all “things” are alive and conscious such as some of the First Nations people believe. For example, referring to a deer or bear as your “brother” creates a completely different relationship to them than “prey” might. Nature as the “Mother” incites respect and wonder, not dominion and ownership.

Let’s watch the words we use today. Let’s see if we can identify our world view within our choices. Do we sprinkle our conversations with “they and them” or are we learning that in all things “we” is more appropriate? It is WE who are creating the world we live in and it is a reflection of how we talk about life, God, each other, Nature and possibility.   Someone said “the God you believe in is your choice for the kind of world you want to live in.” That is the start of it all.

New Thought spirituality is its own language; it speaks of oneness with our Source; that it is within us, one and all. It tells a story of unconditional love and personal power. It is an inner narrative that enlivens our creative mind and heals our broken hearts. It is the language of inclusivity and equality. “First came the Word. And the Word was made manifest.” Let’s speak our Truth loudly and clearly.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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We Get to Decide What Our Mind Entertains

Dear friends,

Good things are coming to you today. Why not believe that? Why think otherwise? Our fear of the not-yet-known causes us to think the worst. It might be the ego mind’s way of preparing for the perceived blow, to not be surprised by it. It is a bad habit that can be changed with a little discipline. We have to decide what to allow our mind to entertain. That means we need to shift from local mind perspective to non-local mind. We do that in 21^st century prayer.

When we start from the premise of One Power present in us right here and now; one life being all life; one pure intelligence and absolute love; one source of everything, pressing to express all its qualities through us, we have begun to enter the realm of boundless potential. Every one of us is an inhabitant of that field of all possibilities. We rarely give it much to do beyond survival needs. But it is forever awaiting the call to greatness, to lavish abundance, to joyful relationships, to vital health.  

Our local mind cannot go there. It is by nature set up to keep us in this time/space reality with its perceived limitations. But once we have glimpsed the spiritual truth about ourselves, we have dominion over that local mind with its tendency to think small. Now it is our responsibility to declare our freedom from lack, from disease, from fear, from limitation. Now we change the trajectory of our lives by making this fundamental adjustment in our perception. God is trying to give us our hearts desire. It is only we ourselves who can prevent its progression from idea to actual experience.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Collective Consciousness is Changing Its Mind

Dear friends,

Emerson observed that the microscope cannot find any life form that is less perfect for being little. Every particle of life is a representation of the universal substance our of which we all draw our individuality. We are all the same stuff, as it were. The elephant and the flea, humans and worms are all a version of One Life, the animating force we have named God. The problem with naming things is they become separate from us in perception. That is a useful tool in the time/space dimension but also one that is fraught with danger.

If we do not understand our initial oneness, difference may seem like a threat. We become territorial and tribal with a made up list of why we are superior to the “others.” Racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism etc. are born of fear. It is a Spiritual problem with a spiritual solution. The problem has been religion without science, giving rise to beliefs that all things, including God, are separate from each other.

Modern New Thought spirituality embraces the new science that is indicating One Something Being All. In the years to come we will see this clearly proven. It will cause huge shifts in our perception of who we are, but first it will cause tremendous resistance. People desperately want to hold on to their perceived superiority because it is equal to Power. We are seeing some of that now as those who once were minorities rise in stature and accomplishment proving the old ideas to be very wrong. It is a tumultuous time, but it always is when collective consciousness changes its mind.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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My Life is a Joy

Dear friends,

During the month of May at our Center, we have been exploring the stories we live from in the important aspects of life. We have a money story, a trust story, a love story, and most important, an I am story. We are the main character in each and the plot line is evident in the circumstances of our lives. We reveal our story without knowing we are doing it. If we are not completely pleased with how things are for us, we might need to tell a new story. One way is to reframe the old story and make it a gift. Often, the hardest parts of the past turn out to be the impetus some necessary growth.

First of all, we need to rewrite our part . He or she leaves the victim role and becomes the (s)hero, not in a battle for survival but in an unfolding adventure of discovery and joy. Changing the I am story is the most powerful way to change the entire script of our lives. The other stories, money, love, trust, come out of that original description of who we are.

 Here are some New Thought ideas to adopt, and they are all true.

“Life is forever attempting to pour out a blessing by means of me.”

“I am the way Life reveals its vitality and intelligence. My body is the visible evidence of that ongoing activity.”

“I am the recipient of lavish abundance from the demand I make upon the Source.”

“My life is a joy to live and a joy to behold.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Everything We Do is About Who We Are

Dear friends,

Eric Butterworth, the author of Spiritual Economics wrote about the “divine pattern” in each of us. He was referencing the key ingredient that leads to our personal success in life. He said, in effect, we can only truly discover that pattern when we are in service. Our job, our career, can be performed as a service with a few adjustments to our thinking. We may have unconsciously accepted the notion that we do what we do for a paycheck. That can keep us in a kind of “running in place” mode.

The spiritual principle is that our supply comes from our invisible Supplier known as Flow. It is constant and comes through the one who is cheerfully expectant. Our work is merely one of many vehicles through which supply may flow. It is perhaps a subtle shift, but one worth making. We are working to give, period! We work to express our wholeness. We work to bring some good into the lives of those who participate in our efforts. That could be anything from eating the food we prepare to the house we sell them and beyond.

If we can see what we do as a service to humanity, extended by means of our “customers” then we will be more open to the expansion of ideas that lead to ever greater service (which in turn lead to ever greater profits). Ask this question of yourself. If I were financially wealthy, would I still do this work and how differently would I do it? Would I bring more fun and joy into it? Would I teach someone else how to do it? If I knew I were not “dependent” on this paycheck for my supply what would I be thinking about my job? This is merely a little inventory of our relationship to the success pattern in us. Sometimes we can forget it is real if we are so wrapped up in the accepted meme; that work is what we do but has nothing to do with who we are. Let’s let that meme go. Everything we do is about who we are.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com Donate!

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Do You Believe?

Dear friends,

Are you fascinated with psychic healers? It is easy to dismiss them all as fraudulent, yet there are people who have experienced complete healing from serious injuries or illnesses at their hands. I just read a book about the phenomenon and the final conclusion of the author and even some of the healers is that the placebo effect may be in play. Some of the psychic surgeons said they only pretend to remove actual tissue and/or diseased organs but it is the patients belief that does the actual work.

For Christian students it might be recalled that Jesus only asked one question of the leper, the crippled, the diseased, before he performed the “miracle.”   It was, “do you believe?” The overriding lesson from each of the healers was the importance of the patients faith in the healer, or faith in God working through the healer, or some kind of conviction that they would be healed.

Modern physicians, practitioners of allopathic medicine, will also agree that the attitude of the patient is of great importance in the efficacy of the treatment. If one believes in it, the results are usually more favorable than if the patient is not convinced it will help. There is too much evidence of the power of our personal mind to have physical effects to dismiss its role in our health. Long term stress will cause internal dis-ease, which can become an actual disease.

“My body is a vitalized center of Love and Intelligence!”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Think About the Good, the True and the Beautiful

Dear friends,

When I look out the window and see the soft rain falling, the trees billowing in the breeze, hear the birds singing their morning song, it is almost impossible to think of Earth as a tiny speck in an infinite universe. My mind, like yours, is naturally attuned to what is very local, what is right in front of me. It is a useful tool in survival, knowing what is going on around us in the moment. But the mind has another capacity, the non-local field of imagination.

It is also a useful tool in the creative process. We access ideas in that field and do our part in bringing them into form and experience. An artist is very familiar with that process. Most of us under-utilize it, to say the least. We plan dinner, think about tomorrows tasks, but rarely go into the “What if?” mode of true imagination. In today’s world, which is ripe for a huge transformation, we ought to be giving some real time to what is possible for our shared experience.

Can we imagine a world without war and violence? Do we think humans are good and kind at the core? Do we believe in freedom and justice for all? Everything we now know as our reality came from the human mind. Unfortunately, we only accessed very local ideas to create this current world. We believed in lack and disease; in evil and pestilence; in superior and inferior. We bought into the superstitious model of the universe and the results are on the news.

Can we give some of our attention to the Good, the True and the Beautiful? Will we dedicate part of our thinking to our shared future? Are we available to those universal ideas that are trying to come through us?   “God” is not a person who wants to punish us for past mistakes. It is a Power that has one function; to bring forth our most energized beliefs.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Talent Will Manifest

Dear friends,

Last evening we went to a local Little Theatre production of
As You Like it.”   So many words and eloquent speeches! I wondered, who taught Shakespeare to write? For that matter, who taught Einstein to think so independently of his peers? Who taught Sinatra to sing and how did Walt Disney learn to imagine and execute his ideas?

We humans are born with intact talents and affinities. We lean in one direction or another. Our gifts are either nurtured by our upbringing or they are not. Either way, they will find a way into our life. My mother was one of the most creative people I have ever met. Offered a job in Kansas city, drawing for a newspaper, her parents would not allow her to venture out into the big world. She could draw, paint, design clothes and make them; hang wallpaper, fix appliances, put up art and pictures without measuring, bake like a professional and decorate cakes with amazing skills. Although she never found an outlet for her talents outside of the home, she used them every day. Holidays at our house were like a trip to Disneyland. No one taught her how to do any of it. She was born with those talents. We all have some natural gifts. They are stored in the soul.

Our talents do not always generate income, but they can be used to generate beauty or warmth or ease for others. Our natural gifts can find a place if we are willing to give them. What comes easily to us could be the answer to someone’s prayer. Let’s find a way to share the wealth. Participate in life in a new way.   Maybe you have been keeping your talents a secret?

The contents of our soul belong to the world. That is why we have our gifts, to release them into our shared experience. Otherwise, what purpose do they serve?

Affirm: “ I am grateful for my natural talents. I release them into circulation with ease and joy.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Will We Go to War to Prove a Point?

Dear friends,

It is always slightly upsetting to suggest a book or movie that we love and have our friend think it boring or ridiculous. How we experience anything is always through our lens of perception, our take on Reality, our self-regard. We tend to be attracted to those who share our point of view. There is pleasure in sharing our excitement or love of something with a friend who agrees.

It is not so easy to allow others to think as they do. We tend to want to convince them that our perception is the right one. Perhaps they are missing the point? Ha! That remark will get us nowhere! They will say, I get the point but I don’t agree with it. Most of us cannot leave it there; we try to change their mind. Usually it can’t be done. Maybe it is we who are missing the point; that everyone has their way of navigating this world. How we see things is highly individual.

My grandmother used to say “We all have our ways.” She was very wise. We certainly do all have our ways, but often when we meet on the path, our ways are not compatible. That is when we must allow for difference, even celebrate it. Maybe we can learn from each other? If we are truly comfortable with how we see the world, why do we have to argue about it, defend it? But that seems to be the nature of ego. We love to debate. If we could leave it at that, well and good, but often we will go to war to prove a point. It seems justified but it rarely solves anything. The same problem still exists if the perception that caused the trouble has not been transformed.

Today let’s be open to new ideas and new ways of seeing through appearances.

Try this: “I am open minded and welcome diverse points of view.”

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Don't Worry. Be Happy.

Dear friends,

Emerson:   ‘I can find my biography in every fable I read.”

Yes, our stories are contained in every novel, play or soap opera. There is something we can identify with or we would not be interested in them. The story of humans is one of growth, discovery and more growth. It is about perceived loss and gain, winning and triumph, or a painful defeat. We have had some of each in our lifetimes. No one has a perfect existence devoid of challenge and sadness. However, there is also joy and gladness, times of deep peace and love. What we give our attention to, tends to perpetuate itself.

If we are more optimistic than fearful, then in times of “trouble” that optimism will carry us through. If we have developed an inner peace, we will be sustained by it during moments of conflict or chaos. Life happens, things bump into each other, but we need not be flattened ourselves. Our inner life is the determining factor in how we experience this changing world.

A tendency to happiness is perhaps the most valuable asset we could own. We might even say an “insistence” on happiness as our general outlook. Why not? His Holiness the Dalai Lama once said our purpose in life was “to be happy.” That may seem simplistic to the sophisticate, but it is actually just simple truth. Happy people are the ones who see through the appearance and judge righteously. Their minds are open and clear, enabling solutions and creative ideas to arise. They are not cluttered with dire expectations. They know how to initiate positive change.

“Don’t worry, be happy” is solid spiritual advice.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Overcoming Fear

Dear friends,

Ernest Holmes said “to overcome fear is Life’s greatest adventure.”

Interesting that he called it an adventure, not a challenge or the hardest thing to do. An adventure involves stepping out of our usual way of being. It requires our participation in a kind of journey and there is usually a big discovery. Well, what could be better than finding there is nothing to fear; that there is a power greater than us, active within us, that responds to us! That is what happens when we participate in the quest for   spiritual truth; when we realize our old ideas about the universe no longer serve us.

We might come to the shocking realization that the only thing that has ever caused us great strife was fear itself! Sleepless nights, addictions of all kinds, the inability to sustain good relationships, these are rooted in the fear that “I am not enough, I don’t measure up, I can’t, they won’t, it never, there is something wrong with me, etc.” That particular cluster of fear is widespread in our society. It comes from old time religious notions of original sin, improper handling in childhood, shame and/or abuse. But there is a way out! It is to discover the stunning truth that what we believe about ourselves tends to become the experience we have in being ourselves.

Let’s get going on this grand adventure. Start by affirming every day:

“I live and move and have my being in the freedom of knowing the Power lies within.”

“Nothing in the world is greater than my Word.”

“I am the visible expression of Life’s impulse to prosper itself.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Thou Shalt Find Joy in Living

Dear friends,

At age sixty one, Emerson wrote “Within, I do not find wrinkles and used heart, but unspent youth.”

That eager, enthusiastic, curious, playful youth is still with us. It lies somewhat dormant in our so-called grown up selves. For most, it is unspent, blocked from exit by ideas that make life a trial, a battle, a test, a challenge. Where is the joy in our work, our relationship, our world?

Joy is a young energy that is like a burst of sunshine in a cloudy sky. Joy is the spontaneity of discovery. Joy is considered rare because we have decided life is hard. Look at our history. Is there Joy at the forefront of our created world? Or are we in lock step, trudging through life working for the day when we can stop? It isn’t that everything about our shared reality is wrong, but that it is missing the most important piece of us; our unspent youth, our simple joy in living.

Finding it is a deeply personal experience. Don’t wait for the world to change first. Go on an inner trip to your own root self and what you will find is not sorrow and regret (those are surface emotions) but unadulterated Joy and its companion, a delight in being alive.

If done on a daily basis, before we venture out into the made-up world, we will have activated something in us that is irresistibly attractive. We change our world by our mere presence. That is the beginning of course. Then our adult self, with its great ideas and earnest love for humanity and a belief in our potential, will actually be fit to lead. To be child-like is not to be childish. It may be the best indicator of spiritual maturity.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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I Am the One Who Defines Myself

Dear friends,

It is wonderful to contemplate the truth that, as Emerson wrote, “there is no bar or wall in our soul where we, the effect, begin and God, the cause begins.”   There is an infinite or more universal aspect to our Being, which is why we can be more today than we were last year or even yesterday.

The infinite aspect is our immortality and the universal has more to do with our local conscious awareness. We can become more tuned in to our own potential and by so doing act as Cause for ourselves, changing how we express and live this life. There seem to be layers of consciousness that we move into as we open to releasing what has been and allow the possible to occur to us. Emerson also said “God comes to us without bell.” Did he mean our own mini- transformations are not dramatic but subtle internal shifts?

A change of mind and heart can be as simple as an “Oh, I see. I am not a victim of anything. I am the one who defines myself.” As we mature spiritually, what changes is self-identity. It is that one expansion of self awareness that acts as Cause to a much higher level of living. Everything gets better. The more we know that God is within, right where we are, all the time, all of it, all at once, the more we step out of self or culturally imposed and limiting classifications. We are always free to be who we really are. Knowing we are more than we seem to be, changes everything.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Stay in the Now

Dear friends,

Do you ever feel like we are constantly preparing for something and when it arrives we begin the whole process again? The merchants tell us to get fit for summer. In mid-July we are getting ready to go back to school or send our children off. Come the Fall we are already thinking about holiday plans.

Emerson wrote : “We are always getting ready to live but never living.”

It does seem like that much of the time. That is why it is so essential to carve out some time every day to simply be alone and quiet, perhaps doing nothing but noticing where we are, what we hear, how we feel. Right now is all of life, actually. When moments are strung together, they seem to flow, one into the other. But really all we ever experience is our own sense of self. If we can take a stable, healthy self-regard into any activity, it will be a complete experience in and of itself, not a preparation for something else.

A few years ago my daughter and I were planning a trip to Paris. It was a first for both of us and we were very excited. The planning was great fun and we were completely present in the moment. It was as if the joy of being in Paris was already infusing itself into our preparations. It wasn’t something that was going to happen, it was happening as we prepared. That is what makes the difference.

Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, all of Life is; the past the present and the future. It is only the present that is real.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Let's Graduate to a Better Life

Dear friends,

For many people this is graduation season. There is a completion and a reward and then….what? Some have plans in place with no space to regroup. We often jump from one thing to another with little time to enjoy the freedom a completion brings. It can be a wise choice to take a Gap Year after high School, before embarking on a lengthy college career.

But what about those of us who completed school long ago? Are we graduating from a long relationship, or a time of illness or has a good job released us? There is an opportunity to celebrate all that we accomplished up until now, and then to sit quietly and consider our options. If we cannot see our future in detail, we can certainly set it in motion with powerful declarations of intention, such as:

“I am living at a higher level of prosperity than ever before.”

“I have found true love and I am cherished and supported in every good way.”

“I am enjoying perfect health and vibrant energy”

“I am actively involved with other visionaries, making the world a better place.”

These are not idle words, but powerful dictates to the Law of Mind that creatively finds outlet for what we believe to be so right now. That is why these statements are in the first person, present tense, as if they are so now. (and they are in the quantum realm of potential). We may have free time but let’s not be idle. Let’s be proactive about what we are setting in motion. We create the future and then walk into it.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Be Proactive in Transforming Your Mind

Dear friends,

Twenty years ago, we arrived in New Delhi at four in the morning. Our little hotel, selected for us because it was near our spiritual retreat center, was in a section of town that had no street lights. There was a woman bent over a little fire on the street, making chapatis in the night. It was a business man’s hotel, we were told. The electricity went off and the beds were hard, but we felt relieved to be prone after a very long day of traveling.

The next morning as we walked out into the sunshine, we were amazed at what we saw. The entire neighborhood had been transformed into a bazaar, with vendors selling jewelry and lovely fabrics, silk and pashmina. There were food stalls and the throngs of people cast shy glances in our direction. We were the only westerners in the area; three women traveling alone was an oddity. They welcomed us, and of course, wanted us to buy their wares. A few days hence a wedding party would arrive complete with real elephants and much merriment.

Things are not always one thing. They can be transformed in an instant. Sadness can become joy, fear turns into discovery, conflict into agreement, war into peace. In fact, this is the natural way of things. Stasis is not in our best interest. We need the ebb and flow to move us forward. Most of our serious challenges hold hidden gifts if we do not resist but see the temporary nature of them and envision a better outcome.

Whatever you may be up against right now, know that it cannot remain the same. You have a say in how quickly it resolves, evolves or dissolves! Take the high road. Insist on seeing the great opportunity to raise your own perception. Be proactive in transforming your mind. The neighborhood will look completely different when you do.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Release Superstitious and Dogmatic Ideas

Dear friends,

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, in effect, immature ideas about original sin, the devil, predestination and other theological misunderstandings are the measles and mumps of the soul. They are childish perceptions, our own little fairy tales, made up from a lack of knowledge about this wonderful universe. When we do not have all the truths available to us, we invent what we think will do us some good.

There was a time when we believed humanity to be inherently evil and/or constantly tempted by an evil presence. To counteract it, we made up restraints to keep us on the right track. Heaven or hell became our only choices. Things got really skewed in some religions that declared doing evil for God would guarantee a place in Heaven! It is amazing how an immature mind can invent rationales for robbing the cookie jar. “It is God’s will” is as wrong-headed as “the devil made me do it.”

God’s will can only be for Life to thrive and prosper; for love to lead the way; for peace to reign supreme, for joy to be a constant companion. This universe is a magnificent mystery, but it is not divided against itself. There is only one something being all and supporting all it is being. It is time for humanity to grow up; to release superstitious and dogmatic ideas that prevent us from achieving our full spiritual maturity.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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The Power of Renewal

Dear friends,

Never give up. It is that simple. Everything can change in an instant. In fact, that is usually how it happens. One minute we are feeling down and then the phone rings, or the offer comes or the problem disappears. Suddenly the sun shines brightly and the sky is blue again. What seems like the end is always the beginning. We have to stay the course of our spiritual truth. That is the real challenge, to see through the appearance and to reclaim our oneness with Cause.

Know and know that you know; there is one power present everywhere. It is the Power of renewal, of healing, of supply, of love. It has one purpose and that is to beget the only begotten, again and again and again. That would be each one of us! It is constant. It is always attempting to pour us out a blessing.   Can we receive it?

Sometimes answered prayer looks very different than we expected and so we deny it.   We cannot see the gift for what it is.   If we have ever ignored our intuition and then regretted it, we know what it is to deny the gift. Daily meditation can help us to stay in touch with those more subtle states of mind where answers arise. The ancient wisdom that always applies to anyone at any time is Be Still and Know.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Float on the River of Life

Dear friends,

Robert Frost summed up life in three words: “it goes on” Yes, it does, like a swiftly moving river, life is a continuum of itself. What happens in the river does not change it.   There is nothing for us but to accept and move with it.   That being said, we can make the river appear to slow itself if we are careful to be fully present in the moment.   Be Here Now! Is the title of a famous book by Ram Dass. It was one of the first spiritual books I read back in the seventies. Lately I have been writing about paying attention to the small aspects of life that can help us feel the continuity without a sense of it flying away from us.

As ever, meditation is the number one practice to stop the mental clock. Other than that, there is ‘pause and reflect’ throughout the day. Simply stop whatever we are doing, breathe deeply and slowly.   Notice what is around us as if it were all new. We can do this anywhere, even at a red light or in the office. Keeping things feeling new has a way of refreshing our perception. An appreciation of what is so now, keeps us from hurrying onto the next thing.

Dr. Larry Dossey wrote that most of our western illnesses are rightly called “hurry up sickness.” We fall into dis-ease when we are chasing life rather than experiencing it.  It can only be truly felt in the moment. Another practice is to intentionally place ourselves in unfamiliar territory. That is as simple as driving to work on a different route; seeing a foreign language film; eating lunch at a restaurant with cuisine from another country; attending a concert of the kind of music we never liked. It is good to throw ourselves off balance enough to be very aware of our surroundings and how we are feeling.

There is a lot of talk these days about staying young. But young is always a mental state, not how many years we have lived. Young is eagerness, enthusiasm, curiosity, playfulness. Young is for those who are not dwelling in the past nor dreading the future. Young is now and now and now again and that is the real movement of the river.

Stay tuned in

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfiled.com

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Love Expects Change and Growth

Dear friends,

The common trait of the most beloved spiritual and visionary leaders, such as Gandhi, Jesus, Martin Luther king Jr., was that they were not perfect humans. They erred like the rest of us, made mistakes and had their own fears and doubts. Their redeeming quality was their great love of humanity, their faith in us and their belief that we are greater than our past or present experience. A vision for a world that respects everyone equally, one devoid of superstition and dogma, could not arise in a mind that did not see an infinite potential in all people.

A visionary sees through what is so now and acknowledges the power inherent in the mind that created the current situation. Humans are ingenious and creative. Some of what we create, unfortunately, comes from erroneous beliefs about our true nature and God, itself. A loving parent sees through their child’s wobbly attempts to walk. They know their teenager is temporarily focused on things that will be of no interest to them in a few years. Love expects change and growth. Just so, a spiritually aware mind knows that we are capable of leaping into new perceptions that lead to better choices.

Right now our culture is caught up in finding the flaws in just about everyone. This may be a necessary step to owning our choices but it cannot last if we want positive, enriching and prosperous new experiences. We simply have to own the misperception and embrace our greater nature. We are better than what we have believed. That is true of us personally as well as collectively. Today’s message is “You can trust yourself to make better choices when you claim your spiritual identity.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Spring Fling

Dear friends,

Is Springtime your favorite season? It is for lots of us. We respond at the cellular level to the opening of buds, the greening of trees, the return of birds and butterflies. We love the symbols of rebirth; the decorated eggs and the candy ducklings and chicks. That old saying,” in the Spring a young man’s fancy turns to love and romance” is probably true. It is also the time of spring-cleaning or cleansing. It is renewal time.

Everyone loves the idea of being made new. Hardly anyone loves the process of getting there. Who wants to take a serious look at their mistaken beliefs, their limiting ideas, their unresolved conflicts? There is another way, however, and it has to do with spiritual practice. We learn so much by simply sitting in silence, doing nothing. Over time it has a cleansing effect on our self-awareness. Why? Because there is a you and a me that has no sense of limitation, no resentments, conflicts or false beliefs. It is simply the bliss of Being. It is an energy that seeps through our awareness a little bit more every time we meditate. It renews our self-identity.

Meditation is rather like a cosmic broom, sweeping away the debris of neglect. Like cleaning out the attic, some dust is churned up at first. But over time the beauty of the space is revealed. We support the emergence of bliss with regular affirmative declarations and with daily silence. Yes, we have a psychological component but it is nothing compared to the Self. It cannot remain the lead consciousness once we have reclaimed our natural bliss.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Beginnings, Middles and Endings

Dear friends,

“In all things, beginnings and endings are the most interesting.” Yoshida Kenko

That is such a true statement. We love the new and we welcome the release of the old. It is in the middle where we are most tested. Sometimes that wonderful new job we were so thrilled to get, becomes tiresome or tedious or challenging. The day to day marriage is far different than the wedding and the honeymoon. A newborn baby is a joy but the 13 year old can require more maturity in us than we thought we had. The ending of anything does not necessarily mean we are glad to be rid of it, rather that we have completed with it.

The cycle of life is beginning, middle and end. It is the middle that gives us the opportunities to grow, to discover more of ourselves, to dig deep and perhaps to be surprised by how strong we actually are. Endings usually require our compassion, our gentle letting go, our gratitude. The principle inherent in the cycle is that nothing stays the same.   Wanting nothing to change is fertile ground for disappointment, even sorrow.

Enjoy each stage of the experience but do not resist the natural movement into the next. It is unavoidable that beginnings become middles and middles evolve into endings. Wherever we may be right now in the process, it is a good place to be. All is well and, if we stay as present as possible, bringing as much of our best selves into the moment, we will flow with change and have no regrets.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspiritualliving.com

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Humanity is a Part of Nature

Dear friends,

Einstein said to look deep into Nature and we would understand everything better. That is such good advice. Nature is the grand metaphor for Life itself. Nature is beauty, diversity, interdependence, cooperation, birth, death, reemergence, reproduction, intelligence and love, which is the lavish and relentless giving forth of the fruits of each species. There is an invisible power making the whole thing function perfectly. It is a continuum and can withstand any temporary changes in the environment. It will always come back into balance given enough time.

Humanity made the great error of thinking it was apart from Nature. With our ability to affirm or deny, we denied our place in the grand scheme of things We removed our actions from the equation and we have interfered with the natural balance. Worse yet, we have adopted the erroneous notion that there is a lack of everything and that we must fight for our good.

From this point of view, the Adam and Eve story seems a cautionary tale. We removed ourselves from Nature (“left the garden”) and entered the realm of pairs of opposites. We forgot oneness when we became aware of twoness. We named everything and lost the sense of unity and became convinced of separateness. It is a useful illusion in this time/space dimension, but if separateness is our only view of reality, we get into serious trouble. It is a spiritual misunderstanding. A new view of our place in Nature and our relationship with the invisible power could set things on a whole new path.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Change is Inevitable: Go With the Flow

Dear friends,

We watched in sadness and disbelief as the Cathedral of Notre Dame was engulfed in flames. There will be some rebuilding, but some treasures were lost forever. This historic structure, 800 years old, survived two wars, uprisings, weather, upheavals of all kinds. The lesson today is one we humans must constantly learn; everything is temporary; nothing lasts forever or stays the same.

If we are mentally healthy, we are in sync with the changing world. We live with an open hand and an open heart. We let go of our children, release them to be who they choose to be. We say goodbye to old friends, former homes, favorite businesses that close their doors. We release with an appreciation for the gifts we received and pause to reflect on the good times. What naturally comes next is a gentle welcoming of whatever is arising in our midst; new friends, new work, new surroundings.

We even have to release our youthful body, our former beauty, our young self. We look back with a smile, perhaps a tear, but we move on. Everything must change but change is not only natural, it is necessary. Life must evolve for the species to survive and thrive. Everything has a season of growth and a season of resting. Knowing where we are in the process greatly helps with our happy state of mind. Resisting change is foolish. Wisdom is dancing with the music that is now playing.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Where Are You?

Dear friends,

Be happy right now this minute! Stop your mind from dwelling on what seems to be a problem. Shift your attention just for this minute to how beautiful Life really is. Think of yourself, just for now, as a miracle of intelligence and love. You can fuss and worry about your detriment later. But for now, decide to be in a bit of bliss. People say they can’t do it, but they are wrong. Happiness is a tiny move away from our perception into what is true.

Just what is true? Life itself, is perfect. It is untroubled, completely engaged in reproducing itself in a spectacular display of diversity. Life supports life. Life is for Life and never against it. Life is God, Spirit, the Absolute, the One. Life is the only thing there is and it is extending itself into form as you. In other words, God is being you. Isn’t that a happy-making thought? The Divine is located right where you are, meaning, Life is responding to you right where you are. Where are you but someplace in mind?

Wouldn’t we want Life to respond to our happiness, bringing more reasons to be happy into our awareness? Seems simple but we humans are very good at complicating things. We have a collective belief in the value of waiting for things to change before we can feel our innate happiness. Really? What has to happen first? If we give that question some serious consideration we will see the folly in waiting for anything to happen. Just be happy now, in this minute. This is all we’ve got!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforsprituallivingbakersfield.com

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A Higher Intelligence Is Always at Work

Dear friends,

Where is our Faith today? In New Thought spirituality Faith is an informed conviction. It is the “evidence of the thing hoped for.” We are unshakeable in our belief because we have some understanding of how the creative process works. It is the difference between longing for something and cheerfully expecting it. Our faith can be negative as well. I heard someone recently say about themselves, “I have a lack consciousness.” I wondered why they didn’t affirm instead “I have the consciousness of ongoing prosperity.”   The positive is always closer to the Truth and it is the truth that “sets us free.”

We gain insight into where we place our faith by listening to our inner commentary on things. Are we hearing life supportive statements? Are we building a belief in sufficiency or are we affirming “not enough?”  Do we run a story about how everyone else is doing everything wrong? Or do we speak with compassion and declare that a higher intelligence is always at work.   How we talk to ourselves is the evidence of things to come. Rather like a preview of what we are directing the creative process to bring through us.

Faith is not a religious practice. It is a component of how things come to into this dimension from the invisible realm.   It is Belief deeply embodied. Today decide to change your pattern of limited expectation by consciously declaring what you would like to believe as if it were so now. For example:

“I believe I exist in a stream of prosperity that supplies my every need before I need it.”

“I have Faith in the Goodness at the heart of all people.”

“I expect Love and support from everyone in my life.”

“I am free to travel the world with ease.”

“My health is always perfect.”

Make up your own. Repetition is an effective tool. So is spiritual education. Take a class in the Science of Mind. www.csl.org to find a Center near you.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

The People We Meet Along the Way

Dear friends,

An extraordinary human being made her transition last night. She inspired me, opened my mind to a larger reality, validated my intuitions, shared her wisdom so freely. When we first met it was a full circle completing itself. I had seen her 13 years prior on television in the wee hours of the morning. She was giving a speech at the Democratic National Convention, running for vice-president. Her words ignited my soul. I felt a kinship. I said to myself, I have to meet her someday.   The day came when I was asked to join the Association for Global New Thought.

At our first meeting she motioned for me to come sit next to her. I had one of those moments when you realize you are in a manifestation of an idea you set in motion a long time ago. When she spoke about the future she was so visionary and “out there” that I was a bit dizzy trying to follow her. She was one of a kind and so naturally expressive. Her wisdom seemed to roll out from her soul.   Truly an evolutionary being.  

Thank you Barbara for so many enlightening moments, conversations and laughter. I am the better for having known you. Fare thee well.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspiriuallivingbakersfield.com

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It is Better to Forgive and Forget Than to Hold on to a Grudge

Dear friends,

Who will you forgive today? There is always someone who is in line to be released from our choke hold, so to speak.   Personally I have had to let go of those who project their woundedness onto me. It happens to every spiritual teacher or leader of any kind. Healthy people do not do that. They may have ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism, but they do not demonize you to make a point. The truth is, as Laura Huxley wrote, ‘You are not the Target.” That is the title of her book, written long ago but still very on point. We need to remind ourselves of that simple truth.

Most people are walking around almost completely consumed by their own internal conflicts. It is why there is so much road rage, anger and abuse in our world. Until humans wake up to their true origins, their intact wholeness, they will continue to act like wounded animals. That is why modern spirituality is so centered on helping us to remember who we are. It is a self-identity crisis that humanity is facing. It comes from subtle, and not so subtle, indoctrination into the superstitions and dogmas of religion that taught us to fear God and to think little of ourselves. We are suffering from a giant identity problem and the wound is leading.

We can start our own healing by forgiving those who have thrown shade on us because of their own pain. We can see them as fellow travelers on a long and twisted path to self-realization. They are not the enemy. They are our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our friends and co-workers. They are neighbors or far way. They are people we have never met who we see on the news. No one is out to get us. Everyone is fighting their own demons. Forgive them and know the truth about them. That is compassion. That is kindness. That is the spiritual way.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Angels to the Rescue

Dear friends,

Just now I looked up and a pigeon was walking around my balcony. It was not the big white Egret I have been hoping would return, but it definitely was a close facsimile! (a bird is a bird, after all) Sometimes we receive indications that the thing we desire is on its way. It is called synchronicity. I have lived here for 6 months and no bird has landed on my balcony before today.

Are there such things as omens and messages from the beyond? Life is always responding to itself (that would be us) and when we see it in action, we give it a name, such as omen. Are there unseen forces at work to move us forward? Are there guardian angels and guides surrounding us, with our best interests in mind? There are times in every life when we sure hope so! We may have hit the wall, so to speak and cannot seem to think our way out of a particular situation. That is when we call in whatever help may be available. We might not even believe in angels, yet suddenly we are asking them to assist!

I believe it is always the same Power, dressed in many disguises, whatever may appeal to us, whatever we can imagine. I have heard amazing stories of angels appearing to help in dire situations. They appear as humans but disappear after the call is answered. This is a mysterious universe. But it is alive and intelligent. It is dedicated to its own evolution. It is responsive to consciousness. It feels like love. It is what we call God in action. It is active in every life right now. Call it an angel or a guide or whatever you choose, but do call it. It is always its good wish to give us the “kingdom.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivigbakersfield.com

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Our Innate Wholeness and Infinite Potential

Dear friends,

James Hillman, author of The Soul’s Code, coined the term, “acorn theory.” It is a reference to the soul, the calling in each individual, the uniqueness that we are and our personal destiny. He makes the case that our culture and our attachment to genetics as cause, have robbed us of our true nature and our reason for being here. Asserting that every person is complete at birth, he quotes Picasso, who said “I don’t develop, I am.”

Uncovering that true calling, that real self is the aim of modern New Thought spirituality. By means of raising our inner conversation from self-rejection to statements of our innate wholeness and infinite potential as if they were in place now (and they are!) we reclaim our soul’s purpose. We activate a kind of remembering.

We have been lulled into wrong assumptions about what it means to be human. Most of us feel we are victims of life rather than the givers of life that we become when we find our calling and express it. Simple affirmations assist in the awakening and of course, meditation is a known vehicle for reconnecting with the Original Self. It simply arises in us and is very subtle, soft and more like a dawning than a lightening strike.

There is a time in every life when we feel the pull to find ourselves. It is easy to ignore it, mostly we are simply distracted, but those who follow its lead are to be blessed. As I sometimes say on Sunday morning to our congregation, “we do not come here to bow down to anything outside of us. We come to learn how to live up to something inside us.” It’s a journey. It’s a practice. It’s fraught with sudden insights and even regrets as we realize how far we may have come from where this soul began. But there is also realization, relief and release. When we learn how to use the mind, we discover how to access the soul.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes

www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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I Am in Perfect Health

Dear friends,

Whatever we maybe looking for, is in us as an energetic, a potential that can be fulfilled. If it is a desire for a loving partner, the potential to BE a loving partner is within; our part is to become that in mind and heart, then we attract what belongs with us. Would it be any different with a desire for greater vitality and health? It might seem so, but there is a way for us to be healthier in mind, to see the wholeness of everything, to believe in our own. Health can be a matter of trusting the Intelligence that governs the body and keeps it in fine working order.

So much of what plagues us can be related back to our belief, or lack of, in the originating Power behind everything. That Source the world knows as God, is real. It never withholds or withdraws its availability. We access it with our mind, with what we declare to be true. It never fails to support our needs but we must convert need into a claim. This is very important. Try these affirmative statements:

I claim my lavish prosperity right now.

I claim my perfect health in this moment and every moment.

I claim success in everything I do. I do everything wholeheartedly.

I claim inner peace as my very nature

You can feel the difference between those statements and “want, need, gotta have” can’t you?

Make a declaration and stick to it. Put this creative mind to the test! Give it something to do!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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How the Universe is Run

Dear friends,

There have been times in my life when I could do nothing to solve a problem but change my mind about what and where the power to do so actually is. It is not in the economy, the weather, the current news. The Power that supplies my life with all the Good I can receive is everywhere my attention is. And so I give my mind a treatment of spiritual truth. I am restored to cheerful expectation, profound gratitude and receptivity. It is stunningly effective.

There has to be a mechanism through which things come into being. It seems to be a field of Intelligence that individualizes into the revealed concept. Do I have a concept of love and joy? Am I cheerfully expectant of success and financial freedom? Am I willing to be used by the power as the vehicle through which they are expressed? If I can answer YES I have done my part. From that moment on I am led, guided and intuitively directed into the necessary actions to allow the manifestation to take place.

The universe is pretty strange, but it would be even stranger if it were not a system of law and order. While allowing for spontaneity, it nonetheless operates in a logical sequential manner. From idea to form, the power behind the universe is forever at work. The invisible becomes the visible. The thought becomes the thing. The feeling is experienced. Everything comes out of the “nothingness” of potential. Trust this process for yourself. Cultivate cheerful expectation, gratitude and a willingness to be fully involved in your dreams. “Use me” says the One Life. ”Use me to fulfill your highest ideas.” It always matches our Yes with its own. Can you think of a better way to run a universe?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Water is Analogous to Spirit

Dear friends,

In a used book sale I picked up one called Sacred Waters by Maril Crabtree. It is a collection of essays by various people about their experiences with water.   Water is vital to our well-being, but it is also a big part of our recreation. My own best memories have to do with oceans, ponds, rivers, lakes, swimming pools, (public and private) rainfall, fog, sprinklers, fountains and garden hoses. I believe water is the closest we can get to God in form. It is Spirit made visible and is a gift to us.

We christen babies with water, baptize and cleanse with water. There is deep meaning to us in being immersed in it, whether it is a bubble bath or a hot springs spa. As Ernest Holmes pointed out, it is always H2O in any form; ice, steam, or liquid. That is his analogy to God; that no matter what form it takes it is always wholly intact in the form. When the form disappears, it returns to the unformed state of wholeness. It is a nice way to think of oneself and our relationship to our source.

Much of the world’s people do not have access to clean water. Those of us who do are often dehydrated; we don’t drink enough of it. I see this as another analogy to our spirituality. There are oppressive religions that do not feed the soul; their adherents are dying of thirst, so to speak. There are those in the West who are so busy achieving in the world, they ignore the largest part of themselves, which is Spirit.

When you take a drink of water today, just pause and imagine God is pouring itself into the form it has made out of itself, also known as you.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivngbakersfield.com   if you appreciate these messages please donate to us via our pay pal.

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Stop and Smell the Flowers

Dear friends,

Poet Wallace Stevens said ‘there is the beauty of the moment and of the moment gone.” This rings true for me and that is just what he meant. If I delight in hearing bird song in the morning, I am still affected when it is gone. It is like attending a wonderful concert or play; when it is over we are still in it, so to speak. It is an extension of the experience that can last until we are distracted by some other stimulus. However, we can always recall our delight and feel the moment as if it were now.

Those are the good memories and ones we need to keep active. It is healthy to recall feelings of joy and wonder. I cherish a moment in Hawaii when I was young and riding a bus home from work. I saw a little boy running in the gutters, scooping up fallen orchids and throwing them over his head to rain down on him. It was a moment of sheer joyful abandon. I also remember floating in the water in a lagoon on the Big Island when the air and the water were the same temperature and I felt as if I were in natures’ womb. The best memories are ones of deep connection to Life; like the first time your newborn looks at you. There is mystery in such moments. We realize we are living in a universe of immense beauty, love and pure intelligence.

Let’s look around today. There are beautiful moments to be felt and extended. Breathe, move a little more slowly than you are inclined to do. Stop from time to time and just look at the sky or the flowers outside the window. Pay attention to the baby laughing in the supermarket, the birds in the trees of the parking lot. Life is happening and it is good.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

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Release That Which is No Longer Useful

Dear friends,

Lao Tsu said: “when you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” HH the Dalai Lama also said something similar; “feeling satisfied with what you have is vital.” Some of the worlds most beloved teachers advise us to live more simply if we want to be happy and calm. The idea that less is more is very true. William Morris advised “have nothing in your home that is not useful or what you think to be beautiful.”

Taking all that to heart, what can we release into circulation that someone else might find useful or beautiful? What do we carry with us that is neither of those things? Now I am speaking about more than possessions. We also carry old ideas that are neither useful nor beautiful; ideas that cause us to feel burdened or unable to be happy and calm.   Taking a mental inventory is always a good idea but we have to be honest about what we find.

How to know what old ideas are still attached to us and operating? Just look at our current experience and see if it is not part of a repetitive pattern. Have we been in this place before? More than once? Then it is time to jettison those pesky ideas and replace them with ones that would cause us to have the experience we really desire.   What would I like instead, is a good question. Begin there and fashion some thoughts that belong with the fulfilled idea.

Try this: What belongs with me cannot be kept from me and what is no longer useful to me is released into the nothingness from whence it came.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

Keep the Mind Focused on Cheerful Expectation

Dear friends,

Clearing the mind of any negative or limiting ideas is an impossibility on this plane of existence, according to Raymond C Barker in his wonderful book "Treat Yourself To Life". Having said that, we can, in any instant, negate the negation! Our spiritual practice is a moment by moment awareness.  Keeping the mind focused in cheerful expectation is not something we “take care of later.” It is a right now necessity.

What stops most people from using their mind properly is the lack of knowledge regarding its creative powers. Once we accept that our thoughts elicit a response from invisible intelligence and tend to become seen and experienced, we will take steps to keep our attention stayed on the Good, the True and the Beautiful. Our subconscious is a repository of memories and beliefs. They have no more power to produce our today experience than we give them.

Spiritual Mind Treatment is how we obliterate those old ideas forever. We do it by replacing them with new thoughts.   Like changing the oil in your car, once we open up our mind and begin to pour in the positive and cheerful ideas, the old ones dissolve. Like the crank case in our car, the new pushes out the old and we are filled with healthier thoughts. It is a daily activity, as important as brushing our teeth. Meditation helps us relax the subconscious mind so that it is more amenable to suggestion. All the tools we need to recreate our reality are ours to use. If we are not using them, we are making life harder than it needs to be.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

Those Also Serve Who Only Stand and Wait

Dear friends,

Yesterday was completely taken up with sitting. I was called for jury selection and spent the entire day listening to lawyers ask questions and then reject possible jurists. A new crop would take their place and the process would go on until the end of day. They finally chose twelve and two alternates. The judge suggested me as an alternate but the prosecutor sent me packing. I am never chosen because I talk about compassion and cause and prevention. They are not interested. They want to win their case.

I respect the justice system but it is the individuals involved who are so invested in winning, the defendant is rarely considered in the proceedings. The lawyers ask questions intended to discover if you would help their case. Sometimes I think it would be fairer if twelve people were simply selected at random and the case went forward. Judgment is a tricky business. Our own fears and beliefs come into play and cloud the issue. Do we see clearly?

Think about the people you meet today as if they were on trial. Will you judge them harshly, kindly or indifferently?   Are they attractive to you, repugnant or invisible?. Do they deserve your compassion, kindness or rejection? Today we will meet many people. We will pass them on the street, see them on television, observe them from our cars, hear them on the telephone. What response will we give? Will we be the judge and jury or can we attempt to be the compassionate, fellow human who knows the truth behind the façade? Can we see through the appearance and judge righteously?  Maybe it is we who are on trial?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

John's comment: It has also been suggested (see David Van Reybrouck's book "Against Elections") that Congress be chosen randomly from among the population so that the American people are more truly represented and without the hassle of campaign contributions and elaborate campaigns, corporate donors, professional politicians and all that.

What If There Were No Limitations?

Dear friends,

What if? is a great question. Ask yourself: What if I did not have this worry plaguing me? What if I were really happy? What if I no longer carried any resentments towards anybody? What if I were healthy? What if I were suddenly wealthy? These questions are meant to help us see how we are using limitation to protect ourselves from something we perceive to be a threat. The threat can be freedom as well as anything.

If a person is sick and wants spiritual help I always ask them, “why do you want to be healthy?” Sometimes the answer is “aren’t I supposed to want to be healthy?” The same is true of increased prosperity. What use do you have for it? It is not uncommon to use limitation to avoid something, like intimacy or freedom that frighten us on deeper levels than our conscious mind may recognize. Very often it comes down to self -trust. We might be harboring a fear of being corrupted or irresponsible if we didn’t have these emotional tethers.

Today play the what if game with yourself. You might be surprised at how defensive your outer mind will be. But the one asking the question is the one in power. What if I allowed this true self to be seen and known for who she/he really is? What could be bad about that? The answers may surprise you, but they will be gifts of the Spirit. From the answers, we can release what we have been using to feel safe or secure. Even limitation is our servant. But who needs that kind of help?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes

www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

The Evolution of Human Consciousness

Dear friends,

Nothing runs without a power source. Your car, the lawn mower, the Blender, even your toothbrush needs a hand that moves it; but what moves the hand? Power is invisible; we only see what it does. Behind all movement is some kind of energy that causes it. What makes a dancer dance or a tree to bear fruit? All of life is an example of the effects of hidden power. Change the way the power is used and the effects change.

Human beings have access to a power that is truly amazing. It is the power that causes the effects of art, music, literature, science, invention, social structures and variations of all of them. It is the imagination, and that is the effect of Creative Intelligence. Commonly known as God, Creative Intelligence is more like a receptive field than a Being, however it is cause to being-ness!   What power causes it? No one knows, but both science and religion have been searching for the answer.

New Thought spirituality says it is enough to know it is real and how to use it to create a beautiful world of peace, plenty, love and joy; to banish disease and suffering forever. These are figments of our collective imagination, not causes in and of themselves. We know that disease is a real experience, but is caused by our belief in its necessity. The same is true of suffering of all kinds. They are the effects of a cause called Ignorance of the Power, and how to use it. We are at a place in the evolution of human consciousness when we deeply need to re-imagine our shared Reality. It begins with locating the Power that makes all things new.

Affirm: “The Power is mine to use. I am a creative expression of Creative Intelligence itself. The answers to every question are within my own field of imagination.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

Take a Moment to Think Positive Thoughts

Dear friends,

Big changes can come from small ones. It is said that ten minute walks three times a day would make a big difference in our health. Five minutes a day declaring our spiritual freedom might do the same. What about one minute an hour of an energized affirmation such as “There is nothing in me to obstruct the flow of supply” (or vitality, or joy, or peace etc.) How would our day be made better if we stopped what we were doing once an hour to declare “I love my work. I love the people I work with.” This is a form of mindfulness that can reap rich rewards.

Spiritual practice is not to make us into new people It is a way to remind us of who we are and have always been.   Affirmations simply put us in accord with our true nature. We are thinking all day long, so why not interrupt the habituated negativity or complaining ideas, with some powerful truths? Most of what we think, if we are not paying attention, has some element of complaint in it. IE: There is not enough time to complete this task. It is too hot or too cold in here. That person is a pain in the you know what.   I don’t make enough money. The litany of seemingly harmless rhetoric needs to be deliberately stopped and replaced with healthy ideas that are actually true.

Write some affirmative statements on strips of paper, let’s say a dozen or more.   Fold and place them in a jar or little box. Once an hour take one out and read it out loud. Then repeat it several times.   Place it back in the container.   Repeat in an hour. If you keep getting the same one, that is a clue to what wants to be known. In any event, you will have taken a big step toward actually changing your mind. That is where it all begins.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

www.californiafreepress.net

The Infinite is the Potential

Dear friends,

There is a huge distinction between helping and enabling, just as there is between compassion and sympathy. Enabling is supporting a false belief, a negative pattern, an addiction. Helping is just that; helping someone gain mastery over something or elevating their consciousness with new ideas. Sympathy endorses their pain but offers no solution, while compassion is right there with them, acknowledging the difficulty but seeing through it to a better outcome, knowing it possible right here and right now.

It is a wonderful thing when someone knows the truth about us, the spiritual truth, when we seem unable to see it ourselves. Compassion is unwilling to participate in perpetuating the pattern. It can be called tough love, but it is love nonetheless. At last, someone sees through our “story” to the powerful being we are. That is a real gift.

In today’s world with so much violence and mayhem, we are called to see through the lowest human consciousness with compassion. We must know there are other choices available and to affirm those choices to be evident now. All life responds on some level to the highest ideas in the “field” of intelligence we all share. What is known here is known throughout the subjective realm.

That is what the intention of prayer for others actually is; to state the spiritual truth and declare it activated now. The alternative is what Emerson called “the wringing of hands and the gnashing of teeth.” He went on to say “only the finite has wrought and suffered. The Infinite lies resting in smiling repose.”  The Infinite is the potential in each and every one of us.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

Also check out www.californiafreepress.net

Manage the Content of Your Mind

Dear friends,

As Raymond Charles Barker wrote in Treat Yourself to Life, spiritual mind treatment takes prayer out of the nebulous and brings it into the factual. Humans have always prayed. They were never certain their prayer would be heard or answered, but they prayed anyway. There is something in the human mind that deeply knows this is a responsive universe. But knowing how to respond to IT is the great teaching of New Thought and the evolution of prayer.

Our awakening to the how of it followed the discovery of the conscious and subconscious mind, the two aspects of consciousness which interact all the time. The conscious mind directs the subconscious by what is allowed to take hold as a belief. The subconscious acts upon what it has been given and brings the idea into form and function through us. We get the results of our beliefs. It is an ingenious system and one that cannot be improved. It is how humanity has individual experience. It is how the species evolves, through the spontaneous expression of each of us.

Managing the content of the mind is the first order of business if we want healing and change. What ideas do we want to be reproduced in our world? Spiritual Ones! Ideas that proclaim our wholeness, our ongoing supply, our vitality, our joy, our capacity for creativity, our love and our peace. We inject these ideas into the subconscious by attaching I AM to them and sending them into the soil of the soul. Barker said they are demands and commands and they are acted upon. Treat your mind every day, many times a day. Shout the truth into the universe! “ I am a very wealthy, healthy, happy human. I do great work and I am forever grateful.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

  Check out www.californiafreepress.net for diverse views on human experience

The Best Things in Life Aren't Things

Dear friends,

Humorist Art Buchwald said “the best things in life aren’t things.” A two thousand dollar watch does not tell time better than a ten dollar one. When we get our sense of self worth from things that break and tarnish, we are playing the fool.   No object can ever fill an empty place in us. Our personal self-worth is ours for the making. When it is intact and healthy, we can enjoy the fruits of our labor but not be attached to them.

The Buddhists ask “who would you be if all your possessions were suddenly gone?” No one wishes this on anyone, but it is a good question to ponder. Who would you be without your toys? Some people have faced that question when a natural disaster levels their home and everything is ruined. It is always interesting to see how differently individuals react to the situation. Some are quick to begin rebuilding or to move on and others are unable to do so. Of course it might depend on how one is insured or financially fit, but the philosophical question is still valid for all of us.

The level of our dependence on things to validate our worth is indicative of a larger condition. Do we have a sense of our own immense Being? Are we aware that our individual life is a personification of the Infinite? Do we know we are always in the Presence of our Source. Do we believe in our eternality? Can we imagine that our life here on earth is but one of many, many, we shall have? If we allow our soul to inform us, we will see that it is all good, all temporary and forever becoming something new. We are not things. We are the maker of them, the master of them and we are always greater than any thing or experience . We are spiritual beings enjoying the perception of time and space.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivigbakersfield.com

Check out www.californiafreepress.net for diverse views on our shared reality.

This is the Time for Humanity to Stop Pretending it is Powerless

Dear friends,

Ernest Holmes said the goal of our teaching is to arrive at the deep knowing that our Word is simply an announcement of Reality. He suggested that is how Jesus performed what others called miracles. He announced wholeness where there appeared to be brokenness. He spoke Life where death seemed to be. He declared Abundance in the face of lack.

Our word is our belief, our conviction, our expectation, and it all begins with a perception; the perception that this universe and everything in it is the visible evidence of a perfect Intelligence and Absolute Love in right relationship. In harmony, they bring forth all physical form. We are their creation, as it were. We are the effect of a Cosmic Cause. As such we are endowed with intelligence and love (made in the image and likeness of) so that our word also produces effects in the world of experience.

Because we hold that kind of power, it is essential that we love life and love it intelligently. It is crucial that we drop the sense of us and them and see the Presence everywhere. We are not fighting anything. We are projecting everything. This is the time for humanity to stop pretending it is powerless. This is the time to awaken to our ability to actually create a world of harmony, peace, joy, love and plenty. There is no other option. As the ancients knew “Grow or die.” As Dr. Jean Houston wrote “This is Jump Time!”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.centerforspiritualliving.com

www.californiafreepress.net