California Free Press

The New Normal

Dear friends,

Since it is Sunday and we are not going anywhere I felt the need to write something. Not a sermon but a few thoughts on isolation. It is always a good thing if we choose it. If it is imposed it feels more like punishment, however, we can still choose it and therein lie the benefits. It is good thing to occasionally withdraw from the world of doing and buying and going places. In fact, I think it would be a great thing if we all decided to do this one day a week after this current crisis is resolved.

One day a week to not drive the car, not create waste, not spend money. A day to be free of expectations either coming from us or at us. A day to rediscover our inner core as many of us are now doing. A day to simply do whatever we are led to do in the confines of a self-imposed retreat. People spend a great deal of money to attend retreats when all we have to do is stay home and use the time for meditation, contemplation, music, yoga, or cooking or writing or whatever comes to mind.

It seems as if this current retreat is resetting some of our internal clocks, so to speak. It would be almost impossible to not notice the finer impulses of our personalities in these situations; anything from irritation to anger to deeper patience, to our ignored need for beauty, to forgotten creativity, to a dawning realization of our own intactness.

This is the perfect opportunity to recharge our love of life and our natural optimism. This current crisis will get resolved. The new normal will be us being more conscious, more aware of our oneness, more eager to put things to rights, to get in accord with Nature, to serve the higher good.  It is often true that one has to withdraw from the problem in order to see through it to the other side. Could this be what is happening now?

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Love is the Activating Energy

Dear friends,

In these times the one thing we want to hold on to is enthusiasm. It is all too easy to fall into the doomsday trap, which is after all, merely an opinion, a limited perception. Enthusiasm for our shared future, despite the horrible choices humanity has made, is key to fulfilling the promise of our boundless possibility. We are either the co-creators of our world or we are the victims of happenstance. If we believe the latter, we believe in a world with no intelligence behind it, no love in it and no reason for it to be.

It is apparent in Nature that Love is the activating energy that causes life to become visible. It is also obvious that it does it intelligently. Everything has a purpose and a rightful place in the support of the continuance of revealed forms. Emerson talked about how a revelation is to become enthused, that is, filled with Spirit, with the knowing of our true nature; to be so aware of being the answer to any question. In other words, the answered prayer is within us.   What we desire is revealed to us as part of our very Being. That is the power that moves our feet and makes things new.

We will not create a new world without participating in the transformation. We begin with ourselves. Don’t think for a minute that you do not matter. You are a key player! This time of isolation is a much needed break for all of us from how it has been. We can use it as a spiritual retreat. It is a way to tap into our own deeper knowing, to bring up the enthusiasm that will lift us out of fear into cheerful expectation.   Not to say we are without compassion for anyone directly affected by the dis-ease, but to hold to a higher vision for us all. It is never an either/or choice. Enthusiasm for the greater possibility is simply seeing through the appearance to the emergent Good.   It is not easy but it is essential spiritual practice. As a wise person said, we are now to hospice the old and mid-wife the new.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Changes We Face May Not Be All Bad

Dear friends,

Do you feel as if your life is in limbo? Unable to travel as freely as we might like, told to stay home and keep our distance from other people, we are not exactly moving forward. We are in a holding pattern. Perhaps that is not a completely negative thing. With great compassion for anyone dealing with the virus firsthand, can we also see how quickly Nature rights herself when humans are not active in the same way? The waters of the Venice canals have cleared up; dolphins and fish are swimming in them!   I read that the polluted air of Bejing is clear and the blue sky has returned. With factories and businesses closed, we are having an observable lesson in just how much our daily activities corrupt the environment.

There are social benefits too. People are reaching out to one another in new ways. In Italy, the apartment dwellers who are isolated, go out on their balconies in the evening and sing together. Spiritual services have become internet events, reaching more people than ever before. In addition, the spread of the virus is showing us just how connected we actually are. This global event is an opportunity for us to reconsider how we are in the world. If we claim this as a turning point, perhaps we will make some new choices that will put us back in accord with Nature.

I apologize if this sounds cheesy, but the truth is this: Mother Nature loves us as denizens of her kingdom. Perhaps she is attempting to bring us back into the circle of life. We have   pitted ourselves against her with dire consequences. Now is the time to embrace all living Beings as our family. We have to consider everyone in every choice from the tiniest insect to the planet itself.

Maybe we can turn this shared experience into a blessing.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Is an Invisible Life Form Our Immediate Teacher?

Dear friends,

We are having a world-wide shared event; something that affects each of us in some way. How we react or respond to it says everything about our deepest beliefs and consequently the story we tell ourselves about it. Is it a tale of woe, a horror story, a high drama? Perhaps it is a story of how our collective unrest tends to out-picture in our environment. That is a story that can be put to the test. In our own individual lives we might have had some experience with the effects of regular meditation. We can point to how much calmer, more centered, relaxed and clear our mind is now. We might even see the more peaceful energy in our family since we began to meditate. Our consciousness tends to extend beyond our physical form. That discovery is monumental!

Everything is better when our inner life is restfully alert. We will have a sense of what is the best course of action for us. We can often see through the appearance to the cause behind it and make corrections, thereby influencing the outcome.   The story I tell myself is simple: Life is always trying to bring forth the greater good. How it does it can be upheaval but often that is the only way to get our attention to what needs to happen to clear the path. It is rather like the addict hitting rock bottom. Then the way up is possible. Have we humans hit our lowest level of consciousness? Well, if we look at what we have done to our planet; at the human trafficking, the abuse of children, the violence in our cities, the homelessness, the poisoning of our food, just to name a few examples, then yes, we have hit rock bottom.

One aspect of cleaning up our outer environment has to do with the realization of our oneness, our connection, our shared field of consciousness. We are not us and them, we are just us, the people of planet earth. In 1999 we asked HH the Dalai Lama what was the most important thing for humanity to know at the entrance into the 21^st century. He said “the fact of our oneness, our interdependence.” If nothing else, we can have that realization because of an invisible life form that is perhaps our immediate teacher.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The People of Earth Are All Together on This

Dear friends,

There is something wonderful trying to happen right now. It is coming through those of us who refuse to fall into fear. That wonderful something has to do with our oneness, our immediate connection through the field of consciousness and our power to make this a world an experience of peace and plenty, health and joy for everyone. It begins again in the worst of times as it always has. From ancient times to now, there is always a breakdown prior to a breakthrough. Humanity is being tested right now, not by some outer power, but by its own deep level insistence that we make this world a better place.

We have been crying for justice, for equality, for equity and for an end to all the hate and violence for as long as we have been on this planet. What is happening now is simple. We have a deep choice to make individually, that will contribute to the collective. We either succumb to the old beliefs or stand up and declare we are the ones who create our shared experience.

We have made victims out of ourselves by falling into the consumer trap or the religion trap or the we-are-superior trap . We bought the program that told us to shop ‘til we drop. We ignored the starving children, right in our own midst. It took something that seems to threaten everyone to potentially wake us up to our unified field of Being. An invisible microbe has become the instigator of a potential global transformation.

I know it sounds crazy, but what if we say thank you, see it with the eyes of gratitude and make it our friend. The truth is as active now as it has always been. No little virus can change the trajectory of consciousness; no, it follows it. We must change our minds now and keep them changed. We are one people, the people of this earth. We are spiritual equals. Everyone is deserving of a good life. We work together to make it real.

Start with this declaration:

“I am a vitalized center of spiritual power. My body and the body of my affairs prove that to be so.”

Stay tuned in,   

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

As a Species We Are in a Time of Healing

Dear friends,

What is a metaphysician to do when the world is in a panic? Deny that the virus exists? No, we do not deny facts. What we do is affirm “I am always in the right place at the right time to fully realize my natural vitality. My health is assured wherever I may be.” We know that consciousness creates everything, so what we see in the world right now is a continuation of the revealing of a systemic dis-ease.  

It may be hard to believe, but we as a species we are in a time of healing. The poison is surfacing; the light is pushing it out. Just as an infected wound will get worse before it can be properly treated, so our hidden ugliness has risen to visibility. We must treat all of these symptoms properly. That is, with calm, centered, stable and loving thoughts. Keep affirming; “ we humans are rising up to new levels of mutual love and respect. Our future is clean and bright. We do amazing things together. We are taking a leap out of the dark into the glorious light of Love.”

To some, those words will seem silly or uninformed. They are not. Those of us who live our lives from the inside out, will know how powerful collective consciousness is. We must contribute to it in the way we know to be stunningly effective. Repeat those words, or ones like them, all day long. The world needs clear thinking now more than ever.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Coronavirus - a Signal From the Environment?

Dear friends,

It is easy to profess our spiritual beliefs when everything is going our way. It is in times of great upheaval or apparent threat that we find out how deeply rooted our beliefs actually are. Without being arrogant or reckless, we as New Thought adherents, believe we are greater than any experience. If that were not so, we would never overcome anything, not even a cut finger. We also know that consciousness creates everything and so this temporary manifestation (whatever it may be) has a Cause in human consciousness; that which we adhere to as a collective. In these times we must seriously Think For Ourselves!  

Your experience of anything is yours alone, not dictated by what others are declaring to be inevitable. Our responsibility is to be very diligent in regard to what we are allowing our mind to consider to be true. As Dr. Bruce Lipton has so eloquently stated, disease is the result of a signal from the environment. The most potent signal is thought; the most powerful thought is Love. This current virus is susceptible to Love in the sense that if we see it as a way to fully realize just how connected we all are, how one with nature, how powerful is consciousness, we will no longer be “plagued” by the effects of hate, indifference, anger and fear.

Start this day with loud professions of Love. Love for all people. Love of Nature. Love of Life itself. Love of Source, however you may see it. In New Thought we do not “pray” to get rid of a condition. We declare our power over it. That Power is inherent in every one of us. When we succumb to fear, we are spreading disease.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Relief from the Coronavirus

Dear friends,

The famous words attributed to Jesus, “be in the world but not of it” have perhaps never been more relevant than they are right now. On the one hand, knowing that consciousness precedes all form and experience, we take extra care to monitor our own thoughts at this time of sweeping fear in the collective. On the other hand we also know we are not completely separate from the field of consciousness that is made up of human beliefs. Having said that, we do want to make sure we are not being mired in the drama that fear produces.

To paraphrase Marianne Williamson (who was referring to Aids) we seem to have more faith in a microbe to make us sick than we have in our own spiritual power to remain whole. Our bodies are energy systems which respond immediately to signals from our mind. Fear is the great inhibitor of vitality (health) than any other factor. Now we must ask ourselves what we really believe about our own physical well-being. Are we one with the Source of all life or not? Are we greater than the world of experience or not? Are we things or Beings of spiritual origins?

Yes, while we are here in the flesh, we are in the world of effects; but we remain in the field of Cause. That is what we want to remember at this time. Follow our inner wisdom. If it tells us to get more rest, consume certain foods and vitamins, meditate longer…whatever is coming from our inner guidance…then we do that. Viruses are not out looking to take us down; they only seek a breeding ground. Like seeds taking root in fertile soil they cannot enter the field that is not prepared to receive.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

I Am Always in the Presence of Goodness

Dear friends,

Perhaps it would be good to give a New Thought perspective on the current experience we are having regarding the coronavirus. It is controversial, for certain, to say this, but every living thing is God (Intelligence) in expression. Some living things have more use of Intelligence than others. Those Beings that do are in charge, whether they know it or not, and usually they do not. The virus does one thing, finds a receptive place to grow and to express its nature. Fear is the great attractor and receptor. The other is a belief in disease that is stronger than our belief in our natural wholeness, vitality and resilience. Swept up in mob psychology, anyone can become ‘infected’ with the fear of a microbe or for that matter, an imaginary enemy.

In New Thought our whole aim is to infuse the field of consciousness with the stabilizing force of Truth. We give our own mind a treatment of spiritual truth. It is all too easy to fall into the collective pandemonium. Here is a sample:

Knowing there is One living Field of Love and Intelligence behind everything visible and invisible, we invest our mind in remembering this simple truth, moment by moment. Humans, made in the image and likeness of love/Intelligence, are greater than any experience they have created, consciously or unwittingly, individually or collectively.

 Our Power is inherent in us. It is stronger than fear, greater than the effects we see. We announce our wholeness as if we were the creative force in the universe. “I am always in the presence of goodness." There is nothing in this world that is seeking to lessen my power or attack my wholeness. I am always in the right place at the right time to experience health and well-being. There is no wrong place to be. I declare myself free of all false beliefs that have no good reason to live in my world. Grateful for my health and prosperity, I simply know. And so it is!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Take the High road

Dear friends,

There is an old song suggesting that taking either the high road or the low road will determine who gets there first. I suppose it depends on where we want to get to, but in spirituality we would say the high road is always the fastest way to achieve anything. In today’s world (which sometimes seems as if we are all in a giant therapy session) we need to stay on the high side of perception. People are working out their suppressed emotions, their fears, their unexpressed angers. Not only on the world stage; this energy has trickled down into our personal relationships. The proverbial stuff has hit the fan.

Lesson to myself today; let people shout and moan. Stay real and present. Tell the truth, not to them, but to yourself. Although it is difficult to hold in mind, the fact is, we are not the target. Perhaps we have family connections and shared experiences but still, the other person is feeling only what they have invented as the right way to see things. If we have stated our apology, our forgiveness, our love, then all is well with us.

Bullying is nothing more than fear of rejection acted out inappropriately. The same is true of name-calling, labeling, finger pointing. It is all a psychological problem for the one doing the naming and blaming. Our part in the healing that is trying to happen, is to know for humanity a higher truth.
‘We are not victims of the past. We are not results of experience. We are the living expression of Love and Intelligence. As such we re always greater than any experience. Humanity is awake and alert to its original wholeness.’ That is the high road. Taking it gets us where we want to be.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

 

I Am Lovable, Capable and Beautiful

Dear friends

Take up, in mind, that person you have been blaming for your current life and say to them “my limitation is not your fault.” I know. It seems counter-intuitive when you know how badly you were treated or how betrayed. But the truth is, like our inability to get love from another, it is also impossible to be diminished by them. Our reaction belongs to us. While it seems crazy to think we have not been affected ( we have been), it is insane to think the damage is inevitable and permanent. It isn’t.

I heard a minister give a great talk recently about creating space in our hearts and minds for those we never want to see again. He was speaking of the advice attributed to Jesus, “love your enemies.” It is all about self-care. We do not want to have pockets of anger and hatred in our “system.” We are each an emotional, mental, spiritual system of creative power. We are the ones who must keep our best interests in mind. Unfortunately we have been taught that experience creates us, and that is the biggest lie of all.

Sure, in the moment, especially when we are children, we are temporarily "damaged.”   The reason good therapy or spiritual practice can lift us out of that limiting self-image is because we are NOT really damaged. The only thing that suffers is our self -image, and that is something we can raise to its original level. You were in love with being you the moment you were born. You have every reason to revive that natural state and you have the power to do so.

Start with a simple affirmation:

“I am who I have always been; lovable, capable and beautiful. No one can take that from me.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Keep Yourself Current

Dear friends,

Every need for apology brings the past into now, robbing us of the perfection of this moment. The friend who is likely to chastise us for not visiting more often, the subtle hint of hurt, must be seen by us as their need, not ours. Emerson said “be and not seem.” He was referring to this tendency to drag yesterday into the immediate reality. It does not belong here; certainly not emotionally.

Another way to not be here now is to remind others of how they were last year or twenty years ago or even last week. Let them be who they are now. Can we do that for ourselves? What if we feel the need to apologize to another? Is there a way to do it that keeps us current? What if we said something like ‘I feel very differently about things today. I would respond to you from a new perspective.’ People generally are growing and learning all the time. Let’s give them, and ourselves, credit for evolving. Most of us have new ways of seeing and doing things, proof that we have moved forward.

Emerson wrote “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds; with consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” When we hang on to the past, with anger or hurt feelings, we are not involving our higher self and certainly not able to tap into our higher purpose. We are revolving, not evolving. Like being caught in those circular doors, we will miss the opportunity to free ourselves from repetition and mediocrity. Let it go! Get in the flow of Life that is moving on and up. See how much lighter you feel, how astonishingly perfect is this moment.

Affirm: “I keep myself in the Current by being current.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

We Are the Unfolding Story of the Universe

Dear friends,

Forgiveness is too small a concept to describe what happens when we step out of our old story. It is just one of many benefits that attend a leap from the past. Renewed joy and eagerness to live our life in a new way also belong to those who are willing to write a new story. It is a great moment when we realize our personal happiness, success and well-being have nothing to do with any other person, at all. Our story belongs to us alone. Having said that, of course we care about others. We might even offer advice or silently know the truth for them, but the details of their story do not rob us of what is truly alive in us.

We ought to claim our wholeness every morning, noon and night and all moments in between! Meaning, of course, that we develop a consciousness of our true identity and keep it uppermost in our mind. We are spiritual beings expressing in human form, backed up by a universal awareness that knows us as its own story unfolding.  

Imagine that you are a character in a sweeping saga of life on planet earth. You have a distinct part to play. You are perfect in the role. You have been given permission to improvise your way through the plot. In fact you can change it if you choose. The story is bigger than your part, but your part is necessary to the whole. You come to realize that you really cannot get it wrong. Remember that one line in that very old story, “you are my beloved in whom I am well pleased?” We thought it was meant for just one person. But no, it is for all of us.

Let’s tell a new story together. Let’s change the ending that seems inevitable. 

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.carol-carnes.com

What is Normal is Always Changing

Dear friends,

Today was one of those computer rebellion days. Nothing would boot up. It took hours before I could get back online. I had the realization of how dependent I am on this thing. It really is a wonderful tool for staying connected to friends and the world in general. It is hard to remember what it felt like to not be instantaneously in touch with whomever we wanted to be. Of course I can recall telephones that were connected to the wall, and letters in the mail and waiting for that phone call. However, I do not remember what it felt like. Maybe that is because it was just what was normal.

Normalcy is something that changes in our lifetime. In mine, it has changed many, many times. I can remember when girls had to wear dresses to school and our fathers wore suits and ties all the time. Our mothers did housework in high heels (well, mine did!) We wouldn’t go to a nice event without gloves and stockings and probably wore a girdle, which even us skinny girls were required to wear. Nothing could move or jiggle. That was normal.

It was normal in the sixties and seventies for men and boys to grow their hair long and girls to iron theirs. It was considered okay to show your navel and go without a bra. Nowadays it is normal to insult people on the internet, to name call and taunt. Bullying is common and children talk to their parents as if they were on a TV show. Electronic devices are a constant and so is homelessness and drug addiction.    

Yet underneath all the new normal, in any age, there is the changeless Reality of this universe. There is One something being all things and endowing all things with its powers; love, joy, peace, supply, creativity, intelligence and vitality.   It is normal for us to use those energies to create our very own experience. Yet, we are prone to fall into the cultural norms and forget what is real. It takes daily spiritual practice to remember what is really the norm. Then we can appreciate all the latest gadgets, or be centered amidst the changes, knowing they will come and go but the Power of the One is ever present and available in our normal lives.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes

www.carol-carnes.com

Love is a Pretty Word

Dear friends,

Love is a pretty word. There are no sharp edges, no staccato. It flows. It has a soft sound and It means what it sounds like. There is a vibration that it carries. That is the essence of word power, the vibration it carries. Where does that vibratory quality begin if not in the intention of the one speaking? The word itself has its own energy but when it is expressed by a person, it changes shape. It becomes individualized, giving the speaker their own experience of the meaning, unlike any one else.

Consider the energy of the words ‘I am.’ The original vibration is universal; of Spirit, wholistic and unbounded. It is the Word referred to in some scriptures as that which preceded flesh (physical form). Our intention when we begin a sentence with those two words is to express something or make a declaration. We seldom think about the power of those words and how they shape our reality. We can be rather reckless with them when we forget that they precede all experience. They are the way we give shape to Infinite potential.

“I am Love” is a super-charged statement of a universal truth. There is no Love without us. It remains a possibility until we become it. Relationships that are built on our need to ‘get’ love, will not last. We cannot get anything from another. We may feel our own love in their presence, but it is our love. If that were not true, we would only be able to love once. Well, we all know that is not the case! Can we raise the vibration of what we mean by ‘I am’? Yes, that is what spiritual practice is all about. Meditation, silence, solitude, study and joyful play help us to remember the sound of our own name and to speak it with intention.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Freedom and Justice

Dear friends,

It is hard to know what to think these days. Or rather, it’s harder to think what we know we should think. In the face of unbelievable events, do love and compassion still hold their power to transform? Are we mere observers or do we hold the keys to our shared reality? Have we lost access to new ideas, to vision, to the quantum field of boundless potential? What has changed in the past few years has to be our belief in the commonality of our desire for peace and justice. We may have become swayed to the notion that half of us want open warfare or a state that dictates our every move. No, we have to remember that in our hearts we all want freedom.

Humans crave expression. We are hard-wired to love each other. We are the users of an Infinite Intelligence. We have everything necessary to create a world that works for everyone. It will be the effects of our collective voice, standing first in mind and then in fact, with s singular idea; ‘We are One, we are free, we are the masters of our fate. We rise up again and again and again.’ When we are in our car or on the bus or diapering the baby, those are the times we need to be chanting in mind “we are free, we are free, we are free." Freedom and justice for all.

We may only have one vote but it is a mighty voice in itself. We may not know how freedom shall be our forever experience but we must think it anyway. We are creating the future with our thoughts. Of course action is necessary but actions are driven by ideas. We cannot make our feet do what our minds do not believe is the right thing to do.

Chant this throughout your day “Humanity is free, prospered and alive in love.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Don't Be Afraid to Sing

Dear friends,

Growth never takes the path we expect. It comes when we throw ourselves with abandon, back into the field of our own potential. That is, we give up our insistence that things need to be what we think they should be. One of the best ways to kick start our life in a new direction, is to do something we are afraid to do. I don’t know what that is for you, dear reader, but for me it was singing in front of an audience.

Used to being on stage as a speaker, one might think I would have no fear of singing, but that was not the case. I have always assumed I could not carry a tune or stay on key. In fact I was not sure how to find the key itself! Having recently left my position as senior minister, I have been somewhat uncertain about my future. Then my friend gifted me with a three day intensive workshop on overcoming the fear of singing in public!

My daughter and I attended “singing your soul song” led by Rev Roby Chevance and Jami Lula, two exceptional vocalists. Well, not only did my daughter do well, she stole the show! This was rather amazing since her fear of singing was even more pronounced than mine. I managed to do as well as I could and even had fun doing it. I sang “Our Love is Here To Stay”, and in my mind I was singing it to humanity about spiritual love being a forever presence.

Someone has said ‘if you do not do what you are afraid to do, you are not really alive.’ I feel more alive now than I have for a long time. Ask yourself, ‘What is the one thing that I fear, but, if I actually did it, it would open my heart and my mind to new possibilities?” Have you ever seen a baby bird kicked out of the nest by its’ mother? First it free-falls, then it flaps its wings and flies for the first time.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Note: Living Consciously will be going to subscription status March 1, 2020

Let's All Win Together

Dear friends,

Recently I was introduced to The Mind Game; a very different kind of team play. There is no competition, no sequential ‘turns’ and only one goal; for the whole group to succeed together. The cards are numbered from one to a hundred. The groups must build from the lowest number to the highest. If one of the players lays down a card that is higher than the last one played, they must start over. Every time they succeed, they receive more cards to play with, increasing their chances of ‘winning.’
The first time I played I noticed how difficult it was to let go of the usual rules of any game. I kept thinking I had to wait for my turn or that I was competing with the other players. When I got the concept, that we were building this together and learning about each other in the process, the whole thing shifted to a higher level. It was great fun.

Our culture, with its constant emphasis on winning and losing, better or worse, pretty or ugly, younger or older, richer or poorer, superior or inferior, has pitted us against each other in the most obvious and subtle ways. Even best friends are silently competing against each other. Siblings are often vying for attention, feeling less than or more than the other. We think this is natural but it isn’t. Tiny children, who do not make value judgments, share everything with each other. They have to be taught to compete. Little boys who balk are called sissies. Little girls become ‘wallflowers.’ In the process, a profound aspect of being human is lost; the sense of being part of something greater than one’s own existence. Divide and conquer is what oppressors do. It works every time.

Stay tuned in,
Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Affirm “ I am part of the Whole of humanity. Together we prosper; together we grow. We are all One in Love.”

Take the High Road

Dear friends,

The whole appears wherever the part appears, so wrote Emerson in his essay on Compensation. If you see smoke there must be fire. His premise is that nothing remains hidden for all time. There will be some circumstance that brings out the secret, the lie, the ill-conceived intention. In other words, we do not ‘get away’ with anything. True, we may not see the natural outcome immediately, but it will reveal itself at some point in time. A sharp observer of life and it’s flow, will be able to track the starting point of a particular situation.

Right now in this country we are seeing the effects of hidden secrets being revealed. Our quest for a just and equitable society has pushed the poison to the surface so that we can own it, heal it and replace it with what will produce the effects we desire. That is as true of us individually as it is in the collective. It is always time for renewal. If we are facing some serious challenge, could it be time to look at its Cause, knowing it is within the effect? This is not a widely accepted perception but it is true. Those who know that Life always tends to support us in our growth, will face the moment and forgive themselves and any others who may have been involved in the inception of this calamity.

The other night I had dinner with friends. My fortune cookie said ‘a challenge will bring forth your finest abilities.’   It can, if we attribute Cause rightly and do not fall into the blame game. No one creates our experience but us. Yes others are involved and they may have behaved badly, but why were they even in our story? That is the question a spiritually mature person will ask. That is the person who knows where power resides.

Affirm: “I take the high road in all my affairs. I am not fooled by appearances. I see Cause in everything and I know the Power is mine to create a new Cause.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Cheerful Expectations

Dear friends,

“God’s wealth is circulating in my life. There is a Divine surplus all the time.”   That comes from early metaphysician, Joseph Murphy. If the word God is a problem for you, change it to Life or Universe or Power or anything that pleases you, but is big enough to lift your mind to harmonize with the words. Do you expect a surplus of wealth in your own life? If the answer is negative we have to ask ourselves, why? Why do we not expect lavish and relentless flow of abundance? Why do we expect to be left out of the equation that life is for us and never against us?

R.C. Barker reminded us to check our expectations. He said to pay close attention to what our deeper beliefs are revealing as expectations. Do we expect to get old and decrepit or to remain healthy and fit? Do we expect to be supplied with whatever is necessary to succeed in what we love to do? Do we expect to arrive safely when we board an airplane? That one is a useful gauge for our other expectations.

Let’s say you are traveling to a tropical island for a much needed vacation. As you board and take your seat, you are happy thinking about all the fun you will have. That is the feeling we want for whatever we are doing or planning to do.   Cheerful expectation is not head-in-the-sand ignorance of a problem. It is choosing to predict an outcome that is as available as failure! The brilliant spiritual teacher, Ernest Holmes, was once asked what he would be thinking if he was on a plane that was about to crash. He said “I wouldn’t be on that plane.” That was a statement of trust in the Law of co-creation. We create our life experience by means of our expectations. It is a good practice to be honest with ourselves about what we really expect to happen.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes

Dear friends, 

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Creative Ideas Open Up For Me

Dear friends,

     The only creative factor available to us is thinking. Everything innovative that we enjoy today came from the mind of some human who asked ‘what if?’ What great inventors have in common is a willingness to let their imagination run away with them. That is, they can set aside their nay-saying mind and allow ideas to come into their awareness. They do not think up the idea for, as an example, a flying machine. They receive the idea because their mind is open to 1) being surprised and delighted by what comes through and 2) inordinately fascinated with flying.

     Ernest Holmes author of The Science of Mind, said it isn’t that God had lots of cars and airplanes in Heaven. No, the idea of locomotion was the key factor. Being open to what one could do with it was the way ideas came into being. There are probably an infinite variety of ways locomotion can be made into forms for our use. Perhaps some of them don’t involve form at all?   “Beam me up Scotty” comes to mind.

     What is up for innovation in my life today? Ask yourself that question. Give yourself permission to sit in silence to access that boundless field of possibility. Usually the idea will correspond to what we are already actively doing. Einstein was open to the solution of his theory of relativity, but if that idea had come to me, I would not be able to utilize it. Life seems to supply us with whatever is needed in the moment to take us up and out and into higher levels of living. What do we involve ourselves in on a regular basis? There may be some innovative ways to take it to a new level of effectiveness, but we have to be open to learning something new, perhaps doing it in a new way.

Affirm “I am open to receiving creative idea that lift my life into new heights of expression.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Is Democracy Dead?

by Carol Carnes

Stop affirming that Democracy is dead!, No it isn't! It is an idea in the mind of our collective and it is greater than any temporary manifestation of our worst fears. Democracy is up for renewal in our country. Perhaps we have never had it before?? Certainly not for everyone. We were lax in our support of equality and justice. We were too lazy to exercise our voting rights. We were apathetic about the rights of those unlike us. We are seeing what happens when we do not participate in democracy. It goes dormant and those who would exploit that fact rise up. Let's get busy with our very powerful minds and start insisting on a free society that truly is for liberty and justice for all. We are not victims, we are co-creators. Own it!

Let's Move the World Forward

Dear friends.

Every upside has a downside, light casts a shadow. Conversely there is an upside to the downside, the shadow proves the Light. Things ebb and flow. We love the flow but the ebbing is a challenge whether it is love that seems to recede, a friendship goes sour, a business fails or we are in need of money. When things look the worst is the time to remember that nothing stays the same. What happens to seemingly take us out of the natural law of compensation, is fear; the convincing of oneself that this situation is permanent. It never is.

Faith is seeing through the appearance and judging it righteously. It is knowing that everything must change and there is a natural tendency of life and Nature to replenish itself, evolve and continue to grow despite temporary seasons of rest. When Life is resting we think of it as stopping. It is actually a sign that our former consciousness will no longer give us the results we desire. It is time for us to change our own mind, to rethink who we are and how it all happens.

One of the great gifts of New Thought spirituality is the teaching of How things happen. They come about through the avenue of the most believed idea. They follow the path cut for them by our mental certainty. We do not need to know how it will look, but we do need to have faith in the process. Life will even out. Life will prosper itself. Life will follow our lead.

Right now the world is suffering the effects of old ideas no longer giving us the results we want. There has to be a collective agreement in our shared equality, supply and value. Give yourself some time today to envision a world of peace and plenty. Let’s move this world forward. What we do for ourselves, we can do for humanity.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Innocence and Discernment

Dear friends,

What we love about little children is their innocence; that is, they are mystics, not critics. They see everything in its essence without comment on value. I vividly remember my grandson, Alec, age 18 months, visiting me in Tennessee. He was looking out the window when a rider on a lawn mover came by making a loud noise. This tiny boy who was barely speaking in sentences, suddenly called out “Ohhhh, Baby!” He caught the essence of the moment. A child’s first response is to love everything. Later they develop judgement. They may deem broccoli distasteful or Uncle Joe strange. It is the first version of discernment.

Mystics are in love with everything, too, but they also have discernment. The ability to see through the façade of politeness to the ulterior motive is its gift. It is a system, not of alarm, but a cautionary prompting. Although one knows all souls have inherent goodness in them, it is also true that outwardly they may be a danger to our well-being. Knowing what to avoid is discernment, not condemnation.

Some people who consider themselves very spiritual will take up with anyone without regard for how they are in the world. A typical case was that of a woman who married a man who had been in prison for murder. Warned against him, she said she saw his Spiritual potential and that was good enough. Well, when he tried to kill her, she felt otherwise. Everyone has a core of goodness but not everyone has allowed it to come into visibility. The prompting to move away from a person or a situation is not a value judgement. It is simply our own spiritual wholeness attempting to remain active. We need to develop a relationship with our inner guidance system. It never fails to inform the moment and to illuminate the road ahead.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

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Blessed are the Teachers

Dear friends,

Over the years I have often thought fondly of my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Bill Vick.  He was young and enthusiastic and also   had a certain wisdom about him.   He assigned us songs to learn and made us sing in front of the class. He seemed to know that some of us were so shy we could not have managed that on our own, so he paired us together. We had to do our book reports as mini-theatrical productions. We wrote a script, cast the roles, directed it and presented to the class. It was great fun. I was so shy I was almost mute in front of people but he saw something in me.   He would often give me things to do that put me in front of the class, such as writing things on the blackboard or handing out papers. I was class president at one point.

I credit Mr. Vick with the start of a long road into public speaking, which I now love to do, and writing. It did not happen all at once, but he planted seeds. He seemed to say “this is your path.”   I often wonder if he is still alive and where he is. I would like to thank him for pushing me into the spotlight when I would have preferred to hide in the shadows.   Teachers can be influential in us long after we have left the class. In my class work to become a minister, it was Dr. Bill Little who was my guide. He evoked an awareness of our teaching I did not know I had. He challenged us to be real and to not parrot others. He assigned books that were not part of the proscribed classwork but were tremendously helpful in cracking open our hearts and minds. I have used those same books in my own teaching.

I guess the point today is how important those people are who bring to us their expertise and their desire to see us succeed. They can be tough on us but never unkind. I am grateful for the two Bills. I am grateful for all my teachers. You are probably one of them.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Gifts of the Spirit

Dear friends,

"Gratitude radiates out from me in all directions, touching everything in my world and returns to me as more to be grateful for." Louise Hay

Given that we live in a magnetic field of Intelligence, doesn’t it make sense that what we are giving out would produce more of its kind? Gratitude for what we have is a powerful energy. It is easy to release limiting waves of energy. We do it by lamenting what we think is missing. Whatever the current level of our health, let’s celebrate it. Let’s notice the things we still can do; the music we can hear, the colors of Nature. Let’s proclaim our current prosperity as sufficient unto itself. Let’s be glad for how we can share our good.

Whatever we may be experiencing, there is a degree of wholeness in it. That is, apparent lack is a degree of prosperity. Love is present when we are alone. Peace is underneath anger and joy is the flip side of sadness. We know things can change in an instant, and that means every moment needs to be a clear channel for the arrival of more Good. Try to not bemoan what you want as if it were far away or impossible to reach. It is present now, seeking outlet through some receptive consciousness.

I am reminded of Emerson’s famous quote “we are sitting on a whale, fishing for minnows.”

Affirm: “My life is the constant movement of pure Intelligence into form. I am a receptive opening for the gifts of the Spirit.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

There is Good for Me

Dear friends,

Every life has highs and lows.

Sometimes it seems we are in a maelstrom, spinning around and going nowhere.

There is a sense of endings but no real beginning in sight.

This is when we must summon all our faith, our knowing, our belief that something wonderful is on the move and trying to get through us into actuality.

Today for all of us who may be in this place let’s know:

The One Life that becomes the many is the Source of everything we can see and that which is as yet unseen. It is my Source, my life and present right here and now, knowing itself as I am. I open my mind completely to the Good it is prompting me to accept. ‘There is Good for me and I ought to have it.’ So said Emma Curtis Hopkins. I agree. I am completely receptive to the gifts of the Spirit, which has never failed to surprise and delight me with its lavish and relentless giving-ness. My gratitude destroys all fear and worry from my mind. I am filled with cheerful expectation. And so it is.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

There Is Good in the Universe!

Dear friends,

Are we open to receiving the blessings of this day? Well, yes, we might reply, but how do I know what they will be? Right there we have put up a little mental roadblock, as it were, to what Life is forever attempting to do through us. The blessings have already been given in the formless potential within our own Being.   We receive them by allowing them to come into our experience by means of our expression. So many of the world’s people are waiting for their Good to drop out of the sky and that is rather understandable, given the image of God as Man in the sky that remains unchallenged.

New Thought students are unlearning those old concepts and are on the most rewarding path in all of spirituality; the path of knowing the Source of everything we desire lives in us, as us; that we are made of the love we want, the supply we need, the vitality we must have for health and well- being.

It is one step above superstition to say God is within me. It is a giant leap to know ‘whatever God is, it is being me.’   What must it be if not infinite potential, wholeness, Intelligence, Love, Vitality, Peace, Creativity Joy and supply? We live in an age of awakening. We are coming out of the superstitious beliefs of ancient times, entering into the realm of science-based spirituality. There is a Truth, it is knowable and we can prove it for ourselves.

The great teacher Dr. Ernest Holmes is famous for many things but especially this statement; ‘there is a power for Good in this Universe. It is available to everyone and you can use it.’ We use it with our mind, the link to the infinite reservoir of boundless Good.

Stay tuned in,

CarolCarnes www.carol-carnes.com

Life Is For Us And Never Against Us

Dear friends,

There is freedom and peace of mind in the realization that we are never victims of anything; that in some way we are co-creators of it. This is as true of us collectively as it is of us as individuals. Furthermore, to see that whatever it may be, there is a higher power at work within it, is liberating. It is not easy, but the aim here is to rise above any circumstance and ask the question “What is the greater good for me here?”   If we are honest we will see how we, in our deepest thoughts, were trying to get to this very place so that we could move forward. Granted, we did not dictate the exact situation, but the outcome, that is of our own making.

When our true self is wanting to be seen and known in a new way and if we are reluctant to let go of current forms, it will find a way to get us there. Some people think of it as lessons from God or the universe, but really it is simply our own soul directing the whole business. As Ernest Holmes wisely noted ‘Life is for us and never against us.’ That makes perfect sense when seen as a necessary component of evolution. Life is about becoming more of itself all the time. Are we Life or are we not?

We think the caterpillar turning into a butterfly is a charming story, but it is our story, too. It is not unusual to be swept up in a challenging circumstance and to feel as if all is lost, only to look back from a distance of time, and see that it was the momentum needed to grow us some wings. We are now more of ourselves and we are stronger, more capable and living on a higher level.    

Affirm: “This, too is for my highest good.”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Trust Your Inner Clock

Dear friends,

I am beginning to think the soul is not in the body, but around it, above it, its purpose being to guide, nudge, inform and lead where allowed to do so. The soul in this sense is our non-local awareness, that magical aspect of consciousness that seems to be able to transcend physical limitations. Let’s be clear; there are limitations in the physical but they are as nothing when the soul gets involved.

One of the limitations that bends to the will of the soul is time. We can manipulate it if our higher mind is in charge. Once I had a plane to catch. My ride to the airport was late. There was a fire near the freeway and traffic had stalled. We arrived at the airport five minutes after my plane was to depart. The whole time in the car I had a strong feeling that I would get there on time. This was in the days before cellphones so I had no idea what was happening with the airline. When I made it to the check-in counter I was told the flight had been delayed for two hours.

Sometimes we do things that are life-changing and we are not sure why. We have followed some inner prompting and we are not afraid, even when the world says we ought to be! Like leaping into the air, we are handed a parachute or we are caught or we learn to fly. The soul knows exactly how to live in this earthly realm in ease and flow, in vitality and love, in prosperity and authentic expression. When we learn to trust ourselves implicitly we activate powers we did not know we had. It seems that of all our spiritual practices, the one most likely to put us in accord with our soul, is silence.  When we stop the inner clock, we arrive at our destination.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Power is in the Present

Dear friends,

We cannot always see the “deep remedial force” as Emerson wrote, that underlies all facts. We may be facing a major shift in our personal life, but what seems like a loss is proven later to be a gift. What we thought would take us down, becomes the very thing that lifts us up. We are never victims of life; we are always its playmate. Emerson’s essay on Compensation is wonderfully encouraging. It is easy to take the low road and become frightened by a current fact. It is the usual reaction of humans. However, anything that we see now in the manifest world, is the past. It is an old idea revealed. It is the ash of the fire that has burned out. It cannot repeat itself, the fire must be stoked. Who does that if not we, ourselves, with our fears and worries and projection of worst case scenarios?

The power is in the present. Lose your job? Rather than lamenting the change, claim it to be an opportunity to express aspects of yourself that heretofore have been in the background. We have been doing things one way up until now, but now we are on a new path. We will meet new people, do new things, have fresh ideas. This is a good thing, not a loss. The same is true when a relationship breaks apart. We have somehow allowed this to be so that we might be released into deeper love, perhaps for ourselves.

What about the death of a loved one? Death is a part of life and cannot be avoided. Grief is normal and sadness is part of being human. Even death, however, in Emerson’s eyes, plays a part in our own growth if we choose to see it that way. He knew it first hand when his beloved wife Ellen died quite young and then his little boy. He applied the same spiritual wisdom to these challenging events. The last paragraph of his essay on Compensation ought to be required reading.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Creating a World of Liberty and Justice for All

Dear friends,

The election of people to high positions of power and influence is not about them so much as it is about our collective consciousness. The question we ought to be asking now is ‘what is the consciousness that we want in the forefront of our shared reality?’ Is it liberty and justice for all? Is it compassionate policies that promote the diversity of humanity in its expression? Is it one that holds all people as spiritually equal and as human partners? We need to be aware of ‘from what container are we drawing our vision for this country and our world’?

Anger and outrage may have got us thinking more about politics than ever before, but those energies are not the ones that will put the right people in leadership. 21^st century leaders will come from our shared desire for intelligent and loving wisdom and our deep knowing that those characteristics exist in the people who seek office. We put them in place, not by beating someone else, but by being clear in our willingness to live differently and more equitably. We are the ones who will make this change. Believe in the power of mind to transcend any manifest form, no matter how powerful it may seem. It is as nothing compared to consciousness.

Let’s stop railing against anything and start rallying for positive change. Take the high road in any situation and you will be the leader in that group. Let’s do that together.

Affirm: We are now creating a world of liberty and justice for all. We are creating leaders who love humanity, freedom, and who know how to generate abundance through wise decisions. They are seen and known by us now. We know what to do. All is well with all of us.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

The Dance of Life in Each of Us

Dear friends,

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great American man of Letters, opens his essay on the Over Soul with this: “our faith comes in moments, our vice is habitual.” What does he mean? Perhaps it is a reference to our two minds, or two functions of mind. There is the local one that entices us moment by moment to believe more in what we see than in its cause. There is the non-local mind that roams the universe in the field of imagination. That mind is aware of its origins, feels the Presence of a hidden power, knows that the Power is forever becoming what it is allowed to do. That aspect of consciousness is grounded in Faith.

When I was new to the New Thought teaching, I had some stunning, almost instantaneous manifestations. I remember saying aloud, “I will never doubt this again!” That was my faith in the moment. Of course I did forget and habituated doubt returned through human worry, financial struggle and broken relationships. Always, however, when I turned inward and made a heart-felt declaration, my faith was restored. I began to notice I preferred that place. There is peace in knowing that the Power is right where we are, saying yes to what we believe and by some magical means, bringing it out into our local awareness. I cannot think of a better way to restore faith than to experience this first-hand.

How to keep faith alive? It is important to educate ourselves, largely by observation, in the ways of manifestation. There is an obvious link between belief and actuality. Pay attention to what you are thinking all day and you will see a correlation with your experience. Learn to sit in silence and allow the well-being of your quiet mind to float up. Try daily affirmations that challenge you to think above the fray. Be in charge of your mind. One function is not better than the other. Local and non-local awareness in partnership is the dance of Life as each one of us. Let’s not doubt the power of either one.

Affirm: “ I go within and come back with renewed faith in the power that makes all things new.” 

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Think the Highest Thought

Dear friends,

     I was impressed with last night’s Democratic debates because I saw candidates who actually care about the future of humanity, the condition of our planet and the well being of individuals. They sounded real and informed and thoughtful about how to solve our most pressing problems. It was an example of what the demands of the collective can produce. Sure, they are political, but there was also a real sense of being in service coming from most of them.

     We have reached an evolutionary point where we will not put up with rhetoric and empty promises. Our part in all this is to keep the highest ideas of government in the forefront of our minds. That means, to me, to demand the qualities of integrity, honesty, vision, creativity, fearlessness and Love. Yes, love. If our leaders are not loving beings, we are in trouble. By love in this sense, I mean magnetically drawing the right people and ideas together that can create a world that works for everyone. By vision I mean our leaders are not cynical but optimistic; not world weary but eager to bring about positive change; not afraid to talk to those who disagree with them, but able to listen and negotiate; not religious as in supporting a superstitious dogma, but spiritual as in seeing humanity as the visible expression of a universal intelligence, personalized for the joy of revealing itself in diversity.

     If we can hold to these ideas, we can take a leap into NOW, where all things are possible. Our consciousness is necessary and needed right now. Please do not sit back and hope things turn out okay. Think the highest thought! See the world that is a glorious place to be! Talk about solutions, not problems. Join with others to meditate and vision for leaders who represent our highest ideals. Thought always precedes form and experience.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Our Truth is Not in the Stars. It's Within Ourselves.

Dear friends,

Ernest Holmes, the greatest spiritual teacher of the 20^th century, said, to paraphrase, we live in a universe of love and law, of Spirit and principle. We gain inspiration from the Spirit, we utilize power within the Law. What is the Law? It is the principle of cause / effect. We exercise that power by what we set in motion via our beliefs. Seems simple enough, yet humanity has ignored this truth to its own detriment.

Power is ascribed to almost anything but us! Our intuition, which is the vehicle for inspiration, has been ridiculed and denied any reality. No wonder the world is in disarray. It will be a great shift, indeed, when humanity realizes the power to create our shared reality is in us, not some elite few! Why do we worship those who maintain positions of power? Why do we give it away so easily? Is it rooted in old-time religious ignorance and superstitions about the universe?

Recently I was watching The Crown and it suddenly seemed ridiculous to me. The concept of ‘royal’ blood is absurd. The idea that it is right for a very few to be in charge of most of the world is lazy thinking and a case of accepting the unacceptable. Yes, the Royalty is a fairy tale enacted, but it dis-empowers the population.

Will we ever wake up to the silliness and the danger of the worship of outer power? I do think it is happening now on subconscious levels. We are cleaning house, as it were, by allowing what has been suppressed into the light of day. Everything is up for renewal. It is not pleasant, but it is vital.

Let’s hold to our truth. Affirm “ I live in a world of peace and plenty for all. My power is within my field of awareness. I proclaim it and so it is.”

I am forever grateful for Ernest Holmes.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

See my friend's blog www.californiafreepress.net

More Than Peace, a Cessation of Violence

Dear friends, 

Chaos needs order underlying it to exist. The appearance of separate types of Beings dances on the field of oneness. We live in a universe of sublime order, out of which everything comes forward. At the human level of life, change is possible, but only due to the changeless power within.   Religion may have been an unconscious attempt to reconnect with that changeless power. We made the mistake of thinking it was not resident in ourselves. Seeking elsewhere for anything of value is foolish and we all do it. Is it a game set in motion by pure intelligence, just for the fun of it? Are we playing our part in a cosmic relief from boredom?

Are we at the end of that particular game? It would seem so. Humanity is no longer as enchanted with fighting wars as it once was. There is a groundswell of youth who are not convinced that killing each other gains anything. They want more than peace, a cessation of violence. They want an end to the superstitious ideas that make violence acceptable. They want respect for difference, love of diversity, care for the planet, interaction with the universe. In short, they want (albeit without knowing it themselves) a consciousness of our oneness to be the ground of all the decisions we make.

We have had the Bronze age, the Ice age, the Stone age and so forth. Now we are in the Age of Unity and it is an absolute necessity if we are to survive and thrive. We must begin right where we are. Insist on seeing through the appearance of anything, back to the power that is the same in everything and every Being. It is the Power that makes all things new. Each of us must decide to play at that level of awareness. It may be the most effective spiritual practice of all.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes   www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com

The Truth Shall Set You Free

Dear friends,

We have all had those days when our computers seem to be rebelling. The internet is not working; the message is the same again and again “no connection.” It is almost laughable as a metaphor for how we disconnect ourselves from Source with worry, doubt, worse case scenarios and attributing Cause to the outer world. Spiritual practice is about staying connected to our Spiritual Resource; that infinite field of potential in which we are immersed.

It is so easy to drift off into naming and blaming everything that is not us for our current predicament. When we cannot find an immediate answer, the best thing to do is nothing. It is quite effective to sit still, meditate and allow the mind to relax to its natural state of cheerful expectation.   Equally effective is to act as though there were no problem. Go to a movie, go dancing, walking or volunteer somewhere that needs help.

Spiritual practice consists of techniques for restoring the mind to a place of gentle perception that all is well; there is a power greater than I am which is leading, guiding and directing me into ever greater ways of expressing myself and receiving the blessings therein. Most of our troubles consist of doing the same things again and again that are clearly not working any longer. Since we don’t know what to do to change things, we simply have to allow the next steps to well up within us. This cannot happen when we are railing against the circumstance. It is too easy to fall for the facts and think they are in charge. No, first, seek the truth and the truth shall set you free. That’s ancient advice and it works!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Trust in the Power and the Process

Dear friends,

Roger, the large white Egret who visits here from early December through January, is a constant teacher of patience and presence. He is never in a hurry. He will sit on the rooftops and watch the pond below. If he sees something he wants, he will gently float down and carefully make his way into the water. He walks with purpose but very slowly. He can move fast when he thinks he is being threatened as when the leaf blower is nearby. He may look like he is doing nothing, but he is completely aware of everything in his space.

He knows where his good is and he waits for it to be available. This kind of waiting is not what we humans practice. Our waiting is usually fraught with anxiety, pressure ...  mentally and emotionally churned up. We want to make things happen rather than allowing them to reveal themselves to us. There is such an art to this and it is spiritual in nature.

If we know where our Good is, (within the field of consciousness) then we can be calm in the process of letting it come through. It might be an idea, a gift, a new path, an insight. There are millions of possibilities. Our waiting is about trust in the Power and the Process. It is not the same thing as doing nothing. It is more about being guided from within, keeping our attention on the so-called prize, even when we do not know what that might be in terms of form. When we try to outwit the universe and force things to happen we miss the magic of sudden and unexpected gifts. Don’t you want to be dazzled? Sure you do. Wait for it. It is getting ready to break through into full manifestation.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

My pay pal is waiting for your gifts! 😍

Why Doesn't God Intervene?

Dear friends,

In times like these one might wonder “where is God?” If God is real why does it not intervene in the violent decisions of men? Why does God allow children to be starved or trafficked for sexual predators? Why does God ignore poverty and the destruction of the planet? The only answer is this; if God is not alive in us, it might as well not exist. It can only enter this dimension through the form it has taken. That would be you and me. God is not a person, it is infinite Intelligence and Love.

What use do we make of Intelligence and Love? It seems they must go together. One without the other can lead to all sorts of problems. Intelligent love is discernment. Loving intelligence is compassion. Together, they bring out the best of us. We are able to make decisions without condemning what has been. We can see through the effects of old ideas into the possible.  

Let’s know this:

The God of all lives within every one of us. We are the caretakers of pure Intelligence and Absolute Love. It is our birthright to express Love intelligently and to use our natural intelligence to bring together what belongs together, as Love does. Today we proclaim that humanity takes a quantum leap out of the old ways. We display stunning abilities to cooperate, celebrate and cohabitate. Our world is transformed by the renewing of our minds.

We let God have its way with us.

It is done and so it is.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Let Us Share Our Good With the World

Dear friends,

Raymond C. Barker wrote “you are the taker from the Infinite in order to be the giver to the finite.” Yes, what possible use could we have for love, for instance, if we did not give it to others? Why prosper if we are not sharing our Good with the world? Why would we want to be healthy and vital unless we wanted to be available to life? The very things we cherish come from the same Source. It is the universal aspect of being human. It is the spiritual realm where all things originate. We draw from it, as it were, according to what we accept for ourselves.

What we accept for ourselves has everything to do with who we think we are.   There are no gifts being given, only us receiving what is already inherent in us, perhaps lying dormant. It is hard to remember this when we are so focused on facts outside of us that they become a false “source.” We mistakenly think we are at the mercy of circumstances when actually we are in charge of how we see ourselves in the midst of them. A good question to ask is “who am I in the midst of this situation?”

When we reclaim our true identity we are sitting in the power seat. We are then in the position of making decisions based on what we deeply know we have to work with and what we have a right to expect. Our lives are continually spiraling upward. Sometimes what looks like a setback is actually a launching pad. Trust, have faith, depend on the unseen power that makes all things new. That is what I am having to do right now as I step away from what has been into what could be.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Life is For Us and Never Against Us

Dear friends,

What ideas and mental attitudes create happiness? If we agree that they do, we ought to be cultivating such ideas and attitudes. It is not a secret that negative thinking, over time, produces negative reactions in the body, which affect our mood in turn. It is a vicious cycle. Happy people are sometimes seen as foolish or ignorant of the very real problems in the world, but that is not the case. Happy people are better equipped to solve problems due to their relaxed mind and natural optimism.

When we are relaxed and trusting of unseen, but very real, supportive power, we are open to creative, even revolutionary, ideas. Einstein was known to sit in silence to await the answer to a formula or equation he was working to solve. There is something responsive to the human mind that always benefits us if we are available to it. Happiness, when it is a state of mind and not a reaction to outer events, opens us to access the “rest of us, the best of us, the not-yet-expressed of us.” (My definition of God.)

Do not sink into despair over anything! Stay above the fray in the privacy of your own mind. Know that “Life is for us and never against us.”   Prepare for the best. Be available to what is pressing to express by means of you. There is always something trying to happen that is greater than what has preceded it.

Let it be.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

15 Billion Years of Drama and Decision Making

Dear friends,

In his co-authored book, Natural Grace (with Rupert Sheldrake), Matthew Fox reminded us of how we have been unconditionally loved by the universe from the very beginning. None of us had to earn our right to be here. It only took 15 billion years of drama and decision making by the universe to bring us to this point of awareness. He said we have been living from Grace all this time.  

That is an extraordinary way to view the unfolding of human consciousness; as if it were a gift being slowly revealed over eons of time. That there is a natural grace to life is apparent in everything from the ebb and flow of the oceans to the opening of a rose bud. It is effortless and constant. We are part of that system, the recipients of inner power and outer support. Our own bodies function gracefully, as do the seasons and the orbits of the planets. Nothing is struggling.

Having said that, we know that humans have invented struggle. We have created a sense of “us and them, yours and mine, scarcity and exclusivity.” We have denied the obvious Presence in our midst, mistakenly placing it beyond reach. It seems as if the previous 15 billion years have been preparation for now. Can we make that quantum jump out of superstition into the glorious realm of a unified consciousness of love and joy? Not alone, we can’t, but it does begin with each one of us. This is the time! We are right there at the precipice of real transformation. Let’s Resolve to Evolve!

Affirm: I am living in a state of Grace.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

It Does Not Take Much ...

Dear friends,

It does not take much to make someone’s day. That was apparent on my flight to Toronto right before the holiday.   Sitting in the bulk head row on the aisle, I had plenty of room to stretch my legs It was preferred seating and I had paid a bit extra for it. Once everyone was seated, I felt two bumps against my back that kept moving . I turned and saw a man who obviously was too tall for the seat. He apologized for his knees being in my space but he could not help it. After a few more knee bumps I turned again and before he could say how sorry he was, I said “do you want to switch seats with me?” He was so unprepared, he just gasped “you would do that for me?”   “Sure, I said, I can sit anywhere but you really need more space.” He stood up and was at least 6’8”. He said “That is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.” I laughed and replied “I hope not.”

As we deplaned, not only did he thank me profusely but so did other passengers around us. It was slightly embarrassing, such a small thing but it sure had affected people. The thing about acts of kindness, they are never premeditated. It just comes out of our heart and we act without thinking. It was obvious to me what had to be done but I didn’t give it any thought. Of course he didn’t know it but he had made my day, too!

Here is the really funny component of this little story. I had chosen the bulk head seat because it was the last seat open on the aisle in the preferred section. I did not want a middle seat. I don’t usually choose the bulk head because you must put your purse in the overhead compartment and I do not like to do that. Small thing. When I booked the flight, it had crossed my mind that maybe someone would switch seats with me but I forgot all about it and just decided to follow the rules. I didn’t even remember wanting a different seat until he and I had traded. They say God is in the details.  Hmmm.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Let Us Come Together As One Earthly Family

Dear Friends,

Can it really be that twenty years has passed since the “turn of the century”? Time seems to have become less concrete than it was when we were children. It doesn’t actually do anything but it seems to flow like a rapid river. Here we are marking another big moment; a new decade! People around the world are asking “what will it bring?” Of course, we ought to be asking “what will we bring to it?” Imagine standing at the entrance to a possible world that only we can create. What would we have it be?

We might, at first, list what we want to remove from our shared reality; such things as poverty, disease, hunger, violence and corruption. That seems to make sense but we cannot get rid of anything if we do not have a better idea to replace it. We start by declaring something to the effect “I live in a world of harmony, peace and justice. All beings are loved, respected, well nurtured and prospered. We celebrate this life together as one earthly family. We have everything we need to explore our universe and to uphold the integrity of planet earth.”

Lofty goals are just as possible as tiny local ones. In fact, the most expanded ideas tend to inform our local decisions. We need larger than life goals to reach into and to pull us up. As Dr. Michael Beckwith asked “do you want to be pushed by pain or pulled by a vision?” Let’s make our intentions for 2020 very clear. We are all about the vision of a world that works for everyone. It sustains us, teaches us, carries us forward.   Happy New Year!

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Faith in the Unseen Power That Makes All things New

Dear friends,

There are plenty of platitudes that tell us how to handle tough times. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” comes to mind. But what if you don’t have any lemons? Things can get pretty grim when we have reached the outer limits of our current experience. It becomes readily apparent that we need a whole new cluster of ideas about who we are!

There are times when what has worked for us for a long time becomes unworkable. Like the caterpillar in the cocoon, we are capable of a whole new existence if we trust and make ourselves comfortable during the change. It is not easy. When things look the worst is the time to be still and know that we are as whole as ever, as competent and as valuable as ever and that we might need to step into a new way of expressing our natural gifts.

It is easy to affirm the Good when everything is to our liking. Not so easy when things seem to be falling apart. But that is when we find out just how much faith we actually possess; faith in our higher intelligence to guide us into clarity; faith in the Law of co-creation which states nothing happens to us, it happens through us; faith in our capacity for releasing what has been and stepping into the new: faith in the unseen power that makes all things new, know it is right where we are, bringing about the very change we wish to see.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

A Good Thought Can Charge Our Whole System With Vitality

Dear friends,

The tree across the way has been giving me a show of its innate ability to change. It has shifted from green to russet and now it is a deep golden yellow. It did it all by itself from the inside out. All living beings do that, including us humans. We morph from tiny babies to a very large array of protoplasm! We gain weight and reduce it. As we age we see new wrinkles on our faces and perhaps we are a bit shorter than a few years ago. It all happens from within according to some kind of relationship we have with life itself and our perspective on time and how we experience being alive.

This is not to say only the positive thinkers are healthy and ageless. No, there are other factors. But overall, it does seem to hold up that the more joyful we are, the more cheerfully expectant, the more we tend to remain vital and strong. Is it ever too late to “youthanize” ourselves? It is rather amazing how quickly a good thought can charge our whole system with vitality. The body seems to hum along in harmony with a sense of being loved and supported by a hidden inner power.

God is within, after all, so wouldn’t a recognition of that truth have wonderful effects on our physical life? I would think so, and in fact some studies have been done on the power of prayer to heal all manner of limitations. Isn’t prayer in its real essence a conversation with the inner power? Yes, it is. It is a declaration of the Presence as being right here, right now, forever bringing forth “Itself” as my body, my life, my Good. And so, the best advice seems to be “don’t worry, be happy. Be grateful and generous.” And,

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Also check out www.californiafreepress.net

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Dear friends,

The tree across the way has been giving me a show of its innate ability to change.   It has shifted from green to russet and now it is a deep golden yellow. It did it all by itself from the inside out. All living beings do that, including us humans. We morph from tiny babies to a very large array of protoplasm! We gain weight and reduce it. As we age we see new wrinkles on our faces and perhaps we are a bit shorter than a few years ago. It all happens from within according to some kind of relationship we have with life itself and our perspective on time and how we experience being alive.

This is not to say only the positive thinkers are healthy and ageless. No, there are other factors. But overall, it does seem to hold up that the more joyful we are, the more cheerfully expectant, the more we tend to remain vital and strong. Is it ever too late to “youthanize” ourselves? It is rather amazing how quickly a good thought can charge our whole system with vitality. The body seems to hum along in harmony with a sense of being loved and supported by a hidden inner power.

God is within, after all, so wouldn’t a recognition of that truth have wonderful effects on our physical life? I would think so, and in fact some studies have been done on the power of prayer to heal all manner of limitations. Isn’t prayer in its real essence a conversation with the inner power? Yes, it is. It is a declaration of the Presence as being right here, right now, forever bringing forth “Itself” as my body, my life, my Good. And so, the best advice seems to be “don’t worry, be happy. Be grateful and generous.” And,

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

 

Also check out www.californiafreepress.net

The Fact that We Can Think is Still a Mystery

Dear friends,

The fact that we can think is still a mystery as to how that came to be. We think because we are aware of Being. That seems to be the deciding factor; when consciousness of self occurs, the thought processes begin. We look around and see objects that are “not us” or seem to be. We make up stories about what we see. We invent rationales for their existence. We fabricate an Origin story. Thus, religion is born. Spirituality on the other hand, seems to be the result of some kind of direct experience with invisible Reality. It could be a feeling, a sudden awareness, a soft dawning. The mind detects its unity in a greater Something Else. It is not so necessary to name it or concretize it or even to defend it. The experience alone suffices.

That is why the most enduring spiritual traditions encourage stillness, solitude, meditation, contemplation, prayer, repetitive motions such as chanting or ecstatic dance.  For those who engage in such pursuits, there are the teachings that support the science behind them. There are principles that apply and laws that can be known. We gain an intellectual understanding that allows the ego mind to relax so that we might pursue such practices. Sitting still in meditation is a real threat to an immature ego. But with diligence we soon override its fears and become more masterful of what our mind is doing when we are not in solitude.

This is a changing world; a busy world; a world engaged in debates about everything; a world that is decidedly “not us.” Our participation in it, however, will be a direct reflection of what we actually are, once we have made that discovery. “I am, therefore I think.” What I think is the motivating energy that creates my way of participating in this changing world. The right question is never “what shall I do?” It is always “what do I know?”

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com if you value these messages please support me via my pay pal account. Thank you!

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Jesus the Man is a Hero

Dear friends,

Everyone wants to be valued for their work, recognized as competent and worthy of praise. However, we do not always receive such accolades, even when they are well deserved. It seems inescapable that those who challenge current beliefs and un-examined traditions are sure to be met with resistance at first. Jesus was the prime example of someone who truly wanted to raise the collective consciousness and to lift people to a higher level of self-awareness. He was not rewarded for his efforts.

He was a man on a mission to liberate humanity from superstitious ideas about this universe. He spoke in metaphor, yet the message was clear; the power we seek is within our own field of consciousness. The “Father” is ever-present as the universal aspect of individuality. The answers to our most fervent questions are held in abeyance within our own mind, awaiting the call to come forth as our own thought. The call is a declaration such as “I know and I know that I know.”

Affirmations have been relegated to greeting card status, but they have a real purpose. It is how we keep our mind tuned in to the finer vibrations of thought. Part of the practice is to weed out the negative, which is always fear-based. Jesus encountered the fear of the masses in a most dramatic way. Down through the ages, the innovators, the iconoclasts, the change-makers have been vilified and often killed for their efforts. At the very least they are ridiculed and silenced.

This holiday season it seems appropriate for those of us who do not identify as Christian, to nonetheless honor this man who came into this life awakened and willing to give everything to the betterment of humanity. Jesus the man is a hero. We celebrate the birth of Light in the world. We give thanks for the efforts of a brave soul. We know the truth will always find a voice in every age. Perhaps now is the time for us to leave the metaphor behind and to take the story personally, and to accept our mission to tell it in new ways that anyone can understand.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com

Happy Holidays!

A Sense of Being Unified with Everything

Dear friends,

If we go to the grocery store hungry, we will bring home lots of junk food. Our cravings will get the best of us. We will not know what we really want. If we make the same trip full and satisfied, we tend to move more slowly through the aisles. We are not tempted to grab what looks good, we choose from a healthier perspective. Of course this is also a metaphor for how we approach life as well.

What do we bring into this day? What do we take with us into our relationships? What are we offering to our world? Is our inner life filled with stillness and peace? Are we full with the feeling of oneness with our Source and with all of life? If so, it is obvious that we will not be looking for something outside of us to fill a need; rather, we will be giving what is alive in ourselves.'

Spiritual practices, such as daily mediation, enliven a sense of being unified with everything. That one factor changes how we interact with the world. Think about it. Aren’t most of the world’s serious problems the result of “us and them"? Isn’t the belief that some of us are better than others the core issue?

That extends to our religions, our politics, our families, our nationalities, our ethnicities, our status, our education level etc. The more we compare, the more we defend. When we see with the eyes of oneness, we are open to our heart's perception. No longer judging, we allow others to be who they are. More than that, we might even be able to appreciate the differences. That is the first step to peace.

Stay tuned in,

Carol Carnes www.carol-carnes.com   my pay pal is up and running!

Also check out my friend John’s blog www.californiafreepress.net