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REPLIES
TO LAST MONTH'S QUESTION
The question was:
What is your
favorite uplifting spiritual quote?
Thank you for you responses, which follow. We received
replies from people in three countries and would love to hear from more of
you, wherever you are.
"Be
the change you wish to see in the world."
- MAHATMA GANDHI
Contributed
by three readers:
RCB
in Santa Maria,
California, USA
Louis
in Paris,
France
Heather
in Clayton,
Wisconsin,
USA
"Accustom
yourself continually to make acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the
soul."
-SANTA TERESA DE AVILA
Contributed
by Tanya
in
Citrus Heights,
California,
USA
“Shoot
for the sky, you get a lot higher than shooting for the ground.”
Contributed
by Hal in
Monroe,
New Jersey, USA
"Today,
we have to look with new eyes at the mystery of existence, for as proud
children of science and reason, we have made ourselves the orphans of
wisdom."
- DEEPAK CHOPRA
Contributed
by DW in
Picton,
Ontario,
Canada
"Always
allow others to express their generosity."
-Thai
Buddhist saying.
From an anonymous contributor
"As
lightworkers, we volunteered to come during the crucial earth times before
and after the year 2000 to spread our loving energies and to dissipate
destructive mass consciousness. Most of us came for the specific purpose
of using our knowledge of healing to teach, write, counsel, heal, or
enlighten others on Earth."
- DOREEN
VIRTUE
Contributed
by Samuel in
Sandy,
Oregon, USA
"As
ye think, so shall ye be."
- JESUS
"Every
thought is a prayer."
- CAROLYN MYSS
Two
quotes from JS in
Little Rock,
Arkansas,
USA
We
particularly thank JS, Dr. John Skowronski, for
sharing his thoughts on his selected quotation, which follow.
Thoughts
from Dr. John Skowronski
To
paraphrase Jesus
"As
ye think,
so shall ye be."
This
simple and elegant summation of life holds tremendous truth for me. I
believe that if I had to select one and only one spiritual quote, this
would be it. The quote is a reiteration of early biblical truth..."In
the beginning was the word..."which implies that all of creation
began with a word or thought. For me, this couldn't be any clearer. You
create your existence by your thoughts. Your words, written or spoken, are
extensions of your thoughts.
This simple concept,
when embraced, is much like having a key to an ancient warehouse of
treasures, free for the taking. If you think "I shall be happy",
happiness is offered to you and you find the blessing of moving closer to
god, with the peace and joy that follows. If you choose anger, or spite,
or greed, or hate, you will be given the blessing of owning these thoughts
and subsequently will feel the pain of moving farther away from god.
CLICK HERE
For John Skowronski's complete article.
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A
CALL TO ACTION
The Creation of an Integral Vision
By Phillip and Jane Mountrose
Mahatma Gandhi once said
“Be
the change you wish to see in the world.”
In the responses to
our first “Question of the Month” that are included in this
newsletter, it is synchronous that three contributors selected this
quote, as it relates directly to the theme of this newsletter and the
mission of this organization. For this inaugural E-news, we want to reach
to the heart of the organization’s purpose, to provide a sense of what
we hope to accomplish, and to invite participation in the realization of
the dream.
As citizens of this
world, the contribution that each of us makes is vitally important to the
well-being of the whole. The ways we arrange our lives and the ways we
spend our energy and our resources are our votes for the world we want to
create. Awakenings Institute offers a new spiritual/religious form, where
the vision of a better world is blooming, where all are honored, and where
the realization of one’s divine purpose is fostered. It carries a
message of wholeness and unity to a deeply divided world. To foster
individual and societal change, Awakenings offers a place of belonging for
likeminded spiritual individuals to reach for wholeness and peace, to
recognize the higher spiritual truths that unite humanity, and to
participate in a planetary shift to a higher way of being where
unconditional love and the dream of a joyful, meaningful existence for all
is the guiding force.
Words are easy and
Awakenings wants to step beyond sharing lofty ideas and wishing that
things could be different to provide opportunities to be the words and
generate genuine change. We aim to bring the dream into reality starting
now and you are invited to play a part in the transformation. In recent
months, Awakenings has focused on creating a solid foundation of
individuals who want to play key roles in its emergence and there are
currently approximately twenty dedicated individuals who are creating this
foundation.
This newsletter is the next step, reaching out into the world
to create an experiential forum for others who wish to join us. Through
the internet, Awakenings has the opportunity to unite likeminded people
all around the world, as each of us reaches toward this higher way of
being. As a cohesive whole, we can provide mutual support to accelerate
our personal developments and to create positive changes for humanity as a
whole.
CONSCIOUS ACTION:
THE KEY TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
The key to the
realization of the dreams of achieving self-realization and creating a
better world lies in the conscious action we take each day, in each
moment. We have to pay close attention, as it is easy to be pulled along
by the tides and lose sight of the things that are most important and
meaningful. To reach our full potential, a critical part of our
evolutionary development involves stepping back and examining our lives.
Awakenings seeks to find ways that we can support each other over the
miles through this newsletter, along with through local gatherings.
Our part of the world,
the United States
, is characterized by activity. People are busy, busy, busy, usually too
busy with the activities of their daily lives to stop for a moment and pay
attention to the world they are unconsciously creating. Add to all of this
activity two other factors: a desire to please others and meet their
expectations, along with an underlying sense of insignificance, feeling
that a single person or a small group of people cannot make enough of a
difference to generate meaningful changes. This is the way most people
conduct their lives.
Margaret Mead once
said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
individuals can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever
has.” Awakenings is among a number of organizations that are currently
stepping forward to support conscious change. Our sense is that we are
collectively in a stage where these organizations are building foundations
for individuals worldwide. When the time is right, our organizations will
unite to create a tangible force in society that will resonate all around
the world.
We could name a number
of these organizations; here are a couple of examples. On the Chopra
Center
website, Deepak Chopra wrote, “The search for a new narrative that
unites us and takes us to the dawn of a new civilization is a fundamental
driving force at these crossroads of humanity. At this moment, nothing is
more important than to link all those who believe that we must set forth a
new narrative and create a new world where hope, social justice, peace,
and a sense of the sacredness of life prevails.”
In his many writings,
visionary philosopher Ken Wilber explores an elevated way of understanding
and being, which he calls an integral vision. This vision comes out of
synthesis of existing practices, such as integrating the higher truths of
the world’s spiritual traditions into a new paradigm that creates a
unified worldview. It promotes what Wilber refers to as a more
“kosmic” awareness, where we consciously evolve and recognize our
rightful place in the bigger scheme of things. This helps us to ground our
spirituality into our daily lives and our world, creating an “integral
age at the leading edge [of consciousness].” Awakenings Institute is
expressing an integral vision through this newsletter. As we collectively
support each other and share our experiences, the new paradigm and a
greater union can emerge.
WAYS YOU CAN TAKE
ACTION
One of the lures of
our current reality is its way of drawing us away from our quest for
wholeness onto the treadmill of activities of daily life. This force is so
strong that it is easy to lose ourselves and our sense of purpose in these
activities. Deliberate intent is needed to neutralize this compelling
force, to slow down and examine what is happening. If this applies to you,
we invite you to get off the treadmill, step back into a place of peace,
and examine your life. From this place of peace, you can discover ways to
make the creation of a sacred life for yourself and for the whole of
humanity a priority. To take action, a suggested “Life-Exploration
Exercise” is included in this newsletter.
As you reflect on how
you can bring more meaning into your life and serve humanity, we also
invite you to reflect on ways that all of us with this common goal can
support each other over the miles. Our intent holds power, and with
focused intent, we can provide strength to each other in the realization
of our common goals. We are also starting a web page that links to other
organizations that share our vision of a unified world, including Deepak
Chopra’s and Ken Wilber’s websites, which you can now access on
Awakenings’ website. If you know of any organizations that might be
appropriate additions and/or have any suggestions for ways we can support
each other, please e-mail your ideas to us at sacred@awakeningsinstitute.org.
YOU CAN HELP AWAKENINGS
TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD BY SHARING THIS NEWSLETTER
WITH OTHERS.
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NEW
QUESTION OF
THE MONTH
To continue on the
theme of creating an integral vision, the new “Question of the
Month” is:
Describe a higher
truth you have drawn from the world’s spiritual/ religious traditions
that has guided you in your evolutionary journey and a unifying vision for
humanity.
All are invited to participate.
CLICK HERE to
respond to this question on Awakenings'
Website.
Your contributions are
appreciated. You never know when you hold the key that will help another
person to transform his or her life.
We will discuss this
subject and share your contributions in next month’s newsletter.
LIFE EXPLORATION EXERCISE
This newsletter offers spiritual practices for accelerating your
development and realizing your goals.
To integrate the theme of creating an integral vision,
and ground your spirituality into your lives, this month's exercise allows
you to step back from the activity of daily life to explore ways to make
the creation of a meaningful and sacred life a priority.
A suggested starting place is to set aside a quiet time
for brainstorming and writing down some ideas. While just thinking about
changing your life is valuable, statistics show that writing down the
things you want to change exponentially increases your results.
Interestingly, we have found that people often resist taking this
important step. This is because putting something in writing is tangible;
it brings with it greater commitment. This is also its value. If you
commit yourself 100% to change, your results will match your commitment.
CLICK HERE to access the complete exercise
and take a positive step toward the goals of creating a more meaningful life and
a better world.
AWAKENINGS' MISSION
Awakenings was created to share a higher experience of reality, reaching beyond
limitation to wholeness and to create a tangible presence for those
seeking to rise above fear and limitation to create a world that resonates
with the higher energies of joy, love, and peace.
CLICK HERE to find out more about the organization.
This newsletter provides a forum to connect members and
interested individuals around the globe, to heal each other to progress on
the spiritual journey and to realize our collective dream of creating a
better world.
CLICK HERE to subscribe.
MEMBERSHIP
CLICK HERE to find out how you can become an official
member of Awakenings spiritual community.
ORDINATION
A
way to take action toward realizing your dream of serving others is by
becoming an ordained minister. Joining together, each of us has greater
impact as we create an
appropriate form for the realization of our dreams.
CLICK HERE to find out how qualified
spiritual/holistic practitioners can realize their spiritual missions as
ordained Ministers of Holistic Healing with Awakenings Institute.
UNIVERSITY DEGREE PROGRAMS
CLICK HERE to learn about earning a doctorate,
masters, or bachelor's degree in a spiritual/holistic subject.
UPCOMING EVENTS
CLICK HERE to go to gettingthru.org for a complete
listing of seminars and courses available with Phillip and Jane Mountrose
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