Tag: gratitude

Feeling successful

Published on by lindseybiggs6 Comments

Everyone wants to feel successful. Often this is expressed in terms of a house, marital status or kids and a job. And we can often feel pretty unsuccessful if we don’t have one or all of these things. But don’t believe it! Each one of us is the valuable, needed and worthy child of God with divine inheritance. 

Recently, my husband and I were contemplating our future dream house and trying to make this more of a reality. However, I was feeling frustrated and unsuccessful because it didn’t seem like there was any way to start this project.

I got my journal to write and pray about what was bothering me. I saw that I love progress. Progress is a sign of productivity, success and being on a divinely right path. I was seeing this house and future plans as a sign of progress. And I was feeling really unproductive and lackadaisical because it didn’t seem like it could happen. 

As I prayed about this from a metaphysical and spiritual standpoint, I began to see that progress is really mental. Progress is new thoughts about God and your relationship with Him. Progress is a new understanding of your spiritual selfhood and identity. Progress is seeing the true, spiritual nature of your fellow-man and loving your neighbor better. Progress is the victory of Truth over error, spirit over matter and the throwing off of material limitations or the so-called carnal mind. 

“…let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us…” (Hebrews 12:1, Amplified Bible)

This new view of progress really uplifted me and aligned my priorities back to God’s. I saw that each moment, each thought, could be full of progress. So rather than having one big lump sum of progress represented in a house or some other material thing, I could have a hundred steps of progress in thought each day. 

So if you’re feeling trapped by a financial situation, relationships status or some other thing, focus on the progress you can make today – right now in this moment. This illumination of present good and the activity of goodness in your life will surely lift your spirits and open up new views of what is possible today. 

Overcome the 4 C’s

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments

Christ Jesus says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matt 9:16-17 NIV)

Emptying the bottle of thought of the old is a prerequisite to being receptive and ready for the new!

Holding on to old thoughts, old ways of seeing ourselves and others means there isn’t room for  new inspiration – the new ideas – that come today.  The new inspiration will be spilled and wasted because there isn’t room for it in the bottle of our old thought.  We have to let go of the old thoughts first!

For me, emptying the bottle of thought of the old has been the actively resisting the 4 C’s.

  • Criticism
  • Condemnation
  • Comparison
  • Complaint

Criticism

Criticism actually hurts the one doing the criticizing in addition to being hurtful to others.  It is a public or private confession that you are not seeing the child of God that has been created.  Seeing God’s child, His image and likeness, requires inspiration, spiritual discernment and light.  The temptation to criticize tries to cut us off from that light.  Spiritual light makes us happy and free.  So why do we want to feel cut off from that light even for a moment?  Criticizing doesn’t actually change the environment or people around us.  It doesn’t heal.  What is actually needed is a change in our own thinking.  And creative solutions will then appear.  Practice the humility needed to bring about that change today which results in healing yourself, others and countless situations.

Condemnation

A child of God is never condemned.  God loves each of us.  It is not in our nature to condemn because it is not in our nature to believe in something more powerful than Love – than God or Good.  The activity of the Divine is always bringing transformation, renewal and healing.  It reveals who we each are as whole and complete.  Therefore we are never condemned. 

Comparison

Comparing impedes our progress and hides our true purpose.  God’s diversity is so vital.  No two men, women or children are the same.  We are as the snowflakes – each one unique.  So one person’s life expression is not going to look the same as another.  We are all expressing divinity in a unique way.  Denying our creativity, uniqueness and perfection is like trying to deny an aspect of God that needs to be expressed.  Love and cherish the unique qualities and ideas you have.  Don’t think with jealousy, envy or coveting what another person has.  Love you because of who God made you to be – special, priceless, invaluable.  Trust me – you will be much happier and productive when being the “real” you. 

Complaint

Ah, complaints.  They’re so easy to do.  There is a line from a hymn which says, “Our gratitude is riches, complaint is poverty” (Christian Science Hynnal, 249).  Wow.  That really shows complaining in it’s true light.  Complaining cuts us off from seeing the goodness and abundance and Love each moment.  And that is why complaint is poverty.  Gratitude is an acknowledgement of the good, Love and kindness present in this moment.  Take a moment to look around you.  See all the beauty, good, protection and care coming from God and feel that gratitude in your hearts.  Now, don’t you feel rich?! 🙂

 

I know it can be hard resisting the 4 C’s; but making a conscious choice of the thoughts you are going to continue to think – allow to dwell in your consciousness – will open you up to so many possibilities.  It will open you up to goodness, inspiration, love, and joy – progress in your life, relationships and future. Like attracts like. Having this spiritual consciousness will attract that which is spiritual, eternal and precious in your experience.

Enjoy this day!  Consider sharing, in the comment section, experiences of how you overcame 1 or more of the 4 C’s and what it felt like for you.  You can help inspire others to do the same.

Improving your work day

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

This week there were some difficult tasks at work.  You know the kind I mean – when things aren’t going smoothly; everything is just more complicated.

What I’m finding helpful this week is to pray about my work, my role and the atmosphere at work, the office, first thing each morning – striving to get a clear mental image of harmony.  I’ve learned through my experience in prayer that when we attain this image mentally, all frustration, fear of circumstances, difficulty fade away.

What helps me attain this mental image of harmony is to bless everyone I work with.  This is a practice I learned from the book The Gentle Art of Blessing by Pierre Pradervand.  It isn’t a type of prayer I had considered before, but it so simple and powerful.  This week it went like this: “Bless [name] in health, harmony and happiness; bless [name] in all they want and desire”, etc.  This helps me to raise my thought above seeing just ‘people I work with’ to see one another’s whole and perfect nature – each spiritual identity as an idea of divine Mind (God).  For me, this included recognizing each one has a family, hopes and dreams, and the right to health and spiritual freedom.   This gave me such a sense of awe, appreciation and love for everyone.

Well, yesterday, I was beaming at how perfectly tasks were going; many things were wonderfully accomplished; and there were so many lovely and helpful people.  Everything that needed to get done was resolved faster than I thought it would be.

In the evening, before going to bed, I made sure to mentally acknowledge each individual in gratitude who had been so helpful – who had expressed  lovely qualities and talents from God.

I’m so grateful!  I now know what a difference prayer can make in our work lives.  This simple ‘art of blessing’ and giving thanks for everyone’s skills and talents is a great practice to keep seeing God’s goodness in our day.