One Heart Retreats
Rev. Dr. Sharri's Blog
An ongoing series of inspirational musings
If you like what you read, or would like to respond, please fill out the form below
The Only Constant
September 18, 2023
My spiritual center is sharing a book study this Fall. The topic is The Five Things We Cannot Change, a book by David Richo about what he calls the “givens” of human life. This is the sort of thing I love to do, because it’s mostly reading and talking, my two favorite activities. The first given is impermanence – nothing stays the same and everything ends, sooner or later. For me this is the only constant in Nature, in the entire Universe, and that is the Truth that the only constant is change. Evolution is another name for impermanence. I love evolution, because it is the most wonderful spiritual truth I have ever learned: God is all there is, and God is always creating, out of Its own substance, new, different, marvelous things, in an orderly, logical, perfect way.
Why is this wonderful? Lots of reasons: 1) it means everything in existence is an expression of God; 2) it means there is no such thing as a mistake – that’s just an example of learning something the hard way; 3) nothing lasts forever applies equally to what I desire AND to what I dislike; 4) this is the proof of that old standby, “there’s a blessin’ in every lesson”; 5) it means that it is NEVER too late to grow/improve/adapt/learn; 6) it demonstrates the oneness of all Life, always expanding like the Universe itself; 7) it’s the ultimate “get out of jail free” card – all you have to do is outlast the challenge and you are automatically the victor.
The only constant is change, and it is unavoidable, no matter who you are, where you are, what you do/don’t do. This is a very freeing idea, because it means that if you don’t like your life, you are not trapped in it, you are just looking from the inside of the challenge, which Einstein taught us never works. Einstein, on the heels of every great spiritual teacher, noted that the solution is found by expanding your perspective beyond the limits of the challenge. That is to say, instead of keeping a narrow, human focus, we can lift our conscious awareness to a broader perspective and see where and what the necessary change(s) is(are), and recognizing that necessity, accept/adapt/embrace the change.
I think this is the metaphysical version of cranking up the telescope to get a closer look at a bigger picture – it almost always results in new understanding. The good news is that we all have an innate spiritual telescope that rivals the Hubble, so give it a try and see what you find!
Love and blessings,
Rev. Dr. Sharri
August 21, 2023
Quantum Consciousness
I'm back! I posted no blogs in July and this is my first in August. I am not lazy, I have simply been given the opportunity to recognize that some things really ARE outside of my control. Case in point - Vistaprint, the company that has hosted my website for the past five years, decided to partner with Wix and migrate all of their currently hosted websites to that platform - without notice or choice. Needless to say, the migration was not short, sweet, complete or tidy. Today I am finally able to post a blog, after a two-hour tutorial with a Wix Customer Care agent - who was unbelievably calm, patient and kind!
So, today's topic is about, in an odd twist, control! Probably the single biggest challenge for the average human is the realization that we do not control everything in our lives - except, of course, for those of us who ascribe to the quantum physicists' description of infinite possibilities. A while back, at the end of the 19th century, physicists began to discuss the nature of light – as a particle or as a wave – and the gap between science and religion started to shrink, very, very slowly, but absolutely. Out of the discussion of particle vs. wave, came many new ideas, including quantum (a teeny, tiny, infinitesimal particle) physics. My favorite concept from the field of quantum physics is that all matter exists as a wave in a field of infinite possibilities, and it is only by the active observation of some person that the wave collapses into a definite/factual particle. This is a VASTLY oversimplified statement, but it supports the New Thought movement’s argument that we live in an infinite field of possibilities, and it is by our own, individual intentions that we manifest any experience.
I call this idea quantum consciousness, and it is actually supported by real, live physicists. It is also supported by philosophers and theologians around the globe, and - here's the big thing - it has been included in spiritual teachings around the globe for millennia! It is a universal Truth that changing your thinking changes your life's experience. "The Secret" was true, and manifestation through consistent affirmative prayer DOES work. The challenge is that word, consistent. You see, every thought (even the unverbalized ones) is a prayer, and their energy is cumulative. That means that when you start your day with, "I am successful, happy and healthy today!" and then spend the rest of the day ruminating on how rotten your "luck" is, the rotten outweighs the affirmation, and that's how the wave collapses.
That's the bad news. The great news is that it is never too late to change your mind, and the Universe conspires to assist you in achieving that goal. Of course, you are still in charge of your thoughts, but just becoming aware of them gives you an edge on changing them. Here's a bonus hint: Meister Eckhart said that if "Thank you," was the only prayer you ever said, it would have been enough. Believe it or not, he was RIGHT! Here's why: gratitude is the most potent multiplier of good on the planet. If you could just change one part of your thinking, this is the piece to pick: find a way to be grateful for every experience (hint: I look for what it has taught me, and am grateful for that). As you focus on gratitude, you consistently increase your field of possibilities - for prosperity, for love, for health and for joy. Give it a shot - what do you have to lose? I am grateful for the young man from Wix who kept me from tearing out all of my short, red hair today!
How's your day looking?
WISHBONES
March 29, 2021
The sculpture at the left is made out of wishbones. It is much more elaborate and beautiful than the collection of wishbones in my kitchen window, but it is an excellent representation of the reason they are there. You see, at some point in my childhood I realized that wishbones are the perfect symbol for unlimited potential. If I weren't a vegetarian, I would campaign to change the logo for CSL (Centers for Spiritual Living, my faith tradition) to a wishbone, since infinite potential is one of our most deeply held principles.
Just in case you came from a vegetarian or vegan background, I will explain the tradition of the wishbone. When two people hold opposite sides of the wishbone and pull until it breaks, each having first made a silent and secret wish, the one who ends up with the larger piece gets his/her wish fulfilled. It might not be filled instantaneously, by sooner or later, the theory goes, it gets fulfilled.
I am the eldest of five daughters, so there was lots of competition for the wishbone at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Whenever I got the wishbone, there was dismay because I refused to break it. I was way ahead of quantum physics, you see, since I recognized that the unbroken wishbone represented infinite possibility, while the broken wishbone had been collapsed into a definite choice. Mind you, this was years before I had even heard of the field of infinite possibility. It just seemed to me that if I saved those wishbones, I was banking my possibilities, and the more of them I had (there are about a dozen in my kitchen window, collected over a couple of decades since my kids grew up and left home), the more possibilities I could realize.
Oddly enough, I never came to a place in my life where I was "desperate enough" to break any of them. Some other option always showed up to answer the challenges of life. Over time, I realized that keeping the wishbones unbroken was my affirmation of Divine support. I knew I could count on my infinite Creator to meet any upset or difficulty that might arise, so I just kept those wishbones on the windowsill. When I feel challenged or daunted, or a little afraid, I just look at my symbols of infinite potential and thank God for answered prayer, certain as I can be that it is happening even as I speak.
BOING! BOING! Bunny
March 22, 2021
Almost 30 years ago, when my first (and at that time, only) grandson was almost three years old, I did a very GRANDMA thing for which his mother has probably still not forgiven me. I sent him a BOING! BOING! Bunny for Easter. As you might infer from the name, whenever this bunny was shaken, a very loud BOING! BOING! sounded. Alex loved it, as did his cousins and friends - his parents, not so much. I still have a photo of him holding it.
This is not about goofy grandma gifts (say THAT fast three times!), however. It's about the fact that there are no "goofy grandma" gifts. You see, while that BOINGer lasted way too long for Alex's mama, it wore out way too soon for him. That's because Alex didn't hear "BOING! BOING!" He heard, "Grandma loves me!"
I have discovered that what makes grandma gifts (or any gift with the same amount of heart) so wonderful and precious is that the person who receives the gift knows instantly that the person who gave it was thinking only of that specific recipient when choosing the gift. When that happens, whether the gift makes a noise or not, the person who receives it always hears, "I love you!" whenever that gift is seen or held, or even when it pops to mind.
This is probably not a new idea to you, I'd like to invite you to squint at it just a little bit and see if it won't stretch into a new application. Suppose we chose to think of our words a gifts. We give them away, they cannot be retrieved or rescinded, returned or unsaid, and we have all suffered through the endless repetition of something we wish we had either not heard or not said. Imagine how much kinder, gentler, happier, healthier and more peaceful this world would be if every remembered word were as welcome and as comforting as a favorite childhood gift.
Easter is still a couple of weeks away, so maybe we could do some shopping - for bunnies, and blessings, for prayers and friendship. . .
The Superpower
March 15, 2021
Did you know that EVERYONE has a superpower? It's true! We all love the idea, yet most of us don't believe it is even possible, let alone true. I saw a t-shirt yesterday with the this slogan printed on it:
Prayer is my super power!
This is actually not just true, but the Truth of every single one of us.