Spread the Joy

The holiday season is one that often includes a lot of beauty and joy--especially the joy of giving and sharing. But the holiday season is not the only time we can do this.  With all of the separation and distancing that Covid-19 has driven, we are all craving togetherness more than ever.  Even if we are still trying to keep ourselves and others safe, we can find ways to connect. Thankfully there are ways we can still connect—in small groups, taking precautions. Via technology. We love to have friends over for dinners and to play board games.  It is one of the ways that we create more joy and laughter in our lives.

And it is such a simple way to create connections, strengthen the bonds of friendship, and learn more about your family and friends in a very relaxing way. If it has been too long since you pulled out a board game, maybe it is time to do so.  Or if, God forbid, you don't have any board games, make a family trip to the toy store or go online for a search of great games to discover what games seem like they would be good ones for your family and friends to have a chance to play together.

When we have dinners and play board games, we know we are spreading the joy of friendship. It is truly a delight. Try it. You'll like it.

(c) 2021, SZing. Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay public domain images.

Do Not Tithe to Shoulds

There is a tremendous amount of resistance I have found in people about the idea of tithing and a lot of misunderstanding of it.  The Bible admonishes all to put 10% of all that is gained into the storehouse (in Biblical times, they meant grain or good since they didn't necessarily get money but often traded goods for goods.)  In our times, a tithe is money. It is not volunteer hours. It is not giving away stuff to charity.  Those are volunteering and giving stuff to charity. Not a tithe.

Some people tighten up and resist tithing thinking, "I can't pay all of my bills now. How can I afford to put aside 10% of my income to give away?"  Others have told me, "Why should I tithe to a church or minister? They aren't supposed to get money or already have too much." (At another time we can address the "not supposed to get money" question.)  There is resentment. There is anger. There is outright rebellion about tithing.

I have witnessed at one particular church I used to attend that people barely put anything into the tithe basket as it was passed. They might throw in a dollar or two. One woman actually just held her hand over the basket and passed it. Now it is one thing if people do not have any money or actually are providing their tenth and a dollar is the tenth.  But knowing these people, I was aware that they made a good monthly income.  Yet they withheld when it came to tithing.

I surmised two things from this.  1) They do not understand the law of tithing (or the law of attraction or law of prosperity) and 2) they must not be getting spiritually fed at that location--which begs the question...why stay?  Find someone or something that does actually inspire or speak to your soul.

I like to think of a tithe as my way of  Paying it Forward. God doesn't need the money, but in order for teachings to be shared, money helps the teachers teach, books to be published, videos to be made available. If you are seeking and you find, help others also find.

I do not tithe where I feel some sense of obligation to tithe or am pressured to because I "should."  I tithe where I can give it freely, joyfully and without any sense of resistance or resentment.  I tithe to book authors, to certain churches, to teachers who do different YouTube videos, to teachers of classes and workshops--but only when I am genuinely spiritually fed and only if I can do it with complete abandon and delight. If I feel myself clench up, I know that the tithe is not coming from a place of love and light within me but from some sense of resentment.  That is a good signal for me to look at why I am clenching when it comes to tithing. There are just some preachers and ministers who do not really feed spiritually (and sadly, more than a few that actually starve us out with their focus on the mundane as opposed to the upliftment and spiritual growth.)

Tithing is a way of showing gratitude to Spirit. It is a way of showing appreciation for your spiritual growth. It also is a path to greater prosperity in every way. We are to prove God by tithing--and then receive the showers of blessings as our tithe (JOYFULLY GIVEN) is multiplied abundantly.  I know people who have tithed not on the income they currently make but on the income they are envisioning making in the future. And each time they do, their income rises in short order.  How?  It's a mystery and we are not to muddle around in the How.  What I know is that when I tithe, my income is always provided with more than enough to take care of all I require and need with more than enough time and money left over to spare and to share. When I do not tithe, I find that income is much more challenging to come by and much more of a struggle to find or receive.

I tithe with joy to those people, teachers, preachers, books, videos, and on rare occasion, churches where I am spiritually fed because I know that keeping income in circulation spiritually (for money is only energy, after all) is like keeping the light switch on and the energy flowing to light the room.  Let us not forget that those who are guided to teach, speak, write or share their spiritual insights, to uplift, or to give spiritual food do also have bills to pay.  It is not good spiritual karma to take, take, take without giving back and will eventually lead to a crisis in income because you are declaring to the Cosmos that you are in lack and the Cosmos is all about giving you what you believe.  Believe in your Prosperity and in your Spiritual Feeding, tithe freely and with joy and you will see that your Prosperity opens up.

(c) 2021, SZing, Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay public domain images.

Bless Your Life

A blessing can be seen as several things.  Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as "approval that allows or helps you do something."  This is like when you seek the blessing of your parents to get married, or the blessing of your family to take a new job.  It can also be a self blessing or an acknowledgement of the blessing of God upon your life.

A blessing can also be "a favor or gift bestowed by God which brings happiness," according to Dictionary.com.

A blessing can also come from an individual. It can be in the form of a sense of approval for you. It can be in the form of words spoken in a loving way. It can the supportive behaviors and words of loved ones as you move along your path.

The opposite of a blessing is a curse. Sadly in our society there are many curses flung around--and not all of them are cuss words, but they carry the same energy and attitude as if they were.  How many times a day people are rude to each other, pushy, impatient, gossipy, judgmental, harsh, or just plain mean--each one is a type of curse.  The problem with curses is that, just as with blessings, they tend to have a boomerang effect. Which accounts for why so many people seem to be pretty unhappy with their lives.

A blessing also tends to boomerang.  When we speak loving words of encouragement to each other it will come back. When we look at others with genuine care and try to comfort others in times of distress, that will come back.  When we are open to listen to others, open to see the best and highest good in those who cannot seem to see it for themselves, we are blessing them and that will come back too.

The purpose of a blessing is not to gain anything though that often is the ultimate result.  The purpose of a blessing is to bring more joy and light and love to the world.  To enlighten us up.  It does not require a ministerial ordination to do this.  It does not require any special schooling or training to be a person who bestows blessings.  Every person has within themselves the same power and capability to give love, light and joy to others.

Today my goal is to bless everyone I come into contact with--even if that contact is through the Internet or social media.  I can choose wisely what I share in order to uplift and bring light and love to the world. I can choose in my personal relationships to give hugs, to listen, to be genuinely present and to give genuine care.

I can also choose to bless my own life. The activities I do, the words I speak, my body and health, my relationships, my creativity and more can receive the same loving kindness and care that I choose to give out. I choose to be a blesser. I choose to receive blessings. I ignore curses. I bless the cursers, knowing they need the light and love. I choose to be a giver of love, light and joy today.

(c) 2021, SZing, Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs by Pixabay public domain images.

Cast Out

It is inevitable in the scheme of things that somewhere along the way we will run into people or situations, places or activities that are not a "good fit" with who we are.  They delight in throwing us into chaos and making us question who we are. They delight in trying to throw people off track and under the bus. They love to make others less so they can feel like more in a crazy method of trying to build themselves up. We may not always realize it right away.  We may be charmed into thinking that these people are in alignment and are genuine but not see that they actually are manipulating and using. We may not realize that a set of rules or dogma have set in or that what is said to be the focus really is not the focus of a group or a church.

The fantastic thing about life is that we do not have to stay around people who are toxic--you know--the ones who are constantly in a state of drama and chaos and want to suck every molecule of energy up and every second of everyone's time to hash and rehash their messed up life. Dramas and chaos follow them everywhere they go. They are constantly in arguments and fights with people. These are the same people who don't, won't or can't use any tools to move beyond the same old junk they are mired in. They are comfortable in their misery. They despise those who are not in misery and will do all in their power to bring others to their level. They are the enraged/angry, the hostile, the ones who are cruel while appearing to be kind, playing all sides to their own benefit.  If it looks like a scorpion, stings like a scorpion, don't be fooled into thinking it is a sweet creature full of light. It is a type of life sucking spider filled with toxins.

My only advice for anyone who is around these vampires is to get away and cast them out of your life once and for all.  Do not call them or allow them to call you. Do not let them into your realm, your home, your work, your friendships. They are the destructors and destroyers who take pleasure in seeing others fall because they feel themselves too unworthy to succeed--therefore all must fall to their level.  Remove yourself from their presence and any areas they like to hang out because it is a sure thing that in very short order they will rain down chaos to the area.

Cast them out of your thoughts, cast them out of your life.  You may have to go so far as to speak words to cast them out.  And pray. Pray hard that you may be held safe and harmless from these, sorry, there's no other way to call it, crazed people. The fanatics and the flip floppers who one day appear genuine but the next have turned into hissing and spitting hellcats. Cast out the naysayers and the poisoners. Those who claim that you must do something they subscribe to or you are not okay. Cast out those who want to control you, who want to "bring you down a notch". Cast out those who accuse you but do not know you or who have taken the poison in from other vampires. Cast out those who are hypocrites.

In order to move on with your life in a productive and healthy way, you must remove yourself from the people, the situations, the institutions that are harming you. You must not allow them to make you less to build themselves up. You have purpose and you are worthy. You do not need a guru for you have the wisdom and guidance within you to know exactly what you need and where you need to be, if you will allow and listen. The One Source does have a blueprint--it is not destined or set in stone and has fluidity based on your choices, but trust that whatever is yours to do, whatever is yours to be, whatever is yours to have cannot be withheld by any naysayers.  You have a purpose. You have value and worthiness. No one can give you that value or worthiness other than yourself so beware of those who are looking to tell you you need them to validate you or who need you to make them worthy.  Be ware of those who are jealous and covet what you have or are.  Surround yourself with light and love at all times. Call upon angels of light to protect and surround you...and fight your battles if need be.

Within each one of us, we do in fact have all that we need. We are always given more than we need, can use or desire. We always have more resources and energy but it comes from within, not from others.  It comes from the One Source.  Our individual lives are relatively short. Too short to be messing around with people who are not for us. Too short to be brought down to build others up--those gloaters and crowers--who, when you  examine their lives carefully are filled with black misery.  Cast Out and move on.

(c) 2021, SZing, Spiritual Creators. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay public domain images.

Move Toward Thriving

Survival is important, no doubt about it. Without the basics of life--food, water, shelter, there would not be Life for long. But there comes a point in time and life when we are called to move beyond survival.  Since I live in the USA, I am blessed with more abundance and prosperity than so many people across the world can even begin to imagine. And I admit, I probably do take it somewhat for granted, although I am extremely grateful each day for all that I have and have access to.

I don't know if it is possible for people who are struggling for the basics to find a way to thrive--I suppose some of this might depend on the definition of thriving.  I don't know for sure, but I am guessing that they also have dreams and wishes that they'd like to fulfill. I am guessing that if there is a day where all of their needs are met they might take a few minutes to relax and just enjoy the sunshine, or the cool covering of shelter and in those moments the chance for thoughts of thriving might come into play.

For those of us, like me, who live in an abundant community and have plenty of food to eat, clothes to wear and more shelter than is really necessary, the definition of thriving takes on a different stripe. We certainly must remain in gratitude for all the good we have access to. I am grateful every day for the good that is mine to use and have. I don't have to worry about where my next cup of water is coming from or whether I will be safe from the storms of nature. This opens up a whole venue of ideas and thoughts, dreams and meditations on how I can better utilize the skills, the talents, and the gifts I have been given and developed to express my self more, to experience more of life, to help others to express themselves more and to help others to experience more of life. It calls me to find ways to bring more beauty to the world. I am nudged to provide encouragement, upliftment and inspiration for those I come across in my path.  It calls me to move away from situations, people or institutions that stifle the idea of thriving or which try to circumvent my own or others ability to move beyond survival mode to thriving. I am inspired to expand my richness of life--through loving friendships and relationships, through creative expression, through improved health, through appreciation for the world in which I live.

Thriving...it is not just about monetary wealth or income. It goes beyond the riches of money to the riches of deepening friendships, deepening understanding of the world and spiritual matters, to the deepening of self-care so that I can provide other care for those who are open to receive. Thriving...is about finding the abundance and opulence of life. Thriving is about exceeding our previous abilities, talents or skills toward creating blessings for self and others every day, many times a day. Thriving is when innovations can occur. It is when entertainment can occur. It is when creation can occur.

(c) 2021,  SZing, Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy Pixabay public domain

Forgiveness

I often come back to the idea of forgiveness because it is a spiritual practice that I do every day, often many times a day.  We may wonder, "how many times do I have to forgive this person/situation?"  The answer?  Until you no longer think about it, it no longer has any sort of emotional charge on it and it no longer affects your life.

The Bible suggests 7 x 70 times.  I have not counted the number of times I have forgiven any specific thing but I am guessing that by the time I were to get to 490 times on any single situation, person or event, I would be pretty clear that I had forgiven.

How do we forgive?  There are many paths to this and I'm going to note just a couple that I have found really useful.

1.  Pray.  I specifically pray for the release of the situation, person, situation and also for forgiveness of myself for holding the grudge, getting involved in the situation in the first place, etc.

2.  Colin Tipping wrote a very useful book called Radical Forgiveness which includes a worksheet specifically for emotionally stuck forgiveness issues. I highly recommend this process although I don't use it on every single issue I do forgiveness work on, I use it on the ones that are highly charged for me. I believe the worksheets are in a PDF down loadable format from his website.

3.  I use an Avatar technique called At-One-Ment (atonement).  It can be used anywhere, anytime and does not take a lot of time or effort but is very powerful for release and forgiveness.  It is a part of the Avatar Mini Course. It is available for free as well.

4.  I also sometimes use Brene' Brown's forgiveness exercise which is very useful for quick moments of forgiveness or when the issue is not taking up huge expenditures of energy and attention.  I also love using it specifically for self-forgiveness as I find it is very nurturing.

There are several other methods I use periodically but these four are the main ones I utilize on a regular/daily basis.

Self forgiveness is the most important gift you can give yourself. You may not get forgiveness from others but if you can love and forgive yourself you can heal wounds and move on to live a productive, good and sweet life.

If I have offended, if I have done anything ever to harm or upset you, if I have been wrong and not seen or acknowledged it, I ask your forgiveness.  And you can be assured that I also am forgiving you for any thing which I might construe as negative or something I need to forgive. I forgive you. I forgive me.  I choose peace.

(c) 2021,  SZing, Spiritual Creator. All Rights Reserved. Photographs courtesy of Pixabay public domain images.