United In Spirit: United In Spirit Connection Vol 22 Christmas Edition 2008

Welcome to the Christmas Edition of our newsletter. Firstly let's welcome all the new members who have joined our community in recent weeks. WELCOME!! Make yourselves right at home, feel free to join groups which interest you, post discussions and comments friends . Please, if you need assistance with anything or have an issue, feel free to contact our very friendly administration team...nothing is ever too small to help with.

A Note From The Founder

Once again it's that time of year, how fast time flies. It seems as if we've only just recovered from last Christmas and yet here is another right on our heels.

There is no doubt about it, Christmas has become such a commercialised event, sometimes I think that the whole essence of such a special occasion is buried underneath the false impetuous of consumerism.

What does Christmas really mean?

For me, it's always been a time of year to spend quality time with loved ones. It's about sharing, caring, love,joy ,peace and rembrance. It's about embracing those you love and forgiving those you don't. It's about opening your heart and reflecting upon the blessings you've received, it's a time to cherish and value those aspects of your life that you love and acknowledge and forgive those you don't like nor enjoy.

Bottom line it's about compassion and empathy for fellow human beings regardless of race, religion or other...unity.

Too much emphasis is placed on the materialism of lavishing gifts upon one another when the greatest gift is given from the heart...what is greater then love?

So, if given a choice I'd much rather receive the gift of love for this is most highly valued gift of all and one straight from the heart, one that has much more meaning then some silly material possession.

There will be many times this Christmas that may lead to tears. The loss of my mother last year has some what lead to a break in our family unit, so Christmas won't be as it used to be. However, as sad as I may become, I also know that even though the family unit is broken , Christmas has the same value to me and I know that I have the gift of love and this I treasure more then anything.

Most likely, I will spend Christmas day alone in part, I have to work in the afternoon, being a Registered Nurse has it's pitfalls lol..however as much as a pitfall it's also a blessing. You see I get the opportunity to spend some of my day with my patients. I work in Aged Care and many of these patients will not have visitors let alone go out for the day. So, I am provided with the opportunity to make this day special for these patients, to give love and care where it is needed, to make a difference. And that in it's self is a very special gift not only to my patients but to me.

On behalf of the United In Spirit Administration Team and myself I wish to bid you all a very happy and safe festive season. May 2009 bring you all your heart's desires. Know you are all highly valued..return to us safe and whole in 2009 so we can continue to work together to make this world a better place.

The Wonder of You

If I could give you happiness and joy, I would.
If I could make you see the wonderful being you are
how perfect you are, how important you are, if only I could!
If only you knew, the difference you can make, and should.
We are all so very special, we can all contribute to this world.
We all have hopes and dreams, from the old to the very young
songs to sing, stories to tell, the music of love, to share among
everyone, everywhere, to tell the world, I wish I could!
But each must find their own way, their own path.
The knowing must come intuitively, and should.
Reality is not the same for you and for me
So I cannot tell you what to do, or where to seek.
Books, teachers, preachers, and leaders everywhere
it seems, but only your own soul knows whats best for you.
In silence you must go, feel the earth, feel what's true,
feel the sunlight on your face, feel the breeze, calm the race,
the racing thoughts of your mind, slow them down, you will find.
Truth will fill your heart with ecstasy, the truth is already in you,
you see!
Don't be blinded by the lies, the outside world beating on your mind.
The truth is in you now, so believe your heart and you will be free.
If only I could make you understand, the Wonder of You,
Oh if only I could, I surely would, these words I have spoken are all true!

Happiness is really caring and being able to do something about the caring. ~Brian O'Connell
Make the assumption that everyone you know, as well as any stranger you meet along the way, is in need of kindness. Odds are pretty good you'll be right. Your smile, your hug, your softly spoken word, gentleness, or pat on the shoulder may be just what they need and can only make them feel better about themselves, just as being treated kindly by others makes you feel better.
One of the worst mistakes you can ever make is to assume your acts of kindness are not necessary. Your random acts of kindness are crucial to the health and well-being of the entire planet and assuming they are not only serves to make you feel of less value than you really are. That's a self-pity trip that no one needs to embark upon. So send kindness forth instead. You'll feel better about yourself. And you'll feel better about your world.
May you always assume your kindness is necessary.
And may you also be aware that you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to me.
Until tomorrow, may your day be filled with all things good.

"A CHILD'S ANGEL"

Once upon a time, there was a child ready to be born.
He asked God:
"They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to
live there being so small and helpless?"
God: "Among the many angels, I chose one especially for you. She will be
waiting for you and will take care of you."
Child: "But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and
smile, and that's enough for me to be happy. Will
I be happy there?"
God: "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day.
You will feel your angel's love and be happy."
Child: "How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I
don't know the language that men talk?"
God: "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will
ever hear. With much patience and care, your
Angel will teach you how to speak."
Child: "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God: "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to
pray."
Child: "I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?"
God: "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her own life."
Child: "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God: "Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way
to come back to me, even though I will
always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could
already be heard.
The child, in a hurry, asked softly: "Oh God, if I am about to leave now,
please tell me my angel's name."
God: "Your angel's name is of no importance. You will call your Angel...
Mummy ."

Creating with Light Meditation

by Orin and DaBen

As I breathe in,
I breathe in light.

As I breathe out,
I send light out to the world.

My light is increasing with
every breath I take.

I imagine standing under
a waterfall of light.
It cleanses and purifies my aura,
and increases my vibration.

As I call light to myself,
light comes from all around
to fill me with light,
for light responds to my thought of it.

I fill up with so much light
that a cocoon of light is
forming around me.
Only the highest and best energy
can come through the cocoon of light
that surrounds me.

I think of a situation in my life
that I would like to change.
I imagine holding this situation
in my hands.

I breathe in light,
then send light to this situation
as I breathe out.
I surround all the people involved
with light.

Every time I think of this situation
I add light to it
simply by thinking of light,
and imagining I am sending light to it.

Light is one of the most powerful energies
in the universe.
I know the power of light
can change anything for the better.

If there is an area of my body that
is in discomfort or pain,
I now send light to this part of my body.
I do so every time I think of it.

I imagine light flowing
through my heart and my veins,
circulating light throughout me.

I imagine light flowing through
my brain and nervous system.
My thoughts are filled with light
and goodwill.

I let an image of someone I know
come into my mind,
someone who could use light.

As I picture this person,
I imagine light flowing out from me
to this person.
I send this person my good wishes
and my blessings.

I imagine light flowing
out from me to my neighbors.
I send light to my town.
I broadcast light to everyone
in my country,
and then to all people in the world.

I am a lightworker.
I send light now to all living beings.
I live in the light,
I am always surrounded with light.
I am a source of light for others.

THE MIRRORED SOUL

By By Coral Hull

"The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.
"

-- James Jean, The Mysterious Universe

Art and ethics can only be anathema to one another when a society has lost its moral conscience and its spiritual connection to a universal consciousness. As Ken Wilber writes, "Because the universe has direction, we ourselves have direction. There is meaning in the movement, intrinsic value in the embrace." Similarly does Ralph Waldo Emerson write, "We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which by any other name is Spirit. [...] We -- and all beings as such -- are drenched in this meaning, afloat in a current of care and profound value, ultimate significance, intrinsic awareness. We are part and parcel of this immense intelligence, this Spirit-in-action, this God-in-the-making ... " As sentient beings, we are a pond that reflects the surface of the soul of the world. As creative practitioners, we reflect this process by the product of our creations. The landscape, and the sentient beings that inhabit it, must become our sacred mind. All must be our religion, our place of worship, our commune, our sanctuary and our art. Our true potential can only be achieved by shifting our consciousness from one of ego to one of multidimensionality and compassion. Love cannot exist while we continue to destroy nature and to torture, maim and feast on the corpses of murdered sentient beings. The slaughterhouse of the gut must be transformed into the temple of the heart, if we are to evolve both consciously and creatively.
Creativity relies on a physical connection to the subject, so that the observer becomes the observed. We cannot connect with that which we destroy. Hence, when we destroy, we cannot create. As writer George Bernard Shaw wrote: "We pray on Sundays that we may have light/ To guide our footsteps on the path we tread;/ We are sick of war, we don't want to fight,/ And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead". To be non-caring to the suffering of the other, is to lack both spiritual and creative insight. As Helen Keller wrote, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.
"
Throughout history, both creative thinkers and spiritual thinkers have shared this same vision of world peace for all beings, from Thomas Edison who wrote: "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages", to the Buddha who taught; "To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana". Since consciousness affects matter and other consciousness around it, our thinking creates our reality both in the spiritual and the physical world, until both worlds are intersecting, interlocking and existing simultaneously. Both are the one living, breathing, thinking universal consciousness expressed in different forms. Loving creativity is the way to universal truth.
Therefore it would stand to reason that the less harm that I inflict upon other sentient beings, the more I am able to hold their peace and beauty within my own soul. The more I am able to act as a living conduit for the benevolent universal consciousness, the more I become not only a creator, but a co-creator who contributes to the conscious being that is the universe. The universe is evolving towards love. Any sentient being who is not allowing themselves to become a part of this continuous process will suffer as a result. Where l-o-v-e exists, suffering ceases to exist, since once we become benevolent, the benevolent universal consciousness reflects and creates alongside us, working towards our best interests. And our best intentions are in the interests of all.
Author Roger Penrose writes, "The universe is made of stories, not atoms". The landscape is consciousness and the sentient beings of consciousness are the mirrored soul of our being, or that which we love. Creative artists and creative thinkers can assist in this process by embracing and holding external realities within. In this way, all knowledge becomes accessible, all time eternal and the ongoing universal expansion of creativity possible.