Tag Archives: New Year

NO-FAULT RESOLUTIONS: THE RE-MIX

I’m glad to be in 2017, meditating, dancing, creating, establishing, loving, laughing, eating, exercising, giving, and growing into 2018.
I feel blessed to have an opportunity to resolve yet again that I’m going to do something to make my life and the lives of others better.  I choose to use the energy of this season to recognize the infinite power in me to demonstrate the awesome presence, wisdom and grace of love.
This is my dance: one of absolute good, expressing itself as the most loving person I can be.  In this infinite light of love, I resolve to be worry-free, debt-free, guilt-free, shame-free, blame-free, doubt-free – living a life of moments rather than mere days, but moments that are mindful about breathing in nothing but the pure power of possibility.  Like Joseph in the ancient, sacred text (Genesis 50:20), I like that even what somebody else intends for evil, God simply blesses me with, without ceasing.  I, like Jesus Christ, can call it all good (John 7:24): the appearances bless me, bless us, restore us.
14Here and now, I am liberated to love the power of Spirit like nothing else: to love it morning, noon and night and in that well-spring of love to be the best that I am called to be.  I am liberated from any requirement as to what form or shape my “best” will take.  The blessing is in the divine idea of simply being.
How liberating it is to walk into the New Year unencumbered by mistakes or regret.  How great it is to know that the truth that sets us free is being one with now.  The truth is that we are one with absolute good right now – good that is always expressing in, as and through us.  The truth is that the pure consciousness of God radiates through every cell of our body, awareness of our mind and expansion of our soul.  The truth is that God really does do the work that we are appointed to do.  The truth is that Spirit opens new doors, creates new circumstances, and gives us what we need before we even ask.  In this consciousness of grace, we can release needing, wanting or desiring and instead accept the infinite blessings that the universe is breathing through each one of us.
I resolve to forgive myself for everything I started to do but didn’t, wanted to do but forgot, or did do but failed to appreciate.  If I can’t do it, I won’t.  If I must do it, I’ll try.  If I don’t do it – well, there’s always next time.  The good thing about forgiveness is that we can do it right now, and it’s done. I release all obligations, all debts and all concerns of myself and others.  Yes, I forgive seventy times seven, and in the energy of the seven of completion, I let go and move forward to do the greater things that I must do, can do, and will do.
I leap into the awareness that I am free in the fluid stream of absolute good and marvelous in the manifestation that my goals are accomplished the moment that I claim them: the rest of the time is merely the process that I must grow through to accept their completion.  Here is to perfect health, wholeness and mindful acceptance of beauty, movement, lifting, energy and grace.

I resolve to love, and this resolution to be the pure power of love everywhere present expresses itself right now.  This is a no-brainer: a simple truth that can be used to harmonize any situation.  I am love right now, and I love unconditionally.  The bible can be summed up in this one resolution: love.  As John said, God is love.  I allow the loving energy of God to express in, as and through me right now.
I resolve to laugh.  We can’t take ourselves too seriously.  Otherwise, we will stop the endless flow of God’s good due to our own rigidity.  When we take ourselves too seriously, we do not keep our consciousness open to receive the blessings that are always calling us.  We place boundaries before blessings.   But with laughter, we are blessed to not hold grudges, to wear the world as a lose garment, to refuse to worry about what others think of us.
I resolve to dream.  Dreaming of endless possibilities and inexhaustible supply is the gift of being alive.  This is another resolution that is not confined by 365 days; we can dream right now and be done with it.  Or we can continue to be anointed by the grace of God’s favor dreaming through us.  It’s our choice: to be given the gift of dreaming Spirit’s divine call whenever we desire.  I resolve to dream as often as I desire, stepping well beyond the conventionality of the box in which I thought I was limited.  Spirit gives shape to divine intention through our dreams.
I resolve to give.  This is the answer to the question that is always asked: what is my purpose in life?  The truth is that I am here to give.  When we are consciously aware that we are here to bless, we stop holding back our good and instead give.  Give smiles.  Give hellos.  Give thank yous and you’re welcomes.  Give encouragement, handwritten notes, high fives, subway fare, spare change.  Give secretly, for nothing in return – not even the right to say, “I gave.”  We don’t even have to keep track of when we have to give.  Giving feels so good that the universe will provide so many opportunities that we don’t even have to be aware of them.
I resolve to listen.  We are all one with the pure consciousness of God speaking everywhere present.  We just haven’t taken the time to listen.  Listening hears the whole being of God emanating as us. We listen every day to www.mindfulnessgroup.blog.  We listen to the eternal breath of Spirit move through us as the completion of all good.  This resolution can be accomplished right now, in a single breath.  Breathing in, I listen.  Breathing out, I hear.  Listening has no agenda: we just are.
I resolve to create.  The truth is the “I” that creates is the “I AM” of God energizing, igniting and enjoying life in endless shapes, forms and dimensions.  No need to worry about the old ideas; the universe is filled with new ones.  By resolving to create, we open our consciousness to allow Spirit to co-create through us.  No need to judge our creations.  Creativity is bigger than us.  Whether we witness it or not, God’s good is always using us to bless others.  In the power of this resolution, we allow ourselves – here and now – to be the conduit of change and transformation.
I resolve to heal.  This resolution only requires the acceptance of grace.  In grace, we are whole.  In grace, we are lifted from our mats of affliction and realize that there is no sickness, illness, frailty or infirmity in the kingdom of God.  Right here and now, we accomplish the wholeness of Spirit and know that we are well.  We can look in the mirror of Christ consciousness and see ourselves as we really are.
I resolve to grow.  The humility of not knowing is a constant blessing.   I study the truth that sets me free.  The teachers that I need reveal themselves to me.  The books that I must read fall from wisdom’s shelves and open without prodding.  My eyes fall on the perfect words.  The students who bless me with guidance appear.  The journeys that I must take provide new paths.  The questions that I must raise ask themselves.  The epiphany of realization always blesses us.
I resolve to harvest.  We take advantage of so much that we have not worked for.  This is the season – right where we are – to reap what we have not sown.  We are enjoying so much for little that we take it for granted.  This season, I will open my eyes and experience each blessing: the beautiful apples, the smell of butternut squash soup, the rising of the sun, the solitude of the darkness, the tapestry of autumn leaves, the sound of waves at the shore.   Every day of the year, we can celebrate the harvest of the kingdom in whatever form or shape it takes.
I resolve to praise.  In fact, I praise and give thanks right now.  I give praise and thanks for health of mind, body and soul.  I give praise and thanks for my family – my marital, biological, spiritual, and work family and friends.  I give praise and thanks for the daily manna that God gives me to take care of every need.  I give praise and thanks for this country and this world and for the ability to keep everyone in the universe raised in perfect success.
I resolve to enjoy.  This is not going to be a month where I look back with regret or criticism because I enjoyed life a little too much.  I saved a little less, spent a bit more or just chilled out.  I resolve here and now that I will enjoy life – every tree, every manger, every carol, every taste of pleasure created for our benefit.  This, too, will I resolve to do each month and at every opportunity.  I will visit, celebrate, cook, dance, sing, swim, hike, run, drive, write, draw, paint, participate, preach, lift, work, walk, shop, and play by enjoying life.
In 2015, I declared that no-fault resolutions can’t go wrong because we are relieved from the responsibility of doing any more than what we will.  This re-mix recognizes that nothing is required except to lift up the awareness of Spirit moving through our lives each and every moment except to be still, and know.  In this awareness: I resolve to be one with each moment, and I let go of everyone and everything.

In letting go, I welcome each moment as a new me.

Happy New You!!!

SHAKE THE DUST OFF YOUR FEET

spring 15Last Sunday at SPIRITMUV, we had a great time shaking the dust off our feet.
We shook off fear.
We shook off resentment.
We shook off distractions.
We shook off worries.
We followed the teachings of Jesus Christ and shook off anyone and anything not in alignment with our greatest good.

Bible 6In Mark 6:8-13, the scripture teaches us that Jesus instructed his twelve disciples as they went around teaching from village to village that if “any place will not welcome [them] or listen to [them], leave that place and shake the dust off [their] feet as a testimony against them.”

shaking off the dustShaking off the dust gives us the freedom to rid ourselves  of relationships that are toxic; mistakes that we believe we made; illnesses that seem to persist; habits that are bad for us; lousy memories of the past; jobs that don’t allow us to grow; bitterness, arrogance, resentment, frustration, misery, pain – anything that blocks us from experiencing the best.

Jesus tells us to release these things because if we don’t they will suck the life out of us.  Even our adversaries should be agreed with quickly because otherwise, we give them dominion and power over us.  If we are giving our energy to our so-called issues – as opposed focusing on our divine ideas, we are not open and receptive to the Good that God iswalking three trying to bless us with.

snow11We pile up so much in our lives as we move through the day-to-day moments of expression.  We take so much for granted.  We don’t even see the full expansion of life that we have been blessed with because we are so busy going through the motions of existence — that it is not until we slow down to clean the debris that has collected that we remember we are here.

We are here — we are actually part of an incredible magnificent creative process that is remarkably filled with divine ideas and endless energy and abundant beauty and magical grace.  We are here — notbeauty eleven just to collect issues and problems and challenges but to be part of the powerful unfolding of something greater.

time 3That’s what the New Year acknowledges.  It reminds us to clean up, to take stock, to make lists, to chart goals, to re-commit, to promise ourselves to remember that we are here — not to just go through the motions but to get up off our individual and collective butts and do something with our lives — to be that better person, to raise our grades, to finish what we started, to begin something new, to chart our course, to reach for the stars, to have the courage to do what we have always wanted to do.

We teach Genesis as the beginning of all beginnings — falling to realize that God didn’t just create a world in seven days and stop.  God is constantly creating through us.  The New Year reminds us of this awesome responsibility — that God unfolds as we create through the infinite power of all that God is.  The New Year gives us new canvas, new colors, new brushes, new sounds, new music, new movements, new drums, new keys, new beats.

dream

The truth is  — as Jesus says, it is written in our laws — that we are gods — more Spirit than flesh, endowed with the unlimited capacity to create — blessed with the creative vision to imagine our good and watch it take shape — given the ability to speak into existence whatever we want to see take shape in our lives.

We are the God that we pray to — Think about that.  Think about what you would do for you if you really believed that you were praying to yourself.

move 17What if you really believed that you were here to give unlimited expression to our Oneness with the divine power of creation?  You would shake the dust off your feet and move forward with your life – strong, radiant and rich with the unlimited good that God has blessed you with.

untitledJesus is teaching us to do just that – to realize that the God in us frees us from everything in our humanness that is blocking the flow of Spirit, or our good, of our divine energy; to stop second-guessing our divine potential; to realize that whatever needs to take shape is already manifesting; to trust that the Universe will give us the guidance that we need whenever we ask for it; to know that God is always sending us the ideas and the people and the situations that we need to do what we are called to do — and that we should never limit ourselves to a particular channel.

uggs walkingWe can shake the dust off our feet and know with absolute faith that whatever we need will find itself along the way of our path.

Namaste.

Cecilia

PUT GOD IN YOUR DIET

Put God in YOur Diet OneThis is the time of year when we reap what we sow during the festive holiday season, and we rely on New Year’s Resolutions – with a firm resolve – to get back on track. For many of us, getting back on track means shedding unwanted pounds.  But this is one year that I’m not worried about weight because months ago, I put God in my diet.

Prayer TwoIf you want something delicious, calorie-free and certain to reduce unwanted inches, try God. God is guaranteed to get results, guard against any excessive indulgence and give you favor for the process. The right people will show up to help you reach your fitness goals; the right opportunities will manifest for your magnificence; the yoga 3right methodology to keep you motivated will reveal itself; and the right decisions that you need to make to stay spiritually fit will guide you to success.

God only requires a one-day-at-a-time plan. All you have to do is put one foot before the other with prayerful purpose, and the sheer gravity of Spirit will pull you in the right direction.  When you awaken, acknowledge with Put God in Your Diet Threeyour heart that God is in every breath that you take. Stretch with the magnificence of God in your limbs. Rise with the boldness and conviction of God in your thoughts.  Move with the passion of God in your purpose to be your best in your new day.

Have you ever observed animals and birds when they awaken? They stretch. They flex and bend their bodies because they have a constant diet of God in their lives. They know what to do. Birds, running twoeven the pigeons – who are jaded New York streetwalkers – take to the air in unison for their morning flight relays. I love to see them circling the air as I make my way to the gym.

Maybe like my husband Marlon, you prefer to ride your bike.  Maybe like my brother Chris, you prefer to walk. Maybe like me, you prefer to lift weights. Maybe like my friend Vaughn, you prefer to run. Maybe like my friend Kelly, you prefer to practice yoga. Maybe like my friend Mary, you prefer the elliptical machine.  It all counts. NYSC

If you don’t have a gym or a fitness class and you’re in the New York area, contact my friend Priscilla Upshaw-Wimbly at the New York Sports Club (718-643-4400).   She will sign you up with a good fitness deal and expedite the Universe’s conspiracy to help you obtain your goals. (Tell her that I sent you.)

Put God in Your Diet FivePutting God in your diet is about as simple as drinking water. Jesus said I will give you living water. Water is the most essential life-sustaining beauty treatment there is.  If your urine is dark or you feel faint, you are not listening when Spirit tells you to drink enough water!

Put God in Your DietPutting God in your diet demands that you bless your food and be mindful in eating. You’d be surprised how small your stomach is: about two palms full. Mindful eating conditions us to listen to our bellies telling us that they are full or near full. As you bless your food, envision the body that you desire, see that ripped six-pack, see those healthy knees running and jumping like never before, see those flexible limbs.

Put God in YOur Diet SixPutting God in your diet is not about wearing yourself ragged, it’s about rest, rejuvenation and revelation. Rest will give us the rejuvenation that supplies the energy to achieve our fitness goals. Rejuvenation will give us the revelations that will show us how to form and shape our workout plans, eating habits, and fitness goals.  Revelations will keep us focused on the upward prize – of which physical fitness is just one aspect.

MARIANDALE 4Putting God in your diet requires that you listen to what God is telling you.  Listening to Spirit is your most important meal of the day. God is always speaking, but we seldom take the time to be still and know what God is saying.  We have to listen throughout the day: during our morning meditation, while we are journaling, in our prayers, through our study of truth, by our good Prayer Threedeeds done with compassion for others. (For more on how to do this, see my book Prayers for Those Standing on the Edge of Greatness on Amazon.)

Putting God in your diet demands that you maximize your potential beyond the mere festive mood of celebrating the new year.  You see, the real party – the one that you don’t want to miss – is the one with Jesus Christ, who is here in our consciousness; with the Holy Spirit, who is here as our guide; and with God, who is here in every single morsel of life that we partake.

Join us on New Year’s Day as we put God in our diets through our series on “Christ Consciousness:  Seven Lessons for Living According to the Christ Within.”  This Sunday, we will celebrate “Being Our Best.”

Namaste,

Cecilia Loving

CLAIM YOUR GOOD By Cecilia Loving

One of the most profound spiritual teachers of our times once said, “Don’t ask what the New Year has in store for you, instead affirm what you have in store for the New Year.”  The first time I heard the late Eric Butterworth say this was at the beginning of the New Year in 1986, when I  started attending the Unity Center of New York City’s Sunday Worth-Ship Services at Avery Fisher Hall.  I had studied Unity’s spiritual teachings since 1974 in Detroit, but that New Year’s Service marked the beginning of my commitment to join a spiritual community.   My life changed forever.  Every year since 1986, I have reflected upon Eric’s prophetic lesson:  “You don’t need to go to a fortune teller.  You don’t need a crystal ball.  Instead of asking someone what the future has in store for you, you need to decide what you have in store for the future.” 

 Every year we need to remind ourselves of these words, to take charge of our lives.   Every year, we need a new spiritual tune-up.   We need to take stock of whether we are in alignment with God’s divine purpose — or simply going through the motions.  So this year, Spiritmuv members are spending the first few months dedicated to Spiritual Fitness.  We have a new Spiritual Fitness Journal to use as a tool to keep the promises that we make to ourselves this year. We plan to dig deep into our God-appointed goals and re-prioritize our lives like never before.  We will get focused by being obedient to the Holy Spirit. 

 We know that if we haven’t seen the changes that we want to take place in our lives, it is only because we haven’t chosen to do so.  We have asked Spirit to reveal our life’s purpose and have committed to moving forward in the direction of our goals.  We know that God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  We are living witnesses that God will show us a way out of no way.  Spirit will bless us with the right people and resources and ideas to do the work that we are appointed to do.  No matter how old we are, if we are present in this life form, it is because God has anointed we are a blessing to others. 

 This is the year to stop second-guessing our divine potential; to stop spending our energy telling everybody else what we plan to do; to stop talking about what everybody else is doing; to stop being jealous of what someone else has; to stop doing anything that doesn’t contribute to our greatest good. This is the year to know that God is an awesome God that cannot fail.  This is the year to know that God’s Kingdom is not here or there; it is within us. 

 This is the year to stop being preoccupied with what you will wear and what you will drink and what you eat.  Jesus tried to teach us not to become lost in superficial things.  If we seek first the Kingdom of God — if we tap in and turn on the power of God within us, all that we need will be provided.  Let’s give our energy to God’s seeds of infinite growth and vision, live a life with integrity and purpose, and transcend the appearances of lack by giving thanks for the abundance of Divine Source. 

This is the year to not merely knock on the door of God’s Kingdom of unlimited good, but to go in — to drink from that well-spring of joy and carry its divine vibration in our heart.  This is the year to love.  Love like there was nothing else.  And we will find that God will meet us on the path of our faith.  The things that we once believed were impossible will come to fruition.  The dreams that we once whispered with caution will awaken us with praise.  This is the year to give with our heart, mind and soul to whatever we want to see take shape. 

 Have no doubt that when you exercise the love and faith of your divine will, the Universe will manifest your divine desires.  This is the future that we affirm for you:  one that realizes that Spirit is constantly moving to manifest your unlimited victory and infinite blessings of peace and success. 

Namaste,

Reverend Cecilia Loving

About SPIRITMUV:  Spiritmuv® is a trans-denominational church, which means that it transcends the confines of religion and teaches unconditional love for one another regardless of race, creed, culture, or religion.   At the heart of its teachings is what Jesus taught — that we love one another, as well as the community that Mahatma Gandhi inspired when he said, “I am a Christian and a Muslim and a Hindu and a Jew.”  Reverend Cecilia Loving is the founder and creator of Spiritmuv, which was formed in 2007.  Services are held for an hour every Sunday, from 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. at the Unity Center of NYC, located at 213 West 58th Street.

Rev. Loving, author of Prayers for Those Standing in the Edge of Greatness, is the sole owner, creator and administrator of God is a Brown Girl Too®, which holds annual retreats and workshops.  The next God is a Brown Girl Too Retreat will be held April 1-3, 2011, at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center.

None of the content herein may be copied or otherwise used except with Reverend Loving’s written permission.

 Join the Spiritmuv  Community at www.Spiritmuv.ning.com for special postings by Rev. Loving.

GOD IS A BROWN GIRL TOO® 

“CREATING  BEYOND THE  BOX  OF CONVENTIONALITY ” RETREAT
will take place in the Spring of 2011
from April 1 at 5:00 P.M. through April 3 at 1:00 P.M. 

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to enjoy the peace, serenity and creative consciousness of a like-minded group of women of color at the Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center, located at 299 North Highland Avenue, in Ossining, New York.   All rooms are single and surrounded by the loving prayers of the Dominican Sisters who own the facility. 

 The cost of the entire weekend, including rooms, workshops and three delicious meals per day, is only $450.00.  There is a $100 discount for senior citizens, so seniors pay $350.00. 

 Registration has already begun at http://www.godisabrowngirltoo.com/or you can mail payment directly to God is a Brown Girl Too, 376 President Street Unit 2H, Brooklyn, New York 11231.  But act fast because rooms are selling and there are now only 13 rooms left.