Many of us were raised with the idea of God being somewhere outside of ourselves, a Being, an Entity, a Deity above and beyond us. Some see an anthropomorphic God pictured as a man with long silver hair, floating benevolently above on a cloud. Some adopt artist’s renderings such as Michaelangelo offered. All were beyond the individual.

Where is God to you?  If you are interested in the Bible, you will remember that it clearly tells us that “behold, the kingdom of God is within you’ in Luke 17.21.  What a huge shift it is for many to think that God is within and expressing through you. Everything changes.

Where is God to you?

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
Helping Businesses Prosper & People Flourish Since 1982
www.Rhoberta.com
www.SoulWiseWays.com
www.SpiritualLivingNetwork.com – Join in. It’s free!

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Are you mistaking your schedule for your life?  If so, you’re not going to have much joy. When the end of your day…or the end of your life, for that matter…arrives, what do you look back on?  Does it bring you joy?  Better yet, did you bring any joy to anyone else?

Often the answer to the simple question of “How are you?” brings the answer:

“I’m so busy. I’m exhausted.”

That doesn’t seem like a recipe for joy to me. How about you? Yet, even if you don’t say that sentence at the end of your day, you may be thinking or feeling it.

Many people are mistaking their schedule for their life. Fitting in quiet time and reflective moments seems impossible. Time in nature to simply connect, feel the oneness with life, is whittled down to something like: let me walk the dog and get on with the more important things of the day. Even walking the dog gives you an opportunity to see beauty, connect with the cyclical nature of the seasons and life, to move your body and experience joy.  If it’s just what has to be done, it’s just the schedule and you’re missing out of Life.

Henry David Thoreau asked an essential question for reflection:

“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”

What distinguishes us from the ants, in endless search of food, creating assembly lines that fill their days in our kitchens?  That’s the big question.

Are you living your values, demonstrating your beliefs and choosing your activities wisely?  That would be living in SoulWise Ways. Or, are you mistaking your schedule for your life?

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
Success Solutions for Life, Love & Livelihood
www.Rhoberta.com
www.SoulWiseWays.com

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© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

We have all heard the directive to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  It occurs in some paraphrase in each of the ten major spiritual traditions and religions of the world.  So, there must be something to it, right?

So, what is this kind of love?  Love in the spiritual sense is not something far-off and removed from us. It isn’t anything that can come to us. It is already a part of who we are, already well-established within us.  AND, it is universal and impersonal.  This wonderful love can pour out from us in abundance because we have a never-ending supply.

Now, that might seem contradictory to the evidence in your reality.  What about those people who seem to complain about everything and everybody?  Where’s that never-ending pouring of love through them?  Just because it’s available doesn’t mean folks avail themselves of it.  The electricity is always just waiting at the switch for you to turn it on, but some folks just like to sit in the dark.  Enough said.

Where does all this wonder, light and joy come from? In my opinion–and, that’s all I can offer you here after fifty years of study and practice, our receptivity to the understanding that God is Love, and God and man are one, leads me to the evitable conclusion that there is no way to love God without some of that love flowing out to our neighbor…all the time.  It’s flow!

Who are our neighbors?  Just the folks next door, in the next room or in the next town?  I think it’s important for each of us to think this through.  It sounds simple, but is it?  Is it literal, or, is there more?

So, who is this neighbor?  This may be a bit much to take in, but, I’m going to suggest that anything of which we can become aware is our neighbor, no matter whether it is a person, animal, place, or thing.  One of my favorite writers, Joel S. Goldsmith, wrote:

“Every idea in consciousness is a neighbor. …When we see God as the cause and our neighbor as that which is in and of God, then we are loving our neighbor, whether that neighbor appears as a friend, relative, enemy, animal, flower or stone. In such loving, which understands all neighbors to be of God,…we find that every idea in consciousness takes its rightful place. Those neighbors who are a part of our experience find their way to us and those who are not are removed. Let us resolve loving our neighbor into a spiritual activity, beholding love as the substance of all that is, no matter what the form may be.”   Practicing the Presence, p. 66

The good news about these ideas is that each of us now can simply be loving, no matter what the experience, conditions or circumstances. We do not have to think about it. We simply choose to be loving in all cases.

When I wrote Wrestling Rhinos: Conquering Conflict in the Wilds of Work, I did so because skills of communication, conflict and anger management and negotiation are essential to peace and productivity.  The same is true in the home and family, in fact, everywhere.  We find “our neighbors” everywhere, too.  Sometimes it is tough to be grateful for the many opportunities we get in a day–or a family–to choose to be loving.  That’s why I made it my mission when I created the Optimize Institute to teach people to communicate in ways that are totally kind and totally honest at the same time.  Doing that is loving.

I invite you to reflect on the neighbors in your life and how you can express love in your interactions.  I’m going to pet my dog, Mystery, for a bit…because I love him.

Great joy, much love & the recognition of the abundance that surrounds you always.
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
…leading you to the life, love & livehood that fulfills you & serves the life of the world
www.SoulWiseWays.com
http://rhoberta.com

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Provocative question! So many people say they are looking for love. For you to know what to do with it when you find it, you have to BE a lover.

What does it mean ‘to be a lover?’ It is not about words, though they can be expressive. It is not about money, though everyone enjoys gifts. It is not about doing things for the beloved, though that is always appreciated. It is not about spending time together, though that is delightful. It is not about the warmth of a hug and the touch of a hand, although connection affirms our existence.

To be a lover is all these things and more. To be a lover is to demonstrate consistent enthusiastic devotion to the object of your affections through those loving behaviors, and want for your partner what your partner wants for him or herself.

That’s a tall order and a full-time commitment. That’s why I say that relationship is a spiritual path within your spiritual path. It calls forth all that you have. That’s SoulWise Loving.

I wish you SoulWise Love.
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
…leading you to align your values, vision, beliefs & purpose to create the life, relationships & livelihood that you long for
www.SoulWiseWays.com
http://www.forwomenentrepreneurs.com/

Join me on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn at RhobertaShaler

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Would the world stop turning if I gave up my illusion of control?

That’s a big question with two important parts: my illusion and my control. Do I actually believe that I am in control of all that goes on here called my life? I think of the many goal-setting workshops I gave in the 80’s, so clear that there was a process that could regulate my behavior. Even then, I only paid it lip service in my own life because it did not seem right. Now, I laugh when I think of it. Intuitively, I think I knew that all my planning was simply time-consuming behavior the outcome of which I could not be attached to. But, it gave me the illusion of doing something, at least!

You might have had that experience, too. Please understand that I have no issue with myself or others having goals. I simply consider them to be what I think might be next or best. Not rules. Not formulae. Not “must-haves.” And, able to be let go of in an instant!

I’ve been in seminars and workshops where the supposed sage on the stage demanded that crystal clear goals be created with objectives, action plans and tasks, separated and at the ready as an arsenal for blasting through anything unlike achievement. In fact, it was suggested that you might just be choosing failure if that arsenal was not intact! Perhaps you have experienced something similar.

In our book, SOUL SOLITUDE: Taking Time for Our Souls to Catch Up, we say that surrender is one of the four most important steps in a soulwise life. That’s not a sometimes kind of surrender. It’s a bigtime, all-the-time kind of surrender. Are you willing to live surrendered in God? What do you understand by that question? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
…leading you to align values, vision, beliefs & purpose to create the life you long for
www.SoulWiseWays.com
Find me on Facebook, Twitter & Linked in at RhobertaShaler

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Prosperity. Abundance. Plenty. Supply. So, these words are heard all the time and we all nod our heads and say, “Yes! That’s for me. ”

In the words of Dr. Phil, the big question is:

“How’s it workin’ for ya?”

Having been a spiritual leader and teacher for so long, I recognize the attraction of the idea of prosperity and abundance. I also know that the spiritual principles actually work…when applied! Where the breakdown seems to be is that most of us don’t want to actually do what it takes because the “doing” is so frowned upon. Of course, the “being” is most important, but, there is some doing required.

In this economic change–and, it’s only a change, not a disaster–there are some things we can re-visit in our own lives to make sure we stay on track. I know I’ve been re-visiting them lately, so, I’m thinking you might be ready to do so as well.

When the world gave us “The Secret”, along with the awareness of metaphysical principles, it also gave an unfortunate idea: You can get anything you want by simply thinking about it and it will arrive. It’s not that simple. That is magical thinking.

So, I decided to share some thoughts in the next few blog posts that I’m currently working with–again!!!–to keep me where I want to be: grounded in SoulWise living.I hope they deepen your understanding and inspire you, too. The first are from a favorite book, The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science:

“We do not teach that you can get what you want. If we could all get what we want, it might be disastrous, for it is certain that most of us would want things that would interfere with the well-being of someone else. While we could not expect to demonstrate that which is contrary to the nature of our own existence, we not only believe but we know that it is entirely possible, through mental treatment–through right thought and belief–to greatly influence our environment, its reaction to us, the situations we meet and the conditions we contact. There is such a thing as demonstrating a control of conditions.

…this Science does not promise something for nothing. It does, however, tell us that if we comply with the Law, the Law complies with us. No man can demonstrate peace and cling to unhappiness. He can demonstrate resignation, and call it peace, but it will not be peace. No man can jump into the water and remain dry. This is contrary to law and to reason. NO PERSON WHOSES ENTIRE TIME IS SPENT IN THE CONTEMPLATION OF LIMITATION CAN DEMONSTRATE FREEDOM FROM SUCH LIMITATION!

It is a great mistake to say: “Take what you wish, for you can have anything you like.” We dop not take what we wish, but we do attract to ourselves that which is like our thought. MAN MUST BECOME MORE IF HE WISHES TO DRAW A GREATER GOOD INTO HIS LIFE. wE NEED NOT LABOR UNDER THE DELUSION THAT ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO SAY THAT EVERYTHING IS OURS. This is true in Reality, but in fact it is only as true as wel make it. …EVERY MAN MUST PAY THE PRICE FOR THAT WHICH HE RECEIVES AND THAT PRICE IS PAID IN MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL COIN.”

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.

…leading you to align your values, vision, beliefs & purpose to create the life & livelihood you long for

www.SoulWiseLiving.com

Pretty much, this means that we have to our own spiritual practice…all the time! It tells us that their truly is no magic, and it is our consciousness that needs our attention.

Let’s spend some time with these ideas in the next day or two. I’m going to, for sure.

You might want to take the MIDAS THINKING program, www.MidasThinking.com and learn how spiritual principles come together with daily life to make the difference you’re looking for.

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You’ve likely noticed that we have more opportunities these days to remind ourselves of spiritual principles. That’s because there are more messages filled with negativity, scarcity and limitation bombarding us. Chicken Little is alive and well, screaming that the sky is falling!

Clearly, things are changing. It’s really no surprise, is it? Everyone likes to think it is possible to get something for nothing. Could it really have been possible to buy a house with an inflated price tag with a huge loan that your income really could not support? No, but it happened. Is it really a good idea to get a credit card with 0% interest to start, buy the things you wanted and then find yourself with a 25% or 36% interest accruing? No, but it happened.

I was talking with a dear friend a couple of years ago. He is a wonderfully generous man with an amazingly talented wife, and buying a home where they could entertain was a dream. His income barely supported the small, run-down home they rented. He thought it was a miracle when a mortgage company approved their loan on the big house with the huge garden for entertaining. And, it was a miracle in the truest sense: there was no way to explain how it could possibly happen!

Having lunch with him six months ago, the miracle had faded into a source of incredible stress, fear and pain. The variable rate mortgage that made it possible for them to have the house was now eating up every single cent he could bring in, with nothing left for bills, or daily food–not to mention for the entertaining that was so important. They were distraught.

So, what about the miracle? The tremendous gratitude my friends felt for being able to purchase the house had become depression over the potential albatross it had become. Their pain was intense as they saw their dreams fading into ruined credit and a return to the tiny, inadequate rental housing of earlier years. What to do?

Fortunately for them, another miracle took place: a friend who loved and appreciated them stepped in and helped them even before the government made it possible for them to renegotiate their mortgage. This fellow believed in them and their talents. A miracle!

A Course in Miracles tells us that:

“Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle….A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor’s worth simultaneously.”

So, was the miracle in the being approved for the loan, living in a house that seemed way beyond what was affordable, or, the love of the friend who removed the financial pain? All seem to qualify.

The miracles are the teachers. They are not magic because they arise from conviction of what is possible. Do they put an end to pain? Perhaps, temporarily, but other things will arise. That’s life.

“Miracles are healing because they supply a lack; they are performed by those who temporarily have more for those who temporarily have less.”

We all have something to give, no matter what the economy. We all will have learning associated with both our lack and our miracles. That’s life.

Have you had a miracle lately? I hope you’ll share it with us here.

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Founder, Spiritual Living Network
www.SpiritualLivingNetwork.com
www.SoulWiseWays.com

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No wishy-washy spiritual living! You know what I mean. It sounds like this:

“Everything is fine. I let go and let God.”

and, fifteen minutes later:

“How am I ever going to pay these bills? I don’t know what I’m going to do!”

That’s wishy-washy. Just like the old tub washing machines used to be, going one way and then the other, and then the other. They called it agitation but it’s wishy-washy spirituality.

We’re human. We forget principles when our emotions get hooked. We forget God when the television tells us the world is going to ##$$ in a handbasket. We get our knickers in a twist when there is more month than money.

And, we’re spiritual beings with choice and free will. That’s when we purosefully take ourselves in hand when the wishy-washy stuff begins and set ourselves straight…over and over. No matter how many times we have to do it, we find something to remember: a thought, an image, a quotation. We consciously place it clearly in mind and go in that direction. One like this, perhaps:

“I sense the presence of Life within me. I believe in It. I accept It. My most desirable life is mine now.”

Or, my personal favorite:

“I and the Father are one.”

That works for me. What works for you? Share it by clicking on ‘comments’ below and writing.

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
…leading you to align your values, vision, beliefs & purpose to create the life & livelihood you long for.
www.SoulWiseWays.com
http://www.forwomenentrepreneurs.com/

Join me on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn, too, at RhobertaShaler

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God is the Creative Principle, infinite, eternal, omnipresent, without beginning and without ending. Personally, I find it difficult to think about God AND a universe. To me, it is all one. In that same way, cause and effect are one. Just one. Amazingly, one. God, then, as the creative principle, is the cause and effect. The problem and the answer are one.

Without consciousness, we have no awareness, no knowledge. You’ll remember that Descartes said: “I think, therefore, I am.” Without consciousness, we would be unaware that we exist!
Understanding God as consciousness allows us to understand this universe as consciousness formed. Once we have that understanding–God as the causative principle of our universe–we can know that universal consciousness is ever producing and reproducing. It’s just like orange trees, continuously producing and reproducing oranges. It’s what it does!

It is not creating, but unfolding. Years ago in seminars, I would say:

“If you don’t like the movie that is playing, don’t attack the screen. Change the reel.”

People were constantly ready to attack what they did not like in their lives and assign causes to their misery or misfortune. They particularly like to play the “If only…” game:

If only I had money…
If only I had an education..
If only I had a relationship…
If only I caught a break in this life…
If only my parents were ….

They yelled, cried, screamed and flailed at life, often putting the face of some person on it which seemed to make it more focused to them.

“It is unfair, wrong, awful! I have been mistreated. I don’t deserve this.”

Did that stance help them? Of course not. They didn’t like the movie of their life, so, they attacked the screen. Our “life projector” can only project what’s on the reel–our consciousness. It was the reel that needs changing.

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Joel S. Goldsmith, wrote:

“Consciousness is always unfolding itself and disclosing itself to us in infinite form, in infinite ways, in infinite varieties. …Today our consciousness is unfolding and disclosing itself in every new way, in every new form, and always increasing abundantly.”

Consciousness is awareness. It’s not thinking, not mental activity, not holding thoughts. It is awareness, it is as Ernest Holmes wrote:

“We should take the highest thought we have, and attempt to enlarge on this consciousness until it embraces a more vital concept of Reality. Consciousness in this sense means an inner embodiment of ideas. If one wishes to demonstrate prosperity, he must first have a consciousness of prosperity; if he wishes health, he must embody the idea of health. This is more than faith; it is the knowledge that we dealing with Law. While a certain consciousness may be mechanically induced, of course, the more spontaneity put into the mechanical word, the more power the word must have. …Each maintains a stream of consciousness in the One Mind, and anyone contacting this stream may objectify it….the individual stream of consciousness is always omnipresent…”

Consciousness is causative. It is our consciousness that contains the entire universe. It becomes the law unto our world. The moment we can consciously feel and realize the presence of God, we have the quality of being that removes all belief of erroneous conditions in our lives. This changes everything!

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
Consultant. Coach. Counselor. Catalyst.
….leading you to the life, love & livelihood that fulfills you & serves the life of the world
www.SoulWiseWays.com
Dr. Shaler is the founder of Spiritual Living Network, free social networking for spiritually-minded people

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There is no end of inquiry on the spiritual path. I’m sure you’ve noticed that.

As I am writing SoulWise Ways, I am having to pay great attention to the clarity I can bring to my thinking before I can actually write the book. That seems imperative. So, the questions:

Do you have a soul?

Are you a soul?

Are you part of a Soul?

What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments and thinking on the subject.

When we wrote SOUL SOLITUDE: Taking Time for Our Souls to Catch Up, we wrote it for a general audience and very consciously chose to say ‘our souls”. In that book, we discussed the soul as the Authentic Self. We offer the Webster’s dictionary definition of soul:

“the immaterial essence, animating principle or actuating cause of an individual life; the spiritual principle embodied in human beings; all rational and spiritual beings of the universe; an actual or essential part; a moving spirit; man’s moral or ethicalnature; that quality that arouses emotion and sentiment.”

And, we offer a definition from Dr. Dennis Merritt-Jones:

“The truth is there is only one Soul and it is the Soul of the Universe. Individual man’s soul is simply that point within him where the Universe (or God) personalizes Itself. We believe that the soul is man’s creative medium and is therefore subjective (or subject) to his conscious thought. The soul is that perfect part of our being which accepts us and our actions, never judging us as right or wrong, always ready to “assist” us in achieving whatever we choose to do when we believe we can do it.The soul has been referred to as the “mirror of mind” because it reflects the forms of thought which are given it. WE choose the thoughts it reflects or, in other words, brings into experience.”

These two definitions offer our readers a point of departure for understanding the concept of soul.

What are your thoughts?

Many blessings,
Rhoberta

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