Visioning

There has been alot of buzz about Visioning.

What is Visioning? It is a practice of getting in touch with your Higher Self, Spirit, Intention, whatever you want to call it to bring about change in your life, set goals, move forward, advance in some area of your life.

Being the start of a new year, I recently attended a Visioning Workshop to set my intentions for 2007. I had never done a Visioning session, but according to the facilitator, Michael Beckwith used Visioning to go from a 20 member church to one of 10,000. Those kinds of numbers get your attention, so I decided to see what this Visioning thing was all about.

Well, I don't know if it was just me and I did not understand the point, or I was lead in a direction that to me seem off-Principle (Science of Mind principles) but part of this Visioning exercise just did not work for me.

First we were lead in a guided meditation to get in touch with Spirit. The workshop leader used the term "soul". After that, we opened our eyes and answered a series of questions on a worksheet. The first being: what is Spirit's Highest Vision for my soul in this lifetime?

Was I being to literal when I read this question or does it see to imply fate and predeterimation? And using the term soul seems to imply a separation. Aren't we all trying to get to the place in our personal spiritual growth where we can say, like Jesus, "I and the Father are one"?

Spirit, as in Universal Mind, Divine Mind, Creative Power, has no vision for me. It has ALL visions for me. It is the unlimited potentiality. It is the undifferentiated substance. It is all possibilities. It is me as an individualization of this all encompassing potentiality that makes it specialize. As Ernest Holmes has written, Spirit has no particular plan for anyone. That is what makes us individuals. That is what makes us Conscious beings.

And then to bring in the soul concept. Soul is my subconscious connection to the All. It is the collective unconscious, my direct tap-in to omnipresent Universal Law.
And Law is waiting to be consciously directed by me. Otherwise, it works on the Law of Averages if I do not consciously direct it.

Other questions on this worksheet continue in the same vein: Spirit's Highest Vision for my soul in 2012, in 2010, in 2007. We were supposed to write down anything that came into our minds whether that be words, images, sounds, smells, etc.

I had a few images and feelings, but not much came through. That makes perfect sense if you take into account my belief that there is nothing but unlimited potentiality for me. I am not being told by Spirit what I should be.

As we shared some of what we wrote down among the group, I could tell that some people really got into it and did get in touch with their inner self. Others I could tell were just regurgitating what their intellect and ego told them to write down. They had invested alot of something in a particular direction they wanted their lives to go in, and they were determined to convince themselves that this is what Spirit wanted for them too.

The second part of the workshop was goal-setting. For some reason, I got alot more out of this part of the workshop than the first half. This was bringing our human intellect into the equation. Nothing wrong with that. Our intellect has its place. What I liked about this exercise is that it let me think long-term and medium-term. It was almost a luxury to actually sit down and allow myself to think about these goals. Most of us do not give ourselves the time to do this. We just plod along and see what happens. And then deal with what happens. A very reactionary way to live.
Well, I rather be pro-active, and this gave me a wonderful opportunity to do that. Things actually came out of my pen that I have no idea where they came from. Maybe this was Spirit starting to individualize as me and my actions.

What was spiritual about the goal writing session was to think about what I would have to BECOME to make those goals come about -- not necessarily what I would have to DO. Big difference. Personal spiritual growth is all about what we are becoming.

Self-contemplation, which is how Spirit creates everything (read Thomas Troward's books), is also how we create our experiences. I have to think about myself in a certain way, or I won't believe certain things are possible. And belief is THE critical factor in creation.

To reach my goals, I have to see myself as more. More intelligent, more spiritual, more communicative, more prosperous, etc.

This is what I got of my first Visioning Session. Probably not what other people got out of it. Call me a purist. The Law does not care what it creates for me. It is my servant. Spirit only wants me to have my good. Whatever I choose it to be. So to ask Spirit what it wants me to do, goes completely against that.

Now, yes, there is Divine Guidance. That is your inner wisdom. Because deep down, you do know what to do, if you just become still and turn off the noise of the world, community, family, friends, and your own ego. This is what we need to tap into in a true Visioning practice.

Until next time,
Peace, be still.

Tina

Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men

Today is Global Peace Day. Everywhere around the planet, churches, spiritual groups and individuals, at the same time, are meditating, praying, and/or thinking about Peace on this planet.

At our church/spiritual center, we were asked: what would bring you Peace, what would make you feel peaceful? So I put out that question to you: What would bring you Peace, what would make your experience one of Peace?

A few answers were: to stop trying to do everything for everyone. To Let Go and Let God and know that everything is good and right. Good answer! Another person said, to know that I have not missed out on anything, that it is not too late for anything. Yet another said to believe, in spite of appearances, that everything is happening for the highest Good of All. (meaning, to stop worrying about everything)

The New Year is a good time to think about Peace especially as we move into 2007 and see around us wars in many parts of the globe. So in spite of this appearance of war, we need to believe that our highest Good -- Peace -- is already at hand. There is peace and only peace in Spirit. Peace is the knowingness of Good and only Good.

Let us declare with our powerful Word, let there be peace on earth, and good will going to and coming from all people.

Happy New Year to all.

Reflection on the Year and Jumping into the New Year

The days between Christmas and New Years, I will taking time off from my "day job" and this is the perfect time to think. Thinking creates your experience. I will reflect back alittle on 2006, but not too much. Just enough to be grateful for what I have received and accomplished and learned, and just enough to be the jumping off point for the New Year.

I am looking forward not backward. I will be thinking ahead to what I want this new year to bring. I will be creating the mold into which Law will put the physical form. I will get clear on what I want and need.

I will be thinking alot about Conscious Kernels, Inc. -- where it is headed, what I can give my readers, visitors and customers to help them on their spiritual journey, what I want Conscious Kernels to evolve into because just like us, it is always evolving and growing.

In the last few weeks, I've had some unpleasant experiences and I want to learn from them. So I will be exploring some of these issues in the next few weeks and will share them with you. We can all learn from each other and help each other.

We are all at our own level of consciousness. Some have a higher understanding and consciousness for relationships, or for health, or for wealth. It behooves us to learn from those with higher levels. It behooves us to study the masters and mystics. I certainly plan on doing more of that in the coming year.

And not to sound self-serving, but I will also read and take to heart each daily affirmation in the 2007 Conscious Kernels Electronic Pop-Up Affirmations Calendar. Do you know why? Because the Truth is the Truth! And we should all contemplate Truth daily. These affirmations are all Truth Statements and I want to know these Truths for ME! That is the only way I am going to grow.

That is how we grow our consciousness. Step by step. Daily contemplation of ourselves and our world in the Light of Truth, not in the shadow of appearances.

That is my New Year's wish for all of us -- to continue growing, to enjoy life as it is meant to be, to love, laugh and be happy, to express our spiritual selves uniquely.

Namaste

A few of my favorite things

I felt a little like Oprah putting together a list of holiday gift-giving ideas. Except for the fact that I don't have a studio audience and I did not give out the actual gifts. (You know the manufacturers supply and pay for the gifts, don't you? That big car give-away that Oprah had a couple years ago, GM provided all the cars and Oprah got all the credit.)

What was on my list? If you are on my mailing list, you would have gotten it. Sign up to be on my mailing list at http://www.consciouskernels.com and click on the Subscribe button on the right. Well, let's see. For all those you did not get the Holiday list, I had on there: Conscious Kernels Gift Certificates, the 2007 Conscious Kernels Electronic Pop-Up Affirmations Calendar, beautiful meditation music that are immediately downloadable, some membership ideas to One Spirit book club and Spiritual Cinema Circle, a powerful CD/audiotape program for success and personal growth, and a few other things. All of which you can get without ever leaving your house. That is what I call convenient shopping.

Holidays and Holy Days?

Sometimes the holiday season can seem like the most un-spiritual time of the year. Today, stuck in Christmas shopping traffic, finding nothing of interest in a store I made a special trip to, being hungry, cold and tired, all put me in a foul mood. Enough to pack it in and just go home.

That's not how it's supposed to be, but I guarentee every shopper has gone through what I have gone through. And, really, for what? To end up angry? They've made black comedies about the savage ritual of present buying. That must mean this is a common experience.

I'm doing more shopping online this year than ever before. And I do believe my gift recipients will be somewhat surprised with my choices.

And since I feel for all my fellow shoppers out there, I am putting together my own list (making a list and checking it twice) of some great gift ideas I will be sharing with my mailing list in just a few days. Sign up for the monthly newsletter before then, and you will get my list of Great Gift Ideas for the Higher Evolved -- a name that just came to me now.

Sign up on our home page http://www.consciouskernels.com look for the little envelope icon on the right side of the screen. I'm sure there will be some gift ideas you had not considered or have not heard of. Frankly, these are the kinds of gifts to give to yourself! I always give myself a present for Christmas. I can't remember when that tradition started, but I think it is a great idea. If you are the kind of person who always puts yourself last, then you REALLY need to start giving yourself a present. You need this kind of "therapy" more than most.

Being kind to yourself, tending to your needs and wants, these are first steps to self-love. And as we are all learning in our quest of spiritual growth, everything begins with the self and self-contemplation. We will get into alot about self-contemplation in the new year. It is one of my favorite spiritual subjects. But for now, let's get through the holidays, let's try to enjoy the holidays, and let's try to remember why we celebrate them in the first place!

Until next time.

The Surprise Product is Here!!

I alluded to something in the works a couple posts ago. Well now I can unveil the secret surprise product.

Drum roll please. . . . .

Announcing the creation and now available: the 2007 Conscious Kernels Automatic Pop-Up Affirmations Calendar.

This is the coolest electronic product I have ever been involved with. Just install this calendar on your PC (sorry, not developed for Macs yet -- but if you have one of the new Intel Macs that runs Windows software, it will work for you!) in three simple steps and what happens is the program reads the date in your computer memory and each day when you start up your computer, an affirmation pops up for that date! Too cool.
Actually, it is more than just an affirmation. Each powerful, inspiring, life-changing affirmation is accompanied by a beautiful photograph and soothing music.

You can adjust when the affirmation pops up -- just chose a certain time and each day at that time, your affirmation will pop up. You can loop the music or not. You can choose to have it not automatically pop up (but why would you?)

We even have a free 3-day trial for you to try out. So simple to install, so automatic to use. And since this is installed on your computer, you do not have to be connected to the internet or turn off pop-up blockers or anything like that.

We are so thrilled to have this product that has been in the works for many months finally out there and available.

Visit the web page and try it for free:

www.consciouskernels.com/affirmation_calendar.html

I hope you are as happy with our calendar as I am.

Go check it out!

www.consciouskernels.com/affirmation_calendar.html

Secret Buzz

First, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate this holiday.

A little bit of history of this holiday: it was Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, who make this an official holiday. It had been celebrated on different days in different areas of the country and called different things. The interesting thing to think about is the timing of this. In the middle of a bloody war that was tearing the nation apart, Abraham Lincoln thought it incredibly important to give thanks. Thanks for what? When all around him there was only hatred, killing, divisiveness. To me that says, when things look the worst, the only way out of it is to see something good, some little thing that you can be thankful for and that will begin the turn-around of circumstances. Gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for.

Which brings me to "The Secret", a new movie making the rounds and available immediately on DVD. The Secret, which the filmmakers want to no longer be a secret for the select few, is the Law of Attraction. It is the way the world works. The Law of Attraction is what shapes your life.

You are constantly attracting and repelling everything in your experience. And one of the ways to attract more success, love, health, etc., say the experts in the film, is to start being grateful. When asked what a person can do to set this Law of Attraction in motion in the way they want it to work, the experts said start with Gratitude.

So on this Thanksgiving Holiday, when we are thinking about what we are grateful for between bites of turkey and football games, let's all take that first baby step in making the Law of Attraction work in our lives. Let's find some things to be grateful for. Write them down, say them out loud. This daily practice will raise your consciousness.