What Possibilities Exist That I Am Not Aware Of?

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when it's the only one you have.  - Emile Chartier


I have been contemplating this quote most of the day, going back and forth from thinking this statement is profound to thinking, "hey, I think my thoughts are pretty good, does this mean my thoughts stink?".  I breathe and let both of those thoughts pass and ask in meditation, when I am jogging, as I am doing the laundry, in the shower "what other thoughts could I have than the ones I currently think?"  or another way of asking is "what possibilities exist in my life that I am not aware of?"  At the end of September I am teaching a workshop on Visioning, the practice of asking life, asking God, Spirit, The Universe, what is it that is looking to expand as my life beyond what I currently know.  


This is a humbling practice, for in order to learn something we don't currently know, we must admit we don't know it all.  I don't know about everyone else, but I have a little voice that lives in my head called the Inner Critic, aka the Perfectionist.  And this voice knows everything and in no way shape or form likes to admit that it doesn't know something or know how to figure out the answer to life.  It takes a little time and some deep breathing but I can eventually get into a space where I fully embrace that I do not know it all, and open myself up to be shown possibility.  This is the practice of Visioning, opening ourselves up to infinite possibility.  However, this is not an intellectual exercise of brainstorming as many ideas as possible, rather this is a very intentional practice of listening to our heart's desires without editing.  We embrace possibilities that we are not aware of from a space and consciousness of love and allow these possibilities to imprint our thinking which we experience as thoughts, ideas, feelings, sensations, colors, numbers, specific direction in life and more.


Visioning is not something I just talk about it is something I engage in a few times a year.  Personally this fall I am committing to this practice for myself at least once a month.  I also wish to offer this practice to individuals and groups too, whether you wish to engage in the process for yourself in a private session, a group session or a larger class there are many options I am offering.  Contact me and lets get you engaged in this practice to see what possibilities exist in your life that you are not aware of.


Love, Light & Laughter,


Darrell Jones
darrelljonesspirit@gmail.com
773-450-3865

A state of being...

Food for thought came to me this week out of "Practicing the Presence" by Joel Goldsmith, "All through the ages, duality has separated us from our good, but it is a sense of duality, not duality, because there is no duality. The secret of life is oneness, and oneness is not something that we bring about. Oneness is a state of being."

What caught my attention was "...oneness is not something that we bring about. Oneness is a state of being." I immediately became aware of areas in my life where I am attempting to make oneness happen, where I attempting to make abundance, love, peace and freedom more apparent. If I need to make something happen then there is a part of my thought or belief that says, I am separate from it. If I need to make love come about then that means it is not already here...right? If I need to bring about oneness in my career, then it is not here then! Whoa, whoa, whoa, I tell myself and take a deep breath and reread the Joel Goldsmith passage. Afterwards I am reminded of a spiritual phrase that has been shared with me numerous times by many of my teachers "you are that which you seek".

Dangit! I've done it again. I am looking outside of myself for love, truth, reality, support and validation...shoot, I thought I was done with that! So once again I breath, and I am reminded to practice, sit in the stillness and cultivate the love, wisdom, truth, abundance and support within and move from that which I am into the world, drawing unto me that which I am. Vibrationally, energetically and consciously drawing into my experience a divine match of who I am, the Love, Wholeness, Peace & Joy of the divine.

We are mighty attractors, if we are attracting into our experience that which we do not desire, all we need do is shift our attention. Join me this week in giving yourself the gift of aligning with that which you desire for 5 minutes everyday in quiet, intentional meditation. This is not an exercise in figuring out how to be one with what you desire, this is an exercise of being one with your desires. See it in your minds eye, feel it in your emotions and body how it would be to be one with it. That is it, nothing else to do or make happen. Yes we still live our life and make decisions and choices, but as we continue to truly align with that which we desire, we begin to live our lives and make choices and decisions from a place of oneness as opposed to being separate and removed from our good. It may sound oversimplified but I am giving it a go, how about you?

Expect a Miracle?

This past July I spoke at the Bodhi Spiritual Center in Chicago on the importance of being aware of what we think, recognizing what thoughts we conform ourselves to. (click here for the YouTube Video) If we embrace the idea that our thoughts create our life, it is crucial that we constantly strive to remain aware of our internal dialogue. Henry Ford is attributed with the following quote: "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." The title of my talk at Bodhi was "Who's Right Anyway?", and the point I iterated like Henry Ford, is that you are always right. Remove all other people, rules, obligations, agreements etc from the picture and whatever you think is right. Whatever you think is what you think period...and what we think effects how we see, interact, love, share and grow in our very life! Just last night my attention was drawn to the word miracle, from drawing an oracle card (angel cards they are sometimes called). I pull these from time to time as food for thought, as guidance for my spiritual practice. The card I pulled read "Expect a Miracle". I immediately became aware of all the doubt thoughts that ran through my head, "yeah, right a miracle", "show me then I'll believe it", "miracles are magic." Intellectually and mentally I say I believe in everyday miracles, yet when I pulled this card, with no effort on my part, these thoughts jumped to the surface of my mind. So if whatever I think is right, then on some level I don't believe in miracles. How humbling the spiritual journey, to be made aware of that which doesn't serve us. If I truly desire to experience miracles in my life, then I must expect them to happen, however, I have been made aware that my thinking is contrary to that which I desire. What do I do now? I return to my spiritual practice of prayer, meditation and working with my spiritual counselors. I begin today, by simply meditating in the willingness to accept a miracle. "I am open and willing to accept a miracle" better than that, "I am open and willing to expect miracles!" What are or aren't you willing to expect and accept in your life, be really honest with yourself and you may be surprised like I was.

Sweet Freedom - Happy Fourth of July

"We have thought that outside things controlled us, when all the time we have had that within that could have changed everything and given us freedom from bondage." - Ernest Holmes

As I meditated this morning and did some reading I was drawn to this thought by Ernest Holmes. All the time I have had within that which could have changed everything and allowed myself freedom from bondage. It is easy to reflect on the past choices and decisions I could have made that would have been more beneficial or freeing, to see the truth in the above statement from Ernest Holmes. The real place of power is to know this today, that I, that we have the power, wisdom, creativity and ability to change everything from within and free ourselves from whatever bondage may be present in our lives.

Affirmation: Today I recommit to my freedom, allowing the practice of prayer and meditation to open my mind, heart and soul to a greater understanding of that which impedes my freedom and that which fosters my freedom. I am free and empowered to create a life that is abundantly expanding all of my heart's desires!

Appreciation, Gratitude & Thanksgiving

So this month at the Center for Spiritual Living we are focusing on appreciation, and reading Spiritual Liberation by Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith. Here is a quote from the book that is really speaking to me right now. It is kinda long but worth the read. Thoughts anyone

EVOLVED PEOPLE GIVE THANKS FOR WHAT MOST PEOPLE ORDINARILY TAKE FOR GRANTED
Evolved people give thanks for life, for the intelligence within the body temple, within nature, for what most people don’t even notice as they navigate through their day. Gratitude is an expression of humility, a recognition that even before we ask, good has been given to us.
Gratitude also includes respect for what the ego would call “bad news,” the challenging circumstances that come into our life to wake us up. Individuals who are unaware of the sacredness of all expressions of existence live their lives against a backdrop of complaining, self-pity, and excuses. They are busy directing their energy toward changing the things and people around them, rather then themselves.
About two years ago, in one of Agape’s University of Transformational Studies and Leadership (UTSLA) classes, I invited students to present any requests they had for prayer. Donna, who was suffering from kidney disease, stepped forward and asked that we pray for her to be move up on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. The class responded enthusiastically to praying for her, but both they and Donna were puzzled when I suggested that perhaps we could take a slightly different approach. “Why don’t we work to heal the kidneys you already have, Donna?” I asked. She responded that I didn’t understand her particular type of kidney disease, advising us that it was so rare that seldom, if ever, was it healed. She asked that we stick to praying for her original request of being moved up on the transplant list.
At this juncture, a story Alan Watts tells about how he was learning to “wait” and use “in between” moments of meditation popped into my mind. So I again suggested to Donna and the class that while we were “waiting” for her to be moved up on the transplant list, we experiment in the laboratory of prayer and see what we could do about her existing kidneys. Donna breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Okay.”
I then asked the class, “How many of you woke up this morning and gave thanks for the perfect functioning of your kidneys?” As an assignment, I asked the students to give thanks every time they went to the bathroom and to simultaneously offer a prayer for Donna’s kidneys. We called it the PP prayer – praying while peeing. (Prayer is not reserved just for a certain room in the house, church, temple, mosque or synagogue. Bathrooms are great for prayer.) I invited Donna to give thanks for her life and all of the ways in which her body temple serves her. I also gave her a daily reading assignment in The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes, which specifically addresses the healing of kidneys.
I had no knowledge about whether or not Donna applied the principle of gratitude or how the reading materials resonated with her, but a few months later she tearfully informed me that her kidneys spontaneously began normal functioning. Her healing befuddled the same doctors who had earlier prescribed a transplant as her only hope for survival. Today, two years later, Donna’s kidneys are still normal, and she continues to be grateful for things most people take for granted. As Meister Eckhart, the Dominican monk and mystic observed, “A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.” Gratitude is powerful, leading Eckhart to also say, “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” Evolved people are grateful.

Working my Consciousness

Greetings all of you from my 4Ts class and anyone else that may stumble upon this. So I had some words feed me this morning and I thought I would share. Please comment, lets get this prosperity discussion started ya'll!

from Thomas Troward, Edinburgh/Dore Lectures, page 137
"My mind is a center of Divine operation. The Divine operation is always for expansion and fuller expression, and this means the production of something beyond what has gone before, something entirely new, not included in past experience, though proceeding out of it by an orderly sequence of growth. Therefore, since the Divine cannot change Its inherent nature, it must operate in the same manner in me; consequently in my own special world, of which I am the center, it will move forward to produce new conditions, always in advance of any that have gone before."

This is from part of the 1st year practitioner training manual.
"When we are living our life in harmony with constructive Spiritual Principles it flows with ease. Our consciousness resonates with Divine Consciousness. We are open for the fullness of God's gift of Life, and it flows through us producing a joyous experience of life. When there is something dominating our consciousness that is denying, violating, or inverting some Spiritual Principle, we are faced with all manner of unpleasant conditions. Disorder, disease, lack and limitation are inevitable results of living with beliefs that oppose the spiritual truth of our being. These conditions are a message that something must be changed in our consciousness and , once changed, will result in a healing in our experience...Ernest Holmes stated again and again that we are dealing with subjective patters of thought. These patterns of thought need to be redirected in order to achieve positive results. We do not have to pinpoint a specific mental cause, and certainly do not need to pinpoint a specific psychological cause, but rather seek to uncover and neutralize general patterns of thinking which do not serve us."

Deeply I breathe and hold myself in Love.

Think Globally, Act Locally, Listen Closely

I love this phrase or slogan, but I added the phrase Listen Closely (Thanks Joanna!) I have loved this phrase for decades as the environment has continued to be a growing concern. But not only do I try as much as possible to hold this phrase in my mind as I purchase items and make choices in my life regarding the environment and the products I use, but I think there is also a deep spiritual and practical lesson here. My goal and intention is to think about this world, this country, my larger community but also to look at where I have the power of responsibility. I have the responsibility for the choices and decisions of my life but as I make those decisions I can consider my greater community, my country, my world..our world. But then I must also listen, listen to what goes on internally in my mind, heart and soul and the world around me. Listening for the matching "yes" within myself and outside of myself. If there is a mismatch, I choose again, and again listen, learn and grow. My desire is that we do this individually but also collectively, making choices for our good and the greater good, but from a place of deep consideration and stillness and not reacting and overreacting from flared emotion. Don't know if this makes sense, but it is where I am today, right now. There is a challenge ahead of us all in the upcoming days, weeks, months and maybe years, but what I know is that this too shall pass, and we will come out on the other side, different, but better. All is well, all is good...all is! Love to all!