Gratitude, making peace, getting present and welcoming vision

January 2, 2018

I am enough.  I appreciate who I am.

Today was my first day back to work and to “regular life” time after a week off.  Today is a day of gratitude.  Still basking in the transition of the year past and all that awaits, I am grateful, grateful for all of it the good, bad, the ugly, the know the unknown and uncertain.  I was reminded of one of my personal favorite and most inspirational quotes on gratitude written by Melody Beattie:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Looking on the last year, I let gratitude release any shame, blame or self doubt and realize all that I learned from life challenges.  Today I let gratitude for simply being present to the now moment bring peace to the choice and possibility available to me…now.  I let gratitude release and sooth any doubts, worries or concerns of tomorrow as to how things will come to pass and relish in the vision of possibility that awaits.

Until tomorrow.

Love, Light & Laughter,

Darrell

I am enough. I appreciate who I am.

January 1, 2018

My intention for this year is Possibility.  I have come into the awareness the last few months of 2017 how much I don't live in the land of possibility.  I am not so much a pessimist with no faith in life, but I have come to see how much of my internal dialogue for and about myself comes from a place of not thinking I am enough.  You may or may not resonate with that internal chatter, but let me tell you living and choosing from an internal belief of not being enough is painful.  I realize how many decisions I have made from that place and it just makes me a bit sad.  I am someone who coaches others on their spiritual path and here I still have this huge, sometimes looming personality challenge of "not enough-ness".  But this challenge isn't necessarily something that ends, its just part of my journey and if I relate to it consciously it can be a catalyst for amazing growth and opportunity.  That is what I declare on this first day of 2018!

This year, enough is enough....no really enough IS enough, it has to be.  Whatever is here for me, you, all of us, is all that can be in this moment and it has to be enough.  If I continue to work, eat, choose and love et cetera from now not being enough then I am not being present and that is all I want to be....present.  In the present moment IS where possibility lives and to stay in the present moment...it has to be enough...I have to be enough.

My  affirmation/mantra personal boot strap puller-upper phrase this year is "I am enough.  I appreciate who I am."

The first decision of this year from this place is re-engaging my daily meditation & prayer practice along side doing the Whole30.  If you haven't heard of the Whole30 read this.  It is basically an elimination diet that can reset or reboot your system, eating habits and health.  What better time to do that than at the beginning of the year.  My wife Dr. Cari Jacobson and I are starting this journey together tomorrow and will be recording and sharing our journey along the way.

I am enough to try something completely new to better my health. 

You are enough to do whatever you need to do this year to have the life you want.

What will it be for you?  Whatever it is, lets support one another.  I am using this blog as accountability support, but hope it is inspiring to you as well.

Happy New Year!

Love, Light & Laughter,

Rev. D

Returning the thank you

September 9 Affirmation - My heart is filled with gratitude, knowing there is always more coming my way.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more." ~Melody Beattie

"Life has enough of everything to spare." ~Ernest Holmes

Rev. Norm wrote "The fact is, it doesn't make any difference to God whether you give thanks or not, but it makes a lot of difference to you...gratitude is not for God. Giving thanks is an important state of your consciousness that keeps you in an awareness of oneness with the divine flow. The grateful heart actually opens the way to the flow and becomes an attractive force to draw even greater things to itself."

This morning I sat for 10 minutes in the quiet, and simply started scrolling through my mind of all the things I am grateful for. I found myself land on the "easy" gratitudes, my parents, my fiancée, the food in my fridge, my job, my co-workers, those I manage and support with my work, friends, teachers, leaders et cetera...and then I found myself turning to the areas, people and organizations that I find personally challenging...I didn't necessarily know why or what I was grateful for initially, but I just kept going. "I am grateful for XXX, I am grateful for YYY" and things softened inside me. I didn't hold them so tightly, I didn't hold myself so tightly. I actually in that loosening and space received some guidance from within on some words I could share to foster connection again with a colleague where there has been some challenge. Gratitude as Melody Beattie wrote, unlocks the fullness of life. Even in the midst of an area of challenge for me, in the process of saying thank you and I am grateful, something opened up.

Let us follow the words of Meister Eckhart (a medieval monk) today. "If the only prayer you say in your entire life (today) is thank you, it will be enough."

Let us thank ALL of life today and open ourselves to a life that thrives!

21 Day - No Complaining Challenge

March 23rd I started a 21 day - No Complaining Challenge and invited a few folks to join in. Well over 50 people have said yes to this challenge and there were lots of questions of what this challenge is all about, what constitutes complaining and what doesn't and how will we hold ourselves accountable. At its most basic level this is a practice for you. And the invitation is the catalyst for accountability. I will post things daily, thoughts on complaining and offers some practices to be in relationship with complaining. I have also set up an accountability call in series, 3 calls over the 21 days. I am making this a part of my evolving ministry so I am asking you to pay $21 for for these 3 calls of support, learning and growth. You can register here.
https://squareup.com/market/darrell-jones-spiritual-counseling/day-no-complaining-challenge
If you choose not to do the calls that is fine too, return to this event everyday for some words of support.
Love to you!
The calls will be:
Sunday March 29th 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. 
Saturday April 4th 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. 
Sunday, April 12th 7:30 - 8:00 pm, all CST times

2014 Postings - Download Different #Meditations from 2014

Wednesday Evening Connections, December 3, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, November 26, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, November 19, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, November 12, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, November 5, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, October 29, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, October 22, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, October 15, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, October 8, 2014
Click here for the recording

Sunday Morning Service Talk, Bodhi Spiritual Center, October 5, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, October 1, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, September 24, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, September 17, 2014
Click here for the recording

Sunday Morning Service Talk, Unity in Naperville, September 14, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, September 10, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, September 3, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, August 27, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, August 20, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, August 13, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, August 6, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, July 30, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, July 23, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, July 16, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, July 9, 2014
Click here for the recording

Wednesday Evening Connections, July 2, 2014
Click here for the recording

Community Prayer Call June 26, 2014
Click here for prayer

Saturday Morning Wake Up Call, June 21, 2014
Click here to download the meditation

Community Prayer Call June 19, 2014
Click here for prayer

Saturday Morning Wake Up Call
Click here to download and meditate!

Talk given May 18, 2014 @ Abundant Life Spiritual Center
Awakening the Wisdom of God in You! Activating your spiritual tools.

Sunday Evening Meditation & Sharing April 27, 2014
Click here to download April 27th.

Meditate your weekend off right!  April 19, 2014
Click here to download and listen!

Here is a recent talk from March 2014 @ Abundant Life Spiritual  in Deerfield, IL
Click the link below
Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing

Day 31 - December Meditations - Vision

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. ~Proverbs 29:18, Hebrew Scriptures

Affirmation: Today I keep my highest vision, my highest possibility fresh before me.  I welcome its guidance into possibilities beyond my knowing.

What is your highest vision for 2015?  What must you embrace and release to support it?  Are there any specific actions to take right now?

Explore the answer to these questions in todays meditation.  Download it here!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.

Despite the dullness and barrenness of the days that pass, if I search with due diligence, I can always find a deposit left by some former radiance. But I had forgotten. At the time it was full-orbed, glorious, and resplendent. I was sure that I would never forget. In the moment of its fullness, I was sure that it would illumine my path for all the rest of my journey. I had forgotten how easy it is to forget.

There was no intent to betray what seemed so sure at the time. My response was whole, clean, authentic. But little by little, there crept into my life the dust and grit of the journey. Details, lower-level demands, all kinds of cross currents -- nothing momentous, nothing overwhelming, nothing flagrant -- just wear and tear. If there had been some direct challenge --a clear-cut issue -- I would have fought it to the end, and beyond.

In the quietness of this place, surrounded by the all-pervading Presence of God, my heart whispers: Keep fresh before me the moments of my High Resolve, that in fair weather or in foul, in good times or in tempests, in the days when the darkness and the foe are nameless or familiar, I may not forget that to which my life is committed.

Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.
 

For The Inward Journey
by Howard Thurman 

Day 30 - December Meditations - Becoming

"Through Life Visioning, we become the living condition through which divine ideas express themselves...These ideas can be anything from solutions to problems to a new business model to direction in your spiritual development." ~ Michael Bernard Beckwith

Affirmation:  My vision pulls me into my becoming.  

I live to expand and become everyday!

Contrary to what most of society tells us, we are not here to perform and produce.  Of course it is necessary for us to perform...perform tasks, duties and skills...and often times to be a contributing member to our friends, family and work systems, we must be productive and produce and contribute to the whole.  Performing and producing can pull us away from our underlying purpose and becoming though if that is all that we focus on.  In consciousness work and spiritual practice, the question is less about "what" and more about "who".  Who are we becoming today, tomorrow and the next?  The what actually can be quite easy, the whats of our lives reveal everyday as things are needed and required, but who are we becoming in the midst of the details of our lives.  

This is what we focus on today in our meditation.  Join me in listening for the answer to the question "Who are we here to become in 2015?"

December 29 - December Meditations - Vision

"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision." ~ Dalai Lama

This morning contemplating the end of the year and what hopes, dreams & vision I have for myself next year, I realized I need to sift through some other things to get to the heart of the matter.  There are a lot of things I think I "SHOULD" do next year, and those things aren't bad, however, "shoulds" often carry with them some baggage and condemning energy.  I am interested in what is deeper than the shoulds.  

An example, "In 2015 I should lose 30 pounds."  Losing 30 pounds would be great for me, however in stead of of bringing "shoulding" energy (which often has lots of shame attached to it), what if the phrase or vision deeper than I should lose 30 pounds was..."2015 is a year of freedom and health in my body.  I celebrate exercise, dancing and flexibility in my body."  That actually gets me excited and ignites something within me to move towards that intention.

A visioning statement or phrase, ideally excites us.  We may not know how to bring everything to pass, however, stating the statement can activate possibility.

Lets start tapping into the vision for our lives in 2015.  Join me for a few minutes of visioning.  

Download today's visioning #meditation here.

Affirmation:  The vision for my life, opens my heart, mind and choosing to new possibilities...today! 

Day 28 - December Meditations - Meaning

What shall our lives mean?

Today I am giving a talk on the meaning we give to our lives or more importantly the meaning we bring to our living.  This is not a singular one time answer, rather something we must listen for and practice on a daily basis.

Download this meditation and move into the stillness listening for the answers to the question...What shall our lives mean?

Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it. ~ Ernest Holmes

Affirmation:  I give my life meaning.  

I choose from the meaning I give my life.  

My life is a reflection of my powerful choice.

Day 27 - December Meditations - Stillness

Yesterday, I found myself simply over stimulated.  I went to see a movie, walked around in a store and just found the need to tap into some inner tranquility in the midst of my day.  This morning I welcome a simple practice of becoming still in our meditation.  

Download this morning's meditation here as we ponder the quotes below in the stillness.

As spiritual searchers we need to become freer and freer of the attachment to our own smallness in which we get occupied with me-me-me. Pondering on large ideas or standing in front of things which remind us of a vast scale can free us from acquisitiveness and competitiveness and from our likes and dislikes. If we sit with an increasing stillness of the body, and attune our mind to the sky or to the ocean or to the myriad stars at night, or any other indicators of vastness, the mind gradually stills and the heart is filled with quiet joy. ~Ravi Ravindra

"Be still.  Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity” ~Lao Tzu

“The inner is foundation of the outer

The still is master of the restless

The Sage travels all day

yet never leaves his inner treasure”  ~Lao Tzu

“Being still does not mean don't move. It means move in peace.”  E'yen A. Gardner

Affirmation:  I welcome stillness in the midst of my living.

Day 20 - December Meditations - Allowing

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are." ~Malcom S. Forbes

What if you actually allowed yourself to be you today?  Valuing and allowing more time, energy and attention to land on who you are as opposed to what you are not."

Join me today in meditating and affirming your "enoughness".  

Download the meditation here.

Affirmation:  I value who I am today and let that be enough.

Day 17 - December Meditations - Perfection & Imperfection

"If you look closely at a tree you'll notice it's knots and dead branches, just like our bodies.  What we learn is beauty and imperfection go together wonderfully." ~Matthew Fox

For a good chunk of my childhood into my early adult years, perfection was a killer of joy, spontaneity and creativity in my life.  In fact this is something I struggle with weekly if not daily.  There is, I dare say, a crazy notion that our world embraces and celebrates that in order for something to be "so" or really legit, it has to be perfect, and if it is not, then it is some sort of less than throw away.  This may seem a big dark or harsh, but think of a time where you have wanted to discard yourself from something, a project, relationship, a diet, a work-out plan...whatever, you either stopped or wanted to stop because something in you or your creation wasn't perfect.

Perfection is actually like heaven.  It is always available, but it is not a static state, rather it is a subjective state of mind or consciousness that is cultivated and not something that magically descends upon our living.  Perfection is something we partner with in any given moment.

Partner with me in a meditation on perfection by downloading this 12 minute meditations.

Affirmation:  I embrace the inherent perfection of my life.  It is perfectly imperfect!

Day 16 - December Meditations - Living our Intentions

I was drawn to a quote this morning that really stopped me in my tracks and made me think.

"We either live with intention or exist by default." ~ Kristin Armstrong

Download this meditation to tap into your meditation today.  Live by it and return and remember it again, and again, and again, and again, and again...and, and, and.....

Affirmation:  Today I practice the power of returning to my intentions again and again.

And so it is!

Day 15 - December Meditations - Honesty Unlocks Wisdom

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." 

~Thomas Jefferson

I often describe the work I am here to do on this planet as awakening wisdom.  However, I can't magically make anyone awaken to anything.  All I do is invite the awakening through spiritual practice and mindfulness.  To awaken to the wisdom of the universe written in our hearts and minds we must read the first chapter of honesty.  Although it may be a slow, challenging read, once we have read that chapter in our book of life, the rest of the stories and the wisdom contained within are much more accessible.  Join me in a brief 10 minute meditation of honest to unlock the wisdom within.  Download it here and anchor this affirmation with me:

Affirmation:  I open the book of my life today an see what is and isn't true.  All the wisdom I seek is already within.

Day 13 - December Meditations - Where shall we rest?

"Our hearts are restless until they rest in the Thee, O Lord." - St. Augustine

What shall I rest in God?  What shall I rest in Universal Truth?  What shall I rest or give over to the law of fulfillment and possibility?......EVERYTHING!  I am always amazed to find another aspect of my life or challenge that I think I have to figure out on my own.  There is a law or tendency in the universe to co-create or partner with us in everything, but it can't force us to partner with it, to rest in it.  Lets just see what it would fee like to rest all of our problems, even if just a few minutes, in the loving, nurturing support of the law of fulfillment.  Join me here for meditation.

Affirmation:  I rest today in the ever expanding possibility of life.  I know all things are possible.

Day 11 - December Meditations - Remembering our loving nature

Love is so often said to be a verb and not a noun.  However, how often do we try to understand love as opposed to engaging in love or practicing love.  Today let us not attempt to understand how we can love someone who challenges us or attempt to figure out how we can love that aspect of ourselves that drives us crazy.  Rather, let us simply affirm our love for ourselves or another simply because we love as opposed to loving because of something.

Affirmation:  I am a loving being.  My nature is to love.  Today I remember my true nature.

"Tell me and I forget, teach me an I may remember, involve me an I learn." ~Benjamin Franklin

Involve yourself in loving right now, download todays meditation on love here.

Day 8 - December Meditations - Expecting our desires to manifest

"The one who can control his thinking is he to whom time and place makes no difference." 

~ Ernest Holmes

The outcome of our lives follow our expectancy.  We may not know all the details of how all things will come to pass, but in any given moment we can become aware of our attention.  In all moments let us commit to bringing our attention back to the expectancy and possibility of our lives regardless of the route.  Download today's meditation here and affirm today's affirmation with me.

Affirmation:  Today I affirm that the sum total of my thoughts land on my good.  I expect my desires shall tome to pass.

Day 7 - December Meditations - Shine your light!

"Each one of us is an outlet to God and an inlet to God." - E. Holmes

You are the light this world needs.  Don't ever stop remembering that!  Whatever the world may say about you or to you....heck, whatever you may say to yourself, don't ever stop remembering you are the light this world needs!

We come together in our living and today to remember this truth. 

Click here to download today's free meditation.

Affirmation:  All that I am is right for this moment.  I allow myself to be enough today and know I will be enough tomorrow.

Day 6 - December Meditations - Moving from the invisible to the visible...

Ernest Holmes wrote, "All manifestation of life is from an invisible to a visible plane, through a silent, effortless process of spiritual realization."  Embracing this statement then...Let life stir from within us.  Although life around us at work, home, in the country and world will continue to stir around us, let us connect to and welcome the invisible power within each of us to be the real cause of our good.  Let us let the world off the hook today and embrace our responsibility to make ourselves available to the loving power of life that simply seeks to move through us and out into the world.  Join me in today's meditation and practice of acknowledging the invisible power that stirs within seeking to move through you and out into the world.

Affirmation:  I am a unique space where the power of the universe becomes manifest.  Today the divine effortlessly expresses as my living.

Day 5 - December Meditations - What limits your life?

"Never limit your view of life by any experience." - Ernest Holmes

These words of Ernest Holmes really inspired me this morning.  It caused me to pause and take a sobering look at where I view my life as limited and stifled and fess up to myself.  The only reason it IS that way really, is do to my belief and acceptance that limitation in that area of my life is true.  I may not know how things will change, but if I am not willing to entertain something different in my heart, mind, body and soul, I doubt I will be ready and available whenever a path, choice or opportunity comes along to shift things.

Are we willing to risk even the thought that our life could be something different?  The biggest challenge to new possibilities and expanded living in our future, is acceptance of our past experiences as the way things are.  Take this present moment today to expand the belief in your heart, that the experience of your life can stretch beyond your present view.  Join me in a brief meditation, welcoming and blessing the possibility known as your life!  Click here for the recording.

Affirmation:  My life and my living is an access point for something fresh today.  I am living possibility!