Kathianne's Blog

I want to share this poem by our long distance member, Miriam because it gives a sampling of our experiences.

Egypt, We Love You


We came to Egypt trusting Spirit, not knowing what we’d find,
And 10 days later, all we’ve done and learned has truly blown our mind!
We saw the pyramids at dawn and felt the power of the Sphinx,
And saw the distance between ancient peoples and us is a matter of a few short links.
We worshipped in sacred spaces, giving thanks for all around,
And realized that everywhere we step is truly holy ground.
On the boat and at markets, we bargained for rugs and alabaster,
And Shobana and Sharon proved that at this, they are the master!
Lyndon walked like an Egyptian at each location that he could,
And we all became a community, and we all pronounced it good.
Sean and Scarlett kissed beneath the statues, the temples witnessing their love,
While Fathi pointed out the loving arms of Nut on temple ceilings up above.
Emil had us feel the power of the magical spots where we now walked,
And our hearts opened up and softened, and hard places became unblocked.
Kathianne was Cleopatra, and Tonia rocked the belly dance,
And George became 10 years younger, and with Heida felt new romance!
Akram and Kellie kept everything well-organized and in sync—
To manage such a crazy bunch is harder than you think!
Mohamed’s wise and gentle presence let us know that all was well,
So that when we got back to the States, we’d all have fabulous stories to tell.
Egypt is in our minds and hearts, and in our luggage, too!
What we know is that we’ll always love Egypt—our treasure, old and new.

– Miriam Rich
January 25, 2012
 

At this time many of us are grieving the loss of a great friend and teacher, Rev. Jackie Allen. She was and still is a Great Light. Her love of God, her family and friends as well as this Spiritual Community has always inspired me.

I will miss her deeply and know her Life in God goes on.

After my recent blog about the interesting times we live in and CSL seeing a $400,000 shortfall in the 2012 budget, offers of increased pledge amounts have been rolling in. This is indeed very gratifying. Here's an example of an email I received:

"I saw on CSL's website that we appear to be short $400,000 for next year's budget. My husband and I talked it over and want to increase our pledge by $1,000 for next year. So, instead of pledging $4,000 we are pledging $5,000. We both feel strongly about supporting CSL and believe that we vote for what we want in this world through our dollars. So, we wanted you to know that we vote for CSL and will be sending love and prayers for a prosperous and abundant new year, full of expansion and celebration."

This kind of response shows we are waking up to the importance of spiritual nourishment, and specifically CSL, in our lives. Thank you God!

These are “interesting” times for many non-profits. Giving is down in many wonderful organizations that provide a multitude of services throughout the Puget Sound area. At the same time, food banks and homeless shelters are stretched to the max to continue to provide resources for people who need them. CSL is facing a similar challenge. Many people in our congregation are without work or are worried they will lose the jobs they have. These “interesting times” have translated into a drop of $400,000 in pledges for 2012. This will make balancing our budget even more interesting.

Prayers for wisdom, discernment, and large amounts of financial support are greatly appreciated.

Recently I was on the Bill Radke Treatment on KIRO FM discussing "Making Religion Relevant." Below is a link to the podcast. Please listen to this and if you like it, share it with your friends. Thank you to Lisa Craze for sending me the link!

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=577&a=36555&p=50&n=Bill+Radke+Treatment

After a little over a week in Peru in the high Andes, I'm more grateful than ever to live where I live. Yes, our country has its problems and yes, I really wish government leaders would call me and ask my advice but I still feel fortunate to be an American.

I am on my way home from Peru and I can't wait to see everyone on Sunday. I am so excited about the possibilities for us as a spiritual community! See you soon!

Everyone on the sacred journey to Peru is doing great and having mystical experiences. It's summertime in the high Andes. It is great to be here!

19 of us are off to the high Andes for a Sacred Retreat in the Inca's Sacred Valley. We will also visit Machu Picchu. I'll write in as often as possible and share my adventures on this blog and my Facebook page.
Think High Thoughts!

Today while driving, I was struck with the phrase out of the Bible concerning a New Heaven and a New Earth. If we could interpret Heaven as a beautiful state of mind and we believe that as we change our own mind we change our conditions, then we can see why a new experience of Heaven will bring about a new experience of Earth (or our conditions). Thus we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and all else is added to us.

The more I practice my “New Thought” religion, the more all the ancient wisdom teachings make sense.

I love working with the tide of Consciousness rather than working against it. With all the talk of 2012 being a pivotal year in history, it seems to me that this thought wave might be a good one to catch. The myth around 2012 is that old systems are breaking down and new ones are being established. We can work with this wave of Consciousness by staying conscious of what around us wants to fall away, and what around us wants to rise up. 2012 (or any time, for that matter) is about becoming more aware of what wants to go on in our hearts, and in the world, and consciously participating in it.

As the Borg and Jesus would say, “Resistance is futile”.

I've changed!  I'm not sure when it happened but I've changed, and it took the death of an "evil dictator" to realize it.

Finding out about the capture and execution of Muammar Gaddafi last week filled me with sadness, not glee.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sympathetic to his regime or manner of leadership.  Quite the opposite.  However, I found myself filled with sadness that there are still people on Earth that are so self-interested and self-centered that they can't care for the people they supposedly lead.

I feel sad for people who hate, and can only love their small circle of family and supporters.  It must be Hell on Earth.

"Suffering is caused by a resistance to change" - paraphrased from Judge Thomas Troward.

And oh the world is changing!  So, how do we avoid the suffering these changes can produce?  Well, my simple answer is to spend dedicated time and attention on the center of our being that doesn't get rocked by the shifts and changes in world situations.  This can seem difficult at first, and may take practice, practice, practice.  That is why the Center for Spiritual Living is here; to help us all practice remembering our eternal center is God.

The world needs this teaching right now.  Thank you for your support.

I believe a spiritual community is like a net. It's made up of lots of threads woven together to keep people from falling too far. The threads are the people in the community. And although we all fall down at times, the net keeps us from hurting as much as we might if we felt all alone.

I've noticed our community sharing meals together, planning vacation trips so anyone could meet up in some fun place like Disney World, praying for each other, giving rides and delivering meals to the house bound, supporting friends through grief, attending doctors' appointments with those anxious about what they might hear, painting homes and teaming up with others to make a difference in the world. This is a great community and its members make it so.

Last week over 50 people attended two different weekend retreats at Rainbow Lodge in North Bend. The two groups were the students of this year's Inward Journey class and the students of the Professional Prayer Practitioner class. It was wonderful to be in the presence of those who hunger and thirst after "righteousness" (or right thinking) for they shall be filled. I felt filled up as well.

There is a Buddhist saying that goes like this: "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."

That's sort of how I feel about working at a church. We have all the day-to-day routines to do, and then, a big event. But after the big event (like our 90-year anniversary celebration), it's back to the day-to-day activities that don't seem to pause just because I'd like them to. Sigh!

Wow! What a night! Last night's 90th Anniversary Celebration was way beyond my wildest expectations. Maybe that's why Spirit led me to stay out of it. Over-involvement is more of a curse than a blessing at times.

I think I've figured Heaven out. Last week's hot, sunny weather has made me forget all about the rainy, gray spring and summer we had this year. I've heard that women forget about labor as soon as their wonderful new baby is is in their arms (please excuse this example if that wasn't your experience). I know I forgot all about the loneliness of being single when I met Tim.

Why use these examples? Because I believe Heaven is when we are so filled with the presence of God or Goodness that all connection with past pain is eliminated. And the Good News is we don't have to die to go to Heaven. Heaven is a state of consciousness that results from our conscious connection with the Universe (or God).

How do we acquire that consciousness? Spiritual Practice! That's what we teach; that's what we encourage everyone to practice.

Here's to Heaven!

Nine Eleven! These numbers have a sobering effect on me even now. Do you remember where you were when what seemed like the impossible was happening? I was in my bedroom getting ready for work when I did a very unusual thing. I turned on the TV. Before me, played over and over, was the tumbling of the Twin Towers in New York. I was stunned. Like an animal looking into headlights I couldn't move or look away. All I could think of was, "Can this really be happening?" And "WE are being attacked?!"

Thank God a call from our general manager at the time brought me back to my senses and asked if we should open up the church for people to come and pray. Yes! Of course! Prayer! That day and the next people filed in and out of the sanctuary just to sit in silence to commune with their God.

This year, ten years later, we will honor the happenings of 9/11 once again with prayer. On that Sunday we will conduct a prayer service where all of us can collectively create an atmosphere of healing, peace and love. This I believe will be a fitting way to honor those who lost their lives or loved ones ten years ago.

I love reading the magazine "Spirituality & Health." In the most recent issue, I read about studies that revealed: 1) After only 7 hours of meditative practice, EEG's reveal increased activity in the brain. This is the region of the brain responsible for the ability to experience unitive consciousness as well as more positive moods. 2) Teens that read more books are less likely to have depressive disorders than their peers. 3) An apple a day can decrease LDL or "bad" cholesterol and increase HDL or "good" cholesterol.

I believe Ernest Holmes would love that magazine.