I’m sure you’ve all been there before. You find yourself in shock and near panic at the sudden, startling discovery that you’ve:
Overslept;
Lost all track of time;
Forgotten about an important appointment, meeting, or class; or,
All of the above.
Wide-eyed, with your heart racing madly and pounding its way through your chest, you dig through your pockets, purse, or backpack for a watch, phone, or sundial—anything to tell you how fast you’ll have to go to get where you’re supposed to be or how profusely you’ll have to apologize once you finally do get there. Unable to find a timepiece nearby, you dash away to find the nearest clock and scramble for a plausible excuse…
But wait!
This isn’t one of those times! You’re right here, reading these words. Your hair probably isn’t on fire. The sky most likely isn’t falling around you. And you apparently have nothing more important you need to be doing right this minute, or you wouldn’t be here. Right? So just relax.
What time is it?
Eh, who cares?
The time is NOW. Stop. Close your eyes and breathe. Fully embrace who and what you are in this remarkable and magnificent moment. Just like you, this moment is unique. It’s special. It will never be repeated again. So for this briefest moment in time, give yourself a mental “hug” and just be.
Now smile.
Why?
Because you’re appreciated and loved, that’s why!
Oh, and feel free to repeat as needed. Any time…any time at all!
I like to think of those brilliant and surprising patches of color in the sky as “stealth” rainbows.
I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a sky watcher at heart (and a “Stargazer” as my pen name suggests). As such, throughout my day I frequently catch my thoughts—and attention drifting skyward. Before I know it, I find myself admiring the lazy circles of a hawk in flight, billowing cloud castles, or the golden rays of sunshine streaking through the firmament.
My wife apparently knows this quite well, for several weeks ago I was supposed to meet her for an appointment after work. The sky was absolutely gorgeous as I left—and I was so captivated by the shifting light and clouds that I completely forgot I was supposed to be somewhere. I drove up to a nearby park to shoot some photos and wasn’t reminded of my prior obligation until my phone “blew up” with text messages wondering where I had gone. When I finally arrived, quite late for the meeting and profuse with apologies, my wife lightheartedly accused me of “chasing rainbows and moonbeams”. I’m very grateful that she and our tax preparer have such a forgiving nature—and a cheerful sense of humor!
It’s strange, but I have been noticing a lot of rainbows lately—and not the usual kinds, either. I certainly expect to see these brilliant arcs of color on rainy days or in some settings, such as Hawai’i, where water and light frolic among the clouds and waterfalls. But in the relatively dry climate where I live, rainbows are a typically rare occurrence. In the past few months however, I’ve been seeing what I like to think of as “stealth” rainbows—and I don’t recall seeing these much, if at all, before. I’ll be going about, ostensibly minding my own business, and I’ll suddenly glance up to see a brilliant patch of shimmering color all by itself in the sky! Sometimes they’re subtle, but other times the colors just seem to jump out at me from nowhere—like the ones in the accompanying photo. I was actually on my way to work one morning when I saw this amazing streak of color. I was so impressed I just had to pull over, grab my camera, and snap its picture.
Since then it seems, I’ve seen dozens of these sneaky little critters. I’ve seen them in the morning, in the afternoon, at sunset—and sometimes even at night, when they seem to shimmer and dance around a full moon. No matter where or when I see them, they’re all breathtakingly beautiful. Personally, I love the whimsical idea that rainbows are sylphs, or nymph-like, living beings that inhabit the Earth’s atmosphere.
Each time I see one, I’m reminded of the story of Noah’s Ark, in which God is said to have created the rainbow as a sign of His covenant with all living creatures. At that time, so the story goes, He promised that He would never again destroy the Earth by flood. Even though I no longer believe in the angry, vengeful God of the Old Testament, I do recognize the rainbow as a rare and wonderful gift of Nature and All That Is. Rainbows are presents of light and color, where each wonderful hue is individually represented and expressed—yet all blend together to form one brilliant masterpiece. I see rainbows as signs, symbols, and reminders of the loving bridge that connects us all with one another and with Source. It reminds me that we are eternally One in essence and in spirit.
About the same time I began seeing these wonderful signs, I was delighted to learn that many others were witnessing them too. Rather synchronistically, several photos of some truly spectacular, rainbow-hued ice halos cropped up on the Internet. One such scene in Red River, New Mexico, was described as having a total of eight different types of atmospheric phenomena present. Any one of these was, in and of itself, acknowledged by experts as being quite rare. How is it then, that eight could be present, all in the same place and at the same time? The odds of that happening must have been astronomical! I just can’t allow myself to believe that these magnificent, even magical occurrences can be simply explained away as random, pragmatic events. To me, they are all harbingers of a bright and brilliant new time, one in which such glorious beauty will become customary—and it is therefore all the more appreciated.
So the next time you see a rainbow, whether it may be “stealth” or otherwise, why not take a moment to pause and admire its beauty? You might find it more than a bit comforting to consider it, as I do, a gentle reminder that Our Creator loves us all—deeply and unconditionally. Period.
Are Forgiveness and Unconditional Love the keys to Spiritual Freedom?
Several months ago I wrote about Forgiveness as a helpful practice for day-to-day living. Since then, I’ve done a lot of thinking about Spiritual Evolution—and I’ve come to think of Forgiveness in a much more expansive way. As a result of this deeper consideration, I’ve become convinced that Forgiveness is actually one of the most important keys to Spiritual Freedom.
To help understand why Forgiveness is such an important concept, one must first gain a general understanding of “karma” (as derived from ancient Hindu and Buddhist traditions). The idea of karma (also referred to by some as the Universal Law of Cause and Effect) is that the sum of a person’s actions decides the nature of their destiny and future experience. I sometimes think of karma as energy, but perhaps money may be something that’s easier to visualize.
So let’s imagine that we all go through life accumulating karma in the form of money. For every kind, loving, or compassionate thing we do, we receive a dollar that goes into our karmic “bank account”. For every mean, judgmental, or hateful thing we do, we lose a dollar and incur a karmic debt that must be paid back. Conversely, if someone does us harm, they now owe us a karmic debt that must eventually be paid back. If either party is unable to repay their karmic debts in a given lifetime, then both must reincarnate in a future life in an effort to balance things out. If this is truly the case, it’s quite easy to see how a soul could quickly become entangled in a “karmic wheel” that may continue spinning for lifetime after lifetime.
To further complicate things, some even suggest that we accumulate a form of “collective” karma. That is, our individual souls must take some responsibility for the actions of our species. Human beings, for example, must all share some responsibility for wars, social injustices, and the exploitation and pollution of our Earth and its natural resources. It has also been suggested that we may even inherit a bit of “residual” karma from our ancestors. In other words, some of the negative energy from their karmic deeds may imprint itself on our DNA—or perhaps it’s merely a case of some negative habits and actions being passed down from our grandparents to our parents, and so on. I definitely understand the feelings of consternation that arise with this. After all, why should we have to pay for something that someone else did in our family tree—or something that another human being has done halfway across the globe? What does that have to do with us? Be that as it may, in many ways these ideas make sense and I’m inclined to believe they’re true.
On the face of it, this all seems rather complex and quite a difficult challenge to overcome. If we are to ever have hope of “balancing our books” and advancing spiritually, what’s a soul to do?
For me, the answer is actually quite simple.
First, do your best to build up a “positive” karmic bank account. Follow “The Golden Rule” by treating others as you would like to be treated. Be kind. Be respectful. Love others without expecting anything in return. Love them unconditionally.Why unconditionally, you may ask? Because—if you treat someone well or love them with the expectation that they repay you in some way, you generate a karmic debt for them. If they aren’t able to repay that debt in this lifetime, then they—and you will need another chance to even things out. Then you’re both right back on that karmic wheel again. But if you Love someone unconditionally, there are no debts to repay!
Second, just forgive. According to the scriptures, Jesus taught Forgiveness—and I believe this is one of the main reasons why. Think about it. If you forgive yourself for any misdeeds, then work hard to Love others unconditionally, you’ll eventually pay off any karmic debt you may have accumulated without building up more. If you also forgiveothers—that is, absolve them of their karmic debts to you, you will have set them free from having to repay you. Therefore, by practicing forgiveness, you set everyone free—including yourself.
Now, any time someone does something that negatively affects me, I immediately forgive them and let their “transgression” go. Then I silently offer them Unconditional Love. I must admit that this is rather difficult to do at times for, like many, I tend to take things too personally—and “relive” events over and over, every time I think of them. I’ve learned however, that each time I think about a perceived transgression, I can simply choose to forgive and let go again. In so doing, I know I’ll eventually train my mind to respond in an entirely different way. My expectation is that, one day, I’ll be able to process an event once—and not have to revisit it again at all.
When it comes to our Spiritual Advancement, whether it’s considered individually or collectively, I’ve become a firm believer that Forgiveness and Unconditional Love are essential. I’m convinced they’re the keys that unlock the Higher Realms of Spirit—and if we learn to use them well, we’ll all one day be able to set ourselves free from the ties that seem to limit and bind us so strongly to the past.
Remembering Infinity 
