Notes From Along The Spiritual Path

During the past few months I find myself experiencing a major shift in my consciousness. I have spent the past few years dabbling in changing my awareness away from concentrating on what is happening in my physical world toward the realization that by being in connection and communion with God, everything is perfect. I say "dabbling" because I was never quite certain that I could really believe the part about everything being perfect in God. I always had a certain amount of concern that maybe I was really not sure I could trust God. After all, who am I to think I can be connected with God and taken care of by the universe?

I was slowly becoming convinced that I was on the right track - I was trusting the knowing that we are all sparks of the divine and that by nurturing my connection with God, everything else comes with ease and flow. I found myself experiencing small miracles in my life that seemed to confirm that I was on the right track. My life seemed to be "working" pretty darn well and I started to trust more and more.

And then four months ago I was literally hit across the head by a cosmic 2 x 4. This whack came in the form of a head-first fall down about eight stairs in my home. I was knocked unconscious and subsequently sustained both a concussion and a fractured collarbone. The first thing I realized from this accident that I was lucky to not have been injured much more seriously. The second thing I find is that this was the beginning of a major growth period and shift in my consciousness.

Although my spiritual beliefs have not changed, they feel much more cemented into who I really am. The veil between my human self and my spiritual self has been disintegrated. I am much more cognizant of consistently feeling and being conscious of my connection with God. I find myself drawn to spiritual discussions that never much held my attention before - specifically discussions pertaining to the paradigm shift from the third dimention to the fifth dimension. I completely relate to what this means now and can see how this is playing out in my life.

The third dimension defines how humans have been living their lives for ages. It is a world of duality. There is right and wrong, good and bad. We feel that we don't have enough. We live in fear. We create expectations about how our lives "should" be or look. And all of this causes discomfort and pain for us. The paradigm is now shifting toward higher dimensions. There seems to be quite a bit of attention put on the fifth dimension, which is the place where we live in complete communion with God. In this place there is abundance and love. All is good and all is well. I am finding that I like this place very much. I am also finding that, while I have been experiencing this dimension for the past few years in small increments, I am now able to stay in this place the majority of the time.

I retired from my job as an automobile claims adjuster just about a year ago and have spent the past year just "being". When I retired, I had a plan to supplement retirement income with part time, contract, or temporary work. I have yet to manifest this. From time to time, I wonder whether or not I did the right thing by retiring early. I also periodically go to a place of fear about having enough money. I realize that this is going to a place of fear and lack. Sometimes I question exactly what I am doing with myself. I judge myself for not doing anything. Then I realize that I am happy with just being rather than doing. I find that this is ok.

The other morning I went to that place of questioning why I am not doing anything about finding part time work, creating an income, and being busy. And then I had a realization - a spiritual understanding. I am doing something - I am holding the energy and the light for others struggling with the paradigm shift. I can be of service to fellow travelers on this path should they be interested in assistance. It seems that sometimes being can also be doing. I think I will continue to witness this and see how things continue to unfold. Namaste!

My Road To The Ministry

I was born and raised Jewish, though my background was much more secular than religious. In 1996 I joined an American Baptist church in Evanston, IL called Lake Street Church of Evanston. The year before I joined, the church membership decided to change the name from First Baptist Church of Evanston. I have heard that this was quite a process, but Lake Street Church prides itself on its interfaith work and membership that includes representation of many different religious paths. The reason I was drawn to this spiritual community is exactly that - it is a spiritual community and not a religious community. I did, however find it difficult to let my Jewish family know that I was attending a church, let alone a Baptist church. Eventually I did and while I am not sure they understood, they did accept this decision.

In 2002 I moved to Colorado Springs. For more than three years I searched for the equivalent of Lake Street Church here but was unable to find one. Eventually I found a very small, independent church to attend and shortly afterward, felt called to seek ordination through this church. Once again, my family was quite supportive, though I doubt they understand. I was ordained a non-denominational, omnifaith minister last April. While I was working toward my ordination, my Colorado Springs friends were all very aware and supportive of my endeavor. So too were my friends from Lake Street Church. Now that I have been ordained, I am feeling called to step into my ministry and include it as part of my persona. I also am very open that I am Jewish. I often wonder if people find this an odd combination - possibly because there was a time that I would have found it a very odd combination.

My belief system does not include any specific religion - it is all about spirituality and my connection to Spirit. I believe that we are all sparks of the divine and that God resides in all of us. I feel my connection with God almost all the time and meditate as often as possible in order to foster this connection. My hope is to be able to help others who may want to know this connection and feel an intimate relationship with their higher power. I interface with many people who struggle with being in a place of fear, judgment, and duality. My hope is to help them find peace through realizing what it means to be in connection with God, Spirit, or whatever name they call their Higher Power.

I have found that being in connection with God transcends the consciousness that leads us into fear. Being in connection with God is being in a place of unconditional love and acceptance. There is no need to feel there is not enough. With God everything is perfect and there is peace. To all of you who might be reading this, I wish you peace. Namaste!