Kimestry

Now that we've made it through the holidays, many of us are looking toward the new year. Many of us will make resolutions for 2008; from losing weight, to saving money, to spending more time with family, we all have ideas about what we'd like to do better. I've decided I won't make any resolutions this year. In today's society, resolutions have become synonymous with failure. If you looked up the denotative or literal meaning for resolution in the dictionary it would probably say something like "a pledge". If we had a connotative dictionary, or a dictionary that said what we really mean when we use words, the definition would probably say something like "a pledge one makes that one plans to break." Seriously, even businesses count on the fact that most people don't keep resolutions. New gym memberships skyrocket in January with all gyms seeing increased profits. By February most of those new members stop coming to the gym. All those resoluti...

by Agnes Williams Two days ago, I was watching my three year old granddaughter trying to skip. I have prided myself in teaching my nephews, nieces, two children, and my other three grandchildren in the art of skipping. I had the perfect skip technique. Skipping is an art, and I enjoyed the hopping and rhythm of it. Skipping to me is just pure fun. So, in my mind I heard, "Keep up the tradition Agnes, show Maya the art of skipping". I didn't realize I hadn't skipped with a child in four years. So, I said to Maya, " Follow Grandmother", and to my utter surprise when I tried to skip my knees took a holiday. My equilibrium was impacted with the loss of knee power, and I could not properly hop. I turned to my husband, and said "I lost my skip". Instead of feeling remorse, I laughed. Don't ask why that would be funny, but I thought, okay get a grip. I have been quietly practicing ways to adjust so I can skip again. I believe when things don...

In part two of this three-part article, I talked about how to tell whether our visions come from ego or from God or Higher Mind. In this installation I'd like to explore the question, once we are clear about the source of our visions, what do we do with them? As mentioned previously, sometimes our visions do not seem to make sense. We don't know what to do with them without further information. Once we receive a vision like this we have to wait for further instructions. Sometimes that further instruction can be a spontaneous inner prompting to take some action or to say something to someone. Three years ago, I was talking on the phone with a woman who owned a business whose services I was interested in. Previously to this phone conversation, I had gotten the vision of doing acting and writing playshops on cruise ships, but I didn't know how to accomplish that. Although I was talking to the woman about something completely unrelated to my cruise ship idea, I felt a spontaneo...

In part one of this two part post, I defined the difference between visualization and visioning. In this installment, I'd like to answer the question: how do we tell the difference between a real vision and wishful thinking? In visioning we center ourselves and become still so that we can see, hear, smell, taste, and experience what God's vision is for our lives. When visioning, many practitioners become confused as to whether what they experience is truly God's vision or their own ego's desires. Here is how I tell the difference. When I see an image or a word that seems not to make sense and isn't something that I consciously have a desire for, I know that it comes from a deeper place within me. For example, during visioning back in August, I heard and saw the words Port Canaveral. At the time I did not know what the significance of that place was. I had never been there or had a desire to go there. I simply recorded what I heard in my journal. Recently, I received...

Some people spent this past summer vacationing to tropical locales. Some worked straight through the summer and are working through fall just holding on until Christmas vacation. I spent the summer taking a course called Visioning. No it's not what you think. I did not sit around for five weeks imagining all the material things I wanted. Instead, I spent five weeks learning to allow God to reveal to me His vision for my life. So much was revealed to me, that I enrolled in the course for an additional eight weeks this fall. So what is the difference between visualization and visioning? Visualization is about putting your imprint or ideas of what you want into the Universe. Visioning is about allowing the Universe/God to put Its imprint on you. Visioning is an inspired process. It is much like being an overhead projector for God. You do not control the images or ideas that are placed in you, you simply receive them and then choose to live the vision. How do we open up and allow God t...

by Agnes When I retired, I thought I would assist my grandchildren (sometimes) with their homework. It has been awhile since I had to deal with elementary school lessons. I knew I had forgotten a lot of basic things, but if you can find resources, you will be able to muddle through. Let's be clear, I make no claim to be smarter then a fifth grader. Yesterday, my grandson had to look up the definitions of his vocabulary words and then write a sentence using the word. One of the words was "revolutionize". In reviewing his work, the sentence for revolutionize was, "I revolutionize my pants". When I questioned him on that particular sentence with a gleam in his eye the response was, "Revolutionize means to make a change, and I do change my pants". So, I ask you, how do you deal with that logic? Outsmarted by a fifth grader!!! I begin to think, how do we revolutionize our way of thinking? How do we make sense out of nonsense? How do we revolution...

A few days ago, I woke up grateful for another day. Within seconds, however, gratitude turned into worry. I had been working a consulting job for two months and had not yet been paid. I had also been expecting another check for over a month that had not yet arrived. All that I could do on my end had been done. I had made the appropriate phone calls, "dotted my i's" and "crossed my t's". It was a "hurry up and wait" situation. The facts were that I hadn't yet paid the mortgage, I had ten days until the grace period ended, and just a few dollars in savings. But what was the truth? I decided that when I got out of bed, I would turn my attention to how I could help and be a resource for others. I had a colleague who had requested an article from me that she needed for a presentation. I decided to search for the article amongst the piles of paperwork in my den. I searched through file cabinets, egg crates, and binders looking for this one page artic...

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I am from Pillsbury cupcakes, from t.v. dinners and "Boogie Fever". I am from birds of paradise, sloping front lawns, and a duplex filled with family. I am from gag gifts at Christmas and "the Murphy Look", from Charles and Mary and the Mitchells too. I am from the creative and the strong. From "you'll be a clown when you're paid to be a clown" and "you're the only child I put on this earth!" I am from new thought and ancient wisdom. I'm from Los Angeles and Africa, smoked turkey and boxed stuffing. From the high school romance of my mother and father, their divorce and "but I love him!" I am from intelligent and beautiful women, loving uncles, and cousins more like siblings. I am possibility in action. I am peace. I am a spiritual being ever learning, ever expanding, ever evolving. I am love.

I put an hour and fifteen minutes on the meter. Fifteen minutes for each quarter; cheaper than UCLA metered parking even though I was in Beverly Hills. I figured it should be plenty of time. My appointment was for three and it was only 2:37 pm. In the waiting room I filled out the requisite forms listing known allergies and emergency contacts. As I filled out my forms, I heard at least two other people in the waiting room say that they had three o'clock appointments as well. This could be a bad sign. There were no clocks in the room. It was like waiting at the local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) before customers could pay online. At 3:30pm, I turned on my cell phone again, in spite of posted requests that cell phones should be turned off. I decided to go "feed the meter" as women in the waiting room shared the US magazines they'd brought with them in anticipation of the wait. Upon my return, the woman who'd checked in just after me smiled my way as she exited...

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How often have you had an inkling that you should do something or not do something? Have you ever got the feeling that you should talk to a specific person or approach someone you don't know? How often have you listened? I have learned the hard way how important it is to listen to that voice of intuition. I truly believe that it is the voice of God speaking to us. When I don't listen, I am always sorry. Several years ago, I lived in a townhouse complex with an alley behind it. Every day I would drive down this alley to enter the subterranean garage and park my car. One day, my intuition told me not to drive down that alley. Since I'd lived at this location for three years and had driven that way every day, I didn't understand where this idea was coming from. I decided that it was a silly thought, drove down the alley, and parked my car without incident. The next morning, I went into the garage and as I approached my car I noticed that I had a flat tire. This was what my...

The movie, The Secret, has been very instrumental in sharing New Thought with a public that goes beyond those who attend New Thought Centers or churches. One of the spiritual principles shared in the film is the Law of Attraction. To briefly sum up this idea, we attract the situations, people, and material things which are in alignment with the energy with which we vibrate. If we vibrate positive energy, we attract positive situations. If we vibrate negative energy, we attract negative situations. This principle is radical in some minds because in essence it means that we are responsible for every situation in our lives. The thought is that we have drawn these situations in; our thoughts and feelings have attracted them.Consequently, if we want to attract positive people, situations, and things we have to draw them to us by holding positive feelings and thoughts. While on a meditative walk the other day, I had the realization that in truth we don't attract or draw things to us, as ...

Most people ducked slightly as they walked in the front door because the band was set up right next to the entrance to the cafe. At Industry Jazz Cafe in Culver City, the newly-installed booths made the space seem to open up. I like to sit with my legs crossed, but my outstretched leg got in the way of the staff as they passed my seat at the bar. So I gave up that privilege so that the waitresses could more easily pass by to deliver hot plates of Ethiopian food and soul food staples like greens and macaroni and cheese to hungry patrons. There was no space for dancing, but you wanted to; especially when that reggae-infused jazz jam was playing. We settled for bobbing our heads in our seats as Farzeed Farhati killed that alto saxophone during his solo. The music sounded so spontaneous and improvisational that Sandra pointed to the music stands and commented, "I'm surprised to see sheet music up there." Almost everyone there was a friend of a band member, a local, or a frien...

Recently I began a course designed to deepen my spiritual practice and assist me in taking all of the spiritual truths that I know and actualize them. In other words, I'm learning about "walking the talk!". There are so many things that we know intellectually about God, Spirit, the Universe or however we refer to our higher power. Yet, once we realize these truths, how active are we in actualizing these truths---or "walking the talk?" As I sat down to do my homework, this question was in the back of my mind. My task was to write down a list of the resources that are available to me. While I started out listing material resources, I quickly moved on to people. I saw how there are many people in my life who model success and abundance for me. Finally, I started to recognize my personality traits, strengths, and talents as resources as well. My sense of humor is a resource for me when faced with unexpected circumstances. My creativity is a resource for me when I am...

A few days before earthquakes rocked Indonesia last week, an Indonesian luminary rocked the U.S. Anand Krishna, founder of two ashrams in Indonesia, shared his message of inter-faith tolerance at Soul Centered Metaphysical Book Store in Ojai , CA. Krishna, as he prefers to be called, has been sharing his message in his native Indonesia since his miraculous recovery from leukemia in the early 90's. Anand Krishna What makes Krishna an amazing messenger is that he has been promoting interfaith tolerance in a country that is eighty percent Muslim. In certain areas of Indonesia, citizens are issued identification cards which list their religious affiliation. During actions known as "sweeps", citizens can be subject to death, if found in an area inhabited by the other religion, depending on whether those in charge of the sweeps are Muslim or Christian. These two religious factions take turns conducting the sweeps. Currently, Krishna and his colleagues are working to pass legi...

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My First And Probably Only Motorcycle Diary As the wind whipped water from my eyes and snot ran from my nose, I wondered if at forty I was too old for this impromptu motorcycle adventure. I hadn't been on the back of a motorcycle since I was nine years old, but when Joe, my ex-boyfriend from college, invited me out for coffee I decided to do something different. As I held on for dear life praying that he wouldn't go too fast and that my ancestors were protecting me, I wondered if I'd waited too long to go through a rebellious phase. What he didn't mention was that we'd be sharing time with a few friends. When we arrived at Starbucks, the first thing I noticed was the DJ booth set up in front, orange extension cord snaking through the front door. As the female DJ spun hip hop tunes bikers steadily roared into the strip mall parking lot, parked with their club members, and stood in line to order venti iced cinnamon dolce lates with extra carmel. Many wore jackets rep...