Unfortunate Product Name

Pee Cola (soft drink)

A soft drink from Ghana.

that's all.

i don't know what to write today.

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When I'm worried and I can't sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small

I think of when I had none at all

And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads

And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep

Just count your blessings instead of sheep

And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads

And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you're worried and you can't sleep

Just count your blessings instead of sheep

And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

Irving Berlin / Publishers : Irving Berlin Ltd.from the 1954 movie
"White Christmas".

Gratitude is often thought of as the feeling-experience caused by something else. For example, I might feel grateful and happy when I receive a gift or compliment. Or I might feel thanksgiving rise up in me when a prayer seems to have been answered. I might be filled with gratitude for the time my grandchildren spent with me or the note my colleague left to acknowledge something I did.But there is another important side to gratitude that has everything to do with a prosperity mind-set. Thanksgiving or gratitude is not only the result of something; it is also the attitude which prepares us to receive. Try to imagine that gratitude is the cause, and not only the result.I heard a minister once say “I don’t always get what I pray for, but I get what I pray from.” In other words, the attitude with which I pray determines the outcome even more than the particular words or form of the prayer. Another way of expressing the same idea is to say that the focus of your awareness determines your experience.

The famous 1954 movie “White Christmas” features a song “Count Your Blesings” that illustrates the use of this technique. Make a list of the things that cause you to feel gratitude, regardless of what is going on at the moment. Doing so allows you to create a shift in where your attention is and it is as if something invisible shifts within you. Perhaps you’ll begin to notice an increase in resiliency, adaptability, patience or hope.Norman Vincent Peal is attributed with saying that “Prayer doesn’t change things for us, it changes us for things.” Gratitude works in the same way. Feeling gratitude does not secure some goal or action, it changes us.The challenging part is that feeling grateful for what is already in our lives is much easier than feeling grateful when the experiences and things we want are not yet in our lives. Nevertheless, to feel grateful in advance of the outcome, is one of the important keys to prosperity.A classical example of this idea in action comes from the gospel story of Jesus dealing with the crowds of hungry followers. His disciples reported to him that the only provisions they could find were fives loaves and two fish that one young man had brought along for lunch. Obviously it was completely inadequate to meet the need at hand.

I have been in similar situations where what I had to work with was absolutely not enough to meet the needs of the task before me, and my response was to feel anything but gratitude.In the gospel story, Jesus took what there was in his hands and gave thanks. He was not giving thanks for the inadequate lunch and settling for is with an attitude of “sigh, we’ll have to make do with this.” Instead he was giving thanks from the elevated awareness of the presence of abundance: “I am grateful for this evidence of God’s bounty which is represented in these two fish and loaves.”To me the story is a metaphor inviting me to look into my own life where there is an experience of “not enough” and to shift my attention by giving thanks for what evidence I can find of the presence of God’s bounty. Count my blessings.

The idea in the Jesus story is that there definitely wasn’t enough bread or fish, but there was something. And because Jesus knew something about the presence of Divinity, he was able to bless what was in his hands. Many folk do the opposite when faced with too little by cursing what they have. I wonder how many times I have made a situation worse by adopting a complaining or cursing attitude when I might have just as well shifted my attention to blessing by saying something like, “This may not be enough, but I lift it up and give thanks for the idea that God is present everywhere.”Specifically, examine your thoughts in the ordinary areas of your life where you might experience challenges, disappointment, and frustration.

Do you bless or curse the weather? Do you bless or curse certain family members? Do you bless or curse your work or co-workers.Practice listing the things in your life that you are grateful for on the pages to come. And give special attention to those areas where you are experiencing challenges and look carefully for the people, things and experiences in those areas that you can appreciate. Making a gratitude list is a powerful spiritual practice and the perfect way to assess and learn from your reflections about Living a Prosperous Life. You can also take time to review your journal entries and notice the areas where you have grown in awareness and personal strength. Use the following pages to list the things that you are grateful for.

http://steppingstonesbookstore.org/index.cgi/187/pid=1%7C7%7C267/Spirit_is_Calling__by_Chris_Michaels_and_Edward_Viljoen.htm

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Can't quit laughing....

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I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones. And I thought that if the point were demonstrated in a situation as extreme as that in a concentration camp, my book might gain a hearing. I therefore felt responsible for writing down what I had gone through, for I thought it might be helpful for people who are prone to despair.

Man's Search for Meaning

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Partnership Prayer

Of the more common topics for prayer I receive partnership is way up there in frequency. Over time I have developed an awareness of how subtly folk cling to the idea of partnership and how that clinging shows up as a below the surface irritant or anxiety in their prayers. I have, since becoming aware of this, included in my prayers a strong theme of non-control. For example:

Love is all there is. I am a product of its action. So I respect myself and I love how Creation has made me. Therefore I have adopted the tendency to put myself in harmonious situations in which my highest qualities attract those who find it easy to love me. In this way I am frequently experiencing mutual and appropriate attraction to people around me and I realize the joy of deep connection with attempting to create it. Reciprocal love then becomes available to me in consciousness and I discover in me a feeling of freedom and welcome to the idea of partnership. This establishes in a sense of dignity and self confidence because I realize that I cannot be anyone other than the person Love has made. It feels good to be aware of this. It feels free to be aware of this. Amen.

I am remembering a Saturday Night Live skit in which Govenor Sarah Palin says to Senator Hilary Clinton something like: to have something you just have to want it. To which Senator Clinton through strained laughter says something like: oh if I had only wanted the Presidency a little more.

Wanting and welcoming are two important attitudes of mind that in my opinion play a significant role in prayer. One seems to repel and the other attract.

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Prayer for my World

Adapted from a prayer by Dr. Holmes:

My Prayer for My World

I speak this prayer for people of the United States of America and for all beings on this planet. It is a prayer to establish in me the awareness of and the appreciation for liberty, security, and self-expression for all.

I know that Divine Intelligence governs the people of our world directing the thought and the activity of all who guide the affairs of Nations.

I know that success, prosperity, and happiness are the gifts of freedom and are the spiritual heritage of all.

I know that principle of happiness and mutual love is operating in the affairs of every individual on the planet.

I know that Divine guidance enlightens the collective mind causing each individual to know that economic security may come to all without the loss of either personal freedom or individual self-expression.

I know that no one can believe or be led to believe that freedom must be surrendered in order to insure economic security for all.

The All-Knowing Mind contains the answer to every problem which confronts this world. I know that every leader on this planet has access to this All-Knowing Mind and has within the knowledge of a complete solution to every problem. I envision a world in which each leader and each citizen is guided to act upon this knowledge to the end that abundance, security, and peace shall come to all.…..…establishing for everyone in this world personal liberty, happiness, and self-expression.

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Stewardship

Prosperity Consciousness goes hand in hand with the skill of Stewardship, taking good care of your resources. Several attitudes of mind can develop an prosperity consciousness. For example, Authors Robert G. Allen in “Prosperity, 7 Secrets” lists Seven skills that help engender an attitude of Prosperity related specifically to money. Value it, Manage it, Save it, Invest it, Make it, Shield it, and Share it. They are the skills, Allen says, that wealthy people are good at and are the seven skills you need to do well to develop your experience of Prosperity.

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Manspirit

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Honesty

“What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

William Shakespeare wrote “The good I stand on is my truth and honesty.” Thomas Jefferson called honesty “the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” John Lyly warned us that those who lose their honesty have nothing else to lose. By honesty we mean more than the direct revelation of facts. We mean what Goethe is referencing in the quote above: that which is consistent with our hearts. Through this practice of daily journaling you are acquainting yourself with your heart as you investigate what is important to you, and how those values drive your participation in the world. The more you become aware of this inner world, the easier it becomes to know your heart and express it.

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Frankness

“All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness.”

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams’ point of view may be extreme, however, it serves as a reminder that directness can be used an unkind weapon disguised as honesty. Love-centered frankness is the act of open and sincere communication in a straightforward way. It is the genuine desire to disclose one’s thoughts freely and is often accompanied by the willingness to deal with difficulty or unpleasant issues. When lacking sensitivity it can come across as bluntness and deliver an outcome that is the antithesis to practicing the Presence. Love-centered frankness leads to intimacy, trust and appreciation.

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From a reader

"I enjoy your blog so much. I enjoy the music that you add to it, from Mary Poppins to Mirian Makeba and everyone in between they are so great, keep it up. I also have to say that I enjoy your videos too. If I want to close my eyes and listen to you I can do that, so thank you...thank you for all that you do for the church, for the SEVA's like me and for just being you.."

Thank you reader :)
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Conceding

"Life cannot subsist in society but by reciprocal concessions"

Samuel Johnson

In fostering a life where love is expressed freely and regularly, it becomes obvious quickly that certain skills become important. Skills such as the ability to forgive and to concede allow us to navigate through the complex world of relationship and the diverse feelings, beliefs and projections that surround and inhabit us. The act of yielding to another’s choice or desire can be a powerful gift of love if it is exercised without resentment or bitterness. An old adage asks “would you rather be happy or right?” A more powerful approach is to concede that different opinions exists among people and that both may be right without negating each other. Maturity in an individual allows them to accept that paradox without having to insist that their way be heard or agreed with.

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4 Ways Social Media is Changing the Non-Profit World

Exceprt from Beth Kanter’s column

Beth Kanter, author of Beth’s Blog, is the 2009 Scholar in Residence at the Packard Foundation and was named one of Business Week’s “Voices of Innovation for Social Media.”

When I started my blog in 2003, only a handful of nonprofit techies were experimenting with the social media. As Marnie Webb from TechSoup Global recalls, “The throw away line was social media wasn’t for organizations but people who wanted to share what their cats ate for breakfast.”

Six years later, the landscape has changed. Organizations are flocking to the social web, although most in the last two years. Non-profit organizations that have embraced social media with a “listen, fail informatively, and evolve approach” are seeing results.

Social media is beginning to transform non-profits both in the way they work as well as their relationships with constituents.

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1. Deepening relationships and Engagement

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Over the past five years, The March of Dimes has used social media to nurture its online community, Share Your Story. It is one of the better examples of how non-profits can use social media to empower supporters without having to control it.

A few weeks ago, the March of Dimes supporters came out in droves for a networked memorial service for a toddler named Maddie. The community raised tens of thousands of dollars for the March of Dimes in Maddie’s memory as well as covering the funeral costs for the family. The organization did little to stage this event. The March of Dimes has embraced openness and inspired their stakeholders to feel empowered enough to take action on their own.

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2. Individuals & small groups are self-organizing around non-profit causes

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Social media is enabling individuals to create, join, and grow groups around issues they care about outside of the direct control of a non-profit. Whether flash activists or fundraising events like Twestival, activities like these are on the rise. Social software design is also helping accelerate this trend. Look no further than the Facebook Causes Birthday application that encourages an individual who is a member of a Cause to use their birthday as an excuse to raise money for a non-profit organization. DonorsChoose recently launched a similar feature called “Birthday Give Back,” with Stephen Colbert leading the charge. And keep an eye out for more social apps with a conscience that will offer even more creative ways for supporters to self-organize and take action around causes.

As non-profits begin to engage their own communities in these online conversations, they are able to reach more people than ever before, and using less effort doing so. As Maddie Grant, a partner at SocialFish, observes, “We can all be change agents and that has to be good for the entire non-profit industry, as long as organizations adapt to this new way of being part of a two-way conversation and groundswell of social responsibility.”

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To read the rest visit http://mashable.com/2009/05/22/non-profit-social-media/

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Perfect Timing

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Joke from Evan

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral.. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:


To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: October 16, 2007

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!!!! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is hot down here!!!!

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In the flow - part one

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Boundaries

“Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for mathematics, the cultural world is one country.”

David Hilbert

Being aware of personal boundaries is a healthful way to approach life. It gives an individual a sense of self and helps us avoid both intruding on another person’s personal space and exhausting our emotional and mental resources through giving too much away. There is a dark side to having boundaries that are inflexible or fixed in that if we never allow anyone to see past our boundaries, or if we never allow ourselves to go beyond the comfortable realm of the familiar we miss part of the luxurious diversity our world has created for us.

Where can you go beyond your comfort level, without compromising safety, to express more love in the world?

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Acknowledging

“Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgement of what is working in our lives can help us not only to survive but surmount our difficulties.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach


Becoming better at loving others is a powerful way of discovering the Presence within us. A particularly effective practice is to regularly acknowledge the good in others as well as in ourselves, regardless of whatever difficulties and challenges are present. We can experience the Presence in others powerfully when we practice acceptance and compassion, because these attitudes of mind allow us to see beyond our preferences and projections. Other people can be a portal through which we see the activity of the Presence when we pause daily to consider and acknowledge them.

Who in your life deserves your acknowledgement right now and how might you express your appreciation to how they have contributed to your wellbeing.

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Are You A Caring Person? Affection

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you a caring person? Investigate your relationship to affection to discover your answer.  Albert Einstein wrote “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

In what way can you expand the circle of caring that you express? Is there something you can do today that would increase the amount of affection you are contributing to the world around you?

More articles on Are You A Caring Person?  click here

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Agreement

"One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.”

Lao Tzu

One method of practicing love is to attempt to find ways to agree with others. This is not the same as giving up your individuality or point of view. It is not the same as becoming a pushover for those who would control you. It is the careful investigation of where you have points of agreement with another being. From these shared points of agreement comes a softening of boundaries and an opening to understanding the life, trials and victories in the people around us. This gives rise to a feeling of safety and belonging in the world.

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Bodhisattva in Metro

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Holiness

“Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy”

Abraham J. Heschel

These past several days I have been meditating on holiness as a way of practicing being aware of the Presence. While exploring holiness it is worthwhile to consider that it is to be found in everything and not only in practices and places set aside especially for spiritual purposes.

Practice also seeing the Presence in the people you meet this week and also in the tasks that you are least fond of. Attempt to be present for whatever life brings your way with an attitude of openness and adventure.

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Mother's Day

....At the Center
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Soulfulness

“True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.”
Albert Einstein

When we practice giving our full attention to whatever we are doing, the result is a reciprocal feeling of being filled up profoundly by the activity. This can be called soulfulness, the experience of deep feeling that comes from being absorbed in the object of your attention. When the object of your attention is a profound awareness of the Presence, the feelings that arise are those that remind us of our natural state of connectedness with all of life and all beings.

In your daily practice you can achieve a fuller experience when you give yourself the opportunity of being undivided in your work for ten or twenty minutes. Turn off all devices and place yourself in an environment where there is little to distract you from the joy of exploring the Presence.

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Turtles

Canvas hoods on the street lamps during turtle breeding season allows the turtles to come onto the beach to lay their eggs.

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Moon Over Miami

It's almost full moon. Ft. Lauderdale is warm and beautiful and I spent the day testing my new waterproof camcorder in the pool. No videos will be posted - ha!
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The Office

For the next three days Chris Michaels and I will be confined to these drab environments while we write - hope we can concentrate!
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Rev. Chris and me

Putting our heads together to write Practice the Presence - our new journal for 2010
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Two Concerts

Greetings (from Chris Fritzsche), 

I have two concert events coming up to tell you about. 

First, our final Clerestory season concerts are the weekend after next. We will be singing a concert of American music along with the women's trio, Mayim. For tickets and info you can visit our website at www.clerestory.org 

Voices in the American Tradition Friday, May 15, 8:00pmGaia Arts Center2120 Allston Way, Berkeley Saturday, May 16, 8:00pmPacific Cultural Center1307 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz Sunday, May 17, 5:00pmSt. Mark's Lutheran Church1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco  Tickets:  For prices & pre-sale visit clerestory.org & mayimtrio.com  

And next, I will be singing in a Gala concert for Project Applause along with my friend, soprano, Susan Witt-Butler on June 13, 7pm at the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa. For more info on that and to buy tickets you can follow this link http://www.projectapplause.org/coming_events.html 

Cheers,

Chris. Frizsche
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Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the Byron Katie clips. While revisiting her work I wonder that "the work" begins with the judging your neighbor piece. If there is no judging then there seems to be the need to do the forgiving for-they-know-not-what-they-do piece in conjunction with "the work". When a person is suffering from an actual wound inflicted (which can be real)I experience layers that go beyond or before her approach. Needless to say it is all worth contemplating and playing with, isn't it, especially when it comes to beliefs that are internalized..

Dear Anonymous, thank you for the comment and appreciation for Byron Katie's clips. I have found Katie's work to be remarkably helpful in so many areas of my life. I don't much use "the work" to determine whether or not a hurt is real, but rather to investigate my thought atmosphere during times of hurt, remembered or current, real or imagined. If a car drives over my toe, the hurt is real enough I suppose (I'll have to investigate that) - what I'm really interested in is my tendency to believe it should not have happened that way and how more pain it causes me to believe it.

Regarding your note on judgement. I understand that in absolute terms there is no judgement. One might say in the mind of God there is no judgement because there is no "other". However, in the human realm it seems to be the only thing we do. We judge with painful results. So starting with the Judge Your Neighbor piece seems to me to be an honest way of dealing with what is already going on inside.

I am no expert on the Work of Byron Katie and there are probably others who have more experience with doing the Work who could respond to your comment more thoroughly. My experience is from doing it for myself through pages and pages of journals. Doing the work has had a dramatic effect on my experience of the world around me. It has shaped the way I pray and what I pray for and has brought me face to face with the cutting edge of my growth potential. I have incorporated it into my daily spiritual practice.

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Sacredness

Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.

Joseph Campbell

The word sacred has its roots in a Middle English word which means to consecrate or to set aside for a spiritual purpose. In your daily practice of journaling it can refer to the state of your mind when you prepare yourself to be undistracted so that you can apply yourself to deep thought and reflection. This can be achieved by reducing interruptions or by listening to music that inspires peace. Practicing sacredness can have the effect of influencing how you do the ordinary things in your life by introducing a single minded approach to every activity.

How do you create a sense of sacredness within and around you for your daily practice?

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Here's something free and interesting for Bloggers

Your complete guide to choosing, installing and optimizing Blogger templates (PDF 114 pages)
Download your copy of The Blogger Template Book
http://bloggerbuster.s3.amazonaws.com/ebooks/the-blogger-template-book.pdf

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Religiously

“Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt.”

Paul Tillich

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Doing something religiously conjures up images of strict adherence, and maybe even obedience without question, to a belief system. In common language people will say “I do it religiously” meaning that whatever they are referring to occupies and very important role in their daily activities and they are not likely to miss it for any small reason. In spiritual terms, ‘religiously’ refers to the faithful and reverential discharge of a duty, for example attending a worship service every morning, or lighting incense as a form of offering every evening, or helping serve food at a mission.

The power of anything done religiously lies in the personal choice to not allow anything else to disrupt the activity and also in the respect with which the activity is performed. Whatever you do daily to practice the Presence, if you add to your practice a sense of respect and heightened value, you will begin to elevate your practice in importance in your life allowing it to occupy a powerful status in your mind.

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Perspective

The seven blind men who gave seven different descriptions of the elephant were all right from their respective points of view.
Mohandas K. Gandhi

Posted via web from edwardviljoen's posterous

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Rapture

“We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.”

Joseph Campbell

Rapture is the state of being “carried away” or so deeply absorbed in an activity that we forget the ordinary demands of life. It is a state of expanded awareness, or being transported into a state of deep satisfaction. As lofty as this description seems, the reality is that rapture is to be found in the most ordinary of experience and things as well as in the most beautiful and sublime. Take some time today to recall and write about a time when you were in a state of extreme happiness. Try to describe the details of the experience in detail, including the environment, who was present, what you were wearing and feeling.

Remembering moments of happiness is an effect method of practicing being alert and receptive to experiencing them again.

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What's Going On In Johannesburg?

Just a few newsy links about my hometown.

Joburg 2010 <http://www.joburg.org.za/fifaworldcup/>
JOBURG – host city for the FIFA 2010 World Cup™ and the Festival of Champions – is ready and waiting. Find out the lowdown on all things football, from teams to coaches to buying tickets to what to do when you're not watching football.

Maps <http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/393/145/>
A SET of Adobe Acrobat maps of popular Johannesburg neighbourhoods, including road and suburb names, schools, parks, shopping strips and historic areas.

Print-resolution image library <http://www.joburg.org.za/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,147/>
A COLLECTION of photographs of Johannesburg, commissioned by the marketing department of the City of Johannesburg, and suitable for use in general printed material. Images are available free of charge, but the photographer must be acknowledged and the City of Johannesburg identified as the copyright holder.

CitiChat <http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/442/58/>
FOR a weekly perspective on Joburg, by a prominent city champion, read Neil Fraser's column.

Exhibitions <http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/118/58/>
JOHANNESBURG is the country's top exhibitions venue, landing more than half the number of all exhibitions held in South Africa, and way ahead of rivals Cape Town and Durban.

Soweto <http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/921/159/>
SETTING trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language.

Events calendar <http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=285>
FOR a calendar of cultural and entertainment events, see the events calender.

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Radiating

“We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind.”

Wangari Maathai

When Wangari Maathai received the Norwegian Nobel Prize in 2004, the Committee said that “Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression—nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation." In one of the photographs taken at the award ceremony Wangari is radiating a joy and power that seems incredible for someone who has been knocked unconscious for protesting, thrown in jail for being outspoken, attacked for her beliefs, and vilified by her government and husband. Most photographs of her show this radiating joy that seems to light up everything around her. She is quoted as saying “All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet.” In 1976 she introduced the idea of planting trees to prevent soil erosion, and since then 30 million trees have been planted in that project.
What causes you to radiate joy and light? What does the God in you unite you with?

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