Oneness Ministry

We are One

Aug 11

Distraction

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Change is how the ego mind distracts us from what really matters, Holy Spirit or simply Spirit. This is why they say, “be still and know God” or “Silence is the door to Heaven”. Meditation works to quiet the mind when one sticks to it and makes it a daily practice. It need not be a long time either. It does require mindfulness and intention. Faith enters the picture when it comes to maintaining this practice.

Our purpose here is not to ‘fuel the fire’ so to speak by focusing on change; either by encouraging it or by denying it. Where you place your energy and your thoughts guides your future. Much of life is destiny, though we do have choice in our path. The key is to learn to listen to His guidance and not confuse the ego mind with it. Change is neither good nor bad, lest thinking make it so. Keep moving forward! Don’t apologize for taking an action which feels right to you, yet yields and unexpected result. We are our own worst enemies. Be Kind, both to yourself and to others.

Ego mind leads us to do things which harms others or our self. Spirit, being love itself, knows nothing of pain, harm, or suffering. What is difficult for most of us is to remain focused on service to others even while feeling ego thoughts. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Why is this true? Because it comes down to choice. A pebble in your shoe is painful, not removing it is suffering.

Recently I had a dream where these words came to me. “No Joy: Another goose wins the day.” No Joy meaning: In military aviation, a term indicating that no visual confirmation of another aircraft (especially an enemy) has yet been made; no information available at this time. Wild Goose Chase: A prolonged or chaotic search for something that is difficult to find (often because it does not exist). And a worthless hunt or chase; a futile pursuit. So, to me this means Life is a wild goose chase which brings us No Joy. Through my spiritual practice, I know Joy exists always, just as Love does. We don’t find it because we are looking for it in the wrong place, out there! The world around us does not hold any real answers. The answers lay within.

My eBook Livin’ Large, has a chapter on what Love is, actually the chapter is a poem. Please give it a look/see. It is available free online, OnenessMinistry.info. Having been through two divorces, I can honestly say, Love exists everywhere, all the time. By learning what love is not, one can see it at will. In both these relationships, I felt deep love, though it only surfaced occasionally. I still love them, because God loves them, and we are One. Just because you love someone, doesn’t mean you have to live with them! Do you live with your parents? Siblings? At some point we all must go out in the world and learn what love is not and thus what it is. Blessings on your Journey of Love!

Sequoia Elisabeth

Oneness Ministry

Spirituality Transitions

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Apr 10

Motivations and Identity

by Sequoia Elisabeth

What motivates you? And Why? Today, I would like to look into motives for our actions and the root cause behind our choices. If you are a student of ACIM (A Course in Miracles) you will know what I am going to refer to because our fear of God or more accurately fear of being separate from God motivates all our actions. The key motivator I wish to look at more closely is the opposite of fear.

Love and our desire for it sits behind all our actions. Who we choose as friends, who we are nice to, who we suck up to, etc. is all based in our desire for love. Let’s face it, we all wish to be loved! And to have the opportunity to share love. The path here gets foggy, because ego love is very different from Agape Love or God’s Love which we really desire. So what is it we really desire? We desire ourselves! We feel separated… from everything and we seek connection to the essence of self. I am the love I seek!

Moving on to identity, how does this relate to our desire for love? As I have said many times and as many religions teach, God is all there is. So as I understand God, God is Love, Peace, and Joy. Meaning that what we really seek is Love, Peace, or Joy. I think of these 3 words as being the same with slightly different definitions. Hebrew teaches 4 words for love and Greek has 6. So, defining love depends on the context and intent. For me these days, I focus on the Only Love that matters Agape, God’s Unconditional Love or simply, Unconditional Love. The other types help with defining relationships in human contact, but that is all. When a person says, “I love you”, what do they really mean? Who is it they love? If we are all One, then they are saying they love themselves. To love you is to love myself! However, only loving myself is narcissistic. So, in order to truly love, we must have others (other self). This is the very reason for relationships!

If you look deep into your motivations I think you will find love at the source. Yes, fear may be on the surface and even covering the core, hiding the reality of love, but love is there if you look for it. When we look out into the world whatever it is we see we attempt to relate to it, if we can relate we “like” it and if we can’t then we “don’t like” it. It is a case of I am that or I am Not that. We vacillate through phases of identifying with things and not depending on the feedback, almost like a single cell organism reacts to pain or pleasure. I believe our long term relationships last because it is easy for us to identify with the person we have chosen as our partner. Same goes for family relationships, though we are more forgiving with family because of perception of blood ties. Or not, LOL. Because we feel close to family we will be harder on the relationship, expecting more from them. Still our motivation is Love. I find it easy to love my family and at the same time difficult to look deeply at them for it is looking deeply within myself.

In conclusion, be aware of your actions without any judgment. Projection makes perception, so know the world you see is of your own making and forgive! This forgiveness is not because it is real, only for the believing it is. We are forgiving ourselves for our part in the game. Knowing the person sitting across from you is your reflection can be sobering and inspiring. Loving them through thought is all that is required. Nothing need be said and in fact it is better not to say anything. The less said the better, as the saying goes. This process is allowing that which is holy to flow through you and be reflected. If your perception is otherwise, just know you can choose again. Stop, look, and listen. Love!

Sequoia Elisabeth

OnenessMinistry.info

Spirituality Transitions

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Jul 29

Best Place to Start is at the Beginning

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Welcome to Transitions Blog! December 1, 2009

Filed under: Gender Related, Spirituality, Transitions @ 8:36 am

Tags: changes, first entry, Transitions

In this blog I talk about the transition that all of us are going through in some form or another. My personal transition is from male to female and I will be talking about that often, but more important is the shift the entire world is going through and how this relates to you. Comments are welcomed.

This is my first entry which is about transitions and what they mean to you. The word Transition means movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another. It is often a very long process involving years and involves physical, mental, and/or spiritual changes. In relation to gender it is the period when a person begins living in the desired gender in gradual stages. In some form or another we all go through transitions, some people may think of them as life stages or phases. Our teenage years are a stage that we go through in our development to be adults. The Mid-life stage which some call a crisis is also a transitional period that involves a lot of change, passage, or movement. At a higher level our entire life is a transition, which can be broken down into smaller transitions and finally to the present moment which is where you are now. This is why I so often refer to life as a journey, because it is a passage from one experience to the next! The happiest time of my childhood is when our family went on a two week vacation in a motorhome all across the west. We went from one exciting experience to the next non-stop for two weeks, I was in heaven! For many of us transitions are a way of life, although some people want to call them “dramas” instead. How we view life is basic to our experiences, so the choice is ours. We can see what we don’t have and be upset about it all the time, fighting with everyone because they have what we want or are preventing us from getting, or we can accept our experiences as gifts and be grateful for them. Focusing instead on what we do have and holding a vision of what we desire. When is the last time you counted your blessings? I am very grateful to be alive to share these thoughts with you and I am even more grateful for you to be reading these words that flow through me like water on a meandering stream. I invite you to “row, row, row your boat gently down the stream” of Transitions and join me on this daily blog. I want this blog to be meaningful and uplifting so if a daily entry seems like it is getting a bit too much I may cut back to weekly. Hopefully I will be getting some feedback and will not have to guess. Let me know how you enjoy the message and feel free to share this with your friends. Blessings to all who read this!

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Meanwhile, it’s been 11 years 7 months 3 weeks and 6 days since posting the very first Transitions Blog shared above. It will be fun to look back and see how much has changed, if anything. My first observation is I have become more cynical. Part of me remains positive and joyful though that part doesn’t show itself much these days. The cost of knowing how things work while also knowing no matter how much they change, they stay the same. I have been empowered, traveled the world, seen wondrous things, had many joyous experiences and yet here we are, right back where we started.

It all comes down to choice in the moment. Not future decisions or the past, but the here and now. I can choose! No matter how bad I feel, I have the choice to smile and be grateful. I have the choice to be with Holy Spirit or with ego. This does not change, I have always had that choice and always will and so do you.

My transition has come full circle. Physically I have changed from hard, strong, masculine to soft, weak, and feminine. I am still me though. I am the person I have always believed myself to be, so does this mean I cannot be hard, strong, or masculine? Of course not. I am both and neither. The big difference is I have stopped apologizing for it. I wear the clothes I like and behave like the woman I am. Inspiration comes to me just as it always has and I am free to act on it or not, taking into account other self. When it comes right down to it, putting others first should be everyone’s priority. When you love another, you love yourself.

Sequoia Elisabeth

Gender Related Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 23

Oneness – Beyond Thought

by Sequoia Elisabeth

“Welcome to Oneness Ministry

Explore, Discover, and Experience our Oneness. Know thyself and you will know the world! We are dedicated to revealing Truth using our guide, Jesus and his teachings in A Course in Miracles.

The Journey of Love is about acceptance and non-judgment. We are Spiritual Beings not these vessels we use to interface with this world. There are no limitations with Mind. The One Mind, the only Mind, the Mind of God. Holy Spirit is here to show the way.” (https://onenessministry.info/)

The Above is the intro to our website Oneness Ministry. Upon review I feel like Oneness needs more explanation. All my pages here are related to oneness, some more than others. We cannot be too focused on Oneness, why? Because it is the essence of all existence. “Know thyself and you will know the world!” Simply stated, by knowing yourself, you know everything! This is Oneness, You, me, others… all of the One. It all seems separate – an illusion of ego mind. Most of the time connections are invisible, we see other people, places, and things as Other and this is right, they are Other Self. They are us projected into the world so we can know ourselves. This is both reassuring and terrifying!

“The Journey of Love is about acceptance and non-judgment.” So our journey here is to accept it all as One and most importantly not to judge it as good or bad or other at all. The Eastern Religions and teachings are less cryptic about this teaching than say Christianity, though all religions teach these concepts. Judge not, lest ye be judged! Do onto others as you would have done onto you! Take these cliches literally. There is no one else to judge or to do upon!

“We are Spiritual Beings not these vessels we use to interface with this world. There are no limitations with Mind. The One Mind, the only Mind, the Mind of God. Holy Spirit is here to show the way.” This comes from ACIM, A Course in Miracles which is the direct channeled teachings of Jesus. So what does it mean to be a Spiritual Being? We are not the observer, we are not the action taker, we are not even the master mind, we are Spirit, that which is beyond time and space. Spirit is reality… all that is real. “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.” (ACIM) So to explain this further, our lives are dreams or projections of mind. The aspect of Mind which believes itself to be separate from God, the Ego. While there is only One Mind, the Mind of God, we are constantly choosing between the false and the true, unconsciously most of the time. What we see, hear, feel, touch, taste is of ego mind. In fact an easy way to distinguish the false from the true is to know God, to know yourself. (My eBook Livin’ Large Ch. 12 goes into this further)

According to ACIM Holy Spirit is our go between and guide home. God knows nothing of this world and has nothing to do with what happens here, which frankly, explains a lot! Our choice is between Ego and Holy Spirit. It is as simple as that. Ego makes things complicated, Spirit is simple. As we say, we are giving up nothing (the ego or unreal) and receiving everything! (Spirit, who we are, the real)

Sequoia Elisabeth

https://onenessministry.info/

Spirituality Transitions

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Nov 22

The Highest Law of the Land

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The law of Free Will is a law we all need to know and respect. Our society has evolved to think it needs to enforce laws to ensure order. The ten commandments are one foundation for these laws. If we learn anything we must learn that controlling others is not possible and is often misguided.

Free will can be defined as “the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion.” To infringe upon this freedom one must make decisions for or take action for another. It is not possible to force another to do anything against their will as contrary to human experience as this may seem. We are often unconscious volunteers in violent scenarios and this is where abuse and such occur. Examples of Free Will infringement would be murder, manipulation, and Law enforcement. Justice is not up to other self or others. I realize this gets complicated to explain so I will not attempt to do so. I will only say, please explore what Free Will means and seek to deepen your understanding of it. Do not accept what others tell you, instead take what you observe and test it. “Thou shall not commit adultery” is one of the ten commandments. Think about this, could this be a violation of Free Will?

Now let us consider sexual interactions. The heart loves who the heart loves. It matters not on that level what the others physical sex is. (It does matter to the brain or conscious level) Physical attraction is often an overwhelming emotion and at very least a powerful and obvious feeling. Does this mean one must act on every feeling or emotion? Of course not. This is where emotional maturity comes in. It is a conscious choice not to act on feelings of attraction toward someone who is in relations with another. In order for Free Will not to be violated both parties in that relationship must consent. If all choose to engage in ‘menage a trois’ then this is Love expressing. This probably seems obvious to most reading this blog, however adultery is committed by thousands if not millions every day.

If one follows their intuition it is fairly easy to avoid the karma created by acts of Free Will violation. Listen to the small clear loving voice who guides you in matters of spirit. Knowing this voice is critical to spiritual growth. Is it the ego (what used to be referred to as the devil) speaking to you? Or the Spirit? Some call this Soul, but I do not. There is no soul as most think of it. There is One Mind, thus if there is only One, this means there is no ‘other’. The Holy Spirit is our connection to the All there is. Any thing which represents duplicity or separation is of the ego. Therefor, listen to this One voice for love which we each have access to. The reality of Oneness is another topic and one I have written about many times. To know Oneness is to be Enlightened. (see image posted with this blog)

What this all comes down to is Question Reality and stay curious and explore! Nothing is set in stone, not even stone! Follow the heart and to do this one must understand when it speaks and how to discern this from the ego, monkey mind. Blessings to each of us on our Journey of Love! Have a Joyous Thanksgiving.

chop-wood

Spirituality

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Apr 30

I am as God created me!

by Sequoia Elisabeth

I am as God created me!  So why are you feeling dysphoria?  Why do you think there is something wrong with you?  (too fat, too tall, wrong genitalia, wrong hair color or eye color, etc, etc.)  The imperfections are not of God’s making.  The imperfections and the feelings of incongruence (dysphoria) come from the Ego.  Allow me to explain this world to you.

This physical world we live in here is the creation of the Ego Mind, the aspect of you which believes itself separate from God.  In truth this world is a dream and often it is a dream within a dream!  It does not matter how many ‘echos’ of the One which are created, the point is there is only One and this one is God, the all there is.  If you love movies, theatre, or story-telling then you know dreams… this life you think you are living is no more real than the stories you experience on TV, Movies, Theatre, or a story-telling stage.  What makes it seem so real?  Ego mind!

Adam and Eve are the original Ego story, not that they are real either.  This Ego is an aspect of God which wished to see what separate means and so created a separate world, this world where we sit today, or seem to sit today.  In reality no one has gone anywhere!  We are all still in the loving arms of God, yet asleep and dreaming of life.

As the Course in Miracles states, the dream was but a second or flash and all that is or was or will be happened and we returned to God.  The “reality” we experience now is simply an echo of this dream, thus the dream within a dream…

The next question then is how do we awaken from this dream?  First of all by understanding who “I” is.  These pesky pronouns are very confusing!  I, me, you, us, we, they are simply different aspect of the One.  Please understand there is only ONE.  The delusion is that you are separate from me and that they exist at all!

This probably seems farfetched and from the perspective of the Ego mind it is.  Step back from this perspective and see through the eyes of Holy Spirit, feel through Holy Spirit.  It may take a while so don’t be in a rush.  I have been working in this for years.  The Truth becomes clearer every day though, so I keep the Faith and move forward.  This takes us to the next step, acceptance.

Accept things as they seem (even though we know otherwise).  Imagine you are a character in a movie.  Can that character get out of the movie?  Not hardly; they must play their part to the end.  So why not enjoy your part/role in this elaborate story of life!  It is much better than choosing misery.  Be the best you (whatever your role is at the time) and Shine!

Sequoia Elisabeth 🙂

Unity in Gender Diversity

ps. If you would like to read more on this, I highly recommend Butterflies Fly for Free by Stephen Davis, as well as A Course in Miracles (ACIM).

 

 

Gender Related Spirituality

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Feb 17

Place As A State Of Consciousness

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The power of place is in the consciousness you hold at the time.  Perhaps you remember the quote, “all the world’s a stage and we are merely players” William Shakespeare, or perhaps the concept of “The Matrix” presented in the movie by the same name?  When you have an experience of say the beach, it is all created in your mind!

I know this seems farfetched to some of you, but to others it will be obvious.  What this comes down to is the state of consciousness you are operating with.  Is Love on your mind or fear?  Prosperity or lack?  We are taught that if we wish to raise our consciousness we need to be in Church or some Holy place and that is simply backwards.

By being in a high state of consciousness the Church or Holy place appears.  It is possible for your entire day to be Holy, whether you are in the supermarket, school, or office!  The state of consciousness you hold will be your experience of that place.

To create this state simply clear your mind and intend the Highest and Best Good in, of, and around you at all times.  Worry is not a choice, hurry is not a choice, Holy is the Only Choice!  Deem every place you go – Holy – as this is the Ultimate reality!

The power of place then becomes the power of Holy Spirit operating in, of, and around you!  Attending church is fuel to this Holy state of consciousness, as is meditation, yoga, prayer, mantras, and a myriad of other spiritual practices.  Even menial labor, exercise, or other repetitive tasks can assist the mind in reaching a Holy state of consciousness.

All it really takes is a pure heart and clear intentions.  Your thoughts are focused on the Highest Good for everyone, not just yourself.  Your experience is centered in Joy, not only yours but everyone’s.  I speak of a feeling that is centered in the heart and comes from your core, not the superficial feeling of happiness that can never last.

With practice and pure intentions the place no longer is important, because your life will be Heaven on Earth!  “A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world.  Everyone you meet is your mirror.”  Ken Keyes

😀 Sequoia Elisabeth

Unity in Gender Diversity             Free eBooks

 

Spirituality Transitions

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Feb 13

God’s Love

by Sequoia Elisabeth

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! ♥♥♥

Here is the answer to the previous Blog on Ego Love. The following is an excerpt from Sex and Sexuality, “For clarity I will capitalize this type of Love, so if you see “love” think ego and if you see “Love” think Eternal Spirit.  The only true form of Love is that which some define as Agape or the Love of God.  The ego mind is attempting to steer you around this section so just ignore your impulse to stop and read on.  I promise this is an extremely important concept to master.  Metaphor is so illustrative so consider this.  You came to earth expecting a mansion and were instead given a shack!  This is the illusion we all have been sold by ego mind.  The ego is not who you are but is in fact a tool given us to experience this world.  It is not possible to be in this world without your ego, because this world is in fact your ego expressing.   It is time to let go of the belief that you are your ego (or your body) for it no longer serves you. 

Who are you if you are not your ego?  When the ego is stripped away all that remains is Universal Intelligence, Great Spirit, God, or the One Mind.  Other names for God are pure Love, Joy and Peace.  For our purposes here today we are only discussing Love although Joy and Peace are interchangeable with Love.  God is All There Is and how we experience this is what Love is all about.  God is Love, God is Joy, God is Peace, God is YOU and me and all that is!  You may have heard this explanation however I offer it here because it is so profound.  Each of us are points of experience for God or you can think of each life form as an aspect of God and if God is infinite, remember the poem at the beginning of this chapter, then we all are infinite.  Here is some prose that illustrates what Love is so that you can get an idea of what this entails. 

Love Is

Love is not exclusive, but Inclusive

Love is not painful, but the Highest JOY

Love is never lost, but exists always

Love is not changing, but constant

Love is not different, but the same at all levels

Love is not wrong, but the answer

Love is Universal!

Love exists regardless of what is happening in your life, in fact

Love exists regardless of your life

Love is something you can share, but cannot prevent another from experiencing,

only yourself

Love is the only thing you have more of when you give it away

Love is a feeling, an emotion, an experience, and so much more

Love is life itself

Love is a way of life

Love is an acceptance of all that comes your way

Love is an expression of WHO YOU ARE, who we all are

I AM THAT, I AM

So the next time you wish to experience Love consider what that means.  Love is unconditional and in order to experience this we must first give it away!  How can you give away something you do not have?  You cannot, but then Love is who you are so simply give you away.  This is done by being thoughtful and considerate of others, accepting others for who they present to you, and never criticizing anyone or anything.  You give of yourself by doing onto others as you would have done onto you.” (Sex and Sexuality) 

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

Unity in Gender Diversity     Discover Sex and Sexuality click here

Spirituality Transitions

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Dec 26

New Beginnings

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Today is a new day so start fresh.  Leave any thoughts that no longer serve you and move on to new pastures.  Animals realize this and we can learn from them.  If an area is over grazed and the food (thought) is not fresh and nourishing then they move to another area until they find what is nourishing and uplifting.

We are constantly given the choice to think and act from habit or transition to a new more satisfying pattern.  I was thinking about this the other day.  Our lives are like a movie with each moment a frame on the movie film.  As we go from moment to moment in our life the movie comes to life!  The movie can be spliced and edited too.  Take for instance a memory.  Each time you have a memory what happens is your movie is re-edited, the past is brought into the present and becomes “real” again.  No, not reel, real!  Oh, I know that nothing is “real” unless we make it so.  If we only knew how powerful we actually are. 

Would you still make the choices you make if you knew how powerful you are?  Is there something in your life that you would like to change?  OK, so choose again and again and again, until it is just the way you want.  What?  Oh you have been doing that already, lol.  Well then, now you know the nature of life.  Events happen based on all energies and actions, and sometimes it is difficult to predict things.  What I do when life is not going my way is stop making choices myself and instead ask Holy Spirit to help me.  Holy Spirit can see what I cannot and does not have the limitations I have created for myself so things improve rapidly this way.  Please don’t get tripped up on the word Holy Spirit, use a word that suits you, like maybe God, Yaweh, Allah, Buddha, Baha’u’llah, Great Spirit, or Universal Mind.  I will continue to use Holy Spirit since I follow The Course in Miracles. 

In a way when Holy Spirit is guiding our path we are simply actors in a movie, the movie of our life.  Getting back to editing the movie, let’s take a look and what happens when we splice the future into the present.  Oh yes this works too and in fact is a powerful tool that requires the use of our imagination.  Can you imagine the perfect life?  Have you ever seen a movie and wish it was you up there on the screen?  Then make it so, by dreaming a little dream, holding the desire close to your heart and putting it all in the hands of the Master Editor, Holy Spirit.   Blessed Be  🙂  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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Dec 23

We are ONE

by Sequoia Elisabeth

My message is simple. We are all One and are growing closer each day. Have you felt that connection lately that just made you smile and feel all warm inside? It can be as simple as a familiar smell or taste that just makes you say, ”ahhhh, I love this”. Often it happens when we are talking to a friend or loved one, but it can also happen when you least expect it. I met a man a few weeks ago at a memorial service for the first time and the way he looked me in the eye and the feeling I got struck me straight to my soul, pass the heart and collect 2 million dollars! It is not likely I will ever forget that look and the feeling I felt, names on the other hand are a different matter, lol. I know Love when I feel it and this was the Love of Great Spirit or Holy Spirit without any doubt. Once you understand this feeling it is unmistakable and incredibly enjoyable.

As the course in miracles says, miracles are a daily event when you are connected to Holy Spirit and this is one way to know if you are connected. We are constantly getting feedback from Spirit letting us know if we are on the path or not. If it feels good, then yes you are on the right path. If it feels bad or makes you sick, or tired then no you are not on the right path. Life really is simple.

One of the concepts I have been playing with lately is Unity in Diversity, so let me share what I have come up with. The experience of oneness is at the core of this Unity and it is experienced through each person in their own unique perspective. For example, if there are 100,000 people at a concert all enjoy this awesome musical event, each person will have a different experience of the same event at the same time. This is Unity in Diversity to me. Or take a common procedure that many people experience in their lifetime like getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist, we all are experiencing the same event in different ways and while we can each relate to this experience we are each having slightly different experiences with it. Why else would there be 7+billion people in the world, if not to have 7+billion different experiences? Now I am speaking of the One mind, let me explain that even though we are each individuals we are all using the One mind, the mind of God. I can see this is getting a bit long, so we will continue with this concept of oneness on the next blog.  Sequoia Elisabeth

Spirituality Transitions

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