Oneness Ministry

We are One

Feb 26

Discrimination and American Values

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The United States of America has traditionally been mostly Christian or some variant. Though the beauty of our country is we respect all beliefs and our constitution protects our right to believe what we Will (as in power, not action). These rights go both ways though. While we have the right to our beliefs we do not have the right to force them on others. Discrimination is a sticky pickle for a very simple reason. A very basic spiritual principle that every religion teaches says “Do onto others as you would have them do on to you”. Another way to say this is “What you do to another, you do to yourself” or “What you give you receive”.

Let’s apply this to discrimination. If a person tells another don’t judge me, then they have to practice this as well if they expect the other person to comply. If someone refuses to socialize with what they perceive to be the “other” or “those who are not like them” then they are giving this “other” the right to do so also. In effect this person is creating separation, not only from the “other” but from themselves as well! By being afraid to socialize with this “other” they perpetuate the very thing they are afraid of.

In a Course in Miracles Jesus teaches us to see beyond appearances, to find the divine in everyone and in everything, not because it is really there, not because there is a separate objective reality, but because there is NOT. Everything we experience is a projection from our own mind and is intended to awaken us from our dreams of dying, from being separate. This is Unity, Oneness, Truth. So when confronted with hateful, discriminating, mean other self, know that it is your own self reflected back and forgive. Just knowing how all this works makes it so much easier to be kind, thoughtful, and loving. Everything/everyone you encounter is either a statement of Love or a cry for Love. You get to choose where you look and what you see. It’s easy if you allow it to be. Resistance is Futile, LOL. Persistence pays.

Jesus teaches that a Miracle is simply choosing Love over fear. Every day we experience miracles without even knowing it. Now you know what a Miracle life is. This is what our founding fathers intended to protect. If we take an other’s right to discriminate away then we are trapping ourselves. (Not to mention violating free will!) Let them hate you, this gives you the opportunity to forgive them and in doing so forgive yourself. It may seem counter intuitive, but it works. I have tested it. Another thing Jesus teaches us is to turn the other cheek. If someone strikes you, offer the other cheek also. I tested this and was amazed by the result. Fear disappeared and Love is all that remained.

Sequoia Elisabeth

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Dec 6

ACIM and Gary Renard

by Sequoia Elisabeth

“Beware of the temptation to perceive yourself unfairly treated.  In this view, you seek to find an innocence that is not Theirs but yours alone, and at the cost of someone else’s guilt.  Can innocence be purchased by the giving of your guilt to someone else?” (Jesus)

There’s a capital T in Theirs because what they really are is innocent Spirit, beyond the veil.  But if you perceive yourself as unfairly treated, then you’re making everything real, which makes the entire ego thought system of guilt real in your mind.  The only way to find your innocence is to get that it’s not real and forgive others for what they have not done in reality. And since it never happened, you can then think of them as being innocent.  That’s the way to have it for yourself.  Never forget that.  It’s the only way out.  (Gary Renard, 2013 p.108)

If you perceive yourself as unfairly treated,

then you’re making everything real.

Just one of many insightful quotes from Gary Renard’s new book Love Has Forgotten No One.  Of the many ACIM teachers out there Gary is by far the easiest to understand and thus the most effective.  He makes the course enjoyable as well as comprehensible.  Of course to fully understand this book, reading the other two are required, but then no one said being an ACIM student was easy.  It takes at least a year to do the daily lessons and in reality is will take the rest of your life to fully grasp and apply the teachings.  This is only if you are dedicated also.  This does not give you an excuse to skip it altogether though.  As is stated in the beginning of the textbook, “”This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.” (A Course In Miracles, 1996, p.2)

If you are not already a student I recommend reading Gary’s three books first and then doing the course or perhaps if you are dedicated you could do Gary’s books while you do the workbook daily lessons.  Just be warned, your life will never be the same again!  This is a good thing.

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Nov 3

Charity?

by Sequoia Elisabeth

Here is an article on Charity from Unity in Gender Diversity website which I share now in light of Hurricane Sandy.  We are all in this together.

What is charity and why is it important, or more to the point – is it important?  Buddha and Jesus practiced a form of charity that can only be described as generosity and agape.  The dictionary defines charity as “generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless, as in something given to a person or persons in need”. The key words here to me are generous and given, but that is contrasted with “in need”. So let’s look at need. The dictionary defines need as a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary, or an urgent want, as of something requisite. Again words jump out and help to further understand this question. The words lack and want present themselves. Are you getting a clearer picture now?  This can be very confusing, so let me go deeper for you. In order for me to do that, I need to share my cosmology or understanding of Universal Law with you.

“There is but one mind, the mind of God and that mind is my mind now!” This quote by Ernest Holmes says it all. There is only one! One mind, one God, one Source, and in order for this one source of all to experience itself fully it chose to individuate or diversify. We are each an individual point or part of the whole. This being true, we are each “made in the image of our creator” or an extension of GOD! We are not separate, not some toy God made to amuse itself and not at God’s mercy. We are God’s Mercy! All that we do is an extension of God. Sort of like agents for GOD. Of course this is merely the surface, but you get the point. Who and what we are can be taken much deeper, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Let’s get back to charity. Now that we know what it is, let’s look at why or if it is important. This question is much trickier.

How do we decide what is important? Does someone else tell us that or do we decide? For the sake of this article let us just say that whatever is important in this world is up to you. Bottom line, nothing is important lest you make it so! I reached this conclusion after much contemplation and meditation, not to mention real life trials and tribulations. So once again why is or is not charity important? This is something that only you can answer, so make up your own mind. (This is why we individuated!) My role here is to share my perspective and hopefully deepen our understanding of this concept, Charity.

The way I see it is we each make choices every day and as we do this one thing leads to another and we experience “that which we create” – our Lives! Life is made up of a combination of choices and fate (choices we made before we were born). Each experience we have is from a choice we made at some point in our eternal journey of Life. It is not up to us to judge these experiences as good or bad, but to simply experience them to the fullest of our capacity. So how does one decide who is “in need”? Who gets to choose your wants or desires? Who decides who is lacking and what they lack? Take your time here as these questions are pivotal to the future of mankind!

I feel that it is our individual decision to make the choice of what we want or desire! Another important concept is the mirror principal, which states that what you see is a reflection of your thoughts! What you see is what you get! OUCH! or Ahh HA!

If you see LACK you are experiencing lack, therefore you are thinking and acting it also! You are creating the very thing you are trying to eliminate!!! NEED! (Because what you see is what you get) This is a paradox of our dualistic world, but it is Universal Law. By providing charity, you are creating the need for charity and thus is the paradox of all life activities here on earth. For example, when you meet a person on the street who is limping with a crutch( see the little Cratchit boy, Tiny Tim), what thoughts go thru your mind? Most use the ego mind which attempts to explain the condition of the person we meet (poor little tiny Tim – feel sorry for him), but I would suggest to you now that the truth is not evident to our human eyes! Consider the possibility that Tiny Tim chose his experience, just for the experience of it. Who are you to judge it as good or bad? The Spirit self or Christ within knows nothing of good or bad, it only is!   Now when we go on a “Charity Trip to an impoverished country” what are we really doing? In my opinion we are attempting to rescue ourselves from false belief. Do we see Christ’s children being the best humans they can or do we see “a poor starved child”? Do we see lack? Or do we see Abundance of Spirit expressing as it chooses? When we see a homeless person sleeping under a tree or begging for money in the subway, what goes through our mind? Is that a choice? Of course a choice has been made, the deeper question is why? I still do not believe that it is up to me to decide for another their experiences. If a person is in harm’s way and I am able to assist them, I will, but only if they ask. If someone asks me for assistance, I will always do what I can! This is the tricky part, giving is receiving and we all enjoy receiving, so why not help everyone? Maybe not everyone needs our help. Maybe our need to be needed is the very problem to start with! Asking if they would like assistance is still assuming that they are needy. I am here to see them as happy, healthy and vibrant; nothing less will do!

So let me recap for you. Charity for the sake of “the poor, the sick or downtrodden” is a self fulfilling prophecy. The giving of Charity to a person who asks is simply put, Agape. This is the Charity Jesus practiced. He saw each person he met as the Christ fully realized and in this was the gift! This is the gift we can give each person we meet! If we see a person as one way or the other that is what you get! So why not see them as the Christ? If they ask for something give it to them, but let’s not go looking for needy people, so that we can feel good about how good we are.  The Buddha said that “If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift. But because beings do not know, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they eat without having given. The stain of selfishness overcomes their minds.” Khuddaka Nikaya, Itivuttaka I.26   Life is so simple, easy is up to you!  I think that this is what is meant by the quote, “Be the Peace you desire in this world”. Share of what you have, be kind to others, and see Peace everywhere you go. See beyond the apparent chaos, and the illusion of war. See Peace! Now this is Charity!

Sequoia Elisabeth 🙂

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Aug 19

Art of Detachment

by Sequoia Elisabeth

The art of detachment is a Buddhist teaching which also has its Christian counterpart.  Jesus teaches this and likely learned it from the Buddhist teachers he had.  It works like this; be in the world but not of it.  What this means is to fully experience life and at the same time release any attachment you have to it.  Please see the blog of Jan. 26, 2011 for a previous explanation of The Art of Detachment.  From this point on I would like to provide other perspectives so the picture becomes clearer.

Live fully and completely without being attached to the outcome.  Accept what you have as a gift and make the most of it!  Once you have experienced this know that you can experience anything you desire.  Do you see how living with passion can bring vitality to life?  If not you soon will.

“Detachment means rising above the status quo, without passing judgment, and watching the drama unfold without becoming physically or emotionally involved. Detachment doesn’t mean burying your head in the sand so that you need not watch the action as it unfolds; it means, being there, observing from an objective space, and remembering who you are, a spiritual being watching the drama of polarization reach its climax and fail so that a new paradigm of victory can be birthed by those of us who refuse to buy into a perpetual game of winners and losers. Detachment addresses the need of the spiritually inclined to remove oneself from the chaos while observing and learning valuable lessons about this temporary physical existence. … But remember, we are spiritual beings having a human experience and not the other way around. So we can remove ourselves from the drama when we’ve learned all we need to know about polarization and separation. When we finally realize who we really are, and how we are all equally part of the same creative manifestation, we will finally learn the fine art of detachment and the truth behind our cosmic ancestry and oneness.” (Dawn Abel, 2002)

The key is to tap into your desire and experience it fully, and once experienced you release it and move to the next.  Here is a different view of Detachment that provides a deeper insight to its value and use.

“Detachment not only releases joy; it is also the secret of health. It is the best medical insurance in the world, and not only because it can keep us free from physical habits that sap our vitality. Most illness has a serious emotional element. While there is an important place for physical measures in the treatment of disease, a mind at peace and a heart flooded with love can release healing powers that strengthen and revitalize the physical system. Strength can be regained even after years of emotional instability. In extreme cases, I believe, recovery can be brought about even from what seems a terminal illness.

Today, of course, it is widely appreciated that because of advances in medical knowledge, we can expect to live much longer than was reasonable at the beginning of the twentieth century. But we can lead lives that are not only longer but richer, more loving, and more productive. The next steps in stretching the limits of human health and longevity, I believe, will not be in biotechnology. They will come from learning to govern the way we think and feel. Detachment is a longevity skill. Freedom from compulsive emotional entanglements is the best insurance against stress. More than that, by opening a window onto a fuller, loftier view of life than that dictated by self-interest, detachment brings a sense of purpose. Without a reason for living, the human being withers and dies inside. However paradoxical it may sound, it is detachment that enables us to give ourselves wholeheartedly to worthwhile work without ever getting depressed, despondent, or burned out – right into the last days of our lives.” (The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation)

I wish I could describe the feeling of Joy that comes from detachment, but I will just say “Give it a go – put this to the test”!  Love your partner, family, pet, job, home, etc. completely without being attached to any outcomes such as living the next 20 years together, being happy, or even being healthy.  They could be hit by a car tomorrow and become paraplegic or even die!  I have certainly seen this happen more times than I would of liked.  I have also seen people who had this experience and made their lives into celebrations!  Taking the lemons you are given and making lemonade is one of the most satisfying things you will ever do!

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Nov 7

The Other Side of the Coin

by Sequoia Elisabeth

For every person who is suffering, there is someone who is living in Joy.  For every person who is bullying others, there is someone who is Loving all who they meet.  Often the bully’s are hurting as much or more than their victims.  High school is a right of passage that all Americans experience.  How you handle it is not only a reflection of who you are, but of how you were raised!

Puberty is a time when so many aspects of life are changing and it is when those who are gender incongruent smack head on with a wall of confusion.  Not to mention figuring out sexual orientation.  If you have ever looked at the questions on sites like yahoo answers the number of questioning teenagers is amazing.  They are discovering sexuality and gender identity from different perspectives and finding what works best for them and this goes for all teenagers.  The environment in which they are raised will have much to do with whether they feel safe to be themselves.

Are you providing an open, loving and accepting environment for your children to grow up?  Do you set an example for them by treating everyone you meet as an equal?  In order to create a world of equality, one must embody it first!  As we do this then those who follow will do the same, it is human nature. 

There can be no better role model than Jesus Christ.  When you fully understand his personal teachings you will have the skills to be a role model.  I recommend A Course in Miracles (ACIM), A Spiritual Sex Manual, and The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking for starters.  There are literally hundreds of books and teachings that are based on these teachings.  One of my favorites that applies to the discussion of bullying in our schools is posted below.  The before mentioned books teach how to do what this prayer suggests. May your journey be a peaceful and prosperous one. 

Christian Prayer for Peace

 
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be known as the Children of God.

But I say to you that hear,

love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you,

pray for those who abuse you.

To those who strike you on the cheek offer the other also,

and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well.

Give to everyone who begs from you,

and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again.

And as you wish that others would to do you, do so to them.

 

If anyone needs this explained to them please contact me, I am more than happy to get into the details and meaning of this prayer.  To me it is self evident what it means, however from the state of affairs worldwide many do not understand this prayer, much less read such things.  May we all be Blessed in our Journey of Love!

🙂 Sequoia Elisabeth

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Feb 23

What is Love?

by Sequoia Elisabeth

This is a continuation from yesterday.

I will offer you a few poems to illustrate LOVE and then I will discuss some important points. 

“What is Love?

It is that which is without condition, without limitation, and without need. 

Because it is without condition, it requires nothing in order to be expressed.  It asks nothing in return.  It withdraws nothing in retaliation. 

Because it is without limitation, it places no limitation on another.  It knows no ending, but goes on forever. It experiences no boundary or barrier.

Because it is without need, it seeks to take nothing not freely given.  It seeks to hold nothing not wishing to be held.  It seeks to give nothing not joyously welcomed. 

And it is free.  Love is that which is free, for freedom is the essence of what God is, and love is God, expressed.”

Neale Donald Walsch, Friendship With God, Page 156

“Love Is, a Poem

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

Sequoia Elisabeth Carpenter, Livin’ Large, page 20

 Now that we have some idea of what love is and is not, I offer some important points to remember.  The first and most important thing for you to realize is that love is not painful, so if you are hurting then that is not love; that is ego.  Now that you realize this you can let it go for it serves you not!  Infatuation is often painful so no that is not love although so many of us think it is when we first get started.   This is a painful lesson to learn, but that is ok, pain is simply a distraction from the Truth, which is you are Loved by All That Is.  If you are asking for love from one person and only that person, then this is not love.  Love chooses you, not the other way around and if you put limits on your love then it instantly becomes ego.  You cannot love one person more than any other, so when I say “I love you” I mean that as if I was speaking to my Beloved, because I am!  This is the way Jesus spoke of love and so we can carry on the tradition. 

Hopefully you are getting a good feeling of what love is and is not, so now let’s take this one more level to where it all begins; in your heart.  I have mentioned doing mirror work before and this is where self acceptance and self love begin.  Look into the mirror and go deep within your soul, feel the love, say it out loud, “I Love You”.  Practice this over and over every day, every time you see yourself in the mirror!  Feel it deep within your soul, for this is who you are speaking with, and your soul is reflecting back to you!  At first this may seem difficult or awkward, just stick with it, the payoff is Golden! 

Some of you may be thinking this sounds very narcissistic or conceded.  I assure you it is not, and why it is not is because “you” are greater than what you see in the mirror.  Remember the soul we were speaking of before, this is who you are loving, not the body you see in the mirror or the ego.  Ego love is narcissistic and conceded, so that is what we are letting go of and instead we are focused on the Love of God, Universal Love, Soul Love, or Oneness.  

Let me know if I left anything out or if you have a question I did not address, I am at your service.   :-)Sequoia Elisabeth

“Wisdom is knowing that I am nothing, Love is knowing that I am everything, in between my life moves.”

Spirituality Transitions

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