Soul Renewal for 2008
January 13, 2008
January, 2008
Soul Renewal
By Carol S. Batey, Lifestyle Coach
Gen.2:7 "And man became a living soul"
Namasté, my dear ones—the God in me beholds the God in you,
this brand new month! Namasté is used many times by
Eastern and also Western yogis, as they bow to each other
in respect. The word “nama” means “to bow”! Namasté
literally means "I bow to you".
I don't know about you, but I have been looking for a soul
renewal as the wonderful
year 2007 comes to an end! Praise
God for all that he has bestowed on me, my friends and my
family. We are bountifully blessed with abundance and
well-being.
As many
of you are aware, as I write this newsletter, I am
now in the windy place of Chicago. My daughter's friends,
Mr. Frank and Rev. Alice Brown, took me to the church
called
Christ Universal Temple. This was planned by Spirit
before I arrived. My friends took me on a tour of the
church. Yes, it's cold and wet here, and there are
snowflakes
floating around in this Windy City. However, I
found some warmth at the Temple that has renewed my soul! I
received direction from Spirit and empowerment to move
forward
into my next destination in 2008. I “got it”, and
I will now live better this upcoming year.
Have you ever heard of the inspiring, innovative woman of
God, Dr. Johnnie
Colemon? Her "spark of divinity" has
illuminated the world since she attended school at Unity
Village in Missouri. She was one of the first black women
to attend that
spiritual school. Johnnie brought her
knowledge and wisdom to the Windy City. In 1956, her
God-given talents and awareness caused her to develop a
teaching program for
those who wanted to teach the "good
news" in the way of the master teacher, Jesus. Thus the
Christ Universal Temple was born. With humility, Johnnie
Colemon raised the
level of consciousness of souls who had
dreams to be birthed, teaching the lesson that "The truth
shall set you free". There is a saying on the Christ
Universal Temple
for Better Living Church program: Jesus
Christ is the head of this ministry. We are open,
receptive and responsive to His instruction and guidance.
For more information
on the Temple, see www.cutemple.org
So this month’s newsletter is dedicated to a soul renewal
of Faith in the development of the inner Christ spirit.
The color of Faith
(in the Unity tradition) is royal blue.
Mentally start focusing on Faith, in the center of your
brain. See the color and know that in Faith you are being
renewed.
In
many New Thought spiritual teachings, there is a
principle that simply states that all human beings have a
“spark of divinity” within them, the Christ spirit within
their
souls. A key beginning to a soul renewal is to behold
the “spark of divinity” within your own soul, then to form
a union with that voice of God, the Christ within you. Do
you also see the divinity in others daily, or are you just
focused on yourself? In the Unity teachings it is said,
“Their very essence is of God, and therefore they are also
inherently good.”
If I may, I ask you again ?
• Do you see the God within yourself and others?
• What is your “spark of divinity”?
• Can you say “I AM the Christ”?
Who is the “I AM”?
Take time right now for a quiet prayer of meditation and
use contemplation to answer these questions.
Unity teachings recognize the human being as
having three
parts: (1) spirit (the divine part of you); (2) soul (the
mental and emotional); and (3) body (the physical part of
you). As set forth in the book, The
Quest: A Journey of
Spiritual Rediscovery, by Richard and Mary-Alice Jafolla,
Unity teaches that, “The soul is where you do the work,
where you make the changes.”
Exercise: Stop, close your eyes, meditate in silence, and
contemplate what you have just read. Can you integrate the
wisdom you received into your spirit, soul and mind for
an
understanding of how importantly a soul renewal can help
you along your destined path for 2008? It all starts in
union with Christ in your soul!
Now awaken from
your dream state, open the inner eyes
within your soul, and embrace your destiny by putting your
hands on the doorknob of the gateway into your soul’s
purpose. Ask, seek,
and knock to find your soul’s true
purpose and renewal in this year, 2008. In the center of
your soul are the answers. So make your way to the center
of your soul. Spirit
is there. Trust that center within
you where God resides. And trust yourself, with a strong
core belief that all can be done with the Christ Spirit
living within your
soul.
All can be done by listening to the spiritual teachers and
guides that you picked out before coming into this earth
life. You may not remember them, but you did
pick them out!
So after stepping into the center of the gateway or doorway
to your soul, gaze into the river-streams overflowing from
heaven to earth and receive the
messages given to you in
faith by these non-physical teachers and guides. The
promptings you receive must be accepted in faith in
yourself and in Spirit.
In Gary
Zukav’s innovative book, The Seat of the Soul
(pp.98-104), he shares his understanding that all humans
have both personal guides and Teachers that are
non-physical
beings. “A guide is not a Teacher,” says
Zukav. “Guides,” he states, “are experts in certain fields
that are called in for a consultation.” A guide has a
non-physical
body unlike yours. In our physical world,
guides direct or lead us to a destination place or give us
important information. Have you ever been out of town and
gone on a
guided tour? How did that feel to you?
Examples of experiences where guides are often helpful are
when you are writing a book, speaking in public, creating a
project, or
organizing an event. Guides are useful for
these types of experiences. Just for fun, you can conduct
a search on the Internet, typing in spirit guides/teachers
to find
information on these unseen beings.
My spirit guides tap me on the shoulders to wake me up to
write! One time, I was led to write for a total of 12
hours straight, and
then fell asleep at 12 a.m. I am so
glad I felt led to get up and finish the book in that
12-hour stretch of writing! I had help from beyond this
world—for which I am
thankful! Can you remember a time when
you had assistance from “beyond the veil”?
Zukav continues the discussion (The Seat of the Soul, p.
99), “However, Teachers
operate on a more personal plane of
involvement. A non-physical Teacher brings you ever closer
to your soul.” Teachers are in our world to impart their
knowledge by
lessons, to give us instruction.
Teachers are more involved than guides. They are impersonal
energies that we personalize and feel a relationship with
on an intimate
level. A non-physical Teacher brings you
closer to your soul. St. Teresa of Ávila has been my
non-physical Teacher for the last four months. She has
taught me much about
my soul. This has been her mission in
life: to help others to know their souls.
A Teacher, continues Zukav, draws your attention to the
vertical path on your soul’s
journey and the difference
between the vertical the horizontal paths. Zukav says that
the path of consciousness is awareness of the vertical
path. On this path, you
develop clarity and are in touch
with your higher Self. In contrast, the horizontal path
attracts your personality, using earthly pleasures and
pursuits, such as money,
to satisfy you. But this doesn’t
satisfy the higher Self or serve your spiritual growth.
Unity founder Charles Fillmore also spoke of the vertical
and horizontal paths
in his definition of the Cross: . . .
“The perpendicular [i.e., the vertical] bar symbolizes the
inner current of divine life; the horizontal bar symbolizes
the cross
current of human limitation.” (Metaphysical Bible
Dictionary, from the Charles Fillmore Reference Library,
Unity House)
For more on the vertical path and the roles of
guides and
Teachers, I recommend for your reading Gary Zukav’s book,
The Seat of the Soul. This will help your
self-understanding as a good start to a soul renewal.
In closing I ask you, what is your soul longing for in this
new year of 2008? Can you unite your soul with the inner
Christ spirit to conquer your fears and the demons that
you
have created within? How will you go about doing the inner
work?
Start with a quiet prayer from the heart. Then continue the
inner work in the silence, in your
daily meditation and the
spiritual practice that only you can define.
Do you have a spiritual practice, such as journaling,
meditation, reading of good uplifting books,
watching
positive TV programs, listening to inspiring music,
exercise programs, eating wholesome foods? If not, create a
spiritual practice today and see what occurs.
And in closing, a few wise words from the Universe on
trusting the soul within:
The young soul learns to trust by asking questions.
The old
soul learns to trust by silently observing.
But wise souls . . . couldn't care less.
They simply don't depend on others, for anything.
Whoa!
The Universe
Happiness, health, and extravagant abundance . . . are all
inside jobs.
- From Notes from the Universe, Mike Dooley (www.tut.com)
Do you know how to sit still,
all by yourself, and know
that God is God? St.
Teresa of Ávila taught her monks and nuns in the 16th
Century to offer a silent prayer to God from the center of
the
heart, the first step towards opening the heart to
divine guidance. So open your heart center to God in
prayer and seek there to renew your soul. In
contemplation, be
sure to listen to the answer that comes
from within—the still, small voice of God.
Blessings,
Carol S. Batey, Lifestyle Coach
www.artlifestylecoach.com
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