Raised as a New Thought Christian, some of my earliest
memories are of my grandmother taking me to a movie
theater in Los Angeles, California where we attended
church services at The Church of Religious Science.
We actually heard Ernest Holmes (founder) and Dr. William
Hornaday speak there. And I can remember Mickey Rooney
being called up from the audience to give testimony to
how spirit was working in his life. (I loved Mickey
Rooney because I was a big fan of the movie National
Velvet!) We also attended the Unity Church together over
the years.
My grandmother loved the practical application of
Christian principles. It was about action according to
Christ-centered teachings. I grew up witnessing her
strength and personal power fueled by her belief in
partnering with God, co-creating, with love and
assuredness.
My mother was raised a Baptist and was a Job's Daughter
in her teens (before my grandma found New Thought). She
never participated in gossip or negative dialogue. My
mother demonstrated love and generosity her entire life.
With gentleness and persistence, she believed in the
goodness of all people. What an example of unconditional
love and compassion!
My dad's spiritual base may have truly originated with
Alcoholics Anonymous back in the 1950's. Between the
12-Step Program and the Serenity Prayer as a foundation
for living, he has touched the lives of many family and
friends in his giving of time and sincere concerned
counsel. He has been a living example of love and
forgiveness.
My younger sister chose the Salvation Army before she
turned 10 years old and surely is a
"saint-in-the-making". She is devoted to the gospel of
Jesus Christ and the overall mission of SA to minister
and serve the material, emotional and spiritual needs of
people everywhere. She and her husband have been SA
officers, ministers, facility administrators, camp
directors, and new project coordinators amongst a
million other high-ranking duties and have earned the
respect and admiration of this global organization. With
their three lovely children, they "live by example" to
better the lives of families and, especially, children
throughout this country. If you can't tell, I am proud
and truly inspired by all that she has done and
continues to do.
I am grateful for the blessings in my life...a wonderful
family where we have chosen love above all else. I have
experienced unconditional love (and, actually, sometimes
it was pretty "conditional") along with a respect for
hard work and responsibility, commitment to doing what
you say you are going to do, tolerance for the
differences, and a sense of abundance.
Some of my favorite spiritual teachers in addition to
Jesus are: Mohandas Gandhi (peaceful civil disobedience,
non-violence, truth); His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,
Tenzin Gyatso (compassion); Thich Nhat Hanh
(mindfulness); Caroline Myss (power, energy, healing);
Sogyal Rinpoche and The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
(sharing Tibetan wisdom and guidance for how we live and
how we can better understand death); Deepak Chopra,
Joseph Campbell, Mary Mannin Morrissey, Marianne
Williamson and many more. Thank you thank you thank you.
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