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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Balinese Press

Our guides oblige by taking multiple group shots of the group in front of the Bat Cave Temple.

I got one of them to reciprocate!!!

Edward Viljoen

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Getting There

A Day In A Flyig Machine

I left my door in Santa Rosa at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28th for a flight from San Francisco International Airport at ten minutes after midnight. Add the driving time and 5 hors layover in Taipei, plus 5 hours flying to Bali, plus an hour and a half drive to Candi Dasa in a mini bus and it coms out to roughly 30 hors travel.

I sat for most of that time in a flying machine. Not only is it a miracle that it can get off te ground with hundreds of us in side -- with our lap tops, cameras, over-stuffed carry-ons, and a hold full of all the things a person have away from home.....but the it is also a miracle to me to me that it stays up fairly smoothly and evenly -- uncomplainingly.

I tried to remember the first time I flew to Europe from South Africa -- it was a little Dutch airline called Trek Airline. Pretty small plans if I remember correctly - having to stop on the way to refueld in Egypt I think. I do remember that we had to get off the plane during refueling and South African passport holders were shown into a separate holding area.

And then I got to thinking: I had all kinds of folk I was planning to meet and visit in Holland, France and Austria. And I had no cell phone or email to set it all up. How did we manage to be so dependable and reliable and organized?

Everyone met me at the planned rendevous and at the right times on the right dates. We managed rather well. And calling home from Paris to say I had arrived safely was no small accoplishment. I wanted to call collect -- so that made all kinds of intresting additions to the phone call process with operators having to talk to operators and verifying and agreeing and conncting.

I should have just paid but there were no ATM's and banks were closd - you get the iea.

And we all managed just fine.
I love my cell phone tho.
I love the web.
And it has changed so many things - like 'coming home' for example. I answered 45 work emails today already while waiting in Taipei, chatted with close friends on Yahoo, conncted to my Godson's dad via Facebook in London and left word for my mom and aunt via SMS.

Now coming home from a big long trip is almost like walking in from the next room. "Hi, I'm headed to Trader Joe"s, need anything?"

Er... I was just on the other side of the world in a flying machine.

Sigh.

I'm watching a lady three rows ahead on the plane. She is putting her face on. She has a brilliant system: Folding out pallette of colored powders, various brushes, and a tilt up mirror thingy. Everything goes on at a particular speed and swiftness. None of this is random.

Oh god....she is doing the black stuff on the eye lins - mirror (different one) up close, mouth stretched down to make it easier - oh God, please let there be no turbulance.

I have to get out of this flying machines soon.


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Yoga in Bali

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bali

Some 30 hours later - BALI

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Monday, April 28, 2008

Breakfast!

YUM
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I know there's a Starbucks here somewhere???

This is my first time in tei pei - and 5am is always a lovely time to explore a new airport.

Want some chinese style breakfast noodle!????? Noooooooooo - I WANT A LATTE
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Santa Rosans in Transit!

Tei Pei at 5 am - who is that man in the mirror???
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Sunday, April 27, 2008

Infinite Organizing Power

I sometimes forget that the world goes on without my management! I sometimes forget to go with the flow of it all. I sometimes forget there is something larger than my individual experience going on. I sometimes forget the difference between what is urgent and what is not really urgent. I sometimes forget to lighten up. I sometimes forget what Emerson said about bloated nothingness. I sometimes forget that it's nobody's fault.

When instead, I could be happy - just happy - right now!


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Friday, April 25, 2008

What's the Point?

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.
Anne Frank


Here are additional suggestions for training yourself to live with a prosperity consciousness.

1. Dress prosperously. In other words, take time to dress in a way that matches your feeling of being abundant. That could mean choosing clothing you really love wearing. When you look in the mirror, you want to feel good about what you see.

2. Train yourself to include prosperity consciousness in your daily Spiritual Mind Treatment. Try starting each day with a prayer to embrace and recognize the abundance of the universe around you.

3. Train yourself to give 100% of your attention to what you are doing. One of Don Miguel’s four agreements is to do your best. To me that means training myself to be less distracted, less rushed and more present in what I am doing.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Santa Rosa meets Dallas

Dear friends,

On Sunday night (for a flight on Monday morning in the wee hours) I am headed to SFO to fly to Bali where I will meet people from Sant Rosa AND Dallas with their Community Spiritual Leader, Dr. Petra Weldes. This cross-community collaboration is such a blessing to us. Thank you Rev. Michael's for suggesting getting communities together (now we just have to get him to agree to travel with us).

The Dallas folk are excited to embark on their first community travel and I am for them because I know in advance how the entire home group will be blessed when they bring Bali back in their consciousness.

I will be posting daily travel notes and fotos so that you who are cheering us on from the States can enjoy a live connection to the group.

Please visit www.edblogword.blogspot.com daily to see what we are up to, and feel free to share the link with friends and family.

By the way, there is a new slide show on the link featuring Larry Shmier's photos of Africa 2008.

I will be disabling the 'call me' button on the blog because of the time difference and will turn it back on when I get home!

While in Bali, the group will be using daily focus material from Spirit is Calling so that we can continue to be 'literally on the same page".

This trip is positioned appropriately in the month when our focus shifts to Activating Community! While we're doing so in Bali, Santa Rosa will be doing so at home with a workshop from Rev. Lynn Johnson "Embracing the Other", and preparing for our community retreats, Womanspirit, Manspirit, and Spiritcamp. Also, we'll be bringing into our awareness the opportunity to embrace a larger community through our "soles for souls" outreach program - putting shoes onto hundreds of children in Sonoma County!

I look forward to your comments on the blog!

Warm Regards,

Edward Viljoen
Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

www.edblogword.blogspot.com


to order :
Seeing Good At Work.
Spirit Is Calling
visit - www.cslsr.org


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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

"Success is not the key to happiness!....

....Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
Albert Schweitzer

Prosperity is commonly thought of as a matter of luck. Science of Mind teaches that it is more likely a matter of consciousness. Here are suggestions for you to consider to increase your prosperity awareness.

1. Training yourself to think affirmatively increases prosperity consciousness. Instead of focusing on what is missing or absent, train yourself to acknowledge what is present and working. Thinking affirmatively can have the effect of increasing peace of mind and helps redirect thinking to what is working in your life.

2. Train yourself to imagine the best case scenario instead of the worse case scenario. Try picturing yourself experiencing the desired outcome in a situation, especially when you notice that your mind is rehearsing all the ways the situation could go wrong.

3. Train yourself to repeat affirmative statements. Repeating affirmations is an ancient technique of training your mind by saturating it with words and pictures that are life affirming.

4. Train yourself to create order in your environment. Cluttered living and working spaces can be a drain on your attention and energy. Some people thrive on chaotic environment and others become tired and scattered. Create your work and play environment to support your prosperity consciousness.

5. Train yourself to do acts of service or kindness. Expand your activities to include doing good for others as a way of increasing your prosperity consciousness.
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Monday, April 21, 2008

Matthew Duran


My friend Matthew Duran is doing the AIDS/LifeCycle ride again this year. He keeps trying to enroll me but I haven't had the courage yet. So I suppress my guilt by making hefty sponsorship donations to his cause. :)

Actually, it has nothing to do with guilt, I absolutely love that he is doing this to raise funds and concsiouness about the AIDS epidemic. I love that some of my charitable giving goes to AIDS/LifeCycle through Matthew's effort. Every time I give a check to AIDS/LifeCycle through Matthew's efffort I think of the Global Heart Vision of a World that Works for Everyone.

To learn more about the AIDS/LifeCycle go to the link below. If you would like to contibute to Mattew's effort, please search for his name and support our own Sonoma County rider -- a member of the Center for Spiritual Living, Foundations Graduate and generally goofy person.

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/index.cfm

From Matthew's Home Page:

I'm riding again... Actually I love it, It is hard work and sometimes I hate the bike (especially when it is cold) and though I'm not really that social, I find the whole experience very uplifting to my soul and I'm making new friends all the time.

What is really heart lifting is when you can help someone, who is just trying their heart out, and just needs a bit of encouragement. The other things that are really heart lifting, yes, sometimes we forget why we are riding, so when you see someone, who has just lost a person they loved to AIDS, or someone whose life was saved by these organizations - it just reminds you...

A) your life no matter how crappy, is much better than you think.
B) Makes you really thankful that your life is full of the people that you have in your life...
C) Glad that you are doing something to help someone else


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Jennifer Mann's Photos- Twin time

Click on this link to visit Jennifer Mann's Google Photo album. We met at Daniel Pedia's birthday party and the twins stole all the attention.

Picasa Web Albums - Jennifer - Twin time - IMG_0207.JPG
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Sunday, April 20, 2008

Rustin Luke Prior Hodenfield

One of my twins
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Cooper Reed Prior Hodenfield

The other twin!
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Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Aftermath

The team behind the Kansas City retreat!!
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Down The Road A Bit

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
Denis Weightly


A Vision is the ability to have an idea, a picture of how you see yourself a little down the ways. Not a picture of what is going on right now, but of how you might see your world and yourself in your world living prosperously. For example, you would try to imagine what is going on in such a vision. How do you see yourself and who is present.

Here is something to consider about developing such a vision. It is not so much about simply imagining what you want, or how much money you think you need or what kind of objects, cars and houses you might have. There is nothing wrong with that kind of vision, however, taking an expanded definition of prosperity can introduce something new into the vision.

Try this. Ask yourself: When I am feeling generosity of spirit, and when my heart is open to receiving, and when I’m having an experience of connectedness to all life, THEN what does my world look like? What am I doing? How do I feel?

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Friday, April 18, 2008

Investing

Invest in your awareness! Give it your undivided attention. At least once a day let your body sit still and give your consciousness an opportunity to slow down, refresh and be still. Out of this practice you may very well discover that there is Infinite resource of inspiration and wisdom just beyond the mental clutter. Just sit still and after a few moments of quite ask this question, as if you were addressing a wise being “What am I to know today about my life?”. In the beginning you may not hear or think anything particularly helpful.

But keep in mind that the practice is not necessarily about coming up with specific answers. It is more about investing time in your developing awareness of the tremendous wisdom that lives inside of you.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Escape Through Visualization

There is a very important distinction between having a vision as a way of expanding into the abundance of life versus having a vision as a way of getting out of a life that you don’t want.


If I hate where I am in life and I hate what is going on in my life, a vision for more money and better toys may not necessarily address the issue in a way that will result in an abundant life. Instead, if I base my vision of life on a desire to feel connected, well, generous and happy, then my relationship to what is going on right now in life become easier to accept, not out of resignation, but because I see how everything is part of one awesome whole.


Instead of fighting life and trying to make it be something that it isn’t, I start exactly where I am and dwell on the ideas of what it is like to be connected to all life, to feel well, to be generous and to experience happiness.


I practice the idea that everything is in its right place, at the right time, successfully engaged in the right activity – while at the same time I let inspiration from within me guide me into an even greater expression.

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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Joyce and Kim's Ordination

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Stefan Mitchel

About Stefan Mitchell


Stefan Mitchell delivers a rich, multi-dimensional vocal style that inspires and connects the generations. This self-taught musician began as a drummer with only one goal in mind – to play for the love of it. But when you possess an undeniable vocal ability matched only by a knack for weaving lyrical tapestries, the response is, “You were made to do this.”

For more information visit

http://www.stefanmitchell.com/

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Monday, April 7, 2008

As Time Goes By

A collage of folk from the Center for Spiritual Living, Santa Rosa

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Saturday, April 5, 2008

Waiting

Rev. Michael's waits on the set for his cue to start his presentation on "synchronicity"

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You may kiss my ring

Finally, the respect I deserve!

Yoga class about to begin - learning about the attitude of obedience in the warrior pose.
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Armstrong Woods State Park

 

Kansas City / Santa Rosa joint seminar I visit to the redwoods.

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Thursday, April 3, 2008

Kansas City CSL musicians

Coming to CSL santa rosa on Sunday
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Music

Matthew and Paul

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Kansas City

Monique and Richard rehearse
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The Ettiquette of Tithing


Dr. Paul Ray, author of the Cultural Creatives was recently asked
how we can live prosperously
and still honor that there are six billion people on our planet.
Is it possible for all of us to live prosperously?
Can this planet sustain everyone living at that level?

And his response was something like this:
“Yes, as long as we expand our definition of prosperity.”


And that’s our focus this posting --
What does “living a prosperous life” mean to you?
Does it mean having enough money?

Well Sure: that’s what prosperity means:
Wealth, Affluence, Riches, Success!
Maybe these are the definitions we have to expand

My observation is that having more money
Does not always create greater prosperity in life.
The connection between money and happiness
Is becoming less and less clear to me.


There are plenty people with lots of money who are not happy
There are plenty people with lots of money who are happy
There are plenty people with very little money who are not happy
There are plenty people with very little money who are happy

I’m starting to appreciation the connection between prosperity with happiness…
rather than prosperity and money


to me..Happiness depends on more than having enough money…
Living an abundant life is really about having enough happiness and freedom.

And so an abundant life is not necessarily about the “quantity of stuff.
It’s probably more about quality of life.

And that’s where you come in.
You are the only person who can define a quality life for yourself.
And your definition of a quality life may be different to
Every other definition you have ever heard on this planet.

Clearly.

Because people live prosperously at all levels of income
Exactly because prosperity is not about money;
it’s about freedom and love.

Freedom to do what? I think = To express life!
(Do you know the Rikki Byers song = I want to be better an opening for God!?)

Freedom to do that – to express Life, to be an opening for God.

That’s what prosperity is to me – freedom to express love.

I'm thinking about...

There is probably a time in your life when..
· You contributed more than your fair share
· You gave more than you could afford
· You showed up for others when it was inconvenient
· Loved when there was nothing in return
· You participated in the game when there was no hope of winning the prize…

THAT’S PROSPERITY = its generosity of spirit
And one of the best ways I know to develop that is through giving
And now I understand it is about giving from what you have
Whether that having is a little or a lot

More importantly…. That the giving is cheerfully, joyfully, willingly and freely.

There are different ideas out there that describe the various categories of giving.

Such as
1. Charitable Giving
Out of compassion for the difficulty of the individual or organization

2. Philanthropic Giving
Donating to support a charitable cause with a defined objective in mind such as to promote good, or improve human life.

3. Regular structure giving
You’re in alignment with the mission and values of the person or organization, so you become part of its support structure – you’re dependable

4. Tithing
A practice, like meditation or prayer, that is part of what you do with your life, it’s a way of celebrating the flow. It’s between you and your soul.

These describe different styles of contributing financially
And I hope that I will share something with you
That will help you connect with your own prosperity definition.

Here it is:
You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.
Now - Maybe you already knew that.

Want to say it more:
If you don’t want to fit the way you share your wealth
Into any one of the existing models of giving
Don’t! / Make up your own. / Or don’t even do that!

And if you want to find out what spiritual teachers,
and self help coaches teach about giving.
There are more books, resources and opinions out there
than you could hope for.
When it comes to prosperity teachers
there is an abundance of them.

Personally, my first consideration when learning from others about prosperity
Is this: How is what they are teaching working in their own lives?

If they are talking about buckets of money falling from the sky…
Do they have that?
If they are talking about how tithing creates enormous wealth
Do they have that?


I tithe every single week and I have done for the last seven or eight years…
I haven’t missed a week in 7 years. I’m self-satisfied, but not smug!
· Because -- I’m not financially well off….. I’m OK!

I wish I could tell you that buckets of money fell from the skies as a result of 8 years of tithing….


But it hasn’t…..
· I don’t live in the most expensive neighborhood in town.
· I keep up with my house payment, car payment, bills and services – I manage.
· I don’t have every single gadget and nice thing that my heart desires or my impulses crave… but I have plenty.
· And you know…I would prefer to travel first class, but coach is more in my range.

I wish I could tell you that buckets of money fell from the skies as a result of my 8 years of tithing practice.. But it hasn’t…..

Something else fell out of the skies… and into my lap.

HAPPINESS

I am happier than I ever was before I LEARNED HOW TO GIVE.I don’t promise anything I haven’t experienced myself

when it comes to sharing how prosperity teaching has affected my life.

The most wonderful thing I ever read about prosperity came from Eric Butterworth who wrote: A committed giver is an incurably happy person…”

And I took that to heart
And I think I’m proving it more and more every day.

You know -- if I were you, I wouldn’t just take my word for it
I would check my credentials and references …

To do that…
You’d have to ask my staff, friends, family, and colleagues
· Is he a committed giver? Gimme three examples
· Is he generous? Gimee three examples
· And do you think it has made an impact on his happiness? Gimme three examples

Or, if you can’t check the references, check the method for yourself.
When you come across an interesting idea about spirituality
That you try it on for yourself before you decide if it is for you.

Like the book "Giving Thanks"
By Paula Langguth Ryan


It’s a book of great idea, excellent stories.
But why take her word for it when you can practice in the lab of your own life.

Does a spirit of generosity create happiness and freedom?
And does happiness and freedom feel like prosperity to you?

Clues from the book:

Four words to apply:

Freely, Cheerfully, Joyfully, Willingly

Freely
Your gift of love, time cash or service
May not be received in the way you have hoped for.
Give it freely anyway

Cheerfully
You may not be able to give as much as you want to the people and places you love. You may not be able to meet every need that exists. You may not be able to make every goal you set for yourself in the world.
Give it cheeerfully anyway

Joyfully
You may not be able to control the way cash flows through your life and the lives of the ones you love. You may not always be able to see the result of your good giving right away. It may not always be clear exactly how what you put in motions comes back around into your life…it may be frustrating.
Give it joyfully anyway

Willingly
You may find there are times when your own generosity is thwarted, and you don’t feel quite up to being this fabulous spiritual being your practicing to become. You may not want to hear about the needs of even your closest friends from time to time, and you may loose confidence and feel scared in this world and wonder if you’re crazy to let go of the little bit of whatever it is you have.
Give it willingly anyway

Just ideas - Freely – Cheerfully – Joyfully - Willingly

Dr. Paul Ray, author of the Cultural Creatives was recently asked how we can live prosperously and still honor the lives of all six billion people on our planet.
Is it possible for all of us to live prosperously?
Can this planet sustain everyone living at that level?

And his response was something like this:

“Yes, as long as we expand our definition of prosperity.”


What does living a prosperous life mean to you?

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Seeing Good At Work

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I have been through the book three times over three years, and am starting it again. This is not because the material in the book is not working, but because it is working so well! The weekly lessons keep me on track and focused on what is actually true and important, and help me experience more good in every area of my life. LS

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