Thought Vine

If you’re like most people, that simple title has you feeling at least a few trepidations. Don’t feel bad, that puts you in good company. Sometimes the hardest challenges we face are the challenges we face when we are facing ourselves. Looking at ourselves in the mirror and honestly asking the question “Am I helping to keep the flow going, or am I stopping the flow?” is a very difficult, yet rewarding thing to do.

It isn’t that difficult to keep the positive energy flowing. Most of us have seen the e-mail versions of missives that guarantee good luck in so many days if you send the thing off to at least so many people in such and such a time. Then there are those of the same ilk that tell us if we don’t immediately send the darned thing out to all of our friends we’re going to get a bunch of bad luck arriving at our doorstep. These missives play on our inner desire to be contributors to positive energy streams! I’m not asking you to start a chain e-mail. I’m not asking you to call and tell ten friends. What I am asking is that you look inside to see if you are keeping the positive energy flowing, or are you “positive energy dam?”

Take, for example, how one accepts a compliment. Although we all like being told nice things about ourselves, many of us have difficulty accepting the compliment. This is not surprising since in order to accept a compliment and take it to heart you have to believe in yourself and that you are worthy of that compliment (or, better yet, allow that compliment to carry your belief in yourself to a higher level). However, when we accept a compliment for what it is “an expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation” (American Heritage Dictionary) we are consciously stating that we are worthy of the same. This is where many have difficulty accepting the positive energy of the compliment and being able to allow that positive energy to flow further.

We have either uttered them ourselves, or heard them repeated by others; the quick and easy passing off of a compliment paid. Statements like “Oh, this old thing?” or “you must have bad eyesight” not only degrade the recipient, but they do not honor the positive energy flow created by the kind words of the compliment. Think of it this way, when someone pays you a compliment, they “generate” a positive energy flow with their words. When that positive energy flow reaches you, you have two choices. You can accept the positive energy and pass it on by accepting the compliment with good graces and no second guesses (a simple “thank you” or “I’m glad you noticed”), or, you can turn the positive energy into a negative flow by pe-shawing the compliment away.

Once you receive that positive energy, it bubbles, it grows, it glows; and you can’t help but pass it on. You compliment another person, you step in and lend a hand to someone in need, and you go home in a great mood and spend quality time with the ones you love. Each of these actions literally pass on the positive energy, and the coolest thing about it is that, like those lines of names on the internet petitions that make the circuits, the energy gains “weight” and becomes stronger!

So, the next time you’re embarrassed because someone complimented you. Remember to keep the positive energy flowing! Say thanks and then add to it and pass that positive energy on.

We’re not here to choose your path, we’re here to facilitate the path you have chosen.

Tolerance isn’t just an idea, it is a way of being. When one is being tolerant, one is open to hearing the words and message of another. The opposite, intolerance, normally leads to misunderstandings and negative energy.

Here at Black Rose Spiritual Center Our mission is to provide a place of observance, a community, and a connecting point for like-minded individuals who identify themselves as being on a spiritual path or journey. We shall provide for all manner of spiritual services by trained spiritual professionals. We shall endeavor to facilitate communication between members of all esoteric religions and those of the more common religions of the present day. Further, we seek to educate the general public and members of the Spiritual Center to promote tolerance and understanding between spiritual belief systems.

When you look up the word “tolerance” in the dictionary, you find that there are numerous definitions. However, the one we focus on here at Black Rose Spiritual Center is the primary definition of: The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

Here in the United States we pride ourselves on our freedom of religion. Our founding fathers were even so sure of the importance of an individual to freedom within their religious choices and practices that it is the first entry of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to wit:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Just stop and think about how magnificent that sentence is, especially the first part. With the stroke of a pen the forefathers ensured that we would enjoy the right to observe our religious practices without interference from the State. Does this give us the right to break the laws of the State? No! Not in the least bit! However, it does give us the right to choose our religious belief system — or, choose to not have a belief system at all — without a “big brother” government telling you how you should believe. With the First Amendment Americans are guaranteed the right to choose to worship and pray and commune with their individual or communal sense of the Divine as they see fit.

Here at Black Rose Spiritual Center we focus on finding the commonalities between religions and/or other belief systems to help others understand and see validity and worth in a system outside of their own beliefs. While there will always be differences between the belief systems and religions, that need not mean that there need be strife between them as well. By opening our minds and being tolerant of another’s religious belief and practices we can learn not only about them, but about ourselves as well.

How can you practice religious tolerance? It really is very easy, most of us do it every day when we recognize the spiritual resonance of a holy person. I doubt there are many who would state that the Dali Lama is not a man of deep spirituality and belief. That belief has held his country together in spirit and in some ways in fact, while living in exile. Practicing religious tolerance manifests in many ways. If you’re curious about another belief system (whether a different denomination or sect of your current belief, or an entirely different belief system) books at the library are easy to find, visit the websites of a major religion other than your own on the internet, go to a different church, etc. It has been the experience of many seekers that the more they opened tneir mind and heart to allow the communication and information of other belief systems in, the more it helped to strengthen their own personal belief and faith. Besides, when you are tolerant of another’s belief system…they are more likely to be tolerant of your belief!

I know…every site seems to have their own positive thinking story that is supposed to show you how to look on the sunny side of things. This is our rendering of that story!

A member of our organization had a difficult time last fall. She had recently married after a devastating personal tragedy. She thought she had found the perfect father for her four children and husband and helpmate for herself. Giving completely, she moved to where his family was and did everything she could to make a go of it. Unfortunately, the marriage fell apart in less than a year and she was literally out on the street with her four children in the night.

From that position last fall, she has totally reversed the situation. She had to spend some time in a shelter, and then she found a rental for she and her children. Once she got into the rental she tried for a better job at work - and she got the job. Now instead of working nights or shift work, she has normal business hours for work which is much better considering her single mom status.

After this experience, more than anything she wanted to be able to provide a stable home for both herself and her children. She looked in the paper and went to a seminar on how to buy a house. She did the work of going through the hassel of cleaning up her credit report so that she could get the best deal possible. When the housing market began to run into trouble and banks pulled back on lending, she had to find another way to purchase her home, and she has.

Doing her homework she has found an organization that will do a lease option with her. This very weekend she’s completing moving in to her new home with her children. Although I live hundreds of miles away I’m sure she is not complaining much about the physical labor of moving, nor is she moving more than a foot without a feeling of satisfaction and personal achievement!

How’s that for a positive thinking you can do it story…and the best part is…it’s all true!

Welcome to the Black Rose Spiritual Center Thought Vine…our on-line blog. As thing progress we’ll be adding categories of different aspects of spirituality or other areas of interest that our parishoners and/or visitors may find intriguing.

This blog will also be the “public pulpit” of our Lead Clergy, Dr. Nikki. Topics of interest in these areas will be things like religion in the news, spiritual equality, tolerance through understanding and more.

We hope you’ll stop by often to see where the blog goes!