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SPIRITUAL GARDENING – THOUGHTS ON LIFE, DEATH & LOVE

By: Rosanne Crago

It’s springtime and I’ve been doing some gardening lately – not literally – I actually hate getting dirt under my fingernails – but metaphysically. I’ve been looking at my thoughts, words and actions, and the people, places and things in my life. I’m checking in with what’s growing strong and healthy and what needs weeding and pruning. As the Byrds and the Bible say, to everything there is a season. So, here are my thoughts on life, death, and love.

In the last couple of months, I have been aware of quite a few people who have made their transition out of the earth plane. These people have been in varying degrees of proximity to me, and I notice that my response has varied accordingly. There have been people that I’ve heard about, through friends, and I can nod sagely and say – It was their time. In one case, the transition was made by a four month old baby, and I thought – well, his time on the earth plane was complete very quickly – he was finished with what he needed to do. I felt sorry for the loss that his parents and family experienced, and believe that everything happens in divine order. In one case, the transition was made by the mother of one of my closest friends. I actually knew this woman and had spent time with her when she was heal thy, and also near the end of her life when she was in hospice care. She was in her mid-80’s and was very ill, and it seemed like her transition was a release and a relief for her. I comforted my friend in her time of loss, and again believe that everything happens in divine order.

In one case, however – the transition was made by someone very close to me. This was a man I had been romantically involved with for about a year and loved. This transition affected me very personally. I think of him often and sometimes feel a stabbing pain when a thought catches me off guard. At other times, I think of him and smile. I think of the things we got to do together and I think of the things we’ll never have the chance to do. He was a very special man. He was the same age as I am, and his “cause of death” was a heart attack.

So, I started thinking about what that means. What happens when the love center of your being comes under attack?

I would like you to point to yourself.

Look around and notice how many of us pointed to our hearts.

In ancient Egypt, when mummifying bodies, the heart was left intact because the Egyptians believed the heart was where the essence of a person resided. Since the Egyptians considered the brain unimportant, it was thrown away.

In the book, The Little Prince (by Antoine de St. Exupery), it says: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential20is invisible to the eye.”

In Proverbs 3:27, it says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” This is the basic truth and essence of everything we learn in metaphysics. What you think is what you manifest. If you plant seeds of unhappiness and dis-ease, that is what you harvest. If you plant seeds of prosperity, you are happy, healthy and wealthy. For me, my heart is the foundation of all I am and all I do. My heart guides my thoughts and my actions. Thoughts and actions without heart are empty and meaningless. My heart supports me. It is large and full of love. I let love inspire me on a daily basis.

We are instructed by our doctors and the media on ways to take care of our physical heart. Pay attention to your diet. Do cardiovascular exercise. Avoid excesses like smoking and drinking.

How do we take care of our “heart center?”

In the last seven years, one of the things that I’ve been doing in that regard is learning to love myself. Just like forming any new habit, learning to love myself requires attention and daily practice. When I took my first Reiki class, my teacher gave us a handout called “Learning to Love Yourself.” Here’s what it says:

I love and accept myself as I am.

I love my physical body as it is in this moment.

I honor my emotional body and

allow my feelings freedom to flow.

I open to my creative body and

allow my life to flow in bliss and abundance

of happiness, health, wealth, wholeness and love.

I am full of happiness, health,

wealth, wholeness and love.

< b>I allow my Divine Core Essence to surround

and support my being with every breath.

I deserve the best in life.

I have the best in life.

I deserve love.

I have love

And I love myself.

I have been saying this out loud every day for the last seven years. It has helped me to develop the habit of loving myself. Now, when thoughts that are unlike love come up for me, I stop and release them, then replace them with thoughts that are kind and loving and gentle and supportive. I feel a lot better these days.

A Course in Miracles affirms that love and fear cannot exist in the same space. Each thought, word and action comes down to a choice between love and fear. Which do you choose? Choosing love on a consistent basis is another way to take care of our heart center. Sometimes when I’m walking down a steep flight of stairs, I get scared that I’m going to trip and fall. As soon as I notice those kinds of thoughts creeping in, I stop and cancel them out. Then I say, “I am safe. I am protected. I am secure.”

My daughter lived in Africa twice in the last several years. People often asked if I was worried about her. I said that when I thought of her, I always thought of her being safe, secure and protected. I would wrap her in love with my thoughts and send that out to her. She had great experiences while she was there.

We are inundated with love in songs, poems, movies and books. When I put the word “love” in the library search box, 15,808 entries popped up instantly. “Love is a many-splendoured thing,” “Love makes the world go ‘round,” “All you need is love,” “The power of love”, “Love is letting go of fear” “What I did for love”, “Stop in the n ame of love”, “The greatest love of all.” I could go on for days.

There is a book that came to my attention in the last year called, “The Five Love Languages” (by Gary Chapman). The premise is that people express and receive love in different ways. It is useful to recognize the ways in which you express love and the ways in which the significant people in your life express love in order to communicate more effectively, and in order to express love and feel loved. The author believes that there are five primary ways that people express love:

Words of Affirmation

Quality Time

Receiving Gifts

Acts of Service

Physical Touch

Words of Affirmation are simple, straightforward compliments and words of appreciation that are specific to the person involved.

Quality Time means giving someone your undivided attention and doing something that has meaning for them.

Receiving Gifts: Gifts are visual symbols of love, and are more important to some people than to others. A gift is something you can hold in your hand and know that someone was both thinking of you, and actually implemented the thought by getting the gift and giving it to you.

Acts of Service involve doing things the other person would like you to do, and expressing your love by doing those things.

Physical Touch is a powerful vehicle for expressing love. Human and animal babies need touch in order to thrive. When we arrive and leave and stand and greet each other here at the Chapel, we hug each other.

These are things you can think about as you interact with people in your life. If someone is complaining about not feeling loved, perhaps you are speaking different languages. You may need to learn each other’s primary “love language” to communicate more effectively.

So, I find my spiritual garden in pretty good shape these days. I like the amount of love that I have in my life. I affirm that divine order is operating perfectly. I weed out those thoughts, words and actions that no longer serve me, and “tiptoe through the tulips” as gracefully as I possibly can.

UNDERSTANDING AND IMAGINATION

By Rosanne Crago

I UNDERSTAND. Think about how powerful it is to either say or hear those

words. It's a point of connection for people. I feel comforted when someone says

it to me. It washes over me like warm water. When I say it to someone else, it

means I reach into experiences I have had or thoughts and have a feeling wash over

me of connection. I remember reading the book, Stranger in a Strange Land by

Robert Heinlein when I was a teenager – the expression used in that book was to

“grok” something – that was to understand it completely – physically,

psychologically, emotionally, experientially – as fully as a human being could

comprehend something. In order to say I understand, we must either have had a

similar kind of experience or be able to imagine what the other person is going

through. Understanding comes upon us in different levels. We can say, “I see,”

and understand in our heads, on some level. Or we can really “get it.” fully and

deeply. Sometimes understanding grows with us. When I was growing up, there

was a sign we passed often on the side of the highway that said, “Mom, if we lived

here, we’d be home now.” At age 6, I didn't understand what that meant at all. It

took me years to figure out what it meant, and now it seems funny that I didn’t get it

the first time around.

In the thesaurus, understand can also mean appreciate, know, recognize,

comprehend, realize, be aware of, value, identify with, empathize, grasp, get it.

Those are some words to ponder as we think about understanding.

Physically, understanding is represented by the feet. Think about taking a step back

so that you can see something more clearly, see the bigger picture. When you only

look at one piece of a puzzle, you can only see that piece. When you step back,

you can see the whole picture and then the single piece makes sense in a whole

different way. Understanding, as all aspects of development, evolves continually.

When we are young, we learn about everything and our understanding develops as

we grow. As babies, we learn that when we cry, mom comes and picks us up and

takes care of us. Eventually, we understand the concept of “mother” in many

different ways.

When I was learning to dance, my understanding developed gradually. I learned

how to move my body. I already understood how to listen to music. I learned the

steps. Eventually, I understood about connection and following. That continues to

grow all the time. When I was learning to do Reiki and healing, I learned to open

myself up to the energy, learned how and where to place my hands on the person I

was working on. I felt the flow of energy and it kind of unnerved me at first. As

soon as I felt it, I would move my hands to another part of the person’s body.

Now, I understand much better about energy flow and what happens in my body

and in the other person’s body. I feel comfortable. I allow energy to flow easily

and freely. I understand about getting out of the way and allowing the process to

work. I understand the messages that come up for me on some level. As I share

them with the person I’m working on, they understand them for themselves.

Two of the things I’ve come to understand better and better since studying

metaphysics are gratitude and forgiveness. They are both important comp onents of

every day for me. I am so grateful for so many things in my life. I give thanks every

day for so many things. I can’t IMAGINE my life without gratitude. I find ways to

be grateful for everything. Even if I experience physical sensations that are less than

pleasant, I am grateful for the things I am releasing and the ways in which I am

moving forward on my path. Several months ago, a good friend of mine gave me a

gratitude journal. I held on to it for a while, then finally opened it one day. It said a

lot about the power of gratitude to transform our lives. It’s easy to be grateful when

our lives “hum”, more challenging to be grateful when the road gets rocky. The

suggestion is to use the journal to write down five things you’re grateful for each

day. I started doing that last summer,and it has made such a difference in my life. I

notice that some days it’s really hard to think about what I’m grateful for. Once I

start, though – the energy starts flowing and I realize how many things I’m grateful

for in the course of a day. Some days, I even write down more than five things.

As I look back at the entries over time, some themes emerge. I’m always grateful

for my amazing friends, who get me through the good times and the bad and who

understand me even when I don’t understand myself so well.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful things in my life. It is especially important

to remember to forgive myself, always for everything. “I forgive you” are three very

powerful words to use and remember.

The mind powers are all connected. Wisdom and order come into play in

understanding. You have to be wise enough to accept your understanding of a

concept or situation. You have to understand that things unfold in divine order – in

their own time and in the proper sequence. If you put your shoes on before you put

your socks on, that’s not going to work out very well for you.

Understanding involves paying attention – noticing when things come out and how

they affect the way that you “get” things. Allowing is important in understanding

also. Letting information come to you and allowing and accepting it is a gift to be

appreciated. Understanding comes to us in many different ways. Sometimes the

way someone says something just makes sense. Sometimes we have to be ready to

hear and/or receive the information. Sometimes understanding is reflected back to

us by people in our lives. A good friend of mine was talking about something she

had bought in a Hallmark store, and I sarcastically remarked, “Oh, I don’t go into

Hallmark stores, they’re too schmaltzy and sappy.” She is my friend because she

sees through to the center of me and she said – Oh, you mean it’s really romantic

and seeing those things reminds you of how much you want romance in your life. I

really appreciate the ways in which she understands me and sees through the outer

shell to the soft center.

It’s important to pay attention to the people and things in our lives that cause us

challenge, irritation, frustration – what are we learning about ourselves in this

process? If I’m constantly coming into contact with stupid, careless or

inconsiderate drivers – what do I need to be looking at in my own choices and

behaviors. What am I creating?

Another thing that helps with understanding is talking about what you learn. When

you explain something to someone else, you acquire a much deeper understanding

of it yourself. If someone asks you to define a word, even though it’s a word

you’re accustomed to hearing – you have to think about it in a different way in

order to explain it well to someone else. It’s a growth process.

Change is something I’ve come to understand and appreciate. It used to be really

hard for me to accept changes and sometimes hard for me to make changes.

Today, I embrace and appreciate the opportunities that are presented to me to do

things differently. Sometimes, I experiment with trying something new. I love to go

out dancing and I want to dance a lot when I’m there. So, I often ask guys to

dance. Some nights, I sit more quietly and wait to see who might ask me and what

the experience is like. Some nights, I sit anxiously. Some nights, I’m able to sit and

feel inviting. It’s interesting to examine the results and increase my understanding.

As I grow in understanding, sometimes I’m able to look back at situations and

experiences in the past and understand them in a different way. As I gain

knowledge, sometimes I can look back and say – That’s why I created that

EFFECT. This behavior of mine was the CAUSE. I didn’t make room for that

person to give me anything – that’s why I didn’t get much from him.

If you can see it, you can be it. Our imagination is at work all the time, constantly.

Every thought, every idea that comes into our minds uses our imagination. When

we’re getting ready to go out or go to work or do anything, we imagine the

situation. When I think of my ideal partner, I am using my imagination.

When I want to try something new, I imagine it ahead of time. I’ve been working

on a stand up comedy routine, so I imagine myself on stage, saying funny things and

making people laugh. When I dance in a competition, I imagine connecting with my

partner, really hearing and feeling the nuances in the music, and having lots of fun.

Something that is hard for me to imagine is what life will be like without my parents.

I’m so lucky – my dad is 100 and my mom is 86. I really can’t imagine what it’s

going to be like when I can’t pick up the phone and talk to them every day and

can’t visit them frequently. I can only imagine that it will be very different. And I

understand that it will open up new and different doorways that will bring different

things into my life.

When I think about my dad and the things he’s seen change in his lifetime, it’s hard

to imagine. He was born in 1908. So, I called him and asked him to tell me about

some of the things he couldn’t have imagined when he was young. Here are some

of the things he shared with me.

TV, computers, atomic bombs, a country like Israel coming out of nowhere in

1948 - I never thought it was possible. Social security and unemployment

insurance were things no one ever thought of. All the different types of automobiles

– there were hardly any in my youth, and I knew all the names of all the makes and

models – now, there are all kinds of beautiful vehicles, and there are no more

horses or horse shit in the street. Coming out of the service (in WWII), and getting

the right to get an education. Jet engines, going to the moon – that was un-thought

of, unheard of, unimaginable in those days. The growth in population, the amount of

homes that have been built, the number of people getting an education and the cost

of getting an education – it’s out of sight. Gambling and casinos. The world of

clothing and fashion – the people who wear the type of clothing they do today.

They are better groomed than they were in those days – the apparel, the shoes,

everything connected with a person was unimaginable in my youth. Who would

have thought that a transcontinental road from east to west and north to south

would be built – those are real achievements. The prison system – they allow

people - husband and wife - to meet and have a love feast. There are so many

changes in the type of warfare today – they don’t use people, they use robots and

they use missiles. The strides they have made in medicine – in WWI, more people

died of disease than any other war. Today, it’s different, someone gets wounded

and they fly them to a hospital a=2 0thousand miles away to get treated. The jet

age – no one knew what it was to ride in an airplane, now there’s hardly a person

who hasn’t been in an airplane. The roads and people who travel – there a re

hotels everywhere. Who ever thought of a United Nations – nations getting

together once a year to discuss the problems of the world. Nations now talk to one

another – in my day they went to war. How many people died from health reasons,

not from ammunition – malaria was discovered during WWI.

Those are some of the things that were unimaginable in the last 50 to 100 years.

Imagine what may happen in our lifetimes that we haven’t even thought of yet.

Let’s let our consciousness be full and expansive. Entertain thoughts and ideas even

if they seem preposterous at this moment. You can’t imagine what might occur.

FAITH, HOPE & LOVE

By Rosanne Crago

In order to feel like my talk is inspiring – I have to feel inspired by what I say. I would like to share a quote with you that I love:

“When you come to the edge of all the light you know

And are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown

Faith is knowing that one of two things will happen:

There will be something solid to stand on

Or you will be taught to fly.”

That inspires me to have faith. It makes me smile and believe all thing's are possible. And I thought I would be talking to you about Faith today. In thinking about Faith, I looked it up in the Bible. The verse that kept coming up for me is: There are three things that endure: Faith, Hope and Love. So, that’s what I’m going to be speaking about today.

When I turn on the light switch, I have faith that the light will come on.

When I put the key in the ignition, I have faith that the car will start and take me where I want to go.

When I dial the phone, I have faith that I will be connected with someone across town, across the country or across the world.

When I lay my hands on someone, I have faith that divine unconditional love channels through me to help them heal themselves.

When I stand in front of you, I know I’m saying things that are useful for me to hear, and I have faith that I am guided to say words that are inspiring to you, also.

Some of these are solid steps, and some feel like learning to fly. Some are small steps and some are giant leaps of faith.

When I affirm enthusiastically: I am FREE and ALL-KNOWING – I am igniting the mind power of Faith – Faith is knowing, and knowing is very powerful. When I affirm enthusiastically: I am FREE and ALL-KNOWING – I am igniting light within myself that radiates out and shines brightly – igniting the light in others, also.

As I walk on the path of unfoldment and think about faith, questions arise for me. What do I believe? What and whom do I trust? And why? Do I have faith in God and in the God within me? Do I have faith in myself as all-knowing? Am I good enough?

Having doubts and questions can serve to make us think about things in a different way . . . can motivate us to mine the depths instead of just skimming the surface . . . can stimulate us to go beyond what we have thought or known. Having questions can take us on a journey that brings us to treasures beyond our current imagination. Answering our own questions strengthens our faith.

I choose to trust in what makes the most sense for me at any given moment. If you had asked me seven years ago whether I would be standing here in this position at this time, I would have laughed out loud and said, “I don’t think so. You must have me confused with someone else.” Yet, here I am, trusting in my knowing that I am in the right place and this is the right time for me and for you. Here I am, trusting in my own divinity. Here I am, trusting in the guidance that comes from Spirit. Here I am having Faith.

When I looked in the thesaurus, I thought it was interesting that trust is a synonym for both faith and hope. Some other synonyms for faith are confidence, reliance, assurance, conviction, and belief. When I hear these words, they feel strong and powerful. It takes strength and power to have faith and believe. We have to be wise in what we believe and what we trust. We rely on Divine Order to know that things unfold in the proper sequence and time. And we infuse all our beliefs with love, the most powerful light of all.

When I was thinking about what to say today, I had a conversation with my friend Andy. I told him I wanted to talk about faith, hope and love. He talked to me about the connection for him between faith and hope – and his trust or faith that hope is what remains. He then related the story of Pandora’s Box. I knew about Pandora opening the box and releasing all kinds of evils, but I didn’t know about Hope - which is what remained. He said that was his favorite part of the story – in the midst of pestilence and worry and ills, that Hope remains – sometimes small, but ever present and stalwart – a beacon for us to use as a guide.

When I looked up hope, I read that Hope is a combination of the desire for something and the expectation of receiving it. How I am using the word Hope today is optimistic knowing. It is knowing that all things operate perfectly in Divine Order. And that means everything, all the time. Order operates perfectly in our lives every moment of every day. It’s not some nebulous concept that exists in the stratosphere – it’s how the world works – perfectly, even when it doesn’t seem that way to our impatient selves. It is knowing that things unfold for our highest and best good. It is knowing that the effects that we experience in our life are caused by our thoughts, words and actions. The cause is the effect and the effect is the cause.

It seems to me that this is a perfect time to be talking about Optimistic Knowing. If you watch the news or read the newspaper, you may be confronted with thoughts of fear and lack. I use these thoughts as triggers to remind me to hold abundance consciousness, now more than ever.

The universe is perfectly abundant. There is plenty for everyone. This is a YES universe. If you hold thoughts of lack, you draw lack to you. Are those the seeds you want to plant? Is that what you want to harvest? I say dig up that soil, and plant new seeds. If you hold thoughts of prosperity, you draw happiness, health and wealth to you. That is what I choose to plant. That is how abundance works. If you are experiencing feelings of lack, the best thing to do is to start giving something to others. It may not always be money – it may be time, energy, love, words – whatever fits for you in that moment. The important thing is to open the flow by giving. And keep optimistically knowing that everything works out for the best.

If you are wanting more of something in your life, notice where it already exists. If you are wanting more prosperity and abundance, notice where it already exists. Notice how much air there is to breathe. Notice how many birds are singing .. Notice how much sunshine we have to enjoy, especially here in Tucson. Notice how many times you smile in the course of a day. Abundance is all around you. The key is allowing it to flow easily to you, and not getting in your own way. I have a good friend who says what he wants in one breath, and in the next breath says why he can’t have it. Allow your good to flow to you. You deserve it.

There are three things that endure: Faith, Hope and Love. And the greatest of these is Love. I saved the best for last.

Love … breathe in and think about love.

It feels so good. There are so many different kinds of love. As you walk through your day, you may enjoy paying attention to the moments when love shows up in your life. If you are wanting more love in your life, notice where it already exists. Notice loving friendships, children, pets – love is all around you.

I LOVE that outfit you’re wearing.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE.

I love my little kitty cat.

I have a number of friends that I say "I love you” to on a very regular basis.

I tell my parents that I love them every day.

I tell my daughters that I love them every time I talk to them.

And there is the special someone who looks into your eyes and tells you that he or she loves you.

When I do healing or Reiki, I believe I am a channel for Divine Unconditional Love.

And as I was writing this talk, Whitney Houston’s song, “The Greatest Love of All” kept running through my mind. It says, “Learning to love yourself – it is the greatest love of all.” I think this is where love proceeds from. As I learn to love myself, everything else falls into place.

Recently, I looked for some guidance in Louise Hay’s book, “Heal Your Body.” The suggested affirmation was: I release anything unlike love.

These are the words I’d like to leave you with today… Release anything unlike love in your life and move forward gracefully with faith, optimistic knowing, love and ease.