Protected!

How do I greet this day? Protected! And so are all my loved ones. To paraphrase the last sentence of today's Unity Daily Word meditation: The presence of God within them (and me) guides our steps today and will be with us through all our tomorrows.

The Protection Prayer that follows was written by James Freeman for all soldiers during World War II. It is a powerful today as it was then. I had not seen this longer version and I LOVE it.

Protection Prayer

The Light of God surrounds me. 
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
The Mind of God guides me.
The Life of God flows through me.
The Laws of God direct me.
The Power of God abides within me.
The Joy of God uplifts me.
The Strength of God renews me.
The Beauty of God inspires me.
Wherever I am, God is!

I had not seen this longer version before today and I LOVE it.

~ Jean

Source: Pinterest

A Gentle Look at Divine Order

On Wednesday September 15 I received the kind of text from a friend that one never wants. A friend of ours has a brain tumor and was undergoing surgery at Sloan in NYC. Two days later, it was confirmed  that the diagnosis is glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.

I wrote in my journal that night: "2 yr to live max - John McCain, Beau Biden and Ted Kennedy all died from it - It's a devastating diagnosis." Even though I wrote that about 2 years, I don't know that to be true. But writing it and what follows shows the evolution of my thinking in the last week.

Friday's Unity Daily Word was Divine Order. The affirmation was

Divine order gives structure and purpose to life.

Over the weekend some of my journaling was about how I would feel and what I would do if I received that diagnosis. "Betrayed by my own body. Get it out of me." And some was about what I could do, if anything, for this friend. I also wrote: "What on earth do I say to this friend if she even wants to talk? I've been thinking of you - how are you? God will give me the words to say. Talk to her husband first? So sorry ... Dear God. Divine order ain't so great for everyone - in this human's opinion."

On Monday evening I wrote: "Woke up to DW Pray for Others - 'Instead of fretting or wishing I could do something, I turn within and pray ... Holding each dear one in my heart, I envision each enfolded in serenity ... comforted and guided with each step.'"

Later tonight I realized that divine order is for me to do what I can, it's me being present to my friend and her husband in any way that I can here and now. I also realized that my intention will be to focus on her serenity not her situation.

On Tuesday morning I called both my friend - no answer or voice mail - and her husband - voice mail but I didn't feel comfortable leaving a message. I put a card in the mail that day and will call again.

I don't know how the days ahead will be. If anyone has suggestions for gentle ways to interact with this friend, share in the Comments section.

With gratitude and humility,

~ Jean

Image: grammartop.com

Watch and Listen

Living is not just to live a long life, it's to contribute something, my unique contribution. How do I know what that is? A series of recent Unity Daily Words lead the way for me:

• September 7th Daily Word: Begin!
• September 8th DW: Claim my wholeness.
• September 9th DW: All is well with my soul.
• September 10th DW: Live life abundantly.
• September 11th DW: Remember and honor those who came before.
• September 12th DW: Open my mind and heart to receive my guidance. This higher wisdom is not outside myself. It is a still small voice, mine to call upon at any time. I am always able to ask for guidance to show the way forward. Then watch and listen.

When I write in my journal, answers come to me. I used to say they came unexpectedly but after many years of answers, they are no longer unexpected. As I write, wisdom and understanding appear on my pages and I am in awe. My recent watching and listening has once again given me some answers - a short, simple list that fits this time and place. And I am taken back to Begin! And so I shall.

Thank you God!

~ Jean

Image: dreamstime.com

Breathe

I recently inherited a Series 4 Apple Watch from my brother, who had just upgraded to the latest version.  Prior to owning one, I had had no real desire to use an Apple Watch, but I thought it might be helpful for keeping track of my fitness goals so I took the time to set it up and watched a few tutorial videos on YouTube.  It turns out that the watch IS quite helpful for tracking fitness goals and for other things, but my absolute favorite feature of the Apple Watch is an app called “Breathe.”  The Breathe app notifies me every so often (by causing my watch to vibrate) that I should take a moment to stop and pay attention to my breath, and then it leads me through a very brief, very effective exercise to help me do so.  

You wouldn’t think that I would need an app to remind me to breathe, but after using this tool for the past few weeks I realize that I sure DO need to be reminded.  With work and home and family responsibilities vying endlessly for my attention, I find myself flitting from one “to do” to the other, rarely taking a moment to just be - and to just breathe.  Add on top of that a relentless drip of not-so-great news filling up the screens of my days of late, and I have plenty of excuses to focus on anything but my own peace of mind.

If there is one thing I have learned from Unity in my 20+ years of attendance, it is that the key to life, the universe, and everything is my ability to stay grounded in the present moment.  I know this, and yet I am inconsistent with my practice of mindfulness and meditation.  I can relate to Paul’s struggle in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

This is why I am grateful for the simple, helpful tools which are at our fingertips these days, thanks to technology, and I do my best to allow them to support me in my intention to be more mindful in my everyday life.

~Rebecca