Is One Religion Enough to Contain You?

I have always thought that if you took the best parts of all religions and incorporated these ideas into a practice…you would have one complete religion focusing on love, enlightenment, growth and compassion.

In my home I have many reminders of the many religious traditions of the world that are important to me.  I have statues of the Virgin Mary.  I wear a Miraculous medal around my neck.  I light candles to Our Lady of Fatima.  Mary has brought many healing messages to me over the years and has brought me peace.  These items remind me to continue meditating and praying to Mary…and to pass her messages on to others.  I have Maronite and Roman Catholic crosses hanging on walls and a statue of the Infant of Prague.  These help me focus of the power of pure love and forgiveness that Jesus taught and lived by.  There is a blue batik wall hanging of the Buddha and a framed postcard of the Dalai Lama with a yellow compassion bracelet from the Inter-Faith service that he presided over draped over one corner.  These help me to remember the practices of mindful breathing and compassion towards others.  I have crystals which help remind me to meditate and balance my chakras and that my energy once focused can help heal myself and others, Tarot cards which can help focus my thoughts and give my day direction  and religious medals of Joan of Arc, Jesus, and Mary Magdalene which remind me of the courage it takes to pursue one’s religious beliefs.   I pray to them all/use them as a source of guidance at different times and have received healing messages from all of them in prayer and in meditation.  They each represent a different aspect of me…of my psyche…and they come to me at different times of need.  They are all helping me on the journey to know myself…to love myself…so I can practice as Jesus Christ says..and “love my neighbor as I love myself,”  unconditionally.

 In stating one’s religious/spiritual views…it is often easier to say what one is against in an organized religion than what one is for.  It takes more commitment to say what you believe in…a more proactive stance,  whereas simply saying what you find distasteful or are against is more re-active.  Answering these questions can help you define yourself as an alive, spiritual being…and can become the focal point for interesting discussions.

• Who do you pray to?
• What do you pray about?
• Why do you pray?
• How do you practice your spirituality?
• Is one religion enough to contain you?
• Is it possible for you to be eclectic in your religious practice?
• Do you believe in researching religious/spiritual ideas or do you always go from your gut?  Or is it a combination of the two?
• Will you always think the same way?
• Who are your religious heroes?
• Can morality exist without religion?
• Is religion “moral”?
• What are you for and what are you against?
• Is it enough just to be?
• Can you state what you believe in one sentence or would it take a novel…or a lifetime?

Mary Meditation – Loosening the Coils

“So Mary…how do I remember that I am a lighthouse in the midst of feeling the negative energy of others?  How do I achieve that “simple” task of not taking everything personally and of being and seeing who I truly am and where my power lies?  How do I get rid of this need to talk about myself and how do I become a better listener?  Just when I think I have it, a trigger comes up…I feel left out, or let down by a friend, or start comparing myself to others…and those insecurities come back…the negativity hits me full force…just when I thought I had mastered it…was exempt from its grasp…and had achieved that level of balance that I was looking for…I feel it slipping away.  How do I overcome this?”

“Child…you keep doing what you are doing.  You know that you are on the right path and I will tell you now that you are love and you are patience.  Remember also that you are not alone and that when you need help sorting things out…just breathe and ask us in the spiritual realm.  We will send you the help you need.  For example, yesterday you bounced your ideas off a friend…and you found an understanding soul.  Your husband…discussing with him can always free you…he is a master…don’t ever forget that.  That is why you were meant to be together in this lifetime and in many others.  You have a healing mission to do…but first you need to sort things out and need to believe in yourself and your powers and your mission.  Don’t be afraid of it…welcome it…it will free you…in so many ways.  So when you’re caught up in the negative energy…breathe, breathe, breathe…no need for confrontation.  Just say… “Mary…come to me for guidance, tell me what to do, teach me your way of peace and love and forgiveness not tension and fear and inferiority.  Teach me to sing my song!”  You are almost there, child…you are opening more and more everyday…loosening the coils as you say.”

Mary Meditation – The Gift of the Rose

“Mary, when we notice that someone around us is upset or not at peace with him/herself, how can we help?”

“You can picture that person in your mind.  Watch yourself give a very fragrant pink rose to him/her.  Pink is my color.  It is the color of the heart chakra.  Ask him/her to smell the sweet, aromatic flower.  Breathe with him/her as he/she breathes into the rose.  Smell its sweetness.  Feel the heaviness of its velvety soft pedals.   Ask this person to bask in the beauty that is all around, the moments of beauty that have come to him/her during the day…no matter how small.  Tell this person to breathe in and breathe out slowly, relaxing, taking in the aroma of the rose, thinking of the beautiful moments of the day…even if there is only one small moment, a butterfly passing by, a smile, a letter from a friend.  Picture this other person…almost as if you were watching a movie.  At the same time…you do what you have asked him/her to do…smell the fragrant rose, breathe, relax, remember moments of beauty.  I will send this person in question a pink rose at the same time and the same loving energy that you have sent.  You can bring beauty, peace and love into your own being as you send energy to your friend.  Breathe with him/her.  Heal yourself at the same time.  Reprogram your brain circuitry.  Bring calm and relaxation to yourself as you connect with this person.  This exercise may help you to better communicate with him/her after the meditation is done.  It is like a double healing…even though this person is not nearby you and does not even know that you are sending this energy… it is helping.   Your energy and my energy are joined with his/her energy.  This is how praying works…it’s shared energy.  It is a way to spread peace .  Do this daily or more often if you would like.  I am always with you.  Don’t forget your power, the power of love.  It can help change the world.  You can help change the world.  I love you.  My peace is with you.”

Mary Meditation “Child of Peace…Pass It On”

“Child of peace – there are times when you need to keep your desires and innermost feelings inside you and let them develop into maturity and fill you with hope and creativity and wonder…they will help develop you and define you…as George Bernard Shaw said… “Life is not about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”… I can tell you that you are discovering and creating and the time comes when these developed thoughts need to come out of you if they are the truth and full of goodness and they need to be told to others…Without being showoffy or defiant or condescending – just name your discoveries – say the things that make up you and that will help the world.  Do not be afraid.  You have to stop keeping everything bottled up inside you or you will burst…your health, emotional state and relationships will suffer.  But child of peace and love, I can tell you that this will not happen to  you…but you will burst with JOY sooner than you think – yes.  I am with you and fill you with the peace and love from my soul and from my spirit on a daily basis.  You don’t have to be a church goer to receive my blessings…or you could be a church goer and receive my blessings.  My peace and love are always there and always with you – remember that when you look at the Miraculous Medal that you wear.  Spread my peace.  I love you.  By the way…I am with your Mother too and send her your peace and my peace.  We are all connected. It’s time you started sharing your spiritual journey with her.  She may not understand…but her spirit understands.”

I need to remember to ASK my spiritual backup system to send me messages such as this that I can write down each day…remembering that I am a channel…that any thoughts or creative ideas that come to me are not mine but are of the universe and that they are mine to pass on – to help raise the positve energy level of the Earth and of each other.  ASK and you shall RECEIVE.  Why not try it yourself.  Meditate…pray…reflect…ASK for clarity, peace, advice, a message…whatever you are searching for…and PASS IT ON.

Mary Meditation – Tearing Down the Walls

Mary-give me some advice for the day that I can pass on to others.

Child-don’t forget…to be soft and gentle is to be strong.  You used to know this when you were younger…but then you built up a wall of toughness…to cover up…you were feeling vulnerable…no one really to helped you through adolescence…with life’s issues…to help authenticate you…to help you validate who you were.  Now you need to imagine some kind of brick structure around you and every day look at it…every day remove some of these blocks…and one day…all we will see is you…shining purely and clearly in the white light of the universe.  That’s you…a channel for the spiritual realm…open to all…available to all…no pretenses…no fear…no wondering who you are…no guilt…just a shining you.  You can do these tasks…you will help and heal others, you will fulfill your task and heal yourself in this lifetime.  Just…don’t worry if you can do it or how you will do it…ask for spiritual guidance and it will come.  It’s really so easy.  You’ll see.  Your life is full of possibilities child.  You can help change the energy of the planet.  You are love.  Spread love.  I am love.  I am always with you.