GOD IS a Verb. GOD IS…I AM

   Work.  Ugh.  Don’t you just hate it?  Wanna play hooky?

This morning, I was teasing my husband about wanting to play golf right in the middle of moving from one house to the other.  I asked him how he could even consider “playing around” when there was so much work to do.  He shot back, “Well, you take time to write your blog every day.”  I answered that it was part of my job.  Albeit…it is one of the parts I truly enjoy. 

The truth is, a day off, here and there, to go play golf is a major part of my husband’s life.  He works very hard in his home-building business, and he does deserve some fun time, as well. 

Looking at our jobs makes me appreciate how lucky we are to be doing things we really enjoy.  It is not uncommon for Billy and I to put in long hours, doing things most people our age would never consider doing.  Just a while ago, we carried a heavy dresser up the stairs, and when the moving company shows up on Monday morning, they will, once again, be surprised to see that we have already moved most everything ourselves.  It isn’t uncommon to see us climbing up tall ladders and walking across the rooftops of houses.  We plant trees and shrubs and lift heavy items.  We work most every single day, and rarely stop until dark.  And you know what?  We love it!

I often hear people talking about how they hate their jobs.  They furrow their brows and say “it pays the bills, however.”  I wonder why they continue to spend time in situations they really don’t enjoy.  I believe if these same people would take a closer look at the experience, they might find the real reason they are there.  In doing so, they might also discover they could move on to a different place…one they would actually enjoy!

I believe wherever I am is exactly where I’m “supposed” to be.  No one forced me here…I chose it.  I might sometimes think it isn’t what I want in life, but then I remind myself to look closer.  If I’m here, there is a reason. 

When people tell me they hate their jobs, I suggest they reconsider their purpose in being there.  There is something there for them to learn.  Sometimes, we choose employment situations without understanding that.  We might think it is about money or about opportunity for career advancement.  It might be.  However, sometimes it is about something completely different than what you think.  What if you are there because someone needs your light to shine for them?  What if you are there to develop patience or to practice tolerance?  If you learn to look at the deeper meaning of your experience, your “work” takes on a whole new meaning.  It might even become fun as you start to play detective. 

Look around you.  Is there someone in your office who bothers you a great deal?  Is your boss an overbearing, obnoxious jerk?  Is the girl in the cubicle next to you always whining and complaining about something?  Are your co-workers prejudiced and judgemental?  Is the lonely nerd in the corner always depressed about something?  How about that flirty girl who always wears the tight pants and low-cut blouses…does she annoy you?

In every single case, this is not about “them.”  It is always about you.  The characters in your play are there for a reason.  Yep…you auditioned and chose them for the role they are playing in your life.  What is it you need to learn from them?  Everything you don’t like in others is a shadow side of yourself that needs to be addressed.  Unless and until you deal with it, you will continue to put yourself in these circumstances.  Ask yourself when you have acted as they do.  Be honest!  Look at it in yourself and recognize how you have done something very much the same.  Analyze why you behaved in that manner and see if you might have something yet to learn about it.  In other words, if I can’t stand the person who is always complaining, I need to ask myself if I have ever been that way.  The answer will be yes!  I then consider why I behaved in that manner, and I contemplate whether my complaining was uncomfortable for others.  The answer is yes!  I forgive and understand this aspect of myself and I decide to do better in future times.  I have now become aware of this part of myself and I have taken action to clear this pattern from my life.  In doing so, I have now replaced the shadow with light.  I will no longer attract that type of person into my experience, because I have no need for it.  More than likely, I will be surprised to learn the whining, complaining girl has been transferred to another department…or I will find myself in a new position.

Once you start to play around with this idea of addressing the things you don’t like in others as things you have inside yourself, your life will change.  One by one, you will uncover the dark side of your hidden beliefs, and the light you shine on these qualities you once thought were only in others will clear from your experience.  Amazing things will start to happen!  New opportunities will reveal themselves to you, and every experience you encounter will be an opportunity to learn and grow.  Never forget to play detective!  Discover the lesson behind every single event in your life by turning and really looking at it for what it is.  Think of “others” as a reflection of yourself.  They can only mirror back to you what you project. Ask yourself why you placed that situation or those people in your path?  Why are they in your story?  What are they trying to show you about yourself?  There is no need to hate work, because it can be great fun to seek out the larger lesson.

Once I FINALLY understood this concept…my whole experience looked different.  Now, I can’t wait to see what person, event or words will trigger my next negative reaction.  When it happens, I observe myself growing resistant, and I ask, “What is there in me that needed this to happen?” 

If you know the answer…you can play hooky today!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

  If you love something, set it free; if it comes back, it’s yours.  If it doesn’t, it never was.  (Anonymous)

That line was made famous in the movies and in songs, and it has been quoted and re-quoted between parting lovers for many years since.  Although it has a sentimental pull (as well as a romantic method of escaping a bad relationship), I really don’t agree with that statement.  Nonetheless, I do understand the futility of trying to hold on to something good…never wanting it to end.

When Dayna was a little girl, I used to tease her about growing up.  I would softly push down on the top of her head, telling her I was not going to let her grow up.  I wanted her to always be a child.  Of course, she thought that was great fun, so she would stand on her tippy-toes and reply, “But Mommy, I have to grow up!”  Each year, on her birthday, she would cheerfully burst into my bedroom and  gloat, “See, I did get older!”  I would sigh and shake my head, pretending to be forlorn. 

It is not always easy to let go of the things we love, but the truth is, nothing is static in this life.  Regardless of our attempts to contain, restrain or maintain the same, change happens.  Rather than wanting things to stand still in time, maybe we can see a greater truth behind this experience of life.  Transformation is eternal.  The creative process of expressing through form and formless is a glorious and beautiful process.  Resisting it is pointless and exhausting.

I have a dear friend who lost someone he loved.  The measure of adoration he brought into their relationship is something most of us would envy.  When he lost the one he called his soul mate, it felt like his own life had ended.  He couldn’t breathe.  He had no desire to eat or communicate.  He was exhausted with the process of moving forward.  His mind was blank and his heart-space was filled with deep, deep anguish.  He could only ask, “Why?”

When the time was right, I introduced an idea to him.  I first asked him what he loved about her.  He immediately described the playful youth, her smile, how much fun she was, and how she made him laugh.  In his mind, all those things died when she did.  However, I pointed out that the qualities of fun, joy, energy, and love were still very much alive.  I explained what he loved about her was not gone, but that he would have to look for it in other people. 

“The things you loved about her,” I explained, “are qualities of God.  They don’t die.  You won’t find them in her body, now, but you can find them again, in time.  When you are ready, you will start to see those things in other people.  When you allow yourself to appreciate those things in others, you are honoring her memory.  This is what keeps her spirit alive in the world.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, understanding he could let go, even though he had made her a promise to be with her always.  What better way to be with her than to keep those qualities alive in his life?

When we try to hold on to someone or something from our past, we are resisting the good that is being offered in the present moment.  If you are in a relationship where your partner is not reciprocating your feelings, and yet you are not willing to let them go, who is being hurt the most?  You are!  You are probably holding on to a different idea of who they are or what they “could” be, and the more you cling to this idealistic dream, the more you are locking yourself in resistance.  You’ve clearly attached the qualities to a particular body; however, those concepts are not physical, at all.  Perhaps you fear the change so greatly, you prefer to hold on to what isn’t working.  But the truth is…they have gone on, anyway.  You are not holding on to that person, you are holding on to a version of what was or what might be.  What would happen if you let go of that resistance?  Could it be the best gift you ever gave to them and to yourself?  It’s time to understand everything we want is found in God.  God is the only Source of Being.  And where is God?  Everywhere!

I will say this…if you love something and you set it free, it will come back to you.  It might not come back to you in the same way it arrived, but it is always there for the taking.  When we understand the larger picture, we know there is no other way.  Whatever qualities of God you love most are always available to you.  Once we stop attaching God’s aspects to certain physical bodies, we realize they are everywhere.  They always have been and always will be.

If you love something, set it free.  It will come back to you because it is a part of All That Is.  The package that presents itself might look different, but what is inside the box is always the same.  Divinity is wrapped in many guises.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   Experiencing something as separate from everything else requires space around it.  If we had no space, all would be melded into one thing, and could never be experienced in any other way.  The space between is necessarily definitive.  When I contemplate creation, I think about that. 

I like to begin by “trying” to imagine that everything was once like a vast Ocean.  There was no space around or in it.  It filled everything.  Of course, imagining infinity is impossible, so in order to grasp this idea, I drew a circle and pretended it was All.

Looking at my “infinite” world, I could see how everything was one.  Nothing could be apart from the allness.  However, as my imagination came into play, I realized there was a way to create an All within All.  There was a way to experience the sum by becoming the parts.  I only had to add space.  At first, I expanded the area around the circle, putting emptiness in that area.  Once that was done, I could now move the outer edges of my perfectly shaped circle.  My circle became abstract in shape.  Suddenly, huge waves lifted into the space around them, and each one was distinctly different from the other.  “How beautiful!”  I thought. 

Intrigued with this idea, I decided I could take it even further.  As the waves leaped into the space above, tiny droplets could temporarily free themselves and soar through space.  What fun that was!  I increased the spaciousness within the Ocean itself.  By doing this, I could divide the entire Ocean into droplets.  From those, I could create all kinds of wonderful shapes and patterns.  I also realized the droplets could transform into vapors, forming clouds in the area surrounding the ocean.  In time, of course, they would return to the Ocean…but just for a while, they could experience a new form. 

As time passed, the droplets became rain, dew, mist, snow, and ice.  Within the Ocean itself, many other shapes were taking form.  As diversity grew, the Ocean expanded into countless expressions.  With more space came more creations. The Ocean looked around and saw that it was good. 

In time, however, some of the creations forgot they came from the Ocean.  They didn’t realize the space around them was also born of the Ocean, and they started to believe the space was somehow magical and mysterious.  They recognized the space is what gave them form.  They began to be afraid as they felt separated from their source.  Yearning to be one with the All, they began to worship the space, hoping this would win favor.  They argued among themselves as to which creation was right.  They no longer believed they were all one.

Thousands of years passed.  Creation was reshaping and transforming into countless other formations, but the fun of the experience was changed.  Rather than enjoy this opportunity to be unique and expressive, the forms became more and more confused about how this all started.  Sometimes they were happy, but often they were sad.  Out of their fear came resistance.  Explanations were vast and varied.  When the creations transformed from solid to vapor, they didn’t understand.  They called this death and they felt very much alone.  Some felt the Creator no longer cared about them.  They were abandoned.  Some decided there simply was no Creator.  Others imagined the vapors disappeared into a special place where the Creator loved them, once again.  They named it Heaven.  The creations they labeled “bad” were believed to go to yet another horrible place where the fire would eternally punish them.  They called this place Hell.

One day, however, a group came together to study the process of creation.  As they traced the events back in time, they understood there was a time when space did not exist.  All the drops were contained in one Ocean!  Alas…they understood that the space around them was a part of the Ocean!  Yes, even they were a part of the Ocean…everything was!  What they were experiencing was the All-in-All.  They realized nothing could be outside of it because everything was it.  Never again would they be afraid they were separated from their source, because it was impossible to be outside of it.  All the creations that had come to be were actually contained within the Ocean.  It was a remarkable discovery.  At long last, when the droplets soared into the space above, they felt great joy!  Now that they understood they could never, ever be outside of All, they remembered how much fun it was to experience being unique. Whether droplet, wave, fish, cloud, human, or space…everything was the Ocean, Being!   

Life was never the same after that.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   My sister is soon going on vacation to Europe.  My brother and his wife will celebrate their anniversary on an Alaskan cruise.  My younger son is headed to a cabin in Montana and my parents will return to the mountains of New Mexico this fall.  Seems like everyone is taking time to just get away from it all.  At least, that is the perception.  The truth is, you can never get away from All.  I suggest it is only a part of it we sometimes desire to escape.

Because we spend so much of our lifetime experiencing through the perception of the mind and the senses, we tend to often feel overloaded and exhausted.  Most of our day is spent doing and thinking…both requiring energy.  When we squeeze out the “space between” to fill our experience with more and more energy, we find ourselves feeling drained.  Although we are not consciously aware of the vast amount of space in physical form, the majority of our bodies is comprised of it.  We are not solid objects.  As we attempt to fill our experiences with more and more energy, we are pushing against the space between.  We experience resistance.  This is exhausting.  

I understand the value of a vacation.  Distancing one’s self from the repetitive experiences of our day to day living is refreshing.  It often feels like it is the only time when we can relax, because, while on vacation, we don’t spend as much time in thought and action.  On vacation, we tend to spend more time being.  But, the truth is, we don’t actually need to escape to someplace else to feel re-energized.  We need only recognize that space within.  It is always there. To calm and quiet the chaos around us, we have to step outside the ego mind to experience ourselves as the consciousness behind that.  As Eckhart Tolle says, “we have to become conscious of being conscious.”  So, how do we do that without going somewhere else?  How is it possible to do that when we are stuck in an office, sitting at a desk, forced to think and do all day?

I would suggest placing a live plant at your desk.  Please be sure this is ”the real thing,” not artificial.  Several times each day, stop to take a few minutes to merely observe the plant.  Just look at it.  Notice that while you are looking at it, there is an inner you observing it through the body’s eyes.  It isn’t the “voice in your head,” but it is the silent observer that is noticing what the body is doing.  Both parts are aware of the plant.  As you do this, you will soon realize there is a third part of you (Consciousness) that is aware of the body and the witness who is observing.  That part of you is observing the other two parts of you experiencing the plant.  When you get to the place where you are aware of Consciousness, you are now in the vast space between energetic particles and waves.  You are recognizing the God within everything.  Getting into the space between fills your experience with serenity and calm.  As the space between expands, the energy within it is no longer congested.  You can breathe again!  Allowing space to return ends resistance and you are born anew.  In time, as you get better and better at this, you will be able to maintain this awareness for longer and longer periods of time.  What you will experience, as a result, is a calmness in the midst of the storm.  “Peace, be still.”

Of course, meditation, walks in nature, and using Emotional Freedom Techniques can also help to alleviate the activity of the body and mind.  Using any of these can be a mini-vacation for the Soul.

If you are not able to take a vacation to another place today, you do have the opportunity to take a vacation from all the doing and thinking.  Allow yourself time to just be.  As the space around you expands, you will find yourself feeling like you just returned from a week on the beach.  Just be sure to brush the sand off your sandals before you come back, okay?

Yeah….this is the life! 

Be sure to take lots of pictures and bring me a souvenir.  (I love those touristy t-shirts that say, “My parents went on vacation and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.”  Size medium, please.  Oh, or one of those refrigerator magnets…or a bunch of sea shells in a bag…or a sand crab…or a post card that says…) 

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

    When my mother married my stepfather, Claude, I became one of the luckiest kids around.  I got two for the price of one–two amazing parents, that is.  Claude (or Pops as we call him) is one of those people everyone just loves being around.  On Saturday, a nice young man stopped by my booth at the Celebrate Life Festival in San Antonio and asked if I was related to Claude McDonald.  I was surprised he had made such a connection, but I told him yes, that is my father.  He then spoke endless praise of Pops, which did not come as a surprise.

A few years ago, I spent some time thinking what it is about Pops that everyone loves so very much.  Yes, he is  kind, compassionate, interesting, intelligent and a great storyteller, but there is something much more than that.  My husband offered that what he finds so amazing is how Pops listens to others.  He explained that when anyone goes to my stepdad with a problem, they always walk away feeling much better.  It isn’t really that Claude solves their problems for them, but he simply listens until the person figures it out for themselves.  You see, Pops is a retired minister, so it would be easy for many to conclude that his gentle ways come from his years of ministry.  But no…it is more than that.  Not all ministers are gifted with his peace-filled aura.  It is something more.

My mother also has this uncanny ability to make everyone feel better just by being near her.  At first, I thought it was because she is my mother.  We share a mother/daughter bond that is without boundaries.  But then I realized other people also feel this same way.  So what exactly are they doing?

Whenever I go to my parents’ house with a problem, they immediately stop whatever task they are doing and ask me to sit down and tell them what is troubling me.  They quietly listen to my story–without interruption.  They have no need to tell me how to handle this; rather, they listen.  Their body language offers “I hear you.”  When I finish my tale of woe, they always start with praise, lifting my confidence and spirits to where I feel I can handle whatever it is that I face.  If I go on and on, for hours, they remain intently focused on my situation, encouraging me by suggesting how I am a wonderful mother or caring friend.  They continue to be there with me for as long as it takes for me to relocate the ability to cope.  You won’t see them fidgeting with text messaging, glancing at the clock, or busying themselves with other activities while we speak.  In fact, if the television is on (which it rarely is), they shut it off.  They just listen.

In time, I started to understand what draws people to my parents.  It is because they have a remarkable ability to stay in the present moment.  In the instant they are needed, they stop doing and start being.  They become The Presence.  Nothing feels so wonderful and peaceful as being in this energy of awareness and alertness.  Whoever is blessed to be with them feels loved and powerful.  When anyone speaks with them, they get their full attention.  They aren’t thinking about what they ”should” be doing.  They are still…in the now. They know they are doing exactly what they should be doing.  Being. 

As I observe the younger generation losing the ability to communicate one-on-one, due to the advent of cell phones, computers, Blackberrys, stereos and television, I wonder if they realize what wonders they are missing.  Do they see the beauty of a flower?  Have they sat quietly and watched a hummingbird as it hovers and darts in the sky?  Will they take time out to feel the sand tickle the bottoms of their feet when an ocean wave laps the shore?  Are they able to become still enough to feel The Presence in everything? 

Rarely do I see the younger people able to tolerate quietness.  It seems they always have some type of background noise.  Even though they sit side-by-side, rather than communicate with each other, they are busy pushing tiny buttons to communicate with a cyber friend.  Generally, they are multi-tasking to such a great degree, there is no possible way they can actually focus on anything.  Adults have now made themselves so accessible to each other their 8-hour work days have turned into twelve or more.  There is never enough time to get things done.  They are enormously busy “doing.”  Well-meaning parents are hustling around to get their children to soccer practice, piano lessons, tutoring sessions, and day care.  We have become experts at over-doing!  Are we, as a human race, slipping further and further away from being?  Who will be there to listen when this art is lost to those who pass from this experience?  Wouldn’t it be best to teach our children how to become still in this chaotic and frenzied world in which they live?  There is no greater legacy we can hand to our children than the knowledge of The Presence.  When the time comes for us to leave this earth, will they be able to survive without knowing where to find all answers?  Who will listen to the children?

Every day, I take time out to just “be” in this moment.  I talk to my children about this.  I demonstrate it.  I encourage them to do likewise.  Sometimes I reach this stage through meditation, and other times, I quietly sit on my back porch and just observe the beauty around me.  I practice The Presence because I have seen what wonders it offers.  I have been blessed to have two wonderful teachers who showed me there is no better way to serve God than to become It. 

With age, I’m learning, more and more, to stop so much of this doing.  Progress will never be found there.  All intelligence, inspiration and creativity comes from Being.   I AM.  Humanity must return to this wisdom if it is to survive.  Our children and grandchildren are the guardians of the human race.  If we fail to pass on this ability to get still, we have failed them.  Listen to the elders.  Observe them.  Become like them.  They did not get to where they are to be ignored, mistreated and disrespected.  They earned great honor because they “got it.”  Every day, you will see them demonstrating how to live life.  Being.  What a grand day it would be if the youth could understand what the elders know.  There is only one way we will ever have that chance.

We will have to be still long enough to hear.  Everything we seek can be found in the stillness of Being.

I AM listening.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   Being raised in the Christian Science tradition had its benefits.  I appreciate it most when speaking to someone who came from a more traditional practice into a metaphysical or spiritual one.  Obviously, undoing old beliefs  closely tied to your very survival has to be difficult.  I remember when my husband, who was brought up in the Baptist church, first started attending church with me.  To be in an environment where communion and baptism weren’t incorporated into the weekly ceremonies felt extremely uncomfortable for him.  Some members of his family questioned whether or not it was “safe” for him to be with me, since I had never been baptised or taken communion.  Surely, I would go to hell.  In time, of course, he came to understand a great deal more about the doctrines I learned, and today, he feels quite comfortable with his membership in the Unity Church.

I feel my immersion in metaphysics, early in life, gave me greater balance in my self-identity.  However, what I learned in recent years was that being taught to ignore the physical aspect of myself was detrimental to my life experience.  You see, in Christian Science we were taught that the mortal body was error.  These days, I still see the “illusion” factor of the body’s appearance, but it doesn’t serve me to deny its existence.  Let me explain.

When I think about who I am, I can see three distinct parts.  First, of course, I have a physical body.  Secondly, I have a thinking mind, or as some call it, an ego.  Third, I have a spiritual Presence.  As I go about living my life, on Earth, my goal is to maintain balance between the three.  Unfortunately, for most of us, this isn’t the case, however.

The best way I can demonstrate this is to ask you to picture a three-legged stool.  If all legs are equal, the stool will be stable; however, if I increase or shorten the length on one or two sides, the stool will bear the burden more fully on one or two points, and the constant wobble will never feel comfortable.

Draw three circles.  Label one of them body, the second one ego and the third one Presence.  Think about how much time you spend engaged with each of these aspects, every day.  Do you spend most of your day thinking?  Do you spend a great deal of time using the body?  How much of your day is spent practicing the Presence–simply being?

If you are like me, you can readily see how one or two aspects get far more attention than the other.  What I’ve come to learn, however, is how important it is to balance all these aspects.  Each of them is important, but none more than the other.  In unity, all of them are incorporated into Being.

Because I was raised in metaphysics, I spent a great deal of time in Presence, but very little in the physical.  Just like most others, I also spent the majority of time in thinking.  Still do!  With the wisdom of experience, I now realize in balancing the three aspects I get a more complete picture of All.  I must embrace every aspect to become One.  Yes…as painful as it sounds for many spiritual people…that means I must incorporate the ego, as well. 

In many spiritual circles, the ego gets a bad wrap.  It is often considered the devil himself!  For me, however, that isn’t true.  If the ego exists, it exists within God.  It can’t be as awful as taught.  I think the problem isn’t with the thinking aspect–because without it, nothing energetic could “be.”  All things first begin as thought. The problem is we have overfed it.  We have put far too much weight on it.  In doing so, the power of the ego became enormous in comparison to the remainder of our being.  To reign in the unequal distribution of weight, we merely need to spend more time working with the other aspects of the self.  We are going to have to be conscious to do so!

Spend some time determining which part of yourself has been denied most.  Perhaps you are ready to find balance.  If so, you are one step closer to union with All.  Learning to see everything as God is definitely a great place to begin!

I don’t think balance is bogus at all. 

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   What’s your story? 

I’ve been thinking a lot about mine, lately.  Because I am not only acting in it, but I also write, produce and direct it, I’ve decided to put production on hold while I rewrite the script.  I just wasn’t excited about the old story line, any more.  It seems like it was far too repetitive and dramatic.  I prefer light-hearted comedies.  I think I’ll factor in a surprise ending…one that includes “and she lived happily ever after.”

We really do have the ability to do just that.  I recently listened to an interview where the two people were talking about how they didn’t like to think of us as controlling our lives.  Some still want to believe a distant and somewhat moody God is dictating the events around them, and they have no say so in the matter.  I don’t understand that, but I respect it.  I guess it makes some people feel burdened to have to be responsible for everything in their lives.  Even knowing that it releases them from the word “victim” seems to make no difference.  These people prefer to hand over the script to unknown authors.  However, according to the Laws of the Universe, each of us is writing our own story…either intentionally or unknowingly.  Isn’t it better to write your own script consciously where you have the freedom to shape the plot in the best way possible?  Those who choose to believe they are just one of the characters in the story are truly missing out on the fun of participating in the entire production.

Perhaps you still aren’t convinced you have this ability.  Maybe it still seems like life is happening to you, not through you.  If so, then I encourage you to test it out.  What harm can it do?  Start with a small intention.  Practice believing it already happened.  See yourself having it and appreciating it.  Do this several times, remembering to really experience the feeling of it being yours now.  Don’t let anyone interfere with your belief…just keep holding it and appreciating it.  I don’t have to wonder, because I know you will receive it.  Once you do, test it again.  Do it enough times that you no longer have lingering doubts.  See…wasn’t that fun!?!!

I believe those who shy away from the idea of participating in creation are often reluctant to do so because they feel it takes away the power of creation from God.  Not true!  Everything is God, and God is always the only Source of creation. It is always odd to me that some of these same people refer to themselves as co-creators!  What? There isn’t anything left for us to create, because God already created everything.  Our role is merely to move creation from wave form into particle form, by participating in the intentional directing of formless into form.  In energetic expression, we have the opportunity to experience creation.  And who is it that is really doing this?  God!  You see…there is really only one Creator. God is waiting to see what kind of life you are going to write into your script, because everything is really God participating through your life experience.  I can’t be certain, but I’ve heard God prefers happy endings and lots and lots of giggles. 

Have fun with your experience of life!  That is what you came to do…your purpose.  There isn’t any other stipulation or requirement.  There is nothing more important than the enjoyment of life.  And now that you know you have been given the pen and paper to write, direct, and produce and star in it just as you want, then see if your script needs tweaking, as well.  Maybe you also love comedies and are ready to join me in helping the planet into one giagantic laugh!! 

Have you heard the one about the man who thought he was a victim?  LOL  Yeah…that’s a good one!!!!  FOCL!!!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   My husband and I have been married for 27 years and we will soon be moving for our 27th time.  No, we aren’t really crazy. (well…maybe not)  He is a homebuilder.  It is what we do.  In fact, I really look forward to each move, as I now have a really good idea how to prepare for each phase.  I know…I should write a book.  Probably will. 

Anyway, as I am going about the business of packing and clearing out cabinets and closets, I giggle at what accumulates.  It seems I always find myself staring at some ugly, cracked vase saying, “Now, why am I holding on to this?” 

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter came into the room and found me sitting in the floor staring at all the knick knacks and photos I was about to pack.  I started laughing as I looked at how out-of-date they were.  Even though I have hundreds of recent pictures of the family, it seems they are all frozen in the 80s or 90s eras.  Why?  And then there are those decorative items and pictures that hang on the walls.  Most of them are not pretty at all.  What makes me continue to wrap them so carefully and write “FRAGILE” on the boxes that contain them?  Honestly…I would be better off if they shattered during the move.  Maybe then I would put out newer items.

I am actually better than most people at not accumulating too much.  My mother taught me to be very organized.  And, after moving so many times, I have gotten rid of most anything that isn’t either plastic or unbreakable.

Clinging to the past is something most of us do without even thinking.  We tend to put things away, forgetting about them for the most part, but we never really consider why it is we are holding onto them in the first place.  We rationalize that we “might need it one day.”  Probably not.  In fact, since we don’t even know we have most of those kinds of things, it’s doubtful when the time arose we would remember we had it.  Maybe it is time to clean out ALL my closets…especially those old repetitive thoughts and memories from the past that really serve no purpose any longer. 

I wonder.  If I cleared my mind of clutter, would I find more space between thoughts?  Would peace come easily?  I imagine it would be heavenly to find myself free of the past.  How much better it would be to have that time to just be in the moment!  Reliving the past doesn’t change anything, does it?  In fact, it causes my body constant stress as it thinks I’m reliving that event, as if it is actually happening, again and again.  I dare not even think of all the toxins dumped into my system from reviving past memories. 

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in this lifetime is that nothing new can be added to a space that is already full.  In order to make room for change and newness, I have to remove some of the clutter. 

Yep…the ugly, cracked vase went in the trash can this time.  I won’t miss it at all.  Never did. 

Looks like I’m open for something new as I start to appreciate that empty space.  True beauty, after all, is formless.  As I close the empty box, I write, “FRAGILE.” 

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   In the past few days, I started listening to some of the recorded classes Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle held in their online workshop.  It is quite interesting to hear, and I strongly encourage anyone who has read the book, A New Earth,  to be sure you listen to these recordings as well.  Maybe some of you who are reading these words actually took part in the classes.  Just click here and you can either watch the classes online, or you can download the audios onto your ipod.  If you haven’t read Tolle’s book (or listened to the audio), I urge you to do so!  It is, for me, one of the best books I’ve ever read.  Yes, partly because so much of what he says reiterates exactly what I’ve come to learn, but also because it is written for the purpose of awakening a greater part of our population so that we can serve in shifting mass consciousness to a higher level.  Many of us feel we are at a critical point in the history of humankind, and we are being offered the opportunity to move into a different dimension of awareness. 

My purpose in all this is clear.  I’ve been offered the opportunity to help others understand who they really are.  This is why I wrote my book and it is why I teach as many others as possible.  I was fortunate enough to be able to briefly visit a different dimension of awareness, and it clarified who I am.  I am now sharing this with others, in hopes that all of us will awaken to the unlimited Beingness of God in us.

Tolle encourages us to step away from the current identity of self, recognizing we are so much more than we think…literally!  Once you begin to stand back in awareness, you can never look at the experience of life quite the same.  Let me give an example.

A while ago, I was thinking, “I need to put out the trash because today is the day they pick it up.”  I walked out to move the container to the curb.  But then…I stopped and giggled.  I realized it wasn’t really “me” putting out the trash, it was my body.  The voice who was thinking about the task wasn’t the one doing it.  They had to work together…one by thinking and one by doing.  In that moment, I could instantly sense how there is not one aspect of “me,” but at least two. Unfortunately, most of society is not aware of this, because they have merged the two parts into one which they call the self.

After you play around with that for a while, you then become aware of the third part of you.  There is a Presence that contains both the thinking self and the body self.  It doesn’t do.  It doesn’t think.  It just holds BEING through awareness.  The container has many names…the matrix, the field, the universe, presence, consciousness, God.  Theologians have acknowledged the Presence for thousands of years, and science is now coming to accept it, as well.  I heard Tolle say that he likes to call it Being.  Great!  This, you see, is why I say God Is A Verb…Being.

The more time we spend in Being, the better our experience of life.  We no longer are drawn into one aspect of our identity, because we know we are all of it.  We observe what our bodies do.  We observe the thoughts in our minds.  We observe all the “things” around us and we refrain from thinking, labeling, or speaking of them.  Just look at them and be with all of this.  We witness the miracle of Being all, although we can never know all of it as individual selves.  But you know what?  There is nothing wrong with that.  We chose to experience this space, this time, this consciousness.  So, enjoy it.

We are so much more than we think.  We are!

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog

   I’ve often heard it said that the moment we are born, we start the process of dying.  Even though I know that is true, death is not something I thought about very often, in the past.  However, the whole concept now fascinates me.

We all know physical things don’t really die.  They transform.  Energy cannot be created or destroyed.  It simply changes from one thing to another.  Every atom of our bodies already existed before it became the self (all energy was born into this universe with the Big Bang), and each atom is disappearing and reappearing throughout our entire life experience.  The death of the body is not a sudden event, it is an ongoing event.  To be fair, birth is the same.  In other words, we are born and dying throughout every moment of our day. 

When our bodies no longer function as a living organism, they don’t simply disappear.  In fact, as eerie as it sounds, if you looked into the coffin of someone who you think is dead (with a strong enough microscope to see photons), you would see the energy particles are still in constant vibration.  The body isn’t dead, it is transforming into something else.  What is different is the nervous system that once directed the photons is no longer intact.  There is no consciousness associated with those particular vibrations.  Or is there?  Does consciousness die and is it confined to physical form?

The thinking self (consciousness of the self) that appears to be narrating the events of your life has not been located within the body, even though most people believe it is a function of the brain.  Consciousness is defined as awareness of the self and the situation around the self.  Scientifically, it is still undetermined and what can be said is it appears to reside just outside and above the top of the head.  In other words, it is not contained within the body.  Anesthesiologists still don’t know where it “goes” during surgeries when it is anethesized.  Stranger still, there are situations where the consciousness is alert during surgery, and is not affected by what is happening to the body.   So, the thinking self (consciousness) is not really “in” the body at all.  In other words, the death of a physical body has no direct connection to consciousness except to say it can no longer host a particular person’s identity.

When I thought about what makes me Jodi, I considered there are many aspects.  I recognize that I am currently a physical body with a conscious, spiritual mind.  Acknowledging that, I had to ask myself how I came to be that.  In other words, something/someone had to associate those two aspects to create the person I am now.  So, there is, at the very least, a third aspect of me as well.  This is where I’m going to throw you a curve.

Most people think of themselves in terms of physical and spiritual.  They think of the body as physical (mortal) and the soul as spiritual (immortal).  I disagree.  Both are immortal, in terms of energy.  The body is comprised of two types of photons (units of light energy).  Things we can literally touch are in particle form.  Things we cannot touch (radio waves, thoughts, feelings, brain waves) are in wave form.  Both of these are considered energy (they can be measured), and they are a part of the energetic life experience.  Spirit, too, is a part of energetic life, although it is experienced only in wave form.  I say this because people who have described themselves as only spirit form (afterlife descriptions of Heaven) always see themselves as individual beings.  If that is true, that is not the end of the story!  To recognize ourselves as merged with God, there cannot be individual beings.  There is only one, Being.  Therefore, I have concluded that the place we call Heaven is just another aspect of energetic expression.  The only difference between Heaven and Earth is one is experienced in wave form only (Heaven), and the other is in both wave and particle form (Earth).  That, to me, is why the first sentence of The Bible states that both Heaven and Earth were created in the beginning.  So, what about this third aspect?

Ninety percent of our universe is non-energetic…what used to be called vacuum.  Wow!  Only 10% of space is filled with physical and non-physical ”things” that can be defined as energy.  It seems like we would be focusing far more on what is in the 90% rather than what’s in the 10%, doesn’t it?  Only in recent years, with the advent of new science has this become possible, however.  Quantum physics is revealing astonishing new evidence of how the “space between” energetic particles and waves is what is controlling everything.  And the cool thing is that human DNA seems to have a direct line to it…through our emotions.

In my humble opinion, that third aspect–the non-energetic stuff of experience–is God.  This is also what I call Soul.  Soul encompasses everything, and it is the Source of all.  Everything is contained within it…all possibility.  Soul is not particle or wave form, because it isn’t energy.  It does, however, hold the possible experience of being energy within it.  Here, it can unfold as individual expressions with the potential to be experienced or not experienced, but all possibility is infinite and eternal.  We think of life as being born into something as it becomes an energetic experience, but it always existed and always will.  It is either being experienced or not.  The same is true with death.  When we stop experiencing life as energetic expression, it still exists as possibility.  It isn’t dead…it is just existing as a possibility.

Death, it seems, really has no place to exist!  If energy cannot be destroyed, then death is not possible.  Physical things transform, but they don’t die.  Consciousness is wave form, only, but it, too, lives on, even when it cannot attach itself to a body host.  And Soul is the Source of all Being.  It is eternal and infinite.  No beginning.  No end.

Hmmmm….suddenly this whole conversation about death seems pointless, doesn’t it?

Never mind.

I AM…Jodi
www.godisaverb.com/blog