 
February 2010 Newsletter:
Heartful Hugs
February 2010 Updates:
Heart Notes
Archived Newsletters for New Thought Families
|
|
Heartful Hugs ~ February 2010 |
|
Happy Valentine's Day!  In the Spirit of Gratitude & Love, Blessings & Hugs ~
Namaste Beloveds,
Yes, Happy Valentine's Day! Happy President's Day! Happy Shrove Tuesday! Happy Lent?! In our sections below are more about this being Shrove or Fat Tuesday as the gateway to Lent. To shrive someone is to hear of their shortcomings/confession & offer assurance of God's forgiveness, as well as offer spiritual advice/penance. Given the delay & dismay in what was promised to be our oh so happy surprise filled Valentine's Newsletter, here I am on Shrove Tuesday seeking the shrive ... in you fearless reader?! I have plenty of shortcomings to confess & yet nothing some (self) forgiveness & acceptance won't cure. Mainly, I find myself blinded by Love that doesn't seem to know about time & so has left me with blurred vision, empty Valentines & skewed timelines. This eve of the 40 day Lenten journey is a grand time for self reflection & re-direction ... a divine order time for this loving, hugging newsletter to go out to you & yours. Yes, there's always something to celebrate & truly everyday is a good day for Love. So in the Spirit of Love, we greet you now with big bear hugs ... |
 Heartful Hugs!
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine
Our onsite celebration of Love is full of ... BEAR HUGS! We are finding unconditional God Love with teddy bears in our daily Play & Pray calendar. We are affirming: I Am Love!
with a Bear Hug A Day!
We also celebrating the Season For Peace & Nonviolence with a new interactive feature, Name That Peacemaker & our multi-media
calendar that offers 64 ways in 64 days with affirmations, animations, music & video. Join us!
Our multi-media 64 Ways in 64 Days was a springboard from the kids version written by Rev Georgia & Julie Jenkins-Sathe at Center for Spiritual Awareness also found onsite here.
Both of our featured calendars offer ~ especially children & families ~ fun, colorful, simple ways to connect daily online with the inner divine!
Our 3 year anniversay re-visiting, renewing, and rejuvenating our vision & offerings for New Thought Families has turned out to be more baby steps in the ongoing journey with the bear hug reminder that indeed, Love is patient. The planned anniversary surprises include the new Name That Peacemaker feature described in the Season Of Peace section below and a new partnership for New Thought Families & our PlayShops mentioned earlier this month & again in our events section. The biggest multi-media offering was ready until we discovered it doesn't (yet!) translate well to other computers. Soooo deep breath of patience, faith & fortitude & a bear hug ... for all of us!
Get your bear hug today! |  Let Love Lead!
So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate
the whole earth. ~Bahá'u'lláh
Our new parter Rev Patsy is using The Great Invocation this month at Sophia's Well Of Wisdom & we love it as an interfaith call to unity. This Invocation is spoken/prayed daily around the world. Read more about this global prayer for humanity in our Interfaith Inspirations section.
The Great Invocation:
From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into human minds.
Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into human hearts.
May the Coming One return to Earth.
From the center where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide all little human wills -
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the center which we call the human race
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and Power
restore the Plan on Earth.
Visit Sophia's Well Of Wisdom Online!
More about The Great Invocation on WebOfGood!
|
Conscious Commitment
It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters. ~Mother Teresa
As we embrace Love onsite, we have many offerings featured including 3 music videos & Heart Love, the Joy Boy cartoon & supersized e book all found & linked on the home page.
We are again celebrating Season Of Peace & Non-Violence; "January 30 - April 4, is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign ..." For more information including a calendar of events, go to the Association for Global New Thought Site: http://www.agnt.org/This year the Association is teamed with United Centers for Soiritual Living & Unity including a live radio show on Unity.fm Mondays through February and March at 1:00p.m. PST.
At New Thought Families, we have the 64 Ways in 64 Days aforementioned multi-media calendar. We have the 64 days grouped into 5 sections:
Day 1-12, 1/30-2/10 Peace Begins With Me
Peace Begins With Me: I explore and take care of the peace in me. I hug me like I'm worth!
Day 13-28, 2/11-2/26 I Am A Peacemaker
I Am A Peacemaker: I am a peacemaker with myself & others. I send Love thoughts out ...
Day 29-44, 2/27-3/14 Our Home Is a Peace Zone
Our Home Is A Peace Zone:
Together as a family, we create a home of peace. We clean our home ~ we enJOY life!
Day 45-60, 3/15-3/30 Our Peaceful Planet
Our Peaceful Planet: We are using resources with respect & reverence. We connect with nature's beauty. We live Love in a green home!
Day 61-64+, 3/31-4/04 Circle of Peace
A Circle Of Peace:
Each of us contributes to make the circle whole. We form a circle of Love & Peace!
The five sections each offer videos & audios as well as daily animations and affirmations.
Our new feature, Name That Peacemaker turned out much different than originally planned; it has taken many of those Love is patient turns, took WAY longer than planned & is still developing with lots of possible expansions.This new feature offers an interactive format to discovering & celebrating a few inspirational individuals. Round 1 features February's Fab 4 ~ 4 oh so inspirational peacemakers. Play Name That Peacemaker~ linked here! |
Interfaith Inspirations
If we could all hear one another's prayers, God might be relieved of some of his burdens. ~Ashleigh Brilliant
The World Prayer, The Great Invocation is an invocation for light and love. Translated in more than 70 languages & dialects, it was first released
in 1945 by Alice Bailey & Tibetan, Djwhal Khul. The newer language came in 2000 by the Lucis Trust to better reflect changing consciousness; "human" replaced man (man: Sanskrit for 'one who thinks') and "Coming One" replaced Christ (Christ: directly translated as 'divine consciousness'). According to the Lucis Trust: "Many religions believe in a World Teacher or Saviour, knowing him under such names as the Christ, the Lord Maitreya, the Imam Mahdi, the Bodhisattva, and the Messiah, and these terms are used in some of the Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish versions of the
Great Invocation."
Special days on the February Interfaith calendar include observation & celebration of Saint Brighid of Kildare & season changes on 2/2 by Wicca/Neo Pagan: Imbolc - Ludhnassad & also season changes on 2/3 by the Shinto: Setsubun Sai. February 14th is Chinese New Year as well as St. Valentine's Day which in the non-hallmark tradition is the Christian celebration of the love of God. The 14th has 2 other Christian observances:
Transfiguration Sunday, Christian celebration of a connection with heroes of Judaism & Cheesefare Sunday, the Orthodox Christian Day of Forgiveness. Monday the 15th is Nirvana Day, Buddhist recollection of Buddha's death. The 16th is Shrove Tuesday, Christian carnival day on the eve of Lent. Carnival means "farewell to meat". To shrive someone is to hear of their shortcomings, offer assurance of God's forgiveness, & offer spiritual advice. Shrove Tuesday, is also known in French as Mardi Gras, literally translated as Fat Tuesday. In days of old when folks abstained from eating any meat products during Lent, the fats would get used up beforehand. Since pancakes were a standard way to use up fat, the day also became known as Pancake Tuesday. Lent is the Christian 40 days of penitence or reflection proceeding Easter & it begins with Ash Wednesday, this year on 2/17. 2/26 is Mawlid el Nabi, Islamic celebration of Prophet Muhammed's birthday, 2/26-3/1: Intercalary Days, Baha'i calendar adjustment days & 2/28 is Purim, Jewish celebration of a deliverance from genocide. |
|
Events & Expressions: Conscious Calendarizing!
As we prayerfully calendarize with passionate purpose, our 2010 monthly PlayShops are set with our new partner Rev Patsy of Sophia's Well Of Wisdom. These intergenerational, interfaith circles welcome all ages to come together in conscious connection. Heart Notes on 2/13 was full of Love and we are celebrating spring equinox & renewal next month with Seeds Of Peace on 3/20. Feathers Of Faith Family Camp is back on in the sacred Sierras ~ July 28-Ag 1! We are being joined by our fab friends at Sutter Creek United Methodist Church as well as the wise & wonderful Rev Patsy! Thank you all! Registration deadline is almost here~ 2/26/10 Cabins, food, camp activities, feathers, faith, fellowship, & FUN all in the sacred Sierras in adorable, affordable accomodations!
Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. ~Anthony Brandt
Calendarize Family Heart Time! |
Divine Directions!
Love is patient and love is kind. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ~1 Corinthians 13
We remain committed to growing New Thought Families & the vision of consciousness intergenerational, interfaith connections. With God, with Love, all things are possible but perhaps on a different timeline than mine! If you're still shriving me at this point, I must confess that
my question of "What is mine to do?" has left me completely overwhelmed, overcommitted & nearly blinded by Love. So now, I will whisper, "What is mine to do today with ease & grace & peace?" And I will henceforth nuture the visions with baby steps & save the declarations for announcing the completed visions. As for you, oh dear shriving one, thank you, thank you, thank you for your presence & any spiritual assurance or advice you care to offer is most welcome! I hold you, & all of us, in the heart of Love encircled by bear hugs. So blessed in Love! Namaste, Love, namaste.
|
|
|
Heart Notes ~ February Updates! |
|
 ~Our February Newsletter is a special Valentines Issue
coming on February 14th!~
Until then, here's a few Heart Notes that just can't wait:
Today is not just Superbowl; It's our 3 year anniversary!!! ~
newthoughtfamilies.com launched on 02-07-2007
Today is also Four Chaplains Sunday - Interfaith celebration of the unity of religions in service to people. ~Count our little .com in! Let the celebration begin!
|
 Living Love!
Come out of the circle of time and into the circle of love. ~Rumi
Our interfaith, intergenerational monthly PlayShop & Community Circle, Heart Notes is this Sat, 2/13, 2:00-5:00. All hearts are invited to come play, pray & express the Love of you!
We are excited & delighted to be moving the monthly circles to the Motherlode Holistic Wellness Center in Jackson & to announce the support of & partnership with Rev. Patsy Walker Fine of Sophia's Well Of Wisdom. We are so grateful & blessed to have Rev. Patsy joining us, she truly is a well of wisdom & love. Thank you Rev Patsy ~ WELCOME!
Remember Feathers of Faith Family Camp Registration is due by 02/26!
Express Your Love With Us!
|
|
Click Here to Subscribe!
Archived Newsletters for New Thought Families
© 2007-2010 Laurie
Story Vela, M.A. & New Thought Families
All Rights Reserved For Sharing & Caring
namaste@newthoughtfamilies.com 1-800-ABC-4974
|
