Sacred Moments
The only thing that separates us from the sacred is our awareness & appreciation
of it's precious, pervasive presence. There are miracles in every moment. ~ Laurie Story
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein

Namaste Beloveds,

Here we are in celebration of the sacred ... the sacred that is available in any moment we choose to be aware of it. We are honoring the sacred on this planet and within each of us. It's April Awareness on the New Thought Families website and we have a Sacred Moments video each day ... we are honoring a sacred something right around us and inviting you to do the same ... "What sacred something can you celebrate today?" The camera man is mostly my 8 year old Jeremiah and he appears on camera some too ...!!! If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think! Each day is updated on the home page:  http://www.newthoughtfamilies.com/ and the whole calendar is up to date at: http://www.newthoughtfamilies.com/ABCs/Sacred/SacredMoments.html The videos were uploaded through UTube and also Peace.TV so hopefully they are user friendly to all!

It has been an inspiration to me to blend technology and Godology. And personally, it has been a wonder of saying "Yes" to what seems logically ludicrous and "No" to the doubts that say "Who do you think you are to do this?" And then, as is so often the case, after saying yes, so many more layers appear! There is the actual time entailed and what that means logistically every day. Ok, I still say yes. Then there is the inspiration level to maintain ... can we really be aware of the sacred and really celebrate it every day? Ok, I still say yes. And then there's the inevitable "one-ups-man" from the universe when I was sent this link to a most amazing website: http://www.myinnerworld.com that gave me a moment of jealousy tinged with chagrin at our homespun site. This site is truly amazing and you should go there! And the fact is that a whole team of experts created the site ... and good for them! And good for us ~ me. Ok, I still say yes.The bottom line in my inner awareness this month is this: Can I stay true to what calls me as mine to do without comparing it to others or even caring if anyone else even notices my efforts? Can I just trust that God is calling me to do this and that in the wake of the co-creation, I am alive and well. I have realized anew that I am called to create ~ to co-create ~ and what a sacred calling it is! In this co-creation, I feel fully alive, blessed, and aware of the sacred miracle of life present in every moment that I am present to it.
Singer
One morning in my tree
A bird sang cheerily;
It did not seem to care
If I stood listening there,
And when its song was through,
Straightway away it flew
And did not bow or pause
To wait for my applause.
~James Dillet Freeman

So .... it has been a time of singing, a full, creative, preciously productive time here just by saying yes. Here's wishing you the yes of your sacred song and the yes of your sacred awareness of the infinite beauty on this planet and inside you ...

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle. 
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Establishing Sacred Ground
Something opens our wings.
Something makes boredom and hurt disappear.
Someone fills the cup in front of us:
We taste only sacredness. 
~Rumi
Piccolo Pastures!

Our Seeds Of Peace Day retreat was planned at Piccolo Pastures. Alas, it was not to come to pass so we are planning another Oneness Day Retreat (see below) and are taking the opportunity to really honor and celebrate Piccolo Pastures for the sacred retreat space it offers. Karene had a dream to start a Retreat Center; Piccolo Pastures is the manifestation of that dream. On site, we have pictures and videos from Piccolo Pastures ... a peaceful place so close and yet so far ... located in Elk Grove, CA, it is a short drive from the city and a simple step into tranquility. Thank you Karene! Treat yourself to a day or weekend retreat at Piccolo Pastures! Join New Thought Families there on June 7th!
http://www.newthoughtfamilies.com/People/Karene.html

For everything that lives is holy, life delights in life. ~William Blake

Sacred Earth: Plant A Tree!

To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred,
all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Earth Day! Celebrated April 22, what can you do to celebrate? Maybe there are local things you can participate in or you can simply notice and say YES to the sacred mother!? We offer our song, Earth Mama, in a new video! You'll find it on site (link below), at YouTube and at Peace.TV .

Arbor Day is also a holiday this week ~ April 25. The national Arbor Day is always the last Friday in April and it is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Our Arbor Day was established by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1872 in response to moving to a land with no trees. He became a prominent journalist and used his newspaper's influence to help promote and grow Arbor Day and subsequently the Arbor Day Foundation which still headquarters at his original Nebraska farm. By the way, Morton's birthday was April 22 which is this year's Earth Day!

Similar tree honoring days are celebrated around the world. If you can't plant a tree, find one to hug! And do visit the Arbor Foundation website (and consider becoming a member!); it is an extensive rich resource at: http://www.arborday.org/
 
I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines. 
~Henry David Thoreau

New Thought Family Retreats!
"We are all a circle of  love ~ hand in hand, we hold
what we're made of. We are all a circle of Love."
New Thought Families continue to circle up to play & pray!
 
We hope you can calendarize us in ... our Day Retreat at Piccolo Pastures is June 7th. The Feathers Of Faith Family Retreat at Silver Lake is Ag. 14-17.
It is such a gift to spend time in sacred nature and community ...

One Family Day Retreat
Saturday, June 07, 2008
10:00 am-4:00 pm
Gather Together to remember, acknowledge & celebrate our Oneness ...
with each other, our beautiful planet, & all the magnificent life upon it!

THANK YOU Piccolo Pastures for providing the sacred ground!!
Located in Elk Grove, they are so close and yet so far ...

Adult $ 15 ~ Youth $10 Donation to cover costs ~
$40 per family ~ no one turned away for lack of funds!
Register by 6/01!!!
Find out more here!

Feathers Of Faith Family Retreat At Silver Lake!

We have a picture video of the Feathers Of Faith campout here:
http://www.newthoughtfamilies.com/Camp/FeathersFollowUp.html

Love's greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred. 
~Barbara de Angelis

In The Sacred We Live
Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again. ~Joseph Campbell
May you make and take sacred moments of silence. May you recognize, honor, and celebrate the sacred in you and all around you ...

Dear Creator,
Did you ever think the Grand Canyon too grand?
When it was forming, did it ever feel out of hand?
Or is that massive message
the same grace to you
as a miniscule grain of sand?
Do you hold them equally holy? I pray to understand.
I pray to know the open flow of co-creating with you;
allowing your essence to pour through everything I do ...
in every gesture, thought, look, word ...
in each note sung ~ in the whole song heard.
In a concert of songs serenading the planet!
From the miniscule to the mighty,
may I recognize the sacred
and not take it for granted.
~Laurie Story

In the name of all that is Holy & Sacred within you and all around you ...
Namaste, Love, namaste.