| |
|
|
|
| |
|
New Thought Families Newsletter:
Faces Of Freedom: Forgiveness, Faith & Fortitude
Issue #34 Sunday, July 19, 2009 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Faces Of Freedom
I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Namaste Beloveds,
Happy Summer! I hope this finds you free to shine your light, feel your love and be your beauty on this beautiful planet. Ah, freedom. It does indeed have so many faces! And the truth is, no matter what our outer circumstances, we do have so many blessed freedoms especially here in America ... land of the free and the brave. It is also true that so often freedom simply requires the courage to know and accept the truth of any given situation as the book of John asserts: Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~ John 8:32
There are many tools to aid us in our freedom; not the least of which are faith, forgiveness and fortitude. Fortitude has somewhat lost favor it seems in the common vernacular but it was a cornerstone virtue for a looooong time. Some street synonyms include pluck, grit, moxie. It is a core strength that allows one to face any fear or adversity with a noble courage & perseverance. I think it is God energy realized through faith & forgiveness and the utimate freedom of oneness with the truth of who we are at our highest & best.
In my summer stance to see as scientist (as reported in last month's newsletter) , I have been finding new layers of truth to set me free. And have been shown some interesting layers of mental health ... in myself and others. In New Thought, a basic premise is that thoughts are things and that we shape our lives through our thoughts. There are so many factors that can influence those thoughts including chemical & environmental ones ... and yet I believe God is always everywhere present even in the most mind blowing madness. God lived through the holocaust and in every shattered heart that made that nightmare a reality. It is thought that the great poet Emily Dickenson was mentally ill and probably "bi-polar" from the way she lived as well as the dates and mood swings evident in her poetry. Though never known in her lifetime, she has influenced generations of poets and people across the planet possibly because of her mental instabilities?! Like so much of life, there are great complexities attributed to the way we think and the lives we live ... And yet, there is one simple truth under it all .... freedom. We are always free to think and therefore be anything or any way we choose. But like knowing our spiritual essence, oneness with all, and innate beauty and grace, we tend to forget. We simply forget we are free. Luckily, there are so many ways to remember ~!
I had a very pleasant surprise this month that gave way to a remembering and knowing that was truly hidden from me before ... I went to a Phillies baseball game! While visiting Jeremiah's father & grandfather in Philadelphia, we went to a ballgame. I had never been to one before. I had no interest in going as a die hard non-sports
fan so the FUN FUN FUN of the experience was a total shock to me! There were 45,146 in attendance; a majority wearing Phillies regalia and in their total joy. In short order, I felt their joy and was on my feet cheering away. The wave went around 7 times and I marveled at this oneness concept envisioning similar waves of Love & harmony rippling through the planet. I still have no clue what is so exciting to these fans but it nonetheless unleashed a love in me for the joy of the experience ~ their experience as mine. Fireworks followed the game and they were the most amazing I have ever seen. Again, I was envisioning these bursts of color energizing my personal dreams and the dream of peace, Love & harmony for the planet .... joy bursts going out across the globe ... wave, wave, wave ... It is such a blessing to experience joy in mass like that .... I never could have concieved of it before ~ a hidden truth to me, wow! Now, if only my answers to the hard realities in my life were that easy .... and maybe, just maybe they are. For as the "scientist" or New Thought practioner in me religiously shows up everyday to put fireworks into my dreams, the waves are going out to the planet and beyond and surely my reality is free to play out the dream ... as me, as Love in action, as God fully and freely expressed.
Everything can be taken from a man but ... the last of the human freedoms - to choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones own way.
~ Viktor Frankel |
 The Courageous Heart Of Liberty
The secret of happiness is freedom.
The secret of freedom is courage.~ Thucydides,
Ancient Greek Historian & Author, 460-404 bc
Jeremiah and I returned to The Liberty Museum in Philadelphia this month. It truly is one of the finest places I have experienced as it speaks the hard truths about the worst of life ~ including the holocaust, 9-11, children killed in this country at the rate of 1 every 2 hours, every day, year after year. And it combines this with the beautiful faces of inspiration that show God & Love in action in the worst and in the best of who we are as human beings. You leave feeling inspired rather than dispairing. It is evident that at the heart of freedom is the courage to speak and act in Love. There is a wing devoted to religious freedom & tolerence with a history of many of the persecuted religions that founded this country. Indeed, many of the colonists came to America primarily for religious freedom. Featuring the magnificent glass artwork of Dale Chiuly and others, this is the only Museum in the world featuring magnificent, world-class glass art to symbolize the beauty and fragility of freedom. Irvin J. Borowsky founded the National Liberty Museum in 1995 as a labor of Love. He says glass is a perfect metaphor for peace as it is both durable and fragile and once shattered, not easily put back together. Thank you Mr. Borowsky for this awesome tribute to liberty, Love & freedom! Visit them in person when you can and anytime online: http://www.libertymuseum.org/
One of their online resources are some fabulous, downloadable lesson plans for school children: http://www.libertymuseum.org/education/materials.html
Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom.
~ Marilyn Ferguson
|
 Faith Filled New CDs:
In Our Hands & Trust What You Hear
When you believe, you see it, so see it now! Know it & see it; with grateful joy believe it. Love it & feel it; with grateful joy, believe it. Believe it now! Believe in faith ...
~Laurie Story, Ask In Faith ~ Trust What You Hear
As reported last month, we implemented fortitude, forgiveness & lots of faith in forging ahead with the new CDs that began & ended production in '08. We finished recording in early July and left the formidable task of blending all the new tracks with the old tracks finished last year with our fabulous tech producer John. When John's wife e mailed to say he had landed in the hospital with an infection, God gave us yet another opportunity to implement faith & trust in the divine timing & order of this project. As of a few days ago, John was thankfully back home & back to work ~ Thank you God & thank you John! And again, we thank all the helping angels who have breathed life & energy into this musical manifestation. Soooooooooooo the new CDs are in their final stages of production ... we'll let you know when they're in our hands so stay fine tuned!
Meanwhile, you can see & read lyrics online with a sneak peak at their CD pages:
In Our Hands is here & Trust What You Hear is here.
We can plant our planet with seeds of peace; in the words we speak, in the thoughts we think. In everything we do, in every one of our deeds, we can plant our planet with peaceful seeds ... ~Laurie Story, Plant Our Planet ~ In Our Hands
|
 Freee To Change:
Changes For New Thought Families!
Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. ~ Mahatma Ghandi
As I change, so does the concept & outlook for New Thought Families! The cancellation of this year's Feathers Of Faith Family Retreat is leaving me and us more wide open to join or co-create conscious, inter-generational community circles & celebrations where and when it best fits ... in good God time. Our circle of love certainly exists! For now, our next planned, live event is in November (see below). Meanwhile, we are embracing our multi-media ministry as most immediate mission. There are many multi-media materials in development and on the drawing board so stay fine tuned. The pace of grace that includes financial flow will determine the rate of unfoldment of these materials .... again, all in good God time! This current newsletter will be shifting in the coming months. If you want to recieve the newsletter, you must opt-in or you will be dropped from the list by Sept. 1st. This is also the date for the debut of our youth newsletter: Little Thoughts! This will also be available as an opt-in and we may or may not offer it as part of the site. There are many changes reflected on site including a new working mission statement so read more below. As always your feedback is encouraged and welcome!
Stone Soup Gratitude Day Retreat
Celebrating The Bounty
of Spirit in All:
in Self, Each Other, in Family, in Community
November 21, 2009 10:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m.
We will return to Piccolo Pastures in November for another Gratitude Stone Soup Day Retreat. Join us to co-create a conscious community celebration in an inter-generational circle singing, celebrating, centering & sipping soul satisfying soup!
THANK YOU Piccolo Pastures for providing the sacred ground!!
Visit Karene Piccolo and Piccolo Pastures on site:
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.~ Marianne Williamson |
|
Web Site: Faith Is A Freeing Force! 
Oh I am free to live the highest part of me; i can always make the choice to listen to my still small voice . ~ Laurie Story, I Am Free ~ Trust What You Hear
This month our New Thought Families web site is celebrating freedom as well as the freeing tools of forgiveness, fortitude, and faith. Our Faces of Freedom Calendar has daily inspirations to celebrate freedom. There are many fun animations and invitations to play & pray and affirm, "I am free!". We offer this intergenerational opportunity to connect with each other and with God in our cyber prayground. Our music video this month is Ask In Faith and we hope to add "I Am Free" before month's end. Both of those songs are on the upcoming CD Trust What You Hear and we do have sneak peak pages of both new CDs with full lyrics now onsite. Our In Our Hands Living Green segment is a simple reminder to do the basic right thing in energy conservation with Lights Out!. Joy Boy celebrates freedom and faith of the heart.
Our Spiritual ABC pages do have a new format beginning NOW with our freedom page! I am letting go of perfection in a freedom from stagnation to move forward with intention and always (blind) faith (as well as self acceptance & forgiveness!). As the site patiently & prayerfully moves forward with faith and fortitude, there is an increasing freedom to open up to new inspirations of expression ... We are trying on a new tag line and evolution in our mission statement ... in loving service we remain ...
www.newthoughtfamilies.com
An inspirational, inter-generational global prayground where
you're never too young to pray & never too old to play!
|
|
 Let Freedom Sing
(Sing to the tune of Yankee Doodle!)
I'm a freedom celebration;
a grateful child of God who's free!
A real live vision of my loving God,
born free in the heart of a dream!
I'm a freedom celebration;
a joyful singing song of Love!
Centered in my heart and Spirit,
created in true glory,
i am a grateful child of God!
~Laurie Story
Great blessings to you this day ... may you find a fufilling fortune of faith, forgiveness, fortitude, and freedom in this moment & always .... Namaste, Love, Namaste.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click Here to Subscribe!
Archived Newsletters for New Thought Families
© 2007-2009 Laurie
Story Vela, M.A. & New Thought Families
All Rights Reserved For Sharing & Caring
namaste@newthoughtfamilies.com 1-800-ABC-4974
|
