Author: millig2

After the last several weeks of heavy work – stepping into the now, overcoming judgement, separating from ego, and relaxing into forgiveness – Rev. Gina invites us to ascend into bliss by taking a break from the hard-hitting subject matters and invest time in play.

October 13 – Are You Comfy?
Rev. Gina shares her initial discomfort in being a first-timer at the Affiliated New Thought Network (ANTN) conference in Unity Village, Missouri. Tying in our work a couple months back, Rev. Gina came to the realization that her discomfort was coming from within. Working through Leonard Jacobson’s process, Rev. Gina found comfort in returning to the present moment.

October 20 – Happiness, as soon as…
Rev. Dr. Jerry Troyer joins us to share a message about happiness and how we often put our own happiness lower on the priority scale than pleasing others. He gives us permission to say “yes” to our happiness, even if that may mean saying “no” to others, through Being, Doing, and Having enough.

October 27 – Turn “Oy!” into JOY
Rev. Gina takes a closer look at, 1st Corinthians 13:11 which seems to imply that we must put away our childish ways. However, as she reveals in the sermon, this well known verse may be widely misunderstood and instead hold a closer tie to Jesus’ direction in Matthew 18:3. (Musical content by Buskin & Batteau)

November 3 – Totally Blissed Out!
Rev. Gina shares her thoughts on the pathway to bliss. When we’re in the practice of choosing joy, we can give joy to others simply by being joyful. When we start choosing simple moments of joy, without fearing how others will think or react, we’re actually giving joy away. This simple act of refusing to fall prey to anything other than wonder creates calm and peace for others.

In the last three series, we have learned how to step into the NOW in order to release Judgement so we can focus on silencing our Ego. Now that we have quieted our inner naysayer, we are free to release past pains by learning to forgive. Join us over the next five weeks as we look at forgiveness from a variety of different sources.

September 8 – Forgiveness
When we have moments of crisis they generate a defining line in our lives. If we are unable to forgive others, or ourselves, for the events that led to these moments, we scribe a deep fissure that runs through all future events, good or bad. Until we can forgive these points in our life, they will continue to haunt us for an eternity. Forgiveness is the key to releasing the pain associated with these memories. Until we can truly forgive, the events of our past will continue to hinder our growth towards a fulfilling life.

September 15 – They Know Not…
How much should we forgive those who have wronged us? Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother seventy time seven. And what should we forgive? While hanging from the cross, Jesus forgave those who persecuted and crucified him. Today we look at a radical story of forgiveness from Eva Kor, a Holocaust survivor, who forgave the atrocities perpetrated against her and her family in 1940’s Auschwitz.

September 22 – It’s for YOU!
Rev. Gina recalls the five steps laid out by Colin Tipping in his book Radical Forgiveness and shares a personal story of her own radical forgiveness. All in an effort to reveal that the things we experience in life – the good as well as the bad – are brought before us to teach. We sometimes take the easy road so the lessons catch up to us the hard way and sometimes the lesson can only be learned through grief and struggle. While we may not enjoy the experience, when it comes down to it, it is all part of our growth in this life and forgiveness is part of that growth.

September 29 – Let It Be
Using the Chinese painting entitled The Three Vinegar Tasters as a jumping off point, Rev. Gina continues the theme from last week that everything happens for a reason. Founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, appears to have a look of enjoyment when sampling the vinegar – a perfect parallel to the idea of forgiving the past and acknowledging that it was the good and the bad that brought you to where you are today.

October 6 – Freedom
Rev. Gina, Benjamin Hoff, and several residents of the Hundred Acre Wood engage is a deep discussion on the difference between knowledge and experience. While scholarly knowledge, with it’s often pretentious use of large and superfluous words, may fill volumes on a bookshelf it pales in comparison to the physical act of experiencing the reality for one’s self. For example, an author may wax poetic about the scent of a rose, but until one smells the rose, the words fall short. It is far easier to teach the truth than it is to practice it, but the reward of the practice is far superior.

Having moved into the NOW and learned how to released the Judgement of ourselves and others, we turn toward the root of our separation from living in the now – the source of judgement – as we focus on getting to know our Ego so we can give it a proper & permanent time-out.

August 4 – Ergo, Ego
The Ego is the custodian of separation. If you are caught in the world of the mind, which is a world of separation and illusion, then the Ego is in control. If we are to awaken, then we must get to know our own Ego. This week, explore Leonard Jacobson’s two step process to learn how our Ego pulls us out of the present moment and how to return to it.

August 11 – Go Ego, Go
Taking the lead from the late Alan Watts, Rev. Gina explores the idea that what we know as “I” is really the ego expressing its feelings through us. In order to step away from the ego, we must stop feeling alone IN the universe and start being what we truly are, an integral part OF the universe.

August 18 – Who Are You Really?
Ego is a masterful magician constantly drawing our attention away from the truth of who we are. Whether it uses missteps or traumatic events of our past or the worries and concerns of the future, it is easy to believe the misdirection of Ego. To truly see behind the curtain of Ego’s illusion, we must speak directly to it and tell it to shut up and take a time out so that we can awaken.

August 25 – It’s Time To See Your ID
It is difficult to see beyond the facade Ego paints for us. But when we see Ego picking up its brush to paint a new scene, we must tell Ego to stop and remind it who we really are – a being made in the image and likeness of God. We were made OF God, and as such our fundamental self is not something just inside our skin, but everything around us with which we connect.

September 1 – Lego My Ego
Playing on the decades old catch phrase for a popular toaster waffle, this week Rev. Gina wraps up here series on the Ego. Rather than a statement to a friend or family member to unhand their breakfast, the aim this week is to release ourselves from the control the Ego has over our lives by, as Jesus said, becoming like a child. Join us as we learn to return to play.