Lightning in our Orbit

From: www.joelwlamoure.com


Greetings my gentle readers to this weeks instalment of the "Be Yourself, Often" blog. Ah, a time when we can sit back with a piping warm cup of coffee or tea and reflect on the moments of the week that has passed. No matter what, good or bad in the week... the thing to keep in mind and consider is that the week has and did and does continue to fold out exactly as meant to be.


This week I decided to focus on a question that tends to come around quite a bit clinically. Usually it is attached to a whine or lament-> "Why me?" For we are the centre of that universe that we call us that encompasses a sun of various appearances and many, many planets. Depending on the individual, the sun (or suns) usually define around Us, Ego or Spirituality or an Other planet. Any of these are planets in and of themselves, but what of the centre core and being of OUR existence? I think that some people may ascribe to having Pluto at their core, but lets not go there- either the buddy of Goofy or a cold uninhabited ice sphere...


"Why me?" is so integral and central in fact to survival and existence as it is a reality check, a way to ensure we are surviving and moving along and either a pathetic whine or a term of self reflection. Lets talk about those people that use these questions as a form of self reflection. These are the inspired ones, the crazy ones... the ones with the square pegs in the round holes. But they are often visionaries and gentle, spiritual and loving souls. I am so fortunate to know many of these people and they are not rooted in the here and now of stuff, but engaged in a dialogue with the Universe. That they accept with equanimity what transpires and then use that to help others, makes them heroes on this rolling blue marble.


These are the ones that Lightening sadly seems to attract... as they have their feet in the water, head in the air and may be perceived to be "poorly grounded". Now that last bit is a scoietally driven spin on the whole matter as I actually find that these people are the most grounded, and serve as a conduit for some pretty bright flashes on inspiration, but ones that may send a non inspired, non-lightning rod person to the morgue. Ouch.. seeya baby, dont write.

People that are rooted in Other vs themselves and in spirituality vs dry dogmas tend to gravitate to the ring around the sun and a position of catching some pretty sweet waves. But it does and may happen again. How many prophets have we NOT heard about in the Bible that went on a 40 day magical mystery tour and had their minds fried? How many miracles unsung? There is so much that exists all around us. And interestingly, like in this case DOES attract like in my experience, totally counter to the rules of magnetism. People that are these divining rods of lightning in their darkest hours attract others of the same spirit and capacity to help prevent shorts and destruction of their grid. These saviours that help us are our grounders, yet also have the ability to attract the power from the sky. They understand and have been there.


So, before you ask the question "Why me?", perhaps we should look to the fact that it is as meant to be, be at ease with that and the untapped skills we have. Perhapsby touching those skills, eventually and at ease in this moment you may be yourself, often.

---  Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure     June 2012 

The layered parfait of life

From: http://www.joelwlamoure.com/id43.html

Greetings my gentle readers to another week and another weekend with the "Be Yourself, Often" blog. A time when we can sit back with a common thought and thread and love and appreciate the miracles of the moments that surround us. A time to rejoice on the small moments and the interface that we share with all other living creatures on this big rolling blue marble that we call Earth.

I would like to thankl everyone who has read and shared this blog and subsequently tuned into my radio show,  "Prescribing Spiritual HOPE" found on blog talk radio as well. Each week we will look at this blog and discuss it further and how it relates to the fact that we are really simply spiritual entities who are having a human existence. Our live show is aired every Tuesday at 9pm Eastern EDT and given audience numbers, have added a repeat/re-airing of the show every Saturday night at 8pm EDT. That there are so many wonderful opportunities that exist around the corner. Spiritual HOPE takes into the context that we in order to prevent the dis-ease and diseases that permeate through our lives that our tactical approach to healing and staying well (and avoiding those darn negative karmic souvenir keychains!) must be multimodal in approach. Past radio shows may be found here. We should look at approaching our lives through a Holistic approach and that we need to have an idea what our end Outcomes are. Where are we going and what are the tools and plans and strategies that we will pursue to help make those dreams come to life? Our life is also a very Personal experience and so the P in HOPE looks at that personal journey that we all have and more importantly how it links and interfaces with everything else. And that we know we have a choice under the free will covenant which is the E, or Empowerment. We can make choices and take responsibility as we move ahead and ensure that we have the opportunity to advance our objectives.

Where does this all go? I believe it enhances the mindfulness and richness and appreciations of the moments. There are so many challenges along the course and discourse of each and every day. Are we indeed hard wired to be miserable despite all of the incredible offerings around us? Or perhaps are we reading the signposts along the avenue of life incorrectly? Do we as individuals get so wrapped up in goals for stuff and filling our places with stuff and buying stuff and working to make money to get more stuff that we are indeed, stuffed?

I find that an interesting concept as there is a wonderful thought that goes along the lines if we are so full of ourselves, there cannot be room for anything else. That is the ego-dragon that exists within all of us I believe and it is hungry, wants more stuff and is growing. The 3 headed dragon so to speak. And that simply shearing a head off of the dragon is not going to do much in the long term for healing. In fact, the head comes back and he is one peeved off, bitter camper. Burn baby. Someone call in St. Michael the Archangel... stat!

Certainly is it hard to remove the ego from oneself and I am not saying to do that. Shylock and the Merchant of Venice and the "pound of flesh" comes to mind. And to do that without spilling a drop of blood... aint gunna happen.

So how can we move ahead and spiritually as we indeed truly are advance without being full of ourselves? If indeed we do have that overbearing, overarching desire to fill ourselves... perhaps we can look externally.  We I feel can have our cake and eat it to if we look at it with eyes of appreciation and goodwill, relishing the cake one mindful bite at a time. Same way one cannot fill a vase with sand and then expect to put in stones and golf balls, we ARE able to put in the golf balls first, then the pebbles and then the sand. Make a layered parfait out of our lives that is a mosaic of many facets and skills and gifts.

For we do have those gifts and in order to maximize their strength (use it or lose it baby!) we need to practice and continually build that muscle of spirituality. Mindfulness, reflection, gratitude, prayer and giving with altruism I feel are the 5 fingers and thumb that fit this glove that we are. They will produce an end outcome that has been driven by holistic approaches. To be mindful is key that we are one with the moment and not racing off in true illegal street racing form to get to the next stoplight. It is the wide eyed wonderment of the child and looking at things without judgement as if they were new each and every time.

Over the next 5 weeks, I will look at each of these 5 components of a parfait driven life. Mindfulness, Reflection, Gratitude, Prayer and Altruistic giving. Along the way, we will share exercises and break bread and have a wonderful collaborative and giving/ sharing experience! Feel free to email me at rev.joel@live.ca if there are any particular stories or perspectives YOU would like to share over the next 5 months.

Together, we can let us, let me let you be yourself, often.

--- Rev. Dr Joel Lamoure    April 2012 

Learning how to spiritually fly... instrument check

From: http://www.joelwlamoure.com/id43.html

Learning how to fly... instrument check

Greeting my gentle readers to another week's instalment of the "Be Yourself, Often" blog. This is a time in the course of our hectic and chaotic weeks that we will actually be able to step back and reflect on the challenges of the moments and be able to make some sense out of the insanity of the moments and see the divine balance that actually does exist. That is, of course, if we are able and willing to be patient across time and see indeed that every snowflake falls in exactly the right spot.

I really wante dto build up the last weeks blog and radio show that addressed the concepts of the transformation of the caterpillar into the butterfly, and the fact the caterpillar has that skill and knowledge inside of itself what it can become. That would also have built off of the radio show "Prescribing Spiritual HOPE" that was done last Tuesday.

BUT...given there is so much to do in the course of a week and the insanities within each and every day... wherever to start? And that comes around to a flight lesson in learning how to fly as a butterfly. We touched on the concepts that simply being a unique butterfly will and would not protect us from the wind and the elements. What of these first tenuous steps that we take and undertake in our new spiritual world full of the promise and premises of HOPE? (Holistic health, Outcome driven goals, Personal goals and objectives with a huge smattering of Empowerment?)

One may think that as we touch our true spiritual life that the world will change in our favour and that all the negatives will be thrown away in the favour of us being able to touch our room within the mansion of many rooms. But we mustn't forget that as WE evolve and start to shine our light and spread our wings that there is the current present, societal challenges and dictates, expectations, imperfect humanism, pride, lust, greed, envy, sloth, avarice, gluttony, jealousy, temptation and a raft of other winds waiting to blow us of course. Ouch. Plus there is that little factor to deal with called karma. And that might just trip you up and bite you too. Plus that little thing called our believe system and attachment to false gods, idolatry, celebrity worship, dulling through social and television media and of course....money. I will be sure to address these VERY controversial and debatable issue on our radio show March 27th at 9pm EDT.

So my gentle friends....we have a bit of awareness that we need to do before we can even consider spreading our wings and flying. I mean... why is aviation 3-5 orders of magnitude safer than even standard medicine? There are a variety of points we can discuss here, but the one I wish to address is the systematic checklists that are employed pre-flight. And I believe this systems checklist and healthy awareness is the very first thing that we need to do once we find our inner Calling. Why? Because to not do so will to at very best risk falling back into old patterns of belief and behaviour. And really, how well did these work for you? Not that well (despite the fact you might disagree) and how do I know? Because you sought inspiration and goals from a Higher Power since what you were doing by yourself with your keen intellect and superior intelligence wasn't working by itself. We needed Backup...real heavy backup. So we evolved and were resurrected.

However, we still have the imperfect body and imperfect mind and imperfect thoughts.... Join me for our free radio show to discuss how to do that instrument check and then the week after we will look at flight plans. For to have the fearless ability to take that moral inventory and check off what we need vs not is to learn and feel and be yourself, often.

--- Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure       March 2012 

Caterpillars and Miracles at the Perceived End

From: http://www.joelwlamoure.com/id43.html

Greetings my gentle readers to this week's installment of the "Be Yourself, Often" blog. Ahhh. the time in the week that we can step back and know that we have survived the past 7 days and take some meditative, motivational and reflective time to discourse on the week. To step back and realize and with fearlessness that we may be able with strength and fortitude to move the little boat that we call our lives across the sea to the next port.

And what if we have, or come to, or have foisted upon us the realization that what we thought was the next port of call was really a potential disaster all wrapped up in reefs and that simply the sail-by that we were planning on to get a good view was NOT for us? That somewhere along the way what we thought to be the opportunity was actually a false hope?

Ah my friends and here is where some of the discussions of the past few weeks comes into play. A wise person stated and asked the question of what actually dies and did the caterpillar think BEFORE it came a butterfly? Was it imbued with this sense of dread and disaster that these were the end of its days? That there was no more and that it was sequestered away into a cocoon? Or perhaps all along it realized that it full full of butterfly elements and longing and yearning for the end of the first stage and knowing where it would go next? More likely...it just was and at one with the moment and then the miracle of evolution of its life progressed.

And this is the reflection that I take away from the question. Inherently, being humans, we are fraught with the ego centric concept and how to reflect things and what does it mean to us. That actually though is far preferable my friend to the converse where one thinks that they are knowing of all, yet ignorant beyond themselves. We call those people un-enlightened and maybe even arrogant jerks if they try to ram their crap down YOUR throat as opposed of a rational discourse. I digress.... back to the miracles at the perceived end. Simply being at one and content with the moment with an idea of the way you want to head is wonderful. The key is to be at one with the moment and be light of heart, removed from some of the societal dictates and constraints of the day and be able and free enough to express the carefree side that we have. It may be public or in private and what you do, think, say, dress or feel... but there should be some kid-like (read:non-ego centric, full of wonderment and miracles) in the days and weeks.

And then as we are able to progress down the slope of life in that approach, we can realize and have the insight with gentle guidance that what we thought was the end (be it a position, change in location, relationship status) is only the beginning. And if we have REAL fortitude and some gentle friends and a bit of a vivid and open memory and imagination.... we may come to the realization gentle readers that we have all of those abilities to be a butterfly within us. And even more that sometimes the situations that occur that have cocooned us may have actually allowed us to embark on the next journey.

Sure as the evolution occurs for the caterpillar to butterfly.... the butterfly is still subject to the elements and the wind and the seasons and the risks of life. It is not immune. But it has allowed itself to evolve! And if that isnt a sweet place to be vs dying as a caterpillar and not having that chance, I dont know what is.

Incredible feelings to realize as one has been cocooned without even knowing it that the butterfly was evolving and growing. An incredible miracle and thought that can be realised in each of us when we step away from the concepts of the ego-dog and the coulda, shoulda, woulda and BMW concepts, embracing the kid-like (and God-like) rose coloured glasses that we all have (some are broken, but one can still use part of the lens... I believe we have fragments of those glasses- every one of us). And to look through those lenses again in mind and in action will allow us to achieve flight in our Faith and resurrection..... and then one can touch the Heavens, the stars and hold the moon between your fingers and thumb. That we can look and feel with wonderment and embrace the resurrection, which is really tapping into the evolving gift we have nestled within us.

And ironically, to touch that is to touch the Heavens by embracing the kidlike nature in yourself and to be yourself, often.

--- Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure   March 2012