Guided into the Light out of Solitary Confinement

Greetings my gentle readers to this weeks’ “Be Yourself, Often” blog. Yes, that quiet reflective time that we all need and value within the chaos of the week and day, existing within that busy walled city that we tend to call society. Full and fraught with challenges and demands and expectations and where at the end of the day, there runs the risk of being very little you in there.

The past 2 weeks and in my new weekly radio show “Prescribing Spiritual H.O.P.E.” on every Tuesday at 9pm Eastern Time URL: http://www.spreaker.com/show/tuesday_prescribing_spiritual_hope ,

I have talked about barriers and the identification, awareness and impact of what these mean to you. You really are a walled city within a walled city that can withstand almost any attack that you have been told might happen, by selling you the soul of FEAR, but is that really what there is on the other side of that wall? Are you going to end up on Channel 5 news as a statistic on a government chart and have been attacked by some unknown machete-wielding cannibal wearing a panda suit? Omg…lets get the locks, put 2 batteries in the Taser and screw the stun setting! Lovely purple paranoid people eaters unite.

Interestingly, we can (and often do without calling it such) fear ourselves and hurt inside so bad and that can dampen the Light that we emanate so much easily that the external forces.

In regards to that internal strife, Coldplay recently reminded me of an excellent set of lyrics from the song “Fix You”.

“When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down on your face

And I...

Tears stream down on your face

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down on your face

And I...

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you"                                        K.Batchelor/Coldplay

The point is, bad stuff does happen and happens to good people. We ourselves can be the architect of our OWN walls and even if there isn’t that “prison” around us, we still place ourselves in solitary confinement. Bad stuff happens more often than winning the lottery for sure, but will and do you let it control your life? Does the societal dictates themselves and selling of media actually confine you?

Awareness is key here as there is no right answer for any particular person or family. We live on a world that is robust with miracles and sin, all in one homogenized package. Cant separate the fat from the milk. Again, as we discussed last week, this is the awareness, valuation and what does it mean to me piece. How stifling are the wall and rules and dictates and challenges on us and what are we prepared to do about it?

We are and cannot be expected to do anything more initially than be aware of ourselves. What we do, say, feel and think and how they translate through to others. That is the first and most critical step to tunneling under the wall and approaching the real Light that burns brightly within us. That light is the true spiritual essence of who and what and why we are. It is peace and the light feels like a mothers embrace.

That Light is the true core of the humanities and miracles that define who we are and reflects a state of being, and that is being at peace and at ease. It is in touch with all and being at ease with all. It just is, and it is Good.

I don’t believe we can touch that spiritual light in our walled cities and walled obligations and false idolatry that is rooted in BMW (Biatchy, Meany, Whiny) philosophies. To tunnel under the walls and at the same time within and yet outside of ourselves is to be at ease. At ease prevents and is the opposite of the dis-ease that exists all around us. Perhaps we can use these skills to also take us our of solitary confinement as only we can fix ourselves, with a little help from our Friends. 

Perhaps my friends, these steps may help arrest, decrease or make less critical the disease that inherently afflicts or minds and bodies. That we can live and learn, even in times of challenge. For we can only know ourselves, but to know us is to radiate ease, which inherently will help others, quest their own journey. All because you choose and chose to find and be yourself, often.

                           --- Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure   July 2012

Hurdling the Delusional Barriers

Greetings my gentle readers to this weeks installment of the “Be Yourself, Often” blog. Yes, that time when you can just sit back and make the determination and go through the thought process from the week asking the critical question. Did I let my light shine this week or was it damped and did I have to be someone else? Did I live the dream or awaken from a nightmare?

Last week we took a look at the virtue of happiness that remains embedded in uniqueness. That special shine that we all have, but gets tarnished by the crudola of the days and moments that tend to wear us down and make us feel like a pair of old underwear. Yuck. Why do we let that shine get diminished and allow the subtleties of the insignificant to dampen our light?

In the concepts of the Free Will Covenant, we have the opportunity to make choices, even if we think we don’t. Sometimes the constraints that we find are really artificial. That darn wall that is in your way that is 30ft high made out of metal and barbed wire? Here’s a thought… that fence and barrier may only be in your mind, and driven by your goals, expectations, experiences and fears.

Now that’s an odd that isn’t it my friends? That the jail we consider ourselves to be in may actually be a delusion, and without testing the validity of the situation, the delusional wall bears reality. Perception defines Illusion defines Reality. Hmmm. What do these walls look like? Often they are ego driven or anti-self or punitive for something or installed through environment or such that is very real and very scary.

Feel that you need a certain lifestyle, certain expectations and obligations etc. etc. and have all the material trappings? Dress to the nines and have a BMW is the goal? Well then, be prepared to work, focus on money and enjoy the prison walls that will channel you like a lab rat to try to achieve those outcomes. Not smart enough, not enough “ability” to achieve the position or goal you want? That is likely just negative self-talk.

Lets try motivational interviewing on us to help that light shine and remove the barriers. What drives you and what is important to you? Are you doing it? Why or why not? How can the dream be made to happen? Can I be content with the here and now and maybe leverage to a middle ground?

The opportunities are endless and next week will talk about the Light more. But for now, to focus on the questions and identification of the actualities and barriers vs delusions will set the stage well. The goal? To be yourself, often.

                           --- Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure   July 2012

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 

Perceptions defining conceptual reality

Perceptions defining conceptual reality


Original Found: http://www.joelwlamoure.com/2012.06.01_arch.html

Greetings my gentle readers to this weeks installment of the "Be Yourself, Often" blog. A time where may be able to look at the transpirations and transgressions of the week, sit down and try to come to either sense and/or peace with the events. So much goes on in this very busy world that all too often people are not gentle with themselves or others and there tends to expose roots through events that perhaps we do not wish to see. We can see tragedy in the event or a chance for hope or learnings. All depends on the position and desire and intelligence and insight of the person who is mapping out the elephant in the room!

Happy June my friends!

Last week on Blog Talk radio I was able to address some of the spirituality components of a purpose driven life and what we should look for in life and the mindfulness of the moments that we are to be able to capture and relish along the way. The general concepts of the here and now and now and later as relating to the spiritual and prayer based pinnacle of the pyramid that we have looked at the past 4 weeks. If anyone is interested, the bases of the pyramid were mindfulness, reflection, altruistic giving that allowed a person to grow and develop into a spirit based person, which we truly are having a human experience. Due to family urgencies, I wasnt able to post last week and thank you all for the thoughts, understandings and prayers that came along.

This week we will look at where this takes us and the incredible journey that we have unconsciously been on for millennium and will continue to progress down. It is not the man or woman that defines the situation, but rather the obverse. What do you do with good and bad news? Sadly, I believe we squander both the positives and negatives as often the positives are bound to be our right and expectation. (Insert shudder here) and the bad situations are as a result of bad luck. (See previous parenthesis) But what have you done in the situation to conspire against the spiritual and thus the environmental health of the particular situation? IN my experience, people were often incongruous versus their thoughts and actions and especially their speech. In fact, it can be observed to be a triangle or menage-a-trois of deceit and lies. Sad isnt it? And then people get into their BMW (Biatchy, Moany, Whiny) mobile and truck their disaster to the next willing person that will empathise. Sigh.

We perceive the world is against us creating physical and psychiatric and somatic symptoms that self propagates. Or we perceive the world is unfair because one has been afflicted by a negative psychiatric or medical condition. While I fully agree and personally know how devastating that is, it is WHAT WE DO and our subsequent actions and congruency that will define health. Put your money where your mouth is and say it, feel it, act it and believe it! It actually is that easy when you realize there is a Divine plan and if we can connect with that, there is comfort and being at ease with the moment. It is also a form of inspiration to others. People will flock to you to help (and it always seems to be the right people, interestingly) vs abandon you. However, if you take Communion on Sunday and act negative the next day and then feel victimized the 3rd day with blasphemy and actions contradictory to the Sunday piousness... that is hypocrisy. In my observations across the past 42 years, hypocrisy always loses. Integrity does win and good overcomes evil, although there is a seesaw and some days it doesnt pay it feels to chew through the restraints.

Yet we must continue to practice with our thoughts and belief systems. Why? That will define our peceptions and awareness of the situation around us. And my friend, that WILL begat your reality. Hard choices, hard thoughts but the opportunity to save just one live, and that is yours. Once that is done, only then can we truly be good and help one other person. To see that one other person helping 1 other is one of the most rewarding gifts that I have been given in my life. And I feel that gratitude. It is not about BMW, wins, title, position etc... but about what you do with your live and to hold your head high, even in the face of adversity.

Im still learning...we all are. And what an incredible gift to be in the moment, knowing its exactly as meant to be and believe and be at ease with that and that gift is allowing yourself to be yourself, often.

 ~~ Rev. Dr. Joel Lamoure    June 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