Resurrection

It's Easter week. I have to admit, I never really liked Easter much. As a kid, I LOVED the chocolate. My mom used to buy only the good, expensive stuff, no cheap chocolate for us. But, that's about all I ever liked about it. I HATED getting dressed up and going to church. I remember one particular Easter when I was in high school that it snowed. I mean, it really snowed, probably at least six inches and we COULDN'T GO TO CHURCH. I believed it was my best Easter ever.

Today, I'm still not a great fan of Easter and I just have been realizing why. For me, it's never been something I could use in a PRACTICAL way. Like, it's a GREAT story and there's so much that's GREAT in it that I can and want to incorporate into my daily life - love, forgiveness, grace, sacrifice, redemption......what's not to like about any of that?

Resurrection...now, there's something that seems much more PRACTICAL to me. So, in light of what I have been blogging about (internal change and self-correction), I am focusing on internal change this week - internal resurrection. I want to keep working on changing my thoughts, away from separation and back to oneness.

When I see the Easter images, I will think "I too can change, become more loving and accepting, and let go of (or die to) my old ways of thinking". Sometimes I "don't know what to think", or I want to change the way I think. So, I ask God to help me to think differently. It, at times, is my mantra - "God help me to change my thinking...God help me to change my thinking...." As a therapist, I know the power of changing one's thoughts - cognitive behavioral therapy is effective and I use it a lot in my clinical work. So, personally, when I suspend my own thinking for even a few moments and ask God to "change my thinking", this opens a door and fresh thought enters. Not always immediately, but if my mantra remains "God help me to change my thinking...", then it always happens, a new, more sane, loving thought emerges. It's one of the daily miracles I experience, when I choose to focus on RESURRECTION vs MY thinking.

So, when my thoughts change, then my life changes. I don't act the same ways, I am calmer and more at peace. Caroline Myss, in her book "Defy Gravity" states, "There is no such thing as absorbing the power of a truth and having your life remain the same". Thank you Caroline for these thoughts. Thank you Jesus for the promise of resurrection.

I don't have to sit around and wait for the resurrection to "happen" for me some day (when I die and go to "heaven"). I can live the resurrection every day by taking responsibility for the quality of my thoughts and changing them. BIG PROJECT - wish me luck, and say a prayer.....