Category Archives: God

N.O.W. I See

N.O.W. I see. Do you wonder what it is that I see? Or do you wonder what is different NOW that allows me to see what I could not see before? What I see is the omnipresence of God, the face of God in loved ones, neighbors, strangers, and yes, even in those whose actions I find disheartening. In the NOW I find the place between past and future, where time does not exist, and where Nothing Obstructs Wholeness

NothingObstructsWholeness

This past week has presented us with a kaleidoscope of images and feelings. The decline of new cases of COVID-19 and the conclusion of many Stay-Home orders has been juxtaposed with curfews, violence, looting, and military force all across the United States. And at the center of it all another black man, George Floyd, murdered by hatred and racism. When the world presents us with such disturbing physical images, it is easy to lose sight of the omnipresence of God.

Omnipresence, however, means everywhere present; God is present everywhere, all of the time. It cannot be otherwise. But there can be a disturbance that produces the illusion that God is not present. Yet we can create a window through the disturbance when we choose to see from the place where Nothing Obstructs Wholeness.

see-no-evil-editedA Buddhist teaching depicted by three monks, one with hands over the eyes, one with hands over the ears, and one with hands over the mouth tells us to “See no evil. Hear no Evil. Speak no Evil.” This does not mean to pretend what our physical eyes behold is not there. It means to see above & beyond the disturbance to the omnipresence of God. It means to hear the voice of Spirit more clearly than the words of anger or hatred or their source, which is always fear. It means to speak only Truth, that which Spirit whispers in your ear.

To See No Evil is to See Only Truth
A few years ago, I discovered a company that makes special corrective lenses for people with color blindness. People who are color blind see the world in muted colors with a spectrum as much as 90% less than those who are not color blind. Imagine witnessing the brilliance and beauty of color for the very first time. It would no doubt be an exciting and perhaps an emotional moment.
Perhaps that’s the kind of excitement that occurred for the man born blind that Jesus healed. Jesus heals from the N.O.W. He discounts the idea that the man’s blindness is caused by the sins of his parents, or anything in the past. He says, instead, that the man is blind so that he might make God visible!

Jesus asks the man to make a choice. He says, “Do you want to be healed?” It’s your choice. You can keep being blind, or you can choose to see. Of course, the man says. “Yes. I want to see.” Then Jesus spits on the ground, makes a poultice of mud and rubs it on the man’s eyes.
Then, Jesus tells the man to wash the mud (earthly illusion) from his eyes. The man removes the mud as directed, and suddenly, he can see. He then tells everyone he meets how listening to Jesus (the Christ Mind) has caused him to see.

It is vital to our individual and collective well-being that we choose to see the Truth. And, we must listen to the inspiration of the indwelling Christ Mind and wash the illusion of separation from our eyes, for it is not enough to See Only Truth. We must also Hear Only Truth.

To Hear No Evil is to Hear Only Truth
We hear the Truth most clearly when we quiet the inner chatter through meditation and by paying attention to the many ways that Spirit speaks to us. You may hear it as a quiet voice somewhere within you. Or you may recognize it in a song that pops into your mind. Or perhaps a billboard message will speak to you. However it shows up, you will know the message is from Spirit because it will be grounded in Love. And it will inspire you to speak the Truth.

Speak No Evil is to Speak Only Truth
The words we speak affect what we create and what we experience. It’s easy to get caught up in the illusion of separation and use our words in ways that further divide us. But be mindful that your words carry great power. Will you use your words to create a greater disturbance? Or will you use them to create windows in which the face of God can be seen? Speak Only Truth and then step into that Truth with inspired action. In other words, Do No Evil.

To Do No Evil is to Act Only from Truth
Some people suggest there ought to be a fourth monk depicting Do No Evil. To Act Only from Truth is to let every action be inspired by the Christ Mind. The blind man would not have been healed if he had not taken the action inspired by the Christ to wash the mud from his eyes. Imagine a world in which everyone acted only from the Truth that we are all one with God and with one another.

Our world is in the process of a spiritual evolution. But humanity cannot evolve without shedding what no longer fits the vision of wholeness written on our hearts. That we see hatred, anger, and violence is not surprising – they are there. But are they there because we’ve failed? Are they there because of something done long ago? Or, are they showing up because it is time to bring them into the Light and wash them away? Are they coming up to present us with an opportunity to make God more visible, to take inspired action toward our collective spiritual evolution?

The question is not, “Is there hatred and racism in the world?” The question is, what will you do with them? Will you Let them lord over you? Cause you to be blind to the power of Spirit within you and within all beings? Or will you use them as a reason to practice the N.O.W. and to see the face of God in everyone? Will you use them as a reason to listen more fully to what Spirit is saying to you. Will you use them to speak only Truth and to shower the world with actions inspired by Love?

The world is presenting us with images that can, if we let them, obscure the presence of God. But we can choose at any time to enter the place in mind where Nothing Obscures Wholeness, where we can see above and beyond worldly illusions. In the quiet solitude of the N.O.W., we open our inner ears to the voice of Spirit and Hear Only Truth. In the N.O.W, we are inspired to Speak and Act Only from Truth.

See only Truth; Hear only Truth, Speak only Truth and act only from Truth, and you will clearly see the face of God and be the face of God you are intended to be.

________________________________________________________

© 2020 Eileen Patra

Eileen Patra, is an author, ordained Unity minister, and inspirational speaker. She is the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings, released in July 2019. In 2014 Eileen received the Ruth M. Mosley Award for Outstanding Achievement in Ministry while serving as the Senior Minister at Unity of Livonia, MI. Prior to her call to ministry, Eileen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She has published dozens of spiritually-themed articles in local periodicals, online journals, and via this blog 

To view Eileen’s full length talk “N.O.W. I see” visit http://bit.ly/SLC-LiveStream
Talk begins approximately 20 minutes into the video.

Physically Apart – Together in Heart

Physically Apart – Together in Heart

Although COVID-19 has limited our physical gatherings and much of our day-to-day activities, it has not separated us in either Spirit or Heart. We have been able to connect through the wonders of technology, including video calls and live streaming church services.  Additionally, we have been encouraged to go outside, to walk our dogs, to take walks with people with whom we live. And here is what I’ve noticed on those walks.

There is a peaceful quiet in the neighborhood that feels simultaneously good and somehow foreign. I don’t remember when I’ve felt such a powerful stillness in the city. I suspect it was some lifetime ago, as a child playing in a neighbors yard. It is quiet, the birds are singing profusely, and neighbors are stopping what they are doing to say hello. And not just hello. There is a smile, a look of knowing of one another’s need to feel connected that leaks through that smile and touches my heart. In this time apart, we are truly connected by the heart.

Did you know that when two humans interact with one another, their heartbeats begin to synchronize? It seems that close physical proximity draws our heart energy into a matching rhythm. But this coherence of heart does not have to remain limited to physical proximity.

When we take time apart – not from one another – but from daily tasks, media reports, and worry, by going within to that very same heart space, we connect. We connect with our spiritual being, the divine spark that dwells within each of us. We connect through a network of Spirit that exceeds the Cloud, hosted by the Allness that we sometimes refer to as God, Allah, Spirit, or the One.

In the Allness, there is an infinite connection; each of us is like a strand of Light reaching outward into the world of form and returning back again. In this turning back again, we find rest, wholeness, and a thing called dominion.

In the Book of Genesis, God grants humankind dominion the earth and all the things that creep upon it. The most basic interpretation of this passage reveals a gift, one that allows humanity to rise to the top of the food chain. But there is so much more to this message.

Dominion means the ability to control or govern. Metaphysically, the plants, animals, and things that creep represent thoughts, words, and actions. Thoughts and ideas that are fruitful and in coherence with the Allness produce experiences of abundance, creativity, and well-being. Thoughts out of alignment with the wholeness of God may, when given much attention, create experiences that lack wholeness and well being.

Created in the image and likeness of the power that created the universe, we, too, are creative. Our thoughts, words, and actions create our experiences, the quality of our relationships, and ultimately, our world.

Certainly, fleeting thoughts like “what would happen if a dinosaur entered the room right now?” are not likely to manifest. Why? Because we don’t give those kinds of thoughts, much attention. They pass through our minds, we smile or frown, and then we think something else.

It’s the thoughts we give a great deal of attention to, the ones we allow to occupy our minds and hearts, that produce more of the same. Our thoughts are contagious. They grow and multiply – and they tend to manifest in our bodies, our experiences, and our world. So, why not choose those thoughts carefully, from a higher consciousness?

What if Love and all the ways it harmonizes, draws together, and replicates itself, were our most prominent thought? What if kindness and compassion and the assurance of abundance occupied the most significant space in our minds and hearts?

The thought would become contagious. It would expand and open those channels of Light that connect us one heart to another. The resulting energy would become so strong that nothing could interrupt the flow of Love and Light from one heart to the other. Nothing out of alignment with this integral connection with God would have any power or ability to manifest or replicate. We would be choosing to exercise dominion over all that manifests in the world. We would know that, at times, we may be physically apart, but always, we are together in the heart and mind of God.

© 2020. Eileen Patra.

Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity minister and the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings. She is currently serving as co-minister of the Spiritual Life Center in Troy, Michigan, and working on her second book, Living as the Ark.

The Wonder of You!

As the celebration of Christmas grows near, so too do the signs of the Wonder of Christmas; lights, nativity scenes, shopping and wrapping of special gifts, trimming of trees, and the look of wonder in the eyes of children. It is, as the song suggests, “the most wonderful time of the year.” Until it isn’t.

A day meant to fill our hearts with joy, and hope often gets lost in the stress of meeting expectations, our own and those of the world around us. For some, the day itself may be associated with painful memories or the loss of loved ones. “Where is the wonder?” Your heart may ask.

The Wonder can still be found. It lies in a deeper and richer understanding of the nativity story itself, one that goes beyond the words transcribed on the page. Historians and Bible scholars debate the facts and authenticity of the story. Dates and times do not align with the scarce bits of recorded history from the time. The story seems to be purposeful in connecting Jesus to the lineage of the House of David, which causes some to speculate its intention. But the Wonder is not to be found in aligning historical facts or scriptural prophecies. It is found in the deeper meaning of a story rich with symbolism.

Jesus taught through parables, stories that symbolized elements of the human experience, its challenges, endeavors, and divine potential. His followers would have done the same. They would have incorporated this compelling, symbolic story-telling into their work and embedded it in the most magnificent parable of all, the birth, life, and death of their Master and Way-shower, Jesus.

What then, are the characters and elements of the nativity story trying to tell us? Could each of them be an aspect of our own consciousness giving birth to an expression of God? Could they represent a recognition of ourselves as both fully human and fully divine? Could they describe the seeking of something greater, of hope and faith and joy, found not in a stable but in a humble place within the human heart?

Most of this spectacular story is found in the Gospel of Luke. But an additional, wonder-filled story is relayed in the second chapter of Matthew, where we find wise ones from the east following a star to an unknown place in the west. A songwriter calls it the Star of Wonder. And no doubt it was a wonder.

Imagine what kind of star or sign would cause you to embark on a lengthy and dangerous journey wrought with spitting camels, narrow mountain passages, desert storms, thieves, and a dubious, deceitful king. It would have to be a great sign, a wonder on par with perhaps the Seven Wonders of the World. Bigger than life. Awe-inspiring. Overwhelming. Beautiful. Perhaps an inkling of something wonderful being born, leading you to a place of perfect peace, hope, and wholeness.

This awe-inspiring light, one that would encourage you to traverse all obstacles to discover its source lies within you. The star represents a glimmer of light, an inspiring thought that stimulates the wise ones, the Power of Wisdom within you that sometimes lies dormant. The Star of Wonder is the great light of Spiritual Understanding, offering clarity and guidance.

Where there is light, we can see what we could not see in the darkness. Our way is made clear. This Light of Understanding within you continually guides the wisdom in you through the challenges and difficulties of human life to a place where you can lay down the worldly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in exchange for the spiritualized gifts of Infinite Abundance, Divine Love, and a recognition of the eternal nature of the Essence of Life in you and all around you.

The gifts of the wise ones represent capacities that are always within you but are spiritualized or spiritually empowered when brought under the direction of the Christ or Higher-self. These wonders within you are most accessible when you make the journey from your head to your heart, where the Christ of you is continuously born anew and awaits your return in consciousness.

The Wonder of Christmas is not lost. The Wonder is you. You, as an expression of the eternal, all-pervading Essence of Life. Now that is a Wonder that can never be lost, only hidden. Breathe in the glow of the inner star and be guided in all that you do to the peaceful place of absolute wholeness with you.

Have a Wonder-filled Christmas, and enjoy a spectacular new You.

© 2019. Rev. Eileen Patra.

Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity Minister and the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings. She is currently serving as co-minister at the Spiritual Life Center in Troy, Michigan and guest speaking at a variety of Unity churches. She is currently working on her second book, Living as the Ark. Learn more about The Mystical Ark at themysticalark.com

Join Eileen’s email list



In the NoThingness

What I Found in the NoThingness

As I tried to change my Facebook cover this morning, something went – well – seemingly, wrong. I was trying to post something profound and comforting in response to the 911 anniversary, and my Cover went completely black. An error message came up, and both my previous photo and the ones I was trying to add were gone. I was using my phone to access my page, and nothing seemed to work. My FB cover would show Nothing until I was able to get to my computer and an internet connection. 

However, it was in this apparent mishap that something profound was actually revealed to me. While my FB Cover was showing Nothing, I realized that it is in the NoThingness that we find the SomeThingness that makes all the difference. The Truth is, there is no statement, no picture, no words to convey that make sense of what happened here in the US on 911. But in the NoThingness, we find the SomeThingness, the All-ness that makes sense of EveryThing. We find our connection with our Source, the Essence of Life that breathes us into existence.

Life, in its wholeness and in its Source is eternal; growing, multiplying, and being continuously fruitful. In our humanness, wholeness is not always what we see, or feel, or express. Attached to the things of life more than that which breathes life into existence, many experiences seem fruitless, pointless, and even downright evil. But in the NoThingness, the Breath of Life appears, and suddenly, there is no separation between you, and me, and all that is. In the NoThingness, we find the SomeThingness that makes sense of EveryThing.

Once this Truth was revealed to me, I was able to post the quote I had planned for my FB Cover this morning.

“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute in some way to happiness and freedom for all.” 

~ Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Although the words do not make sense of the nonsensical, nor do they replace the sense of security that was lost that day, they do tell us the consciousness we need to hold to make our world a place that more fully expresses the All-ness that gives us life. This is the consciousness that will help us co-create a world that works for and honors the SomeThingness in All.

© 2019. Eileen Patra

BE-holding Light

One cannot hold Light while one is holding darkness. It would be like filling your arms with laundry and then trying to pick up a bushel of apples with the same arms.  The laundry would have to be set down first.  For this reason, Jesus told his followers, when you pray “… first be reconciled with your brother.” Matt 5:24

When you wish to hold the Light, to affirm wholeness and the Light of God in action, you must first release all notions of darkness.  Reconcile these things by acknowledging they are not the Truth and requesting of Spirit; that whatever is not Truth or Light be released, dissolved, set down and overshadowed by Light.  In this way, you are released and healed and those for whom you pray are also released and made new.

© 2019 Eileen Patra

Beyond The Tomb

The angels in Jesus’ tomb asked Mary Magdalene, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Why indeed do we seek new life, a new way of being, while continuing to do what we have always done?  Why do we seek freedom among the thoughts, words and actions that have held us captive?

To live beyond what might seem like a tomb, we must be willing to bless what has passed and then look beyond it.  A tomb experience in life can be anything that draws us apart for a while and provides an opportunity for growth and realignment with Spirit.  A process of deep and lasting change is revealed when we explore four stages of transformation that take place in the tomb; renunciation, retreat, resurrection and realization. 

On the cross, Jesus renounced the world as his source and commended his Spirit to God.  He took the final step toward overcoming the greatest block to transformation; the belief that life is created and sustained by the world.  What is demonstrated for us through the crucifixion and resurrection is that   Life is independent of the world.  Life, the flow of Spirit within us, creates the world according to our ability and willingness to allow Truth to be expressed through us.

Jesus was laid in a tomb, retreating from the world for three days. Three is symbolic of completion in Spirit, soul and body.  Resurrection is instant, simultaneous in Spirit, but soul and body require a time of unfolding. When we pray, our prayers are answered the instant we release them to Spirit.  Yet, most often, a time of quiet reflection and letting go is required for our prayers to fully manifest in our minds, hearts and body.

Mary returns to the tomb with the intention of blessing what she believes is lost.  The willingness to bless what has passed away rolls away the stone and opens the way for divine inspiration. When we bless what has passed for the opportunities of growth and realignment provided, blockages are removed and our way is made clear.

Mary did not realize that the gardener was Jesus until he spoke to her.  When he did, she ran to inform the others.  When we realize something we incorporate the new information at all levels of being. Only then is deep and lasting change made possible.  The risen Christ sent his followers to convert the nations.  To convert is to change. To convert the nations is to change everything.  Realization happens in us when we recognize the Christ as the Life within each of us and then inform every level of our being to live this Truth.  When we live this Truth everything is made new and we live beyond the tomb.  

© 2016.  Reverend Eileen DeRosia Patra

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

A Sabbath of the Soul

little-girl-2516582_1920

(photo provided by: Pixabay: jillwellingtonphotography)

While considering what was “perfect” about the summers of my childhood, I recalled a consistent theme.  The summers I deemed to be perfect were timeless. There were no schedules to keep, no piles of homework, no vocabulary lists, no math, no science projects, and very few places to be.

As adults, living in a time-bound world, schedules keep us on task, tasks demand lists, and there are many places to go and be. But I wonder if, in the midst of all of this activity, we might recreate that sense of timelessness we once enjoyed as children? I think we can.

Recreating the timelessness of childhood requires just three things, a willingness to stop for just a moment and breathe, remembering that time is an illusion governed by the planet we inhabit, and letting go of all our thoughts, concerns, and lists for just a little while – even a single moment.

In this way, we command time to stand still. We shift from thinking and doing to being, and we open ourselves to the timelessness of Spirit. We remember what Moses called the Sabbath, a time of rest that, according to Jesus, was made for you and me.

Take a moment today, maybe even right now to “Remember the Sabbath” that lives right there inside of you. Take a momentary Sabbath of the Soul.

© 2019. Eileen DeRosia Patra, OUM, LUT, CSE

Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity minister and the author of the soon to be released book, The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings

(photo provided by: Pixabay: jillwellingtonphotography)

Funny Thing About Miracles

MIRACLES.dreamstime_xs_54350453

There’s a funny thing about miracles. They always require us to do something different than we’ve been doing.

In my prayer time this morning, the health of our planet came to mind, and I found myself wanting God to do something about it. I wanted God to miraculously alter the way we have abused our earthly home and bring it back to its pristine and healthy state. I wanted a miracle. And then I remembered, God can only do for us what God can do through us. We, every one of us, must change something in our thoughts, words, and actions to bring our planet once more into its glory. It’s the way miracles work.

Think about the things we call miracles. In every miracle of Jesus, someone has to DO something. At the Wedding Feast at Cana, water is only turned into wine after the stewards fill the jars with water. No water, no wine.

A blind man who wishes to see must put mud over his eyes and then wash it away. The man whose son is gravely ill must return to him and believe the healing will occur. The woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years? She reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.

Miracles require us to do something. And that something involves a change of thought, a change of belief, a change of words, and a change of action. They require action grounded in absolute faith.

What miracle are you looking for today? And what will you change? What voice will you listen to? What will you believe – the impossible? Or the possible? And what will you do differently?

God Has A Scathingly Brilliant Idea!

idea-1289871_1280

Photo Credit: Alexas_Fotos

The phrase “scathingly brilliant idea” continuously filtered into my mind as I prepared my final Sunday talk as senior minister at Unity of Livonia. The phrase, always a favorite of mine, comes from the infamous words of Mary Clancy (Hayley Mills) in the movie “The Trouble with Angels.” As I pondered the intention of my talk, I questioned the word “scathingly.” It seems that Webster’s defines scathingly as “critical” or “harsh,” and that didn’t, at first anyway, seem to fit my intention.

But the word persisted, and when a word or a thought persists, I am compelled to go deeper. What does scathingly mean to me? In the movie, “scathingly” seemed to indicate something out of the ordinary, exceptional if a little risky. Mary Clancy (Mills) and her friend Rachel (June Harding) were two adolescents who had been sent to an all-girls, Catholic boarding school. These so-called scathingly brilliant ideas generally earned them a stint in the kitchen scrubbing pots and pans. Was scathingly really the word I wanted to use?

Critical can mean something derogatory – but it can also mean important, vital, or crucial. Harsh, as in criticism, can mean unbridled, unlimited, or unadulterated. Hmm… now we were getting somewhere. These definitions seemed to fit my intention more closely. You see, I believe that God has a Scathingly Brilliant idea – and the idea is YOU!

You are an idea, a crucial, unlimited, and brilliant idea in the Mind of God. In your most unadulterated essence, you are a perfect spiritual idea taking form and expressing God as you. In this earthly experience, there are many twists and turns as we endeavor to fully express this scathingly brilliant idea. At times it may seem our endeavors or the experiences of our lives have us scrubbing pots and pans when we were planning something much more exciting. Although Mary and Rachel spent a great deal of time scrubbing pots and pans, they also spent a lot of time growing and evolving. They grew in compassion. They grew in their sense of purpose. They discovered their own gifts and they learned to appreciate the talents of others. 

Changes, twists and turns, pots and pans, are all a part of our spiritual evolution. Evolution is another scathingly, brilliant idea in the Mind of God. Everything is always changing, growing and evolving. Evolution is the activity of Life, and it has a crucial characteristic – something is always falling away to allow something new to emerge.

The new year is a perfect time to reflect on what is falling away on its own and what you will intentionally let fall away. It is also an excellent time to focus your attention on what is being called forth from you. What is Life calling you to be? To do? To let fall away?

The New Year is often marked by resolutions for being or doing something better than before. Usually, these intentions focus on diet, exercise, habits, and behaviors. This year, why not set just one resolution, one that will inform and strengthen all the others? Let your resolution for 2019 be this; to allow no one and no thing to hinder you in expressing more of the Scathingly Brilliant Idea in the Mind of God that is YOU!

© 2019. Eileen DeRosia Patra, OUM

Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity minister and the author of the soon to be released book, The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings

What will you leave behind in 2018?

freedom-2053281_1920-2The close of a calendar year is a traditional time for reflection; a review of the year’s finest moments and its challenges. In preparation for a new year there are often a number of things we choose to leave behind. Perhaps you’ve experienced a loss, a physical challenge, a relationship issue, a career bump, or a financial upset. Then there are the things we experience together; divisiveness in government, hurricanes, out of control fires, tsunamis, terrorism, and mass shootings. Who wouldn’t want to leave these things behind?

It is unlikely anyone would want to take the challenges of 2018 into the new year, but perhaps the truth is 2019 will present its own challenges. The question is what will you leave behind that will better equip you for the year to come. What gift will you discover in your experiences that will allow you to walk through the obstacles that appear with ease and grace?

Although we may want to leave behind the events themselves, we would be better served if we could determine the underlying emotions that caused the events to disturb our peace. The most common are fear and anger.

Fear has its purpose. It is a physiological response to danger – but it does not know how to differentiate between real danger and imagined danger. Leaving behind unwarranted fear would allow us to face what comes before us with a greater sense of balance and clarity. To leave fear behind it must be replaced by something greater. Perhaps that is a knowledge that nothing can harm the Truth of you – that you are an eternal spiritual being having a physical experience.

Anger also has a purpose. It is an energy that causes us to initiate change when something appears to be out of order. Yet anger can be detrimental when it is not directed toward positive change. It can consume our energies and greatly disturb our peace. Leaving behind unproductive anger would make room for focusing our spiritual nature toward positive change. This would allow us to tune in to the more harmonious energy of Love and project a higher vibration into the world. Love is far more powerful and initiates long lasting transformation.

What will you leave behind as the new year approaches?  I choose to leave behind unwarranted fear and replace it with knowing God within me is more powerful than anything that comes before me. I choose to leave behind anger and replace it with Love.

Perhaps you would like to join me this Sunday, December 30th at 10:00 am for Unity of Livonia’s Burning Bowl service. We will explore the things we choose to leave behind, write them on a special ashless piece of paper and place them in the burning bowl flame. In the twinkling of any eye they will disappear and give us an opportunity to create an affirmation to carry into the new year. Hope to see you there!