For those of you who generally follow my posts you may have noticed I’ve been on a blogging hiatus. I’ve found myself on a path I could not have predicted as my husband’s journey of healing has taken the spotlight in our lives. As a firm believer in the power of the mind to create our experiences and of the natural state of wholeness that underlies any appearance of illness, a sudden health challenge should be a simple matter, right? Well, in fact, it is simple, but the mind is a complicated aspect of our consciousness, not easily harnessed. It can be like a wild horse taking flight … in a variety of possible directions.
As I sit here this afternoon, I find myself excited at returning to the keyboard, ready to write about this journey. Even though it is not yet complete, the experience has already been and filled with underlying blessings, invisible to many, and often hidden from that runaway horse. It has been peppered with moments of enlightenment, and moments of the runaway horse heading into a darkening sunset. But the moments of enlightenment are the moments I am eager to explore and ready to being sharing.
In November, after a visit with my brother who had been diagnosed with ALS, I returned to find that my husband’s doctor had discovered a suspicious nodule on his lung. The nodule turned out to be nothing, but the tests revealed a mass in his other lung, and that has led us into this current journey; from Xray, to CT scan, to biopsy, to the severe complications from the biopsy which postponed the recommended surgery. Now, one could get very upset on this journey. Fear could be the destination of the runaway horse. Or, one could find the blessings along the path. We have, for the most part, chosen the blessings. And they are many. A prolonged wait time for surgery provides more time for his energetic body to return to wholeness; more time for prayer and spiritual healing. The demands of his current treatment have given us a rare opportunity to spend time together. It has given us multiple opportunities to witness the face of God in friends, family, and health care professionals. It has given us the opportunity to truly practice our Truth. And, the dis-ease itself can be seen as a catalyst for a much greater healing that has nothing to do with tumors or lesions or PET scans at all. This healing is of the heart and soul. This healing is a joint venture between two souls committed to a common path; committed to their role in the evolution of the planet. This healing is an opportunity for growth and transformation in unexpected and miraculous ways. This healing is a miracle unfolding and I am excited at all that is being revealed. I look forward to my first Sunday back at Unity of Livonia on March 12, 2017 (EDT) when I share some of the experiences of this journey in my talk titled “Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…”
©2017. Rev. Eileen DeRosia Patra.
MOVEMENT is the activity of continuous motion, miraculously at work at all times. Nothing is ever not moving. Nothing is ever truly static. Though it may seem at times that nothing is happening, we are breathing, the planet we stand upon is moving, the universe is continuously expanding, everything in fact is moving all of the time. That this occurs is more fact than miracle but the awareness of MOVEMENT in what seems to be static is miraculous indeed. When it seems that nothing will change, that the things of the world are too big, too cumbersome, outside of our control; we would do well to tune into this activity, for it is Spirit that continuously moves through us. Stepping into an awareness of the movement of Spirit within us reminds us that there is no “thing” more powerful than the power of God within us. Remembering that everything is always in motion reminds us that change, evolution and transcendence are always at hand. It reminds us that all things of matter are transient, impermanent. What is permanent and unchanging is God and our awareness of our oneness in the Source of all that lives, moves and has being. That is powerful and miraculous indeed.
Think about how a PENDULUM works. It is drawn from its center by a force or energy. Eventually, after swinging to and fro, it will return to center as the force of gravity pulls it back. If more force or energy is applied to the original swing, the return to center will be delayed. The workings of a PENDULUM are predictable and simultaneously miraculous; predictable as a law of physics, miraculous in its manifestation of Truth. Spiritually, we are sometimes pulled from our center by outside energies and experiences. But just as predictable as the return of the PENDULUM, we too return to center. The miracle occurs when we make the conscious choice to defy the pull of outer energies and return right here, right now to our spiritual center. The laws of physics are predictable, but the Law of Principle, the nature of God, the power of God within us, transcends the laws of physics. This we experience as the miraculous. Today I remember the miracle of the PENDULUM and I apply the force of Spirit upon the PENDULUM of emotion and I return quickly and easily to center. From this place in the center of me I let my light shine that others may see the presence of God and be returned to center as well. 
The Changing Leaves are always a miraculous sight for those of us in climates that provide this annual display of colorful foliage. The predictable transformation has become synonymous with change and a reminder that there is always new life, new growth just beyond what appears to be death. What is truly remarkable about the process is what causes the change in colors. As the hours of daylight become less, the tree responds to an inner signal. The signal is not to drop its leaves although that is what occurs. The signal is to begin new growth. The tree begins to direct its resources to new growth, to the buds that will occur in the spring. This focus on the new growth in turn diminishes the flow of nutrients to the current leaves and they respond by fading, falling and preparing the space for the new buds. As always, when I look at the falling leaves I know that new life will occur in the spring but today I recognize that the forming of new buds has already begun. In life, as I see something fading away, I know on an inner level that something new is forming within me. What falls away prepares the space for what is being called forth in me. This is the miracle of transformation that occurs in the trees, in my life and in the world. 
BREATH, the air that is inhaled and exhaled is evidence of the miraculous interconnectedness of all life. The BREATH I hold in this moment, is the breath you exhaled only moments before. The BREATH I release will soon be held be another. BREATH and Spirit are synonymous, both having the same meaning and origins. The first BREATH is the BREATH of God and we each continue to draw in and release the original BREATH. We are one with God, one with all that is, in a continuous exchange of the invisible substance of Spirit. God BREATHES through me and God BREATHES through you. BREATH is Spirit moving, creating, blessing, cleansing, renewing and revitalizing. This is a miracle of Life and all I have to do to experience it is BREATHE.
A tiny patch of SHADE on a hot summer day is a miracle, fulfilling my body’s need for shelter from the sweltering sun beating down upon it. SHADE is a byproduct of an object that lies between myself and the sun. When feeling overheated or overwhelmed by an experience in my life, I can create a miraculous spot of SHADE within me by moving my attention away from whatever is beating upon me. By mentally stepping out of the situation for a moment, I place the Light within me between myself and the experience. This provides the very shelter needed for a moment of cool, calm and peaceful balance. In the SHADE, I am reestablished in the Light of God within me and I am refreshed and renewed.
GRATITUDE is the miraculous awareness that one is surrounded and supported by Divine Love; that a need or desire has been anticipated and met. GRATITUDE is a universal feeling, a miraculous state of being with the power to open our entire being to a receptive state of consciousness. When we are in GRATITUDE we are in alignment with our higher self and with the Source of our being. GRATITUDE and miracles are synonymous, for it is GRATITUDE that opens the door to the experience of all that is miraculous. As I look for miracles in everyday life, I find that I look for those things I feel most grateful for. GRATITUDE is a feeling, an energy, a vibration and a portal to the miraculous. As I recognize and appreciate the many gifts of life my awareness expands, and my eyes are open to even more. GRATITUDE has the capacity to open the heart, relax tightened muscles and release feelings of fear, anger and separation. One cannot be grateful and angry simultaneously. One cannot be grateful and fearful at once. GRATITUDE is the recognition of God-ness in expression as miracles, large and small, dancing in the rhythm of Life.
MAGNETS are miraculous objects that attract various substances with a mysterious and often powerful force. MAGNETS are useful for lifting, holding, separating, retrieving, and sensing. They are found in everyday objects and tools such as speakers, doorbells, microwaves, televisions, compasses and, of course, on the door of many American refrigerators. Like a MAGNET, we draw to us a variety of experiences. Our thoughts, feelings and emotions create a field of energy which draws to us similar energies. Unlike a MAGNET, we can choose our thoughts, move through our feelings and emotions, consciously creating our energy field to attract that which we desire. When we fall asleep to this inner power of choice, or we give this power away to the challenges that appear before us, we attract whatever is showing up and we allow it to multiply in our consciousness. A MAGNET has no apparent choice in what it attracts, but we do. What will you choose to attract today? What thought or belief will you release in order to stop attracting something? What will you focus on with all your heart and mind that will attract a more powerful, harmonious experience in your life? What will you hold in mind and place your faith in that is a more powerful MAGNET for good? 
The BIBLE is a sacred text with miraculous qualities that are often missed when focused only on the words on the page. The miracle of the BIBLE is that the Word of God permeates every copy, every edition, every version in a way that transcends the translation errors, the political manipulations of the text, and even the consciousness of its human authors. You see, the “Word” is not the words on the page. It never has been. Rather it is the very Idea in the Mind of God that reaches through the text to the mind and heart of those who read it with the pure intention to commune with God. The mistake that is often made is to believe that another can tell you the absolute meaning of a passage. Although this can be very helpful, and there are those with great wisdom who connect with God through their own readings, the Truest message from God comes through when one sets the intention to be with God and allow the “Word” that is without syllables, translation, or text to be transmitted in their heart. 
Eileen Patra 