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.
© 2016. Reverend Eileen DeRosia Patra
Rev. Eileen is an ordained Unity minister currently serving at Unity of Livonia in Livonia, Michigan.
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.
HOPE is a doorway to the miraculous. HOPE is our ability to expect a positive outcome when there seems to be little evidence of it. HOPE is the first glimmer of Faith that causes us to take action. The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment HOPED that she would be healed. After 12 years of hemorrhaging, she saw a glimmer of HOPE in Him and His growing reputation as a miraculous healer. Jesus told her that her Faith had made her well. Faith is HOPE in action. It is HOPE that causes the quickening of Faith, Strength and Will. When we look out into the world and wonder how we can stop the hemorrhaging, it is this miraculous ability to have HOPE that stirs the greater power of the Christ in us to take positive action in order to manifest the peace, harmony and wholeness we wish to see and experience. Through HOPE we know that our prayer intentions are more than just a plea to a chaotic universe. Through HOPE we establish ourselves in the power and presence of the invisible Source of all peace and harmony. We align our minds and hearts with the All-ness of God and our Faith returns us to the wholeness from which we come. Today is the day to have HOPE and move in the direction of this miraculous stimulus for healing
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.
FOSSILS, petrified bits of earthly history, are miraculous vessels of time. They provide a peek into the past of our planet giving us a three-dimensional snapshot to all that transpired before us. They are fascinating to behold and sometimes offer us clues to living more harmoniously with our environment than the lifeforms that preceded us. The soul of humankind, the individualized expression of God is also a vessel of time. The soul holds all the experiences of a person, each thought and emotion captured and stored for our review. Unlike a FOSSIL though, we are not petrified. What we hold in the history of our beingness is not written in stone. What has been written in our minds and hearts can be changed, evolved, transformed and even dissolved. That thought, that belief you’ve lived with for so long that leaves a heavy, uncomfortable imprint in you? What would it look like if you changed it? What would it look like if you evolved it, allowed it to grow into something more affirming and whole? What would you look like if you simply let it go?
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. 
A LASER, an extraordinary focused beam of Light has truly miraculous capabilities. Simple waves of Light that usually bounce off of objects of matter, become capable of cutting through the densest structures of steel. The same powerful LASER beam is capable of the most delicate and intricate medical procedures, isolating and dissolving unhealthy cells or tumors without disturbing the surrounding tissues. Even the delicate structure of the human eye can be treated with a LASER to improve or restore eyesight. Like LASER beams, we too are made of Light and we too can achieve miraculous results by focusing and concentrating our thoughts and awareness on that which we wish to experience. Faith is the tool that gathers the Light in us, Prayer and Affirmations concentrate our awareness, dissolving what is not aligned with the Light in us. Through this heightened and focused awareness, we can cut through seemingly immovable obstacles. We can perform the intricate procedure of dissolving thoughts and beliefs that keep us small. Through the focused awareness of ourselves as Light, as offspring of the Light of God, we become like LASERs, cutting through the delicate veil that separates the world of form from the vastness of Beingness; and suddenly, we see with pinpoint accuracy, the Oneness of God that has always there all along. The LASER beam of Light focused on God shining through, reveals the Kingdom of the Heavens that has surrounded us from the beginning but we have failed to see.
Eileen Patra 