SHOULDERS are a fascinating miracle of the human structure. An intricate assemblage of bone, joint, tissue, muscle and tendon, SHOULDERS provide a variety of useful functions. They allow us to reach objects high above our heads. SHOULDERS assist in the pushing and pulling of heavy objects. SHOULDERS provide a great place for the neck and head to rest. And the SHOULDER can be a place where we allow a friend or loved one to rest their head in times of stress or grief. More, SHOULDERS are symbolic of strength and stature. They are a platform for another to stand upon. When I was a child I played with these magnetic plastic people. The object was to see how many could stand upon each other’s shoulders. They fascinated me. I found I could build a sturdier structure by placing them in a pyramid form; more on the bottom than on the top, each one holding only a portion of the weight of the next. This seemed to be the best solution for creating the highest formation. We are continuously standing on the SHOULDERS of those who have preceded us; in our lives, in our work, in our families and in our world. And we in turn will provide the SHOULDERS for those who come after us. It is an outworking of Divine proportions. Working together, supporting just a portion of one another we create something much higher than ourselves. SHOULDERS are a miraculous manifestation of strength and stature and we can join together to build something quite high, stable and ultimately miraculous.
© 2016. Reverend Eileen DeRosia Patra
FEATHERS, the delicate yet incredibly stable structures lifting our feathered friends into the sky are a miracle of spiritual ingenuity or nature. A vast variety of colors, textures, sizes and shapes of FEATHERS are found on an incalculable array of birds. Who can forget the mystical dance of the floating white FEATHER in the opening and closing scenes of “Forest Gump.” Feathers fascinate us. They are considered sacred in a number of spiritual traditions, symbolizing freedom, power, angelic realms, bravery, good luck and a variety of other beliefs. Perhaps our fascination with this aviary miracle is the gift of flight and our great desire to expand beyond our physical boundaries. And herein lies the mystery and the miracle. We too can transcend the physical world through the power of our Minds which are free to fly, to roam, to expand and to become still and centered in the peaceful, gently floating presence of Spirit.
FORGIVENESS is the miracle that frees the soul. Anger and judgment create a density of energy that envelops the soul and clouds the mind. It is the very thing that calls for FORGIVENESS that makes it a miracle as it calls us through the dense energy that encases us in a feeling of powerlessness. FORGIVENESS is a continuous process of releasing the grip that anger and judgment hold us in. When we FORGIVE, we release ourselves from the tomb of powerlessness. What had angered us or caused us to feel pain no longer has power over us. We recognize that the pain we feel is something within our own minds and we let it go. What rushes in is the infinite love of Spirit that heals all wounds and empowers all Life. FORGIVENESS is a miracle that reunites us with the divinity implanted in the center of our being. FORGIVE someone today and be set free.
STRENGTH is a miraculous faculty continually evolving and emerging through our life experiences. STRENGTH appears in a variety of forms such as physical STRENGTH, spiritual STRENGTH, moral STRENGTH and STRENGTH of character. Each provide the ability to overcome something of substantial size or weight. Each are cultivated through the choice to exercise them. But Spiritual STRENGTH differs in that the soul draws to itself experiences that command its development. Every day, in every way, you are by nature, growing in spiritual STRENGTH and stature. What seems substantial in size and weight today is the catalyst for the spiritual STRENGTH that supports you in your next adventure.
PLANTS are a miracle providing food for humans, animals and even the ground itself as some states of growth draw from the earth and others give back. Undisturbed, PLANTS live in a state of balance, growing, maturing, giving freely of their fruits and flowers, seeding the earth, resting into a state of hibernation or dormancy and then the springing forth once again with new life when the conditions and season are just right. In all of our exploration of space, we have yet to find a planet with vegetation, rich in nutrients and able to sustain life forms as we know them. PLANTS are a miraculous element of the ecosystem that we are fed by and sustained by. A miracle is praiseworthy. A miracle is something to be grateful for, to give reverence toward. The PLANTS and vegetation of our earth are worthy of our praise and thanksgiving. They are worthy of our protection and attention. Just as we are one with God, we are also one with all that is. We are one with the earth and all its life-sustaining PLANTS. Loving our planet and its rich PLANT life is loving ourselves. It is recognizing the inherent harmony and sacredness of all life. Perhaps protecting the nature of PLANT life, the integrity of what grows in accordance to its own divine pattern, free of genetic alteration, free of human and chemical intervention, would be an act of love that would enrich our PLANT life and our own lives as well. Stop for a moment today to give thanks and send loving nurturing thoughts to the vast PLANT life of planet earth.
ONENESS is the miracle that underlies all of Life. A miracle is defined as something unexpected that transcends physical law. Certainly, in a world where we are continually bombarded with evidence of our differences, the notion that we are all ONE is an astonishing idea. And yet, it is true. Although we inhabit separate bodies that are infinitely unique, we each spring forth from the same Source of Life. We are first, spiritual beings and second, physical beings. In Spirit, we are ONE. Awareness of ONENESS in the midst of diversity is the key to transcending the experience of conflict. If ONENESS is true, conflict with another is conflict with ourselves. If peace and harmony are our deepest desire, then peace and harmony with ourselves can bring peace and harmony to the whole. To live in an awareness of ONENESS is to recognize that all we project on another we project on ourselves. When Jesus spoke about loving our neighbor as ourselves he was acknowledging the miraculous truth of ONENESS, for to love another IS loving ourselves, and this is the key to living from Heaven consciousness. 
Eileen Patra 