GRACE

Grace is like a flowing river that touches our lives in many ways.  We sing of amazing grace and we say there but for the grace of God go I.  So what is grace.
Yesterday I resummed my visiting now that I am over my cold and was met with warmth and appreciation.
I have now visited my widow lady down the street and we just have great visits together.  I also had a talked to someone on the phone with breast cancer to let them know about a book I had picked up at the church about someone going through the same experiences.  I hesitated to phone but again was met with warmth and openness.

Grace reminds us of the sacredness of life that flows into our lives endlessly.
I am referring to what Carolyn Myss writes in Defy Gravity

1.  The first grace
Reverence is the grace that enables us to see that all of life is an interconnected field of cosmic energy that has its origins and endings in divine consciousness.  This has the potential to lead us deeper into a sense of awe.  Spiritually we can feel frightened or cautious; but knowing that we do need a sense of awe in our lives which can happen through nature or through a deeply moving sacred experience.  This grace thrives on unity and humility.

2. The Second Grace is: Piety
Piety as expressed in the need to be creative and to connect.  We need to be in relationships that are healthy and most importantly are ones of respect and openness.  We are called to support each other in our life's journey with generosity and compassion.  This also includes what we call our gut instincts and is at work in our lives in very practical ways, like our fiances, our relationships and our daily decisions.
Piety seeks that which is divine in others.  Piety is the grace that brings out our spiritual instincts, suck as sensing someone is in need of kindness or nurturing.  If we are fortunate we will find others along the way who share our knowledge and experience that comes with inner illumination.
Remember that negative energies harm your mind, heart and spirit.

3.The third grace is Understanding
This grace opens our ability to see beyond the illusion of a circumstance and often finding that an argument really is about who is right.  A healthy self-esteem helps us to be understanding beyond what is troubling us; and this includes a common sense; which can direct us to know what to do in a crisis whether it is a family crisis, financial or a bad storm.  This should be of benefit to all humanity.
Self-esteem, self-respect and personal responsibility make up our understanding of ourselves and the lack of these qualities create both a fear and craving for approval.  It takes courage to heal oneself and allow life-transforming changes that can set us free.
We wish we could understand why there is personal suffering.  This can be when there seems only one path available to us and we face the future with truth and are willing to accept what we do not understand.
The pursuit of self-knowledge is endless.  "Never stop searching for the depths of your soul."

4. The fourth grace is Fortitude
Accepting the call to be a servant and making a difference in the world in some unnoticed way. 
"Potential is something we grow into.  Through disappointments and accomplishments, through heartaches and heartthrobs we find ourselves on a path of discovering what our real potential is that brings spiritual illumination to ourselves and to others.  We are then carrying on the work of creation.  This is mystical not religious; and allows the fortitude to stay on our course.  This is the courage of survival.  It takes immaging
fortitude to fight for the rights of those who have been abused and neglected.
Everyone needs courage especially when they choose what is unpopular over what is popular.

5. The Grace of Council
Jesus and Budda attempted to ground mystical truth with human reason.  The power of the soul functions through what you believe.  The freedom within is greater than outward freedom which can be taken away from you by someone with more power and authority.  This can only be revealed to us and cannot be learned but is a true gift of grace.  "The real secret to health is not to retrieve your power from all the injuries of the past, but to become clearer about the present moments."

"Every life has a purpose that unfolds amid a journey of endless opportunities"

Mtstics bear witness to the truth that there is a divine presence in our lives that is beyond our comphrehension.  One of the ways is the way of forgiveness and the desire to not hate.  We all have emotional wounds but freedom comes when we release and let them go.  Often the councel we would give is not received and being silent when you feel you have the answer to someone elses problems is very hard and takes a large amount of grace.  The truth will set you free when you reakize it will require you to change,

The sixth grace Knowledge
There is the knowledge gained through information and the knowledge gained through experience and the knowledge revealed through grace.  This is the grace of awakening and often comes by the way of the consequences of our choices.  We have been taught since childhood to think rationally and to govern our lives by this knowledge by even repressing intuitive instincts.  Children seem more knowable in todays world but along with comes a loss of inocence.  One of the most important gifts we need is the gift of discernment.
It is also what drives people to make new discoveries to improve our lives.

"The desire to know the unknown-on whatever level is pursued-is a metaphor for knowing the Divine."

Our quest for knowledge can be a longing to understand what is truth.

The seventh grace Wisdom.
Am I using the gifts that I have been given.  We have all asked the reson why something bad happens.

"Wisdom gives us the strength to know that life cannot be lived without pain".

Wisdom is knowing when to say no and sometimes even listening to advice from someone older.  I am glad our new minister reads and studies a lot as well as visiting the sick and visiting to get to know people.  We do not need to make fear based decisions which so often lead to war and violence
Many see in the Dalai Lama a person who draws from the well of wisdom and is able to have compassion even for the Chinese who have taken over his country of Tibet.  He follows the teachings of Jesus who tells us to turn the other check when a violent act is committed against us; and allowing ourselves to absorb the pain of the other.  The grace of wisdom is extremely difficult and will come at a price. 

Wisdom may seem hidden and reveal to us the need to change even when it is painful.  Wisdom is not blaming someone else but taking responsibility to improve your life and the life of others,  This brings the sacred into our daily practices by becoming aware of your inner strength and ability.  I also think myself humor is a great way to deal with life with wisdom.