Keep your face always toward the sunshine & shadows will fall behind you — Walt Whitman

Complain or Give Thanks? It’s Up to YOU!

It seems there is always something to complain about: the weather. Right now it is hot. But I am grateful that while it might be hot where I am, there are other places where it is hotter. I am grateful that I can sleep in a cool room. I am grateful that I don’t have to work outside in the hot weather. I am grateful I have air conditioned transportation to take me from place to place.

Or I might complain about my body, how my knees creak when I go downstairs. And I am grateful that I can go up & down the stairs, that my legs & creaky knees work together getting me from floor to floor effectively & fairly efficiently. All those stairs are probably keeping my body healthier, too.

Instead of complaining, what if we gave thanks for what is, even if it is a challenge. I give thanks for this challenge in my life today, knowing there is a lesson for me to learn in it. Our spiritual path is strewn with flowers (blessings) & rocks (challenges) & we can choose how we look at each of them. I choose to look at the rocks as stepping stones to more flowers.

AFFIRMATION
I am alive & embrace sobriety! Thank you God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

…for God loveth a cheerful giver.
— II Corinthians 9:7

A 400 Percent Tip

Have you ever heard of The Law of Circulation? One of the main principles of the Universe is circulation. If our blood or our breath did not circulate, we would soon die. This holds true for all aspects of life. When the Law of Circulation is retarded, stagnation results.

My daughter, has continued to be one of my greatest teachers ever since she arrived on earth. She was totally born with an abundance consciousness. Lately, she has acquired the habit of throwing all kinds of coins on the side-walk. When I asked her why, she responded immediately, “Oh, I just know people will be thrilled to find them!”

One day in Austin, we went out to a restaurant, & her bill for a cup of tea & a small snack was $2.00. She put a ten dollar bill down on the table & got up to leave. “Don’t you want your change?” I asked. “Oh no,” she answered sweetly. “Table servers in Austin get below minimum wage, & they have to raise their families on that.” That was the end of the conversation.

She has never, ever lacked for anything . People are always showering her with gifts including money. She was gifted with a $113,000 college scholarship, & when she graduated, she received $3000 for a trip to Europe! But she is unaware of this. Her focus has always been looking for places to give. “Look at everything God has given me” she says. “I’m just returning the favor.” So the next time you find a coin on the sidewalk, it may very well be God blessing you through a cheerful giver.

AFFIRMATION
Today I totally give up worrying about where my next dollar is coming from. I focus my attention on what I can give to others. And I am at peace.
Thank you God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
— Matthew 19:26

“Made a decision to turn our will & our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

Don’t Confuse Me With the Facts

Have you ever had an argument with your inner voice? Have you ever tried to reason with it when its guidance seemed impossible to believe? The situation is staring you in the face, & you just know your inner voice is telling you to do something that cannot possibly happen. “How can I know the Spiritual Truth in this situation” you wonder, when the facts are totally telling you it can’t be done?

I was presenting a workshop in Long Island. My inner voice inspired me to have the group do an exercise that involved a great deal of walking from one person to another. I argued with my inner voice, “But God, I can’t have these people do this exercise. One of them is in a wheel chair & she could not possibly do the walking.” The voice within continued to urge me to do it. I kept resisting. “This experience will not only embarrass her, God, it will shame her in front of her friends!” But my inner voice was relentless. It finally got so “loud,” I had to give in. I presented the exercise, & you know what happened? The person in the wheel chair got up & actually walked for the first time in years! So now, I make it a point to listen to my inner voice (almost all of the time).

AFFIRMATION
Today I listen to the still small voice within me without judgment & honor it. I find that the more I listen, the clearer it becomes. My life is transformed into an amazing adventure, as I explore hitherto unknown regions. Look out world, here I come! Thank you God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, & she became a pillar of salt.
— Genesis 19:26

…let us forget the past & live in the eternal present of God’s happy smile.
— The Science of Mind, page 471

Release the Past

Some say you can’t love anything that can’t love you back, but I disagree. The more I love my things, the better they behave. I was really attached to Susie, my red Subaru, whom I had been driving for seven years. She always started up in freezing weather, in scorching weather, plus rain & under hailstorms! She had been to me like the law of the universe. All I had to do was direct her, & Voila!, she took me to my destination.

One day, I went out to the parking lot of my apartment building, & saw that somebody had backed into Susie, smashing her right rear fender. The estimated damage was $1,000. “Hmmm,” thought I. “That is practically a down payment on a new car.”

The next week, I decided to look at new cars, just to see what was on the market. Three hours later, I ended up buying one! As we were test-driving Sylvia (my new, metallic silver Ford Festiva), I began telling the salesman my feelings for Susie, my beloved Subaru. He turned to me & said with equanimity & Texas charm, “With all due respect, Ma’am, you just gotta release the past!”

I looked at him in utter amazement, for I had preached on that topic dozens of times. And then he followed it with the clincher, “Yup. You just gotta release. You can look at the past, all right, Ma’am, but just don’t stare!”

I stopped staring into the rear view mirror as I thought, “Thank you, Susie, for all the miles we have covered in this lifetime, & welcome to my new life, Sylvia. We have great things to do together!”

AFFIRMATION
Today I make a commitment to stop dwelling on the past. I joyously allow my vision to rest upon what is actually happening now, & the magnificent possibilities that lie ahead. And so it is.
Thank you God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor

A Whole New Attitude

I met my old friend for lunch today (we do this a couple of times a month) & our regular waitress asked me how I was. Apparently, she hadn’t done that before, because her jaw dropped when I gave my standard answer: “I am wonderful & marvelous, simply amazing, & getting better, skinnier & wealthier all the time. I love it. Thank you for asking.” After a few seconds, we got to talking about it, & I told her that I believed that when we repeat our affirmations over & over, we begin to convince ourselves that they are true, & then they ARE true.

What are your affirmations? “I don’t have enough time.” “I don’t have enough time.” “I can’t do that.” If your affirmations are these or something equally negative, why not trade them in for something different. “I am radiantly alive.” “I am blessed in every way.” “Life is fantastic & I love it.” Pick one & say it every day when you look at yourself in the mirror. And say it when someone asks how you are. After a couple of months take a few minutes to reflect on how (or if) the new affirmation has changed your life. I know that if you keep at it, your life will change. Mine did.

AFFIRMATION
Today, I focus my attention on what I want to change about myself. I take each step towards my goal, knowing I am using my God-given gift of CHOICE, in a life-affirmative way!
Thank You God!

Rev. Dr. Rainbow Johnson
ADAAP Clergy Counselor