People in my galaxy are terrified, heartbroken and exhausted scrambling in their minds to figure things out. I want to remind you - Figure It Out is NOT a good slogan!By churchofonelove

Earlier this year, CJMiller shared his experience with God and the creative process. In Force or Flow, CJMiller explains what he means by "Intelligence of Being" and why you should trust it. Spirit is speaking to us in every life situation and when we step into Spirit we trust the process and the unfolding.…

Life happens and, in the chaos, we forget that we hold the key to bringing peace into the situation at hand. Beloved guest speaker Kim Andrews guides you through the ways we can honor our true nature, enhance our awareness of the Divine, and bless every facet of our being.By churchofonelove

This beloved prayer has been used in the recovery of countless people. It very simply helps us to remember what is ours to change and what is not. Then we can put our attention and energy into the places where healing is available— in ourselves, our outlook, our attitudes, our lives. Then we trust God to do God’s work and allow others the dignity o…

The essence of the 12th step is that we pass our healing on and not try to keep it to ourselves. Unless we consistently practice these spiritual principles in every area of life, we’ll quickly forget and lose the progress we’ve made. Being of service and leading by example-- sharing our experience, strength and hope with those we would serve-- is h…

In order to maintain our newfound spiritual freedom, we must keep in touch with ourselves—our Higher Self, our Higher Power, however we understand that to be. Conscious connection keeps us from piling up more shame and blame and miscommunications and helps us keep ego in check. As we do this our trust in God increases, as we realize that letting Sp…

After we’ve taken a truthful, non-judgmental look at our lives, we clear the shame for what is not ours and take responsibility for what IS. We become willing to make any amends needed to clear the slate in our relationships—with others and within ourself. Then we take the action necessary to follow through. After that, we keep up daily in order to…

Once we have a clearer picture of what in our life has served us and what has held us prisoner, then we’re free to learn to live differently, if we so desire. We ready ourselves through willingness and trust, and ask our higher power to help us to change what we can, even as we accept what we cannot change.…

In order to “recover” we must begin to see clearly who we have been, who we are, and who we want to be, so we “take stock” of the truth --without judgment. We no longer take the weight of burdens that are not ours to carry, nor need to assign blame to others as we begin to deal with life as it IS not as we wish it to be.…

Step Two: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” Admitting personal powerlessness allows us to activate a Higher Power in our lives. We can call that power by any name: God, Mother Nature, the Universe, the Sangha (group of spiritual peers), our Higher Self, the Buddha, or Fred. It doesn’t matter what we na…

Step one: “We admitted we were powerless over _____, that our lives had become unmanageable.” This step is about letting go of the thought that we can control anything outside ourselves. We come to understand that in our humanness we never had “control” to begin with, so we only surrender our illusions, and have lost nothing at all.…

At COOL our tagline is “Many Paths, One Spirit.” What does that mean? How can we all choose our own individual path, and yet come together each week in study, song, message, meditation, spiritual practice—in unity? How can people across worlds and cultural divides and varying belief systems ever achieve peace and harmony? For that matter, how can w…

We all are free to choose how and what we think, believe and accept about ourselves, our world, and our place in it—to find our own answers to the questions our hearts ask. When we exercise the power of choice we take full advantage of that freedom, and life gets really interesting and rewarding. Or we can slip into ‘habit mind’ and fail to use our…

As a girl brought up in a fundamentalist Christian church, I learned that to even question what I was taught as the (one and only) truth about God and the nature of the universe was dangerous and sinful, and left me teetering on the brink of hell. What I know now is that the power to question is fundamental to our freedom as human beings, and that …

Last month we talked about the consciousness of abundance. We know it is necessary to change consciousness in order to change outer conditions, and learned how we impoverish ourselves in multitudinous ways when we hold a consciousness of lack. We also hinted at how difficult it can be to change consciousness so that we see changed results in our ou…

By churchofonelove

Jesus made his final journey into Jerusalem with a large group of disciples. Why? Is there spiritual strength in numbers? Each of us has within us all we need to be fully at one with the love and power of the One. Yet, this is difficult to remember and to practice in the face of a world of ego that often looks, thinks and acts as if we were separat…

When people talk to me about fundraising, I like to talk instead about consciousness raising. When we understand that we are not separate; that what is ours to give can never be taken from us; then we are full participants in the ongoing flow of Divine Abundance. We begin to experience the freedom of forgiveness, the truth of our oneness, the joy o…

Traditional prayer models in the Judeo/Christian/Abrahamic religions consist of beseeching, petitioning, or begging a God that is somewhere “out there” for mercy or special favors. At cool we pray affirmatively: from an understanding that the Presence of Spirit is within us, therefore our desires are known and there is no need to beg or convince an…

“There is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in.” -Leonard Cohen We all are perfectly Imperfect. How can we use art to learn the lessons of our perceived imperfections? What if our imperfections are spiritual opportunities? Author artist, and speaker CJ Miller discusses universal lessons learned from making art. We are all creators. …

We try to so hard to meet standards set by others, or our own false ones. The truth is that doing our best is actually the BEST we can do, and when we acknowledge this we cease to punish ourselves for not doing or being “better.” When we become aware of our inner “judge,” we can begin to let go of arbitrary “rules” that have nothing to do with trut…

We humans hate the unknown (and most things in this world are unknown). In the absence of information we make up stories—assumptions not based on truth but on fear. These assumptions are harmful—even devastating-- to ourselves and others. When we stop these assumptions, our joy increases a thousand-fold.…

What other people do is ALWAYS about them, and never about us. Yet we torture ourselves with the words and actions of others every day. If we change only this one fundamental agreement, our lives are dramatically transformed.By churchofonelove

In this first lesson, we learn how powerful our words are, and how we unconsciously use them against ourselves and others. We punish ourselves for the same mistake—not once but over and over again. We judge, find ourselves lacking, penalize ourselves, then pass that judgment and punishment on to others I an endless cycle. In this agreement, we brea…

In the Hebrew legend, Joseph’s own brothers were his enemies…or were they? Through their despicable acts, Joseph triumphs and finds glory and more—true humility. Pema Chodrun, Buddhist nun, teaches that the worst experiences of life can be our best teachers, as they strip us of our armor and our masks and allow us to know ourselves as we truly are.…

We are all on a spiritual path—a path of growth and evolution. A path of growing awareness of who we are…and…we are 100% loveable, just as we are. This feels like a paradox. There is nothing wrong with us, and yet we wish—we yearn--to change. How do we navigate having goals of being “better” people, while loving ourselves exactly as we are?…

Are things really getting worse, as it sometimes seems, especially if you watch the news or “reality” TV? Or is the world pretty much as it has always been? Life is full of kindness and beauty, also heartache and loss. Let’s explore this paradox using wisdom from the Hebrew prophet in Ecclesiastes and from Sufi saint Jalaluddin Rumi.…

Join us as we welcome back special guest musician and speaker SuZ Ogden.By churchofonelove

On this New Year’s Eve we take stock of what “old stuff” we are willing to release and what new good we wish to claim for our lives in the coming year. In our “burning bowl” ceremony, weliterally set fire to our lists of what no longer serves, and enter into a meditation for guidance of what is to be ours in the newness of life into which we are be…

In the Christmas Eve story of possibility and birth, we are both the ones bearing the re-birth of the soul into new possibility, and the newness of soul being reborn. This story is rich in the symbolism of oneness and infinite love that is our source and our substance. Celebrate with us in this special service full of carol singing, extra music and…

The Star was a light that guided the Wise. The wise men were wise because they had the strength and insight to follow their own inner guidance (the star) instead of listening to what was “sensible” in the physical world. We each hold the light of the celestial, and the energy of the Divine gives our human selves the fortitude and ability to follow …

The Hanukkah (or Chanukah) story says that a single days’ oil miraculously lasted for 8 days to light the temple in Jerusalem so that it could be purified for the celebration of Jewish Holy Days. The story is rich in symbolism, as we all embody the miracle of light and energy.By churchofonelove

The ordinary and the extraordinary exist in all of us. In the Christmas story the shepherds trembled in fear, and angels both calmed the fears of the people in the story and celebrated the good news. We are human and divine, of body and spirit. We will look at how the shepherds and angels represent who we are at depth.…

Do we see, yet don’t see, the movement and synchronicities of Divinity in your life? The demands of daily life make it easy for us to overlook the subtle movements of the divine around us. But with a simple shift in perspective, we can learn to see, get confirmation, and interact with the energies of Divine ONENESS surrounding us. Join us on Nov. 2…

Gratitude is the attitude of healing, of abundance, of love, of realizing and expressing our oneness. It is in gratitude that we find out how blessed we are. We are only grateful, though, if we are truly paying attention. Let’s explore this life-changing spiritual practice. Come prepared to share what you are most grateful for!!…

By churchofonelove

In the Sikh tradition, Oneness is the first and greatest teaching. All others flow from it. It is also our greatest value at COOL. When we know we are one, how does that inform how we approach the world? What are we to do in times like these when there is so much division? How can we truly know our oneness with each other? We’ll explore these and o…

Fairy tales are full of heroes sweeping in to save the day, but really, we don’t need to look far away from our everyday life to see numerous everyday heroes quietly doing their thing. A true hero should encourage us to transform ourselves for the better. As an artist and songwriter, I write songs of personal heroic journeys hoping to inspire an em…

In the Beginning, there was Golf, and it was Good...By churchofonelove

The ability to detach from that which we cannot control is a vital skill. The word “detachment” is used a lot these days in pop psychology and self-help books…but what does it mean, exactly? And how do we go about doing it? Do we need to reject people, places situations? OR –can we detach with love rather than contempt or anger or isolation? We’ll …

What do our pets know about unconditional love that we seem to miss or misunderstand? As human beings, we are mammals—part of the animal kingdom—and yet we forget our brother- and sister- hood with the other creatures of this world. Can we learn to love as unconditionally as a devoted dog? What other blessings do we receive from the non-human anima…

The Buddha taught that the way to Nirvana—peace, equanimity, joy, is to learn to accept the world as it is, rather than spend our mental, emotional, and spiritual energy resisting. Acceptance is a vital spiritual discipline, but does it mean we give up? Condone what is “wrong” with the world, and don’t try to change anything? A strong “no” to that.…

We cannot avoid negative things in the is world. Loss, death, grief, regrettable actions & words, shame, guilt, even despair. The trick to life is not to avoid these at all costs (not possible, and incredibly limiting try) but to learn the skill of resilience. And yes, it’s a skill, not something we are either born with or without.…

A generation ago the word “mantra” brought about visuals of crossed-legged Indian Yogis on pillows or maybe of special (and expensive) classes that would give you your own “secret” one. Today the word is used more often, and some of its mystique is gone, but do we really know what it means? Let’s learn what mantra really is and how we can all use i…

More than 70 % of Americans believe in Angels. What are they? What do various scriptures say? How do they work in the world? Are You one? Could you be?By churchofonelove

We have prayed the Metta prayer with each other all of August. Let’s check in and see how it may have changed us and our world, and talk about the meanings of the prayer and how to continue using it as a tool for transformation of ourselves and our relationships.By churchofonelove

The fastest growing segment of people in 21stcentury society describes itself as “Spiritual not Religious.” What does that mean? Humankind has always sought to understand the world, and our place in it. In trying to make sense of the world humans developed incomplete explanations, mythology, magic, and false spiritual hierarchy to help us navigate …

There are many negative connotations to the word “sacrifice.” We think of it in terms of martyrdom and deprivation. But what if we take it back to its roots? How can we bring the sacred into everyday life? We’ll explore perspectives and practices to help us remember our own wholeness—holiness--and that of this world we live in, and to feel closer t…

This phrase has been misinterpreted and misused to keep the underdog in his place. Did Jesus mean we are supposed to be doormats? Take abuse? Or is there much more to it? Let’s explore this and others from the “Sermon on the Mount” that may have a richer meaning than we at first suspect.By churchofonelove

The teachings of Jesus the Christ are all about being truly loving—not later, when we all get to “Glory”-- but now, in this difficult, confusing world. Not to those who already love us, but to our enemies. He welcomed the child-like and would rescue the smallest lamb. He also said he came “to bring a sword.” The spiritual path is fraught with such …