Loving animals.

My teacher says that animals have souls and that it is because of the Grace of God that we are born into our human form in order to experience God and find a path to spiritual liberation.  Animals are souls who have been reincarnated from lifetimes of not achieving the goal of mankind - that of liberation and are trapped inside a body of an animal.
One story illustrates this point.  There was a man who was about to slaughter a goat.  The goat suddenly laughed then cried.  The man was puzzled by this behavior and asked the goat to explain what was going on.  The goat said that he laughed because this was the 500th time he was to be slaughtered and the last to clear his karmic load and cried for the man whose consciousness didn't understand the ramifications of his actions.
Vegetarianism is very much a direct command by my Master and I am thankful to be with a Master and on a path that give absolute and clear direction to the followers.  Heaven knows I don't want to harm or hurt animals and want only to raise consciousness in others who wish to live with enlightened consciousness.
I have posted a video about the treatment of bears in China for some extract that is tied to superstition and folk medicine.
Please share this story as much as it is revolting to bring up with you friends.  It is necessary when we have the bear in beds with our children to hold and feel secure at night.  We read stories about bears and how much fun they bring into the lives and imaginations of children.  Remember Winnie the Poo?
Become a bear lover and do something to make it impossible for this practice to continue.  Evil exists in dark places in our lives when we turn away from shining our light onto the issue and showing it for what it is.  You can show your children that bears are not only a symbol of security and love but of worthiness for our love and attention to the conditions in their lives.
Ghandi said that we can judge a nation by the way it treats its animals.  Let's show our children that we can love and protect animals.  Tell them about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and how he loved animals and thought of them as his brothers and sisters.
Love conquers all!  Meditate daily and eat vegetables and fruits.

When life throws you a curve ball!

Life has its ups and downs and it's at times when we feel that we are between a rock and a hard place that God shows us the way out.  This has happened in my life repeatedly as I have encountered situations where there has been animosity and negativity.  I am an avid reader of the Investors Business Daily column "IBD's 10 secrets to success."  The number one tenant is "How you think is everything: "Always be positive.  Think success, not failure.  Beware of a negative environment."  How you respond to this information is your choice however for me negativity is the first and foremost reason why I distance from people.  Dr. Wayne Dyer's quote explains how to create abundance in this way "Abundance is not something we acquire.  It is something we tune into."  In order to receive positive energy you have to avoid the negative.

In my personal life I have been dealing with a legal situation with the Kansas State Board of Nursing and for this reason I have not been working in a regular capacity.  Staying with a friend who is as Democrat as I am a staunch conservative has been conflictual.   Republicans believe in the sanctity of life and limited government.  As Jefferson said - the larger the government the smaller our liberties become.  With the elections coming up I believe that my friend is allowing her controlling nature to stop me from voting in the upcoming elections for which I registered but was never given my voting card that in all probability came in the mail.  I have been yelled at!; "forgotten" to be picked up from the library in the late afternoon; told frequently that money is a household issue; certain items that have been purchased in the past are no longer on the grocery list i.e. tea.  A month of house sitting has been my only break although I have applied for various non-nursing jobs none have materialized. 

My work as a Life Coach is the most pleasing to me and I look forward to making more on line relationships so that I can expand my business and for that I have need a web site.  My friend agreed to drive me to a suburb of KC to the home of a couple who belong to Science of Spirituality.  I have travelled with them to visit our Spiritual Master in Chicago.  They are an Indian family who work in the IT industry and have a beautiful home and children.  The lady had left my friend a message inviting her to a program as my friend had been initiated by our Master in Sound and Light Meditation.  My friend played the voice mail tape saying that she and her husband couldn't understand a word that was said!  Because most of my communication with the public is done via the web I had wanted to use my video camera and headphones more and planned on taking them with me.  I have few things in my room where I stay in my friend's home and had kept a small cotton tote with my audio and video equipment inside a larger cardboard box.  When I left the house on Friday  tomorning the bag was inside the box.  On Saturday morning the tote and equipment was nowhere in sight.  I checked through the bag with laundry and another bag of clothes and even inside a suitcase.  Nothing!!  My friend who was sitting in the front room of her home when I told her about the missing equipment told me that my cat had pulled the door open on Friday morning and had gone out into the house.  I said that it was a "supernatural" act as I had a suitcase full of clothes in addition to a wooded magazine rack on the mat which I slid from under the door to securely close and prevent her from opening it.  When my friend denied any knowledge of my misssing bag I said that I would have to report it missing to the police so that if anyone used the equipment on line it could be identified by its serial number.  She reluctantly gave me the keys to the car as she said that she didn't want to go with me to my Indian friends.  When I returned she asked me with curiosity whether the bag was grey with a zipper to which I was able to positively affirm that it didn't matter about the equipment because my friends would gladly let me use theirs.  I was able to release the situation completely and whatever negativity was being created had been turned into a positive situation.

I stay in my room on Sunday's and could hear my friends voice which was loud and gregarious on the phone with a tone of triumph as she perhaps expected me to "discover" my mistake in putting my equipment in my laundry then announce to her that I was sorry.  No such thing took place!  And today I carried the equipment with me to the library and will keep it with me at all times just as I do with my lap top. 

There is another creepy thing that has happened several times - she came across a pair of my "skivvies" (underwear) around the house!  I have never had this kind of thing happen before and I have felt pressured even more to leave but with the job market like it is that hasn't happened.  Up until the past few nights her husband would announce loudly in the hallway that he was going to bed which was hard to ignore even with earplugs.  During the month I spent house sitting my friend made several announcements about their new bed and at one time I had an opportunity to tell her that I was a spiritual person and that I don't share my energy intimately with anyone.  They are controlling and have an agenda that they are not able to express openly because they are not able to deal with confrontation.  

I called my brother in England early this morning who has said that I could live with him.  Then I had a message on face book from a friend who sells a product that I love and wanted to know whether I was interested in developing the business with her.  Of course I am but I had been stuck because it takes money to make money.  I know that this is an answer to my prayer and that I will have somewhere to stay and make money and create the life that I want - one of financial abundance and a lifestyle that is centered on spirituality, health and fitness and being close enough to visit with my daughter and baby grandson once in a while.

I haven't been able to get away from the negativity until this point and now God has given me a chance to be in an area of health and wellness with a product that is absolutely the best and with a friend who is just about as positive as you can get!

If life throws you a curve ball just let it happen and keep focused on what you can do to rectify the situation.  I have found the most benefit from a regular practice of meditation that keeps me connected with Source and replenishes my soul.  "Ruin and recovery are both from within." ~ Epictetus - philosopher.  You will find the strength within to guide you through difficulties and by keeping your own state or vibrations positive you will attract the solution you need for your particular problem or circumstance. 

Sometimes we have to work through our karma and this concept can be viewed differently through the lens of various religions.  "Our deeds follow us, and what we have been makes us what we are."  ~  John Dykes, clergyman.  That is why spiritual masters tell us to watch our thoughts and actions because we will have to pay for them either in this life or the next.  Be mindful and limit your exposure to negative people.  I enjoyed a story about a goat that was about to be slaughtered when it suddenly laughed then cried.  The man with the ax asked the goat why he did this and the goat replied I laughed because this will be the 500th time that I have been beheaded.   The goat went on to say God had told him that 500 beheadings would cleanse him of his own karma of slaughtering that many goats when he was born as a man.   Then further explained, I cried because you will have to pay for the karma of beheading me. The man then told the goat that he was not going to cut his head off and would in fact protect him from being killed.  The goat said that it futile because of the law of karma, there was nothing they could do to change it.  The goat went to graze on the rocky slope of the hillside.  The goat was immediately struck by a sharp rock that cut off his head. I would like you to consider being vegetarian and looking to nature as part of our own being in God.  Someone shared on face book that the cheetah she was pictured with is dear to her and that she considers his company "Darshan," which in the East means being in the company of a saint.  We have the same consciousness with animals as we do our own soul and that is expressed as love. That unconditional love that we can so easily share with animals and that they give to us.
In conclusion the main focus of your mind and heart should be geared toward the positive.  That includes thoughts, people and any business that you wish to earn money through.  Keep your body as pure as you can through drinking pure spring water.  Although I have not purchased this product yet I recommend that you check http://www.kagenwaterdoctor.com/ and treat your body to the best and cheapest medicine - water!   Read scripture and meditate daily to connect with your soul and God.  Listen to your own inner voice and don't compromise what it right for you by conforming to what isn't.  Walk away from what is wrong and abusive and God will direct your path.  Christ said shake the dust from your feet and that is how you should be with anyone who disrespects you.

I am a Professional Life Coach and welcome your comments and feedback.  Please feel free to contact me for a free consulation at: lawrencerita511@gmail.com

No sorrow with the past.

Recently I have read a book about a wild life conservationist in Kenya, Joan Root whose life was dedicated to filming and documenting how the animals lived.  She was a mother to several orphaned wild animals at her home on the shore of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley.  She married young and as sometimes happens in middle age her husband chose to live with someone new and left her to take care of the home, land and animals that her life had been built around.

This story was particularly near to my heart because I too am from Kenya and used to care for wild animals when they were injured or sick as a child.  My sister and I took care of a gazelle or small animal that would resemble a fawn in America.  We fed the little creature with a baby bottle and were highly protective or it's environment.  We also took in a little monkey at the same time that we were staying on a friend of my parent's farm at Lake Rudolph near the border with Somalia. 

This was the first chapter in my life and my memories are still vivid.  I no longer can be around the people or events that were the norm for me yet even reading about similar stories brings me back to how my life started out in Africa.  There is an African saying that where you are born is your soul's home and that understanding makes it important for African American's who are decendants of slaves to revisit the site in Madagascar where they were shipped to the New World.  The ties with our soul's home are real and strong and cannot be brushed aside or put away in our psyche.

The difference now is that I am in terms of life events on my third chapter of the book.  After my father died of cancer in Kenya my mother moved us to an English village where she had grown up.  In my early thirties I moved to the United States and now am back in the Mid West where I started.  I have a grand son and roots here now.  Although I have a brother in England with whom I contact on a fairly frequent basis I will stay in the United States as long as I can.  The past becomes like a dream and it doesn't bring the pain and anguish that it once did.  This is the beauty of a spiritual life.  You shed all the ego's heaviness and attachment to people and objects.  You are completely freed from pain and that was my experience.  Living in the present is a joy because whatever happens is like watching consciousness passing by or an old movie being replayed.  There is no attachment to anything now but mindful effort to do things to the highest standard that I possibly can.

Sorrow is part of the ego.  It is natural and a person would feel compassion for anyone who feels sorrow.  My Teacher has pointed out that when we have a choise to transcend and allow whatever happens to us happen without any movement of feeling in response to the outcome.  This is harmony and balance taken to a higher level.  We can mindfully equate different areas of our lives and bring them into balance and harmony.  Taking that a step further we learn to see all as equal and that keep the balance sustained during times of trial and tribulation.  The term that my Teacher has used is Equipoise.  This is the goal of yoga to be in harmony whether ourlives are looking good or not.  When we get to the point that we are not saddened by the times when we don't have what we want - usually for me that has been money we keep the joy inside.

I mentioned before that I have been told to look upon people who cause difficulties in our lives as Angles.  If we are not exposed to people who are able to arouse some negative response inside they are doing us a favor because we wouldn't be aware we still had those issues left inside.  All the things that cause disequilibrium are attachments and you will be given opportunities under the Grace of a Master to free yourself from them.  You joy is yours and that feeling of bliss is the fruit of your spiritual labor.  Treasure what you have and don't give it up when someone acts in a way that is distressing to you.  Keep your mind focused on the area of the heart and you will reach that same level of bliss that you will experience in meditation when you are wide awake and engaged in life.


I recommend that you meditate daily, follow a vegetarian diet and journal.  You will soon make progress and when you meet your Master for spiritual initiation you will be truly ready for the journey to liberation.

I work as a Professional Life Coach and my passion is to assist people to develop spiritually and from that optimal space inside attain their goals in life.  Please feel free to contact me at lawrencerita511@gmail.com