Every time I go to Sunday service at my spiritual home I bring my Totally Awesome {that’s what it says on the inside!} journal and take notes. It’s cool because I have all my notes in one place and any time I need some encouragement and inspiration I know where to go.  Anyhow, here are my notes from the last service {oh by the way you can listen to the sermon that these notes were taken from – just click here!}

Listen to the music of your Soul…all the time.

It’s time to face up.

Are you the kind of person who can’t wait to get out & explore? Or are you the kind of person who goes out wondering, “Are you going to step on me?”

You get what you expect.

Who is the person at the root of your horror story?

Heal your life through your interactions with people.  Remember you are a “people.”

Be a Student of Truth.

What you expect, you attract.

Transform in each moment by moment.

In the girlfriend stage you’re trying to win them over & you’re your best.

Love.

Use your disagreement with this post to gauge what you know.

What you think of me is none of my business.

You are a disciple of the Holy One.

In your relationships know that:

1. There’s no 1 place to find love
2. There’s nothing you need to become
3. People aren’t lonely because they are alone ~ they are a alone because they are lonely.
4. It’s best to put a little more in then you take out
5. You’ll be happier when you give up your horror stories & engage in learning

Loneliness is a way of relating to the world.

Be teachable

Take back your life.

No wasn’t that a kick-ass sermon?!

During this morning’s conversation with God I asked him why he was always so accepting of me and giving me permission to feel how I feel no matter how much I don’t like how I feel and he didn’t even have to answer me directly.  In my frustration about his acceptance – can you believe I was frustrated by being accepted?! – I was venting about it and realized that if he scolded me for where I was at and told me that I have to do x, y, or z, that then I would totally rebel against him.

It was such an eye opener and all of a sudden I had a deeper understanding why giving myself permission is so much more powerful than pressuring myself into moving forward.

You see, I tend to do that: pressure myself relentlessly.

But, whenever I’m connecting with God he doesn’t do that to me.  Instead he continually tells me, “That’s okay.”  Even when I’m like, “I feel like such a failure!” he always responds with, “That’s okay.”

And this morning I was fed up.  I asked, “How is that okay? How is it okay that I feel uninspired? Can’t you just force me to stay inspired?”

And that’s when it hit me!  It really wouldn’t work if God continually told me that I’m not okay and forced me to take action.

So, if God is smart enough to know that force doesn’t work, then why am I continually trying to force myself?

You know, it’s such a human thing to force and try.  That’s really not what I should focus on here.  It would be way more powerful for me to make a commitment to follow God’s lead, give myself permission, and embrace myself along the way.

So today as I begin my day I am willing to commit to notice whenever I’m pressuring myself, to let it go, and to give myself permission to be where I’m at.  And you know what? I feel more inspired now than I have in weeks!

What about you? Which path will you choose? Pressuring yourself into action? Or accepting yourself into it? I’d love to hear your take.  Please post your thoughts, fears, and insights.

Get inspired at the Center for Spiritual Living

I have the pleasure of working my ass off as Dorothy!  Please join me as it all pays off on stage.  Here is the official announcement & invite:

You are cordially invited to “Ease on Down the Road” as Center for Spiritual Living presents another fun summer series.  Dorothy awakens after an earthquake to find that nothing is as she remembers it – nothing except her bossy, over-bearing sister, “Negative.”  Journey with Dorothy as she tries to find her way home and along the way meets a variety of L. Frank Baum’s most beloved characters, including Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion – all with a modern twist, of course!  The Wizard of SOM begins June 21st for six consecutive weeks leading up to a beautiful finale on July 26th.  Each musical vignette will be performed at both Sunday services, followed by Rev. David’s fabulous message; so whether you attend the 9:30 or the 11 AM service, you won’t miss out on this delightful trip down the yellow brick road!

Still begging and pleading for you to vote for me!  It’s super easy…just a few clicks away.

]]> http://www.cassandrarae.com/are-you-ready-for-laughter-and-music-and-cheers-oh-my/feed/ 0 http://www.cassandrarae.com/come-see-me-perform-in-the-wizard-of-som/ http://www.cassandrarae.com/come-see-me-perform-in-the-wizard-of-som/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:58:00 +0000 Cassandra Rae http://www.cassandrarae.com/?p=869 I am so excited (and a bit terrified!) to announce that I am starring in a musical!  Can you believe it? I’m still a bit shocked.  And I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be Dorothy in the Wizard of SOM at the Center for Spiritual Living in San Jose.

This is an amazing show that was written and directed by two amazing CSL women.  It is an updated, spiritual version of the Wizard of Oz – and a whole heck of a lot of fun!  It’s an awesome script filled with humor, heart, and song.  I hope you can come out and enjoy it.

It is our summer series program, which means that we will be performing a new installment of the play each Sunday beginning on June 21st for 6 Sundays in a row.  Performances are at 9:30 and 11 services and we are located at:

Center for Spiritual Living
1195 Clark Street
San Jose, CA 95125
Phone (408) 294-1828

So in order to enjoy the entire production you get to show up every week!  How fun is that? And of course, while you’re there you will find me, give me a hug, and tell me how much you loved my performance!  hee hee hee :~)

Okay, so I know all of you can’t make it every week.  If you must pick and choose a week or two, then I highly recommend you come for weeks 5 & 6 (July 19 & 26).  In both of those weeks I sing a solo!

Get connected at the Center for Spiritual Living

• Focusing on love is easier with practice!
• I learned very young that it was not okay to love
• Today I gave my very young self permission to love her mommy
• She loves her mommy so much.
• She feels safe in her arms and she loves to cuddle
• She loves that her mommy is a big woman with brown hair
• Her mommy is soft and sweet
• Love feels tingly in my hands and arms – sometimes in my feet too
• Today love was not about sex, which was very nice
• Love is an emotion, sex is a physical act
• Love and sex are related and not exclusive
• It feels amazing to love
• It feels incredible to share my love with the world
• I did an exercise where I imagined my love growing from within me all the way through the stretch of the entire plane of existence – even to places I’ve never seen or can even comprehend right now
• And then I practiced shrinking the love back into my body
• It was a fun exercise that I enjoyed
• I also imagined loving all parts of myself from babyhood through childhood
• It gives me chills to imagine hugging my college self
• Oh this loving stuff is getting easier and easier!
• I’m so grateful for this exercise and that I am committed to it for every day this week
• The foundation of my day is love
• The foundation of my life is love
• It’s okay to love openly
• I’m free to love deeply
• Love is not going to kill me
• It’s okay to be vulnerable
• Life is better when you love openly
• I am strong and vulnerable
• It takes great strength to be vulnerable
• Love is our natural state of being
• Humans are loving machines

Wow this is cool!

1. You stretch out before hand
2. You work out a little every day
3. You increase your routine slowly & consistently
4. You rest
5. You join a gym
6. You hire a personal trainer

How are you receiving these insights?

Well, it begins by opening up to it.  And the opening up is based on believing that it’s available.

Oh that’s interesting. Where does it come from?

Well, in my particular belief system it comes from God.  You could also say that it comes from the Universe, Spirit, the Divine, etc.

Who is God to you?

Oh I’m not ready to answer that question!

Why not?

Because I haven’t figured it all out yet.

Well, would you be willing to share what you have figured out?

I still feel a bit hesitant, but I guess I could.  God is the father (and mother) of all religions.  He takes on many forms so that he can connect with everyone.  Different people have different ways of connecting so he makes himself available to everyone.

You paused.

Yeah, I guess I’m feeling like that’s all I want to share right now.

You guess? Or you know?

I know.

Well, thank you for sharing.  And it does bring up an interesting topic that I would like to throw out there for others to comment on:

Who is God to you?

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: THE UNIVERSE
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

This is The Universe. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do not need your help. So, have a nice day. I love you.

P.S. And, remember…

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFTUTD (something for Universe to do) box. I will get to it at the right time. All situations will be resolved, but in UNIVERSAL time, not yours.

Yesterday I went to Victoria’s Secret for a bra fitting because honestly I’ve been wearing my daughter’s hand-me-downs for months now.  I’ve known for quite some time that I need new undergarments, but it wasn’t high on my list of priorities.  In fact, yesterday I went in only because an appointment got rescheduled and I found myself with an unexpected couple of hours at the mall.

So I went in, asked for help, got measured, and set up in the dressing room with 20 bras to try on.  I went through the first couple that were okay.  And then…I put on the Very Sexy Secret Embrace Push Up Bra and oh my heaven!  I was transformed in a younger, perkier woman!  Could this be me? Could those be my breasts?

Yes! It is me and those are my breasts.  This is what I look like with adequate support.  With this bra on I stood taller, smiled bigger (is that even possible?!), and embraced my femininity.  I floated through that store like the models you see in their commercials with big, beautiful wings.

Photo courtesy of Victoria’s Secret

And then it hit me: having a deep spiritual connection is the same as wearing an amazing bra!  I mean, think about it.  A good bra supports, protects, and encourages you to shine in your beautiful self.  You don’t need to go on a diet, lose 10 pounds, or change who you are to look and feel good right now.

This is exactly what is happening to me as I deepen my relationship with Life (aka God, Spirit, the Universe, etc).  And here’s what I really want you to know: my relationship with God comes through the quiet depths of my heart, mind, and body.  To me, spirituality is the place where all aspects of my being intersect.  It is the absolute center.  And as I process life, delve deeper into my heart, mind, and body, and discover my purpose I become closer to God.

Let’s just say that now my physical and spiritual bras are an awesome reflection of one another!  I encourage you to think about your own spiritual bra…

It should make you:

• feel beautiful,
• stand tall, and
• embrace yourself exactly how you are.

It should:

• lift you up,
• protect you (even from yourself), and
• add joy to your life.

If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s time to trade in the hand-me-downs and get a new spiritual undergarment.

If you don’t have any spiritual undergarments on at all, then maybe it’s time to make it a priority and invest in some.

This topic is near and dear to my heart.  I invite you to leave your comments, email me your insightful feedback, and even to schedule a complimentary coaching session.

Here’s to all of us beautiful women sporting amazing bras, both physically and spiritually!

Simply Fearless ~

It is so easy to get all worked up and worried during this time of year with family gatherings and traveling.  So I thought it would be neat to share some of the amazing and powerful perspectives I’ve learned through Pastor Dave at the Center for Spiritual Living.  Here is my collection from my first visit:

• God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
• Google “Dear Abby Holland Italy” – it’s a neat story.
• We’re trying to have a better past.
• Forgiveness is giving up trying to have a better past.
• How do you understand love? {my response: you don’t ~ you feel it}
• I wouldn’t change one thing about you.
• Prayers begin in gratitude.
• Healing is a change in consciousness.
• Prayers are answered immediately and everything else is nature’s way of catching up.
• The “problems” of today are the solutions to yesterday’s problems.
• Whom will it be revealed through? Maybe you.
• You have to let go of what was in order to allow what will be to be.
• What does your story do to your life and happiness?
• There are things we don’t know that we don’t know.
• You choose where you want to go and God takes you there.

If you’re a regular here at Simply Fearless, then you know that 2008 has been a year of spiritual search and growth for me.  Well, I think I might have found my new church home with Pastor Dave at the Center for Spiritual Living.  I’ve only attended twice, but it is an amazing community.  One step through the door and I felt loved, accepted, and welcome.  Oh and the pastor is a comedian.  Seriously.  At first, I was like, “How the heck am I going to get spiritual with all this laughing?”  And you know what? I got more spiritual in 5 minutes of laughter than I did in 4 months at another church.  What an eye opener for me!  And here I thought God was this super serious being in the sky!  So here’s to a worry-free holiday, a lot of laughter, and a powerful connection with God.

And so it is.