Creating Conviction 

Like cement that holds a structure together, conviction in our beliefs, perceptions, and ultimately knowledge holds our self-view and worldview in place.

Our destiny is to live in Joy and Bliss, to birth a new worldview of a sustainable, free, and just global society, and to solidify it with the conviction of our soul: Our knowledge of our own eternal nature, Pure Consciousness, Love, and Light.

Our function as seekers, lovers, givers, and peace makers is to do whatever we have to do to create that conviction for ourselves. Studying the wisdom of indigenous elders, ancient Vedic science, Quantum Field and Unified Field Theory, gives us much fuel for our conviction in Divinity. But in order for Truth Principles to become an embodied knowledge, we must practice affirmative prayer and meditation. When we do this, we create a direct, subjective experience that validates our conviction in the Invisible. 

Then, our worldview lifts from individual needs-based perspectives to a consciousness of conviction in the power and presence of this One thing we call Spirit, Unity, God. 

In Love and Light,

Rev. Victoria

Retreat to Higher Ground

When stormy weather hits, I like to close the blinds, turn off devices, and make tea. Something about the messiness and chaos outside, gives me permission to prepare for comfort, restoration, reflection, turning within, and retreat. Who knows what insights one can find in 30 minutes of journaling, or reading, or meditation?

When we stop our selves to take time to pull away from the world, from the five senses, from our identification with thoughts and feelings, we are getting up into the higher ground of our consciousness, our awareness of Self. Let’s not wait for stormy weather, literally and metaphorically! Let’s give ourselves permission each day to do this courtship with the Divine, this nurturing of the soul. Sometimes we need 20 minutes, sometimes five days or maybe two weeks, and when we emerge, we stand triumphant, aligned with our own eternal nature. Just a little effort toward this alignment brings Grace.

In Love and Light,
Rev. Victoria

Integrity

When we misbehaved, my 5th grade teacher used to make us write, “Freedom is the responsibility to do what is right, not the right to do as you please.” Since then, I have always equated my own true freedom with integrity. Man’s laws are usually flawed, changeable interpretations, bias, the list goes on because humans do not always do what is right. Regardless, we are still responsible for our own integrity, even if others fail.

In spiritual adulthood, I learned that when we have true freedom, we have choice in how we look at the world, how we integrate insights and setbacks, how we feel about anything, how we align our lives with Natural Law, growth, expansion, generosity, and love. These are choices that can never be taken away by any “supreme court.” So, I remind myself of what I know: Divine Law does not change. God is always in integrity with Itself. God, Spirit, Creator, Universal Presence, whatever you want to call It, does not wax or wane, ebb or flow, give or take. It does not contradict Itself, hurt Itself, withhold from Itself, or limit Itself, ever, in any way. Remembering this gives wind to the sails of my own transcendence over the world of effects and helps me to be in the world, but not of it.

In Love and Light,
Rev. Victoria

Illumination

This month as we enjoy the summer and all that life offers, let us welcome the Illumination of Love into our hearts and minds. We become illumined and we illuminate our surroundings as we bring into the light of our Christ- Consciousness, all that would contradict the Truth. Christ means Light. There is only First Causation, God. This Power does not contradict Itself. It is Absolute and we are wholly one with It.

The entire Cosmos is working to express more of Itself through you, its own creation, as a blissful, healthy, abundant life! This is the Light of Truth. So, no matter what story is playing out in the mind, in our collective human narrative, in your environments, the Love that God is, is seeking Its demonstration through your Consciousness. It does mean we have to ignore the default mode thinking and emotional patterns that rear their heads from time to time, like the patterns of lack, living small, false beliefs of unworthiness, fear of insecurity.

As we bracket all our reactions and responses to life’s contradictions of this Truth and bring circumstances, situations, events, opinions, fears, and worries into the Love of our hearts and the Light of our Christ mind, we are lifted in Illumination for all. We become the Light on the hill. This is what our cities, nations, and our planet needs.

In Love and Light,
Rev. Victoria

Play

This month at Agape East, we celebrate the art of play. What better time to find our inner joy and exuberance for life than this month of May, with the beauty of spring and Mother’s Day. When I was little, I would spend hours alone, and sometimes with friends, in my room and outside playing. I had Barbie dolls, plastic horses, rubber alligators, and an invisible snake named Snakey.
As adults, the responsibilities of school, jobs and family can dampen our innate urge to relax, joke, connect, create, fantasize, pretend, and play. Now is our time to cast off the judgements of surface mind and find a way to create the vibration of playing. We can make play with almost any task, like chores and cleaning, by a simple attitude adjustment, I feel. Art, gardening, dancing, singing, coloring books, writing, music, exercise, whatever you can find, find it and make it fun by simply affirming that it’s “play time.”
The vibration we live in when we play is the same as the vibration we live in when we pray, a high state of mind, a little fantasy and pretend, and a big daily spoonful of joy. I like to say that life is a prayer. This month, I say life is a play. Have fun!

In Love and Light,
Rev. Victoria

Innocence

As the beautiful baby birds and sweet flowers all come to life this spring, let us celebrate our true nature, Innocence. We all know the innocence of babies and trees and animals. Babies and little children reach and move toward what they want and what feels good. Blades of grass just turn their little bodies towards the sun, without ever questioning their deservedness.

The Good of God is available to all of life, regardless. This is the Grace that accompanies innocence, and it is your birthright, everyone’s birthright, regardless. How can we know and accept the Grace of this Truth for ourselves and for those whom we may view as undeserving? Is there a difference?

This month celebrates Easter, and the great Master Teacher Jesus the Christ demonstrated his instruction to forgive 70×7 when he forgave those that were torturing him to death, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

I believe that this muscle of living in Innocence must first be developed for ourselves before we can authentically forgive the unforgivable in this crazy world. The best place that I have found to start is with our daily living, our daily routines of self-care, diet, how we communicate and express, and our spiritual practices, even our attempts at forgiving 70×7. To set the high intention of higher choices for ourselves in every way, and then be gentle with ourselves as we make our attempts and changing old patterns in body and mind.

Tremendous self-love, self-compassion, self-appreciation, and self-care is the doorway to self-forgiveness, and self-forgiveness is the key to recognizing our own innate Innocence and this is the fuel in the power of forgiveness for others. When we know our own brilliance, beauty, worthiness, and purity, through the practice of innocence, then we become blameless and guiltless towards ourselves. We then begin to see WITH Innocence as we look out at wars, injustice, governments, and world leaders. This is what is being asked of us now, to see rightly, as the Master Teacher taught.

Sentience

Our theme this month celebrates our ability to feel! How wonderful it is to feel a cool breeze, to feel warm earth under our feet, the softness of a silky pillowcase, the warmth and weight of a beloved pet on our lap. How about the feeling of joy when you can wrap your arms around a beloved friend or family member, or the enthusiasm when you finally find that thing you love to do and you’re doing it, or the feeling of humble gratitude when you see the evidence of God‘s grace demonstrating Itself to you?

Part of being a human being is this great privilege of experiencing feelings and emotions. It’s what makes us Sentient beings, here to express compassion, understanding, generosity and greater knowing of a Presence of Love.

I believe it is our hearts that rule our Sentience and I believe that the bigger our hearts, the more we feel. There are many ways to grow our hearts and our abilities to feel. Meditation and spiritual study have certainly been helpful for me. Some people also experience the growth of their heart through trials, loss, betrayal, and trauma. Anybody who’s lost a loved one, even a pet, knows that grief swells this part of us, making us more in tune with how precious each relationship and each day that we have left are.

Sentience is both a privilege and a burden perhaps, but it is something that we can harness and use to better our own lives and the lives of others. Let’s use this month to explore the power of our Sentience. All of our feelings, whether they are labeled “good” or “bad,” are powerful, observable, changeable, and the key ingredient in mastering the art of manifestation.        

In Love and Light,

Rev. Victoria