December 12, 2020

Here is your invitation to our next Zoom Service tomorrow, December 13, 2020. I hope you can attend!

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: To Care or Not to Care by Dr. Susan Nettleton

Time: Dec 13, 2020 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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December 11, 2020

This morning, I held in my mind various threads of thought that I considered pursuing in today's post. Then I read the morning news. I felt the immense agitation across the country and knew it not as mine, but as a collective consciousness, conflicted, struggling to find our way to health, stability, and peace. This passage from the teachings of Jesus came next to my mind as a universal spiritual teaching. There are many traditional and metaphysical interpretations of these beatitudes, but I decided to post them as they are translated from the Bible, for your own contemplation. Today, here, I find a message of peace and healing. (Susan Nettleton)

Matthew 5:3-10

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

December 6, 2020

This Sunday morning, I encourage you to sink into the idea that you have all that you need. Let today be a day of rest, regardless of what plans you may have or chores you may tackle. Do them with rest, the kind of ease that comes in knowing you have enough for a this moment. Even if you have to take that one moment at a time. A pause in our concerns. An openness in our sense of time. A space in our longing. We can let the mind be satisfied for now.As poet Holly Hughes writes, "the mind always wants more...". Let today be enough. (Susan Nettleton)

Follow the link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../mind-wanting-more

December 4, 2020

Today in Los Angeles County, California, we are under still further restrictions and Stay-at-Home orders as the hospitals fill with new Covid-19 patients. No one should be surprised; we have been warned since last spring and throughout the summer and fall that this would be a difficult, frightening winter if we ignored the Pandemic and cautionary practices. Thanksgiving gatherings initiated a new surge upon the surge and we now face the upcoming holidays with new restrictions across the country, as we look with hope toward the vaccine. It was a mild sunny day here and I was able to take a short walk up the tree lined. The street was not still, but definitely quieter as things begin to slow down and people digest the news. It is a lovely street and I felt a new calm being back outside among those trees and landscape. I reflected on the week of prayer posts I wrote before Thanksgiving; a prelude to the predicted winter harshness with my hope that those prayers will seed your spiritual life with new prayers as we move through the winter months, wherever you may be.

As I walked, my eye caught some black rolling fruit along the sidewalk and street curb that I had never seen there before. And then I saw a flash of bright green where the fruit had smashed on concrete. I looked up and saw a huge tree, laden with ripe avocados! When had they arrived? I would have never identified the tree without it's fruit. The avocados were everywhere. And it hit me with renewed insight--how nature provides, not just provides, but provides in abundance with quiet generosity. While we struggled with our restrictions and traditions and resistances and fear and frustration, this magnificent tree was growing fruit, lining the sidewalk with it, spilling it into the streets, sending it rolling down the hill with it's own joy of growing and giving. Here is food. There are oranges and lemons and persimmons spilling in the backyards here. If you are facing barren trees, snow and ice, remember in the cycle of seasons, nature is growing underground and will spill out in Spring regardless of Covid-19. This is the root of Thanksgiving and the root of holidays and Holy Days, the recognition that Life does provide, generously. We have more than enough of what is needed to move through this time into a new year and renewed life. (Susan Nettleton)

“And still, after all this time, the sun never says to the earth,

"You owe Me."

Look what happen with a love like that, it lights the Whole Sky.”

(14th century Persian poet) Hafez

December 2, 2020

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: To Care or Not to Care by Dr. Susan Nettleton

Time: Dec 13, 2020 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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November 25, 2020

As a final post on this Pandemic process of prayer, now the day before Thanksgiving, we can go one step further in our awareness of the Oneness of Life on our planet. Earth life is more than human beings. We are interdependent not just on each other, but the whole of nature as well. While the exact source of the original Covid-19 virus is still not known, research points to crossover DNA/RNA from the animal world, with it first spreading to yet another species, and then to humans. Whether that was a natural event, whether that somehow involved a human laboratory process, whether the ecological changes that have occurred through human population growth and encroachment on natural habitats or climate change has anything to do with it--these questions have not been answered, and may not be answerable. But the fact that they are raised is a powerful reminder that we share the planet with animal, insect, microbial and plant life, that is impacted by one another.

Our future has always been, and will continue to be, dependent on the ways in which we relate to other species and the forces of nature in one way or another. So as a final prayer in this process, we can affirm the totality of life as we understand it and recognize that it's vastness is far beyond the scale and scope of human knowledge. We ask and accept for new ideas and new understanding, new guidance and approaches to living in this complex, amazing abundance of Life's expression. We let our hearts acknowledge the beauty and wonder of Life and offer both respect and care for the magnificent living forms of this Earth. We add our trust of Life's ability to heal all that needs healing, as it changes, adapts, and continues to thrive, and as we, as human being, listen, learn, and act as agents of healing. Thank you God, for a new sense of meaning and depth and responsiveness to this unfolding Earth that arises from the Pandemic of 2020. And so it is. Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 24, 2020

This is day 7 of our process of looking at the Pandemic through the lens of prayer, beginning as individuals and moving through the layers of impact participation and impact. Today we turn our attention to the global aspect of the pandemic. While from the standpoint of our everyday tumultuous planet, this may feel futile, we can find that still point where we know life as a flow of consciousness; from a transcendent view, we are the world. So in stillness we pray for the whole, as we turn to our Source. In a world of 7.8 billion people, we can more easily grasp the world's struggle in this Pandemic, by first turning our prayer to world and national leaders, in all the fields activity that are impacted by the Pandemic and the interaction and exchange with one another across the globe. We don't have access to all the exchanges that have taken place, but we can choose to see through prayer the same guiding Light of Intelligence and Wisdom and Care that we have affirmed throughout our prayers.

We ask and accept new cooperation arising from almost a year now of experience with this Covid-19 Pandemic. We know that in the Oneness of Life there is infinite variation, and that is life's beauty and strength. Throughout this year, there have been many international exchanges, beyond the global commerce-- exchange of data, of equipment, of creative solutions and creative expression, of scientific and medical experience and understanding, of teams involved in discovering issues of antibodies, medications, immunization and so much more, and most certainly an exchange of prayers. We are grateful for the points of meeting and exchange. They offer new meaning to a new world and we let that bear fruit that moves life forward, moves healing forward. We ask and accept a deeper trust and truth of serving and supporting one another, across our planet. We ask and accept forgiveness of where we have all missed the mark. We affirm our capacity to learn and to adapt and to heal together. Thank you God for a new global resolve to heal. And so it is, Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 23, 2020

This daily focus on prayer is a way to expand our awareness of the complex impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic. It is a practice intended to stretch our consciousness of prayer at a crucial point as the steady, swift rise of new cases meets the Thanksgiving holiday in America for a weary population. It is an opportunity to try different aspects of prayer as part of your spiritual practice and reflect on the experience of adding your affirmation of the spiritual life to all those who are praying for healing during the Pandemic. You are never alone in prayer. Someone, somewhere is always at prayer with you, regardless of belief or concern. Prayers on a larger, more universal scale, are not the same as personalized prayer, until we find the "we" behind the nameless and the many. The words I have been offering are a kind of template; let your heart lead your words.

Today we turn toward those who are sick with Covid-19, those who still struggle with residual effects and unresolved symptoms from the illness, those who struggle with the emotional toll of treatment, and the families who grieve for those who have died. We can begin with the recognition that healing and repair are essential, natural responses of the body itself. The human body is equipped for healing. It has evolved to favor healing and repair. Death is a part of life, but here, today, we pray in support of life, in wondrous recognition of the body's healing capacity. We ask and we accept, all that is needed to allow the body to regulate, to adjust, to resist infection, and rebuild where needed. We claim new peace and new courage for those who are afraid. Peace and courage allow for rest, needed to repair. We loosen within ourselves, any doubt, sadness, blame or fear in the face of those who are now in the body's process of healing; We know love. Love lifts. Love affirms and supports the intelligent care of life. Love transcends the barriers of expectation, doubt, and separation; love is itself healing. God is Love. God is Health. We know that these for whom we pray are cared for, soothed, nourished, sustained, and made whole. We are grateful to be here, now, as witnesses in

November 22, 2020

Today I turn to prayer for those who are essential to the healing process of individuals, as well as our public health leaders and workers and the global scientific world now at work on a Covid-19 vaccine. I decided to recognize these human healers on Sunday to make a point. All healing is spiritual healing. There is no need to divide the world of prayer and spiritual vision from the world of medicine and science. While medical science requires a certain kind of objectivity that allows for precision and measurement and holds us to the rigorous methods of science, the only barrier to realizing this discipline as a spiritual practice is in our consciousness, our ideas of division and categorization. Understanding this seems especially important during the Pandemic. We need sound medical treatment and we need faith in a larger spiritual reality.

Because Covid-19 is so contagious and the consequences potentially so serious, hospitalized and quarantined patients are not allowed one essential aspect of healing--the direct support of family and friends. The more we view this division between medical healing and spiritual healing the greater the distance seems between prayer process--now from a distance--and medical treatment without visitors, without the touch of someone close. This is not only true for the patient, but for the staff as well, many of whom leave their own faith at home, because it is extremely difficult to hold a spiritual awareness and at the same time, hold to the demands of precision and objectivity when under the extreme stress of overflowing hospitals, shortages of equipment and supplies, protocols for contamination and contagion, and the heartbreak of human suffering. I am not just writing about doctors and nurses and clinical staff, but also those who measure and dispense medications, maintain equipment, clean rooms, manage the scheduling, deal with the paper work...

So today we hold a vision of hospitals and their workers and of all those in clinic situations and the first responders, EMT's, fire fighters, police who give their life energy to health emergencies. Today, we hold them in prayer, with great care and respect. We ask and we accept their renewed strength. We offer our faith when theirs is not accessible to them. We give them our affirmation of life's resilience that includes each of these workers and their families-- their personal lives, as well as their work, remembering that to be humane, we must human. We need rest, we need "down town." The way now opens. We affirm community compassion and understanding of the weight of their responsibility. We offer it now, from our hearts. We ask and accept that the Highest Wisdom, Intelligence and Truth now guides their knowledge and their decisions. Every day and every night. And we enfold them in gratitude and assurance that they are indeed essential, and accordingly, God pours forth all that brings healing through their hands. And so it is. Amen. (Susan Nettleton).

November 21, 2020

Today, I am turning our prayer process to the workers and business owners who have struggled and faced higher risks during the Pandemic. (Tomorrow we turn to the Medical and First Responders). At this point in the Pandemic, most people realize the crux of conflict between lowering contagion of Covid-19 through isolation, quarantine, lock-downs and social distancing (avoiding public places as much as possible), and the economic imperative to keep supply lines for everyone open, as well as to earn income that provides food, clothing, shelter, healthcare for families and revenue for public programs. Various models for maintaining some balance in this process have been tried, some more creative, some more successful than others. All have required the entire population to think in different ways and stretch beyond our convenience and self-protection.

With those experiences in mind, I encourage you today to turn your prayers toward businesses, workers, and public programs and facilities, all of which involve people. We turn once again, to the Source of life--as we understand the Spiritual-- to acknowledge the complexity of these issues. Yet at this spiritual level, we can affirm the universal nature of exchange of goods and services as a core process of life. We are grateful for this exchange, for those who have supplied us, given of their efforts, their talents, their time and energy, their courage as agents of the flow and sustenance of life--whatever the individual human motivation may be. We are willing to acknowledge that there may have been times when we have ourselves have taken this exchange for granted, especially during the times of great stress, with our own preoccupations and pressures during the Pandemic. In this acknowledgement, we reach a deeper level of gratitude and compassion; we can let go of any grudges we may be holding about the economic realities of the Pandemic. We ask and accept renewed courage and strength in those who are working to maintain businesses, to maintain institutions--from the car repairman, to city maintenance, to teachers of every kind, the grocery workers, restaurant workers, factory workers, delivery and warehouse workers, small businesses to large, public and private. We offer a new respect for their labor. We welcome a new peace that enfolds our workers and businesses within God's protecting, healing Grace. Out of the exchange of life on this level, we affirm a new and stable, inclusive prosperity. And so it is, Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 20, 2020

Although there are always exceptions, human beings have the need for belonging, for mutual support, for group security as well as individual safety, and for collective celebration. Shared value systems, shared place, make these needs easier to fulfill. Yet, the larger the group, the more room there can be for diversity, including values and personal choice, as long as members of the community retain the understanding that individual well-being depends on the basic agreement of protection and stability of the group.

Human history, though, is replete with the story of division. Spiritual faith and religious beliefs and practices can be the glue of community, but they are frequently the source of division. Even within shared basic beliefs, religious and spiritual groups split and fragment into opposing factions. Human beings unite and divide. The sobering reality is that our individual well-being does indeed depend on a diverse and often conflicting world. It is in recognition of that, that I approach prayer today as prayer for our community.

Prayer on a community level is not as personal as for ourselves and our family and friends, but realistically, by definition, our community includes us as well as those closest to us. So in prayer we recognize the community, our community, as an aggregate of individuals, of friendships, of families, of those we know and don't know, of those who are like-minded and those that do not see things as we see. Yet we are all participants at the level that we define as our community. We admit that we do not know and cannot know what is best for each. We may have our stories, but we let them go right now, in an acceptance of a unity that transcends our separation. We ask and we accept that which is highest and best for our community as we move through the Pandemic. We accept Divine Intelligence, Truth, Wisdom and Healing as the movement of Life at work throughout, within and without, this community. We ask and we accept harmonious interactions and exchanges that bring health and well -being to all. In the spirit of forgiveness, of mutual dependency, a new kind of vibrancy and friendliness now eases the wounds of the past and the stresses of the present. And in a communal spirit, we are open to and abundantly receive creative possibilities of renewed life. And so it is, Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 19, 2020

Last night I received a text from a relative in Texas that shared recent health problems and openly expressed disappointment and longing. She and her husband had been planning a Thanksgiving trip to Washington state where her son and his wife live with their young children. There was also a return trip over Christmas with other family members that had been shaping up. But when everyone read yesterday morning's Covid-19 warnings, they all realized that none of this could happen. She was left with her disappointment and an acute feeling of missing everyone in her family. This was followed by a clear recognition of how important family is to her personally, "I am tethered to my family". With this realization, she decided to plan a "Zoom family reunion" project and I am sure is already researching creative activities for their online Christmas. This story is being lived by countless families and friends throughout America this week as we grapple with the new intensity of the Pandemic and the grave threat that it has brought to holiday traditions.

My intent is to encourage you in prayer this week, opening the spiritual possibilities for healing in the different strata of people and roles impacted by the Pandemic. This includes our capacity for compassion and our awareness of shared struggles. Today, I encourage you to pray for those in your circle of family and friends. This is far more than well-wishing, more than sending "positive" thoughts their way. It is a letting go of your struggles to make things better and a "turning over" of each one, to the Wisdom and Intelligence of That which is in them, of That which has always sustained their lives, no matter how we may have fretted or judged events. So we can ask and accept the Highest and Best for them during this Pandemic, from a God of understanding and gentleness, of healing and protection, a God that brings nourishment to the deepest longings and needs within each. We know that they are sustained and guided. We know what is needed materially as well as physically, emotionally and spiritually, flows from the well-spring of life's abundant resources in traditional ways and in ways we could never predict. And like each of us, their lives expand in a new resilience and strength through this wave of Pandemic and its passing. With deep gratitude, it is done. And so it is, Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 18, 2020

Covid-19 cases across the country, as I last wrote, we are asked to return to more vigilance and more restrictions to protect ourselves, others and specifically, urgently, our medical care system--both hospitals and staff. From a public health perspective, we now know what to do. From a spiritual perspective, we can add a renewed sense of prayer. There has been a great deal of concern and advisories surrounding the upcoming holiday and the traditional Thanksgiving gatherings. It seems a fitting time for daily prayer, focused on the various layers and circles of activity that the Pandemic has impacted, that has the potential to open our inner doors to a genuine and profound gratitude this year. We begin with prayer for ourselves as individuals and expand outwardly each day.

My own prayer life tends toward the non-specific and wordless turning to the Nameless Source of my life and all life, to ask and accept an inner outpouring of what truly can nourish my life and circumstances. But there are times when words are needed to guide our feeling states, and the Nameless Source needs to be named. What you name That is not as important as your sense of connection; the name arises from within, perhaps our history and religious learning, perhaps from some spontaneous well-spring within us. Today, I name That as simply God. So each of us as individuals can turn to God and ask, affirm and accept, this outpouring of guidance, support, health, strength, companionship and peace as our way through this time of Covid-19. We let that outpouring within us be sustaining, knowing it is there, even when we do not feel it, like an underground spring that continues to soften and offer oozing wet soil to thirsty roots. We can accept a turning point, where today we are clear, that our lives underneath thrive and strengthen toward new freedom and activity as this time of Pandemic begins to pass. We accept the expansion of that clarity about our course, our health, and direction manifesting in the right time and right way. Today we are Shielded, Protected. Today we know Wisdom and Well-being. To day we are Nourished and Supported. Today we know Peace. And we are grateful. And so it is. Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

November 15, 2020

With all the warnings about the Pandemic and the winter months, the point is not fear; the point is renewing the spirit of a shared burden of finding creative ways around traditional gatherings, keeping careful of distances and exploring open air spaces with new possibilities and protective masks. We really don't know what the winter ahead will be; nature still holds her surprises. But it makes sense to cultivate hardiness, not hardness. And stay open, stay open to life's promptings and the wisdom within. With that in mind, this morning I offer another poem from Denise Levertov. (Susan Nettleton)

Follow the link below to the poem:

https://sacompassion.net/poem-the-fountain-by-denise.../

November 14, 2020

Today I am offering the thought that sometimes we go forward by going back. It is not a message that most people want to hear, especially those who are filled with the fire of life and whose hearts are bursting for the freedom to explore, discover and create the new. It's human nature to long for something "different" than what is in front of us. Right now though,

our collective well-being demands it. Covid-19 is not just "surging", it is on the cusp of volcanic eruption, nation-wide. Time to stop and take stock.

Most of the public health reading I have done this tumultuous week offers two encouraging points to counter the frenzy of frightening data: A vaccine holds hope for curtailing the virus next year and there is a window of time, right now, brief--depending on location, but nonetheless real--where we can put the brakes on the runaway train of contagion. This means we stop. We return to what we know slows the virus down. We go back. As we stop, we can honestly consider and apply what we have learned so far to protect people and to protect their livelihood. Everyone is tired of it, but in the entire history of humanity, a year of hardship is far from rare.

We were discussing this over the last few days here in California, and someone commented on the difference between the early spring lockdown and now. People earlier had sense of mission, of making a contribution to the good of the whole, of doing their part in a unified front; public health measures needed us, the individual and the group, to protect everyone and keep the hospitals and emergency medical teams from being overloaded. And the impact was real. But the divisions, conflicts and undermining elements, the economic toll, and time itself, wore that away. Today, I am encouraging you to take the path of return.

What is true in terms of our social/health behavior is also true on a spiritual level. Start with an exhale of resistance and resentment, of disappointment and blame, of discouragement and doubt. Inhale forgiveness, fresh air, fresh water for hungry, thirsty hearts-- yours, your neighbors, the world. Breathe prayer. Breathe peace. Breathe healing. Begin again.

November 12, 2020

Like many of you, I have been processing the last few days with the election conflicts and the fearsome escalation of the Pandemic across the globe and acutely in America. Co-mingled in the news is the promise of a new vaccine, although it is still months away and far from an immediate "fix" for the vast global population. All our wherewithal in health practice remains essential. Still this is good news; a concrete reminder that times do change. A friend of mine recently wrote to me about feeling unsettled with the sense of a brewing storm in the air. After months of uncertainty and the overall sense of a country (and world) that has been traumatized by disruption of normal socializing, economic instability, political conflict throughout a deadly Pandemic, we of course naturally feel on guard, waiting for disaster. But that anticipation and dread of the future is not helpful in building the stability that we can stand on as we move forward. This is a time to collect our emotions and our thoughts and infuse them with our spiritual ground. Peace, assurance--even gratitude for the positives aspects of life right now in front of us that lift us and sustain us--all are contagious attitudes, just as fear and anxiety are contagious. With that in mind, today I offer a blessing in times of inner chaos by contemporary spiritual writer and artist, Jan Richardson. It's a calming meditation. (Susan Nettleton)

Follow the link: https://wordsfortheyear.com/.../blessing-in-the-chaos-by.../

November 8, 2020

Today's post is from Jack Correu's most recent article from The Hillside Source web site and his blog "Musings from the Little Shack of Insight." This serves as a reminder, as the days shorten and nights lengthen, as the country takes a hopeful new turn--expecting some time of conflict--until through time, we learn to meet in the spirit of reconciliation, as the Pandemic continues to spiral and we renew our commitment to public health and safety, we have the choice to participate in a collective spiritual healing. We can choose to "feed the light.''

Follow the link to Jack's post: https://hillsidesource.com/.../little-shack-feeds-the-lig

November 4, 2020

While we wait for the clarity of America's election, the world waits with us. One thing is clear, at least in regard to politics, we remain divided. It is important to realize, with an open mind, that human politics is not the center of all life, even though it may be at the center of thought right now. This is a day (and in the week ahead) to continue in spiritual practice and embrace a larger field, a perspective which finds meeting points, rather than division. Below are links to articles by Dr. Larry Morris on Peace that point you to that larger realm. (Susan Nettleton)

https://hillsidesource.com/.../3/29/peace-with-our-world

https://hillsidesource.com/.../2018/3/29/centered-in-peace

For any memorial comments on Larry on this 5th anniversary of his death, go to:

drlarrymorris.forevermissed.com

The Hillside Source is an online resource project of Hillside Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.