As I reflected on the holidays and holy days season, I realized that I live Christmas every single day of my life. I receive so much from life, from friends, from strangers, from neighbors, from calls, from emails, from texts, from eyes, from smiles, from prayers, from thoughts, from known and unknown blessings. It is literal. Every day is Christmas for me. This realization also liberated me from some of my previous traditional expressions around gifting, eating and gathering and squeezing more in than could fit with any sanity. In momma’s words, “Martha, you’re trying to put 10 pounds of sugar in a 5 pound bag.” Again and again, until I don’t. I can actually learn — Glory be! |
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As we enter the NEW YEAR and infinite opportunities to create, re-create, and truly live recreation, let’s rededicate our lives and living to keeping the Christmas spirit alive past the Christmas season. Here are 31 more days and potential ways to practice living as our Highest Self. What would you be and do with a Christmas spirit every day? I would love to hear from you about how you’re applying this and what you notice. |
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I don’t know the source of this list or I would link it. I’ve adapted it to make it meaningful and clear for my practice. Thank you to whoever inspired this as it uplifts me and many. Amen. |
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1. Be thankful for the difficult times. They have shown you how strong you can be.
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
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2. Extend Kindness as a quality of the strong.
“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weaknesses and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”
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“I begin again. In every moment, begin again."
— Martha Creek
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3. Accept there’s no such thing as absolute truth.
“Do not say, ‘I have found the truth,’ but rather, “I have found a truth.” “I AM IGNORANT of absolute truth, and I am humble before my ignorance and therein lies my honor and my reward.”
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4. Stop belittling. It’s the small people who try to belittle and humiliate others.
“To belittle, you have to be little.”
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5. Do no harm/less harm. The harm others do to you is easier to forget than the harm you do to others.
“If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure them you will always remember.”
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6. Praise those who support you. You might forget those who made you laugh, but you will never forget those who were by your side in your darkest hours.
“You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept.” “Hearts united in pain and sorrow will not be separated by joy and happiness. Bonds that are woven in sadness are stronger than the ties of joy and pleasure. Love that is washed by tears will remain eternally pure and faithful.”
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7. Thank your friends/friendships. It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.
“In the sweetness of friendship; let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”
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8. Live as the heart of God. Love is life. And life is love.
“When you love, you do not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God. I am the heart of God.”
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9. Put love into your work.
“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half humanities’ hunger.”
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"What is needed, now, is a new view, to reassess and reform the concept of God. It is the experience of going beyond the norm to achieve insight as to how life events are connected on a “higher” level.
We now have an idea of how the process happens in the brain and, importantly, how to develop this innate potential in today’s world. This knowledge could be the first small step toward finding the common ground for us to stand on to work toward a new spiritual literacy."
— Robert Ornstein, God 4.0: On the Nature of Higher Consciousness and the Experience Called “God”
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10. To understand the heart and mind of a person, look at what they aspire to be.
“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not only at what they have already achieved, but at what they aspire to.”
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11. Mind your own becoming.
“Peace possesses not, nor would it be possessed.”
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12. Seek to put up with bad manners pleasantly.
“The real test of good manners is to be able to put up with bad manners pleasantly.” This does not mean — to be a doormat for chronic disrespectful behaviors.”
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13. Appreciate glittery/shiny things.
“Even the stars are watching us. Fairy dust the world.”
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14. Look on the bright side of life.
“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.”
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15. Be aware of self. We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.
“The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.”
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16. Extend spiritual affinity.
“Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations.”
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“I think you could use some self-healing.
You’ve been through a lot; pandemics have sharp edges.
It’s time to catch your breath and remember who you are.
It’s time to stand up to the dark shadows blowing through your thoughts
and shake things up by adding some natural light. Your own.”
— Jodi Livon
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17. Let there be space in your relationship.
“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.”
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18. If you pray when it rains, make sure you also pray when the sun shines.
“You pray in your distress and in your need; be sure that you pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”
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19. Give of yourself, that’s when you truly give.
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
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20. Express the real beauty from within.
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” Give kind words, smiles, patience, forgiveness, and understanding.”
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21. Realize your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. Kahlil Gibran adapted.
“They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. Though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.”
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22. Free every relationship from emotional bondage.
“No human relation gives one possession in another — every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side-by-side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.”
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23. Be thankful — at least, INCLUDE — both the good and the bad in your life. It’s all meant to teach you something.
“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” “When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”
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24. Direct your attitude towards life, as it will determine life’s attitude towards you.
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”
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25. Relinquish anger anytime you can.
“Anger at another is like drinking poison yourself.”
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26. Write notes of appreciation for the people that have made a big difference in your life. |
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27. Read your favorite passage from any book or tradition aloud and sit in silence for 5 minutes with it. |
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28. Follow your intuition for inner guidance and notice the feelings about it.
“Our intuition is the voice of our soul and the calm voice of reason and can help us navigate beautifully through life.”
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29. Surrender EVERYTHING you cannot change. |
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30. Change everything you can. |
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31. Celebrate knowing the difference. |
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My biggest wholehearted love and hug for you all and your BECOMING. I wish you enough!
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Martha, getting “newer and newer”. |
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Martha Creek
502-905-0783
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P.S.
Join me on one of the Cruises in 2023! The prices are going down and there are some roommates available if you prefer to share. Let me know. And Click here for more information.
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My January 2023 Special Gift for You! |
And here is my special gift to you this month.
Click on the box to open your gift.
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Also Coming in 2023!
Science of Mind — a 365-day Immersion
Beginning January 1, 2023, and every day in 2023, I will offer daily insights, reflections, and applications of this teaching. The book was the basis of my first ministerial training 25 years ago and still serves my practice today. Based on the book, “Science of Mind — the Definitive Edition; A Philosophy, A Faith, A Way of Life."
Click on the image below for the complete Playlist of available videos (and please like and subscribe if you enjoy the videos). A new video will be added every day and you can watch and rewatch them anytime!
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Join me at the ANTN retreat conference on Oct 2– 6 in 2023 at the gorgeous Unity Village near Kansas City. www.antn.org/event-4960280. It’s a tremendous week of renewal, learning, and joyful connection.
http://www.danielnahmod.com is our musician. https://jeffonseely.com is a keynote speaker. It includes the largest labyrinth in the US, hand-carved/hand-laid stones, exceptional retreat, and conference keynotes, and the dearest community gathering of New Thought friends in all the land.
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Read what someone wrote about the book:
Martha's words are wise, honest, real and come from her heart. Each "pearl" opens my heart and mind to possibilities, to a lesson for me told in her own loving, and very often humorous way. They bring laughter and tears, and a deep gratitude for the wisdom that she shares from her own experiences. Martha's precious personal stories bring her experiences right off the page into my world, allowing me to remember stories of my own. Every page gifts me with an idea, a truth or a lesson that I know will bring me closer to the truth of who I am.... and for this I am eternally grateful.
Bunches of love, Mary
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"Be open to a new way of living.”
— Martha Creek
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Please consider a donation to continue the teachings of Martha Creek. Many of the classes and workshops are offered by donations only, with suggested donations amounts included in the class or workshop description. We welcome your support. |
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You do not need a Paypal account to make a donation. You can use your debit or credit via PayPal if you don't have a Paypal account. If you choose to send a check, please send it payable to Martha Creek and send it to PO Box 1081, Louisville KY 40201.
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