When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found. Sufi Proverb

Dear ones.....I have had my share of grieving.....losing 2 siblings, both my parents, most uncles and aunts, and at least 6 really close friends. Grieving has truly become a spiritual practice!!

But listen up (don't pity me.....................like you would need too....)

There is something about grieving the loss of someone I love....something delicious......

It makes me feel so alive, so real, so naked, so raw.
I cannot hide, I cannot pretend, there is just no room for that.

So, all of a sudden life seems to become more real.
Suddenly, every moment becomes precious. Suddenly, I take nothing for granted. I check in with myself to be without regret, without forgetting to tell my loved ones I love them and without realizing how loved I am. Somehow, it is time to connect more deeply with my loved ones and to take MY OWN "inventory" rather then someone else's (which somehow always seems more easy to do. (DARN IT!) It truly is a time to forgive......to love..... to really see life for what it is!

So, my friend and colleague Jeffrey very suddenly and unexpectedly made his transition on Wednesday December 3rd, 2008.

This was my e-mail message to the e-field of my colleagues ( there were close to 100 beautiful heart filling e-mails being shared about how they felt for days............)



Our love unites us even more deeply because Jeffrey lived!


Thank you, beloved spiritual family, for your beautiful words. I am flip flopping between my heart (breaking) and my soul (laughing).........my heart aches...and then there are the words of Rumi who called the night of his passing 'Shebi-Arus', his wedding night, the occasion when he was finally united with his Beloved, God, in eternal life.

Jeffrey loved that.

Rumi said that night:
"Why should I be unhappy?
Each parcel of my being is in full bloom".

I can see Jeffrey's head tip slightly to the side and his sweet smile (ahhhhh) appear on his lips.
This picture (on top of this blog) was taken 6 weeks ago at our first ICSL Board meeting. It sucks, that it was our last.

Give Thanks!


Gratitude is a verb.
Gratitude is a spiritual practice.
Gratitude is discovering that we are already FULL!
Full of love, full of Spirit, full of abundance.
See, ..........when we are ungrateful, whether we are conscious of it or not, we are simply saying SPIRIT IS NOT!
It immediately slips us into lack, for as within so without.

So, this Holiday Season, simply practice being grateful!
When you slip, love yourself 'out of it'.
Turn to Spirit, remember Love is all there is and allow yourself to open wide to that which already is.
That which already is available for you, always.

When we are aligned with Spirit, there is so, so much to be grateful for.
And it is so much fun! So much fun to give thanks for EVERYTHING!
EVERYTHING!!

Have a blessed holiday season!

Something Deep & Beautiful.......

Something deep and beautiful is happening in the world of International Centers of Spiritual Living (formerly known as Religious Science International) and I feel honored to be a witness in an up close way. I recently was elected to its Board of Directors. What an auspicious time, what a historic event..............two organizations that teach Oneness came together and made a commitment to work together to be a greater force for good in the world. We welcome people from all walks of life, who seek a deeper experience of life, into a teaching that supports transformation through powerful spiritual tools. This allows for a world that works for everyone and makes it a better world to live it. We CAN BE a force for good: individually and collectively!

Strong solid ground is what we stand on as we move forward into a greater idea. Its time has come.
It is such an honor to serve on the Board of Directors with 12 other beloved souls who are deeply committed to a greater idea.
Look at those glorious feet in the picture! :-)
I am so moved by their generosity and their integrity and THIS is only the beginning.
Know you are part of something GREAT!

Whether you are reading this for the first time as someone new to this teaching and organization or if you are someone that has been 'around' for a long time, you are part of something really great, and really sacred....be open to the huge shift in consciousness that is taking place in the world!
When you watch the news, you know that the entire world is being shaken to its core.....when the pendulum swings way up, it has to come back. We have gone far in many ways and it is time to really look, really listen and become very clear about what matters most. I can promise you it is not our possesions, it is not money, it is more intangible and THAT is the invitation.
We get to dive deep and explore what's most important to us.

Listen, have faith and serve the deep.

Called to Something Greater.......

Have you ever been asked to do something or be a part of something and your first reaction is something like "No Way, I can't do that"!? And then there was another voice that says:"I must do that"!? It's that experience of the human self coming from the lesser and the soul coming from the greater, all at the same time. It's the kind of experience where you MUST follow your soul's call.
I think there comes a time for all of us when the soul's call is louder, greater, more real and unavoidable!
Well, that's what happened to me this year when I was asked if I was willing to be on the Religious Science International's Board of Directors?

I truly knew that after 20 years as a minister of the now International Centers of Spiritual Living (formerly Religious Science International) my time had come to serve at that deeper level. I have held the vision in my heart all this time, for our organization as a vibrant, powerful, healthy spiritual teaching organization. There were two organizations teaching the Science of Mind, since there was a split in 1954 (even before I was born) and 54 years later we are not only coming together -alos my vision for 20 years-and integrating, but I get to be a significant part of it through leadership. These are exciting and historic times!! And now I have come to be chosen as a member of the Board of Directors by the organization. I know that being chosen was truly first an inner call and then the outer followed.”

Being part of the leadership at this level is a great honor and I am committed to sharing my talents and gifts to the best of my ability. I am also excited about learning and growing, for I know when we step into a new and higher place of being we cannot help but be transformed.

Asilomar 2008

Our organization, Religious Science International, JUST experienced a historic moment!
About 900 Science of Mind lovers get together every year at Asilomar for a week conference. It is at one of the most beautiful spots in the USA on the Monterey Bay Peninsula at Pacific Grove in Northern California. This year, just this July, was our last one in this way at this time. Now we start moving around the country, and next year we will all meet in San Diego.
The historic moment was two-fold. A decision was made for us to change our name, so that we may be more attractive to the masses. We are now called International Centers for Spiritual Living!! How exciting. Personally, for me it has always been about the teaching, not the name AND I understand that that is not so for everyone. Many times people say they are turned off by the name 'church' and 'Religious' & 'Science' in our name. So, our new name -more neutral- is a way to invite people who are looking for the more spiritual, transformative experience, life, spiritual community we offer. THAT IS EXCITING!!
The second part of our historic shift was that we decided to merge with our sister organization.....of that you shall read more in a future blog.

The week was deeply inspiring, transformative and FUN! Imagine being with hundreds and hundreds of people who think like you! No need to explain, defend, and feel weird about what you believe about Life, God, oneself......HOW FREEING!
And then being steeped like a tea bag in all that juicy stuff of lectures, workshops, group support, play, dance, sing and so on. And that for 6 days! AND in an area so beautiful that you simply cannot leave as the person you are when you arrive.

Being in a different environment does that.....even for a day, even in your own neighborhood....
Take time this summer, and the little that is left of it, to do something different, something new, something out of the ordinary and take it all in like the deepest breath. And let THAT transform you. Just be attentive to the shift and take it with you in your heart. Don't let your daily life snap you back to your old self, stay with the new even if it may be hardly noticeable and let it BREATHE YOU!!!
Blessed love!!!
P.S. the picture is taken in Davenport (just north of Monterey)

Summer time....and the living is easy......

Fish are jumping....and the cotton is high......
SUMMER IS HERE! It's hot, it's steamy, there are intense storms and powerful downpours.... I LOVE IT ALL!
I am never one to complain about the weather, what use is that! I used to though, until I set an intention to flow with life and to TRUST LIFE!
Now I celebrate life....summer and everything about summer!
JOIN ME?
I am off to Omega, my annual pilgrimage to be with a wonderful teacher.
To meditate, to be with like-minded souls, to be, to surrender........
To be without tv, without a computer, without a phone....AHHHHHH, HEAVEN!
For me? Yes! For many people: AGONY!
We are so used to have all those gadgets at our fingertips that we feel lost without them.
Could it be just another way to be distracted from our real-est self? From what matters most?
Let's practice something.......if you are reading this, be willing.......and set an intention to be gadget free and do a media fast.
Start small, yet stretch!
Start with a few hours, half a day, a day, a week......set an intention.
Be with YOU! Be with nature! Listen.
And see......and feel......
Share with me what that is like for you....I would love to hear about the gifts you have received!
Dive deeper into the awe of you!
Blessed Love, rev. frankie
blissms@earthlink.net

A New Earth.......

When I heard that Oprah & Eckhart Tolle were doing The New Earth book on webcam with Skype, the thing that awed me the most was that 11 million people from all over the world are participating. THAT excites me, what a GREAT idea.....I got so excited about the possibility that I visioned with Ted, our wonderful new web wizard. We expanded in consciousness on what is possible for our Religious Science Morristown website and he came up with things I have never even heard of. The beautiful part of Oprah & Eckhart Tolle's program is how people's hearts and minds are being opened in ways that are transforming the way people look at spirituality. People are literally being freed from religious dogma and past conditioning that no longer serves them. Then there are those who are deeply committed to their religion and are diving deeper into it, so it is becoming practice instead of just theory. Then there are those people who are newly exposed to New Thought and hear the message in a way that they may not hear at a Science of Mind center, and our teaching begins to make sense in a new way.
Something big is happening regarding our kind of teaching, it IS become the household word that I saw it become in my vision many years ago,
It is no longer weird to talk about spiritual matters, about the Law of Cause and Effect, about taking full responsibility for our lives and about having the freedom to create an awesome life for ourselves and others. JIPPPPEEEE.
THE WORLD IS WAKING UP TO WHAT WE HAVE KNOW FOR OH, SO LONG!
CAN YOU FEEL IT??
Use that lovely energy while it is hot......tssssssss.
Joyful blessings, rev. frankie