Month: March 2015

March’s Questions For You To Ponder

As I sat here this morning and attempted to think of a topic to write on for the final day of March, I realized I hadn’t done a posting yet of my spiritual questions for you to ponder this month. So here goes nothing and better late than never I say. And hopefully each of you will take the time to answer them just like I did at the bottom of today’s entry.

  1. What has been your greatest test of patience in life so far?
  2. Where do you hope your life is five years from now?
  3. If you could teleport to just one place whenever you wanted, where would it be to?
  4. What is the strangest spiritual experience you’ve ever had so far in life?
  5. What do you usually do to comfort yourself when you’re hurting really bad inside?
  6. Name one form of holistic healing you’ve tried in life that worked great for you?
  7. If you were to write a story about your life, what would be its title and theme?
  8. Name one unhealthy habit you’d most like to change about yourself right now?
  9. Describe yourself in just three words?
  10. What memory in life brings you the most joy anytime you think about it?

And as always, one more question for good measure…

  1. What do you most like to do on your birthday?

Here are my answers:

  1. Going through the healing process I’ve been going through the past five years.
  2. Feeling truly happy from within on a regular basis no matter what I’m doing.
  3. A secluded beach in the Caribbean with fine white sand, crystal-clear water and a coral reef nearby to snorkel in.
  4. When meditating once long ago, I somehow left my body and was staring down at myself from the ceiling.
  5. Talk to my Higher Power.
  6. EFT Tapping Therapy.
  7. “I Am Kicking Hard Enough Mom!” – A story about how I learned to love myself unconditionally.
  8. Beating myself up when I think I’m not living up to my spiritual potential.
  9. Introspective, Compassionate, Motivational.
  10. Thoughts of my annual family vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina when I was a kid.
  11. Dining out with someone close to my heart and finishing it with a piece of flourless chocolate cake.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Is The Unconditional Love Of Christ Present In Indiana’s New Legislation?

I’m truly saddened as I sit here and begin to write today’s entry. Why? Solely because legislation was passed in the state of Indiana several days days ago that could possibly make room for new forms of discrimination, all under the guise of religious freedom. But the question I really find myself asking after reading up on this new legislation is the same as the title of today’s entry. Is the unconditional love of Christ present in Indiana’s new legislation?

Before I get into discussing that though, I wanted to provide a few more details about this extremely controversial religious freedom bill. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), as it’s called, gives the right to Indiana businesses and their owners with strong religious beliefs, the ability to deny their benefits and services to others if it comes into conflict with those beliefs. The case that was used to push this legislation forward dealt with a private business and the University of Notre Dame who each had to file separate lawsuits challenging provisions that required them to offer insurance coverage that violated their religious views. Although this new legislation does not mention sexual orientation, its opponent’s fear it will now allow for business owners to deny services to gays and lesbians, using their religious views. Many have felt the RFRA was a direct response from conservative group’s failure to preserve a same-sex marriage ban in the state’s constitution last year, mostly because at the time of it’s private signing into law, the heads of several of those groups were present. Regardless, I’m not specifically writing this blog entry to debate any of these concerns. I’m actually writing it to talk about whether the unconditional love of Christ was or is present within its words.

After all, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to argue the fact that Christ is probably the most notorious figure throughout history to represent unconditional love. Yet, I read the predominant people that supported the RFRA also claimed that Christ is their savior. So with that being said, I don’t understand how can they claim that, and then back a bill that can be used to deny rights to any person? Is that truly showing unconditional love, by denying another human being some basic rights? Unfortunately, what could happen now with the RFRA being in effect in Indiana could be as simple as a gay or lesbian walking into something such as a coffee shop and being denied service just because the owner feels homosexuality is a sin.

I know I’ve said this before in previous writings, but I feel I must say it again. I’m convinced that God wants us to embrace each other unconditionally no matter what our race, color, creed, sex, gender, sexual preference or orientation, disability, or national origin is. And I truly believe that Christ would feel and do the same if alive today. But there seems to be a strong movement on this planet as of late, especially in the United States, to divide rather than come together, to discriminate, rather than find total equality. To me that’s not practicing the love of Christ at all. I can’t believe that Christ would ever deny rights to anyone, including gays and lesbians, because the Christ I learned about welcomed everyone at his table.

So if that’s the case, what’s it going to take for everyone to finally grasp this? What’s it going to take to convince each and every person on this planet that Christ and God is about unconditional love and nothing more? The only truth I know is that if we continue to sign into law any legislation or bills that can ultimately lead to removing any of that amongst us, then maybe the unconditional love of Christ wasn’t and still isn’t present within it…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

“Cinderella”, A Movie About Being Kind And Having Courage

I think just about everyone has probably seen the original Disney 1950 cartoon movie “Cinderella” or at least know the story of it by now. After all, it’s been portrayed and reimagined so many times through various incarnations over the years, both in film and on television, including some of my personal favorites such as Ella Enchanted and Ever After, that you’d be hard-pressed not to know it nowadays. So I honestly didn’t think it possible to come up with another heartfelt and moving vision of the famed girl named Ella, but team Disney seems to have gone and done it again in creating the 2015 movie titled “Cinderella”, which truly inspired me to be kind and have courage.

This creative re-telling of Ella’s (Lily James) fabled story begins by showing us a little more about the childhood she had growing up. We get introduced to her very caring parents who constantly surrounded her with incredible amounts of unconditional love, which helps us to understand why Ella becomes the person she does.

I believe there are certain moments in each of our lives that very directly shape our futures, and Ella has one of those when her mother (Hayley Atwell) lay dying but still makes sure to remind her to always be kind and have courage in life, which indeed is what Ella strives for from then on. Even when her lonely father (Ben Chaplin) eventually asks for her permission to bring a widowed mother (Cate Blanchett) and her two daughters, Drisella and Anastasia, (Sophie McShera and Holiday Grainger) into their home, Ella remembers her mother’s words and chooses to honor them.

She first decides to give up her bedroom for Drisella and Anastasia when they arrive, and even graciously accepts and embraces her new stepmother’s request for Ella to live in the old and drafty attic while all the bedrooms supposedly get a slight overhaul. Sadly, it’s not too long after this that her father dies during one of his many trips away and it’s then that she begins to see the true wickedness and selfishness her stepmother and her two daughters bring.

During one of their particularly cruel treatments of her, Ella’s heart just can’t take it anymore so she rides off in tears on one of the horses deep into the woods. It’s there she unknowingly meets the Prince (Richard Madden) who’s on a hunting excursion, as he disguises himself under the name Kitt and says he’s only an apprentice. A brief playful and romantic moment is shared between the two and rest of the story is then played out quite similar to the original.

What I was charmed most about in this modern retelling of Cinderella was how she truly did embrace each and every one of life’s situations no matter how difficult they were, with that same kindness and courage. It really was a great reminder for me in life given the health issues I’ve been facing for a while now. Sometimes my ego drives me during my many moments of pain to not be kind and to run away in fear, but I realize Ella’s approach is the one I know my Higher Power would want me to have. Hence the reason why I felt this new movie was exactly what I needed to see the other day in the theater, because it brought about a much-needed inspiration.

So if you’re looking for something that will remind you about the importance of always being kind and having courage in life, no matter what you’re circumstances, I encourage you to see the 2015 remake of Cinderella, because in the end, I’m sure you’ll leave the theater as I did, uplifted and filled with a greater amount of those very things.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson