"By Faith, Not Fear"
Articles on prosperous living by Cathy Anderson

This is an on-going series of stories, thoughts and questions about living life guided by faith, not fear. I hope this column helps to remind all of us that living by faith, not fear, is a conscious decision we must each make each and every day. Faith is a conscious decision that requires discipline and commitment. With unity, love, and blessings... Cathy

"No Mistakes" - September, 2002

Recently I’ve been reading a sweet, rich, little book entitled If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules by Cherie Carter-Scott. I’d like to share some thoughts from this book with you, as the book, at its heart, is all about living in faith, not fear.

Rule #3: There are no mistakes, only lessons

Now, there’s a familiar topic — Nothing happens to us by “chance” — We are all students in the school of life. In her book, Cherie says, “Human growth is a process of experimentation, trial, and error, ultimately leading to wisdom.”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s hard to keep that perspective on life events. At my core, I want to believe that each lesson is leading me one step closer to wisdom, but sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’m doing more than going around in an endless circle.

The fact is there is no way to know the outcome of any action or decision. Sometimes our actions produce grand results. Other times the results are far less that fabulous.

The question is – what do we do with the seeming defeats? I don’t know about you, but I often feel great disappointment, anger, frustration, and failure when my well-intentioned decisions to take action don’t pan out the way I expected or preferred.

It’s easy to jump to this depressing conclusion. However, jumping to this negative conclusion only impedes our ability to progress with our life lessons.

Bottom line is: There Are No Mistakes, There Are Only Opportunities To Learn. As Emerson said, “Every calamity is a spur and a valuable hint.” The fact is, every situation in which we feel we have not lived up to our own expectations is an opportunity to learn something important about our own thoughts and behaviors.

That’s all fine and good, but how do we make the shift from negative judgment to receptive student. How do we move into a state of grace as we muddle through the school of life?

The first step is compassion. When we feel we've made a mistake, or behaved in some way we are not proud of, or failed to live up to our own expectations, we tend to judge ourselves as wrong. Instead, we need to express compassion, for ourselves, so that we can open up to the lessons that are waiting rather than closing down in self-contempt.

The second step is self-forgiveness. We must be compassionate toward ourselves and recognize that we did the best we could with the resources we had at the time and then release the situation in order to let the good flow in. It’s easy to blame others, to rail at God, or to berate ourselves when things aren’t going the way we want. We’ve all been there, done that, and by now we have to know that it is a giant waste of time and effort.

When we’re focused on judgment – blaming others, blaming ourselves, blaming God – there is a lot of noise. When we shower ourselves with compassion and self-forgiveness there is stillness, a quiet, which allows wisdom to enter.

One of the pearls of wisdom that comes to me each time I do this is – You are a student in the school of life, precious child, and in you I am well pleased.

Namaste, Cathy Anderson

"Listen to your Heart"- June, 2002

“There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth.”

“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.”
from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read this delightful book, I encourage you to rush out and pick up a copy. It’s a remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfill one’s destiny. If you have had the opportunity to read this book, then I encourage you to reconsider some of its lessons.

In The Alchemist, the author speaks of a person’s mission as their Personal Legend. What is a Personal Legend? Your Personal Legend is what you have always wanted to accomplish.

When we’re young, we know exactly what our Personal Legend is because at that point in our lives everything is clear and everything is possible. Or as Chad might say, it’s because we are so fresh from God. When we’re young we’re not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything we'd like to see happen in our lives. However, as time goes on we become afraid to dream and to yearn. We put off our dreams for another day.

As Chad so often teaches us, it is important to live our lives as if a child. One of the many reasons is that as a child we are open to believing in all things; especially ourselves, and even more important, our mission or Personal Legend. This brings to mind the 4T teaching of: "Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind." If you truly want something, it is yours to have, as that thought, that desire, was put there by Mother-Father God.

So, if we come to earth from God with our Personal Legend embedded in us, what keeps us from realizing it? I believe there is only one answer: Fear. Fear keeps us from realizing our purpose, our mission, here in this life journey.

Our Personal Legend lives in our heart. It is important to listen to the spirit song that lives in our heart, as it will always lead us to our purpose. Here's an excerpt from the book about the importance of listening to your heart:

    “Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked.
    “Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”
    “My heart is a traitor,” the boy said to the alchemist. “It doesn’t want me to go on.”
    “That makes sense,” the alchemist answered. “Naturally, it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”
    “Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?”
    “Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.”
    “You mean I should listen to my heart even if it’s treasonous?”
    “Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you’ll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them. You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say.”
    “My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist.
    “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

Wow! I don’t know about you, but that rang true in my heart. I stopped to think about that concept and realized that every day I spend seeking my bliss, my mission, is a luminous day where I discover things along the way I never would have seen otherwise. Days spent pursuing my dreams are light and breezy, soft and gentle. On the other hand, days spent pursing my preferences, my personal agenda, are tedious, uncomfortable and unsatisfying.

Another part of the book that really struck home for me was realizing that every dream, every Personal Legend, is tested along the way. Here’s what the alchemist says about that:

“What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World (God) tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon. Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”

How many times have I overcome my initial fears only to be turned back when the going got rough? I have lived this over and over again. As the alchemist says, there is a beginner’s luck that operates in the universe. It comes from the universal truth that all things are one and, therefore, all things in the universe conspire to help us achieve our dreams. That’s the euphoria, the lightness, we often feel when first setting out towards a dream. It’s merely the universe conspiring with us to ease the way. That’s the easy part.

The hard part comes when we are tested. I hadn’t really thought about being tested – I knew I was experiencing it, but I didn’t realize the importance of it. So, after reading this lovely book, I look upon the tests with grace and thanksgiving as it means I’m getting closer and closer to achieving my Personal Legend.

I behold the Divine in you,
Cathy,
as a gift of love to my family in Unity.

"Divine Truths"- April, 2002

Divine Truths rule the universe and therefore our lives. Divine Truths are the lens through which we are asked to observe our universe, our lives, and our selves. Here are three Truth principles to try on.

Truth: God does not punish us.
We punish ourselves with guilt, shame, and fear.

Truth: There is a Divine Order to everything in life.
There is a Divine reason that where we are at any given moment in time is exactly where we should be according to the Divine unfolding of our consciousness and life.

Truth: God doesn’t bless people.
We receive the grace of the Divine as abundance, peace, joy, well-being, and love as a function of what we think, feel, and believe about life, ourselves, and the Divine.

With these Truths firmly in hand, let’s take a look at our day-to-day lives. When the weight of the world is pressing down on us and we feel as though we are big fat losers, it’s time to think RIGHT. It’s time to go back to the basics – back to the basic Truths.

Okay, repeat Truth #1 after me: God does not punish me. Repeat it a few times; let the words swim through your mind and your heart. Take a sweet breath of this Truth and open your eyes. See how quickly you can name that tune? Which tune of self-punishment or self-judgment are you singing today? Guilt about something you wish you had done differently? Shame for the past ego-messages you are still calling home? Fear of being wrong? Fear of being unworthy? Fear of not knowing?

Why do we judge ourselves so harshly? Why should we punish ourselves when our beloved Mother, Father, God is not judging us or punishing us? As a Truth student we have to be very careful of where the mind takes us. In my own experiences, I keep finding that my mind takes me AWAY from the Truth principles I hold so dear.

As Chad keeps reminding us – Watch your mind as though it were a rattlesnake! Don’t let the mind take you to places that the Divine does not intend for us to go; to that place of judgment and punishment.

With Truth #1 firmly in mind and heart, let’s look at the second Truth: God doesn’t bless people. If the Truth is that God does not punish us that means I can no longer believe that I lost out in the Blessings line. It also means I can no longer believe that I have yet to reach a state of worthiness to receive God’s blessings.

As a Truth student I must remember that Divine blessings are endowed in me, and that I must use my eyes, my spirit, and my actions to activate the abundance of blessings packed inside of me. The ignition switch that activates the blessings engine is three-phased. Phase one – I must think that God’s love and blessings are my core... that I am a divine child of God filled with an abundance of all things. Phase two – I must feel the love of the Divine deep inside of me, shining brightly. And Phase three is faith – I must believe in the Truths of God’s love. When we think, feel and believe in these Truths, there is no choice – the Universe must respond with love, joy, peace, love and well-being.

These first two Truths lead to the third: There is a Divine Order to everything in life. As you’re applying the first two Truths to a given situation, stop and put the third Truth into play. Observe what’s going on. Consider what you are seeing and feeling through this lens: You are exactly where you should be according to the Divine unfolding of your consciousness and life. I guarantee that when you stop and look through that lens, you will see the picture differently. You may not understand what you are seeing, but I promise you will start seeing and feeling it differently. The “meaning” of Divine Order – the answer to “why is this happening to me” – is far less important than the experience. They “why” will be revealed as it should be.

I’ll leave you with my Truth affirmations,

God loves me.

The Divine has blessed me with an abundance of all things.

God is love.

Divine Truth is greater than any problem.

God believes in ME!

I behold the Divine in you, Cathy Anderson

© 2002 Cathy Anderson 

"Trusting That We Are Exactly Where We're Supposed to Be" - February, 2002

Now there’s a hard idea to swallow. Sitting here without a job, without a place to call my own, it’s very hard to believe that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. However, despite my skepticism and my reluctance to accept that fact, I know that there is a purpose for everything that happens.

I bet the same is true for you. What life situation are you dealing with right now that is creating resistance and fear? Is it your job? Is it your relationship? Is it your finances? Is it your health?

Except for exquisite moments in time, we all face life challenges that leave us questioning the purpose of our life. It is said that acceptance is the first step to understanding. If so, then I think the first step in facing life’s challenges is to accept that there is a divine reason for every challenge, a divine reason for our being exactly where we are.

Faith gives us a place to stand and be safe. If I accept that God is good and that I am his blessed child, then I am able to stand quietly in the moment and breathe in the safety and strength of that fact.

Try this the next time you are feeling totally overwhelmed by a life challenge. Stop everything just for a moment. Stop spinning scenarios of gloom and doom. Stop trying to control and predict the outcome. Just stop and be quiet. In that quiet moment whisper the following to yourself: "I am a divine child of God and I am safe and loved and guided by the Divine love that flows through me." Now take a deep, deep breath and slowly exhale. I promise you that the next moment will be different.

Yes, when you open your eyes the same life challenges will still be there. However, what will be different is the awareness that you are not doomed, you are not lost, and you are not hopeless. In that moment of stillness you connect to your higher power and you are re-charged with love and faith. You’re now ready and able to see differently.

Now you’re ready to stop “seeing” and to start feeling the very nature of life – the nature of change. Every problem, every challenge is just another opportunity for us to evolve and change with the seasons. It’s such a natural process if we don’t resist it. It is true that “To everything there is a season;” the question is how we perceive the seasons of our life – the never-ending changing of form and circumstance.

As we all know, how we perceive something is how we define it. The glass is always both half-full and half-empty at the same time. It’s our choice how we choose to see. God gave us the eyes to see, but it’s up to each of us to choose what we see.

I’m not talking about a Pollyanna approach to the world. No, I’m talking about seeing the world through eyes grounded in faith – the faith that God is watching out for you and that God is constantly leading you to your higher good.

The challenge at moments of not understanding what’s happening, at moments when you are overwhelmed by the uncertainty of it all, is to not allow yourself to get caught up in the shoulda’s, woulda’s, coulda’s. Negative thinking, the thinking called the “critical parent,” is damaging and nonproductive. The parent we should be tapping into and listening to is our divine Mother-Father-God who loves us always and is always encouraging us to move on with faith and light in our hearts. This is the parent who provides unconditional love and truly understands that we are all pilgrims on the path of enlightenment.

Perhaps this affirmation by Louise Hay will help you as it is helping me.

In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole and complete. I see any resistance patterns within me only as something else to release. They have no power over me. I am the power in my world. I flow with the changes taking place in my life as best I can. I approve of myself and the way I am changing. I am doing the best I can. Each day gets easier. I rejoice that I am in the rhythm and flow of my ever-changing life. Today is a wonderful day. I choose to make it so. All is well in my world.

In love and faith, Cathy Anderson

"Keeping The Faith" - December, 2001

Keep The Faith. It’s a phrase we hear or say all the time. Keep The Faith, three little words that are uttered in response to difficult times and situations. We say it so casually. Keep The Faith.

Have you ever been in a place and time where you just can’t see the light? Have you ever wondered where you’re going and how things will ever work out? Have you wrestled with “keeping the faith” but felt like you were on the losing side? I think we can all agree that there are times when “keeping the faith” seems to be a monumental challenge.

In Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements, a practical guide to personal freedom, he discusses the need to be impeccable with your word. Sound familiar? Since you hang out at Unity, I know you’ve heard that phrase before. We’ve all sat and listened to Chad talk about speaking impeccably. If you’re like me, it sounds so good. But, what does it mean, really?

Impeccable comes from the Latin pecatus, which means “sin” and the im in impeccable means “without.” Therefore, to be impeccable with your words means to speak without sin. Sounds like religious talk to me – sin and sinners; sorry I can’t buy into that. However, Ruiz goes on to make the distinction that sin is anything that you do which goes against yourself, that everything that you feel or believe or say that goes against yourself is a sin. This makes more sense to me. In fact, it makes me think of Charles Fillmore’s words, “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.”

Now I hear some bells ringing; I can see the light shining more clearly. If we are to speak impeccably, then we must give up such simple, casual phrases as “keep the faith,” or “you gotta have faith,” or “if only I had more faith.” All of these phrases suggest that we do not have faith, or that we do not have enough faith. This is just not so. Since we hang out at Unity, we know, or at least we’ve been told, that we all have more than enough of everything we need, especially faith.

Speaking impeccably, therefore, means that our words must reflect our belief in the abundance of faith, love and wisdom that Mother, Father, God has endowed us with. When we say a simple phrase such as “I wish I had more faith,” or “I’ve got to have more faith,” we are simply speaking against ourselves. We are setting ourselves up for failure, drama and unhappiness.

How do we go about changing our speech from pecatus (sinful, negative) to impecatus (without sin, positive)? It seems very simple, doesn’t it? We have to remove certain words from our vocabulary, from our minds. Words that diminish our God-given gifts are counterproductive.

A simple shift in attitude will create enormous changes. If we follow Charles Fillmore’s teachings that thoughts held in mind will produce after their kind, then this is the first step. We simply need to change the thoughts that we are holding in our minds.

One way to change our speech is to remember the I AM. I am the divine child of Mother, Father, God. I am a child of faith. I am faith. This may seem very simple, and it is. The next time you hear yourself uttering the words, “I wish I had more faith,” try this simple exercise. As soon as you start thinking or saying those words immediately and purposefully restate it using I AM. This simple exercise connects us back to our spiritual base and positively affirms our spiritual nature. I am filled with faith. Now there’s an impeccable thought!

Cathy Anderson teaches & practices the 4Ts: Tithing of Time, Talent and Treasure.