 It is December and the year is coming to an end, a time for pause and reflection. And my reflective question is “am I karma neutral”? We know about being carbon neutral where the amount of carbon we save through our consideration of the environment is equal to the amount we actually consume. It is often measured in units of football pitches.
Karma neutral, what is that?
The law of karma, or the law of “what goes around comes around” is about the deeds we undertake in our daily lives. Some traditions and faiths talk about a karmic debt, saying we carry the weight of our bad deeds into our next life, some religions talk about being judged for our sins before being sent to either heaven or hell.
If I put religion aside is there another way to look at karma? If I perform a lot of bad deeds and very few good deeds will I be in karmic debt, how can I be in karmic credit? This is not a religious or philosophical question, but a question of
daily loving kindness and wanting to create a state of balance in the world ie
being karma neutral where giving and receiving are equal.
Whether we believe in heaven or hell and buying our way to better afterlife or through reincarnation to a better worldly life is not the issue. The issue is, do I measure myself in terms of thoughts, words and deeds of loving, compassion, kindness and forgiveness to my fellow beings (human or otherwise) and the planet I live on?
This can be measured in many ways, how much I donated to charity, the number of times I said thank you to someone, deeds of kindness that I undertook. How we measure however is not as important as why we measure. Thirty years ago no one considered the impact of CO2 emissions on global warming and how to save the planet. Now it is part of our daily language and habit because we know of the consequences of burning fossil fuels and superheating the planet.
Does measuring our acts of loving kindness also be a part of our daily language and action? Can I say that I gave to others more acts of compassion for my world
than I took away? If we take the time each day to check our scorecard we may be
surprised at how much we give and take. We may find that we are active in our
giving, but not one for receiving, so we may be out of balance and missing out
on the kindness of others who want to share with us. We may find (if we are
honest with ourselves) that we a lacking in what we give to others and we are a
take, take, take person, one who gives a little but wants a lot, no matter what
the cost, humanitarian or environmental.
That may not mean that we do not care, but that we have never taken the time to reflect on karma, that what we do to another will ultimately come back to us in the same form. That does not make us a bad person, but perhaps someone who has never really looked at how the world works in terms of giving and receiving of kind deeds.
So this is your chance, can you every day in December look at whether your year has been in karmic debt or credit? What do you carry into 2012? What will you do in 2012 to address any imbalance you are carrying in 2011? Good luck!
Dear Friends
As an Interfaith Minister I respect that inner truth that we all believe in regarding life, death, God, afterlife and how and why we live our lives in a particular way. In short I respect whatever works for you. The conversations I have as a minster are about love and peace; and the reasons why we can talk about such words, but not see much of either in everyday life.
This year I decided that enough was enough and it was time to take some personal action towards world peace. Hence the trek to Everest base camp, armed with 5 flags and over 50 personal quotes written by people like you, ordinary people, wanting ordinary peace, I leave on Friday 31 October and make the Mount Everest Base Camp on or around 9 November 2011 at approximately 2pm Nepal time.
My hope in doing this? That my voice will act as a peaceful harmonic and will spread the words far and wide. Who knows, the energy and power of the words may mean that one less bullet is fired from a gun, one less fist strikes a child, one less cruel word abuses a vulnerable person. I would hope that at least these actions will occur on a planet of 6.8 billion people. Not too much to ask is it?
What can you do as you read this? You can wish me well and I think you for your kind words. You can spend a minute in peaceful silence on 9 November at 12midday and spend the rest of the day being peaceful and kind to other people. You can pull out your mobile phone right now and pledge a donation to Spirit of Peace by texting “SOFP35 £10” to this number 70070. That sends £10 (or any other sum you can afford) to Spirit of Peace and will mean the charity can carry on its great peacebuilding work in the UK and Middle East. It is great work Jane Ozanne and her small team undertake and they work so hard, I see it every day I am with the charity. Your support will make a huge difference to how Spirit of Peace (www.spiritofpeace.co.uk) continues to operate in 2012 and beyond.
So dear friend and, I have said how I see it, a good cause, a long trek to make 3 small but hugely important things happen. Please help me make them happen.
Shanti, Shalom, Peace, Salaam and all other words that bring us
a more loving world, Noel
As I prepare for my peace Trek I am considering peace. Where does world peace begin? Does it begin at the United Nations, or in the government of a large country? Or does it begin closer to home, in my town,street, home or family. Is it even closer, does it begin within me? Do I have faith that my feelings, thoughts and actions promote peace for me and others? Do I bring peace to others, do my peaceful and kind deeds act as a ripple to the world? Perhaps the most important question for world peace, am I the peace I want to see in the world? Peace, Shanti, Shalom, Salaam Noel To learn more about the trek see http://spiritofpeace.co.uk/support/good-connection
 This is wedding fayre season; many hotels are promoting their venues and people from the industry their dresses, cakes, cars, flowers, decorations and other finery for the wedding day in 2012.
All these things may be very important for the perfect wedding. However what is the most important item at the wedding?
As someone who performs wedding services and works with the couple months before the day to design the words for the ceremony, I believe that item is love.
Love may sound the obvious reason to be wed, but how do you explain to your partner that you love them? As a couple, how do you declare to your family and friends your intentions for each other?
With words that are chosen, written and delivered to reflect who both people are as individuals and as a couple.
These words become a unique vow, which like a wedding ring, last the lifetime of the relationship. These words paint a picture of the personality of each person. This might be strength, warmth, gentleness, passion, ambition, flair and creativity. Then the vow shows the couple in unity as committed, dedicated, compassionate, kind and most of all as love to themselves and others on a daily basis. This love becomes love in
action and people see such couples and such love and go “wow”!
I received this lovely testimonial recently, which I think sums up what a wedding of two people who know love for each other is all about.
“Noel helped us to focus on our marriage as well as the party by suggesting ways in which we could prepare for the day and for the years ahead, giving us a chance to appreciate each other and reflect on the commitment we were making. Everyone is still talking about the day saying it was the loveliest wedding they have ever been to.”
If love is at the heart of your relationship and you want to share that at your
wedding please contact me,
 chinese symbol win by suprise
Gosh what a busy month, May has been and already gone. Plenty of blame and shame in the media, especially in the UK political figures jumping up and down to the AV vote and local election results, super injunctions and corruption about FIFA.
So much fear based mud slinging all based on what? Not being prepared to be responsible for our words and actions, but wanting to find another to take the blame, not “my” fault, but “their” fault. So the question, when something is going wrong in our lives and fear takes hold of us, “whose fault is it anyway?” Can we go within and say, the reason I feel rubbish about the event that just happened is because I allowed inner fear to find another to take the blame for how I feel. The reality is that cannot be so, we make ourselves feel what we feel; others may have some influence on my feelings, but at the end of the day they are mine to own. If I do not like what I feel, I need to find a way to bring about my change.
Not sure I know what FIFA stands for, something about football. But what about an acronym for something else?
Mine would be “Face Inner Fear Always” what would yours be?
 Our UK Prime Minister was under fire for making a derogatory remark in the House of Commons to an opposition minister. He told her (twice) to "calm down dear" when she commented to him about a piece of data.
The ins and outs of the incident are not as relevant for me as the comment made to her "calm down dear", a phrase from a TV advert. Is this the way in which are leading elected politicians are expected to behave when the cameras are on?
I ask the question because I need to know that politics and compassion can coexist. I need to be assured that being a politician in opposition does not mean that kindness cannot prevail in the business of government.
If they cannot, they I must consider a new political paradigm and the referendum is coming, AV on May 5th, is this an alternative that could prevent such terrible disregard? Could it remove the fear and anger from out political system? I doubt it, but it could rock the boat and I feel that it is time to start a change. I want compassion and kindness in my politics.
 In my last blog I gave the acronym FEAR, (False Emotions Aren't Real) and asked could we give up fear for lent?
So looking at this picture, are YOU the cat or the mouse, can you chase it away and say "No thanks"? Is Fear the cat or the mouse in your life, the shadow over your shoulder waiting to pounce?
Does your daily spiritual practice put you in charge of your emotions so that there are no storms in your tea cup, or do you get tossed around at the whim of the event going on in your life? With regular concentration on the peace within us we will find that "all will be well" event when it doesn't feel like it.
So I wish that the lead up to Easter brings you inner Love and Joy and allows you to spread Happiness, Compassion and Kindness to all you meet. May this be a month of peace not fear.
With Love Noel
 I would love to say that the attached picture is me practicing my whirling in my new found love Mevlevi Turning, but that would be stretching the truth! However I was fortunate enough to attend Colet House in West London on 11th February and join the slow turning that is taught (in about 3 minutes) to beginners like me. I was taught to bow, kneel and kiss the ground in reverence, give an inner prayer and then take my turning position. I placed my right toes on top of my left toes, put my left hand on right shoulder and my right hand on the left shoulder, then I turned my head to the left. I was ready! Acting as if there was a nail through my left foot (which was my pivot) I turned with my right foot in circles for about 30 minutes. A joy and definitely an inner journey. Sometimes a little disorientated when my eyes were closed and I needed to be reminded to breathe by the teacher! There was beauty and grace shown by all the people that were in the room and this grace continued during a beautiful shared supper. A real must which is held on the second Friday of every month at 7.45pm. As Rumi says "Come, come whoever you are". This was a unique experience for me and I recommend it to all. With love Noel For details turning@studysociety.org
This is a taken from an email I recently sent to my small group of interfaith ministers that regularily meet. It is of my experience in supporting a very dear friend whom is ill with cancer. I feel that sharing this time has opened up my awareness of how little we understand about death, how little we truly communicate and share. the limitations we place around ourselves through denial of what we are facing, often created by pain at the thought of loss and what that may mean. Twice in my life I have experience the loss of someone through death, the first my brother Ian, he died suddenly on his motorbike, I have often wondered if a sudden death not being able to say goodbye is worse or easier than watching another that you love in pain and suffering but with opportunities to say much. I now understand that both are difficult and painful in their own ways, death is death which brings pain if we love. Both also profoundly deepening of my spiritual awareness and connection to the divine.
This is my writings to the group......
I spent new year with him taking him over to the other side where they were so lovingly waiting, yet in our world they now keep his body alive and he is in pain and confused. As we all so beautifully yet painfully know death in our spiritual existence is beautiful and so completely right but as humans living in our social existence we feel the pain of loss so desperately that it can be unbearable.
I have learnt so very much both as me Alison, friend and companion, but also as me Rev. Alison, support, communicator, mediator, holder, family facilitator, decision maker.
a month or two ago I decided that due to my work load, I only wished to do weddings and here I am with Gods loving laughter showing me that my work is in everything in every moment of every day and that it is not up to me to choose, I chose to serve not to choose what I wish to be of service with, I also chose to be an instrument of Gods loving presence, not choose when and where I wish to do it, and in death this is the place love is needed so very much.
I feel grateful for this sharing with you so thank you for reading and hearing me.
Do not be afraid of death, it is not the dying that pains us its the fact that we believe we cannot know that person again.
blessings of love and peace
Alison x
 Dear Friends, welcome to my first blog of 2011. For me this is a very important announcement that I wish to make as it will be the star by which I steer by this year as an Interfaith Minister.
Some weeks ago I had the inspiration for a talk called The Five Word Legacy, this was the use of five words to describe five states of being that allow us all to live fulfilled and useful lives. At first it was going to be a 20 minute talk and I thought no more about it. However as I prepared to give the talk more and more came to me, was this something that I should write about, something that I could deliver workshops and seminars on? More importantly could I find ways to deliver these words to many, many people?
A part of me wanted to believe this model of life was good enough to achieve all that I have described above, another part was not so sure. So when I was given an overwhelming thumbs up by the audience who heard me speak I knew I was onto something. This has become my passion and my reason for Ministry.
So for 2011 I intend to undertake the following;
· Write and publish a book called The Five Word Legacy
· Use every opportunity I can to talk about The Five Word Legacy wherever I am and to whoever wishes to listen
· Create a charity called The Five Word Legacy to allow me to share the legacy with as many people as possible
· Establish a website dedicated to the content of The Five Word Legacy
· Encourage people to find how to use the legacy I have created, or find their own five word legacy to live their lives by and share with others for a world we want to live in because of the values we live by.
What does this mean to you dear reader? You may feel my excitement at this project and want to contact me and be involved in something that will at the very least change the way I live my life and be a part of that. You may wish to be part of what I am planning to do and make contact with me, for which you would be very welcome. You may wish to know what the five words are, as I have in this blog neglected to share them with you. Do not worry I will be sharing them in future blogs via this website.
Be prepared won't you? When I ask what YOUR five word legacy will be.............have 5 words ready and waiting.
As always I welcome your feeback and comments.
Best wishes for 2011 Noel
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