Am I Karma Neutral? - a reflection for 2011 12/01/2011
 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! Add Comment Breaking in my walking boots! 10/21/2011
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 Reflections on World Peace 09/30/2011
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 What's love go to do with it? 09/12/2011
 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, Riot or Peace? 08/09/2011
 Having witnessed the most terrible crime, damage and violence through the English riots in many towns over the last few nights, I have to make a choice. Do I just accept this state of affairs as something I can have no influence over, or is it time to take action? It is time to take action, but what can that action be? It is Words for World Peace, a non violent retaliation to counteract the senseless violence. Words for World Peace is my mission to talk to the Everest Base Camp in October 2011 and recite words and prayer for world peace that YOU send me. This could be written on a peace (get it?) of cloth, which I can tie together to make a peace flag. Or an email through the blog comment option on this webpage, which I will print and read aloud. The camp is at 21,000 feet, one of the highest points of the world. From there the energy of your words and my voice will help bring an antidote to the violence we are witnessing daily. My flag says "WAR NO MORE", what does yours say? I pray you will send me words for world peace that are as powerful as mine. For more info see www.spiritofpeace.co.uk/news With love and peace Noel  Well, no current affairs for this month's blog! I have received wonderful news today and would love to share it. I can announce that the book The Five Word Legacy (www.thefivewordlegacy.co.uk) will be ready by late September or possibly earlier for sale as both a paperback and ebook. What is more exciting is that a publisher has had sufficient confidence to take the book and enter into a publishing agreement. Prior to this I had always assumed I would need to self publish, so I am most grateful and a little stunned at how quickly this has come about. After all it was only October 2010 that while out on a run did the words for the legacy come tumbling out of my mouth and in 12 months it will become my first book. The picture this month? Not sure yet, but it looks like it will become the front cover. So a blog of gratitude to all those who said carry on writing and to the energy of the universe who I call "my beloved". Thank you in all ways and always. With love Noel Whose Fault is it Anyway? 06/01/2011
 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? Best wishes, Noel  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. Did you give up FEAR for Lent? 04/08/2011
 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 Give it up for Lent - FEAR 03/07/2011
 Here it is again our annual shall I give something up or not for the period of Lent (9th March to 23 April 2011)? What might we give up? Some of us may give up an extravagance, some may give up an unwanted behaviour that does not serve in the hope it will bring long lasting change. For example, my son Jack says he will give up ALL confectionary and Facebook, someone at work said he will give sarcasm (yeah whatever! Whoops that didn’t help did it?). However this came to me the other day, let’s all give up Fear, the opposite of Love and perhaps is the emotion that stifles our spiritual and altruistic growth more than any other emotion. Let’s give it up because it is not real. It is easy to do, just use the Power of Now, in this moment now choose not be fearful. As my daughter says, “Get over it dad!”. Whatever is making YOU fearful; choose right now this second, to change to change fear for something else, some motion that serves you as a wonderful person interacting with thousands of other wonderful people. If you cannot do it in this very moment now, wait a second and have a second chance (get it?). Set your intention for change; keep taking the second chances until you reach the goal of being free from fear. This acronym may help Fearful Emotions Aren’t Real (FEAR). Please pass it on! Love and best wishes Noel | AuthorRev Noel ArchivesDecember 2011 Categories |
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