I'm Reverend Cindy Palos and I wanted to talk about a subject that is really fascinating.
Subject is enthusiasm.
Now you might think you know what enthusiasm is,
But the word really has some very,
Very deep roots.
Did you know that the word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by God or someone who exhibited intense piety?
Well that could be me.
It goes back to a time the word originated from the Greek word,
Meaning possessed by God's essence,
And it applied to the Greeks' manifestations of divine possession by Apollo.
And the term enthusiasm was also used in a transferred or figurative sense.
Socrates taught that the inspiration of poets is a form of enthusiasm.
So there I go again because I'm a poet.
The term was confined to a belief in religious inspiration or intense religious fervor or emotion.
There was even a Syrian sect in the fourth century known as the Enthusiasts and they believed that by perpetual prayer and practices and contemplation man could become inspired by the Holy Spirit in spite of the ruling evil spirit which the fall had given to him.
So this is deep.
This is a very,
Very inspirational spiritual subject.
Now of course over time a lot of that original meaning has been lost but even in the time of Henry David Thoreau he said enthusiasm is a supernatural serenity.
And of course Thoreau with his love of nature and his pond felt that serenity.
So to say it's a supernatural serenity is quite an amazing high point to bring to the word enthusiasm.
And Joel Osteen said,
One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful.
We let what was once a miracle become common to us.
We get so accustomed to goodness it becomes a routine.
Now isn't that interesting?
And of course with what we've been going through with COVID-19 a lot of us have gone through some challenging times and enthusiasm also is really based on the idea also that you can have hope and that you hope things will be alright.
And some people have lost some of their hope which is a sad thing.
So I was asked by a friend to talk about enthusiasm today and I thought I would.
Because enthusiasm obviously is something that means quite a bit to me since I love poetry and I love God.
I think it's really important at this time that we keep having enthusiasm.
And I guess part of that keeping of your enthusiastic spirit is where are you choosing to put your energy?
What are you trying to believe in and what are you trying to accomplish?
I find I get very,
Very enthusiastic if I have this amazing project,
A creative project that I'm involved in.
And through COVID-19 I've had one of the most creative years ever.
I've done three CDs.
I'm going to complete an audio book this year and I just wrote five songs in the course of one month.
So these are coming from that need for turning to the inner muse,
The inner spirit,
The inner energy.
And when you are connected to that same spirit that the Greeks talked with,
The inner gods and the light within,
Then you can feel like you're supercharged because that energy is coming from the one source of all,
The God source,
The creative force in the universe.
And that is a very,
Very powerful energy.
And when we feel like we know we are supposed to do this,
That this is a good thing that is part of our soul's purpose and our destiny,
Then it even gets more plugged in to the original source.
So have you felt anything where you need to feel more enthusiasm?
Now some people are very enthusiastic in the beginning of a project because just like any love relationship,
When you get inspired by this energy,
It's very strong in the beginning and you can really go full force on it and then it can tend to lose some of that original energy after a while.
And if that's the case,
Then from going full force,
You can all of a sudden find yourself slowing down and slowing down and not having quite the same energy.
So it's always good to get reignited and find yourself repurposed and maybe in a way redone,
Right,
To do it in that connection that you might need to again go to where that energy came from.
And depending on how you work,
I work pretty much by myself,
But if you work with a team,
That can help share and spark that energy if you have others helping you to get through the times that are going to be challenging.
In any project,
The idea is always great when you get it,
But it can be very,
Very challenging as it goes through times.
And I find when I get an idea,
Like I'm working on this new book,
In the beginning I think,
Oh,
This is great.
This will be easy to do.
Without fail,
I almost always find it takes much more,
Much,
Much more than I would have ever imagined when the idea was birthed.
But that's okay.
That's part of the process.
That is part of the process.
And it's like having a child.
Sometimes that labor,
That energy it takes to have the child can be very intense.
And a project can go on easily,
A few months,
Six months,
Nine months.
It depends on how well you work with the project.
And if it's a long-term project in a business,
It goes on and on and on.
So that's always something to look at too.
Are you in it for the long run?
Do you have a project that's going to take a lot of work?
And do you have the enthusiasm and energy?
And I guess I'll throw in the word stick-to-itiveness.
Can you stick to your idea and make it through the challenges and the hard times,
Right?
So that takes sometimes a little encouragement.
And again,
That word encouragement is so powerful.
In courage.
You're getting the courage from inside.
You're finding that courage to keep yourself going.
Because you do need to be encouraged along the way many times.
So sometimes your social media people will do that.
If you post something on Facebook or Instagram and get a lot of likes,
Sometimes that can encourage you.
Sometimes doing it in increments and seeing little parts of the project come through.
I know it used to be in music you'd put out a CD.
And nowadays you put out a single first.
Some people are just putting out the singles.
And so I still like to do full CDs with many pieces on them.
But now what you do is you think of putting out one song first and then putting out another song.
And that way people don't lose their enthusiasm.
They keep getting little more treats and treats and more treats that they love and it builds as it goes along.
So maybe you need to do that in any project you're doing.
You need to build it in increments and let it build and have a foundation that's strong and build on that foundation as more and more people get involved.
So what I'm going to do now is we're going to take a little time as I love to do is to go inside and to go into meditation and to see where we can connect with God and that enthusiasm from the source of all enthusiasm,
That inner enthusiasm that comes from the source of all.
So as I love to do is of course we take a few moments of breathing and we're grateful for our first two minutes of breathing.
Breathing in gratitude,
Holding a breath and then breathing out slowly,
Letting go of any tension.
Make your spine erect and make sure it's all easy to let the energy flow through all of your chakras,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Breathing in from the base of the spine,
Breathing up the spine,
Aligning your spine and breathing out from the crown chakra on down through all of the chakras again to the base of the spine.
Breathing in light and letting that light spread throughout all of your body and your mind and your heart and your soul.
And now feeling your body and being aware of how you feel.
Just take a moment to spread your awareness around your body.
How are you feeling right now?
Scan your body and feel your mind.
Is there any tension in the head?
Have you been in your head too much and in your mind?
Allow yourself to send light circling around the entire brain area.
Release any tension in the jaws and the ears.
Let yourself breathe in and breathe out and let that energy flow and release tension in your neck and your shoulders letting go and letting go even more and letting that energy flow into your heart chakra.
Feel the energy there in your heart chakra,
Purifying and clearing anything so that you can be open to receive the love and the inspiration from the heart.
And just dwelling there for a moment,
Put your hand on your heart.
Breathing deeply into your heart of hearts and for a moment dwell in there and see and ask your heart,
What does your heart love?
What does your heart love to express to you?
And allow yourself to just dwell in what your heart loves,
Listening to your heart.
What does your heart enjoy doing and creating and expressing?
Where is your heart of hearts enthusiasm?
What sparks your heart?
What turns that heart light on?
Go deep within and let yourself listen to your heart speak to you.
What would your heart tell you?
Is there anything you need to align with in your heart and your soul?
Going deeper and deeper into that space where you can connect with enthusiasm,
With that energy of the one light of all the great God light within.
And now take that light and that thread of enthusiasm,
Move with that light all the way up to your soul,
Be enlightened.
Let your soul be connected.
Dwell in that sacred place of silence in your soul and allow yourself to now be in that place inside that you can retreat to,
That place where you can recharge yourself with the energy that comes from the source of all energy,
The one source of the universe.
What would your soul have you know about what your intent is in life and what will fulfill your purpose and bring you that enthusiasm,
That great gift from God?
And go deeper and deeper and deeper inside.
Feel comfortable here in your soul,
In all souls and go to that one source that connects your soul with God now.
Feel the light shift and change as you ask to connect with your source within.
Breathe in that light from the source and feel how powerful that energy is and ask for guidance and energy and enthusiasm to do what you came here to do.
Feel that amazing connection and how when you feel that you are in light,
You are feeling courage,
You are feeling inspired,
You are feeling that you can accomplish everything you came here to do.
Feel how good that feels.
Feel how aligned that feels with who you are.
Allow that pure energy to come down into your mind with any messages on how to accomplish what you need.
Let it flow down into your heart and dwell there in that love that fuels all projects and all purposes in your life.
Even if you're doing any little thing,
If it's done with love,
It is worthwhile doing.
Now allow your whole body to be filled in this beautiful light and love and see all of you surrounded by an energy field that extends out over six feet in the beautiful bubble of light and love.
You are secure.
You are at peace.
You are infused with the energy from the one source with enthusiasm.
Absorb this enthusiasm.
Believe in this enthusiasm.
Allow it to ignite your entire being right now and slowly,
Slowly come out of meditation and take some time to write down what may have come to you.
Some thoughts,
Maybe one word.
Remember that inner guidance that you got.
As you come out of meditation,
Take the time to remember how you feel,
How good you feel,
And thank God for this wonderful time to connect with that inner source of all and to ignite your enthusiasm.
Thank you so much for being there and listening.
I appreciate you giving my deepest appreciation and blessings always.
