The Global Conversation

Tag: Conversations with God

  • The only reason there is to do anything…

    Very few events in our world are universally recognized by the mere mention of the date of their occurrence.  If I were to suggest the date of 7/20/1969 to you, would you know immediately that I am referring to the date Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step foot on the moon?  Or if I said to you the date of 11/9/1989, would that automatically trigger your memory of that being the day the Berlin Wall fell?

    But what if I were to say to you 9/11?

    It would be my bold assumption that a large percentage of people would instantaneously associate 9/11 with the chilling terrorist events that took place 12 years ago today in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

    But I am not here to open up a dialogue about WHY the events of 9/11 took place, or HOW they took place, or whose fault it is or isn’t.  No.  There are plenty of places out there for those types of conversations to flourish.  Rather, I am here to create a space of spiritual reflection in the aftermath of something so devastating, offering to each of us an invitation to notice the ways in which we have defined ourselves both individually and collectively in relation to this most unforgettable day.   A “Day of Noticement.”

    Because, you see, if we can find some small glimmer of meaning or purpose amidst the fallout of an event of such magnitude, imagine what we might discover we are capable of achieving in the day-to-day occurrences in life — the relationships which are unraveling, the careers which are ending, the financial abundance which eludes us, just to name a few.

    Are we noticing the way Life has embedded into the happenings of our life the gift of opportunity? Do we acknowledge the way in which we are contributing to it All as powerful creators?  Do we ever honestly attempt to answer the ever-present and looming question of:  How in the heck did we as a society actually even get to this point?

    I get that perhaps most of the time it appears as though someone or something “other than” ourselves is creating the things in our life we are not comfortable with or pleased about, imagining that the negative happenings around us are the result of an energy which exists opposite to and other than the loving energy of God.  I also get that often this way of thinking goes hand-in-hand with similarly thinking that solutions or significant changes will also, therefore, come from someone or something “other than” me.

    It is during these moments of turmoil and destruction that we yearn most to receive a message from God, to be assured that, yes, God does exist in a way that we can understand.  But we have blinded ourselves to the possibility that our conversations with God might occur in ways other than the way we expect or hope for them to, because surely God would not speak to us through those situations we have labeled as “bad,”  would She?

    Until we open ourselves up to recognize the ways in which Divinity flows through everything, the things we label “good” and the things we label “bad,” an understanding that allows us to know that there is nothing that is not God, we will continue to deprive ourselves of the conversation we so deeply desire and we will miss entirely the opportunity to experience the only reason there is to do anything:  “as a statement to the universe of who you are.”  ~ Conversations with God, Book 1.

    The people in the world who desperately desire to live in a world free of violence have openly expressed their thoughts and opinions, and their active participation in what is taking place in our world right now ultimately played an integral part in thwarting a military strike against Syria, resulting in a new world being birthed right before our very eyes as humanity creates itself anew once again.

    So on this day of global contemplation, one which still, 12 years later, continues to reopen emotional wounds, a day which floods our minds and hearts with sadness and despair, perhaps we might consider the possibility that even the tragic events of 9/11 can serve as an opportunity for us each to make a statement to the universe of who we are and transform the cycle of destruction into a declaration of self, all in recognition of who we choose to be in this Moment of Now.

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

  • What to do when you’ve done all you can do?

    I’m trying to take my career to the next level by applying for work with some people who are quite famous. They say they love my work and will consider hiring me when they have an opening. I feel like I’ve reached out to them as much as I should at this point, so how do I stay on their radar without making a nuisance of myself? …Edwin

    Dear Edwin… Don’t forget that celebrities are really just people too, in a different place along their path. They don’t have anything you don’t have. Their awareness that they have it is the only difference. Don’t be in awe of them. Just love them for Who They Really Are and allow their perceived successes to be an inspiration to you. Express your gratitude to them for showing you what you are also capable of and be a friend when given the opportunity to interact with them.

    For now, just send loving vibes. Let the energy do the work of reaching out. We always think we have to do it on the physical plane, but we don’t. It is equally effective to reach out energetically as long as we do so from a happy, excited-about-the-prospects and possibilities place.

    Conversations With God invites us to start from a place of beingness and to allow everything we do to come from that inspired place. It also says the two most powerful words in the Universe are “I am.” Say this affirmation to yourself: “I AM the man who has taken my career to the next level and who works comfortably with famous people.” Then surround them with love and light and envision your working together. See it as happening now. Pre-pave it at the energetic/thought level and love it into existence. This is how to consciously create everything. Simply love it into existence!

    If some inspired action steps come to you from this place of being, then, by all means, act on them if it feels good and right to do so, but don’t try to force it into being. Never force it. That gives the opposite result because it is a resistant action and what we resist persists.

    Now, please bear in mind that every relationship serves a particular purpose and this one could merely be a stepping stone to something even greater for you. After sending joy-filled love and light to these people, I invite you to allow Life to unfold in Its own wonderful way. Embrace everything that shows up and everything that doesn’t, knowing that all is happening for your highest good. Expect the best!

    Love-Allow-Embrace-Expect-Experience-Enjoy!

    (Annie Sims is the Global Director of CWG Advanced Programs, is a Conversations With God Coach and author/instructor of the CWG Online School. To connect with Annie, please email her at Annie@TheGlobalConversation.com

    (If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to:  Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

    An additional resource:  ChangingChange.net offers spiritual assistance from a team of non-professional/volunteer Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less. Nothing on the CCN site should be construed or is intended to take the place of or be in any way similar to professional therapeutic or counseling services.  The site functions with the gracious willing assistance of lay persons without credentials or experience in the helping professions.  What these volunteers possess is an awareness of the theology of Conversations with God.  It is from this context that they offer insight, suggestions, and spiritual support during moments of unbidden, unexpected, or unwelcome change on the journey of life.

     

  • When the going gets “Tuff”

    Michael Brandon Hill walked into Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, an elementary school just outside Atlanta, Georgia, armed with an AK-47 type weapon and an ammunition stockpile of an estimated 500 rounds.  From outward appearances, one can only assume that the intentions of this man were not what we would commonly term “pure.”

    None of us can be exactly sure what Hill’s ultimate plan was, but one thing that he surely did not plan on taking place on this particular day was meeting Antoinette Tuff, a bookkeeper who works in the front office of the school, an encounter that would change everything.  Not only would this unexpected relationship significantly change his life, but it would alter the lives of every other person who would be touched in some way, to some degree, by the events that ensued as a result of it.

    You see, Antoinette had some quick and important choices to make when Mr. Hill came into the room she was in and began firing his gun at the floor.  Even though she had been trained in how to react in this kind of situation, she didn’t have the luxury of thinking about it for a while or making a “pro” and “con” list or weighing out her options.  No.  Her next choice and her next action had to be made almost instantaneously and simultaneously.

    What Mr. Hill did not expect was to come face to face with someone like Ms. Tuff, someone who drew upon her own struggles in life to be able to see through his pain and, in spite of her own fear, offer him an opportunity to make a better choice.  She did not run or scream or attempt to defend herself with some level of physical or verbal force.  Instead she reached out to Michael Brandon Hill with calmness, understanding, and love….yes, love.  She was able to talk the gunman down and bring the situation to a peaceful resolution without anyone getting hurt.  By sharing her personal challenges in raising a severely mentally disabled child, a husband who left her after 33 years of marriage, she convinced the suicidal gunman to surrender.

    “I told him, OK, we all have situations in our lives,” Tuff said. “It was going to be OK. If I could recover, he could, too.”

    And in what may be the most incredible moment captured in a 9-1-1 recording — one that comes after Tuff has convinced Hill to surrender and shortly before the police come in — Tuff tells Hill that she loves him: “It’s gonna be all right, sweetie,” she says. “I just want you to know that I love you, though, OK? And I’m proud of you. That’s a good thing. You’ve just given up. Don’t worry about it.”

    You can listen to the full 9-1-1 recording here:

     

    Stories like this one are deeply moving to me because they are such a clear demonstration of what we are all capable of, the depths to which we can draw upon not only in our day-to-day happenings in life, but in times of turmoil or upset.

    This particular scenario could have turned out much different had Antoinette Tuff chosen to flee or if she had allowed fear to dictate her next choice.  The challenges she was facing in her own personal journey up until this very moment allowed her to demonstrate herself as clarity, as wisdom, and as strength in a moment of significance.

    In the powerful messages contained with the Conversations with God books, God said, “I have sent you nothing but angels.”

    The moment will come for each of us to consider these very words and to make a choice, as Antoinette Tuff did, to embrace them…or not.  We may not find ourselves staring down the barrel of a gun, as she experienced.  But we will have the opportunity on more than one occasion to see the Divinity within someone whose expressions or actions make it challenging to do so.  We will also have the opportunity on more than one occasion to experience our own Divinity once again after our own expressions and actions cause us to forget.  And we will have the opportunity to see someone like Michael Brandon Hill as an angel sent from God when all outward appearances speak to the contrary.

    It is in these moments when we most fully understand and experience what it means to create our life anew.   And if Antoinette Tuff can demonstrate that this is possible in an extraordinary situation like this, imagine the infinite number of possibilities we all are being given all the time.

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

  • It’s not what you eat, it’s what’s eating you.

    I haven’t talked much about food here on this blog because — well — I don’t consider my food consumption to be anything to brag about.  I do not eat perfect by any stretch of anyone’s imagination.  I also feel terribly uncomfortable discussing what is “good” and what is “bad” in regards to diet.  But I do want to speak about how and why we eat what we eat, as well as what is going on behind the scenes, which could be extremely helpful to those who are seeking better health and more happiness.

    When I was younger and still in my active addiction, I began having indigestion problems.  I know, hard to believe that a person drinking himself into oblivion every day would have an upset stomach every now and then, but I digress.  My heartburn was pretty severe, and I was convinced to go see a doctor to have it looked at.  His words were very simple and have stuck with me to this day:  “Kevin, it’s not what you eat, it is what is eating you.”

    At that time in my life, I didn’t think about what I ate or why I was even eating.  The only thoughts I  had were “I’m hungry” and “what is available?”  The truth be told, it has only been a few years that I have placed much consideration into what my diet was and how it could be affecting my health.  The results of my looking into the connection between food I was eating and my health could not be denied.

    My diet prior to this awareness is quite startling when it is seen in black and white.  In the morning, I would have a huge cup of coffee, sweetened with the “pink stuff” (Sweet ‘n Low), and diluted with half-and-half. I followed the coffee up with two everything bagels.  Mind you, this was an everyday meal of mine for 20-plus years!  There were random variations from this breakfast,  but not much.

    Lunch was either a whole sub sandwich or fast food, preferably from Mcdonald’s as I had found that Burger King didn’t sit well in my stomach (go figure!)  Either of the choices would have included a large Diet Coke and chips or fries (large, please!)

    Now, somewhere between lunch and dinner would be a mandatory stop and a 7-Eleven for a Super Big Gulp of Diet Coke and 1 or maybe 2 packages of Twinkies or the equivalent Hostess-type snack.   Dinner would typically be a meat and potatoes variety meal with the occasional substitution of fish or pasta.  Most days a nice big bowl of ice cream would conclude this daily battering of my body.

    Please note that water was not part of any of the above meal plans.

    You would think with a diet like that I was most likely obese.  Think again.  I was about 20 pounds overweight, but I carried it fairly well.  You see, I was really active.  My job was physically demanding.  I live in a hot tropical climate so I would burn a lot of calories. This kept my weight pretty consistent.

    What didn’t stay consistent was my health.  In 2007, I started to have trouble with tingling fingers on my right hand.  I lived with it for a while, and then my left hand started to go numb as well.  I started seeing a specialist, who would give me steroid shots.  These worked at first for a few months.  Then I would slowly start losing the feeling again.  The diagnosis was carpal tunnel syndrome.  I dealt with this the best I could for a few years, and the doctor finally told me that the only thing to do moving forward would be surgery.  I didn’t elect that option as I was worried that I may lose the function of my hands.  I was a trim carpenter, and without the use of my hands, would find myself out of a job.  So I decided to just live with it.

    In March of 2011, I developed a new problem.  From what seemed like out of the blue, I couldn’t raise my right arm up and hold it level to the ground.  If I lifted up with my left arm, it would fall right down as soon as I let it go.  I was urged to go to a neurologist to get it checked out, and the resulting diagnosis was three herniated discs in my neck.  I was devastated, afraid, and depressed.

    Just three months earlier my wife had convinced me to go to yoga with her.  Yoga, for me, was love at first try.  I felt at home in the yoga room and went to class no less than 5 times a week.  I was feeling good about myself and my diet had drastically changed from what it was above.

    I was drinking roughly a gallon of water a day and rarely had  diet soda anymore. I was incorporating more salads into my diet and red meats virtually vanished from our meals.  My sweet tooth had gone into remission and I had melted off 35 pounds in those 3 months of yoga.  I continued to use the “pink stuff” in my coffee and didn’t think too much about it.

    The damage from my unhealthy diet was done prior to the herniated discs.  My MRI showed bone degeneration in my C3 thru C5 vertebra.   All was not lost, though, and this was just the beginning of a very cool journey for me.

    The day I was told of my herniated disks, I drove to my yoga studio to let my teacher know I wouldn’t be able to do yoga anymore.  I was an emotional mess and felt my joy and passion were taken from me.  My yoga teacher then told me of this doctor who was literally right across the street and how he had helped her get through a similar issue.  My despair was turned to hope in the blink of an eye!

    This injury turned out to be the biggest turning point in my life since I had become sober.  I began to see the signs that my soul was sending me.  I not only saw them now, I paid attention, I listened, I asked for more signs, and learned to express gratitude for them.

    Within 3 months, I not only had regained full strength and range of motion in my right arm but my hands were also completely healed of the numb, tingly sensation that had plagued me for the last 4 years.  I had eliminated the “pink stuff,” “yellow stuff,” and any other harmful chemicals completely from my diet.  I replaced sweeteners with raw honey or Stevia.  My morning breakfast was a giant serving of fresh fruit smoothies blended right in my own kitchen.  This way I had full control of all the ingredients.

    Health and nutrition for me become synonymous.  I also caught on to one other thing about eating.  When I was conscious about my food choice, I felt really good about myself.  Is it raw or organic?  Does it contain artificial sweeteners?  Does the food I am eating contain words I could never even pronounce?  I have become aware, conscious, and full of intent with my eating.  Be it “good” or “bad,” I am aware.  I make the conscious choice and I remind myself of the consequences.

    I am the last person to judge someone on what they are eating.  I will never do that.  I will be the first person to share everything I have come to know with those who seek the knowledge.  I believe we are what we eat and I no longer feel like I have Twinkies for fingers!  There is a connection between consciously choosing our food and a happy, joyous, and free life.  My body told me for many years in a variety of different ways that what I was putting into it was harming myself.  It took a big scare for me to wake up and listen.

    In our Path to Peace Recovery Retreats we look at nutrition very deeply and examine healthier ways to eat without sacrificing fun and flavor.  As a matter of fact, the food I eat now  and the manner in which I eat is extremely satisfying on all levels.

    You see, I am a recovering addict.  My disease does not know the difference between alcohol, pot, cocaine, heroin, meth, food, sex, power, or victimhood.  The disease of addiction is a brain disease that runs rampant when left unchecked.  The results are always the same:  negative consequences or recovery.  With support, recovery is a path to peace, joy, and freedom like no other.

    In June we kicked off our first in a series of CWG on recovery retreats.  A small group of people all shared a life-changing event.  If you are in recovery and not experiencing great joy and freedom or are still suffering with addictions, please consider giving yourself this experience.   Our next retreat will held in San Jose, California, Sept 19 -22nd, 2013.  On October 24 – 27th, 2013, we will have another retreat in Orlando Florida.  Click here for more information on these life-changing retreats.

    (Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional. He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, life coach, and interventionist specializing in individual and family recovery and also co-facilitates spiritual recovery retreats for the CWG foundation with JR Westen. You can visit his website here for more information at  To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com)

  • Georgia has more questions!

    Dear Therese,

    Georgia here again.  So what about the current state of affairs in this world?  It is obvious, to me at least, that we are being lied to by so many that we have trusted to tell us the truth.

    Take, for example, our weather patterns these days.   Cloud formations that used to be rare are common place now.  There is increasing evidence that the clouds are being chemically created.  This brings us to two points.  Barium and aluminum are being dropped on us something like 5000 times the norm. Just like gmo food, they are using us as guinea pigs to see the side effects.  AND they are using the force of nature to the advantage of big business and government.  I think they are purposely using these things to keep us scared and controlled.  They are not using these things for the “good”.  I think you would think long and hard about the effects of these chemicals if one of your kids was messed up in the head and the other other one couldn’t breathe bc of possibly being those guinea pigs.

    We have the capability to manipulate something as big as the weather and it would be awesome. But now is no time to lay down and volunteer but a time to demand that we have a right to know what is being dumped on us. Because we lay down and take it, we are condoning to the “elites” that humanity has no value.

    How are we to think of these things as spiritual opportunities??

    Georgia

    Wow! Georgia, I like that you are asking these questions!  Putting the everyday reality into a spiritual perspective is sometimes very hard…almost impossible sometimes.  Okay, I’ll give a spiritual explanation and some perspective on these things a shot here.

    My thoughts:  man can do just about anything.  We can create and engineer even human life.  Many think this to be a sin.  Only God’s territory.  As you know, I think we are all “gods”.  (As CWG puts it, individuations of Divinity.)  Engineering life, or engineering clouds, it isn’t about doing these things, but for what purpose they are being done.  This, then, becomes a matter of individual and collective choice.  Do I have a problem with engineered clouds being used to create water in a drought area?  Or to recapture wasted water to refill the aquifers?  No.  Do I have a problem using them to cause destruction to profit big business and control the people?  You betcha.  So, personal and collective awareness is, as usual, the key (opportunity) to changing how we use our power…and that changes as we begin to view humanity as One.  Realizing the butterfly effect is real.  In Christian terms…what you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me.

    I would also urge you to keep open the possibility that at least some of these cloud/weather changes may be circumstantial, as opposed to insidious.  Be very careful to avoid being sucked into the story of the way things are, and stay as much as possible in observing the facts (as you know them) of what you see.

    Which actually takes me to the esoteric question of “why not”?  If this life is but a continuation of life, and we really, as CWG states, have no life to lose, why not consciously agree to be the guinea pig to further the course of humanity?  Why not volunteer?

    Ahhh, there’s the key!  We are NOT volunteering right now!  But what if we were, for real, given that choice?  Might that not change some things?  Might life look more like an opportunity than it does now?  What if we were told up front that there was going to be a section of this planet used to experiment on long term human effects?

    Older people might volunteer to live in “chem zones” to give their children’s children a better life.  Especially since much of the world is starving due to lack of rain for crops.  We are sacrificing ourselves for far less noble things already.

    Don’t mistake, please, that I think it is okay to be doing what they are doing, in the way they are currently doing things.  Transparency…choice…is the key.

    There is abundant room for changing how we look at life…and that’s exactly what this site is all about!

    One more thought… An unfortunate statement about humankind is that sometimes the masses are so meek and compliant that it takes a “madman” to step out of the box…a person  (or group of persons) who dares to even think something is possible!  Now we sane, but outside the box thinkers, Spiritual thinkers, have (the opportunity) to either keep the madmen in check, show the madmen a better way (who he/she really is) or empower the  masses.  Or at least begin to en-mass allow the sane, outside the box thinkers/doers to not be reviled.  Currently people are afraid of being relegated to the fringe of their families/societies/religion if they don’t stay inside those boxes.  Portrayed as unpatriotic, heretics, crazy and or conspiracists. Make sure to look at your own views of others, and not disempower.

    Georgia, in our search for a better way of living, we do have to be very alert to not falling into yet another power grab agenda masked in altruism.  (Opportunities to Be discerning, careful, vigilant?)  We must be careful of anyone who wants us to be fearful vs merely aware.  I get the feeling that there are many agendas in play here, and many are proclaiming themselves to be the one and only “right” one.  All of which means, to me, that we have to be “cafeteria Catholics” and pick what works from each, and figure out what is truly for the greater good…and create our world consciously from this point forward.  Knowing that what works now most likely won’t entirely work, oh, two thousand years from now!  We must now work the idea of change into our long term thoughts.  The opportunity to create our own agenda…not all agendas are self serving and malevolent.  We can include the thoughts of others and other ways.

    On the subject of religion, and government, it is encouraging to see even  the Pope and Rev. Pat Robertson changing their minds about homosexuality on even a minor level.  The United States has made major attitude and legal changes in this area. This may seem off topic, Georgia, but it is all wrapped up in control…the ultimate control…of sexuality, and specifically the feminine energy….feminine energy and attempts to suppress it. Just look at television commercials geared for girls and toys for them. Absolutely ridiculous that still, in 2013, all the girl toys are make-up, hair playing with dolls, dolls to teach them how to be a mommy, brat dolls that are nothing but materialistic, fashion creating websites, jewelry making, hair extensions and color. Whereas the boys toys are geared around imagination and engineering!! We are “Madison Avenue-ed” into our roles from an early age.  Warriors that are used to protect money and the status quo are called heroes and idolized.  A woman who questions that status quo is a B word or worse…never spiritual, intuitive, peace-maker.  The divine feminine is Mother, but not in the way it is currently portrayed.  These times are giving us, I believe, our opportunity to create balance.

    Georgia, the bottom line of what I am saying is that we do have control.  We have control of how we think and feel about this world we live in.  We can fall into the chaotic energies swirling about, or we can keep the perspective that we are the butterfly that can effect our world.  We can become a conscious part of the collective, and influence that collective.  We are being given many opportunities to choose how change happens.  I believe we, as individuals, through our thoughts and actions, can not help but influence the direction of humanity.

    Rudyard Kipling said it perfectly.  (I know, I know, this post is getting really long, but I think it is an important topic!)

     

    If—

    If you can keep your head when all about you   

        Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

        But make allowance for their doubting too;   

    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

        Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

    Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

        And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

     

    If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

        If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

        And treat those two impostors just the same;   

    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

        Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

    Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

        And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

     

    If you can make one heap of all your winnings

        And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

    And lose, and start again at your beginnings

        And never breathe a word about your loss;

    If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

        To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

    And so hold on when there is nothing in you

        Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

     

    If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

        Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

    If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

        If all men count with you, but none too much;

    If you can fill the unforgiving minute

        With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

    Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

        And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

     

    (Therese Wilson is a published poet, and is the administrator of the global website atwww.ChangingChange.net . She may be contacted at:                                                              Therese@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

    (If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

    An additional resource:  ChangingChange.net offers spiritual assistance from a team of non-professional/volunteer Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less. Nothing on the CCN site should be construed or is intended to take the place of or be in any way similar to professional therapeutic or counseling services.  The site functions with the gracious willing assistance of lay persons without credentials or experience in the helping professions.  What these volunteers possess is an awareness of the theology of Conversations with God.  It is from this context that they offer insight, suggestions, and spiritual support during moments of unbidden, unexpected, or unwelcome change on the journey of life.

     

     

  • This just in: you’re addicted to the news

    When does too much turn into addiction?

    I am often asked this question in many different forms, about many different subjects.  It usually comes across in questions like am I addicted to work, or money, or candy, sex, alcohol even television.  The list goes on and on.  Society has done a wonderful job of blurring what is really very obvious to most people. In order for something to be considered an addiction the following definition must apply.  You will not hear the definition of addiction talked about in the media.

    Continued use in spite of negative consequences.

    For those of you who read this column regularly you have heard this definition before.  These negative consequences for the 5 major addictions are obvious to everyone who knows the addict.  For the soft addictions the consequences may not be so obvious from the outside.

    Many people would say that a person who makes millions of dollars and continues to build his wealth is addicted to money. Without knowing who this person is and what he is up to with his money, it is not for us to say that he is addicted.  Take for example, the person who works 100 hours a week.  We would judge this person to be a workaholic.  But what if that person is doing what he or she loves to do?  What if the work this person is doing is for a cause that could bring great joy and freedom to large numbers of people?  Do we still say that person is a workaholic or do they now become a saint?

    So if a person likes to come home from work every night and crack open a cold beer,  sit on the couch and watch the evening news is he addicted?  My answer is, “I don’t know, what happens if he doesn’t watch the news?”  You didn’t see that coming?  Really?

    The news media uses fear as the driving force to keep people coming back.  And it works! How does being informed of the murders, house fires, and potential terrorist threats, on a daily basis help us to feel joy?  Do we really need to know what the weather is going to be this coming weekend so we can make plans?  Many people keep a cable news channel on all day long listening to the same 5 stories be repeated endlessly.  You don’t think this is addiction?  Tell me what good this serves in our lives.

    Fear, is the opposite of everything that we are.
    God said that in CWG book one.

    Fear causes tension and anxiety which leads to all sorts of physical and mental health issues. Fear causes the body to enter into the fight of flight syndrome.  While in that mode the body cannot repair itself thus becoming vulnerable to disease.

    Living with a pattern of behavior that creates a mental state of fear qualifies as addicted by definition.  Repeating a behavior that is non-beneficial to our physical health or our mental well being is dysfunctional living.

    Hang on — there’s breaking news — oh no, a carjacking in New York City.

    Yes, this story gets the headlines; one man carjacks somebody in a city of 12 million people and this makes a top story on the 5 pm news?  Why?  What is the end game of this type of reporting?  Is it really just to keep us coming back day after day so they can sell ads?  Why do we not see the bigger picture?  That the majority of humans are out in the world doing good things, living normal, happy lives?  When will we decide take back our reality creation instead of letting someone create our reality based on what sells more advertising for them?

    It is staggering to see what the media chooses to report on when you look at it honestly.  The news is merely another form of entertainment much like professional wrestling. They are going to look for the most sensational piece of news and beat it over our heads for as long as possible.  A sensational plane crash gets 2 weeks coverage at the top of the hour while meanwhile 44 people per hour per day die from addiction-related incidents.

    My wife and I decided a few years ago that we would not watch news unless there was something happening that we felt the need to be informed of.  We also decided if we were going to watch that we were going to keep our finger on the channel button and turn it off as soon as we received the information we desired.  For the most part we get our news through the internet where we can pick and choose what it is we want planted in our head.

    My suggestion to everybody is how much news are you watching?  How is it affecting your life?  Is it helping?  Or is it just filling your head with useless information?

     In June we kicked off our first in a series of CWG on recovery retreats.  A small group of people all shared a life-changing event.  If you are in recovery and not experiencing great joy and freedom or are still suffering with addictions, please consider giving yourself this experience.   Our next retreat will held in San Jose, California, Sept 19 -22nd, 2013.  On October 24 – 27th, 2013 we will have another retreat in Orlando Florida.  Click here for more information on these life changing retreats.

    (Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional. He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, life coach, and interventionist specializing in individual and family recovery and also co-facilitates spiritual recovery retreats for the CWG foundation with JR Westen. You can visit his website for more information at www.Kevin-Spiritualmentor.com  To connect with Kevin, please email him at Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com)

  • Have you talked with God today?

    With the ending of summer, teenagers everywhere are focused on getting in the last minute trip to the beach, back to school shopping, and savoring the final days of pure laziness. But as we focus on these activities, we often forget the most important of them all: having a direct conversation with God. Period.

    As for those of us already immersed in the God-being experience, this post should serve as a healthy reminder to remain connected to the highest source possible. There is always another mystery, another light, another piece of knowledge to be understood. So, if you understand, please continue to expand and explore your relationship to the Universe and to Divine Oneness.  

    But for those who think that this sounds strange…

    Now, I know that some of us out there have doubts about this whole ‘talking’ idea. Most of us, through whatever religious vehicle that our parents have driven into us, think of God as something inaccessible and far, far, far above our limited understanding. Further, some of us even think that only other highly spiritual people, such as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, and Neale (obviously), can possibly participate in such a sacred activity. But…..That is a lie. Period.  

    The honest truth is….

     ANYONE AT ANY POINT OF THEIR LIFE CAN TALK TO GOD AT ANYTIME.

    Do I need to repeat that for you?

    We don’t need a median. We don’t need a prophet. We don’t need a preacher. All we need is an enlightened mind, an energized body, an earnest heart, and an elevated soul (thanks again Neale). But don’t worry. It IS easier than it sounds.  

    If you are too instilled in religious anthropomorphism of ‘God’ as ‘The Old Man Judging Us In The Sky’, then think of it as a conversation with the Universe, the Over-Soul, the Infinite Being, the Complete Oneness, or what you feel the deepest connection with.

     If you don’t feel a connection on the spiritual level, you are going to have a problem.

    So it sounds a little (or extremely) intimidating. We often wonder what we would say to God if given the chance, but what will we do when we actually do? Will we say the wrong thing or embarrass ourselves? Will we ask too much and be disappointed? And most daunting…

    Will we be judged for what we asked, and thought of as a lesser being?

    Nope. Not at all. Nowhere even close to that.

     ASK GOD ANYTHING. Really, it’s okay.

    Talking with God – about ANYTHING – is talking from your highest intentions and listening from your sincerest gratitude. There is no judgment, there is just what you choose to create on the deepest and most intimate level possible. Besides being a way to resolve all tension, distress, and worry in your life, it talking to God also simply recreates the all-too-forgotten that there is meaning for everything in the Universe. But to make it easy, let’s take a look at this from the two levels:

    + Talking from Your Highest Intentions: The true Dictionary Definition of the word ‘communion’ is “the act of sharing one’s thoughts and emotions with deep understanding in intimate converse”. There is nothing to fear, there is nothing to hide; it is all a part of infinite consciousness anyways. Unveil your deepest intentions, to God and also to yourself. When the individual consciousness in you speaks directly with the collective conscious of the universe, it is all in the deepest and purest mutual understanding on the most intimate level possible.

    + Listening From Your Sincerest Gratitude: In order to effectively communicate in ANY setting, one must also listen just as deeply as they speak. Open yourself to the universe – even if it means that your current way of thinking may be exposed to be erroneous. To enhance the harmony of life, we must listen for the melody that underlies it all. Being willing to stop our own internal chatter, we also recognize our own gratefulness for everything that the universe has provided us. Whether it was challenges to stimulate our spiritual development or the experience of love in its highest form, we are always in a state of enduring awe. As we communicate with God, our awe for life itself grows ever more apparent.

    So go out there, and have your communion elevated to the highest level. For the majority of people, (Neale and myself included), the easiest form of communication is through writing. Literally, with the salutation, closing, and all the rest. Just try it and see what happens when you start writing back. One thing I have observed from my own Conversations…

    “Writing this weekly column is God living through me, but writing to God is God living within me.”

    Though both experiences manifest our creative talents into the universe, they each let us understand a very different part of ourselves. With artistic expression, we are not always honest with our intentions. With spiritual expression, we remain forever open and truthful with our highest purpose.  Make sense?

    I know this site has been founded by the book series Conversations With God. BUT too many of us still read it and think only of how lucky Neale was to have access to this experience. When we go beyond simply just thinking ‘That’s a wonderful idea…for others to experience’ to ‘This is something that I consciously choose to experience as a part of my daily life’, then that’s when we CHANGE. That’s when society CHANGES. That’s when the human race CHANGES.

     To ONENESS, to BEINGNESS, to LIGHT, to LOVE, to TRULY UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.

    And really, for the deepest questions in life, who else would you ask?

    (Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)

  • What to do about a friend who doesn’t keep her word?

    I have a dear friend who, I am discovering, doesn’t keep her word. She says she will do things, but then, if something better comes along, she changes her mind. I have noticed that she does this with new jobs. She gets all excited about them, says they are perfect for her, then within a few months something happens that she doesn’t like and she quits. With me, most recently she offered to house sit and take care of my cats for a week, then after a couple of nights, she changed her mind and never came back. She got a neighbor to cover for her and didn’t tell me about it until several days afterward. Had she bothered to even send me a quick text, I would have told her I preferred to use my regular cat-caretaker, who I had already paid before my friend offered to stay at my house. I’m noticing a pattern here because I know of another woman who was unhappy with her for the very same reason. She makes sure the cats are okay, but doesn’t stay there as she says she will. I am familiar with the old saying that it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, but is it okay to do so over and over again with no seeming regard of how it affects others? I don’t know whether to call her on this or to just keep my mouth shut about it. Can you offer any advice? … Sandy

    Dear Sandy… I learned a very valuable lesson from my father rather early in life. I had signed a three month contract to do piano bars in Sweden one winter. When I got there I hated it. It was dark and cold and I found the people quite unfriendly, and after two weeks I decided I wanted to come home. I called my dad and told him, and he asked me an all-important question: “Did you sign a contract?” I admitted that I had, and he said, “I think you should honor your agreement.” I realized he was right, and, Sandy, by doing that, I changed the course of my entire life! So many wonderful things wouldn’t have happened had I not stuck it out, and the next month they moved me to a different city and I loved it!

    There is something profoundly important about keeping one’s word. It not only lets others know our character, it allows us to express ourselves in the highest and best way possible. For that reason, it is of the utmost importance to think things through as much as possible, and to listen to our feelings and guidance before declaring that we will do something. If we give our word that we will do something, I think that unless situations really dictate otherwise, we keep it, even when the going gets rough.

    One of Don Miguel Ruiz’ “Four Agreements” that I try hard to live by is, “Be impeccable with your word.” And Conversations With God says that we create on three levels: Thought, Word and Action.  There is great power behind speaking our word. It tells the Universe what our intentions for creation are, and it helps things start falling into place to make that happen. When we continually change our minds, we confuse the Universe about what we choose to call forth. Therefore, being impeccable with our word is not only important in our relationships with each other, it is important in our relationship with God. When we clearly tell God what we intend to do, we consciously co-create with It.

    Now, your question of whether or not to say something to your friend is one that, I’m afraid, you are going to have to decide for yourself. I know that confrontations are difficult for many people, including me. You might want to remember the “Five Levels of Truth Telling” from CWG:

    1. Tell your truth to yourself about yourself.

    2. Tell your truth to yourself about another.

    3. Tell your truth about yourself to another.

    4. Tell your truth about another to that other.

    5. The your truth to everyone about everything.

    You have already taken Steps 1 and 2. Now your decision is whether to implement Steps 3 and 4. Remember, what’s going on with your friend is only your truth about the situation. There are always two sides to every story. Do you know why she changed her mind in this particular instance? Were there extenuating circumstances that prevented her from being able to keep her word?

    The ultimate goal in truth-telling is to clear the air of any negativity and end up in a better place than you were before. It is never to assign blame or judgment on another. The possibility does exist, however, that in telling your truth to your friend, you will cause her think twice before not following through with her word in the future. This could serve to be a boon to her in future agreements, not unlike my decision to stick it out in Sweden in that dark, cold winter so long ago.

    If you find you just don’t have the courage to come right out and talk with her about it, perhaps this Advice column could suffice…

    (Annie Sims is the Global Director of CWG Advanced Programs, is a Conversations With God Life Coach and author/instructor of the CWG Online School.To connect with Annie, please email her at Annie@TheGlobalConversation.com

    (If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to:  Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com where our team is waiting to hear from you.)

    An additional resource:  ChangingChange.net offers spiritual assistance from a team of non-professional/volunteer Spiritual Helpers responding to every post from readers within 24 hours or less. Nothing on the CCN site should be construed or is intended to take the place of or be in any way similar to professional therapeutic or counseling services.  The site functions with the gracious willing assistance of lay persons without credentials or experience in the helping professions.  What these volunteers possess is an awareness of the theology of Conversations with God.  It is from this context that they offer insight, suggestions, and spiritual support during moments of unbidden, unexpected, or unwelcome change on the journey of life.

     

  • I’m a recovering junkie

    (This week’s Addiction & Recovery column is hosting a guest article written and contributed by Audrey Holst.)

    I’m slowly healing an addiction.

    I never thought it would happen to me.  I always thought addicts were people with issues with booze or drugs.  I denied I had a problem for a long time.  But it’s time I come clean.

    I was addicted to my cell phone.

    It was the first thing I looked at in the morning.  My cell is also my alarm so as soon as it went off I already had my phone in hand.  It was easy to thumb through the e-mails that came in overnight.  Browse through my Facebook newsfeed.  Before I’d even gotten out of bed I’d gotten my first hit.  At any point in the day my e-mail made its distinctive ‘ding’ noise I would be reaching to read and answer it.   Any action on my Facebook newsfeed or timeline called for contact, it didn’t matter where or when it happened.  I checked it compulsively.  Even if I wasn’t sure if there was an alert, I’d check my phone.  Before I went to bed at night I’d check and re-check my e-mail.  I’d check my newsfeed.  I’d browse a few pages.  I’d be plugged in until the very last moment before my eyes closed.

    I left my phone at home one day and you would have thought I had lost a limb.

    This may seem silly to some people since it’s such a regular part of our society.  It’s an acceptable addiction because the majority of us indulge in it.  But explain that to a boyfriend that I used to make feel completely de-valued during dates interrupted by “urgent” work e-mails.  Explain those moments spent awake at night because I checked my e-mail right before bed only to find an irritating message that could have been dealt with in the morning.  Explain hours of valuable time lost because I went down the rabbit hole that is going through people’s pages on Facebook.

    Explain this to couples at dinner tables (and I’ve seen them) never looking up at each other, glued to their phone screens.  Explain this to a sidewalk full of pedestrians walking into each other with their faces obsessively scanning their cells.  Explain this to drivers all over the country weaving across highway lanes at high speeds watching the progress of their phone messages more than the progress of the road.

    Just because so many of us do it, doesn’t mean it’s any less destructive to the quality of our lives.  Nomophobia is an actual term first created by British researchers in 2008 to describe people who experienced anxiety when they had no access to mobile technology.  Stress levels soared when people were unable to tap into their phones.

    Some personal side-effects of my addiction?  Unnecessary stress and obsessive uncontrollable thoughts at all hours of the day.  My relationship ended due to lack of intimacy.  Could I say my cell-phone broke us up?  Perhaps not, but it was certainly a huge indicator of my bigger problem.

    What was the addiction really asking for?  I started to dig deeper into this while doing the inner work during my Life Coach training.  I value living an aware and conscious life and I am dedicated to being present.  Being at the beck and call of a small little electronic device was against my major beliefs.  What was I really searching for every time I reached for my phone?

    Connection.

    Every time I picked up my phone I was trying to satisfy the desire for connection, but without the risk that often comes along with it.  In the case of my “urgent” work e-mail interrupted dates, I was avoiding face-to-face intimacy.  It’s so easy to hide behind technology while sharing vulnerable details of your life but to do it face-to-face with a real person makes the experience so much more intense, and any perceived judgement for sharing yourself, so much more harsh.  Every time I answered a work e-mail I felt needed and important.  And who doesn’t want to feel needed and important?  I wanted to be seen and heard and cherished but rather than meet those needs through my personal relationships, I buried myself in the technological ones.

    There is a theory that addiction to cell phone use acts like a “gateway drug” to fuel the search for other substances that keep uncomfortable sensations at bay.  In the past, I drank to deal with certain feelings.  I also made a recent discovery that I use food to squash emotions I don’t want to deal with.

    I’ve gotten to the point that I’m tired of dealing with my own B.S. and avoiding of things that challenge me emotionally.  Time to cut through it and get real.

    Now what?

    It’s an ongoing process, but the long story short of it, I’ve been tapping into my yoga practice to help guide me.  Just like we encourage the body to be uncomfortable in yoga postures as a vehicle for change, there is nothing different about the mind or emotions being uncomfortable in everyday life situations.  I have to be willing to lean into that discomfort.  I’ve done work around my relationship issues with fellow coaches.  I’ve discovered that being connected to nature is another necessary element to ground me and bring me back to a stable place to move from.  I’ve cleaned up my diet and have a much healthier relationship to food.  I’ve been working outside my comfort zone sober and with technology out of reach.

    I still catch myself having ghost thoughts and compulsions of past habits but the pull is significantly less.  My dedication to being aware and conscious is powerful.  I feel more at peace.  More in control of my life.  I feel like a more authentic version of myself.

    Our addictions are actually misguided attempts at self-care.  We engage in them to fill a really important need.  However, addictions don’t address the root problem.  They are like putting a flimsy band-aid over a severed artery.  When it doesn’t stop the hemorrhaging we add more and more band-aids.  Until we are willing to get that artery stitched up, which usually requires asking for help and is often a much harder, and more challenging process than just piling on band-aids, we will continue to bleed out.  I send love to all of us that are on this path.

    Can you relate to this journey?  What did it, or what will it, take for you to heal?

    Audrey Holst is an Inner Wisdom advocate that partners with women that feel unsatisfied by the status quo to reclaim their energy and fill their lives with pleasure, creation, and love.  She facilitates transformation through the healing process of coaching and her years of experience as a Bikram certified yoga instructor.  Audrey teaches at, and manages, Yoga for You, A Bikram Yoga Studio in Dedham, MA.  To learn more, visit her website at www.audreyholst.com or connect with her at audrey@audreyholst.com

  • Unschooling: learning by the seat of your soul

    After dark on a summer evening, an 8-year-old boy named Allen and his mother sat on the blacktop driveway, which was still warm from the day’s sun, drawing with chalk. But they weren’t drawing daisies and rainbows and other normal-type pictures–they were doing geometry. Why? Because Allen wanted to know how the odometer on his bicycle worked. Why so late at night? Well, when better to learn than right after the question is asked?

    Allen remembers the night as having an exciting quality to it—like being allowed to stay awake to ring in the New Year—and he felt like they were up until midnight measuring the bicycle tires, calculating r2 and discussing the Pythagorean Theorem. In reality it was probably much less than that, but time warps when you’re engaged with something, and even geometry can be exciting to an 8-year-old when it’s applied to real life.

    Our childhood was filled with such time-warped moments; so much so that it was the norm instead of the exception. You see, my younger brother Allen and I didn’t go to school. Our classrooms were chalk on the driveway, the local riding stable, Girl Scouts, museums, beaches, Europe, Australia, caves, libraries, mountains, homemade movies, stage productions, cooking in the kitchen, managing family finances… We were (and are) unschoolers.

    Unschooling is an exciting alternative to contemporary schooling that empowers students to create their own education. Much like homeschooling, families are free to explore opportunities outside of the public school system, and even outside of the curriculums that many homeschoolers use. Unschoolers pursue their interest of the moment, and in the process find their passions of a lifetime.

    Conversations with God, Book II talks about a new education system which is based on the values of awareness, honesty, and responsibility; a system that teaches the student to think critically, come to their own conclusions, and gives them a sense of “unlimitedness.” Unschoolers have been doing this for decades in our modern era, and humanity has been doing this in a sense for our entire history. Babies “unschool” themselves in learning how to talk and walk: Unschooling families simply let their children unschool the rest of life, too.

    While the students pursue their interests, the parents create the space for learning: they make sure resources and opportunities are available for their children to follow their interests as deeply as they want and to stumble upon new potential interests. In the process, a fully-rounded education emerges, which includes more than just mathematics, history, and literature. For us, and for the many unschoolers we know, we learned respect for ourselves and others because our parents respected us enough to take control of our own education. We learned to see the world with curiosity and with the awareness of the differences in people’s lives and cultures, and to appreciate those differences as beautiful. We learned personal responsibility in managing our time, making our educational intentions known, and following through with our goals. We didn’t always succeed, and we learned a lot from that, too.

    Love is freedom. We know this from the New Spirituality paradigm, we know this from Christ, and some of us know this from our own experiences. In order to unschool, parents must have the unconditional, unfearing love that gives the child freedom to make their own choices; the freedom to know themselves as individuals and as integral parts of a family unit and larger society; the freedom to hone their strengths and learn how to contribute to help the world move toward the grandest vision that it has for itself.

    In return for this freedom, the child is more likely to respect the parent’s suggestions for how to live a full, safe, expansive life. This is not theoretical: Allen  and I have a wide collective base of unschooled friends and rates of stereotypical teenage rebellion in unschooling families are next to none. For instance, even though I often felt annoyed at the inconvenience, I never fought my parents’ rule that I couldn’t drive a car with passengers without an adult present or express permission until I was 18, because I understood that I was an inexperienced driver and that friends could be distracting. I knew that the rule came from a place of love, wisdom, and experience, so it made sense to follow it.

    Because unschoolers have the fortune to grow up in a family culture of unlimitedness and exploration, they often have an advantage in adult life. They know how to pursue things they’re interested in (which translates to careers), and they’ve often had experience in approaching people and marketing themselves as worthwhile apprentices or employees. They already understand the principle that if you pursue what you love, the rest will follow. Most will not let themselves get caught up in the cultural story of needing to go to college and get a job that they hate so that they can buy nice things that will ultimately “make them happy.” Instead, they write their own story and live it, unafraid of being different and being satisfied with the choices they’ve made.

    Allen and I took vastly different paths as young adults, and we are both largely happy with our lives and our choices–perhaps mostly because we learned early on that our choices are simply that: ours. We have the freedom to choose our life paths, interests, emotions, reactions, thoughts…everything. And because we know that so deeply, it’s much easier to change our choices when we think we need to. My biggest “victimhood” struggle was when I went to college and felt completely imprisoned by the institutional system. I had to remember that college was my choice, and that because I wanted to see it through to the end, I’d have to make the choice to stop feeling imprisoned. After that, college flew by.

    Of course, we’re still figuring things out, we still make mistakes, and we still need guidance, as everyone does, but both of us feel better prepared for life than most of our peers. People from all areas of our lives, with relationships to us from friends to classmates to bosses, have commented on qualities like our maturity, perseverance, ingenuity, and intelligence that we ascribe to our unschooled upbringing.

    Not every parent is ready right now to be an unschooling parent, but the unschooling movement is growing. Since the modern emergence from the public school system in the 1970’s, our numbers have grown to an estimated 100,000 or more students of current school age. However, most of us consider ourselves unschoolers for life, since unschooling is living life, so I expect there are quite a few more of us than that. As our world goes through massive shifts and growing pains, Allen and I think that unschooling is only going to keep rising in popularity, not only because it works as an education system, but because it works as a parenting system and as part of a more coherent and functional cultural story. The unschooling society in the US currently is spread out, but still tight-knit and supportive. We’re not immune to drama and disagreements, but we tend to be creative in the way we solve those disagreements. We tend to quickly remember that freedom (and the love that is inseparable from freedom) is the basis of our unschooling culture, and that is the culture we want to plant, nurture, and grow in our world.

    And yes, it really is as simple as being willing to use your evening at the drop of a hat to explain to your 8-year-old how his odometer works. The rest will follow.

    Laura Allen(Laura Ellis is 26 years old and lives in Santa Fe, NM. She is enrolled in a Master’s degree program for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and has a background in writing, Reiki, horseback riding, and social sciences. Allen Ellis is 24 years old and lives in Orlando, FL. He is the Senior Motion Designer at Cybis Communications and has a background in videography, piano, web design, and programming. They can be reached at whyunschool@gmail.com. For more information on unschooling, visit whyunschool.info.)

    (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)