Category: Spiritual Wellness

Dear Readers,

I want to share a sneak-peak into my book due out by Summer 2020. This has been a dream come true and I am grateful to have had you on this journey with me. I look forward to your feedback of the sneak-peak. I will keep you posted on the book release date.

 

Evolution: A Continual Process

I have always believed that we can learn something from every being we cross paths with on our journey. That learning leads to evolution. Since learning is a continual process, so is evolution. We learn from each other. We learn from our own personal experiences. We learn from situations. We learn from the beauty all around us. We even learn from our pets. The hope is that all this learning leads us to a different level of being.

The evolution process can be challenging and painful but at the same time rewarding and exciting. It is a necessary part of our being. I see evolution as growth. Having said that, if you’re not evolving (growing) then perhaps you are just merely existing in humanity. I merely existed far too long. I am now thrilled to be on the path to continual evolution.

Evolving requires change. At times it requires difficult decisions. At times it requires evaluating who’s in your circle. Not everyone will understand your evolvement. That’s when the difficult decisions come in. You may have to move on to the next level without them. I have personally found it important to surround myself with others who are interesting in evolving. Interested in growing. Not afraid of change.

I am recognizing the need to constantly work to evolve as a critical component to my success, peace of mind, and happiness. Evolving into a better version of myself.

Evolving is about:

• Living as your highest self
• Being your best self
• Stepping into your purpose

This is evolvement and yes, it is a continual process.

I am finding that as I evolve, I care more about people and less about what they think.

This book is a culmination of experiences that have contributed to my evolvement thus far. It is my hope that you will learn and evolve as a result of reading it. It is my hope that it will create change and stimulate self-healing. This book illuminates’ issues, gives perspectives and simply makes suggestions. It is you that will decide what resonates with you and what to adopt. It will be up to you to decide what to apply to your life.

Thank you for picking it up. Thank you choosing to read it. Thank you for being part of my learning and evolution.

Happy Evolution,

Vince

 

 

My mother raised me in church and for that I am grateful. We were in Church every Wednesday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night as well as several week-long revivals a year. It felt like my second home. Things have certainly changed. Could it be that the physical building we call the church is a dying organization?

Looking back on the church, I have realized some disturbing truths about this organization that have led me to ponder many questions.

• Who is God?
• Where is God?
• Is God separate from us?
• Aren’t we all just ONE universal Spirit?
• Where is this Hell I’ve been told about?
• Where is Heaven?

Do I have all the answers? Not by a long stretch. I ask these questions to also provoke thought in you. And remember, parachutes are much like the mind, heart and spirit. They only work when they are open. It is my hope you will keep your mind, heart, and spirit open as you also think about what your answer would be to these questions.

Perhaps God is not who you’ve been taught your whole life he is. Perhaps God is not where you been told he is. Are Heaven and Hell really physical destinations?

For centuries the church has used fear tactics to get people to follow. Follow who? They have preached that if you don’t “get saved” and follow Jesus that you will go to hell and burn forever. So, where is this “Lake of Fire” where thousands of “sinners” are burning forever yet never burn up? Where is it located? Are you able to answer that?

Where is this place called Heaven that “Christians” go after they die? Where is it?  Do people really go somewhere and walk on streets of gold forever? Sounds like a nice story but is it reality?

Could it be that Heaven and Hell are not physical destinations at all, but rather states of mind with each day bringing a new opportunity to choose which one we will be in? For me, my choices have led to many days in hell. On the other hand, I’ve also had many days in heaven.

Church for me has been both a place of inspiration and a place of great hurt with all the gossiping, deceitfulness, extreme hypocrisy, fear tactics and fairytales. I could write a book just on my experience in the church. Is the church perhaps too much of a business?  A bank? A social gathering?  A fashion show? A Broadway musical? A place to hide who you really are. 

Many politicians have used the church as a platform to win elections. “Oh, he’s a Christian so I’m voting for him.” I think we have all seen behavior that is far from Christian coming from the highest office in the land yet the Christians continue to support this behavior by casting their vote.

Next time you attend your church, look around. What is the majority age group represented in the church?  More than likely, it is not millennials. It is possible that they have chosen to also ask themselves the important questions? The millennials do not seem to be buying into the fear tactics, the drama, and the stories being told.

Each individual has within them the power to discover their own spirit and their own path without all the drama of the church. It is my belief that people are more awakened to the fact that the sanctuary is inside of them and not inside a building where you go to be preached at, condemned, and judged.

I certainly respect those who believe in the traditional thought process they were raised to belief. I respect those who choose to attend church. Still I have to wonder, Is the church serving its true purpose? Quite frankly, I see more spirituality in people who do not attend church. The Bible has been terribly distorted by many men to make it mean what they want it to mean and to justify their bigotry and hate.

What would happen if the church practiced more love and less fear? What would happen if the church practiced more acceptance and less judgment? What would happen if there was more authenticity and less hypocrisy? What would happen if they fed the hungry instead of buying the pastor a new Mercedes?

I have served at the top of many of these large church organizations. Oh, the things I saw, heard, and experienced.  One thing in the pulpit and another out. Families arguing and not loving each other. The church split with certain groups fighting with other groups in the church. Holding elections to vote people in and out of positions. Using certain parts of the bible to judge and condemn others.

My intention is certainly not to tear the physical church down, but instead to hopefully cause you to think about the questions asked in this article. What is your answer to each question?

As always, I would be grateful for your feedback as I believe we all learn from each other. It is okay to have varying viewpoints and ideology. We can still love and respect each other through it all.

Grateful for each of you,

Vince

 

 

 

 

 

Am I who I say I am? Do my actions line up with my words? Do I always fully embody what I write about?

As a writer, I felt it necessary to ponder this question for myself. This pondering led to a deeper reflection of the question, Am I who I say I am?

Is my inner self a true reflection of my outer self?

There are times when I feel my true spirit is completely overshadowed by my human behavior. I find myself writing and sharing knowledge but do I always use that knowledge? There are times I actually feel fake. Not intentional at all. My intention is to be what I write about. I must admit, it doesn’t always happen.

• I say I am Love. Do my actions always reflect love towards ALL beings?
• I say I am Peace. Am I peaceful? Do I promote peace at work, home, in my family, and in my everyday life or do I contribute to the discord and division?
• I say I am inclusive. Do I really see EVERYONE as equal?
• I say I am kind. Do I practice kindness with EVERYONE I see and in EVERY situation?
• I say I believe. Do I let go of the fear and just trust?
• I say I am happy and fulfilled but am I really?

There seems to be a purposeful intention in today’s news and social media environment to mislead. It has become difficult to distinguish what is really truth and what is misleading information. Are people who they say they are? A lot of mistruths have surfaced recently in the news, in politics, and on social media. Everyone seems to be looking at others instead of looking at themselves.

In my writing I have more recently began to share more personal things about my life including my sexual orientation. All in an effort to be who I say I am. For most of my younger adult life and childhood life, I wasn’t who I said I was. I pretended to be something different out of fear. I pretended to be something different so I would be accepted. I pretended to be something different so I wouldn’t “go to hell” as the church taught me that being gay was an abomination and sin. I was afraid to say who I really was. It seemed more acceptable to pretend and be dishonest.

This one thing I do know. My actions never line up with my words 100% of the time. Does anyone’s?

Perhaps the best I can do is to be more mindful of what I say, in an effort to do and be just that. I believe I have the right intentions but there are challenges along the way that I allow to veer me away from those intentions.  It is then that I become something different from what I write about. It is my intention to be love. It is my intention to be peace. It is always my intention to be inclusive and kind.

When I write, I am actually writing to myself realizing that the things I write about are things I need more work on. They are things I need to be more conscious of. I am a work in progress and would never pretend to be anything else.

The mission of what I say through my writing is: To Create Change and Stimulate Self-Healing. Key word here is self. I have been incredibly blessed that it has also created change and stimulated self-healing in many of you. For that I am deeply grateful.

Writing actually increases my awareness of what I say. I will continue to try and be what I say. It is my desire to be the same person at home, at church, at work, around family, friends, and in my everyday life. I recognize that to be anything else is a bit hypocritical.

Are you who you say you are?  Are you exactly who you portray yourself to be on social media? It is not so much about the words as the action. We’ve all heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” My pastor used to say, “Some people will worship God in church and then go home and kick the cat.” Are you “praising Jesus” on Sunday morning and arguing with your family on Monday?

I will leave you with a Japanese quote.

Many people have 3 faces. The first face you show the world. The second face you show your close friends and family. The third face you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are.

Until next week,

Be the same person.  At home. At church. At work. Out with friends. It’s called authenticity. That’s my true deep desire and intention. I will continue to work on that in my personal life as I am a continual work in progress. Grateful to be in a new awareness.

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Hi, I’m Vince. I am a Critical Care Registered Nurse and Author. Welcome to my site. On this site you will be provided inspirational, educational, and motivational articles. It is my mission to have this information help you achieve Optimal Health which includes Physical Health, Spiritual Health, and Mental Health.