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The Art of Blessing Sanctifying Everyday Life by Dennis Merritt Jones
M
ost blessings are done quietly, in the silence of one’s own mind and heart; most often
others don’t even know about it. How a blessing is done is not as important as the fact that it’s done mindfully. There is nothing magical or mystical about conferring a blessing—it’s simply confi rming the presence of God, divine Spirit, at the center of that which is being blessed. Masters, teachers, sages and saints from every spiritual tradition have used blessings as a way to consecrate, sanctify, purify and heal. Wedding ceremonies, memorial services, christenings and everything in-between have at one time or another been blessed. Anyone can offer a blessing. Ernest Holmes, author of Science of Mind, defi ned a blessing as constructive thought directed toward anyone or any condition. He says, “You bless a man when you recognize the divinity in him.” When things are good, it can seem easy to neglect the practice of blessing ourselves and others. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting—a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every
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fair sky, in every fair fl ower and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” We can always bless what’s good in
our lives, but blessings can become even more meaningful if we remember to bless the bad times as well, when we most need to remember the truth that good is present then and there, too. Getting in the habit of embracing daily blessings is a good spiritual practice as we evolve and go forth and bless our world as we have been blessed. It’s a matter of remembering that the real blessing has already been bestowed; the gift of life itself. Take a moment to contemplate this and seal it in consciousness by silently affi rming, “I am blessed and I am a blessing.” I Am is a name of God. In the words of Mary Baker Eddy in introducing her seminal work, Science & Health, “To those leaning on the sustaining infi nite, today is big with blessings.”
Dennis Merritt Jones, D.D., of St. Petersburg Beach, FL, is the author of Your (Re)Defi ning Moments, The Art of Uncertainty and The Art of Being, the source of this essay. He has contributed to the human potential movement and fi eld of spirituality for 30 years (
DennisMerrittJones.com).
Central Florida natural awakenings
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