dr. James house<br>well hello hello again everybody Welcome to reclaiming authenticity good afternoon 3 right on the dot here we are August 27th I don't know where you know your thoughts are on all this but where in the world did August go I just don't know I mean it just kind of flu by just like the month of July to buy for me but next weekend will be you know when Labor Day weekend and then from there you know that I could I'd say most of the kids are going back to school and they are somewhat mixed emotions and the ones that I've been talkin to Anyway by summer excited to go back in person hopefully they can stay in person and some are just going to be kicking and screaming and dragging her feet with every step but they'll get back into a routine and I'm like I said hopefully they'll be able to be back in person well I get good afternoon everybody wherever you are in the world at this time again you are listening to reclaim<br>authenticity finding one's courage to reclaim that which has always been in you I am dr. James Howard and if you would like more information about me or to leave me your comments about Today show I just invite you to visit the website that is www.bcbs.com backslash reclaiming authenticity so I guess that is www.bbnradio.org so clammy authenticity and listen again to this broadcast or you not able to stay with me for the full hour you can go back into the archives and listen to previous shows because these broadcasts are now in podcast form and so I just wanted to thank you for the people who have been doing that and just appreciate your support in this so again just wanted to say that you know there's other<br>ways that you can show your support through this radio broadcast that you can become a monthly subscriber now as with most radio stations or less Haven TV spots or or people who do podcast you know getting a prescription means that you do not allowed to access shows until you pay that fee well this is not the case with with my podcast there is no subscription that is required to listen to the talk shows but it is greatly appreciated so again all you need to do is just go on to the website itself click on the link at the top and choose any amount that you feel comfortable well I am very excited to be with you here today every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time noon Pacific Standard time because to the integration of<br>spirituality and our mental health and if you would like to call in that number is 888-627-6008 again it's 888-627-6008 and I would really love to get your insights opinions and so forth as they're going to be talking about today the quenching of the Soul with the light of water to quench Universal with the light light of water so again just invite you to call in and I'll be taking your calls after the break and for those who returned again for the very first time just walk up a board I'll just say and in case you're wondering what reclaiming authenticity is all about I thought I put it to you this way that pretty much reclaiming authenticity focuses on the integration of spirituality and our Mental Health<br>all within the context of our relationships relationships that we have with ourselves the relationship that we have with others and the relationship that we have with God or the Divine and I just wanted to share with we can perhaps people turning in for the first time that I am a firm believer that all of us do come into this world already equipped and graced with everything we need for this life especially in terms of our giftedness or our skills or talents are strengths character traits Grace's all that stuff very very best parts of who we are and yet there's sometimes it as we go along in life and may be due to some unpleasant experiences we may feel like we need to<br>shall we say hide our giftedness or you know perhaps we've allowed our skills to come out at some point or accountants or even are character traits and it was ridiculed I am so we tend to hide the very best parts from others but they cannot see it because the way they were exploited in the past or even against people like talk to who they you know they know that they are the gifted and they have the very best parts of themselves just waiting to be discovered but as they were growing up they were told that they would never amount to anything or there was really nothing special to them or that they were backward or shy or something or whatever other boy you know they heard telling them that there was really nothing you know unique there was nothing special to them<br>well at any rate when this occurs you know we don't realize our giftedness the fact we stopped looking for even more the very best parts of ourselves and we go through life often functioning from a place of wounded this or you know just playing over and over again the part of the victim or just putting us into ourselves and sit there in situations where it's easy to you know just a brace victimization okay and again when we put this in the context of relationships are relationships suffer as a result because we approach those relationships from a place of woundedness from a place of of pain and suffering or misery or frustration<br>instead of a place of healing and wholeness and embracing our uniqueness or are attached at the house and the whole reason why I place this integration of spirituality and mental health in relationships is because it's kind of like life's ironing as I see it because on one hand we often receive our our deepest physical emotional psychological even spiritual wounds in and through relationships<br>and yet we can discover our greatest healing we can discover our our deepest strength we can discover our most profound peace and a depth of forgiveness and love through healthier relationships but relationships you know is is certainly the key because we are relational beings and these relationships just might be within our own families or coworkers no colleagues or even friends however whenever we find that healing in our lives we find that we are being transformed and when we do that we also transform others by our presents or Grayson or understanding because we are relating to ourselves and to others and I totally different manner but first forgiveness kindness and compassion begins with how we certainly treat RC<br>because whenever we're compassionate with ourselves we then can become more compassionate with others and whenever we are able to be forgiving of ourselves or with ourselves we then can be more forgiving with others and when we're able to live in gratitude with ourselves within discover how this opens our hearts to see and live in gratitude with others so transformation first and foremost begins with us we know the audience but I've got a couple of weeks ago and some friends and I were just sitting around and one of them just tossed out this question of well would if you had a chance to go back and do it all over again with what you know and you know what you make the same decisions or did you want to do things differently and immediately I just I just wanted to say sure<br>of course I'd want to do it differently I do all the things that does that spared me the pain and and other shortcomings I had or you know just how life turned out and all that and then before I gave that answer I just did a quick check in with myself and I realize that no I would not want to go back and do things differently<br> I would want to do things the same way because I think of it this way and doing things the way we have always done you know whether it be the choices we have made decisions how our life unfolded and so forth it could have been filled with misery or pain or suffering and it just wonder you know how those experiences have been Subway brought about healing in in our lives and certainly in my life as well because it has taught me something about myself my resiliency it has opened my eyes and my heart to be more compassionate and kind and forgiving and just really really I am just truly grateful for how every decision that everything that I have done has brought me to where I am today and so that is something that I would not want to trade at all<br> because again what I have gained is far far far more than what I think I have lost<br> well I hope your heart is well today I hope that you are well today too and if you are struggling today I pray that you find rest and comfort and the piece that's you need so on to another topic I hope that everybody out there is drinking plenty of water and I was especially no matter where you are summer months and so forth our doctors tell us that we need to drink at least eight 8 oz glasses of water every day so that's roughly. Roughly a two liter<br> and of course if you're outside in this heat then you will probably need to drink at least a gallon of water and then some a day depending on your activity now there are all sorts of water bottles out there and thermoses their mistyped devices to carry our water in and it's become quite fashionable the different styles and so for it but let me ask you this how many fancy plastic water bottles do you owe<br> 2<br> sex<br> more than 10 wow I was curious myself I went out to my kitchen cabinets earlier this week and I counted at least seven different carriers that we have used at various times to take water with us<br> and up and not just at me we probably have cup holders in our cars that we used to hold water bottles or sodas or and if you don't have any water or soda bottle then the cup holder is a good place to hide you no loose change so but not many of us would want to buy a car today without some cupholders weather in their front or the back splash in the back if you have kids now I say all of this to make this point<br> how many of us have ever taken the time to really appreciate the water that we drink<br> how many times have we really appreciated the water that we drink<br> do we appreciate the water that we drink enough to say a prayer before taking a set or to offer some form of gratitude<br> well let's be let's be honest how many times do we take water for granted<br> because it's nothing for us to fill up our water bottles and thermoses and you know go on our our merry way<br> and we assume that the water we are drinking is pure and clean now this is long been off the front page news but it's been six years since the Flint Water Crisis made the National League news out there in Flint Michigan and people are still living without clean water and when the news broke about the water situation in Flint many people there were dealing with chronic health effects of saying lead bacteria or other chemicals that were discovered in the water<br> and the same is true in other states where strip mining or mountaintop removal of coal have left Community Water Supplies just Laden with harmful chemicals that people getting sick and the water is basically unfit to drink<br> and also let's not forget that whenever there have been floods or fires or earthquakes then whenever the rescue workers arrived the First Responders and so forth they always make sure to have plenty of clean drinking water for the victims of such disasters and there's something very soothing and refreshing about receiving water when we are thirsty or when we are in distress it just provides that extra comfort for us because water is life it speaks like the nurse is us and so forth<br> well this afternoon I wanted to begin this focus on how the light of water refreshes our soul by reminding us how much we are connected to natural resources and how just simply living in gratitude opens us up to the awareness of our souls voice<br> I do for Chapel to start things off with this how many of you have ever read a very specific Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi it is actually A Canticle which is a prayer that is put the music or it is sung and the Canticle I'm thinking of is the Canticle of brother son and sister Moon<br> I think that's a very special Outlaw read a good part of it here for you but it is it is very unique and is just Laden with gratitude for all things and so Francis rights most high all-powerful all good Lord all praise is yours all glory all honor and all blessings you alone most high do they belong and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name<br> praise be you my Lord with all your creatures especially sir brother son who is the day through whom you give us light<br> and he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour of you most high he bears that likeness<br> praise be you my lord through sister moon and the stars in the heavens you have made them bright precious and fair<br> praise be you my lord through Brothers wind and air<br> and fair and stormy all weathers moods by which you cherish all that you have made praise be you my lord through sister water so you so humble precious and pure<br> praise be you my lord through brother fire through home you light the night and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong<br> I praise be you my lord through our sister mother earth who sustains and governs us producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs<br> and so on and so on does this Canticle go on to just give thanks for the good gifts of creation what makes Francis Francis is Canticle of creation there we go so relevant for us today is that he placed this prayer this this song in terms of the credittude he expressed because of the connection he has with all things<br> relationships<br> I used to tell my students all the time that everything we focus on whether it is mental emotional physical or spiritual always brings us back to relationships and unjust as we focus on the side of the mental emotional physical and spiritual aspects of ourselves we can also use the elements of earth wind fire and water to open us up to a greater connection of who we are as sole<br> thanks so for example for example the Earth it represents grounding the foundation of life you know it also represents substance for connection to one's life path and even a connection to our family roots<br> and then there's wind wind is air in its active and just very strong at times strong sense it represents the spirit the vital breath of the universe you know wind is felt in the warm wind of the spring and summer and it's also felt in the cold wind of autumn and winter<br> and fire represent energy to love transformation connection to personal power and inner strength and from a spiritual perspective fire represents our passions compulsion Zeal creativity and motivation and fire also has the characteristics for forging our will and determination<br> it's our inner light as well as a living symbol of the Divine fire that burns in every soul<br> and then there's water water is also a very powerful element it's shapeless odorless and tasteless vital to our life and part of a never-ending cycle<br> what are itself represents emotional release intuition and inner reflection<br> and water is also fluid in adaptable and has much to teach us regarding how we can manage any situation back when he was alive Bruce Lee used to say be like water<br> in other words you know he said empty your mind before milus be shapeless<br> be like water you put water into a cup it becomes the cup you put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle be like water<br> I want her certainly test our ability to be fluid and adaptable in any given situation and water can be very very strong as well<br> in fact let's take another look at just another property of water it's it's what I call the Silence of water and if you ever notice that water is actually the epitome of Silence I mean just pour water in a bowl and listen<br> you hear silence<br> that water only makes a sound when it's moving against another surface such as when we we pour water into a glass or even when we swallow it or what about when water is running over rocks or a crashing against the shore when the wind creates its waves<br> And yet when it's still this inaudible Silence of water communicates how it is filled with life that gives life to all who depend upon it<br> I know I've mentioned this to his audience before but there's a great movie that really speaks to this truth and that is the 2013 film the Cherokee word for water which follows the work that led Wilma mankiller to become the first contemporary female chief of the Cherokee Nation and then highly highly recommended now for those who have not seen the movie the movie is based on a true story of the Bell water line project in Oklahoma and it was set in the early 1980s in the homes of the rural Oklahoma Community where many Cherokee houses just lacked running water and you know other houses were just a little bit more than just Shacks<br> and to get any kind of water that I believe they had to go down to a school or or a library and pump water from a well and just carry the buckets back a mile or two I mean it was really really far just that that's all the first of the water came up<br> well after centuries of being dehumanized and dispossessed of their land and identity the people of this little Cherokee community no longer felt like they have the power or the control over their lives or the future well that was until the efforts of Wilma mankiller and Charlie's soap or can help to organize them to build a pipeline or they can now receive clean water and like I said if you have never seen this movie I highly highly recommended well there are many things that we can do to remind ourselves of the importance of water in our lives as well as you know how can we raise our awareness of the Gratitude and then how we can express that for being connected to the water now there was a scene and also you know the Cherokee word for water where there was a time and which<br> they were just heading one roadblock after another literally and trying to get this pipeline down and you know there's just saying like what do we do what we do and since the whole movie focused on water one of the wise Elders was asked can you go and listen to the water what is the water telling you and to the average person going and listening to water doesn't make sense but this wise Elder Cherokee outer know exactly what he needed to do and so there's a scene where he goes to the source of the water and he sits and he listens<br> I need meditates any praise report as the water out and he listens to the sound that it makes and the splashing and so forth and overtime came up with just a great idea of just how to get around those roadblocks and to get more more people from outside the community but from inside the community to help and just various ways and overtime this pipeline was was late according to plans and they had nice clean fresh flowing water<br> what the next time you drink water I just invite you to meditate on its characteristics of lights and the sound that it makes I mean here's another good good contemplation just understand how the molecular structure of water okay in class we learned it was H2O just have that molecular structure gives life to our human breath with is made up of oxygen and carbon dioxide so O2 and CO2 okay and water is H2O OK Google considered how God has breathed life into us and where we feel that breath and that matter and that movement of God in our lives<br> had to take this understanding one step further as we swallow water enter into the Silence of just gratitude for its life-giving properties how it feels and just following it down as it goes into our stomach and deeply connect with how the essence of water helps us discover our inner voice so that we can be a voice for those who have no water let alone those who are unable to speak<br> because you see apart from food apart from clothing apart from shelter the real issues that we cannot afford to live without our hope love gratitude inner peace and Grace has virtues are the true life giving gifts that nourish and sustain the so that far exceeds material possessions<br> add in the next half hour I'm going to focus on how ceremonies and rituals contain deeper levels of meaning that succeeding Generations need to learn and they need to learn the the relevance that ceremonies have for them to live in their soul Consciousness so by doing so nothing is taken for granted in life. One breath. One sip of water or one opportunity to bring healing you know you just bring healing from trauma and another person's life everything and everyone are connected<br> so I would really love to hear your heart on this matter so again if you would like to call and if you've never call in like you to do so today that number is 800-627-6008 that's I believe it's 888-627-6008 sorry about that and I'll be taking your calls after the break you are listening to reclaiming authenticity and I'm your host dr. James how I'll be back with you in 1 minute<br> okay welcome back I am dr. James how can you are listening to reclaiming authenticity again just a quick word about next week's show and I'm going to to take a deeper look at the five languages of love by the five languages of love this is a well-known book that came out I believe in round 1992 and it's pretty straightforward way it lays out the different characteristics in which we express and receive love it's a very very popular book invites to Google that thing and it's fascinating but next week I'm going to talk about the ways in which we can transform love into understanding the higher dimensions of how love connects us to ourselves and to one another kind so tune in next week 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time for the Alchemy of love that speaks to all<br> well earlier in the show I was talking about how the light light of water refreshes the Soul by reminding us how much we are connected to the natural resources and how living in gratitude opens us up to the awareness of our souls voice and I'm always recommending books here on the show and just a nice book to add to your collection if you don't already have it is a book that's entitled water wind Earth and fire Kane it's praying with the elements so it is water when Earth and fire praying with the elements by Christine painter and in her book that she has many different quotes on different aspects of water wind Earth and fire but also teaches us how to pray with the elements and offered if<br> ceremonies just want to read a section of her book so you got the idea and this is in the chapter on sister water and she writes the element of water is often associated with the direction of the West and the season of autumn the West is the place of the setting of the Sun the ending of the day and the transition into a time of Darkness it is a time to recognize our own limitations in Frailty Autumn is a season of letting go of what no longer serve in preparation for the fallow time of winter<br> dusk is a threshold time a time of transitions the rising and falling of the tides connects us to the movement in transition space of evening and human life itself begins in a watery womb we spend our first nine months of life in water and then emerge from this warm dark brine into the world<br> the water is break open when birth is in pending and in the first creation story in Genesis the waters existed before the light and the rest of creation emerged from that water water is essential to life<br> it pulses through our veins making up 70% of the Earth's surface and it also makes up 60% of our bodies and the beating of our blood Echoes the rise and fall of our breathing the great rhythms and the tides and the ebbing and flowing at the Seas great daily cycles that reflect the moon's phases<br> and we can change the water in many different forms the ocean the lake a fountain River Rain pool puddle and even tears<br> water is malleable pairing a different form such as Steam liquid a nice and 4-inch and people the sea was a place of great mystery and unending Horizons and Psalm 104 for claims look at the sea great and wide the teams with countless beings living things both large and small<br> and water is also a dominant simple in religious practice ritual bathing and hand-washing for purification have a place in many traditions and in Christianity the font of holy water is the place of baptism and initiation into Community the priests were the pastor washes his hands as the Eucharist prayer begins and drops a splash of water to mingle with the wine in the Jewish tradition the Mikvah is the holy path the place of purification and renewal and on Sabbath night a bowl and a pitcher of water has passed around the table as a part of the prayer so that the participants can wash themselves clean as a way of entering into this sacred time<br> and so that's just an excerpt from this book Water wind Earth and fire praying with the elements and you know it's it's not just on hot days where we need to be reminded to drink plenty of water but also those of you who do any kind of energy work we have to be reminded to drink lots of water because energy work on any kind of level can dehydrate us faster than what we realize that because water holds the light it is often said that in drinking water we are drinking liquid light<br> so for people who are giving a physical massages drink plenty of water people who offer Reiki sessions drink plenty of water people who do therapy work or any kind of need to talk therapy or counseling drink lots of water because you know and all of these situations and more you are moving through energy fields and dimensions whereby you'll need to drink water to help process any shifts that may have occurred and the same is true for people who have had some energy work done it also drink water to process these in the energy shifts that have occurred in you even if you're getting a massage for relaxation tree drink lots of water to replenish that which is being processed in and through you I just good Common Sense whenever we do a lot of energy work especially you<br> for those who are involved in a kind of like counseling therapy or clinical counseling therapy I always recommend to my clients is like okay you know as we do this work make sure you are drinking lots of water make sure you pay attention to your dreams and so forth because as people begin talking that you know become can become aware of other things in their life and it's it really spending a lot of energy and just working through perceptions or behaviors or other things that just might be troubling for them<br> and I usually come back you're the next session or so our week or two you know I just never realize how fast I was becoming dehydrated and it's like yeah I could because the spirit the soul land and water are just strongly connected okay so if you're doing any kind of energy work out there whether you're giving or receiving drink lots of water just again continue the processing that's going on because water does hold the light and it is often said that drinking water you're drinking that liquid light an artist Joseph right out for a few defl painted Arrow he notes the value of working with all of the elements and resources and involving them in ceremony<br> very specific ceremonies to remember our connectedness in and through all relationships and he actually says section of you from his books and Native teachings and Visionary art he says this regarding ceremonies he says indeed there is a power that every human being has that cannot be cultivated by reading and writing we must do something with our physical bodies and natural elements of the land the fire water are minerals and wood<br> Native American ceremonies summer which are very ancient and many of the societies that Indians have are based on this intention to reconnect over and over and over to the land when we keep connected with the land that's how we keep our power<br> we find life empty and unsatisfying because we do not involve ourselves in ceremony but it is encoded in our physical makeup by virtue of the fact that we have eyes and ears and mouths and noses and legs that we are here to be catalysts and connect the physical with the spiritual and ceremony is how we do this actually in a sense everything we do is ceremony whether we mean it that way or not but ceremony is so much more powerful if we do it intentionally ceremonies we do intentionally focus our energies on certain acts and lift us into states of expanded Consciousness through which we are literally drinking light<br> we are drinking inspiration from all the heavens and connecting the above rounds with the physical plane and this is what we come into physical form to do and we are nurtured by doing it and if we do not have enough ceremony in our lives pretty soon we feel empty sad and dispirited<br> we may think we are sad because our physical needs aren't being met or we need more success but what we are really feeling is the natural hunger of the self for connection with the vast self and that can only come through ceremony<br> and ceremonies are most powerful if we do them regularly as a part of community of people who gather for that purpose now ceremonies can be done alone in fact we came into the physical form to express an individual particular vibration or Essence but really we are connected with each other and with the vest self and we need to reconnect regularly because that is our source of our joy the source of our energy the source of our enthusiasm or the zest for life<br> ceremonies have to do with chanting and enchanting has to do with sound sound has to do with the vibration of the spirit that is in the land and in ceremony we are laying chanting and we are land dancing there is a voice that is coming from the land it wants to tell its story and this is the time now what's the time had come for the land to tell its story<br> where can I agree 110% with what Joseph Raphael is saying here about being in ceremony and how ceremony connects us to test ourselves but also one another but also to the elements that we engage in to be reminded of how much we are dependent on the earth and how much we are dependent on the Wind how much we are dependent on fire how much we are dependent on water<br> I have never quite understood the people who would just willingly pollute and just you know just lay waste to our natural resources because there is so much we depend upon them for life and it's almost as if you know you take your food source and you end up destroying it and then you wonder why you don't have enough food for everybody okay or you don't you wonder why there isn't enough water or clean drinking water for people and so forth and kind of blanking on where I heard this but there was a comment that I had overheard I was at a training seminar and the presenter just said it real fast but it stayed with me and she made the point that<br> you know if you go back through the world wars and what people were fighting over and you've never been the most recent worse you know other people will fight over natural resources such as like oil or gas or or territory or land or something and she said it wouldn't surprise her if the next World War is Over who controls the water<br> Azure something to think about I made it is a precious commodity it's a resource and it's one that we truly need to take care of and so to be in ceremony with water is something that we need to do just to raise our awareness just to you know to have that understanding of just how to connect we are with these elements<br> because whatever we're reminded of our connection with the elements we experienced a transformation on some level you know we may not see it right away by the transformation has a current and as a result of being transformed we are never going to look at life and others the same as we did before because we're now looking at the world without looking at ourselves for now looking at others with an awakened soul and we discern every experience through the lens of the perspective of Heaven<br> and as a result you know all things in our lives undergo a transformation we're even work becomes a sense of worshipful service<br> well within every person's journey to seek God there is a call to ongoing authenticity and other words to come in so we are with no hidden agendas like we can hide anything from God or the universe no false pretenses just simply who we are and God is always responded to people who who worship god with hearts that are truthful and spirits that are broken and just crying out for God's presence and this type of act of worship flows naturally out of the heartfelt desire to know God and to dwell in that Holy presents and it is this desire that also compels us to be genuine authentic in our relationship<br> Adidas worship is that the essence of the response of a heart that is earnestly striving and crying out off after the heart of God worship flows out of that deep wrenching hunger and thirst to know who is God and not need to know God but to dwell in God to dwell in God's presence<br> add a detour to our transformation ultimately encourages us to recognize our own capacity for relatedness and so you know this psycho spiritual transformation is it where is is an ongoing process by which God's character saturates a person in their thoughts and behaviors and styles of relating with ourselves and others and even with God so Christine painter's analogy of water in her book that's focusing on something she mentioned earlier and that is our tears<br> and just something again we take for granted that you know we have tears but but why why do they show up in with certain emotions and what's the purpose of our tears and so forth but have we ever considered the connection that we have with our tears because after all it is water is it on<br> so it's going to read her last section here on sister water she says scientist categorize the kinds of Tears we cry both according to their purpose and to their chemical makeup basal tears are the tears that flow continuously to keep our eyes moist<br> reflex tears are those tears that occur when something gets into her eyes and needs to be flushed out psychic tears those that arrives from an emotional response have an entirely different chemical composition they contain significantly more proteins potassium manganese as well as hormone that's connected to our emotional state and there are some scientists scientists who hypothesized that through the active crying we are eliminating hormones and proteins that generate the feelings that had created sadness for say in the first place because there is a cleansing and a renewing power to crying<br> tears of compunction are those moments we cry with sorrow over our own witness and move us closer to the God who is the great healer of all<br> a beauty and moments of Grace also move us to tears and the Saints described all of these as the grace of Tears a kind of Living Water that's transfer our eyes and responds to the most powerful moments in our lives that is a very very beautiful way to put it but I doubt many of us are in our awareness of water are also that tuned in to looking at our tears as water as those stream set point to something greater than ourselves<br> water is a very very powerful element so I've been talking about throughout the show very powerful indeed it is a strong element to begin with but it also has its place in in nurturing us and I was Joseph ryall said that when we are in ceremony as if we are drinking liquid light it is just we are drinking that light and so of the ceremonies that I have participated in different fire ceremonies a different dance ceremonies and sweat lodges and things like that certainly you know you one has to drink water afterwards not to just replenish what was sweat it out of you but also it is a way to take the metaphor of drinking light literally and to drink the water and the continued either flushing out one system or to continue the process of the the<br> emotional shifts that have occurred so invite you to always drink plenty of water and always to look different ways to be in ceremony with with water itself I know some people you know just like the Stillness of water and so there are times when they would fill a bowl of water and then just sit with that water and just meditate on that. Just loud at to be there there focal point you know how much in the same way that people who would light a candle and then just gently focus on the flame<br> thanks so again whatever you can find in water to use in ceremony I just invite you to do that<br> a lot of people also find tremendous tremendous piece just sitting beside a river and just allow the gentle flowing of the water that goes by to just create a sense of peace or a sense of focus or a sense of washing away of one's worries and then being reconnected to that than just being an offering prayers of gratitude and some people find that going to the beach and just sitting by the by the ocean but on the shore that gives them a sense a tremendous sense of just a calm meditation as they are listening to the waves crashing over and over again mixing with the wind and the land and so forth okay so again I just encourage you to find your own ceremony with water but to begin<br> with a glass of water and not to take every sip of water for granted or any sip of water I should say for granted I know it's something that we here in Western societies and so forth and then some I should say we do we take it for granted we could just go to the sink and open up the spicket and and there we have water or you know how many water bottles do we buy at a time or purification systems and so forth you know just something we take for granted that that water will always be there and yet it's whatever we're in ceremony with elements of let's say water that it slows us down and helps us to really appreciate what we have and listen for the deeper level teachings that are going on and how water can actually speak to us and<br> send us to live in gratitude always<br> but one of my favorites analogies in scripture is I think it was a teaching of Jesus said to his disciples that went something like this that whenever you give a cup of cold water in my name to one who is thirsty this makes all of Heaven Rejoice you know and and I just get this images wonderful image of all of Heaven is just singing and shouting and I just you know just marvel at that teaching because if a single cup of cold water given with a pure intention of love and gratitude and Grace imagine how Heaven reacts when we show other aspects of kindness love gratitude and Grace<br> I made I imagine the angels are doing backflips and heaven and so let us always look to provide you know that need in somebody and help them through ceremonies to drinking the liquid light that connects us to the land that connects us to the water that connects us to the fire that connects us to the air for we all have come from the Creator's hand and therefore we all are dependent upon all things for our physical health or emotional health psychological health and our spiritual health are those connections are very real and we would certainly be wise to reinforce those connections to be in ceremony and to highlight those connections the celebrate those connections and to teach others about the connections that we have and not just simply<br> take them for granted but especially teach the younger Generations who need to be aware of this who need to know of the connections that they have and I've always tried to share with the kids that I cancel that there is so much more to them than what they ever realize and just how everybody who's come from them more than just let's say ancestry.com can prove but you know that they're their ancestors and gray cray cray cray cray cray cray cray cray grandparents are very much a part of them and of course they always say well how is that possible I never met them and I said well the next time you cut yourself look at your blood<br> they are all right in there with the DNA because it's been passed down over many many many many generations and you're connected to them you're surrounded with them and they're actually looking to you you know and then seeing how you live your life and they want you to live in gratitude and to learn from your mistakes and to truly truly love yourself for who you are so that's the hope that they hold out for you and like I said you know earlier on is like we you know we can live a few moments without oxygen are we you know can go a few days without food and you know a few days without water but what we really cannot afford to live without our help love gratitude inner peace and Grace because these virtues are the true life giving gifts that nourish and<br> stay in our soul that far exceeds material possessions on dr. James how can you have been listening to reclaiming authenticity I invite you to tune in next week when they will be another theme that we're going to be taking a look at looking at the five languages of love and how this actually can be very transformative in our lives so tune in Next Friday afternoon 3 Eastern Standard Time and noon Pacific time but in the meantime it may you really contemplate how water just brings out healing in your life and share a glass with somebody else just share that connection in that gratitude together so in the meantime everybody be safe out there behave yourselves and may God always hold you in the Palm directly in the palm of God's hands take care<br> thousand comments it's all there and we'll see you next on PBS radio TV<br>