In watching the little kids at Halloween, Carol gave thought to the masks we wear, the roles we play, and how we present ourselves differently to different groups at various times. Rev. Bill brings in the ideas of appropriateness, and authenticity, noting that we can engage differently at different times without hiding our true selves. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and re...
Nov 13, 2024•49 min•Season 15Ep. 173
After more than 170 weekly podcast episodes and a friendship that started during the pandemic, Carol and Rev. Bill FINALLY met in person. The meeting brought out old ways of thinking and fresh new ways to misunderstand what was happening. The two dig into the experience, and the metaphysics behind it. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, ...
Nov 06, 2024•42 min•Season 15Ep. 172
Carol notes that there are two concepts, one of of Manifesting... repeating affirmations to create a change in our lives, and one of Divine Timing, in which a power and intelligence way beyond ours is bringing things together. She urges Rev. Bill to point out whether they're connected, and how they work for us. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practica...
Oct 30, 2024•41 min•Season 15Ep. 171
Carol points out that "evolution just happens - you don't get to vote," and that people around her are resistant to change, even though it's going to happen anyhow. Rev. Bill points out that even when nothing changes, there is still newness and change happening. Just try taking one great breath that will last forever! Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring P...
Oct 23, 2024•42 min•Season 15Ep. 170
Carol says that religion is dos and don'ts and dogma, brought together with judgement. She believes that spirituality lies beneath it, and can get lost. Rev. Bill agrees, and compares the difference to the ways that we learn to dance. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . This podcast is supp...
Oct 09, 2024•49 min•Season 15Ep. 169
Carol has become increasingly aware of the difference between being purposeful, and perfectionism, and the ways that people can deny the presence of the Divine in daily activities. Rev. Bill shares his background as a recovering perfectionist, along with insight about what else shows up when we let go of having the answer. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to br...
Oct 02, 2024•41 min•Season 14Ep. 168
It's a double-topic as Carol brings up the disconnect between our feelings and the "serious" nature of our intention-setting and Creative nature. Rev. Bill confirms that our intentions are fired by our feelings, and the importance of belief and enthusiasm in the change that we're inviting. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully i...
Sep 25, 2024•43 min•Season 14Ep. 167
What goes around comes around... karma... You reap what you sow.Carol has found that Traditional Religion includes this idea, but doesn't spend much time talking about it. Rev. Bill explains the New Thought perspective, and how it is a natural expression of the same creative process that is always at work. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Pra...
Sep 18, 2024•43 min•Season 14Ep. 166
This is a Rebroadcast of Episode 34 from January 2022 Carol wants to know about God’s plan, and how predestination and free will fit together. Rev. Bill talks about finding the unique combination of skills, talents and abilities we’re been gifted with, and how we can put them together for good. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fu...
Sep 11, 2024•41 min
In her early days in traditional religion, Carol was given a specific, standard technique for meditation. Over the years, the guidance on How to Meditate has changed. Rev. Bill describes the goal and purpose of meditation, and the idea that any technique that gets to the goal is valid and worthwhile. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, m...
Sep 04, 2024•39 min•Season 14Ep. 165
Both Carol and Rev. Bill got the idea to revisit this topic from the early episodes of the podcast. It's partly to re-establish this important idea, but even more importantly to share the evolution and growth in understanding that each has been through in the years since beginning the partnership. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more...
Aug 28, 2024•41 min•Season 14Ep. 164
Carol was surprised by a conversation with a colleague who is intent on growing their organization the same way that would have been done before COVID. She's wondering about whether our thinking has to evolve when circumstances change. Rev. Bill points out that every change - and every moment - is an invitation for a new idea. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources t...
Aug 21, 2024•44 min•Season 14Ep. 163
Since her first days of studying Practical Prayer, Carol questioned who it is that she was praying to. This is one of the elements that sets Practical Prayer apart from the traditional prayer with which she was familiar. Rev. Bill brings up creation stories, trees, and other metaphors to help her understand that it's not so much "who" but "where." Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the cl...
Aug 14, 2024•42 min•Season 14Ep. 162
Carol's experience with old friends from her days in traditional religion has made her notice that some are inclined toward judgement and even rejection when she talks about her new perspective. Rev. Bill suggests that this could be an assumption - a person's unspoken desire to know that someone agrees with their world-view and beliefs before being willing to engage in a relationship. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more inf...
Aug 07, 2024•42 min•Season 14Ep. 161
Carol is interested in what happens when our use of the Creative process works wonderfully to create new experiences like magic, and then suddenly stops working. Rev. Bill brings it to a broader context, noting that the transformation happens not because we want it to happen, but because we truly believe that it can. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Pr...
Jul 31, 2024•57 min•Season 14Ep. 160
In Carol's earlier life, healing prayer was done all the time, but Faith Healing was outside of "church". Rev. Bill digs into the convergence of medicine, healing, and faith, and why one doesn't supersede another. (Rebroadcast of Episode #54 on 6/15/2022) Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com ....
Jul 24, 2024•40 min
Carol recalls reading Ralph Waldo Emerson when she was very young, and then re-encountering it later to discover that his ideas apply - again - to what's going on today. She and Rev. Bill discuss the ways we can address these "new thought" ideas with people who think in a different way. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into...
Jul 17, 2024•43 min•Season 14Ep. 159
Carol found herself telling people that after the age of 50, their experiences will be repeats of previous experiences. Then she found that she was experiences an uncomfortable number of repeats. Rev. Bill helps unpack what's going on, and how to use creative words in a helpful and uplifting way. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more ...
Jul 10, 2024•38 min•Season 14Ep. 158
The fundamental notion of "God is all there is" has been coming up for Carol, especially as people consider the idea of putting their self-care and spiritual practice on a summer hiatus. Rev. Bill discusses why that insight - really understanding the naturte of Oneness- is a transformational understanding for people as they dive into the New Thought teaching. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast...
Jul 03, 2024•38 min•Season 14Ep. 157
As we begin our practice of Practical Prayer, we don't have to start with "The Big Stuff", even though it's been demonstrated in miraculous healings, prosperity, and transformation. Rev. Bill explains the power in starting small to prove to ourselves that it works, and using our newfound confidence to build from there. (Recast from 10/13/2021) Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classe...
Jun 26, 2024•40 min
Carol explains that people asking for prayer has always felt a bit awkward, for a number of reasons. Rev. Bill explains the power of Practical Prayer done by another person trained in the practice can provide powerful healing - as good as the requester can imagine, and maybe even a bit better. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more ful...
Jun 19, 2024•44 min•Season 13Ep. 156
Carol claims to have an "interesting" family dynamic that makes people immediately comfortable with her. A recent experience showed that the comfort is much deeper than she thought. Rev. Bill helps to describe the spiritual context that allows Love to lead, bringing comfort and alignment even when we don't expect it. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Pr...
Jun 12, 2024•41 min•Season 13Ep. 155
Rev. Bill has been facing delays and frustration all day, to the point of starting the podcast session a half-hour late. He and Carol discuss the metaphysical aspect of turning away from the events of the day and opening to the Divine flow that's always at hand. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-ligh...
Jun 05, 2024•35 min•Season 13Ep. 154
Our language - the words we use, and the ways we use them - have a tremendous influence on the effectiveness of our prayers. As Rev. Bill explains, the answer is going to be Yes, so we would do well to be very clear about what we're asking for. (Recast from 9/22/2021) Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-th...
May 29, 2024•46 min
Carol quotes a Buddhist teaching, which says "when you experience an experience, it comes and goes. When you resist an experience, it persists." Rev. Bill dives into the metaphysics, and the two explore why this happens, and what it's all about. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . This podc...
May 22, 2024•41 min•Season 13Ep. 153
"It is with great gratitude for this Goodness that I speak this word of Truth, knowing that it is made manifest without hesitation." Carol is captivated by the end of this prayer for Harmony and Balance from Rev. Bill's "Practical Prayer" book (p.16). The two spend the episode discussing the meaning, the nuance, and the manifestation. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and res...
May 15, 2024•43 min•Season 13Ep. 152
The methodical exploration of the steps of a Practical Prayer continues with two of the prayers from Rev. Bill's Practical Prayer for Real Results book that made a huge initial impression on Carol. They are both prayers for a perfect meeting. One uses spiritual "God" language, and the other uses "stealth" language that's appropriate for a business meeting or any non-spiritual activity. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more in...
May 08, 2024•43 min•Season 13Ep. 151
Carol takes us back to the basics, with the idea to step through each of the steps of a Practical Prayer with an explanation of what's going on in each one. She and Rev. Bill settle on "Money to Spend, Share and Save" one of the prayers for financial prosperity from the "Practical Prayer for Real Results" book. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practica...
May 01, 2024•53 min•Season 13Ep. 150
Carol wants to know what Rev. Bill thinks about "Awakening", or people who say they're awakened. There is also a question of whether awakening is an event or a process. The conversation evolves to include being saved, being woke, and being empathetic. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into your life at be-the-light.com . Thi...
Apr 24, 2024•43 min•Season 13Ep. 149
Things happen, and then we have an experience, engagement and understanding of them. Rev. Bill observes that this is the way New Thought works. He and Carol explore the way this has played out in recent days with a rare northeastern earthquake, and a solar eclipse, among other things. Thank you for listening to the Practical Prayer podcast - please invite your friends to listen! There's more information about the podcast, and the classes and resources to bring Practical Prayer, more fully into y...
Apr 17, 2024•43 min•Season 13Ep. 148
