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Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder
of Unity, wrote, “If a person would be healed and would keep getting
younger and more vigorous and alert and ready for what the times demand of
us, he must wake up and get out of the rut, change his habits, appropriate
the life elements in food, in the sunshine, and especially in Truth
statements, and prove that he is awake.”
*****
To hold a child on one’s
lap and read is like a meditation; it is a pure and simple act of
unconditional love; it is the planting of the seeds of imagination and a
hunger for knowledge that will over time, mature and evolve into wisdom and
intuition.
It was as much of a joy for
me to read aloud to my daughters as it was for them to be read to.
I have a practice of giving
my girls books for every occasion, a practice that continues with my
grandchildren.
My granddaughter, Magnolia
Blake Gibbs, will soon be seven years old and will no doubt be encouraged by
her mother, Melissa, to read the work of her namesake, William Blake, who
wrote:
“If a thing loves – it is
infinite.”
And
“Everything that lives is holy, life delights in life.”
And
“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower; hold
infinity in the palm of your hand an eternity in an hour.”
What an amazing legacy for
a little girl to grow up with.
My grandson, William
Nicolas, will be two in October.
It’s difficult for him to
sit still long enough to be read to.
But he loves his books and his favorite TV show is Word World; the exciting
adventure of letters coming together to form words that solve problems.
It’s interesting how even
the simplest story, nursery rhyme or fable can reach into our psyche
and touch us on a deep, ancient, almost cellular level of universal virtue,
wisdom, and truth.
I remember several years
ago, standing in a book store contemplating the purchase of Shel
Silverstein’s children’s book, The Giving Tree.
I stood frozen in time in
the bookstore reading this beautiful story of what it is to give and to love
unconditionally oblivious to the tears that fell freely from my eyes.
It is very difficult for me
to read that book today without tearing up.
It is one of the sweetest,
most honest and loving expressions of love that I have ever read.
When my girls graduated
from high school, they received Dr Suess’ book, O The Places You’ll Go.
This book appears to be a
child’s book with silly rhymes and funny illustrations, but don’t be
fooled.
The metaphysics of this story will unfold as one’s maturity, life
experience, and wisdom opens up to meet it.
Today, many young people
prefer to watch movies rather than to sit and read.
It’s interesting, whether
it’s a movie or a book, many times when you look beyond the violence and the
crime, beyond the sheer entertainment and escape value of the exciting,
mysterious or titillating plots there can be found the same symbolic themes,
metaphysical implications, and deep universal principles that have for
thousands of years served to transform us into stronger, more courageous and
compassionate people even if only for a while.
Joseph Campbell, an
authority on the meaning of myth, taught that myths and folk tales are
stories about humanity’s search for meaning, our search for our place and
significance in the universe and for universal truths.
As a child, one of my
favorite Bible story myths was and still is the story of David and Goliath.
I love the idea that a
young boy had the courage to step up to face that big, bully of a giant
while armies stood by waiting for a solution, waiting for an idea, waiting
for a hero to step forward to win the battle and save the day.
No doubt David was not what
they had in mind in a hero and yet he did succeed in winning the battle and
saving the day.
I love the idea that David
had no doubt what so ever that he would be victorious all appearances to the
contrary.
The story of David and
Goliath gives us hope.
Who among us has not stood
toe to toe with some challenge that felt like an insurmountable giant of a
challenge?
Who among us has not
cheered for the hero of the many versions of David and Goliath that we’ve
read or watched over the years.
The zillions of sequels to “Rocky” spring to mind.
Consider this; David killed
the giant with simple stones sent into the forehead of the giant with great
power and strength from a slingshot.
Metaphysically we can
interpret the stones as the power of our affirmative prayer sent directly,
with great strength, to the center of our most enormous challenge to declare
with no uncertainty that in Truth nothing has power over us unless, of
course, we consent to giving our power away as we wait for someone or
something outside of us to show up to win the battle for us and save the
day.
Here’s a familiar fable:
Once upon a time there was a little reed growing at the foot of a large,
stately tree.
One day the tree said to
the little reed, “Little one, why don’t you plant your feet deeply into the
ground and raise your head boldly in the air as I do?”
“I am happy with the way
that I am,” said the reed. “I may not be as grand as you, but I feel safe
and happy just the way that I am.”
“Safe?” sneered the tree.
“Who shall pluck me up by the roots or force me to bow my head to the
ground?”
But soon the day came when
the mighty tree had to repent of its boasting.
A hurricane with a mighty
force pulled the tree up by its roots and cast it, a useless log, on the
ground.
Meanwhile, the little reed,
bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again.
What lessons lie within
this familiar story?
One is the lesson of
nonresistance.
There is within us a Divine
Spark, the very essence of the Christ Spirit that is very much alive; it is
the essence of Life itself.
The Christ Spirit within us
is fluid, flexible, and pliable in the face of challenge. It has the
resilience and power to transform whatever challenge we may encounter. It
has the power to transform anything that appears to be unlike itself into
its true nature which is love.
The human ego, on the other
hand, is rigid and boastful or conversely it is whinny and needy.
Ego would like for us to
think that it has the strength and the qualities necessary to handle
anything or at least that it has the power and cunning to attach itself to
someone who does.
However, the ego has no
real substance or power of its own.
It is easily threatened and
it is easily overcome.
Jesus said, “In the world
you have tribulation ....”
In this world ... stuff happens.
But Jesus finished his thought with good news.
“.... but be of good cheer, for I (meaning the Christ Spirit within him)
have overcome the world.”
God’s spirit within us has
the wisdom and the power to not only overcome but to transform all things
just as it did with Jesus.
When the winds start to
howl let’s remember to check out where we are planted. Are we facing the
wind with ego .... Edging God Out?
Or, are we bending and
flowing in awareness of our eternal Truth?
Are we flowing with the power of the Christ Spirit within?
Here’s another story.
Once upon a time a crow who was half-dead from thirst came upon a water
pitcher.
When the crow put its beak
into the mouth of the pitcher, he discovered that there was not a lot of
water left inside and he could not reach far enough into the pitcher to get
to the water to quench his thirst.
He tried and tried to reach
the water and was about ready to give up in despair.
Then .... he had an idea.
He took a pebble and dropped it into the pitcher and peered inside. Then he
took another pebble and dropped it in and peered inside and then another and
another.
Continuing to drop in
pebbles, the bird peered inside and watched as the level of the water
climbed toward the lip of the pitcher.
At last he was able to drink and save his life.
Jesus said to the woman at
the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever
drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst.”
We consume a lot of
things trying to quench a thirst that can only be satisfied by the cool,
clear, clean, spiritual waters of Truth.
The crow represents anyone
who realizes such a thirst.
The pitcher represents consciousness.
Truth can only be found by looking; by peering, deep within to the reservoir
of the Christ Spirit, of Divine Essence, that lies deep within our being.
The void that stands
between us and the living waters of spirit is the emptiness of a belief
system that would have us believe in separation, lack, limitation and fear.
The stones represent
affirmations of Truth.
When we drop affirmations
of Truth into our consciousness, Truth about who we really are as children
of God and Truth about our relationship to the Infinite, the void is filled
and the living waters of spirit, of life, love, substance, wisdom and
intelligence become easily obtainable.
How often does a limiting
belief system have us searching all over the place (out there) for what we
think we need?
How liberating it is to
know that access to the Source, to the Christ of our being, is freely
attainable.
All we have to do is peer
inside.
All we have to do is look within.
God will give us the
divine ideas to show us how to access the best and brightest divine
potential that lies deep within us.
Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (right thinking)
for they shall be satisfied.”
Once upon a time there was
a dying monastery operated by a half-dozen old monks who had become
spiritually parched.
One night a mysterious
stranger arrived at the monastery.
As the monks welcomed the stranger, they recognized an unusual glow and
freshness about him that was almost contagious.
The next morning they sat
with their guest at breakfast eager to hear his story, his words of wisdom.
“Last night I had a dream,”
he said. “It was revealed to me that one of you is the messiah.”
The monks were astonished
and looked at one another bewildered. “Who is it?” one of them asked
boldly.
“I cannot reveal that to
you,” the stranger answered. “You will have to discover that for yourself”
Then, as mysteriously as he had arrived, the man departed.
During the weeks and months
that followed, the monks treated each other with a new kindness and
generosity.
They couldn’t stop themselves from looking deep into each others eyes.
They treated each other
with a new attitude of honor and respect as if any one of them could be the
messiah.
Over a period of time,
something miraculous happened.
For the first time in many years, joy and appreciation began to fill the
halls of the monastery.
A feeling of eager
anticipation enlivened their prayers, meals, and conversations.
As a result, people who
visited the monastery felt refreshed and uplifted, and the number of
visitors increased.
In time the monastery
virtually vibrated with a new energy of life, a new energy that was
supported and maintained by new monks who came and found refreshment for
their souls.
Eventually all the original
monks passed on, without any one of them being designated as the messiah.
I leave this story for you
to explore.
What does it say to you?
What lessons lie beyond the obvious elements of the story?
Are their areas in our
lives that are analogous to the spiritually parched monks?
How are we or how could we
be like the refreshing and invigorating stranger?
What areas of our lives are
like the declining monastery?
What needs to occur so that
our lives, our church, our community can be re-freshed and
re-vitalized?
Last night, I had a dream.
I dreamt that each and every one of you, that all of us are the Messiah.
And according to our belief
.... so shall it be.
Thank you. |
