Sunday, December 30, 2012

Happy New Year - 2013


Happy New Year everyone! I do hope each of you have had a wonderful holiday season.
I have a question for you.
What would you think about people in a retail store who were trying on new coats and were looking for a full-length mirror? Finding one, they didn’t like what they saw and began to say very loudly, “What’s wrong with this mirror? You’d think in a store like this they’d have decent mirrors! Harrumphh!”
That’s exactly what AA teaches me not to do when I meet people that irritate or anger me. Learning the tools of the 4th/5th Step and the 10th Step, I have learned through much trial and error to first ask what is going on in me that is triggering this resentment/irritation/anger. How am I contributing to these non-serene reactions? A Course in Miracles (ACIM) teaches the same concepts in a different way. “When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him, you will see yourself. As you treat him, you will treat yourself. As you think of him, you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself.” Other people and how I respond/react to them is seeing myself in a mirror. Depending on whether or not I blame the mirror will determine how I either find or lose myself.
But over and over I find myself still blaming the mirror and the store management  for my upset. It is always an inside job. To stop blaming the mirror takes work on my part. Introspection on my part. “Mind training,” as ACIM calls it. However, if I do that, just a little, and ask the Holy Spirit to help me find another way of perceiving the situation/person/event He will always do so. However, I must refuse to listen to the louder, egoic voices in my head (what I call “my shitty committee”) and concentrate on hearing the quiet whispers of God.
Work.
Discipline.
Practice.
Mind Training.
If I can work and practice a little more in disciplining my mind, my thoughts, my speech, and my writings, then perhaps I will be allowing my light to shine a little brighter in 2013 than I did in 2012. Perhaps you can, too.
It is such a shame that fear mongering and defining those that have a different political perspective as “evil” seems to have become such an integral part of our political process. So, I do hope that 2013 brings the beginnings of the new era, as the Mayans predicted – the beginnings of an Age of Cooperation rather than Competition, Inclusion rather than Exclusion, Acceptance and Tolerance rather than Self-Righteous Arrogance, the Power of Love rather than the Love of Power.
In light of the terrible carnage that happened at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, I think a good beginning for cooperation would be enacting some legislation about gun safety and addressing our societal culture of violence. It’s the basis for so many of our children’s “toys” and seems to be the method of choice for resolving any conflict. Violence breeds violence; justice breeds peace.
If we can work and practice a little more in disciplining our minds and speech, then maybe we will be allowing our collective light to shine a little brighter in 2013. Perhaps that will encourage the new era we are entering. A better world for us all.
Although these messages are mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual journey.
Don
#5 December, 2012
Copyright, 2012

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