Friday, January 8, 2016

Peace In Spite Of Terrorists, Fear And Bumper Stickers

I have written before about the only REAL thing I can do in my illusionary world of my perception is to think loving thoughts and allow loving actions to follow naturally.  It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?
It isn’t.
How can I think loving thoughts in the face of the fear that is all around me: Newscasts and Web postings that are full of fear mongering politicians? Terror attacks on our and foreign soil? Hateful speech voiced by folks in line with me at a grocery store? Vile, angry messages on bumper stickers?
I try to enter a personal state of peace by having loving thoughts – but it doesn’t work. I truly understand that the opposite of love is fear. I comprehend that each of my thoughts is either contributing to the ocean of love or the sea of fear. So, I try (through sheer will-power and mental discipline/determination) to think thoughts grounded in love. But I’m still upset and angry, which is simply a nice way of saying “I’m still in fear.” Then I realize my errors: I’M the one trying to think loving thoughts. I’M looking for MY peace in MY egoic world of form to occur as the result of MY determined, willful loving thoughts.
How’s that working? As I said, it doesn’t work for me.
These two issues – My egoic Felix trying to be good enough to be loving and My attempts, through force of will, to change the physical world around me. Both of these issues mean, of course, that I believe that the key to my peacefulness is for me to change the world because of my forced love. What an insane idea!
I know my peace comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. So why do I continue this insane path? The simple answer? It’s all Felix knows what to do.
As Beverly Hutchinson McNeff states in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue of The Holy Encounter magazine [Miracle Distribution Center, Anaheim CA, p.12 – www.miraclecenter.org]:
“How do we escape this lonely, suffering world? How do we change our minds? How do we experience freedom and the gifts of God? It does not come by our denying the world or condemning ourselves for the choices we have made….
“We will never find freedom [or peace or love] by turning off the television, not reading the newspaper, or running away from painful relationships, but neither does it come to us by beating ourselves up for the choices we have made or staying in an abusive environment. Healing comes as we gently take responsibility and remind ourselves there is another way, and our realization that we do not know how to find this ‘other way,’ This not-knowing phase will allow the Answer God has given us, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to show us a healing solution in every challenge. The Holy Spirit only needs our willingness…in such a way that we feel His peace and value it more than our suffering. Problems will still come to us, but through His Vision we will see only the loving acts or the calls for love, and our desire will be to answer in like form.”
When I am agitated, fearful, angry, or frustrated, I only need to still my mind. I need to be only a little willing to allow the Holy Spirit to show me another way of looking at things. I need only to acknowledge that I no longer want fear nor its offspring, anger and hate. I need only to acknowledge that I want peace – the peace that is beyond understanding – and I want love.
In short - I need do virtually nothing. 
A new way of looking at things comes from the Holy Spirit – not from my intellectual processes and my cognitive discipline. The subsequent sense of peace comes from my experiencing the resulting perception that the Spirit has provided. He does the work. I merely have to be willing to allow Him the tiny opportunity to change my perception.
I still do not understand why that is – sometimes – so hard for me to do. I am glad I’m a work in progress rather than an example of perfect spirituality.
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.
Happy New [and peaceful!] Year.
Don
#1 Jan 2016

Copyright 2016

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