|
New Thought Ministries of Oregon|Walk of the Global Heart Episode
The Walk of the Global Heart February 8, 2009Rev. David Alexander Focus for the year: Courting the Divine in 2009: A Year of Spiritual LiberationToday is the second week of the Season for Nonviolence, a 64 day period of time, beginning with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s death on January 30 and ending with the anniversary of Martin Luther Kings, Jr’s assassination date of April 4. It is a time to focus on peace in our personal and collective lives.Spiritual liberty is our destiny. Gandhi, King and Chavez all strove to create a world where that spiritual liberty was realized. King talked about being a disciplined nonconformist, dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood and hope for a secure and livable world. The disciplined nonconformist breaks out of the box and sees interconnectedness as important. When people start seeing our interconnectedness, it is the basic journey of spiritual awakening.Thomas Keating talks about 3 stages of this awakening:1. Realization that there is a power beyond information and education—an actual waking up. It is a personal experience of moving from belief to knowing that there is a Power in the world.2. Becoming the other: here the aspirant tries to “become” God through yoga and prayer and diet and a vast array of spiritual programs and different formulas to bring God’s presence closer to us. It is an attempt to gain control, become better and to become the “other.” As long as there is a quest to “become” god, there is separation.3. Realize that there is no “other.” God and we are one. We can’t become something else when we are already it!In the same vein, Martin Buber talks about the “I-It” relationship where we view ourselves separate from all others and are constantly saying “How much can I get?”. When we move into the “I-Thou” relationship, which Gandhi, King and Chavez were championing, we recognize our authentic relationship with another. Our question then becomes, “How can I serve others?”, because we recognize that as I am serving you, I am serving me! There is vibrational harmony and we wake up to the idea that we are one and we behold the divine in all. This awakening is the pathway of our healing.Our society, our banks and institutions, have been in an “I-It” relationship so that our pockets can be lined. This manipulates others and leaves us spiritually starved.A way out is by “Beholding” our true nature and recognizing that nothing can hurt us.Questions to ponder:1. Is there anywhere in your life where you see someone/something as the “other?”2. What is a tangible way that you could move to feeling more inclusive with all others?
[ Sun, 8 Feb 2009 12:07:14 -0800 ]
|
