Orlando Tragedy

Orlando Tragedy.

Shock.

Here I am in Orlando. The news flash shook the area and continued throughout the day -- and will continue in changed emotions and reactions on this, the second day, after the mass shooting and murder in Pulse night club.

The extent of damage and death caused by this one individual is shocking.

There is an immediate and crucial need. Please join me in turning my thoughts to those 50-some people who were injured and in hospitals in the area. It is a sobering action.  It rivets us away from the shock of the evil to a completely higher conscious awareness -- because those who need to heal need to have such mental and spiritual qualities as love, compassion, forgiveness, and a sense of the caring, ministering angels of mercy. Condemnation and judgment, anger, frustration, or fear, are not elements that carry healing.

What can we do?

To add to the mental atmosphere of the healing force that will aid in the recovery of those injured, we must lift our conscious thought into the realm of Spirit, Love. Otherwise, we are not adding any energy to the much-needed healing essence that delivers from violence and makes whole.

Jesus taught us to go into the closet of prayer and silently pray, and listen, to our Father, divine Mind, Love. Here we turn away from persons and judgment; we look up to the Allness of God as a healing Light that disperses shadows of pain, condemnation, terror, injuries, threat, panic, shock, sadness, or grief.

Not only do we turn to this Light, as a flower turns to the sun, to realize its presence resting on the injured and their helpers, we also observe this powerful healing agent encircling the ones who have moved on through "the valley of the shadow of death," and their families and loved ones. This comforting energy of Love only needs to be spiritually observed to be seen and felt more concretely by those who need its aid. It does not need to be directed; it needs only be seen and acknowledged through our spiritual sense.

This is what we can do. This will bring much needed relief and healing.

Let us go on a "watch" that we guard against standing appalled at the tragedy and actions of this one man that harmed so many, and instead turn our thoughts to the peace and calm, the gentleness, of the divine Presence and angels that bring comfort and healing to all who have been affected by the shooting in Orlando. Let our thoughts bear witness to Love's ever-presence, thereby settling down the shock and bringing in the healing Christ presence.

Carve out a Place of Peace

At this moment, I’m heading for Assisi on a fast train in Italy. Tomorrow I will meditate in the quiet place, Eremo delle Carceri, a monastery 2 ½ miles east of the town. This tranquil place has not changed since the time of Saint Francis. When I get to this peaceful, holy place, I will go within to my own sacred place in consciousness. 

This spiritual place of refuge within is universal and changeless – available to all – but needs to be discovered and nurtured. Here is the place to hide away in times of trouble – a place where you can be still and strong while the wildness of stress-producing incidents or circumstances nag or rage. 

Stress hits. Best to have a solid place carved out and ready in consciousness – a place in which to resort and take refuge. Make it a place of stillness. Make it quiet. Fill it consciously with the Christ-presence, with soft and gentle Light. Prepare this sacred place ahead for challenging times always come.

Stress strikes fast, and when it’s an intense situation with no way to physically escape, you need a place within to be safe. Psalm 91:1 calls it the “secret place of the Most High.” This is especially wonderful for one who tends to be sensitive, shy, or introverted, and is the best place to go universally. This “secret place” or “kingdom of heaven” that Jesus said is “within you,” provides secureness amidst stress-producing inharmonious events or situations. Go there mentally and take a deep calming breath of Spirit, Soul.

Remember, only what your heavenly Father thinks of you is important, not what other people might perceive, and He looks on the heart. If you wish that someone would totally understand you, it is done. The Father, divine Mind, the all-knowing, knows you entirely and understands. 

So what does the Father see when He looks at you? His own “image and likeness,” minus the flaws, sins, and errors – and this truth of your being consciously realized to any extent has power to purify, transform, uplift, and forgive. It enables you to express the true qualities of good that have their source in God, and to awaken to your actual eternal and spiritual selfhood in His image.

Carve out that quiet still tranquil place in your consciousness through prayer and feeling after divine Love. Carve it out hard because when you need it in extreme temptation or stress, it will be there prepared and strong.

Two-thirds of God's Name Moves You Forward

I write this Joy-Restoration blog as I fly over the ocean to Italy. I will soak up some of the rich spiritual atmosphere in many of its ancient churches. The young man sitting in the seat beside me on this wonderful Lufthansa flight is going to Italy to preach. He has given me the memorable idea reflected in the title of this post -- "Two-thirds of God's name is GO."

This makes me think of the all-action of God --Go -- that "man" (in His likeness) reflects! This changes the ordinary sense of being busily "on the go." All action (divine action) is good and is peaceful. There is no rush, no hurry. The divine action, expressed in man, is harmonious and uplifting.

It is our nature as God's "image and likeness" to express action -- good action, forward-moving and positive. We cannot be stuck or suffer inertia because God's name, beginning "go," is expressed in each one of us forever.

We can prayerfully affirm the truth of one action, all harmonious (which makes us free from the various impositions of action being too fast or too slow, or stopped or clogged, etc.).

To "go" in Spirit is effortless action. There is no backward step for any one of us -- ever.

We can move forward -- "go" -- after sad events, loss, or even disasters. Moving forward cannot be avoided. Let's move forward from here then, preserving all the good, and advancing in Love. The best thing to move forward to is in the spirit of unselfish love for others, and prayer for all mankind.

So far as "coming and going" in any sense of that phrase -- the reality is that we "live, move, and have our being" in the Infinite One. We are eternally in the Life that is God, in the kingdom of heaven that is "within us," as Jesus taught. As we spiritualize our thought we are more and more aware of where we truly dwell in Spirit (even now).

You are the blessed child of Spirit, Love, under the "shadow of the Almighty."

In Despair? "Come unto me."

He who has given us the best model for living life through tough times and challenges, Christ Jesus, nonetheless offered (and still offers) encouragement and powerful help -- "Come unto me," he implores. In the midst of opposition, trickery, and hatred ("they hated me before they hated you"), the Master affirmed that "[his] burden was light."

If you have a lot to deal with right now and feel heavy, take your consciousness and heart to the Savior, to the Christ, and lay it down. Put all your cares, sorrows, and worries at the feet of the Christ. Let it go. Stop carrying the burdens, the fears, the what-ifs, around with you. Put them at his feet. Empty your hands.

Pray as Jesus taught, "Our Father..." The Father is divine Love. You are the child. The Parent-Love, the eternal One, your Creator, is present holding you right now. Prayer is that mental state of spiritualized consciousness where you are still enough to let the divine presence manifest and be felt. It is so powerful. Just be still and it will come. This is how you "Come unto me," to the Christ -- within your very being. He is in you, and you are in Him.

Despair is heavy and dark; it would block the light and lightness of Love's care that is ever present and ready to lift you up. Come to that place in your heart where you feel you can do nothing, and lay all down at the feet of Christ. Be as an infant that trusts its mommy.

The worse the situation, the more childlike you should be. Jesus' worst time was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew that they were coming for him, that he would be tortured, crucified, killed -- but would rise again on the 3d day. Even so, he prayed to know if they was any way that he would not have to do that. No. His crucifixion and resurrection were the way for him to teach an eternal and unforgettable lesson -- the lesson that Life overcomes death, and Love is supreme over hatred, jealousy, envy, bitterness, resentment, and any other negative emotional or psychical thing.

In Gethsemane Jesus prayed, "Father, Abba..." Abba means "daddy." See how childlike he was. He is our example. If you are in despair, if thought is half-frozen, if shock has set in -- follow the example. Pray to our Father by turning to "daddy." Feel yourself as an infant in His tender arms. Wait.

Wait. Be still. Feel. Jesus' burden is light. You are light. You are being lightened and enlightened. Stay in the stillness of the center of Love's Being. Just that. Right there. Quiet. He will come and heal you -- this is "Come unto me."

Law of Supply: Multiplication, not Division or Subtraction

Mourning the loss of supply -- one's job, a benefactor's generosity, a connection broken, an inheritance stolen -- calls for a change in consciousness. Any sense of lack is not in accord with the true nature of the universe. Jesus illustrated and proved this when feeding a multitude of 5,000 men (besides women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fishes (Mark, chapter 6). The disciples, representing the ordinary thought of supply and demand as material and finite, see no solution for the hungry thousands other than to send them away so they can buy food and eat. Jesus challenges their sense of things, saying, "Ge ye them to eat." The disciples are incredulous, having only five loaves and two fishes. They think, even if each person took one crumb, there would not be enough (no division).

Jesus takes charge with his limitless sense of infinite good and boundless abundance. He makes the people sit in groups of fifties and hundreds (organize the huge problem into smaller chunks). He looks up and blesses the loaves and fish, giving thanks, and then breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples, commanding them to distribute to the people. He, himself, distributes the fish. So what must that look like? In your hand is a half loaf -- you break some off and hand it away -- and then there it is again, a half-loaf (no subtraction).

Multiplication is the Law of supply. Jesus was acting in accord with this Law. It is expressed in Genesis, "Let there be light, and there was light." We should say, "Let there be abundant supply," and there is abundant supply. One sure way to manifest more-than-enough is to give. The more we give, the more we receive, even ten to one-hundred fold more. Give away smiles, compliments, good deeds, money, food, time, whatever -- "freely give" and "freely receive." Take this next week and give generously, not hoping for anything back, but be a "cheerful giver" for the joy of giving. In this unselfish and high attitude you attract supply, it comes naturally. No mourning over loss, no fear of losing anything or using up resources, but an attitude of ever-present good and supply of all things needful -- gratitude -- this is the secret behind wonderful manifestations of good (loaves and fishes today). This story is sandwiched into the midst of chapter 6 in Mark, and is one of the lessons we learn as present day disciples focused on practical healing and help. See my course, "Training Today's Twelve" at scripturalstudycenter.org, for more!

Listening in Prayer Comforts and Heals

As your online Coach, I want to share the idea of "listening" in prayer -- rather than telling, asking, or even begging or bargaining! When we get desperate we can get crazy! BE STILL.

In order hear what God has to tell you, we must stop talking and "listen" in prayer.

To do this you must do what Jesus instructed with his analogy-teaching of going "into the closet" to pray. You must be still and quiet -- like being shut into a closet alone. There is a place in your consciousness like this. Once you establish this for yourself you can go there quickly -- even in the midst of loud confusion or fear. If it is a new place to go mentally ... here is how you find it:

Go to a quiet place (even if it's in your car alone).
Close your eyes (in order to shut out thoughts that involuntarily come as you see things around you).
Think "Spirit" and hold your attention there for a minute or so.
Say "Spirit" and "Love" over and over ... keep attention there.
Adopt a "listening" attitude...expectant of an idea -- not necessarily a sound -- but an idea or feeling.

As your Coach, I am giving this assignment to you for the weekend (through Monday). Do this at least once a day (even if it is not a new thing for you). If you have already established your "closet of prayer" place in consciousness, and you already have had many experiences of healing the divine messages and inspirations -- then when you do this you will find yourself receiving and feeling in more depth than usual. There is always progress -- more clarity, more spiritual power. The Source is infinite. You are loved and divine Love will speak to you.

Listen. To pay attention; to receive an impression.

Because man is God's "image and likeness" or reflection -- and you are "man" (male/female) -- you reflect the thoughts of Mind, and this is the deepest meaning of "listening" in prayer. "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee" (Psalm 139:17-18).

God's thoughts are thoughts of peace -- listen and feel after this peace. 

A New View for Comfort and Freedom

A relationship involving loss can be torturous (whether you lose the person or lose their love), but this misery can be abated by how you choose to think, which governs how you feel. Thinking is first, feeling follows along -- like the steering wheel is first and the car turns in accord with it (not vice versa). Usually people think that if such-and-such a thing changes (or if only it could change, or come back to a previous state) that then they would be happy and relieved. This is like waiting for the car to make the turn without touching the steering wheel. If the car is heading straight toward a cliff we should put our hands on the steering wheel and turn it! Here is the good thing -- we can change how we think without hindrance from any one or any situation -- and we change our thought best by turning awareness to God and then bringing the fact of being His likeness to bear on the condition or situation. This true healing of thought and emotion is not mere positive thinking or human mind affirmations, it is the reflection of the One Consciousness or Intelligence of the universe, the Creator, God, Good, Love. It is by the law of reflection as His likeness that our thought comes into alignment with His, and God, Mind, is always in perfect peace and absolute control.

Often our reasoning out from the way things appear, the thinking that seems so incontestable, so concrete and unquestionable, is the very culprit that binds us with chains of misery worse than actual steel. In a Grief coaching session, the intuitive and highly spiritualized thought of the Christian coach can read the case, discern the problems in reasoning and conclusions, and offer the key to unlock the shackles that bind one to stress, grief, fear, and agonizing. Behind this sharp discernment that pierces the black cloud over the sufferer's consciousness and feeling, is the basic spiritual fact that God is Good and infinite, filling all space, ever-present, and that man is His "image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26).

What God is determines what you are as His "image and likeness." You are His reflection, If God is not in a state or worry, His reflection cannot be either. To be successful in changing thought (turning the steering wheel, or in biblical terms, repenting) you must first give your consent to receive the angels of His presence, the messages of the Christ speaking to your soul --  consent to be comforted.

Once you consent to be comforted, you can declare or affirm spiritual truths as the angels whisper them to your consciousness. Often it helps open the door to hear these inwardly when you open your Bible for a message. Pray and then open the Scriptures and begin to read -- stop and contemplate. In a healing, coaching session with a highly inspired present day disciple of Christ Jesus -- the exact spiritual truth you need will be discerned and communicated to you. This still is God helping  you directly. Go to your Bible and ask for the truth you need, and read, contemplate, be quiet in spiritual listening. Jesus said, "Ask and ye shall receive."

If you are in a constant state of worry or grief that is wearing you down, consent to be comforted, pray for the spiritual truth you need, open the Scriptures, listen for angel messages, and then hold to the spiritual illumination that comes to you. Hold tight. A change of thought must be held to as illustrated by Jacob at Peniel who wrestled all night and finally had an epiphany -- a change of thinking so intense that he even changed his name (Jacob to Israel). He gives us the perfect example of stick-to-itiveness when he says to the angel, "I will not let thee go until thou bless me." Don't let go of the affirmation of truth that comes to you until you are free and lifted up. Once you feel this, all the other uncontrollable bad things that have brought the fetters of agony will adjust, and/or your feeling will adjust (Genesis, chapter 32).

Declare: I am in perfect peace and ease. I can sleep all night. I am confident in good. I have complete trust in God who is Love.

How can you say these things? Because God, the one Mind, is in perfect peace and is infinite Good -- and you are His reflection (image and likeness). Jesus said that we would "know the truth" and it would "make [us] free." I cannot be disturbed -- is implied by the declaration, I am in perfect peace. Hold tight to that angel until your experience changes in accord with it -- and let that happen in God's own way -- no outlining. God's plan is infinitely better than anything we could ever imagine. Complaint and worry turn to gratitude when we turn the steering wheel of our thought in accord with the angels' comforting directions.