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.

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."

Fear Freezes; Love Frees

The thing most feared, can be met best by reflecting that radiance of the One infinite Love.

Fear freezes us. Love frees us.

It's not human love that is needed, but the divine Love that "faith never" (I Cor. 13:8).
https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=first+loved+us&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1

1Cor. 13:8 ¶ Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

If you can, try to order a book by Henry Drummond, called The Greatest Thing in the World. It dissects the famous passages on love found in that chapter of Corinthians, and gives plenty of ideas for applying the ideas in your life. This book can be found on Amazon. It is small but mighty.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_42?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+greatest+thing+in+the+world+henry+drummond&sprefix=The+Greatest+thing+in+the+world%2C+Henry+Dru%2Caps%2C145&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+greatest+thing+in+the+world+henry+drummond

While waiting for your tiny but powerful book (decades old, but timeless) prayerfully meditate on the radiance of Love, as soon as possible upon awakening, and each time you are settling in to rest or sleep. The universe is filled with the Being that is all-Love.

To take a few minutes or more to focus quietly on this light of Love (alone and still) will bring a measure of peace and comfort right away; further, it will seep into all that has to do with you in the most effective, gentle, and beneficial ways.

Our sense of personal love (which can be so vast, so deep, so amazing), when placed by the one Source of all affection that radiates this feeling, tangibility, and power, is as beautiful candlelight next to the fullness of the sun at noon. The apostle explains, "We love because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).  We love because we are His reflection, His expression -- one with the divine Love as a ray of light to its source.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=first+loved+us&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1

Love will not fail you, and has not. Love is embracing all of us right now, and caring for us. Love sees each of us and holds us to Himself in tenderness.