liberals

Good Politics: The Service of Peace

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If you are depressed over the current politics in our Country I want to share with you a hopeful message!  I am not a Catholic but I honor all messages of inclusion and peace for You, Me, Everyone and the World!

I recently watched a video called “Pope Francis, A Man of his Word.” If you need some inspiration I highly recommend it.  The 52nd World Day of Peace was January 1, 2019. Pope Francis’s message was:

“Good politics is at the service of peace.”

He made several points but the first was “Peace be to this house.” What he was saying was “peace for our family, our house, our communities, our country, our continent and importantly our common home our world.”  Here is the link to his message to paste in your browser:

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20181208_messaggio-52giornatamondiale-pace2019.html

Here is a summary of what he said that was so inspiring for all people of Faith regardless of their religion of spiritual beliefs and especially as our politics take the stage for the next year and we watch the debates and delve into the upcoming election we might keep his thoughtful recommendations in mind.
He expanded on several pertinent points by suggesting that “charity and human virtues along with service of human rights and peace be the basis of politics. He suggested those running for office should recall the “Beatitudes of the Politician” which were proposed by Vietnamese Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyễn Vãn Thuận, who died in 2002.
Here they are:

Blessed be the politician with a lofty sense and deep understanding of his role.
Blessed be the politician who personally exemplifies credibility.
Blessed be the politician who works for the common good and not his or her own interest.
Blessed be the politician who remains consistent.
Blessed be the politician who works for unity.
Blessed be the politician who works to accomplish radical change.
Blessed be the politician who is capable of listening.
Blessed be the politician who is without fear.

He suggests that every election and re-election, and every stage of public life, is an opportunity to return to the original points of reference that inspire justice and law. One thing is certain, “good politics is at the service of peace. It respects and promotes fundamental human rights, which are at the same time mutual obligations, enabling a bond of trust and gratitude to be forged between present and future generations.”
Watching it was like a breath of fresh “political air.” If we look for and vote for those who from all appearances, seem to hold these values we would have leaders that we, the world and future generations deserve.

He also brought up political vices: dishonesty, self-service, corruption, exploitation and denial of rights and plundering of natural resources for the sake of quick profit to name a few. Good politics inspires and promotes participation of the young and trust in others and fosters confidence that we can all work together for the common good.

Politics at the service of peace finds expression in the recognition of the gifts and abilities when everyone contributes his or her gifts to help build trust especially in our times marked by mistrust and rooted in fear of strangers. The world has a need for security rather than nationalism and division.

There is a need to reaffirm that peace is based on respect for each person, whatever his or her background.  Peace entails a conversion of the heart and soul; it is both interior and communal; and it has three inseparable aspects:

1. Peace with oneself: Rejecting inflexibility, anger and impatience; by showing “a bit of sweetness towards oneself” in order to offer “a bit of sweetness to others”;
2. Peace with others: Family members, friends, strangers, the poor and the suffering, being unafraid to encounter them and listen to what they have to say;
3. Peace with all creation: Rediscovering the grandeur of God’s gift and our individual and shared responsibility as inhabitants of this world, citizens and builders of the future. When any of our brothers and sisters suffers we are all affected. God sees with his heart. Even the atheist shares the same love. Maybe that’s the only common bond we all have, the bond of God’s love. Other than that we are free, even free not to love Him.

Here is more inspiration:

Lesson 194: I place the future in the Hands of God. (paste the link in your browser)

Lesson 194: I place the future in the Hands of God.

 

 

Feel Loved this Year

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You are loved!  Most of us do not allow ourselves to feel it.  Why?  Don’t we believe we are lovable?  You ARE loved, warts, gifts and all!  Give yourself the gift of feeling it.  Really feel it.   Go to a silent place within, close your eyes and feel yourself being held, as if you were a small child again.  Feel yourself being rocked gently and a soft hand stroking your cheek and telling you that you are loved.  Feel the care and sweetness in your heart.  That is how God loves you.  Your spirit is love and as bright, as soft, pure and innocent like this blossom.

I invite you to go to the A Course In Miracles website and listen to Lesson 109, I rest in God, being read to you as you close your eyes.

Here is the link to paste in your browser:   https://acim.org/workbook/lesson-109/

The Course offers 365 lessons, one for each day of the year.  We being at lesson number 1 and  read a lesson per day and on the 109th day of the year we learn we can and DO rest in Love, in God and can be at Peace.   We just need to accept it.  At the end of the 365 lessons you will never be lonely again or feel unloved…….when you remember your true identity – God’s Holy Precious Son.

Happy New Year!

Quite your Holy Mind

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The Course in Miracles tells us that the memory of God comes to the quiet mind.  Is your mind quiet?  Do you want it quiet?  If so, then why isn’t it?

This is an age old question but the answer is simple:   We can’t have a quiet mind if we are judging people.  Judging is the ego’s primary goal and it keeps us in separation and guilt.  We cannot enter God’s Presence alone.  We need to take along our “brother” (the brother we are judging) which means the ACCEPTANCE of Him/Her/Them i.e. everyone.

We are judging people if we cannot accept them as Holy and therefore we are outside of holiness as well.

Look at the judgments and above all – do not judge yourself for making them or the ego has you by the throat.  When you judge yourself (good or bad) you are making the error (the ego and the body) real.    When we hang onto the hate, grievance, upset we are keeping it, the ego’s hate ALIVE!

But we have a purpose in keeping the grievance ALIVE?

When we see the other person, in our dream as separate and split off, they serve as scapegoats for the part of our self we do not want to accept or recognize.

If you don’t see others as holy…..you are not holy.

Judgment is purposive.  It keeps us unholy and bound to guilt.  If we were holy we would be One with God, with Love and we would disappear.  Our individuality would be zero.  We are afraid of Love.  We want to stay unholy, keep the ego and our judgments in order to stay in the world and be FAR away from God….away from Love.

Freedom lies in looking at the hate with Jesus/Holy Spirit beside us.  This is a Course in attaining the light by looking at the darkness.  We expose the darkness by taking gentle steps.  Look at it and going to the quiet center with Holy Spirit say

“I see this anger/hate/fear/grievance, but I don’t want it anymore.  It is keeping me away from peace, from God and from Love. Help me see it differently.  Help me recognize it is a projection, it is not real, this is a dream and a script I chose to experience when I * separated from God.”

Peace is attained by each one of us looking and undoing the hatred in ourselves.  Self-hatred creates guilt and guilt protects us from love.  Joy is finally recognizing you are FORGIVEN and all GUILT is GONE!

*  We NEVER left God.  We just think we did when we chose the ego.

You are HOLY whether you think you are or not and you are LOVED.

Reference: A Course In Miracles – Chapter 11. God or the Ego, Section III. From Darkness to Light.page 198.

http://www.acim.org

http://www.facim.org

 

See Love or the Call For Love

See either Love or a Call for Love

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The United Nation’s International Day of Peace is Saturday, September 21. Imagine all the people in all Nations of the World stopping for 24 hours to think about Peace! Peace with other countries, counties, family and neighbors! We don’t have to hate. Do we? Do we have to judge or condemn? If a trusted adult tells us that others are offensive we may tend to believe them especially when we are young. We are taught and most of us believe and accept but we certainly don’t have to. For example my mother was prejudiced against a certain race. I had played with some of these kids at school and liked them so I did not accept her belief but I did obey her and not go to their house. As it turned out my sister married a man of that race and low and behold, she changed her mind. A mind is a beautiful thing to change. Mom was a lovely person but she accepted her conditioning and passed it on. It reminds me of the Roger’s and Hammerstein South Pacific song, “You have to be taught.” But we do not have to accept society’s teaching. Hate is a choice.

Could it be that a part of our mind enjoys hate? Think about how you feel when you are in the “hate” emotion. Doesn’t it make you feel strong and powerful and above all right! Years ago I worked in an office with a young man who was mentally impaired. He was from a rich family and he annoyed me and I disliked him. Looking back after years of spiritual work I wondered what that was about. I think I hated him because he reminded me of my own mental impairment. I always thought I was stupid! We project onto others that which we have inside yet do not want to see or admit. It is projected out and seen elsewhere but heaven not in me! When I think of him now, I send love to him wherever he is and I believe his soul receives it. I know mine does.

Hate and anger are harmful to the hater in many ways.  Have you ever tried to be nice when you didn’t want to? What does that type of mental activity do to the brain/body? Check out the Every Day Health website, https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/ways-anger-ruining-your-health/ this site document from various studies, the side effects of hate and negative emotions on the heart and brain, creating stress hormones causing depression and even inflammation.   The ego is the “Master Judge” in our mind that runs our lives until we understand we are in fact miserable and see through the fog and decide to change our thoughts and choose peace. The ego very wisely uses projection and hate as a road block to love. We choose the ego until we decide not to. We however have a choice because we are a decider!

Hate is offensive.  When we see angry people it is very ugly and distasteful. We feel a churning inside. TV and movies offer a heavy diet of violence and hate an onslaught to the nervous systems.   To be honest we need to admit the hate we see reflected in the world outside, is also within. If we can admit that then we are no longer in conflict and it dissipates. Instead of pulling the “wool” over our eyes we just look honestly and in looking, it dissolves. If we don’t fight it or put up obstacles we avoid a pile of buried guilt being placed deep within the psyche to emerge unexpectedly, which it will. Look squarely at the angry person and see either love or a call for love.

Try it. You will access a place of peace. You do not need to say aloud “I love you” merely think it.  Your mind is choosing love instead of the ego’s automatic response of disgust or hate.   Anger is their momentarily condition but not their reality. In giving love, you receive it. You don’t know what or if you will “do or say” anything.  The situation will depend on wisdom within from the higher Self within.  You can always think LOVE.

This quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “To defeat an enemy, make him a friend.” You could also say “To defeat “my(ego)self”, make myself a friend and see love or a call for love.”

If I exclude love from others; I am excluding love from myself. With compassion we no longer condemn.

We are the same, we all ONE people. The Spark of the Divine is within everyone, so I challenge myself to look for it in others and REMEMBER…..It is also with ME!

A Course In Miracles, Lesson 187 – I bless the world because I bless MYSELF.

http://www.acim.org   (click on workbook lessons)