Thank you for this Sean. It seems that whenever I have an encounter with another person and intentionally have the thought that this person has something to teach me, I in fact will learn something meaningful. In that sense my saviors are essentially my teachers. Some teach me what to do, some teach me what not to do; all can show me how to judge less and love more.
I find this from lesson 106 meaningful and return to it often: “I will be still and listen to the truth. What does it mean to give and to receive?” I’m in awe of the way this spiritual law seems to work - what I give is returned to me, which compels me to give even more.
Kinda sorta related to this (at least in my mind) are the limits of language when considering the nature of God. I had lunch with a friend last week and we began talking about theology, how we were both raised in organized religions we no longer embraced (he Baptist, me Catholic). My friend said he was “a pretty committed agnostic” (an interesting choice of words that at first sounded like an oxymoron). My friend is a very kind person who runs a nonprofit that helps people dealing with addiction. In his work he has helped a lot of people. He talked about positive and negative vibrations in the universe and how he wants to be in the good, positive vibrations, and that being positive regardless of what’s happening in the world, and being helpful to others are his primary means of staying in those good vibrations. It was a great thing for me to hear, as I’ve been in some distress about national and world events lately.
So as I think about it, my friend doesn’t seem to me to be an agnostic at all, at least by the traditional definition. Rather he seems to be someone who doesn’t try to define God or give Him/Her a name. He keeps it simple by only trying to be helpful, just as the Course tells us. In fact what he shared led me to bring the Course into our conversation, which he’d never heard of. So, to your point, I’m thinking perhaps he was a savior for me through what he shared at lunch; maybe I was a savior for him too.
Thanks for sharing, Mark. Yes, that willingness to be open-minded and accept the other on terms other than those established by our ego and our projection seems to be deeply healing. It is my experience as well that - I guess I am paraphrasing you, I hope not inaccurately - we are all teachers AND students, and the this whole journey is in some senses a vast learning opportunity. Ken liked to call it a "classroom," which feels a bit more formal than is helpful to me, but the principle is the same. We are here to "learn to bear the beams of love."
The political and cultural climate has been challenging lately. A lot feels strained to the breaking point; I know a LOT of people (me included) who are feeling destabilized and stressed. Yet I feel there is room to see even this as a chance to learn, to bear love, and to be if not a healing presence, at least not a hurtful one.
It remains frustrating that baby steps sometimes seem to still be the rule for me.
And God . . . I don't know how to manage that anymore in language (in the sense that one can even approach being accurate, let alone right). The folks who get it for me in helpful ways are those who - like your friend - are just aligning by hook or crook with positivity, inclusivity, helpfulness, cooperation, increasing possibility for all, et cetera. At some point WHAT we call it is beyond the point: what works?
And somehow, intuitively, we seem to still have some inner guide that pulls us in the direction of love, broadly defined. So that, whatever that is, and - not to evoke the Jesus of our childhood religion - one knows it best in action, extension, rather than merely language.
Which is tricky for me since I'd rather be wordy than anything else :)
Our next meeting is Sunday, July 3 at 7 p.m. EST. I will send a Zoom link around to folks who are interested. You can let me know here in the comments or via the contact link above - whichever is easier on your end.
Thank you for this Sean. It seems that whenever I have an encounter with another person and intentionally have the thought that this person has something to teach me, I in fact will learn something meaningful. In that sense my saviors are essentially my teachers. Some teach me what to do, some teach me what not to do; all can show me how to judge less and love more.
I find this from lesson 106 meaningful and return to it often: “I will be still and listen to the truth. What does it mean to give and to receive?” I’m in awe of the way this spiritual law seems to work - what I give is returned to me, which compels me to give even more.
Kinda sorta related to this (at least in my mind) are the limits of language when considering the nature of God. I had lunch with a friend last week and we began talking about theology, how we were both raised in organized religions we no longer embraced (he Baptist, me Catholic). My friend said he was “a pretty committed agnostic” (an interesting choice of words that at first sounded like an oxymoron). My friend is a very kind person who runs a nonprofit that helps people dealing with addiction. In his work he has helped a lot of people. He talked about positive and negative vibrations in the universe and how he wants to be in the good, positive vibrations, and that being positive regardless of what’s happening in the world, and being helpful to others are his primary means of staying in those good vibrations. It was a great thing for me to hear, as I’ve been in some distress about national and world events lately.
So as I think about it, my friend doesn’t seem to me to be an agnostic at all, at least by the traditional definition. Rather he seems to be someone who doesn’t try to define God or give Him/Her a name. He keeps it simple by only trying to be helpful, just as the Course tells us. In fact what he shared led me to bring the Course into our conversation, which he’d never heard of. So, to your point, I’m thinking perhaps he was a savior for me through what he shared at lunch; maybe I was a savior for him too.
Thanks for sharing, Mark. Yes, that willingness to be open-minded and accept the other on terms other than those established by our ego and our projection seems to be deeply healing. It is my experience as well that - I guess I am paraphrasing you, I hope not inaccurately - we are all teachers AND students, and the this whole journey is in some senses a vast learning opportunity. Ken liked to call it a "classroom," which feels a bit more formal than is helpful to me, but the principle is the same. We are here to "learn to bear the beams of love."
The political and cultural climate has been challenging lately. A lot feels strained to the breaking point; I know a LOT of people (me included) who are feeling destabilized and stressed. Yet I feel there is room to see even this as a chance to learn, to bear love, and to be if not a healing presence, at least not a hurtful one.
It remains frustrating that baby steps sometimes seem to still be the rule for me.
And God . . . I don't know how to manage that anymore in language (in the sense that one can even approach being accurate, let alone right). The folks who get it for me in helpful ways are those who - like your friend - are just aligning by hook or crook with positivity, inclusivity, helpfulness, cooperation, increasing possibility for all, et cetera. At some point WHAT we call it is beyond the point: what works?
And somehow, intuitively, we seem to still have some inner guide that pulls us in the direction of love, broadly defined. So that, whatever that is, and - not to evoke the Jesus of our childhood religion - one knows it best in action, extension, rather than merely language.
Which is tricky for me since I'd rather be wordy than anything else :)
Thanks for being here, Mark.
Love,
Sean
QUICK UPDATE
Our next meeting is Sunday, July 3 at 7 p.m. EST. I will send a Zoom link around to folks who are interested. You can let me know here in the comments or via the contact link above - whichever is easier on your end.
~ Sean