March 24, 2020
Having given myself permission to take a slow and easy morning, I sit in prayer, calling each one of you to my heart and mind, knowing the absolute flow of Grace in your lives. May this peaceful day bring you many blessings, and may you recognize, claim, and give thanks for each one.
I am always amazed at what Spirit calls forth in my sharing. I begin by sitting in meditation and prayer, then picking up whatever readings are calling to me. I spend time with each one, and in this process, a message takes shape. Here is what God has for us today.
The Ancient Greek aphorism “know thyself”, was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. This well-known maxim is often attributed to Thales, one of the legendary Seven Wise Men of antiquity. And yet, even today, it beckons us to explore the mysterious nature of our humanity. When I take this simple phrase into contemplation, I realize that it is so much more than a suggestion. Know Thyself is a directive, a command sent by the Divine, that I might come to be intimately acquainted with my own human mind, my physical structure, my emotional make-up, my heart’s desires, my soul’s longings, my Spiritual Nature, and what is mine to do and be in any given moment. It is only by doing so that I discover meaning and purpose in my existence as one of God’s precious and irreplaceable creations.
Each morning, I read from Unity’s Daily Word. Today’s theme was Wholeness and it spoke to the Spiritual Truth that whether I know it or not, I am already Whole. There is nothing missing and nothing broken in me…never has been…never will be. Any idea that I am somehow imperfect is based on seeing myself through a clouded filter, or “cobwebs of negative thought.” When I remember that I Am an intentional Self-expression of the Divine, a little more of the cloud is dispersed…the cobweb is removed…and the Light of Truth can come shining through.
Know Thyself calls me to uncover and step into my Wholeness. It calls me to reveal the qualities of God, one by one, within myself. Spiritual Law tells me that what I am looking for, I will most certainly find. So, rather than looking for where I am weak, I search for my Resilience. Where once I might have given attention to my perceived limitation, I acknowledge my inherent Freedom. Instead of allowing fear to control my thoughts, words, emotions, and actions, I recognize the Courage and Peace that come from allowing the Loving and Powerful Presence of Spirit to live through me and AS me. Basically, rather than hiding behind the perceived protection of my ego-based personas, behind what the world may have convinced me is inherent in my humanity, I step into my Authenticity and Spiritual Authority and come to truly know myself…my Highest Self, my Divine Self, the one created in the image and likeness of God.
As I look at each individual quality of God that is embedded according to my Spiritual Nature, Resilience is one that gets little attention. When I look at some of the devastating conditions humanity has suffered, some of the unimaginable situations that we, as humans, find ourselves in…and yet rise above…I can only be in awe. Our Resilience is one of our most amazing characteristics. Unity Minister Toni Stephens Coleman says this: “When storms rage around me, a helpful image is to think of a weeping willow tree. Named for its boughs that cascade to the ground, the willow spreads a mass of strong, smaller roots underground a far as three times its width. While destructive winds may cause the branches to sweep the ground fiercely, they are resilient and the roots hold tight. The willow’s roots are open to receive nourishment from all around. Like the willow, I am open to receive divine ideas and guidance in an unending flow. I receive whatever may best serve in every situation. Being flexible and resilient, I can spring back from all adversity.”
And so, I blend the qualities of the oak tree, with its one very strong, deep, but rigid tap root, with those of the willow. I allow myself to be deeply rooted in Truth, grounded in Spirit, and yet open to the nourishment, support, and guidance that comes my way from every direction. Knowing that all is God, I am able to receive what I need from an innumerable number of sources, through an infinite number of channels, and I Am grateful.
Miraculously, as I open to today’s reading from Prayers for Healing: a Collection of 365 Blessings, Poems, and Meditations from Around the World, I find this poem called Refuse to Fall Down by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Here is what she says:
Refuse to fall down.
If you cannot refuse to fall down,
refuse to stay down.
If you cannot refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven,
and like a hungry beggar,
ask that it be filled,
and it will be filled.
You may be pushed down.
You may be kept from rising.
But no one can keep you
from lifting your heart
toward heaven –
only you.
It is in the midst of misery,
that so much becomes clear.
The one who says nothing good came of this,
is not yet listening.
I am reminded of the inherent Goodness at the heart of all that is occurring. And even as I write about the miraculous appearance of this poem today, I am reminded by yet another Wise One (Charles Fillmore in Keep a True Lent) that “In reality, miracles are events that take place as a result of the application of a higher law to certain conditions. God never performs miracles, if by miracle is meant a departure from universal law. Whatever the prophets did was done by the operation of laws inherent in Being and open to the discovery of every man…” and “As I go on in the exercise of spiritual faculties I shall strengthen them and understand them better and shall cease to talk of anything as miraculous.”
The way I see it, either nothing is miraculous, or everything is miraculous. It depends upon my definition of what makes up a miracle. For me, the very nature of how things work – the Truth that there are Laws of Nature, both physical and mental – and Laws of Spirit, all of which work together in a divinely-ordered hierarchy, with complete impartiality and infallible dependability, is miraculous. The Truth that there is an ever-and-everywhere-Present, all-knowing, and all-powerful Intelligence, bringing creation into being, is miraculous. And the Truth that as a self-reflective, self-aware expression of that creation, I am privileged to assist in guiding and giving form to the evolution of All-That-Is-And-Ever-Will-Be…well, that is the biggest miracle of all.
And so in answer to Know Thyself, I am called to come to know mySelf more deeply. My prayer for you is that you are called to do the same. And as one by one, each of us makes the journey home to our Divinity, that Wholeness will be reflected and projected into our most amazing world.
To assist you on the journey, I offer these words from Rev. Michael Beckwith: “My whole consciousness is alive with the inspired thoughts of God. I am impregnated with divine ideas. I think directly from Spirit and let Its Intelligence have its way with me.”
May we all be well…stay in touch…know our Unity…and thrive!
And may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day…
