DIRECTING OUR ENERGY

Where we place our energy and our attention is important. If we wish to live a peaceful life of hope and promise, what we choose to focus on makes all the difference. We can maintain full awareness of what is going on in our world, but that does not mean we need to become a prisoner to it.

Do you wish to live in peace? Think peace. Do you wish to experience love at every turn and in every relationship? Think love, express love, add love to your daily spiritual “diet”. Let go of anger and resentment which can manifest in all kinds of diseases of the heart, the mind, the nervous system and the digestive system.

We can refuse to be sucked in by the drama of unsettling and disturbing events going on around us. This does not mean we are putting our heads in the sand in blissful ignorance. Quite the contrary. We choose to remain aware but not allow events to control us, to fill us with fear, and even worse, to have us choose hatred over love. Fear can be contagious if allowed to run amok. But love is stronger than fear because love is a conscious choice, not the choice of EGO, but the choice of the Christ Presence that lives within each of us.

Feeling fear and anger may be “normal” human reactions, but we are more than human. We were created in the image and likeness of God; we are divine. Therefore, we can choose to respond to all things from a place of love and compassion, whether or not we agree with what shows up in the world and in our lives. Allowing ourselves to feel what we feel is emotionally healthy.  But when we become mired in the negative, mired in the fear we lose sight of our spiritual identity. 

In the words of one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” This perspective frees us from the shackles of fear and hatred of that which we do not understand and do not want and, instead, allows love and compassion to bubble up from deep within our souls. Responding to people and events from a spiritual perspective brings more of what we want into our lives and less of what we don’t want. So, the need is to think differently because, ultimately, everything that happens to us and in the world was first a thought.

Anger is the ego’s immediate response to all that we fear, all that we do not understand,  and everyone and everything we do not like or that we perceive as dangerous to us. But if we want to not only survive but thrive, we have to see the things that we do not like as opportunities to express more love, more compassion and more understanding. Showing love in the face of anger, hatred, abuse and negativity is not cowardly. It is heroic.

This is the way Jesus acted in his days upon this earth. When his disciples wanted to rise up in anger towards those who would stand in opposition to Christ's teachings, Jesus’ response was to “turn the other cheek”, to show up as love instead of anger, to show up as strength instead of weakness which is a sure sign of the ego taking charge. We have inspiring examples of those who lived on the spiritual, creative and loving edge in the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and so many more who faced challenges with grace and determination to not react in fear, but to respond with resounding peace and echoing love.

Yes, we have every right to be outraged by the boldness of a few who seek to control the many. But these too are children of God who forgot who they really are. When we rise up angrily against them, we are acting exactly as they are acting. Anger breeds anger. Violence breeds more violence as we give our power to that very thing, those very people whose actions are in opposition to our own beliefs. We cannot fight fire with fire. That is the sure way to be “burned”. But we can fight fire with love, with compassion, with the assurance of our own worth and their worth as God’s beloved children.

Perhaps we cannot “legislate” love and tolerance to others. But we can choose to demonstrate them in our own lives. And it is always and forever our choice as to how we show up in the world. When we choose anger, we attract more anger. But when we choose love, love will inevitably win. Society cannot help but advance beyond the current state of unrest, because growth and advancement are implanted in our DNA itself. We are “hardwired” for goodness, for love and for peace. But it takes great courage to turn to that voice inside when the noise on the outside is so much louder. Yet, that still small voice is the voice of our peace and our freedom.

So, if you feel called to “act” in the face of adverse conditions, by all means do so, but be certain to keep your intentions powered by love … not spite, anger or retribution. For the latter attracts more of the same into your life. Holding loving spiritual space is a powerful antidote to the most difficult situations, and will bring about positive and lasting resolution to any issue. Is it easy? No. Worth it? Yes. A resounding YES!