When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
Most of us have heard the adage quoted above. It is
sometimes attributed to the Buddha, but it is actually derived from a
Theosophical text. ¹
As a perpetual student, I have found that even when I am not
ready, at least not consciously ready, teachers still appear. Our greatest
teachers are those with whom we find ourselves in relationship. They may be our
spouses, partners, lovers, family, friends, fellow church members or even our ministers.
Anyone can be our teacher if we are willing to open ourselves up to the lessons
they are here to share with us. I find this especially true as it relates to
the current Presidential election and the candidates of the two major parties.
At times, I find it challenging, if not nearly impossible,
to behold the Christ in and as each and every person. I reluctantly admit that
at times I judge and criticize both candidates, albeit one more prevalently
than the other. This person is proving to be a great teacher for me, and I suspect
a great teacher for us all.
However, my study of Reverend Linda Martella-Whitsett’s
book, Divine Audacity, an exploration
of The
Twelve Powers of Man as discerned by Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore, has
helped me immensely.
This Sunday, October 30, I will continue with my lesson
series based on her book as I explore the powers of Release and Strength. As I
am pondering these powers, I have awakening to how I can use both of them to
assist me in returning to peace after being triggered by news reports, watching
a debate, or hearing words that I interpret as criticism of me.
Rev. Linda says that our power of Release is our ability to
cleanse, renounce and repent. Those words, at least for me, have some strong
traditional religious implications. And, of themselves, can be triggers. But,
once understood and applied from the perspective that they are aspects of our
divine powers, they can prove to be powerful allies as we come face to face
with our teachers in this human realm.
In my talks and writing about The Twelve Powers, I return
again and again to the assertion that our highest intention is to align with
and embody the Christ frequency so that we may bring forth into our world all
that reflects the consciousness of the Christ. Our Twelve Powers are aspects of
the Christ that we can awaken to and employ in our daily lives in order to do
just that.
The power of Release helps to restore us to the
consciousness of the Christ, thus to the awareness of oneness with all humanity,
including those who are currently showing up as our teachers, those who are stimulating
discomfort within us.
What follows is the process that I used recently and will
continue to use as teachers show up for me.
First, welcome and invite the awareness of the thoughts about
someone. Even though those thoughts are judgmental and critical thoughts, invite
them into conscious awareness so that we are not using energy to suppress them.
They can be quite informative when are willing to listen to them.
They are, after all, just thoughts. Thoughts are energy
vibrations. If we are not aware of them, we cannot inquire of them. Ignoring
them actually gives them power and allows them to take root in our
consciousness.
When we hold thoughts that would seem to separate us or
another from God, we are, in our minds, placing ourselves or another outside of
God thus damning them or ourselves to hell – a state of consciousness created
from a belief in separation. In truth, no one can be outside of God. Therefore,
we use our power of Release to deny those thoughts and cease to give them power.
This is Unity’s teaching on denials.
We then use the power of Release to invite the Light of
Spirit to wash through our minds cleansing our mental bodies of the energy of
these liming thoughts. Then employing the repenting power of Release, we choose
different thoughts. ‘Repent’ simply means to have a change of mind, or to turn
in a different direction. Using the power of Release, choose to think loving
thoughts about the divine nature of this teacher. Even if we cannot conjure
positive thoughts about his or her personality, we can always choose to think
thoughts about their spiritual truth. Choose to behold each one as the Christ, knowing
that is the divine truth, claim it for them and for yourself.
We can also activate and use our power of Strength, which
Rev. Linda says is our power of stability, courage and tenacity.
Using our power of Strength, we ground ourselves firmly in
the awareness of the Christ as the only eternal Truth of ourselves and of all
humanity. Grounded in that Knowing, nothing that arises can sway us from this realization
of Truth. Even if the one who is showing up as our teacher speaks words of hate
or acts in ways that are out of integrity with our values, we are able to stand
firm in the resolve to see only the Christ. As a tree bends with the wind so as
not to break, we can move with the emotions that arise and find balance in the
Christ within as we use the power of Strength.
Additionally, grounded in the Truth of the Christ nature and
the Christ nature of our teachers, we can use the power of Strength to ignite
courage. The root of the English word ‘courage’ is from the Latin ‘cor’ meaning ‘heart.’ When we employ
courage, we are acting, speaking and thinking from the heart, a heart that is
grounded in the Truth of the Christ. We can courageously speak the Truth, not
the truth of our personal opinions or ego positions, but from the Truth of the
Christ as us.
Strength is also our ability to be tenacious. The word
‘tenacious’ has a somewhat negative connotation for me. But, when viewed as our
ability and willingness to keep coming back over and over and over again to the
intention to know ourselves and all others as the Christ, and to not allow anything
or anyone to sway us from that, I embrace the power of Strength as our ability
to tenaciously stay the course.
I encourage us to activate our powers of Release and Strength
in every aspect of our lives. They are tools that can assist us in our desire
to keep our minds free, or as free as possible, of thoughts of separation and
limitation. These thoughts only serve to restrict the flow of divine light and
love in and through our minds.
We know that, as Emmet Fox said, “Life is consciousness,” so
when our consciousness is filled with thoughts of separation and limitation,
our lives reflect that. Not only does our life reflect it personally, but so
does the life or our country and the life of the planet.
When our teachers appear, let us be firmly grounded in the
Truth of our being, our Christ nature, so that we can see them in that Truth as
well. When we find ourselves straying, let us remember to use our power of Release
to cleanse, renounce and repent, and our power of Strength to tenaciously
continue bringing ourselves back to our firm foundation, so that we may think,
speak and act from our Truth with courage.
I invite you to use the following statements to assist you
in activating your powers of Strength and Release.
I
breathe deeply and imagine that I am breathing into the small of my back. My
awareness is now filled with a verdant green light. I claim my power of
Strength. I am firmly grounded in the truth of myself and all others as the
Christ. In the stability of that Knowing, I see the Truth of my being
expressing courageously through every thought, word and action. I hold
tenaciously to my Truth. I am the Light of Strength.
I
now focus my awareness in my lower abdomen and envision a russet light there. I
awaken to my Power of Release. I use my power of Release to cleanse my energy
field of any thoughts that are not in alignment with my Christ nature. I
renounce the power of any thought of lack, limitation or separation. I repent.
I change my mind as I choose thoughts of Unity. I am the Light of Release.
Join us on Sunday at 10:00 for our service as we come
together in the Light of Release and Strength, and live our Divine Audacity.