Envision From The End

In a recent meeting with a dear friend and powerful spirit of light, she revealed to me that she often reads the last few pages of a new book before deciding to devote time to reading it in its entirety. She wants to know what message the author is attempting to convey. If it resonates with her soul, and only if it resonates with her soul will she then delve into the book from the beginning.

Similarly, those who offer instruction in the power of our thoughts and feelings to manifest our experience, teach us to envision from the end. They suggest that we connect deeply with our heart’s longing and use our power of imagination to imagine ourselves already living our desired outcome. We are encouraged to create a mental picture of what it will be like, where we will be, who will be with us and then generate the feelings and sensations we associate with our realized desire.

The third of the five basic Unity principles states that we create our experiences according to our way of thinking, feeling and acting. Experiments and studies based in theories of quantum physics are proving this as scientific fact. It is spiritual and universal law. In Unity it is known as the Law of Mind Action.

In thinking about our current fall small group book study of Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness – The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, I chose to stop and envision from the end. I asked myself – What is the author’s intended message? What are we hoping to achieve by studying and applying the principles she presents in her book? What will our lives be like when we know at the depth of our being that we belong to ourselves, and we dare to “brave the wilderness?” Further, what will our world be like when we, individually and collectively, stand in our truth and with courage and conviction be who we truly are?

What is the author’s message?

Dr. Brown offers a message of hope for a world currently experiencing the fear and pain of lost connection with self and others. She offers practical tools to help us restore the bond of our shared humanity. Further, she provides encouragement that supports us in reclaiming connection to our truest selves and reaping the rewards of belonging deeply to ourselves.

What do we hope to achieve by studying the book?

My hope is that as we study the book and incorporate the support of our groups, we will reflect on our lives and become aware of the times when we have felt as though we don’t belong, those times when we have felt lonely, and when we have created bunkers in attempts to protect ourselves. Further, I vision that we will gain the courage to give ourselves and each other empathy and compassion as we face our fear and pain, and that our small group study will provide encouragement as we move through the process and reclaim our true selves.

In reclaiming, I am not talking about being who we have come to believe we are as a result of our familial, cultural and religious histories, but who we are as our essential selves, our higher selves. We can, and most often do, share our beliefs and opinions about religion, politics and social issues based upon our personal conditioning. It takes work, intention and practice to live and interact as our essential selves.

We need only pay attention to what is happening around us to observe the world we have created and continue to propagate when we stand in, as well as speak and act from, our relative truth rather than from a deep connection with our essential nature. We generate a world based from a belief in separation and we live in the fear that is stimulated by that belief.

I am talking about the vision of a world in which we embrace ourselves as the true Light that enlightens everyone. In Unity, we call it our Christ Light or simply the Christ. That is the ultimate quest for “true belonging.” For this discussion, I want to address that space between who we believe ourselves to be and who we really are.

In her book, Dr. Brown focuses on the concept of “true belonging” which arose as the main concern of participants in her research study. She says that the data she and her staff collected revealed that “a large part of the struggle most people face seeking true belonging is spiritual.” In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, based on her earlier research, she defines ‘spirituality’ as,

“Spirituality is recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.”

Further, she states that the reason we are experiencing the level of ideological, religious and social polarization we witness today is that “We have broken that link.” She offers her perspective on how and why we broke it, and how we can mend it.

From my perspective, we have not “broken the link.” We can never break the link that binds us to that which is “greater than all of us.” We are eternally connected to that power. There is no separation. The reason we are facing such divisiveness in our world is that we have allowed our religious, political and social ideologies to define us and to separate us from who we truly are, from each other, and from all creation.

We have forgotten who we are. We have allowed ourselves to be conformed to the world. We are struggling to make sense of it. And, we are fighting to survive in it.

That is why I assert that the wilderness we must dare to brave is the one that lies between who we have come to believe ourselves to be and who we truly are. Dr. Brown says that all wilderness metaphors used by poets, writers, theologians and musicians have in common the “notions of solitude, vulnerability, and an emotional, spiritual or physical quest.” 

We are on the spiritual quest of our lives, and this quest requires us to be brave and vulnerable. We don’t have to do it alone, yet we do have to do it for ourselves. She quotes Joseph Campbell,

“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make up with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.”

Every breath we take, every thought we think, and every step we take is an opportunity to remember who we are and allow the Christ Spirit to shine through us.

What will our lives and the world be like when we have the courage to be who we truly are?

When the Light of Christ dawns in our hearts and minds, we will know the perfect peace that the master teacher Jesus spoke of when he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). This is the peace that surpasses our current understanding. We will know perfect love that casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). We will live in the fullness of joy (John 15:11).

Not only will we know peace, love and joy as our very being, but we will be the peace, love and joy that we wish to see in the world. We will no longer focus on our personal needs and desires, but will hold the needs of all humanity in our hearts and minds, and we will work to be certain that we create a world where the basic needs of all persons, all beings, are met. We will live in a world where we can openly love each other even though we may disagree. We will live in a world where we laugh and cry together. We will celebrate each other’s triumphs and mourn each other’s losses. We will honor the Divine in all creation. We will respect the Earth and all her inhabitants. We will realize our Oneness and we will act in the interest of our common good.

As Dr. Brown states in the closing of the book we are studying,

“Of all the calls to courage that I’ve asked readers to answer over the last decade, braving the wilderness is the hardest…But, as the quote from Maya Angelou reminds us, it’s the only path to liberation.

‘You are only free when you realize that you belong no place- you belong every place- no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great’”

I say it is well worth the time to delve into the book and allow it to be our guide to reclaiming who we truly are and living that truth.

Join us on Sunday as we explore these ideas further. You are welcome here!