Jonah and Me

In my post last week, “And Can You Do That?” I shared some thoughts about my recent experience of visiting my family and my hometown. In my talk this past Sunday, “Don’t Be A Jonah,” I shared some thoughts about my personal interpretation of the story of Jonah and the whale from the Hebrew Scripture through maieutic and metaphysical lenses. Metaphysical and maieutic Bible interpretation captured and have kept my interest since first being introduced to them in the beginning of my Unity studies.

In case you are unfamiliar with word ‘maieutic’ as I was, it is a method of inquiry used by Socrates to draw from the individual a personal relationship with the story. I appreciate that using the maieutic method of Bible interpretation allows each person to relate to the story through his or her experience to discern a personal meaning. Using this method, the meaning derived from a single story can change depending on the current life experience of the one interpreting it.

I share this because I am aware that my personal interpretation of the Jonah story is related to where I am right now in my life and how it relates to my relationship with my family.

Many of you know that I will be taking a six-week sabbatical beginning August 16. Earlier this year, as I contemplated what to do and where to go during my sabbatical, I felt my spirit and Spirit drawing me to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia. Even though I grew up in Georgia, I never spent any time in that part of the state.   

In my mind, I questioned why. Why would I want to go to Georgia of all places? It will be hot and muggy in August and probably in September, as well. Why would I want to subject myself to the mosquitos and all the other various and sundry insects around there? Why not find a higher elevation where it’s cooler and with fewer bugs?

As I sat with the idea longer, I saw the image of a map of family members who live within an easy driving radius of the area. I heard my spirit and Spirit telling me that I could take day or overnight trips to reconnect with my family. Again, I questioned why. Why would I want to spend time with the family I have successfully escaped from and pretty much avoided for the past 35 years or more?

“No,” I said to Spirit, “I think I’ll go to the mountains of Montana or Idaho instead.”

I was Jonah, hearing the call of the inner Spirit to go, and I was, in my mind, refusing to listen.

I searched online for places to go in my preferred locations. Wouldn’t you know it, I found nothing affordable. So, I searched the North Georgia area and found a lovely cabin in the woods surrounded by 30 acres with a pond and a mountain view. You guessed it, it was the most affordable and most attractive place I found.

Still, I questioned Spirit. Why there? While I did not get a definitive answer, my feeling sense was that it was about some healing work that I need to do around my family. Nothing specific, just a sense of some pain, hurt, loss that I needed to address and heal for myself and for them.

Likewise, Jonah was called to Nineveh to help with healing, not only for the people there, but for himself as well. He resisted going. He tried to go someone else only to be redirected.

Fortunately, I did not have to weather a storm or be swallowed by a whale to answer the call. I followed the guidance and booked the place in North Georgia. However, realize that the storm may come, and I may need to live in the belly of the fish for the healing to happen.

My recent trip to Georgia revealed to me some of the pain, regret, guilt and shame I have been running from for most of my life. I know that for me to embrace my wholeness, I need to come face-to-face with the things and people from which I have tried to escape and to integrate aspects of myself and my family of origin that I have so desperately wanted to dissociated from.

I still have some trepidation about going on this trip. I do not know what is in store for me or what I will be called to face, but I trust that I am being guided to greater wholeness and to reclaim parts of myself that I thought I had lost.

I choose to embrace the story of Jonah as my own and allow it to remind me of some important life lessons.

• Spirit lives within us, each of us, and within all creation.
• Our healing impacts the whole of creation, not just ourselves.
• All of creation supports our healing.
• Spirit is constantly and consistently seeking its fullest expression through each of us.
• Spirit is always guiding us to our highest and best unfolding.
• Our first duty is to listen in the silence of our hearts to the still, small voice of Spirit.
• Our next duty is to follow our hearts, not our heads.
• Our rational minds will try to steer us away from following our hearts.
• Spirit is transrational.
• Spirit does not call the prepared, Spirit prepares the called.
• We have what we need when we need it as we stay open and receptive
  to Spirit’s leading.
• We must allow ourselves to abide in the consciousness of possibility and potential (the belly of the fish) for as long and as often as needed.
• We must surrender to Spirit and allow Spirit to work through us to affect the healing that is needed for ourselves, for others, and for the world.
• Each of us is the beloved, worthy of reclaiming our wholeness and
  living empowered lives.

I am choosing to follow Spirit’s guidance, take it one day (or one minute) at a time, stay open to what is moving in me and in others, and invite and welcome whatever comes, knowing that it is all in Divine Order. I also choose to hold the knowing that growth does not have to be painful: Growth can also come through joy.

I encourage you to explore this story and others that speak to you. They may not be factual, but they are truthful. When we choose to see ourselves in the story, they can reveal deeper truths about ourselves and provide guidance for our journey.

 

And, Can You Do That?

J and I recently returned from a visit to my hometown, Washington, GA, where I officiated my nephew’s wedding. I was honored by his invitation and did not hesitate to say ‘yes’ when he asked me to officiate. While I was pleased to be included, in the days leading up to our departure I had some anxiety about being around my family and others whose lifestyles and beliefs differ greatly from mine.

Prior to leaving Denver, I talked with my spiritual counselor about it. During our conversation, I realized that I often feel defensive around my family. I have believed that I have to justify to them my spiritual beliefs and how I reconcile being gay with being a minister.

I promise: I am not just being paranoid. I have had conversations with my family in which they have attempted to convince me of the “error of my ways.” In addition, I have been in situations where “Christian” men who have married into my extended family would barely acknowledge my presence in the room. I have also been in family situations where I felt physically unsafe because of someone’s judgment of me.

I did not want to subject myself or J to that.

As my spiritual counselor invited me to go deeper and connect with what I wanted to experience with my family, I connected with the desire for acceptance, respect, and love. I expressed that to him and his next question floored me.

He asked, “And, can you do that?”

“What do you mean?” I replied. “Can I do that for myself or can I do that for them?”

To which he replied, “Yes.”

As I pondered his question, I realized that I have not always accepted, respected and loved myself. Further, I do not always do it now. While I have the tendency to judge myself when I do not accept, respect or love myself, I have the choice to accept, respect and love myself even when I don’t.

I was reminded of the importance of being present with my humanity. I once heard someone say that family is so good at pushing our buttons because they helped install them. I still get triggered by things that people do or say, especially family. Even though I would love to be superhuman and sometimes think I “should” be, the reality is I am not. When I am triggered, I have the choice of how to respond. I can give myself empathy and compassion and extend the same to others. Is that always what I choose? No. But it is my aspiration.

I was also embarrassed to admit that I don’t always accept, respect and love my family. At times, I judge them for their beliefs and lifestyles. I don’t always accept them for choices that I believe are unhealthy. I don’t always love their behaviors.

So, as I prepared to set out on the trip last week, I set a clear intention to accept, respect and love them no matter what. I believe in the power of setting intentions. It helps to focus our minds and attitudes in the direction we choose to go.

You might be wondering how successful I was at fulfilling my intention. Well, to be honest, there were times I found it challenging. I did my best to stay aware of my thoughts and feelings and to make a conscious shift when I noticed that I was leaning toward judgment. Did I succeed every time? No. Once again, that gave me the opportunity to accept, respect and love myself in my humanness.

In all, it was a good trip. I learned some things, was reminded of some things, revisited some things, celebrated some things, mourned some things, and I made choices that served my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Well, mostly anyway.

The bottom line is:

We are always at choice. We do not have to place ourselves in situations where, or associate with people with whom, we do not feel emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually safe. However, there may be times when we make a conscious choice to acknowledge the fear, strengthen ourselves with self-love and support from others and do it anyway. We may find that we are stronger and more capable than we had previously given ourselves credit.

We want acceptance, respect, and love. They are basic human needs. While we may seek it and find it from others, we must be willing and able to give them to ourselves first. Not that we have to or that we can or will do it perfectly, but that we commit to give ourselves those things to the best of our ability in every moment.

Yes, everyone wants acceptance, respect, and love. When we can stay mindful of that and approach all of our encounters with a clear intention to share those things with others, we will experience a shift in ourselves and in our relationships. Again, we will not do it perfectly, but as Nonviolent Communication founder Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.”

We are all living in these human bodies with needs, desires, and feelings. It is vitally important for our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being that we honor ourselves wherever we are and whatever we are experiencing in the moment. Only then can we truly celebrate our humanity. Only then can we truly accept, respect, and love ourselves and others in the moment.

“And, can you do that?”

Clean Gutters

Recently, during a heavy rain, J and I noticed that water was spilling out over the edge of the gutters in the front of our house. After the rain stopped, J climbed up the ladder to assess the issue. Not surprisingly, he found that the opening at the top of the downspout was clogged with leaves and other debris. (Needless to say, we are not the best at cleaning the gutters). When he reached in and removed the blockage, water and sludge gushed out of the downspout opening the way for the gutter to release the water that had accumulated.

I thought, “What a great metaphor for life!” We are meant to be clear, open channels through which Spirit flows abundantly and effortlessly. Yet, we often allow our thoughts of lack and limitation and our beliefs in separation to block that flow.

When gutters are not cleared and water is allowed to back up, the water can cause damage to the structural integrity of the house. In a similar way, when left to collect, the debris of negativity and fear in the world around us can create blockages in our hearts and minds that can manifest as illness in the body and/or suffering in our minds and emotions.

It is vitally important that we keep our channels open to allow for the eternal flow of Spirit in and through our lives. We can do that through our daily practices of prayer, meditation, and visualization.

I have recorded a guided visualization to assist you in clearing your energy field and opening to the purity of the Divine Light of Spirit. I hope it is helpful. I encourage you to use it daily to keep your channel open and flowing with all the power that Spirit is expressing as you.

Vibration is Everything!

While some are aware, others may not know that every Thursday morning I facilitate a Zoom call for a small group of intentional participants in an experience that I call ‘Conscious Connections.’ During these sessions, I often bring forth messages from Spirit to help guide us all in more fully connecting with and embodying the power within. 

During a recent session, a participant was concerned about a situation in their life and asked for some guidance about how to handle it. The message that came through from Spirit was clear and powerful. I found the message to be helpful and thought I would share it here because others might too.

The following is transcribed from that session with punctuation added for clarification.

We see so much of the struggle that you encounter in this physical space; and your questioning; and your doubting; and your wondering; and wanting to know, wanting to understand, wanting to do what is right, wanting to help others, wanting to experience the joy, wanting to experience peace of mind, wanting to experience the understanding of what it means to be human and divine; what it means to be in these temporal forms and what it means to be an eternal beingness and how we come together in that awareness of who we are; what we are and how we live in these human forms and how we bring forth into this human experience, higher knowing. There are many questions that happen in the physical experience for you trying to figure it out.

And what we would say to you is that your opportunity is to focus on your own vibrational frequency. Do you see when you are worried, when you are struggling, when you are concerned, when you are trying to figure it all out - you are in this place of worry, you are in a lower vibrational frequency and you are, therefore, creating more of the same.

The master teacher, Jesus, said, do not worry. It cannot add anything to your life. It cannot add anything to your life! It cannot help you have power. It cannot help you have peace. It cannot help you have joy. It cannot help you have anything that you desire. Worry, doubt, confusion cannot help you have anything that you desire to experience in your life. If you are desiring to experience peace of mind, if you are desiring to experience joy, if you are desiring to experience love, stop seeking any control over the outer experience and focus on controlling your inner experience.

Focus on controlling your own energy frequency. We want to say to you clearly that your vibrational frequency is your only concern. We are saying to you, do not seek outside yourself any condition that is going to help you to feel peace. Do not seek outside yourself any condition that is going to help you feel joy. Do not seek outside yourself anything, because the things of the world around you cannot, never will, satisfy the deepest longing of your soul. All that you are seeking is within you.

All that you are seeking is within your own control of your own thinking, your own feeling. You have dominion in your life over these things. You may think that you do not. You may think that you are victim of others. You may think that you are a victim of situations. You may think that someone else can make you feel or create a feeling within you. We would say to you that you are giving away your power to another or another situation. We would say to you, your only, your only focus must always be your own vibrational frequency. That is it! As you are in the vibrational frequency of joy know that you will bring into your awareness, be drawn into your awareness, into your life experience that which reflects joy, but joy is not something that you find in the external. It is something that is reflected to you in the external because you have chosen to experience it.

If you want to experience peace of mind, bring yourself into the vibrational frequency of peace of mind. Then what you will perceive in your outer will reflect the vibrational frequency that you have attained within yourself.

So many of you are seeking something outside of yourself to give you that which you want, to give you that which you are seeking. Seek within and you will find. Ask within and it is given. Knock within and that door of peace and joy and abundance and all that you can possibly imagine is given unto you, as you come into the awareness that you are it. It is about your willingness to be that which you wish to experience.

We want to remind you that that is your power, that you are empowered to choose. We know as you look upon your world, when you look upon your situations, when you look upon your own particular life experience, you see things that are disturbing to you. You see things that are disturbing unto your mind, but do you understand that you cannot transform anything on the outer from a place of worry. You cannot transform anything on the outer from a place of fear. You only can transform anything on the outer by attaining a vibrational frequency of that which you wish to experience.

 

Scripture tells us that we are given dominion over the things of the earth, which metaphysically we understand to be our thoughts and feelings. We are not given dominion over others or over the conditions of the world. However, a consciousness focused on the power of God within us will not only transform us but will also transform the world.

Let us find our own peace, love and joy within by focusing on our personal vibrational frequency so that we can be the peace, the love, and the joy we wish to see in the world!

True Freedom

In preparation for my message this coming Sunday, July 4, I was guided to revisit the first chapter of Dr. H. Emilie Cady’s seminal text, Lessons in Truth. This chapter is entitled “Bondage or Liberty, Which?” I have facilitated classes on this book and read this chapter many times. My copy of the book has all manner of notes in the margin, underlined passages, asterisks, and highlighted texts. As I read today, I was particularly drawn to the only pink highlighted section of this chapter. In it, Dr. Cady says,

"We have come to a place now where our search for Truth must no longer be for rewards; it must no longer be our seeking a creed to follow, but it must be in living a life…We must learn to lose sight of results that are the “loaves and fish” (Mt. 15:36), we must, rather, seek to be the Truth consciously, to be love, to be wisdom, to be life (as we really are unconsciously), and let results take care of themselves.”

In traditional Christianity, in which I was thoroughly indoctrinated, the ultimate reward in the “search for Truth” is finding Jesus and gaining a place in heaven by making the decision to believe in him and give him your life. If one is exceptionally good, it may also result in Jesus interceding on their behalf with his father, God, who may choose to heal them of an illness, deliver them from some unwelcomed life situation, or make them rich as the prosperity gospel of Pastor Joel Osteen and others tells us.

In New Thought, I learned that the “search for Truth” would transform one’s consciousness thereby changing one’s life. Rather than believing that Jesus can do it for us, we learn to change our thoughts and feelings so the universe can deliver to us all that matches our frequency. While it is a different approach, it is much the same concept as in traditional Christianity. It is about attaining a desired result. When we say things like, “Change your thinking; change your life,” ¹ we are most often doing so while focusing on the result.

We teach that changing our consciousness can bring us more money, health, loving relationships, perfect jobs, or anything that we focus on. We teach it as the “law of cause and effect,” “the law of correspondence,” and “the law of attraction.” And while all these laws are aspects of Truth, how and why we apply them matters.

In the passage above, Dr. Cady says that it is time for us to stop focusing on results. When we focus on results, we remain in bondage. We can become enslaved to our ambitions, our desires, a consumeristic culture, others’ opinions, our self-interest, and all manner of attachments to the world of form.

When, instead, we focus on living the Truth by being love, being wisdom, being the life and letting go of the results, we will find that our lives are much freer. We are no longer in bondage to the world or the things of the world. We are free to live in the joy of the moment. We are free to be in peace with what is, rather that worry about what is not. We are free to be in love with everyone and everything around us. Is not that the life that we all desire? Dr. Cady reminds us that the world cannot satisfy the deepest longing of our souls.

As we look forward to celebrating July 4^th as the day the Declaration of Independence was signed and America declared her freedom from the tyranny of an oppressive king, let us observe this day also as our personal day of freedom. Let us set ourselves free from our self-imposed bondage to the world of form. Instead of focusing on results, let us focus on being love, wisdom, light, joy, and life “(as we really are unconsciously).” As we do that, we can celebrate the freedom that comes from discovering that the Truth has always and will ever be within. That is True Freedom!

¹ Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Brian Tracy, often attributed to Norman Vincent Peale, Wayne Dyer, Joyce Myers and others