This morning during my meditation, two things repeatedly “called’ to me – the Tao Te Ching and Steel Pulse’s song “Chant a Psalm.” So, having learned to listen to that “still, small voice,” I immediately opened up my iTunes library after completing my meditation. Chant a Psalm, with its upbeat music and uplifting lyrics, never fails to put me in a great mood! This morning, these lyrics really stood out:
In your hands lie your destination
The book of true life you hold the key
Mystical powers to you unfold
Seek ye the half that has never been told
(If you’re unfamiliar with the song, you can listen to a snippet from the iTunes store here)
What a wonderful reminder during this 40 days of healing prayer! Each of us holds, within our hands, our own destination — the place our thoughts take us. And as I contemplated “the half that has never been told,” I immediately thought of John 7:24 – “do not judge by appearance, but judge with right judgment,” for judging with right judgment seems to be the piece that is rarely, if ever, told about the current political climate. For it, too, is somehow serving us, reminding us of the discord within our own collective consciousness that is waiting to be healed. Any sense of separation in our own consciousness simply shows up as a need to “be right” and point out the stupidity, innanity, or plain foolishness of one side or another. Judging with right judgment requires that we look at the bigger picture and see it as God sees it; for this book of true life, we each hold the key. As we clear and heal our own consciousness, we create the space for others to do the same.
The message from the Tao just reaffirmed this. Upon opening the book at random to chapter 22, I immediately understood the connection to the Steel Pulse song, which I must admit I questioned when they both showed up, in apparent odd juxtaposition, during my meditation. It was just another fun reminder that everything is, indeed, one thing.
The Master, by residing in the Tao,
sets an example for all beings.
Because he doesn’t display himself,
people can see his light.
Because he has nothing to prove,
people can trust his words.
Because he doesn’t know who he is,
people recognize themselves in him.
Because he has no goal in mind,
everything he does succeeds.
When the ancient Masters said,
“If you want to be given everything,
give everything up,”
they weren’t using empty phrases.
Only in being lived by the Tao
can you be truly yourself.
- Tao Te Ching, translation by Stephen Mitchell
This is my prayer for our nation, for our government, for our political leaders, and for myself – that we each “reside in the Tao” and become examples. The only thing that ever need be healed is the illusion of separation, and when we are “lived by the Tao,” that illusion cannot exist. When we see everything as one thing, we create the space for our True selves to come forth.
Thanks for this insightful post. We each have the opportunity to choose to sow peace in every moment. We will not choose it if we live from a story of shame, blame, judge and justify. We have to choose differently.
When we wrote Soul Solitude: Taking Time for Our Souls to Catch Up, we thought long and hard about the culprits that keep us from sowing peace internally and externally. Shame, blame, judge and justify were the processes we identified that keep us from our ability to sow peace.
I’m delighted to have found this blog and I look forward to interacting with you.
Sow Peace™
Rhoberta
Good morning! This morning I had the opportunity to examine the areas of my life where I am not sowing peace. We have experienced challenges in family relationships – well in truth we create the challenges because in today’s daily prayer from Kate Loving it is easier to accept what is and be in the flow of love instead of discord. And so I am taking action to sow peace and live in love. I am becoming a keen observer of how I contribute to discord and divisiveness and then ask God to guide me back to the path of love. And my prayer is that as I create peace and harmony in my world, the vibration creates a ripple effect to extend to my community, to our leaders and elected officials and to the world. “Create in me a clean heart oh God.”
Thank you Sumaiya – I am learning so much and it’s wonderful to be both student and teacher! This morning the image of Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia came to mind. Could you imagine what magical transformation would occur if Aslan walked into Congress and spoke as Jesus spoke? And then I imagined winter turning to Spring because the Queen no longer had power over anyone. Everyone’s hearts melted and all were blessed by knowing that we are meant only to abide in Love and Joy as One with the knowledge that there is more than enough for all.
I want to share you with a poem I wrote a couple of years ago – interestingly enough I could not find the poem for days and then today, while cleaning out a file, I found it (I couldn’t find it on my computer) so timing is everything:
The Animals Will Rejoice
When everyone eats vegan and fur coats are no more
And everyone recycles, leave the trees at our forests’ door
When for leather coats and couches, there’s no more demand
We’ll all form a circle joining hand to hand to hand.
When hunters put away their guns and no longer fish the sea
We’ll all gather round the world a communal victory
God created creatures, many rather small
To live in peaceful harmony with creatures who are tall.
When humans can decide to live and care for their own kind
And get the notion care for ALL embedded in their mind
Then all God’s creatures great and small return to Eden’s land
And stand together side by side joined hand to hand to hand.