Blessings

The next posts will appear in January 2013.

Be blessed, enjoy family and friends!

For those who are celebrating Christmas, have a blessed Christmas and remember the reason for the season; Rejoice!


Refocusing meditation:
In spite of the latest happenings in our country, focus on something that gave you great joy in your life.
If you can't think of anything find a beautiful picture of colors, of nature or an animal, or watch your dog or cat as if you had never seen them before.  Maybe think of a newborn child. Enjoy what you see, enjoy the moment.
Keep your mind focused on wonder and joy!

Biblical meditation:

Read Luke 2:1-20 and meditate on it. Imagine yourself there. Who are you in the scene?


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

The Weak Link

We live under the illusion that persons who are developmentally challenged, handicapped or mentally ill are too incompetent to be useful.  We also see the older generation as too old to be useful.This is harming our society as it sends our culture towards engaging in the dangerous trend of devaluing others. We disregard sections of society which cannot compete or produce. Competing and producing is a tiny part of being human; very tiny! The nature of human beings is made up of many parts. The biggest parts being Spirit and consciousness, heart speak and creativity. This we are currently oppressing. Why I believe that our trend is so dangerous, is because we disregard soul-wisdom.

A community is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore if we think we must get rid of that link to make our society stronger we engage in a foolish idea. Each of these so-called “unproductive and useless” individuals brings wisdom as well as one piece of the Cosmic puzzle to the whole. Without it we cannot gain understanding of the whole picture. All we produce and do will be incomplete and meaningless.

Taking a closer look at the reality of this action brings to the forefront many unfortunate results that are counter-productive for everyone. We have been disregarding the wisdom of the elderly by excluding them from the workforce starting at age fifty. Very few people over fifty are able to secure a descend job if any, if they are out of work. Yet, they are the ones with great experience. Our seventy plus, unless they are highly active, are put into warehouses called nursing homes.

There they have no way to share their experiences and wisdom stories, which would be a great enrichment for our culture and the younger generation. This trend shows that we are a warehousing culture, which of course makes sense if our core value is production. We warehouse our children in daycares. They at least are growing toward being productive, so their plight is not as severe, except that connectedness to family and community is limited.

Developmentally challenged persons may barely be able to add five and five, but they can look into your heart and discern who you really are. They share a pure and simple love, laugh over simple joys and often are ridiculed by their peers as well as us sophisticated folk.

Persons with mental illnesses have gotten their walls and fake masks broken down. They rise out of their ashes, vulnerable but ready to give of their rich experiences. Most often they are rejected because they have let go of these walls and masks. One thing I observed is that it is much easier to talk and be with people who had their walls and masks broken down. One does not need to tiptoe around the pretenses. The conversation goes straight to the heart. For the rest of us that can be a bit scary.

Unless we embrace the wisdom of the vulnerable, we create a heartless one-sided culture that can only engage in competition and production; disregarding all the things the soul needs. If we leave prayer, heart-speak, care, compassion, the arts and that which makes a person whole out of the equation we may be living, but we are soulless – we are the living dead.

Enlightened teachers over centuries (Jesus, Buddha and others) have talked about learning to become awake or alive. We can only be truly awake or alive if we let Spirit and our soul guide us.

Meditation:

Examine your life. What are the three most important things in your life currently? Do these three things make you happy and joyous? Then think of you deepest hopes and dreams, do THEY make you feel truly joyous? (Hopes in dreams in my blog relate to God's calling)

How close are these three important things in your life in relationship to your deepest hopes and dreams ? Are those three things supporting your hopes and dreams or is there a gulf between them? Are you afraid of your dreams?

What can you learn from your insights? Journal!

Biblical Scripture: Mt.8:22

When a disciple chosen to follow Jesus said:“Lord, first let me go and bury my father. Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their own dead”

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Community and change

A few blog entries ago I wrote about tribes, defining tribalism as something which limits individuals in their development for the sake of limited belief systems of a particular culture. Often tribalism implies a strong ideology of living in the us and them; causing separation instead of unity. Separation (specifically hostile separation) in my understanding, is something undesired in the larger scheme of the loving Cosmos.

The need for wholeness of each individual in order to enjoy wholesome community is unconditional for a healthy existence. An individual cannot be whole without community, nor can, a community be whole without individuals who are allowed to strive toward wholeness. Individuals in such a community need the freedom to express themselves without punishment. (shunning, belittleling, bodily harm, etc.) At the very least individuals have to learn and have freedom to stand up in the midst of adversity for the sake of justice. This requires everyone to learn to listen. Without being able to listen we cannot understand one another. The art of listening needs to be taught again. Teaching the art of listening must also go hand in hand with the ability to slow down, become aware of surroundings and choices unconsciously made affecting our lives. We are currently in a gigantic whirlwind missing most of what needs to be understood.

We could learn much from the Quakers who offer to persons discerning questions and paths, something called a “clearness committee.” Such a committee is a process in which the group refrains from giving advice but spends 3 hours asking a canditate honest open questions to help the person discover their inner truth. ( from: Let your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, pg. 44)

This is a process contrary to everything we learn in our western culture. Our society has become constantly pre-occupied with what to do that will make us become better (an outward better in stead of an inward better). If its not TV adds, than its friends, teachers, doctors, social workers and most everyone thinks they can better YOUR life because the very thing would better theirs.

It is important for all of us to understand that life does not work that way. We all need very specific things and understandings in order to fulfill our God-given destiny. As individualistic as someone having a destiny sounds, we all do have a destiny. Unless everyone is encouraged and allowed to fulfill their destiny our communities cannot become whole. (holy)

To become whole we need to be process driven not result driven. Having and fulfilling a destiny sounds like we ought to be result driven, in the larger picture. Unless destinies are fulfilled over time and space, over decades and millennia, we become stagnant.

We live in the liminal spaces of the temporary results of destinies and the ongoing processes of an ever evolving humanity and creation.

We live with the illusion that everything is stagnant when in reality, in order to be whole and healthy, changes must happen. Have you ever looked at a pond? It has stagnant water, algae and other organisms grow which can often be harmful to the swimmer. At the same time, flowing water is always fresh and regenerates its body frequently. The changes in the flowing water are the reason for a healthier water which can be used to sustain higher lifeforms.

A stagnant people envisions a stagnant God, an old man with a beard who carries out judgment.

A holistic changing people embraces a God of change, a God of becoming, as we are becoming. We live with the illusion that our paved roads, our landmasses will be there forever and their solidity will never change. Yet the earth is not that solid. It undergoes many changes. It is not a catastrophe, no evil, only natural that it all changes. The energies sustaining nature as I see them are constantly pulsating and fluctuating until one day that which we know breaks open or apart and reassembles itself as a different formation.

It looks like we are living at a time in which such changes are happening at an accelerated rate. Change is going to happen on every level. Some of them we have already started seeing, while others are still hidden.

Change is needed for every human being to be able to become what they are called to become.

These changes will create new forms of communities.

Change terrifies us, but we must not be afraid. Fear only comes when we are holding on to old concepts and have become stagnant. This refers to the fact that we hold on to old formulas, laws and ideas which were relevant for a particular time but are not relevant for the current time. The old ideas must re-align, in different ways to make the new. Often people say the new is really an old idea. In many ways, this is true. There are building blocks, all that is created in cosmos, our history and cultures, which as societies and the world changes reassemble to fit the new picture. Sometimes even earth will change and  participate in what we might see as upheaval. We do not need to be afraid but must entertain an open heart and mind and a deep God connectedness.

Meditation:

Imagine yourself swimming in a body of water. This water depicts your life. Is this water clear and clean, or like a pond filled with slimy alge? What does your water look like? Is it slimy or not what would you like it to look like? Then envision an illuminated waterfall of clear healing waters coming down at the edge of your pool but not entering your pool. You have been given the power to extend your pool so that the waterfall can be included. Do just that, extend the pool so that now you see the waterfall pouring into your pool. Then watch and see. What is that clean waterfall doing in your pool? What changes are taking place? What are you learning. Journal!

Biblical Scripture: Heb.1:10-12

...in the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing;

like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed........”

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Spirituality

In these changing times many individuals will confess “I am not religious but I am spiritual”. What does that mean? One has only to study Christian history to realize every religion has imperfect members including the leaders. People get sometimes hurt. Clergy and fellow followers of faith are human just like you. All are struggling within culture-soup made of events of life happenings within their emotional and physical boundaries.  All humans are fallible.

Churches are a means to help a community to learn and keep accountability in their relationship to God while learning love and forgiveness. Especially important is forgiveness!  In some instances the bedrock of accountability has started to deteriorate. Yet, church still has that function. Each church has its group of people who needs that churche's particular doctrines to live accountable lives and learn to draw closer to God.

There are other spirits than God and the Holy Spirit, anywhere  from angels to not so benevolent ones. Someone walking it alone, a person calling themselves spiritual, will encounter dangers lurking, hence church community is important. At the same time church community must awaken and transform itself in order to become a valuable resource for persons in their spiritual encounters.

For the most part we have not been taught how to discern that which is harmful in the spiritual world, nor how to deal with it. Most of the time people are thrilled that they have an insight or hear a voice from the beyond. Often they will feel 'chosen'. They do not think that beyond is a multifaceted world like our own. There is not only God and protective angels, but things Christianity and various religions call Satan, evil or selfish desire and various facets in between. There is a multitude of beings invisible to most humans. Most everything that exists, animals, trees, as well as the earth has beings sustaining them. Those beings sustaining creation exist by God's design. Some will work to our benefit, some won't. Then there are also those who are often called "earthbound spirits", humans who have died and failed to move on.

I have studied these things for many years. This does not make me under any circumstances special, all this means is that with extra insights I also have extra responsibilities. Theoretically everyone has such abilities, but  in many people they are mostly dormant often to a taught fear.

While the Church has kept us, or at least tried to keep us from getting in harms way, it also instilled a great fear of anything supernatural, unearthly and invisible. That is an interesting thing, since God is also invisible to us. I think this taught fear also causes the problem that people withdraw themselves from God. This is a sign that this very fear the church teaches is backfiring. If church would teach us to embrace the other world (which would require us to acknowledge spiritual experiences of various kinds) people may have a harder time denying God. We are not only ignorant to such things, we also don't know how to discern that which will make us whole or which will harm us in the spiritual world. We don't know how to deal with otherworldly experiences.  I have met only few pastors who have the gift of healing, vision, or know how to get rid of ghosts, or beings that may cause havoc in a persons life. Instead of passing on these gifts we decided to tell people there is no such thing. We also tell people that a person with such gifts is strange or even crazy. It's a whole lot easier, but not helpful to people who have such supernatural experiences and seek help. 

Explaining things away does not make them go away!

Mysticism is the only thing I know in Christianity that touches on what people are looking for spiritually. Mystics as we understand them in the Christian Church are individuals who draw deeply into God. They love God, experience a deep love from God in return, out of which develops love for human beings; their neighbors. They often have visions and gifts given by God others who do not choose to draw near will not have. These believers pray many times a day if not unceasingly. All spirituality needs prayer as its very foundation, whether it is Christian prayer, Jewish prayer, Islamic prayer, or whatever your tradition may call for. Our churches need to invite spiritual direction into their walls. They need to become interested in the unique experiences of many, learning from them as well as guiding them.

People have questions about the afterlife. Rarely do we approach this subject and are uncomfortable with people who have had afterlife or near death experiences. This is because these experiences are mystical in nature, therefore disregarded as unique oddities. This is the case of most things we do not fully understand. Our biggest problem is that we are terrified of death. We elect to shroud ourselves with ignorance because it is a lot easier to deal with, then this subject. We let medical doctors make decisions whether or not a patient could or should have had such an experience. Are we as theologians allowed to practice medicine without a license?

How is it that medical personnel has come to think they can claim to be experts in our field unless we abdicate and elect ignorance?  Optimally theologians ought to work together with science to find answers.

If we, as pastors are not spiritual, then we should invite someone to guide us who is spiritual, who has a deeper relationship with God. Being a Pastor is a calling. If we are truly guided by the Holy Spirit this calling may put us on a road which may be contrary to some church policies or certain doctrines.  There are many people who are truly hungry for the spiritual. We must feed them and educate them or they will go roaming and looking for answers. (This is happening right now with "church shoppers"). To learn answers to spiritual experiences requires pastors themselves to draw near to God and learn to understand and deal with that which we cannot see.

Regardless what the facets of the spiritual world are, the most important thing we need to learn, live, and understand is love. Our very function is to love. There is nothing else more important. In all we do, we must do it with love. This love is not only spiritual, it is physical because it must come through caring action.

Hence, spirituality is not only a drawing close to God, it is recognizing God in all of humanity and creation, as well as an act of love toward them. Our actions need to be actions of compassion. If we chose not to help someone for whatever reason, we neglect our function: LOVE.
(Note: Helping does not always mean to give a person what they want. Likewise a person offering criticism may do so out of compassion for someone, not to be a pain.)

Exercise:

1.

Envision someone who hurt you in the past coming to you for help. What will your response be?

Be honest with yourself. What would it take for you to be able to help that person. Reflect on that.

In the end try to surround yourself with light and draw them into that light (meditations we have done before). As that person stands in that light what truth are you able to learn about them?
Can you see yourself helping them? What are you learning about giving help?

2.

Biblical Scripture reading:

1 Cor.13:1-7

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

On Church and Religion

Just like Education in the USA, Church is entering a new era. Old paradigms are shifting, opening up chasms which eventually will give birth to new paradigms. However, the paradigm change for Church is one that seems to engage the whole world.

As I am addressing Church and Religion, I need to address a loaded word: “Heresy.”

At first I thought this word should not even exist. But then I realized this word did not always have the negative meaning it has since the early middle-ages.

“The Greek word hairesis means choice – or things chosen. In this sense it was applied to the doctrines of philosophical schools. Already in I Cor. 11:19 and Gal. 5:20 Paul uses the term in a negative sense to mean a divisive faction.”

We can find in the works of Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 35-107), even before the days of the conciliar definitions of Christian faith, heresy to mean theological error.

Eventually, Tertullian, a church father identifies the root of heresy as the willful choice of philosophical opinion over revealed Christian truth.” (The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology, pg.249)

Revealed to whom, and who was the one revealing it? The Bible is not a perfect revelation as some claim. First the texts were chosen by just a few Early Church leaders, deciding which text was appropriate to be in this book, while other texts were discarded. The texts were written, even though inspired by God, by human hand. No matter how holy an inspiration, if it comes through a human, the human ego will get somewhat in the way. The Bible also went to quite a few translations and even the most competent translators will water the language somewhat down. Hence, as important, and as beloved as our Bible is, this source of revelation may in some instances be imperfect.

Over time and lately through scholarship the word heresy has become a more questionable and disputable idea. Around the Middle-ages, however, people who expressed different ideas about God than the Church allowed, were burned, hanged or mutilated all in the name of God. Many were excommunicated. In the process many unique gifts were smothered and extinguished.

Excommunications are hardly anymore dealt. The last heresy trial was in 1847. Surprisingly, the Church of England in the UK is contemplating the resurrection of heresy trials in our time.

In our country (USA) the mist of heresy still hangs in the rafters materializing itself every so often in our current churches as expected blind loyalty to a denomination (some more so than others) and a subtle and sometimes not so subtle verbal bashing between the various faith groups. (Denominations seems to be particular to the USA).

When I changed from the Presbyterian Church to the Disciples of Christ Church, a former professor called me an apostate. Apostasy is the deliberate disavowal of belief in Christ made by a formerly believing Christian. How could such a thing be true if both the Presbyterian denomination and the Disciples of Christ are Christian denominations? We deal with only minor differences in each denomination, mostly so minute, that a lay person couldn't figure out what the difference is, nor are they important in the larger scheme.

In this professor's statement the subtle fog of heresy was still at work.

Good thing you can't get convicted, tried and hanged anymore or I wouldn't be writing this blog.

By an accusation of heresy we, whoever we are, claim to have the sole truth. I have visited many churches of various denominations and no matter how much they claim to be different they are not different enough to warrant separation or sustain a hostile attitude toward another denomination. Of course they do things differently, may it be communion or baptism or other liturgies. With some I may not agree, but calling something that differs from my truth, heresy is absurd. (If we think small, the differences become mountains, in the larger picture, however, they are not that important.)

My truth it is...which also implies that I do not know the Whole Truth, and no one else does either.

Not one person on this earth has seen God face to face, or had revealed all of God's truth! There have been partial insights (the Bible only reveals partial insights just by the fact that documents have been left out). We also only have partial ability to interpret the Biblical texts. The texts need to be read with inspiration, not everyone at all times reads the Bible with inspiration, not even pastors. If this wasn't so, we wouldn't be torturing our brains of what the texts in the Bible mean. We only have fragments of the truth. Having only access to partial truth, no one can claim to be the only one who knows God or know what God desires for us. Instead we need to come together, each one of us with their partial truth in order to come closer to the Whole Truth. We all have a particular puzzle piece that belongs to the gigantic Human and Cosmic puzzle, the Divine mystery.

Gaining understanding of the Whole Truth can only be accomplished if we strive for unity and not engage in separation. To be exact, I believe that we gain much more understanding if we work together. The Whole Truth we may only be able to comprehend when we are unified with Christ, in GOD. Striving for more understanding  will require the ability to examine ourselves in combination with the willingness to admit that we by ourselves cannot know everything.

That could prove to be a challenge since there seems to be a deadly fear of syncretism (merging of denominations and faiths).

Yet, denominations could easily stay as a denomination in themselves, and at the same time come together in conversation, prayer and contemplation on the larger picture with all the others. Now some of these conversations are already happening and some denominations are more active in this process than others. The Catholic Church, Nondenominational churches and some Baptist churches have in the past tried to come together with other mainline churches but were only partially successful. One of the more successful churches was and is the UCC. There are 6 streams in the UCC that can be traced which all  managed to merge into one denomination and the conversation is ongoing.
It was the Disciples of Christ founders idea (Stone and Campbell) to call all Churches Christian Churches, and put in small letters below what kind. (such as Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist etc.) They were ahead of their time and their idea failed. I think the Disciples of Christ need to make this attempt again. One can only hope that all denominations would eventually join this effort.

One group of religious was always on the brink of being persecuted, those were the Mystics. John of the Cross, Theresa of Avilla and many others of old and present, have had to fight for their stay.

Often they had to evade the charge of heresy. Now a days mystic insights are being disregarded in various ways, including that they cannot be "substantiated" with Biblical texts. And yet we read in Scripture
Jn. 14:12"Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
 It is my question, could Christ reveal all of God and of heaven in one lifetime? Of course! But would we have been ready? I do not believe that any claims of the mystics undermine the Biblical texts, but they are rather a form of expansion. Would we ever have stopped teaching science or math or any other subjects at the level of the 10^th century? No! We continued to study, we continued to explore and learn. Why are we set on stopping on what we have learned 2000 years ago, as the only revelation that God has given us? God continues to reveal God self continuously.

Can we leave the negative connotations of the word heresy behind and reclaim its original meaning so that we could become a large, benevolent Christian Community which offers various paths and options to follow Christ? Jesus was not a dictator who forced uniformity on his followers. Different people need to do things in different ways to get to where they need to go.

Our divisions and bashing between the denominations have caused many people to stay away from churches.

It is the Holy Spirit who guides us all, every individual, every church in its various gifts and abilities to come together and acknowledge God's power amongst us. It is the Holy Spirit alone, who can move our churches in the direction to make them adequate for a new era. We must stand aside and let the changes happen even if they scare us.

It happens through mysticism whether, Christian, Jewish or Islamic, that differences can be transcended. The mystic union with God is very similar in all paths. The mystics know each other on a soul level and God's Truth (whatever they receive of it) through Divine revelation. This is not heresy but an amazing invitation to realize God created us all, that we are all One in God's creation and that God is not passive but continuously revealing. Not only differences in Christianity but differences amongst various faiths have potential to become transcended. All the various paths lead to the center, God.

Exercises

.

Envision a group of ministers or people each from a different denomination (if you are an Interfaith  person), envision also rabbis, and other clergy of various faith., There is a big puzzle on the floor or the wall. Each person puts his/her piece into the puzzle. They may not quite know where to put it. You may even think their piece shouldn't be there or doesn't fit. Then envision the fire of the Holy Spirit touching the puzzle and re-arange the pieces into something that makes sense. What insight did you get? Journal.

Read following Biblical Scripture:

1 Cor.12:12-22. 


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

True Vocation

My blog is a ministry to call awareness to things which are unhelpful or even harmful in our society and with that to each individual. We are human beings, created, creative and with our own  calling and purpose. When we find our purpose we also find our god-given gifts. When we fulfill our purpose and share our gifts we live up to our highest potential and help society to become free and whole.

I encourage you to get the book: "Let your Life Speak" by Parker J. Palmer.
Palmer speaks to that which I deeply believe.

After all our whole reason to be on this earth is to realize and become who we really are.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Concerning the Poor

Biblical texts:

Dt.15:11 “I therefor command you, “Open your hands to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

Isa: 32:7 “ The villaninies of villains are evil; they devise wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.”

Jas 2:2-6 “...do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say 'Have a seat here, please,' while the one who is poor you say, 'Stand there' or, ' Sit at my feet,' have you not made a distinction among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

 I have seen the poor  refused service. Anyone who looks dirty, homeless and impoverished or different will deal with humiliation. Often they receive strange looks.

Several cities have a law that outlaws the feeding of homeless persons.

Sad, but that is the world.

What does this look like within charitable organizations? Many of them do great work in helping the poor and that needs to be celebrated. Without these organizations many of the poor would be much worse off. Unfortunately, I have also seen organizations and individuals who in the name of charity donate and disseminate outdated can-goods  and stained clothes. The worst I have ever seen was a pair of shoes in which the sole had been shredded, donated to be given out to the poor.  Likewise people donate jackets or blouses but cut off expensive buttons. It would be better if they just kept the item. That is NOT charity, compassion or love! One organization in Oklahoma was feeding poor people but then continued to tell them if they had gas to come to eat their food, they might have as well spent their gas to find a job. We often have unreasonable expectations towards situations of the poor.

We need to get over the ingrained idea, that the poor did it to themselves. Consciously or subconsciously a lot of us believe that their situation occurred because they are lazy or stupid and therefore deserving their plight. I have actually seen poor people who worked two jobs, raised a family and since they could not get any help with repairs, figured somehow out how to fix their own car, their own water-pipes and toilette. It is a lonely life, a stressful life when no-one helps. The poor do not deserve our trash or our contempt.

Having money does not make a person more competent, less lazy or less mentally ill. Money, however, will help to hide those things well. Poor people just can't hide their warts as well, therefore they are being judged. Had emperor Nero been a pauper instead of a King, he would have been put in the insane assylum. But since he was a king, he was considered egocentric and maybe a tad mean or evil.

Even though in the USA most of the poor are criminalized, it is interesting that poverty is spreading. People who were in middle class cannot keep up anymore with the way the economy is going. One thing is really fascinating, a lot of professionals are hired to tell the poor people how to get out of poverty. But no-one involves the voice of the poor to find out what they actually need, thereby being ineffective. Telling a poor person how to get out of poverty according to my standards and life philosophy does not consider their gifts, life philosophy, life purpose or dignity. If they do not follow through we condemn them for being unreliable, having bad habits, or just being crazy. When in actuality those who are poor who are standing up for themselves, are the ones who have incredible strength to hold to what and who they know they are. It might take them a while to rise above judgements that hold them down, but I pray that they will. They deserve respect.

It seems we have regulations and laws which keep the poor poor. At a low income apartment building, for example, I found out that the tenants are not allowed to do yard-sales. The reason given is vague. When they get some financial help, they need to disclose every bank account, every penny in cash and if they go over by even a little they will receive less help, get their food stamps cut and so on. The problem is they already get the bare minimum. The income they receive is little that car repairs or entertainment of a guest is out of the question, as are many of the things the middle-class and wealthy people see as quite natural occurrences. The smallest problem that can be fixed with a few dollars becomes a disaster to the poor person.

The most recent proposed bill to outlaw the re-sale of computers, i-phones or blackberries means the poor will not have access to the technology that everyone else has. I find that is not really fair. If these laws are intentional in order to harm the poor, or if they are just made out of greed they are automatically hurting the poor population.

This is one example how simple decisions which one group might consider practical, may be devastating to the poor. There are very few public phones, and many of them as disfunctional or don't exist anymore. How is a poor person supposed to make a phone call unless they are lucky enough to squeeze a phone into their budget, or are part of a family plan somewhere? Without a phone, how are they going to arrange for services or find a job. To compound the problem, the closing of a post office makes it impossible to do necessary business if you are a poor person without transportation. Whether intentional or unintentional the way society is moving, it makes it almost impossible for the poor to survive.

I think the best gift we can give the poor is to listen to their voices. In doing so we can understand them better and give them the help they really need and want.

I agree with the saying that it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them fish for a meal. If we are to give with open hands, we also need to supply the equipment so that they can fish. Often it is not the skill but the equipment/resource that is lacking.

Exercise:

Ask yourself: “Would I take a poor person to Paneras/ or some restaurant and feed them and talk to them?”

“Would I take a homeless person to my home to sleep?”

“ Would I give a poor person my torn old dress, or one of my newer dresses?

“Am I appalled by their dirtiness?”

“Do I feel embarrassed to talk to a homeless person. Do I hope no-one who knows me will see me doing so?

“ Do I feel that a homeless person is abusing their right and little money by eating in

a restaurant?”

“Do they annoy me when they beg on the street corners?”

“Would you be willing to have one of them do some work for you?”

“Would you be willing to teach one of the poor a skill?”

Meditation:

Breathe deeply. Invoke God's light into your inner vision and let this light flow through you and envelop you. Stand in God's light. Then think of a homeless, dirty or a person you would never want to talk to. Bring them into God's light with you. Greet them, bless them in the name of God. Ask God to show you their real self and their actual beauty. Journal your insights.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Equal Opportunity

I don't kow how often I hear that we all have the same opportunities, especially children who go to school. Well in theory this makes perfect sense, if we believe that all should have what they need just because they are alive. That idea only works if we look at others with a benevolent eye. It cannot work in a society in which everyone is in competition with everyone else.

When one examines the American school systems one will soon encounter opportunities which are more equal than others. Communities who are wealthy and who have more home owners esp. of expensive homes, will also have schools with more technology and more arts. As we know, the homeowners pay a part of their taxes  to support the school system and those home owners feel since they pay, they ought to be getting plenty for what they pay.

I saw one such highschool which has a Science and Math center as well as laptops in most of their classrooms. That is wonderful. However, schools who are supported by a poorer population do not have such special equippment and often do not even have an art curriculum.

Once I saw an article in a local news paper in which someone suggested that the resources from richer districts should be evenly distributed among all schools. That article was silenced very quickly. Not even a pro or con response was printed. It was as if it never had been printed in the first place. It makes sense, we all work hard and we want to keep what we have. At least that is the expectation under a Capitalistic system. If someone asks us to share we quickly call them a Communist.

This particular word is a word that is freely used, if we want people to feel guilty over being compassionate or the sharing of their wealth.  Even if they only voice the idea of sharing wealth we want to render that idea inappropriate.  And it is quite effective, because we have created a set of paranoid fears around this word  "Communist", through which we immediately are able to conjur up terror in people and a need to defend their territory. It seems an effective way to defend our rights and all that we think we earned rightly.

At the same time we also have managed to villanize the poor making them look incompetent and lazy. This idea serves us quite well as a society. We make the poor criminals who want to steal from "us hard working people". And anyone who suggests otherwise we call a Communist, which renders him instantly harmless and an enemy of everything American. To an undiscerning mind this is quite effective.

 Most of us have only a very vague idea of what Communism really is and so it is easy to cram our minds full or untrue ideas. As Christians we know that Christ calls on us to share with those less fortunate. I believe that other religions have similar provisions. I certainly like to hear from you if you want to add to this. Christ was not a Communist. Christ came to show us the value of each and every person, whether they are poor or wealthy. All people are created by the Creator with unique gifts.

If we do not give equal opportunity and share with those less fortunate, we let those gifts go to waste. Many of those gifts cannot come to the surface because the resources will not be present to bring them to the surface if we do not share our resources. Not only our gifts have value, ALL gifts have value and are essential in the evolution of humanity.

I like also to point out that just as everyone has gifts so does everyone have weaknesses. Those who have resources can deal with those weaknesses easily. A handicapped person with means still can persue a carreer, can hire therapists and buy equipment of any kind needed.

But those who are handicapped and have little means, may be stuck in an institution, and may never get that van for handicapped persons in order to drive to work or fulfill their god-given purpose. Whether we support gifts or help those with weaknesses to survive, if we have the means we also have a responsibility.

The knowledge that God created all people, and the striving and hope for equal opportunity in this country, should call to us to pull together and reach out in compassion. 


Meditation

Envision yourself in a group of people. Each one has a special gift in their hands. So do you. But each one has also something missing. They need that missing piece in order to be able to share their own gift appropriately.

Imagine yourself sharing a piece of your gift with someone who needs it. And as you do, this person is able to share with someone else their gift. Pretty soon everyone is sharing and receiving and everyone is becoming whole at the same time. Envision this exchange! What a wholesome, dignified moment. Journal what you learn from it. 


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell 

Education

It is obvious to everyone that a change is needed in our education system. Education especially needs to be familiar with the power of creativity. It is the power of creativity, which will help humanity advance. First, we have this strange idea that every student can learn the same way--every student can sit behind a desk for hours with minimal breaks and still absorb what they ought to learn. In addition, when they cannot, we try to find a medical reason that they do not fit the formula instead of assessing their learning method.

In schools, even more so, a child is seen as a body and a mind, but not as a spiritual being. We think that this mind needs to be filled with information from a standard formula. Children who remember their spiritual roots and spiritual freedom may have a difficult time in stuffy classrooms. From the rigid class structure, the lack of free time and lack of opportunity for input, children have no arena to voice legitimate questions and arguments that need to be heard. They entertain deep thoughts and more knowledge, which we tend to discredit. We need to expand expectations of our students in profound ways that allow their creativity to grow and expand beyond the confines of our formulated structures.  High school students are old enough to work toward change. I heard of one High school in which the students are buildings life models of cars that run on alternative energy. This is one great example where the formula includes using their creativity in a way that is structured and yet inspiring to the students involved.  High school students should not have to sit quietly and do busywork, they are beyond that, they should be moving on upward through application methods of teaching. They are emerged butterflies ready to take flight.

One of the roadblocks in education is that teachers and the administration seem to assume that the students know much less than they do. They do not expect them to have special gifts and if they find those gifts, often they do not fit the education system.  They are encouraged to work on those gifts at home or are dismissive of them while the parents are depending on the system to be inclusive. Instead of a wholesome approach to the young person, compartmentalization teaching is begun early. The student becomes one person in school, another at home, another in church. The true self becomes split and unhealthy.   The problem is that the government requires standardized tests where the teacher's main concern is to get the students through the process, which eliminates teaching them things they need for life. These tests are called standardized for a reason, which eliminates all children who are not wired the way they are constructed. Soul knowledge does not respond the same way as intellectual knowledge. Maybe children could work on a creative project, which would reveal the knowledge they have absorbed while the testers watch them either in the room or through a glass window. There need to be alternatives.

Why could we not have WILD classrooms? Can you envision with me rooms where there are no tables and chairs? Instead, can you see beanbag chairs, swings that hang from the ceiling and hammocks, posters on the walls and plants? Students could watch educational films or documentaries, discuss or brainstorm ideas and let their creative juices flow. We make students sit and learn in only one way. No wonder they get restless and are brain dead.

The separation of state and religion has created dull and dangerous schools.  We have gone too far and eliminated spirituality as well as religion.  It is true that Religion and State need to be separated if there is a chance that one religion has the upper hand. Unfortunately, we do not do such a good job in separating the two in reality.  Atheistic ideas have over powered freedom of expression in more ways than we credit. In addition, state has overwhelmed the education system into robotic learning.   The subject of world religions must be taught in schools.  Faith histories pervade most all of history and cannot be separated. Leaving that out creates an untrue history and a lack of understanding or even the ability to understand the motivation of others outside our society.  All children bring a religious tone with them from  home and to ask them to leave that behind makes for a bland school atmosphere. That is not the same as proselytizing. Being against proselytizing in public places cannot eliminate talking about religions and philosophies, which is necessary for a rounded education. Even an atheist should know what religions there are and what kind of philosophies there are. That does not say they have to join one.  We must find a more fertile ground for the morals and ethics that need to be taught in order to put some order and behavioral expectations in schools.

 In summary, the roadblocks are many: (1) lack of moral and ethics,  (2) education censured subjects which lead to untrue knowledge, (3) disregard for creativity, (4)not enough academic expectations from students, and at the same time, (5) unreasonable expectations on students by forcing them to sit in classrooms for hours on end, or (6) expecting all youth to understand the same subjects at the same time. Sneak attack education, in which Companies sponsor new curriculums such as genetic engineering, bringing ideas to students, which would need to be approached with a critical mind, discernment and the ability to question its validity, has become the norm because of the generated income for the system.  What I have seen  with my own eyes, is that while this is true, most students in grades K-12 are not encouraged to question or engage in critical thinking. Often they are reprimanded for questioning. This in turn is creating an atmosphere of helplessness in students and an expectation to accept whatever the teacher tells the student to be true.

Meditation:

This blog and these reflections are geared toward Christians and non-Christians alike with the hope to inspire creative thought. You may not agree with everything. You may make comments if you wish.

1.

Biblical reflection:  James 3:1

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. The tongue is a fire.

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed, but no one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Especially, be aware what you say as a teacher!

2.

Envision your classroom. What do you see? Do these kids have labels? Did you put them in a box, or are you letting them be free? Be honest with your yourself and notice if you have it out for a student.

Envision that student now. Let a beam of light descend before you and then place that student into that beam of light. Ask God, the Universe, the Higher power or whatever it is you relate to, to show you the true self and the gifts of this child, so that you may teach him or her appropriately. Throw your hang-ups into that light  beam as well and ask to be released of your judgments.

3. Suggested Documentary: "The war on Kids" (available on netflix)


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Growing Up In The Tribe

There are incidences when boys want to crochet and cook, or girls want to do tasks which are by society ascribed to boys. Often parents become furious that they have a "sissy" for a boy or a "tomboy" for a girl. “That is not done in OUR family.”

The family makes a great effort to force the boy or girl into the proper behavior and living patterns of the family. I hope that this does not occur as frequently anymore, but I know it still does occur in some families.

An artistic child may be told, you can't make money with the arts, find a real career. Whatever the “you should rather” is, it constitutes a roadblock to the most inner call of the person.

Spiritual confusion sets in and with that, most likely a form of desperation. Grades may drop. The child may act out in some form or another or become listless and depressed. The child is not allowed to do what (s)he knows he must do or what the child has come to do. Fearing her/his parents (s)he will of course obey. But everything else has no meaning. The person lives in a meaningless world, forgetting why he is even here – living in misery. By God's grace the person will at some point in life again remember the original gifts and meaning of his/her life. But until then a lot of misery accompanies that spiritual confusion. The tribal expectations can become roadblocks to an individual's gifts......gifts which, who knows, may further many people, even a whole society.

The family is here to teach a child many things, amongst them discipline and moral behavior. A family's task is also to nurture a child and protect it.Yet family needs to function with the sight set on the new soul which brings unique gifts to share, even if those gifts are uncomfortable to the family. A family is a give and take situation, they not only are called to teach and nurture they also are called to learn from each other.

Meditations:

1. “This child brings God wisdom to help me learn about myself”.

2. “All things are a lesson which God would have me learn.” (from Course in Miracles)
   
   

Rainbow meditation

For those who are familiar with the chakras (as described by eastern religions), or are aware of the many spiritual bodies surrounding us, you may enjoy and benefit from this meditation.

First envision a red space. It is the most physical energy. Sit or stand in this red space and ask following question: Lord God what is it I need to know from this energy, what is my work and purpose?Let vision come to you.

Journal what you see, hear or feel.

Then take each color of the rainbow, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and do the same thing. Ask what you need to know in order to fulfill the purpose you have been given. Journal all insights. If the insights from all the colors does not make sense, reflect on them, draw, paint, dance, sing them until they do make sense.

Read following Biblical Scripture:

Luke 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son)

Read this scripture in the light, not how the son dishonored his parents, but how the parent accepted his son fully even if he did not shape up to societal and family expectations. He learned his lesson, and the father celebrates the knowledge his son gained.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Born Into Human Tribes

At birth we are spiritual beings entering a physical body. We are born free and are placed into a “tribe” on this earth so that we can receive the nurture we need to grow up. Truly I cringe when I hear an enraged father say, “I gave you life, I can take it.”  Free souls are placed in all kinds of families and circumstances.  I still vaguely remember this freedom. No human gives any life – we may participate in the life giving process on this earth, but it is God who gives earthly life being. No human can take it. A human can commit murder and return the soul to its spirit state, but a human cannot take life because true life continues past our physical embodiment.

As we travel the human road, we pass through or get involved with various tribes. Those tribes will be a family, a school setting, or certain groups in that setting. Those tribes will be a club,  a denomination or a church. Those tribes are a set of friends, coworkers, or people within a city or a country.

Those who believe in reincarnation will say that we draw close to those we knew from another life time or with whom we still have unfinished business.

As  a Christian I know little about such an argument. I also know that there have been people who were strangely familiar to me. We cannot argue against one or another insight without having proof against it. All these things could be possibilities.

That requires an open mind…..an open mind is a very precious possession.

While human tribes can be of great support to each other they can also be detrimental to a soul's development.  Tribalism can cause the narrowing of a person's mind.

I still remember my father saying: “We are a Wacker,” meaning we are superior to others particularly in certain ways we were living life. These kind of words have been uttered many times in families. History records them especially among nobles.  Wars have been fought because of such words. That sense of superiority traps the soul in what Christians call sin. This thought pattern removes us from others with whom we are one in Christ. We are separating ourselves from the Oneness of  life often justifying atrocious actions against others.

That sense of superiority gave Hitler a sense that only German purity counts while he thought it quite natural to kill the Jewish population.

If we as parents want to help our children maintain their spiritual freedom we must help them remember their spiritual roots and help them realize that we are all one in God.  Talk with them about God, yet not in a way to teach them our perceptions but rather by listening to their knowledge. Our Babies bring much knowledge with them they just can't use their vocal chords yet.

Following story shall show you how a young child is still wrapped in the spiritual arms of God, yet, also moves further and further into the human maze of life.

A family had a new baby. It's brother who was a hellion according to his parents wanted to be with  his sister alone in a room. Needless to say, his parents did not consent. But the boy insistent and would not give up. So the parents put a baby monitor in the room and gave the boy a few minutes with his sister. They all crowded around the monitor ready to storm the room if anything sounded amiss. What they heard was a great surprise, however. The boy asked his sister: “ Sis do you remember what God looks like? I already forgot.”  Why he did not include his parents in this question... one can only guess.

I believe each time a “tribe” receives a baby they are invited to remember God. 

A family tribe can further nurture the gifts a soul or a child brings, or it can be a roadblock to those very gifts.

Meditation:

“I am a being of light and love, created by light and love”

Read following Biblical Scripture: Psalm 139:1-6 and 13-18.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Various Questions and Reflections

I am in reflection over the next few subjects in this blog and will not be posting this or even next week.

Here are some questions for us all to reflect on:

What purposes does education fulfill?  (move from superficial answers to less superficial ones)
Are there purposes it should fulfill?
How could the education we have, support the god-given gifts we all bring?


What dreams and gifts do you have and what roadblocks are keeping you from fulfilling them?

How do the expectations of society keep its citizens in line to fit neatly in the box? What expectations are helpfull, necessary, and which are harmful or a hindrance to growth and evolvement? What are the spoken and unspoken expectations of American society? (Or the one you are part of if you live somewhere else)

What role does religion play in the fulfillment of potential or in the societal claw of expectation?

When is creativity (a gift of God) misused?

Need For Solitude

I want to mention something in this particular post, which I believe to be vital to human beings: silence, the embrace of solitude.  Silent reflection is  vital to discern what is going on in society, to reflect on the roadblocks which hold us back in fulfilling our God-given purpose, and vital to come to find our most inner call as a human being.

Contrary to societal trends, we need solitude. Without stepping away from the turmoil of our lives, our notorious business, the information highway, we become over burdened. We need times, preferably every day, in which we are by ourselves in quietude. We need to BE, just us and God or just us and God's creation depending on your faith.   Without solitude our mind withers, our compassion becomes non-existent and we become puppets for other people's opinions.  I suggest that during such a time of solitude you connect with God, the Universe, with the benevolent force you believe in (I realize I am not only talking to Christians). Use this time to pray or meditate, reflect, contemplate or do Yoga.

For some, being in the quiet will take effort. Many turn on the TV in the early morning before they even brew their coffee and some go to sleep with the TV still on.  We live with too much noise and so much unnecessary information. All this is draining the energy we need to entertain a creative mind and a feeling of peace and wholeness.

Exercise:

Don't turn your TV on for half a day or day. If you suffer from withdrawal just start with one hour without TV. Notice what you feel.....are you restless and don't know what to do with yourself?

Journal all those feelings. If you decide to do a TV/ Media fast decide if you want to do it once a week, every day for a particular hour and stick with that.

Notice: Are you substituting one noise for another?

Meditation: “In quiet I listen to you Oh, God.” (Breathe deeply and repeat this thought)

Go on a silent retreat if you hunger for quiet and you can't find it at home.


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Interconnectness of All Life

I know that the great Sages of our great traditions who claimed that there is a vast mind or vast intelligence out there are right. We may call it the Universal mind or “The One Consciousness,”  or God. The name doesn't really matter. It all points to the same Greatness. Islam for example teaches that God has 99 names. Even we Christians call Jesus the Son of God, Son of man, the light of the world, the open door, the bread of life.....and so on. You find some of them in the "I AM" statements of the Gospel of John (in the Bible). And God is called the Creator, Eli, Jehova, the I AM....

Now when I talk about a Greater Mind, I am not referring to what we understand as mind and connect it with intellect. That Greater Mind encompasses intellect, knowledge, wisdom of the heart and has a sense of ever embracing expansion. How I know this is through my own meditations and experiences with that Greater Mind.

The Greater Mind can be experienced by concentration and moving into energy mentally, energetically merging with other parts of creation.

For example I have merged through such concentration and for lack of a better word “meditation” with the energy of a tree.

I felt its roots and I felt its branches reaching not only up high into the sky, but up into the cosmos. The roots are connecting in a oneness of the tree root system which gives an immediate sense of accessing a knowledge pertaining to the trees around the world. There is an incredible interconnectedness.

Through deep concentration we could connect with the Greater Mind through the rest of creation or from one part of creation to another part of creation. Of course that should not be a surprise for those of faith, God created all life, all life is part of God.
In the Bible we read following: ...I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
I think if and when God chooses to give wisdom, understanding and a variety of gifts to us, it is quite possible to find understanding beyond what we deem currently possible.

Even for those who don't subscribe to a particular religious faith it should not be surprising that there is this interconnectedness. In science we have figured out that everything is energy. Whether this energy barks, grows apples, loves another human  - form is still energy.

Whenever I merged mentally via envisioning, I felt an incredible sense of love and energy pulsing to me. The connectedness created a sense of joy. Joy is a higher vibration of creativity.  The energy of creativity pervates all life. God CREATED all things.

Those who go out to try to reproduce such results and fail will say this is humbug. But why they failed will be the inability of most human beings to concentrate deeply enough at the moment, or the fear to look ridicules. I believe there are human beings who have that concentration and are able to access that information and teach that concentration.  Of course that "spiritual consciousness” is just a tiny part of the Greater Mind, just like our human thinking is. (It is a small part of the larger energy) We have been told that we use only a small percentage of our brain; the exact number is currently under debate. Deep concentration will increase that. When we envision, our concentration is at maximum.

Fear, however, decreases the ability to focus and concentrate deeply and connect. I have noticed this myself. There are moments and days I have incredible insights, but those are never moments and days when I am afraid of something. Whenever someone has to save their interests they will speak and counter out of fear. With that they will not only sabotage any ability to access the Greater Mind and celebrate the Interconnectedness, but they will also put a roadblock to advancement for the human race.

Exercise:

Go into your garden if you have a tree or invite yourself to a friends house who has a tree in the garden ( and tell them you are doing an experiment). Lean against the tree, in your inner vision notice the energy of the tree, then try to merge with that energy. Feel yourself stretching to its crown and below to its roots. Notice all the feelings you have, the energies you feel. You may want to write your experience down.

My brothers and sisters in Christ you may rather choose to meditate on following Biblical verse:

Jer 17:7-8
"Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit."


Or you might sit with someone  (maybe holding hands) and meditate on your Oneness in Christ.
" I live in Christ, I am united with you in Christ."

Quotes to reflect on:

"Look out into the universe and contemplate the glory of God. Observe the stars,
millions of them, twinkling in the night sky, all with a message of unity, part of the very
nature of God." (Sai Baba)




Btw. If you have any thoughts, concerns and want to share your own insights I welcome your comments. A ministry here in Tulsa says it so nicely: "We don't have to believe alike to love alike."

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

Choosing Kindness As a Path To Redirect The Fearful Mind

"The highest wisdom is loving kindness."  (Talmud)

We are used to comfort and obtaining many things with little effort.  Anything that requires effort, many of us do not enjoy. However, if we want to enjoy how our life and life in society works, I think it is paramount that we put effort into that which would benefit us all.

One of those things can be that we consciously choose to be kind to others. There is a book out called: Acts of Random Kindness. You might google this title and read this book. It has great suggestions.

Why would we want to put effort into kindness? Because if we don't, we already start seeing the results of what an unkind society looks like. Fearful people are extremely self centered. Being kind makes us other centered. For a group or society to work properly, we need the latter.

And if we did not learn to be kind (not all of us learn that) than we can still choose to act kindly, provided the person has figured out that kindness goes farther than bullying and aggression.

To choose to be kind also requires us to see the other as worthwhile. The other must be viewed as friend and not as a threat.

Exercises:

Envision yourself performing an act of kindness toward someone it seems to be difficult to be kind to. You choose the act. And envision your act until you are able to actually perform this act in the physical reality we are living in. 

As Christian you may want to pray: "Lord, help me to see others through your loving eyes." While we can chose to act kindly this comes rather hard if we don't call upon God. We are too often missing the mark and need God's grace to guide us.

Reflect on following  Biblical Scripture: "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Gal.5:22-23)

Reflect on following quotes:

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." (Dalai Lama 1935)

"The beginning and end of Torah is performing acts of loving kindness" (Talmud)

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." (Mother Theresa)


© 2012 Angelika Mitchell

When We Are Afraid To Listen

We may be afraid to listen because what we might hear could cause us to have to change. Here we are dealing with a closed  and set mind. We may run into things like, my father voted republican or democrat, so I must. Also, rigid religious and scientific beliefs fall into that.

We follow old structures, thinking we can bring about new results. At the same time  we can't hear what someone with a better idea has to say.  We become defensive about our ideas.  Here we deal with two fears, the fear of change and the fear of having our validity undermined.

Our need to have a purpose (and be valuable) is extremely strong. If we feel valued, we also feel loved. And who doesn't want to be loved? If there is something that undermines our perceived purpose instead of re-examining our stand, we will most likely lash out in defense. Our defense is to devalue the other so that we can hold on to our own value and purpose ("I am right and you are wrong"). If we are afraid to loose being loved and admired by our peers, we will be afraid to listen.  Even if we know that what is being presented is right – we can't change. To be able to change in spite of this peer pressure will take enormous emotional and spiritual growth.

We need to learn to be able to stay calm in spite of disappointments. We need to become aware that others are trying as hard as we are.  After all, we are disappointing others as well.
Once we realize that, we can start examining our motives. We might want to ask ourselves when we got into an argument: "Was this argument because I am afraid to change and take a look at something different?"  "Why am I defending my stand so strongly?" "Can I still see the other person as valuable, a friend, or as a child of God in spite of our differences?"

Exercise:

Tell yourself in one or two minute meditations throughout the day:

“I am lovable because I am created by love.” Then look at someone else and say: “You are lovable because you are created by love.”

Christian meditation: “God is my strength because God created me through love.

Teach me what forgiveness really means.” Then look at another and say to yourself: “I bless you, because your are created by God.”

or: I am valuable, because I am a child of God  and God creates nothing inferior.
(Some of the meditations are based on meditations from the "Course in Miracles".

Other suggestions: Read up in scriptures (the Bible), or if you are not a Christian in your specific Scripture texts pertaining to forgiveness, kindness and love.

© 2012 Angelika Mitchell