We received an e-mail from our friend Judy in Berkeley, California. It is a letter from Dennis Merritt Jones, D.D., and I quote from it here.

"......What happened on 9/11 was a tragedy beyond the imagination of any healthy individual. It did however call our attention to something that we as a nation may have forgotten. While we may well be a sovereign country, which is largely self-sustained, we are still part of a larger community called humankind and we can no longer afford to cut ourselves off from it. There are billions of people around this planet...a great many of whom are in pain and suffering, and, for the first time, I believe we as a nation really have become aware of it. Now we see that we are part of something much more expansive than fifty states. We now see that we are in relationship with the whole world and we have a choice to make about what it will look like.

What I know for myself as I continue to evolve and awaken to my spiritual nature is this: The human experience is about spiritualizing all relationships. It is how we realize the Divine potential of God[base ']s Presence within. We have come to this planet to learn how to love without conditions, and the gift we have been given to learn this incredible lesson with is relationships. I now know my relationships are not limited to my friends, family and church community or even my fellow Americans. My relationship has to be with humankind. The problem, up until now has been, in general we have seen relationships as a place to get something; to get fixed, happy, taken care of, or somehow fulfilled. I believe Eckhart Tolle summarized it beautifully in his incredible book The Power of Now, when he wrote: Humanity is under great pressure to evolve because it is our only chance of survival as a race. This will affect every aspect of your life and close relationships in particular. Never before have relationships been as problematic and conflict ridden as they are now. As you may not have noticed, they are not here to make you happy or fulfilled. If you continue to pursue the goal of salvation through a relationship, you will be disillusioned again and again. But if you accept that the relationship is here to make you conscious instead of happy, then the relationship will offer you salvation, and you will be aligning yourself with the higher consciousness that wants to be born into this world. For those who hold on to the old patterns, there will be increasing pain, violence, confusion, and madness." Sounds kind of like what we see going on right now doesn't it?

I find Tolle[base ']s point extremely important to grasp. It really doesn[base ']t matter what kind of a relationship we are talking about. Whether it is with our most precious loved one, a stranger in the supermarket or a person living on the opposite side of this incredibly small world; that relationship is there to help us become conscious of who we ALL really are. Of course, who we ALL really are is God wearing many different disguises, exploring new ways in which to love Itself more fully i.e.; Man, Woman, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Partner, Boss, Employee, Neighbor, Stranger, American, Russian, Chinese, Indian, Christian, Jew, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. We are all divine mirrors for each other - God, looking at Itself! Upon discovering this Truth, Unconditioned Love will have no alternative but to reveal Itself through and by means of every relationship we are in. It[base ']s really all about healing a belief in separation. Irrespective of how you slice it It ís All God. The healing of this planet begins with you and I. Believe it.

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE FOR TODAY: Can you imagine a world peopled by individuals having a shift in perception? When does it begin? NOW. Where does it begin? HERE. With whom does it begin? With YOU and I of course. Today make a conscious effort to perceive God as All, in all and through all...Choose to honor It by Communicating your awareness of that Presence with your actions, not just words. The action is to simply be Love, knowing it is really God loving Itself by means of It[base ']s creation. Truly, nothing will ever be the same again. How you choose to see the reality of that statement will be the determining factor for your future experience in this thing called life.

- Peace, Dennis Merritt Jones, D.D.

11:01:09 PM    

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Last update: 10/1/02; 12:27:45 AM .



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