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January 8, 2011
On Being All We Can
by Dr. Frank Bowling
 I’ve
always been amazed at how much we seem to be able to abuse ourselves
and get away with it. Within very broad limits, we can pretty much
eat, drink, think and do whatever we want, and still bounce back
relatively quickly. Over time, of course, poor decisions do
ultimately take their toll, but that damage is generally so gradual
and imperceptible that, although we know better in our hearts, we
can usually push that inconvenient truth out of our minds.
I was lying awake in bed last night,
thinking about this problem, and it suddenly became so clear that I
had to get up this morning and write it down. I realized that the
difficulty in our daily decisions, and in our broader life choices,
is entirely a matter of perspective. The reality is that we behave
like our own worst enemies because we don’t stay focused on who and
what we really are. If we could
hold within our conscious awareness, every second of every day, a
pure vision of our divine essence, a clear picture of what that
inner perfection would look and feel like if carefully tended and
nurtured, the decisions of each moment would be crystal clear. The
negative connotations and the inherent difficulty in words like
sacrifice and discipline would be softened, and the struggle to do
and be better would slowly fade to insignificance in the bright
light of inspiration. Think
about it. When we want something really badly, so badly that we
can’t get it out of our minds, the achievement of that objective
seems relatively effortless, at least compared to other life tasks
that we might find less desirable. We almost have no choice but to
pursue it. We hold the image of what we want so clearly in our
minds, and the passion to attain it is so strong, we seem to somehow
“find a way where there is no way.”
I now realize that the same principle
applies, not only to what we do and have, but to what we are, and
more importantly, to what we are becoming. We have only to clarify
and hold onto a vision of ourselves at our very core, and of how
much different and better life would be for us and for everyone we
touch if we were to grow, even slightly, toward a fuller expression
of that. Ultimately, it comes
down to an understanding, and a constant mindfulness, of the
importance of every choice made in every moment, and the
interconnectedness of those moments in the ultimate composition of
the miracle that is us. Everything we put or allow into our bodies,
minds and hearts, everything we do to and with them, affects
everything else. However quick or small, each decision, each choice
plays a part. I’d like to eat
better. I’d like to exercise more. I’d like to study harder. I’d
like to do a better job as husband, father, employer, doctor. Like
most everyone else, I do focus on these things, better than some
people, and not as well as others. But what I’m now suddenly
realizing (I’m a little slow sometimes) is that what I really want
is not the things on that list at all, but the things they will
allow me to become. I want to
be lean and strong. I want to feel good. I want energy. I want long
life. I want to be quick as a wink and sharp as a tack. I want to be
wise. I want to learn, and always keep on learning. I want to do
good and help people. I want to uplift, inspire, empower, and lead.
I want to be at peace within my own heart, and to radiate that peace
to the world. I know that on
the inside, in that place of perfection we all share, each of us is
already all of those things, and every other good thing we can (and
cannot) imagine. That together we may find it, hold it fast before
our eyes, and let it guide our every step, is my fervent wish this
holiday season. Wishing you
health, happiness and peace,
Dr. Frank Bowling
Let me remember I
am one with God.
by Rose Panico
 Today
we will again give thanks for our Identity in God. Our home is safe,
protection guaranteed in all we do, power and strength available to
us in all our undertakings. We can fail in nothing. Everything we
touch takes on a shining light that blesses and that heals. At one
with God and with the universe we go our way rejoicing, with the
thought that God Himself goes everywhere with us.
How holy are our minds! And everything
we see reflects the holiness within the mind at one with God and
with itself. How easily do errors disappear, and death give place to
everlasting life. Our shining footprints point the way to truth, for
God is our Companion as we walk the world a little while. And those
who come to follow us will recognize the way because the light we
carry stays behind, yet still remains with us as we walk on.
What we receive is our eternal gift to
those who follow after, and to those who went before or stayed with
us a while. And God, Who loves us with the equal love in which we
were created, smiles on us and offers us the happiness we gave.
Today we will not doubt His Love for us,
nor question His protection and His care. No meaningless anxieties
can come between our faith and our awareness of His Presence. We are
one with Him today in recognition and remembrance. We feel Him in
our hearts. Our minds contain His Thoughts; our eyes behold His
loveliness in all we look upon. Today we see only the loving and the
lovable.
We see it in appearances of pain, and pain gives way to peace. We
see it in the frantic, in the sad and the distressed, the lonely and
afraid, who are restored to the tranquility and peace of mind in
which they were created. And we see it in the dying and the dead as
well, restoring them to life. All this we see because we saw it
first within ourselves. No
miracle can ever be denied to those who know that they are one with
God. No thought of theirs but has the power to heal all forms of
suffering in anyone, in times gone by and times as yet to come, as
easily as in the ones who walk beside them now. Their thoughts are
timeless, and apart from distance as apart from time.
We join in this awareness as we say that
we are one with God. For in these words we say as well that we are
saved and healed; that we can save and heal accordingly. We have
accepted, and we now would give. For we would keep the gifts our
Father gave. Today we would experience ourselves at one with Him, so
that the world may share our recognition of reality. In our
experience the world is freed. As we deny our separation from our
Father, it is healed along with us.
Peace be to you today. Secure your peace
by practicing awareness you are one with your Creator, as He is with
you. Sometime today, whenever it seems best, devote a half an hour
to the thought that you are one with God. This is our first attempt
at an extended period for which we give no rules nor special words
to guide your meditation. We will trust God's Voice to speak as He
sees fit today, certain He will not fail. Abide with Him this half
an hour. He will do the rest.
Your benefit will not be less if you believe that nothing happens.
You may not be ready to accept the gain today. Yet sometime,
somewhere, it will come to you, nor will you fail to recognize it
when it dawns with certainty upon your mind. This half an hour will
be framed in gold, with every minute like a diamond set around the
mirror that this exercise will offer you. And you will see Christ's
face upon it, in reflection of your own.
Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you
will see your own transfiguration in the glass this holy half an
hour will hold out to you, to look upon yourself. When you are ready
you will find it there, within your mind and waiting to be found.
You will remember then the thought to which you gave this half an
hour, thankfully aware no time was ever better spent.
Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you
will look into this glass, and understand the sinless light you see
belongs to you; the loveliness you look on is your own. Count this
half hour as your gift to God, in certainty that His return will be
a sense of love you cannot understand, a joy too deep for you to
comprehend, a sight too holy for the body's eyes to see. And yet you
can be sure someday, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will
understand and comprehend and see.
Add further jewels to the golden frame
that holds the mirror offered you today, by hourly repeating to
yourself: Let me
remember I am one with God,
at one with all my brothers and my Self,
in everlasting holiness and peace. |
