A Meditation
Last weekend, I led a women’s spirituality retreat in Maine. It started just two days after the shootings in Lewiston. Some of the nearly four dozen women at the retreat, sponsored by Unity Center for Spiritual Growth near Portland, knew people who were directly affected by the shootings. And, of course, everyone there was impacted emotionally.
From the beginning of the retreat, we acknowledged the collective fear about the shootings, but also the outpouring of love. And we talked about having compassion for Robert Card, the shooter, as well as those who were killed or injured.
Several women said how much they appreciated talking about Card that way—not with the judgment and blame that’s rife on social media, but with acknowledgment of his humanity and his inability to get the help he needed.
By the end of the weekend, we also were able to talk about forgiveness, a word that can carry its own baggage, but gives us all a chance to remember the unifying light that we are.
After the retreat, I found a meditation I did several years ago, when I asked for guidance about the major problems in the world. The guidance I received is as relevant today as it was then.
It captures many of the things we talked about at the retreat. And it helps explain why an event that started with fear and sorrow could end with buoyancy, hope, and healing.
I thought I’d offer it here in hopes that it brings you some peace.
You believe that there are multitudes of problems in your world, from dirty diapers to saving the planet.
In truth, there is one problem: A belief that you are separate from others.
Because there is only one problem, there is also only one solution: unity, a remembrance that you are all part of the same whole.
This seems improbable—and even undesirable—when you’re in the throes of political discourse, clinging to what is right in your belief system and being unable to understand another’s point of view.
However, this inability to communicate from the same viewpoint is not a function of separation. It is merely a function of differing thoughts. It does not change the fundamental truth that you are all human beings in search of peace.
The path to it varies. You may be shocked to know that even terrorists are on the path to peace because there is nowhere else to go.
But as long as you define yourselves as separate and distinct from one another, the unity is hidden. It is suspect. It sounds like illogic.
This is what we advise: Start with the oneness that you seek within yourself, your family, your workplace, your neighborhood. Instead of being distracted by the issues of the world, begin where you are.
Ask a person with a different viewpoint to have lunch with you, and listen without judgment.
Find a person who is feeling threatened and stand up for them, even if their beliefs or culture or life circumstances are different from your own. Nothing brings people together faster than shared support on the level of humanity rather than politics.
Ask Spirit to bring your thoughts into alignment with love, then act in accordance with the heart. See yourself as an agent of unity.
Speak out with kindness and conviction, not with attack or blame. Bring your views forth from the center of your being, from the very Source of oneness, knowing that you stand on solid ground and cannot be threatened.
Do all these things as part of your inner life so the world around you may change for the better.
As you experience greater peace, those around you will as well.
This is the type of problem-solving that can change the world.
With blessings,
Deb
I’m delighted to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative:
Thanks, Deb. Your perspective is invaluable.
Thank you, Deb. Glad you were there in that particular space and time.