HARMING THE OTHER

Perhaps the most important lesson ever, 'We are ALL ONE' is not just a few sweet and empty words strung together on a Facebook post....

A Metaphor on what actually happens 

when we seek to harm another being:

 It is rather like crashing your fist at the person smirking at you (seeing him/her as 'the other)   - - -  and then the mirror you were actually looking into falls to pieces scattering shards of glass everywhere  - - -  your hand (or worse) is now bleeding - - -   your hatred has maimed the true self.  Which is to say - has ultimately harmed all of us.

One of the most astounding gifts given is a heart capable of breaking wide open.  It is most often through pain and suffering that the opening begins. Initially that pain is for the small self and concurrent thwarted desire.  It has the potential to expand to include immediate family and from there has the potential to include tribe and those with mutual attitudes and goals.  We are broken down by the weight of suffering pressing in on us from all sides. 

 Then there comes a time when the scales tip. ALL melts into us.  What we thought was taking us only deeper into to sorrow and suffering - into our collective suffering which we sought thru legislation and 'good guy' organizations to relieve and heal - was actually creating an even grander opening.

 Here is truth: When the flood gates opened pouring misery into our life what we did not then realize was that a channel was being formed to also admit - JOY concurrent with LOVE.  

 This profound and all pervading Joy and Love, we realize, has been there all along.  Yes there is still an intense suffering of which we are aware, and often it is still a personal and painful suffering.  But, more and more includes the connection to Creator and Creation and so connection with ALL. 

 There comes a time when we become acutely aware - harming the other also harms the self. 

 This is our collective journey - a turning to what in the bible is called ATONEMENT.  a return to AT ONE MENT.

PRONOUNS

   by Karle Wilson Baker    

  O God, You said,

“Say, ‘We’”;

But I shook my head,

Hid my hands tight behind my back, and said,

 Stubornly,

“I.”

 

Again You said,

“Say, ‘We’”;

But I looked upon them, grimy and all awry.

 Myself in those twisted shapes? Ah, no!

 Distastefully I turned my head away,

 Persisting,

“They.”

Again You said,

"Say, 'We'",

and I

At last,

Richer by a hoard

Of years,

Looked in their eyes and found the heavy word

That bent my neck and bowed my head:

Like a shamed school child then I mumbled low,

"We, O GOD."

DOGMA

“They came with a bible and their religion, stole our land,

crushed our spirit and now they tell us

we should be thankful to the lord for being saved.”

-Pontiac  (1718-1769)

DOGMA is a human created concept or interpretation of the Creator's intention.  Much harm has been done by those who think they know 'the will', the intention of Creator and believe it to be their purpose to ‘share the good news’ or impose it on others.  My heart opens to the one who carries The Christ Medicine.  Sadly many who have come claiming to be his people have done great harm.  Since before recorded history there have been religions seeking to control how we think and feel.  What happened to the indigenous people of Turtle Island has happened many times before wherein outsiders come in claiming they must no longer follow the ways they presently believe but accept the usurpers belief system.  It is not just those who carry the bible who have done and continue to harm. Many dogmatic religions have sought to impose their constructs on others.  Please do not misunderstand my intent.  People of like mind gathering together to become at-one (atoned) to Creator is a wonderful thing.  It is when they thump their bible or their Koran or other ‘good book’ and tell the people they MUST follow their particular way to God to be saved from suffering that dogma slips his greasy head into the picture.

I was fortunate to have a father who never dictated what I was to believe or the path I was to follow.  At the same time, Dad and I often had lively discussions of philosophies, concepts and constructs related to potential pathways to the Heart Center of Creator and Creation.  This is the way I have sought to help my daughters to find their own personal pathway.  This is the way I intend to be there for my grandchildren as they find their way through life.  This opening of the heart and nurturing of the intuition to KNOW TRUTH on a personal level is in my construct (cannot speak for others) a powerful pathway to the center of Creator / LOVE. 

When someone says ‘I believe’ this is truth or ‘I believe’ this is the way God wants me to live, this is not a bad thing.  It is a good start point in our walk through life.  When a child is little, the mom may say, “Do not touch the hot stove.  It will burn you.”  The child may ‘believe’ what the mother says is true even though she does not ‘know’ this is true.  This believing the words of the Mother saves the little one from harm.  However, there comes a point in life, whether by intent or circumstance, the little one comes to “know” through personal experience: this is hot.  This will burn you.  This is what a burn does to you. The child has moved from believing to knowing.  

When I was little, I had a book of bible stories with many bright paintings on the pages.  The one that fascinated me more than any other was a painting of “God” sitting on a throne in the clouds above the Earth.  The God in this painting was a massive human male, dwarfing the Earth.   I pondered this picture over and over for a period of time in my life. I do remember I was in elementary school.  I was probably about 8 to 12 years old at the time, I do not remember my exact age or the length of time involved but I certainly went to this painting over and over and over.    In my child’s mind I was pondering the size of God.  At some point, I came to the conclusion that this painting could not be an accurate rendition of God, as God was much too huge to be depicted in a painting.  I also came to the conclusion that even the human form may be incorrect.  I did not know if a ‘form’ could even contain this power I called ‘God’.   This event in my personal experience depicts for me the very beginning of transitioning from belief to knowing at the core of my being. I was coming to know a personal truth versus a taught dogma.

With caution I must note that what I “KNOW” changes from day to day as the experiences of life continue to mold and change me.  I am reminded of the words of the Great Mahatma:

“I am not at all concerned with appearing to be consistent.

In my pursuit after Truth I have discarded many ideas

and learnt many new things.”  

-Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

When we feel joy in our relationship with Creator and Creation it is natural to want to expand that joy through sharing that joy with others.  It is perhaps even commendable that we wish others to also feel the expansive joy of relationship with LOVE that we possess.  It is however a cautious balance we must seek.  We must be careful to not stand in the way of freewill.  Those who know me, know that I will often follow a statement related to my concept of truth with …. “This is the world according to Cretia and may have nothing to do with your reality.”  I mean these words sincerely.  It is not my place to impose on you beliefs of HOW THINGS ARE.  Perhaps I add a bit more spice to the soup of your consciousness.  I certainly know you do this for me and I thank you for this addition of spice to my consciousness soup. 

Much Love . . . .

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THE ANGELS AND GUARDIANS DRAW CLOSE

December 24, 2012

 

The angels and guardians come close to the earth … come close to our hearts. The light is seeking a way into our hearts and our lives. This is a time to be at-one. This is a time to be at-peace. Why do we get caught up in our differences even at this time when the light pours over us in waves of joy. We sometimes close our hearts to fully being with and in that joy … instead we point fingers at one another saying …. ‘You are doing it wrong … you should be doing it the way I have been taught’.

 I do not think The Christed-One cares what title we use to describe ourselves … Christian … Jewish … Hindu … Buddhist … Druid … Lakota … or any other title. This power of Love seeks to guide and guard our lives and go past words directly to our hearts.

 

 Written indelibly in our hearts is the truth of the path we can take to Creator and Creation. Now is the time to let go of intellectual approaches to the LOVE which guides. Breath in love, breath out love: this is the simplest and most complete prayer … this breathing in and out … in and out … of Love. No judgment. No qualifiers. No intellectual. In a church, a synagogue, a temple, the natural world, a skyscraper in the middle of a multimillion dollar business meeting breathing … allowing a moment or many of just being in Love.

I am speaking to myself (and maybe you) when I write these things … time to let go of mental constructs of ‘the ONLY correct way to approach GOD’. The formulas may be an excellent start point; however, they can only take us so far. There comes a point to step off the known grid. Melt into The Love which has no language.

For now I offer a prayer and greeting for a MERRY CHRIST-MASS. Feel free to insert any other words from any pathway you resonate with that will open your heart to LOVE.

Finally, I offer this little tree of light which has been a good symbol for so many pathways. Visual images aid us in moving past the intellectual directly to the experiential. May this little tree help you along the way.