I didn’t sleep well night before last, but I slept so well last night that I am still half-asleep. I do not think that Donald Trump is sleeping well at all these days. Some are saying that even if he is convicted, a former President should not be charged with any crimes. I disagree, but I am just another citizen!
The Self in us all is not a resident of any country. That should be perfectly clear, but nothing in this world is ever perfect or even clear.
What can I do as a spiritual student when the world is going to hell in a hand basket and when climate change is bearing down on us all? I can do nothing of myself and let me be perfectly clear, my personal self is an illusion, no matter how real it feels.
Feelings arise and fall away. Emotions get supercharged and often get acted out, sad to say. “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
So let us confess our sins to our Higher Self, which is our true nature. We are always forgiven, yet we feel otherwise. We wallow in our self-imposed guilt until it wears off and we sin again, having forgotten so quickly that we have no free will.
So what does Vicki do when she faces another day of sleepwalking through this life? She has breakfast and writes an essay and then posts it. She may restlessly read the Sunday paper and have coffee and a snack.
Her emotions run to pessimism about democracy and guilt over things that happened in her past. She no longer has a social life, thus can enjoy the freedom that implies. But she still feels chained.
Feeling chained is a trick of the False Self, as Vernon Howard called it. They clank noisily as she goes about her predestined day. God on high is always with her and yet she flounders around like a fish out of water.
Where is God in all of this suffering? That is a very important question that should be asked again and again.
The answer is that He is everywhere and we are nowhere. So how can we pray if we do not exist as individuals?
We pray to awaken to God’s promises. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Once you find this “I” you are awake, even if only for a moment.
It is good to find words of hope that you can repeat to yourself throughout the day. They are your guide out of the gloom and doom of this lost world.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
Fear is a master of disguise but it is never real. It is transitory but if we pay attention to it, we can then call on God to break the spell of this world. The promise is redemption and we all need it. Amen!
Vicki Woodyard