I'm sure you have heard the Parable
of the Two Wolves, but it bears repeating:
A Cherokee elder is teaching his grandchildren about life and says, "a fight is going on inside of me it is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, pride and superiority … lies, lies, lies.
The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, faith and Truth.
This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person too," the elder said to the wide-eyed kids.
The grandkids thought about it for a while and then one of them asked "which wolf will win?"
"The one I feed," the old Cherokee answered, “the one I feed.”
Usually
after telling this story, I might ask what you are feeding your
mind because what
you feed your mind is soon mirrored in your experience, yes? It's the Law
of Cause and Effect, that's the way the Universe works.
Rev.
Dr. Michael Beckwith said:
There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, 'There's not enough good to go around. There's a lack and there's limitation and there's just not enough.' And that lie has people living in fear, greed & stinginess. And those thoughts of fear, greed, stinginess and lack become their experience. So the world has taken a nightmare pill.
Today
I want to talk about the nightmare pill we are purposefully feeding
into the consciousness of race mind. In case you aren't familiar with the term, here is a definition from Charles
Fillmore in his book, THE REVEALING WORD:
Totality of beliefs, thoughts, memories, feelings, and experiences of the race. Man has built into the race mind a consciousness of corruptible flesh instead of the inherent incorruptible substance of God-Mind.
...a
consciousness of corruptible flesh ... that
doesn't sound good or peaceful or loving?
In the last few weeks, when you turn
on the television, pick up a newspaper or scan social media, you likely saw a relentless flow of, a
seemingly continuous barrage of negativity. This is flooding
race mind with a sense of fear and helplessness, causing
the masses to see the world as only a dark, dangerous and cruel
place. Yes, it happens off and on, over and over again, possibly in cycles all the time. But this time it is going deep, messing with our very core beliefs. Confusing us with emotions of hate and despair, as well as, fear and helplessness.
Anybody
seen or sense that or is it just me? It's feeling pretty cray-cray out there. I want
to go back to good ole days of just worrying about the economy. We now have the hate groups running around at what is called a peaceful rally, carrying weapons. I understand in many states that is a right to open carry, but I am confused about the idea that one would bring a weapon to a "peaceful rally" to express and use their first amendment rights.
Everyone
wants to rip down statues of Confederate celebrities, which I am not against, but I am concerned that it is from hate of hate. And hate of hate is a perspective wrought with contradiction and confusion for the individual and race mind.
Now, I want to be clear that I am not
saying there isn't dark, dangerous and cruel places and people in
world, but
what is our answer/reaction to those things … more hate?
In 1958, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said this:
Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
Andrew
Young, the former
mayor of Atlanta and lifelong African-American civil rights activist said
on NPR that the Stone Mountain carving in northern Georgia, a sort of
a Confederate Mount Rushmore with Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee
and Jefferson Davis should stay. Andrew Young said that, a man who served as a congressman from Georgia, was an ambassador to the United
Nations and was
with Martin Luther King Jr. the day he was assassinated. It's an interesting interview. What I got out of it was that he meant our eye is on the wrong ball. He told this story"
And, from 4-years-old I was always taught – my father use to tap me in the face to try to get me upset and if I swung back at him he would slap me upside my head. He said see, if you start getting emotional in a fight, you’re gonna lose the fight. Don‘t get mad, get smart. And that’s been serving – that served me well. And it served me walking in the midst of the Klan alone at night without a gun, without police protection, and the only reason I did it was because the only ones that were courageous enough to go there with me and who insisted that I go, were women and children. The men, you know, hide behind militant solutions, but we have to keep our eyes on the prize - and the prize is not vengeance, not getting even, but the prize is redemption.
We
have to save ourselves from extending the hate and fear and
desperation the haters have by not vibrating with more hate and fear. We
have to think smart ... think
Truth
Think
the Power of Love
What
is most needed is a tidal wave / tornado / hurricane / tsunami of what Charles Fillmore said ...the
inherent incorruptible substance of God-Mind. We need more of the
great
Truth which transcends the sense of separation
that is creating and feeding this nightmare.
It would be great if it was as easy as creating a new pill to combat this dis-ease in the consciousness of the
planet and its people. Well, in my research I found one ... Tolcapone is a pharmaceutical that changes
the chemical balance in brain's prefrontal cortex, the area which impacts personality, social behavior and
decision-making. This pill artificially
produces feelings of kindness by zapping more dopamine, the
feel good chemical in brain. Not being one to unnecessarily pop a pill, even in such a time as this, I encourage us all to us an old remedy.
On a Charles
Fillmore kick this week, I let you read a bit of his book, THE
TWELVE POWERS OF MAN, for assistance:
The beliefs that you and your ancestors have held in mind have become thought currents so strong that their course in you can be changed only by your resolute decision to entertain them no longer. They will not be turned out unless the ego, through whose domain they run, decides positively to adopt means of casting them out of his/her consciousness, and at the same time erects gates that will prevent their inflow from external sources. This is done by denial and affirmation; the denial always comes first.
Now, he is not encouraging you to deny its existence, in this case hate. Or to put on blinders or rose
colored glasses. He is encouraging you to deny
its power over you!
Humanity
is at a critical juncture. We
cannot allow ourselves to be deluded by the nightmare, by this hate uproar. It is time for
those of us who are conscious, awake and aware to claim the Truth
that is “superior to the condition.”
We
are being called as metaphysicians to remember and live from the
Truth of Wholeness, Love and Peace.
Each
of us is being called to be the change we want to see in the world.
Matthew
7:7 tells us:
Ask and it is given; seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you.
Principle
tells us as we look for kindness, we will find it.
As
we embody and share kindness,
it will grow and spread, dispelling the
darkness.
If
we wish to see more love, compassion and kindness in
the world,
we
must be the embodiment of love, compassion and kindness. Margaret Mead had it right when she told us:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
Overwhelmed? So
much hate, you may say? Have you heard the story about how you can transform a glass of dirty water into one of clean water? It is simple, get a glass of dirty water, stick a hose into the glass or put the glass under a faucet and turn on the water. The clean water will, of course, overflow the dirty water in the glass, but eventually it will also turn the dirty watered glass into one full of clean water. Simple, right?
Same with what is going on in our minds and heart and what eventually comes out of our mouths and shows up in our action. As
conscious, creative, spiritual beings - heed
the call
to recognize and live from our higher nature. Even
at special times, when
circumstances make it hard to remember the truth of our being, let us act as Ernest Holmes said:
We must not be disturbed by the contradiction of objective experience. We shall have to know that the Truth we announce is superior to the condition which it is to change. We shall have to see that God in us recognizes God in the other person until the God in the other person recognizes God in us.
In
moments when the world seems cruel, it is incumbent on us to be kind
and express the Divine within, so that others may see themselves
reflected in us. We must stand
for compassion and kindness, even in the face of hate.
Be
encouraged by the knowledge that kindness is contagious.
Be
Aware! Don’t fall for the delusion. If you have a moment of hating the haters, that's okay. It's what you do after that moment. Let it eat at you or transform it and deny its power over you.
Be
on the lookout for the kindness that is all around you! It's there. Look what is happening with those in natural disasters, helping each other, no matter race, greed, financial ability, etc. And there is kindness like that happening all the time. See it, be grateful for it, and absorb it into your consciousness.
Be
Kind! It is good for the body, mind and spirit.
Spread
kindness! Share stories of kindness and thereby contribute to a
positive contagion that will create a world that works for all.
Kindness
and compassion, love and peace is a virus we can live with, thrive
with!
Go
out and give some!
