In Love We Rise

“Owning your own feelings, rather than blaming them on someone else, is the mark of a person who has moved from contracted awareness to expanded awareness.” - Deepak Chopra

If there is one thing that I still see as a constant in our society, it is the capacity and seeming need we have to blame. It’s a challenge as a new thought minister to recognize this. It is also daily work to keep my own mind from moving to a place of blame when I am faced with certain experiences and circumstances that seem beyond my control.

Today’s section of the sermon on the mount is a metaphor for this concept.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.’” - Matthew 5:21

There is a lot more to come in this section, but let’s just start with the obvious. This can be taken literally as well as figuratively. Obviously, we literally should not murder.

There is a corollary to the ten commandments here—the commandment which most people have understood to be “Thou shalt not kill,” is, in fact, “You shall not murder,” when understood in the original Hebrew. One consideration here is that murder implies premeditation.

More importantly, however, is the metaphysical concept of eternal and infinite life. While the physical form may be destroyed, the eternal energy, the Spirit and Soul, remain. It seems to me that a fundamental truth here can be that we cannot actually do away with consciousness, whether premeditated or not.

We may try to do so by living in anger, and holding anger.

“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” - Matthew 5:22-24

We must release our thoughts of anger (leaving them at the altar). When we carry our anger with us there is only one whom it affects… ourselves. When we are not able to leave our thoughts of anger we live in a hell of our own making. We may act out in ways that are detrimental, to ourselves, to our families, to our communities.

This is ultimate forgiveness. Even when we feel wronged by others, we must be the ones who live in forgiveness.

“Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” - Matthew 5:25-26

Own your feelings, do not try to blame others for them. When we blame others for our feelings, when we try to  pass our ownership of our feelings to others, we imprison ourselves. This consciousness wastes spiritual coin, and try as we might we will not be able to escape the prison of misplaced anger. Until we release the anger we will continue to pay.

It seems somewhat fitting that as I prepare today’s blog I am doing it on Good Friday. In the Christian tradition this is recognized as the day on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. One thing that is consistent in the stories of the crucifixion is Jesus’ capacity to lead with forgiveness… even to the point of uttering as he is on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In the metaphorical sense, the Father represents the creative spirit at the core of each of us. This is activating consciousness in forgiveness, and we can expect to rise above our sense of circumstances being predominant in our lives. We come to the realization that we are in charge of our lives.

So let’s leave our thoughts of anger at the altar, let’s discontinue the murdering of our own minds, let’s step into forgiveness and allow the creative spirit of Love at our core prevail. It is in Love that we rise.