July
30, 2006
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Martin Luther King, Jr., in being asked to publish some of his sermons, wrote in the preface to his book, ““. . . a sermon is directed toward the listening ear rather than the reading eye. . . I offer these discourses in the hope that a message may come to life for readers of the printed words.”” This is my hope for you, dear reader.
——Rev. Linda
July 30, 2006
SPIRITUALITY IN TOMORROW’S WORLD:
A CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT FOR THE SOUL
A few weeks ago when Bill and I were in Atlanta, we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center there. As we walked through the exhibit area where people were watching video clips of portions of the life of this great man, I couldn’t help observing those watching. The energy was so strong. I could feel people wanting to weep, holding it back because they were in a public place with strangers, yet tears so close to the surface, I think the slightest thing would have brought them pouring out.
Why was that? Why so touched by something that happened 50 years ago? Was it because there was a feeling, an underlying question, “Why isn’t it better than it is now after all that?” Or was it a sadness that we seem to be lacking that kind of visionary to speak out in these times, and we feel lost and floundering without a voice for humanity?
It’s something I felt myself as I sat in a pew at Ebenezer Baptist Church listening to the voice of Dr. King booming his message of civil rights, imagining what it must have been like to be there in that crowded sanctuary, hearing his vision, his dream of equal rights for all. But what I’ve come to realize since, is that it’s not a voice we need, or a charismatic leader, or a shepherd, or anyone else to move us to action, but our own selves, our own voice, our own inner guidance, our own divine Selves calling us to bring about the Global Heart Vision of a world that works for everyone.
So this morning as we wrap up this series of talks on Spirituality in Tomorrow’s World, I want to suggest a Civil Rights Movement for the Soul. I wish I could say this is an original idea, but I have to give credit where credit is due and tell you that it comes from Neale Donald Walsch in his book Tomorrow’s God. A Civil Rights Movement for the Soul is about a new God and a new spirituality, which we are seeing and creating right here, right now.
It’s about putting to rest the God that made some of us right and some of us wrong, made some of us weak and some of us strong, and gave us the guns to prove it to each other, as Tom just sang about in his very powerful song. And instead, finding the God within that loves and honors every person, that has given us all Its power, and has no need to prove anything to anyone.
This is what will make a world that works for everyone, a world free of homelessness, violence, war, hunger, separation and disenfranchisement. It’s really a message of freedom. And be aware, we gladly give up our freedom when we’re in fear. We give it up for safety, for security, for survival, when we feel these things are threatened. We give up our freedom.
But we can never be safe or secure in fear. Does anyone here feel safe when you’re in fear? Do you feel safe when you’re fearful? No. We’re safe when we know we’re one with God, and that is inherent freedom.
If we want the world of the Global Heart Vision, we must first recognize our oneness with God and with all that is. We must understand and experience the unity of all things. Why? Because if you and I are one, I can’t hurt you because I’d be hurting me. I’d have no desire or need to hide things from you because we’re one. I could be completely transparent, utterly visible.
Think of all the things we think we’re hiding from one another. What are the questions you don’t want anyone to ask you? How much money did you make last year? What’s the margin of profit on that product you’re trying to sell me? What if conscience was brought back into commerce? What if the quality of every human life became important. Tomorrow’s God says, “The thought that you ‘can’t afford’ a civil society is what is causing your society to no longer be civil. . . . as the gap between the rich and the poor widens. . . you can expect civility to all but disappear.” (p. 280)
When we believe God is separate from us and we’re separate from each other, it’s every man for himself. But when we know we’re one with each other, really know it, we’ll no longer tolerate such conditions.
What if there was a new reason to do business, and that reason was to generate wealth? But not the old idea of wealth “as possessions and power, but as access and happiness.” Can you even imagine such a notion? The idea of not owning but sharing, of not competing but cooperating? Of not controlling but allowing?
I love the possibilities of that and the example in Tomorrow’s God of sharing the vacuum cleaner. Rather than every household having its own vacuum cleaner which sets in the closet most of the time, four households on the street or in the apartment building all share one. And think of the savings of our natural resources. But how willing are we to give up our little conveniences so that someone else can have something as essential as we would think of a vacuum cleaner as being?
Is our neighbor our brother or not? Is our neighbor our self or not? Do we really believe what we say we believe, that we are one? Do “We see a world in which there is generous and continuous sharing of heart and resources. . . .that Heaven is within us and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it. . . in a world in which forgiveness, whether for errors, injustices, or debts, is the norm”? Do we really want a world that works for everyone? How much do we want it?
Tomorrow’s God says, “for something like this to work, the wealthy must redefine wealth, not the poverty-stricken. Those who are setting the standards must set the new standard.” And then, “If you want the world to change, you have to be the change you want to see. . . The new spiritual model will declare that ‘you are all one.’ It also will say, “There’s enough.’ If you take those messages to heart, you will begin at once to devise ways of treating everyone as you would want to be treated, giving everyone what you would want to be given, and providing everyone with what you would want to be provided.”
“And you will quickly realize that the easiest way to do this is not to keep trying to grow, grow, grow, the world’s economy in a never-ending upward spiral, attempting to make it possible for everyone to afford to own the same things, but rather to provide everyone with access to and use of the same things.” (p. 289-290)
As Duane Elgin says, “Live simply, so that others may simply live.” This is the way of a mature society.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 60s couldn’t have happened if people hadn’t joined with Martin Luther King in his vision. No one person is going to bring about the Global Heart Vision. We have to come together to get charged, tapped in, tuned up, turned on. There is power in numbers. It will take many of us to reach the critical mass necessary to shift the consciousness. But I believe we can do it. We can have a Department of Peace.
We’re creating our reality, our tomorrow now! We can make it better. Our founder Dr. Ernest Holmes wrote in The Science of Mind, “When we use our creative imagination in strong faith, it will create for us, out of the One Substance, whatever we have formed in thought. In this way [we] become Co-Creator[s] with God.” (p. 157.2)
So this morning, I’d like us to take some time right now to create a world that works for everyone. To start a Civil Rights Movement for the Soul. We know we can do it with our imagination. So right now I invite you to shut out the world as we now see it, by going within, closing your eyes and creating, in your mind’s eye, a new world. A world of peace and beauty. A world where every life is honored, adored, loved, cherished and fully provided for. Imagine a world of good will and gentleness. Just let your imagination create it.
Declaration of Principles and Global Heart Vision
We believe in God, the Living Spirit Almighty; one, indestructible, absolute and self-existent Cause. This One manifests itself in and through all creation but is not absorbed by its creation. The manifest universe is the body of God; it is the logical and necessary outcome of the infinite self-knowingness of God.
We envision the emergence of the Global Heart to balance and guide the further evolution of humanity.
We believe in the incarnation of the Spirit in everyone and that all people are incarnations of the One Spirit.
We see a world free of homelessness, violence, war, hunger, separation and disenfranchisement.
We believe in the eternality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.
We see a world in which there is generous and continuous sharing of heart and resources. . .
We believe that Heaven is within us and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it.
. . . a world in which forgiveness, whether for errors, injustices, or debts, is the norm. . .
We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all.
. . . a world which has renewed its emphasis on beauty, nature and love through a resurgence of creativity, art, and aesthetics. . .
We believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God.
. . . a world in which fellowship prospers and connects through the guidance of spiritual wisdom and experience. . .
We believe that God is personal to all who feel this Indwelling Presence.
. . . a world in which we live and grow as One Human Family.
We believe in the direct revelation of Truth through the intuitive and spiritual nature of the individual, and that any person may become a revealer of Truth who lives in close contact with the indwelling God.
The spiritual community of "United Centers for Spiritual Living" is united and actuated by this compelling vision of a healthy world —— a world experiencing Global Heart —— and is ardently committed to bringing this vision forth through its ministries and its transformative teaching.
We believe that the Universal Spirit, which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind which receives the direct impress of our thought and acts upon it.
We believe in the healing of the sick through the power of this Mind.
We believe in the control of conditions through the power of this Mind.
We envision "United Centers for Spiritual Living" as a bridge across the illness and illusion of separation thereby dynamically empowering the vision of Global Heart.
We believe in the eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness, and the eternal Givingness of Life to all.
"United Centers for Spiritual Living" is a global community of people pervasively caring for and about each other and the entire human family, thereby bringing the gift of active compassion to the world. Our local centers and communities become "points of inspiration and influence" effectively advancing the vision of Global Heart.
We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we understand that the life of all is God.
(Begin singing We Shall Overcome.)
How much is this new world worth to you? Five minutes a day spent seeing it? Opening your heart to accept it? We can overcome. We are overcoming now. We have a dream of a Civil Rights Movement for the Soul. Let’s do all we can to make it happen.
