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"I
do not believe in the return of the soul to another life on this plane.
The spiral of life is upward. Evolution carries us forward, not
backward. Eternal and progressive expansion is its law and there
are no breaks in its continuity. It seems to me that our evolution
is the result of an unfolding consciousness of that which already is,
and needs but to be realized to become a fact of everyday life. I
can believe in planes beyond this one without number, in eternal
progress. I cannot believe that nature is limited to one sphere of
action. ... It is human to grieve over the loss of dear ones. We
love them and cannot help missing them, but a true realization of the
immortality and continuity of the individual soul, will rob grief of
hopelessness. We shall realize that they are in God's keeping and
that they are safe.”
- Dr. Ernest Holmes, The Science of
Mind
This past Monday,
April 16, 2007, the tragedy in Blacksburg, Virginia, at Virginia Tech
University, shocked and saddened all of us. As the news services
brought us more and more information, it was challenging not to feel a
certain sense of hopelessness. Our hearts were stirred with a
desire to help those who were experiencing something that can only be
described as nightmarish ... and a desire to comfort their family and
friends ... and especially our empathy was moved to those who had shared
in this tragic experience and survived. A typical Monday morning
for the students and faculty at Virginia Tech turned quickly into an
experience that was life-changing. And not one of us, even though
we may not have been affected directly, was left unchanged by this
tragedy. Only through prayer and meditation, opening our hearts to
Divine Love, could we feel that we were a comfort at all to the students
and faculty of Virginia Tech and their families and friends. And
though we cannot feel their pain, we were fully aware that their pain
existed. And so we mourn with them ... but we cannot feel their
grief ... we can only pray knowing that there is a Presence that does
feel their grief and this Presence knows what to do to bring them
comfort and hope once again.
So much has been written this week about this
tragedy. Some want to blame ... and some want to carry shame for
what happened. Many Americans feel ashamed that this happened in
our country. But our blame and our shame will not bring us comfort
in our mourning. We must allow ourselves to mourn ... we must
experience our authentic human feelings. Yes, we are Divine ...
but we are also human ... and our human feelings of mourning are just as
sacred as our divinity. Love causes us to mourn ... to connect
with those directly affected by this tragedy in some way ... and
mourning connects us. We are called to "be in the world but
not of the world" ... and this calling is for us to authentically
connect within our hearts and within our minds with those in the world
in which we live. Our metaphysical understanding does not urge us
to look beyond the world of appearance and overlook the facts, but to
know that no matter what it is that we may be experiencing, that we
remain in the All-ness of God ... the All-Loving Good that creates
blessings out of tragedies. How God will do this with the events
this week at Virginia Tech may be a mystery to us now ... but the
blessing will be revealed and unfolded ... and this is the Truth.
I believe that the Universe is Calling us to
remember what we know is the Truth. The Truth is, God Is Love, and
Love has reasons that reason does not understand ... and so we recognize
that this Higher Intelligence is doing Its Perfect work in the lives of
those who have gone before us and in the lives of those souls they have
touched in this world. Every soul is on a journey ... and from the
evidence that is seen and un-seen, we know that each soul's journey is
unique and individual. Sometimes, in our finite-ness of mind, it
is difficult to grasp the Truth that God is personal to each of us.
And in this personal relationship that each of us has with the Infinite,
our relationship with It is infinitely individualized. We are all
living in the Omnipresence of God and this Omnipresence is not limited
to either the physical or spiritual realms. God is Spirit, this we
know, and Spirit is within us. This we can become aware of ... if
we choose to become aware.
"If you would find the highest, the
fullest, and the richest life that not only this world but that any
world can know, then do away with the sense of separateness of your life
from the life of God. Hold to the thought of your oneness.
In the degree that you do this you will find yourself realizing it more
and more, and as this life of realization is lived, you will find that
"no good thing will be withheld" ... for all things are
included in this." - Ralph Waldo Trine, In Tune With the Infinite,
1899
The Universe is Calling ... are we
responding consciously and soulfully to Spirit? As we do, we will
believe and know that our prayers for all those affected by this tragedy
at Virginia Tech, is truly God praying through us ... and in this
realization, we can accept that the Light of God surrounds them ... and
we can know the Love of God enfolds them ... and holds them in Its
Infinite loving embrace ... now and always.
AND SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev. Hank
Bates
Visit: www.IraqMemorial.org
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