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“Mama
exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might
not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground.”
-
Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and
writer
I am knowing that each of us can say with love
and sincerity, "Happy Mother's Day" whether our mothers are
living or have passed from this dimension. And I can state this
because, All Is Mind and All Is God, and so no matter whether we are
separated from our mothers on this "Mother's Day" or not, all
is known in Mind ... and at some level our mothers will know that our
thoughts are with them.
When we love
our mother and know that she loves us, there is a happiness in our heart
that almost nothing else can match. There is something within each
of us that desires this connection with our mother for it is one of the
strongest bonds that we experience in the physical realm of life.
Very few of us have estranged ourselves from our mothers or have mothers
who have estranged themselves from us. Mothers have an inherent
ability to forgive their children and accept them for who they
are. And no matter how old we may be, our mothers still can make
us feel accepted and deserving more so than anyone else in our
lives. We must never forget that being a mother is a choice and
this has been true throughout the ages. And this choice has been
made by many women who have never given birth to a child. Being a
mother is not limited to child-bearing ... it is the loving, forgiving,
understanding, nurturing role that many women have accepted and have
given it freely to children that were not birthed by them.
In many parts of the world; especially Mexico
and most of Latin America, Mother's Day is celebrated on the fixed day
of May 10th. Pope Benedict XVI took the opportunity on this day to
condemn contraception and reiterated the Vatican's instructions against
using birth control. This ban against artificial birth control
seeks to take the "choice" away from women ... and give it to
the Vatican. Now, I don't want to be critical of Catholicism, but
most Catholics in America that I have known ... and I was Catholic for
30 years ... practice birth control ... both before and after Pope Paul
VI's 1968 "Humane vitae" ("On Human Life")
encyclical which prohibited Catholics from using artificial birth
control. The Catholic Church continues to fail to understand that
God has given women freedom too. Freedom is not limited to men in
high positions of religious organizations. Freedom is part of Mind
... and Mind is God. And God has given each of us ... both men and
women ... freedom of choice. And this choice creates the great
difference between being a "mother" ... and being someone who
gave birth to a child because she felt she had no choice. The Pope
does not realize that his instructions can create burdens on the human
spirit that are unnecessary ... both for the mother and the child.
And most importantly denies the eternal-loving-kindness of God.
All the great mystics have realized that God,
Infinite Spirit, is both a Masculine and Feminine Energy. And the
reality of this is that each of us have to a degree, a combination of
both within our consciousness. Both men and women have the ability
to nurture and care for a child, but women, having a greater realization
of the Divine Feminine, are more well-suited to this role in
general. This Mother-Father God aspect of Life within us, gives
each of us the abilities that we need whenever it is necessary for us to
take on the nurturing role of a mother. This is why some men have
been very successful in raising children alone. God, Infinite
Intelligence, never gives us anything that we can't handle.
Deepak Chopra tells us, "The divine mother
is an essential nurturing, life-giving energy. She represents the power
of beauty, the power of intuition, the power of creativity, the power of
compassion, and the power of love. In many Eastern traditions, this
dynamic, potent energy is known as Shakti, which means
feminine power. This power doesn’t reside only in women, however;
Shakti is the divine spark and the flow of God’s love within each of
us."
As we understand that this
feminine power is within each of us, we know that a Mother's Heart is in
Truth, the Heart of God expressing Its love, compassion and
creativity. And on this 2008 Mother's Day, let us all declare a
"Happy Mother's Day" to the one who has served us in the
capacity of "mother" ... no matter what their gender or
physical relationship to us may be!
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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