“May you live in interesting times!” reads the infamous Chinese curse/blessing. I don’t know about you, but I am finding these times go way beyond interesting. More like compelling. Worrisome. Distressing. Troubling. The polarity wrought from the so-called culture wars we are witnessing continues to amplify, sending both sides to their respective corners. The question arises – what can be done to heal the chasm that seems to widen with every news cycle. Specifically, what do our New Thought principles teach, and what is ours to do as students and practitioners of this spiritual path, to bring forth a new paradigm of living?
Our foundation principle is pretty clear – there is only One. One Presence. One Power. One Life living itself through and as all of creation. That means that nothing and no one can be against us since by its very nature, Life cannot be against itself. And yet, appearances tell us that people and things are very much against us – perhaps in the form of political disagreement, ecological disasters, or economic disparity. Violence, homelessness, drug addiction – the list goes on and on of the many urgent issues facing our world today. This can seem totally overwhelming and move us to a state of helpless inaction. What in the world can one person do? What will it take to evolve to a more peaceful, compassionate world?
Our second principle reminds us that we are all expressions of that One Life, inlets and outlets of the Divine to paraphrase Emerson’s eloquent words. If we are Spirit in expression, then the answer lies in accessing the true power available to us from the One Life. After all, this is the same power that creates and sustains all of life on the planet. That’s pretty powerful!
We have a pioneer who figured this out around 2000 years ago. He left us a trail to follow. He said some things that can help us on our journey. One was, “By myself I can do nothing” (John 5:30). That is exactly how I feel whenever I look at the immensity of the problems we face. But there’s a qualifying verse later on in John 14:10 that can give us great hope and some direction. “Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” The Spirit within us is the mighty power that can work seeming miracles. So, the answer lies within in the subtle realm of the heart. But it doesn’t stay there. Just to top things off, Jesus shared some more good news – “Greater works than these shall he [and she] do.” Let’s take those words to heart and hear them as a call to action.
Greater things are awaiting our activation. This fall, we will be exploring how we might become agents of evolution and help to usher in a new paradigm of living. Join us for a 7-week class called “Paradigm Climb” as we take a deeper dive into being the change. We are the ones we have been waiting for and now is the time!
Blessings, Gary and Jane
