Author: rkcdlitt

I have been a searcher all my life. I began searching for something to do to make my life worthwhile. Then I began a long time searching for knowledge; this has lasted a lifetime. The other lifelong mysterious goal that has avoided detection is a permanent sense of purpose. This has seemed impossible at times. Wherever I looked I only found confusion and irrelevance.

This can be very spiritually devastating for someone who prides himself on accomplishing whatever he has tried; of course, I had plenty of help in my achievements. My wife was not only on my side; she most often led the way. But, at the base of all is that whenever I felt void, whenever I felt that all was lost, I experienced a dynamic potential at the base of my quest. Not understanding this feeling, I often ignored it.

What I ached for was reason! What I implored all whom I met in my quest was an ability to lift those in need from their society-enforced exclusion from all that is necessary. With the leadership of my wife, I discovered direct contact with those who I was trying to help. I found a quandary. After a very short period of time, I did not know who was helping whom.

Those holding on to the bottom rung in society had a deep faith in God, much deeper than I have ever had. They taught me that at the base of all that happens is God’s Love. They taught me that the void that I thought was present in my life was not a void at all. It was an all-powerful force that I had to face. Once I faced this force, it stopped becoming a void.

It became what was important in my life; it was always present, but in my pseudo-intelligence, I ignored it. Now I don’t; now I recognize that the only thing that is important is my relationship with God. I have learned to accept and trust this Divine Presence in my Life.

Throughout my studies, I have noted that it was often the accused heretics that taught a personal, divine relationship with God. . . and respect for others. Jesus taught us to love one another as ourselves. I ask, doesn’t this loving one another mean sharing and respect. Are not the others all living creatures of God, including our earth? I cannot believe that Divine Faith includes the devastation of mankind and our planet. It is time we examine our true faith in Divine Presence.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I had a long journey out of the darkness and into the light. I spent four very difficult years as a Marine in the 1960s. The first thing I learned at Parris Island was that I was part of a team and it is the team that succeeds, not the one. I lived that. . . until. . . one day I didn’t.

Although I had a relatively good life, I thought I did it all by myself, with my wife, but basically through my own talents. As I look back, I realize how much of a failure I was.

Then I entered teaching, where teamwork is the name of the game. I flourished. My students flourished, and I pray that the school system flourished. Of course, the system would flourish with or without me, but I was told I made a difference. It is amazing how my Marine training came back to me.

As a history teacher, I worked very closely with our English teachers. We worked so closely that one of them suggested I continue my education and work for a doctorate degree. Being sick of studying history, I decided to pursue a doctorate in literature. I had a ball. I was in my own element. What I learned, I shared with my history students; they, in turn, shared with me their perceptions of history and its great literature. We all learned.

Now, as my life settles down, I have returned to the teamwork of the Marines by being a part of my local Marine Corps League. I again am finding the importance of working together.

My life as part of a team has been good. I am one hand of a powerful force. That force is God. He leads me into areas I fear to go due to a lack of confidence, but I know now that I am one important hand of a strong pair of hands.

God bless!

©Russell Kendall Carter

Jesus lives for all of us. His message remains my most important lesson. It is the simplest message, and it can be the most difficult to learn. Whether we recognize it or not, the Holy Spirit visits with us to confirm this message, this lesson, this Divine Love.

Let me say this first: I love you! It matters not where you live, what shade your complexion is, what religion you practice, or what name you call God. I love you, unconditionally. This is my interpretation of the lessons that Jesus teaches. He even made this the second most important commandment, the first being Love God. When I love, as Jesus taught, I demonstrate and define that Love establishes our divine likeness and divine membership of God’s family.

The Bible reminds me that I need to pay attention to the spiritual side of humanity, not the mortal side for it is only the spiritual that is eternal. This is the lesson of the Word, the Word of God; I pray that you also think this is true. The Word is Wisdom, and Wisdom delivers us from evil to the path of Truth, eternal Truth. . . and Life.

So, I have laid out perfection; I am not perfect, yet. But only Jesus was perfect Man. The Freedom God gives allows me to wander my path of life. I only pray that in my wandering I have come upon the path that leads to true Spirit. The freedom to choose how I meet strangers is my key to God, who has taught me His Will. I did not learn this in slow-minded church; I found this through meditation. I found this by slowing my mind, away from the demands of our very material-oriented society, not giving up as God as God never gives up on me.

I receive God’s Word, God’s Message through daily meditation, daily slowing down, daily recognition that my relations with all whom I meet pleases God. So, I thank the Holy Spirit for being my memory, allowing me to observe and follow only what I need.

©Russell Kendall Carter

“Life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden

the hearts of those who travel with us. So be swift to love,

make haste to be kind, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

I find it interesting that love is the key to this blessing; however, I trust that most blessings begin and end with love, even if not mentioned.

Love shapes my soul through song

My common aura is spiritual Love

The beauty of Love is God as God is Love

The work of my soul and my hands is Love

See the good in each other. . . and Love

Problems disappear when Love is nonce

Love is the solution, let my eyes understand

Love is a verb; and creates more Love

The work of my hands establishes Love

And brings God to my doorstep

Understand – Love, a journey of harmony friendship

“Go in Peace, Love, and serve the Lord”

©Russell Kendall Carter

Something Wonderful
I hear the songs from every church; listen, can you hear them?
Something wonderful is coming; open your heart, can you feel it?
We wait all year for this wonderful event, we hold our breath.
We decorate with lights and holy icons, to celebrate His birth.
 
We give gifts and receive gifts from loved ones, as did the one who loves us.
It is not about gifts, although many think so; He promised something greater.
It’s all about Love, but many don’t understand, and they should try.
We put away the presents we do not need, except for the One we celebrate.
 
We wait in vain for it does not come., for it is alive within.
We forget it is with us always, all year, every day, He has not died.
So let us celebrate His birth, but remember His greatest gift,
that something wonderful is Love, within us every day.
 
We cry for we  have not the room to decorate the way we should.
We cry for far away relatives unable to join us this glorious day.
We cry for the outlandish decorations of our neighbors, yet they have meaning.
We cry when listening to the ancient story retold in churches and by fireplaces.
 
We rejoice singing the holy songs written so long ago, but reborn each year.
We rejoice when we realize the stories are still so new.
We rejoice feeling the presence of our Lord Jesus.
We rejoice with the presence of Christ reborn within us.
 
©Russell Kendall Carter

Prisoner of Consciousness

We live in our own self-made prisons. We are human; therefore, we are imperfect beings. This shows itself every day. We find it impossible to avoid this. We must face our imperfections and deal with them as God would want. If we overlook our imperfections to bring our spirituality into our lives, we may just begin to realize how perfect our lives may be.

We live in our own self-made prisons. We create our own conflicts, our own hardships. These can crush us! These can convince us that our future will collapse into the dust of the world. We lose sight of our mission in life; we know not where to turn. We trip over our own seeming failures and lose hope. But – there was a man born over two thousand years ago who showed us a different way; we have forgotten!

We live in our own self-made prisons. We may walk in our own darkness, but when we take the time to reflect, to meditate on who we are, we find a wonderful way to simplify our lives and reverse course. I am convinced that God loves us and always takes special care of those who are troubled by mortal life. This is a clear message that Jesus taught us. And perhaps, just perhaps, God is turning around and looking to help us.

Today, I evolve out of my self-enclosed shell and accept the presence of God in my life, as Jesus teaches me. . . when I decide to listen. I become less self-conscious of my self-imposed dilemmas and look to others, recognizing that when I turn to God’s Love, I become the second greatest teacher in the world (you know the first). When I model God’s Love to others, who benefits more. . . them, or me? I am a prisoner no more!!!

©Russell Kendall Carter

What does it mean to belong; I mean really belong? Every living creature is made in God’s image and God’s plan. We all belong. From the tiniest red ant to the grandest blue whale, God makes every molecule. We all belong to God’s kingdom, God’s creation. Every creature serves Gods purpose. That means us! That means them!

We are a reflection of the utterly amazing differences of God’s creation; if we really look closely, we recognize God in all that we see. Why can’t we see this basic truism? If we honestly believe that God is the creator, then we must see the value in all of His creation. Why do I carefully capture a spider and place it on a plant in my garden, when I simply crush an ant I find near my kitchen sink? I ask myself this question may times.

I invest in the lives of all people I meet. I believe that faith is the recognition of the value of all humankind. I look to the example and the leadership of Jesus and strive to duplicate how He treated all of the people He met. . . and cared for. My faith lies in my ability to accept what God tells me and trust in the faithfulness of others. It is simple; all I must do is remember that I am no more valuable to God than another is.

I understand why Jesus came into our midst and why He continues to appear every Christmas. We must learn to re-love those around us. We must go into the communities where people live and suffer. We must see their misery; but we must also see their faith.

Jesus saw and understood. We see and don’t understand. Our eyes are clouded by our own well-being. Our eyes are clouded by our own greed. We do not need to be billionaires to be greedy. We just need to be selfish. We need to open our eyes to God’s value for all creation.

Perhaps it is as simple as that. God is calling us to open our eyes!

©Russell Kendall Carter

It’s odd how we as humans lock the doors to our minds and the love from our hearts by excluding those who call God by a different name. I won’t name them all but even in the New Testament there are several names for God, such as Emmanual, God, Lord, and then of course, Father. These are all legitimate and acceptable names; so why do we exclude YHWH, or Allah, except out of ignorant pride.

We are taught that the church is a family, a gathering of families that join together in prayer to God. But all too often, the gathering is closed to others who may have a different view. We shall not hear what they have to say. We don’t want to hear it; so, we lock our doors to those who are different. Yet, we say all are welcome! Come, join us; but believe only as we believe. This is neither love for or love from God. We deny we are all one family.

Church becomes this monolith of limited beliefs, losing its young because of its strictness of acceptance. For those with an accepting, listening heart and a mind that is attentive to God’s Word, the reality of the institutional church abandoning the attentive mind moves to the dwindling attendance and even a more limiting mindset because the inquisitive mind is no longer in attendance.

Sadhu Sundar Singh writes: “Both water and oil come from the earth. And though they are similar in many ways, they are opposites in their nature and their purpose. One extinguishes fire, the other gives fuel to the fire. Similarly, the world and its treasures are creations of God along with the soul and its thirst for spiritual truth. But if we try to quench the thirst of our soul with the wealth and pride and honors of this world, then it is like trying to extinguish fire with oil.”

Meditate on this for a while; then apply this to our 21^st century life in church. Can we see how the church is engulfed in the flames of its own limited liturgy and rote recital of pledges? My Christian brothers and sisters condemn me as an enemy of Christ; my Jewish and Muslem friends laugh with me over a bottle of wine as we argue the greatly limited divinity of mankind. We argue over minute technicalities of our faiths; we revel in our lively discussions that only increase both our loves for God and all His peoples. God is our church, our family, regardless of what name we use.

©Russell Kendall Carter

There are essential truths about God that man must live by to be God’s spiritual creation. But before we get into these truths, I must clarify some things. I use the phrase God is my rock; this is not to say that God is a solid substance, a piece of shale or limestone, or mountain. God is not physical. God is not substance in the physical sense; only in the metaphysical, metaphorical sense. When Ms. Eddy refers to God as Substance, she is referring to His metaphysical perfection of thought and truth.

Which brings us to her statement that God’s thoughts are substance and life. We exist only because of God’s perfect and eternal plan, spiritual plan. Although I suffer through my mortal life with the impediments of age and ancient injury, I know that in God’s eternal realm, I suffer not. The true me, the spiritual creation of God, is also eternal and perfect.

This is the message that Jesus taught ever day of His ministry. Isaiah writes, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (55:8,9)” this reminds me that regardless of how perfect my thoughts are, how perfect my prayers and meditation are, I cannot be perfect in my thinking. I am mortal striving for immortality.

As I gaze at the nighttime sky, I am awed by the vastness of God’s creation and know that my perfect mind is neither perfect or a mind; it is only an outreach, and extension of God’s perfection. I am a part of the creation I see above me. I study the teachings of Jesus; I try to understand His perfection. I cannot believe that He is the most scientific man as Ms. Eddy writes. The term scientific is a mortal creation of a limited mind. We use scientific to explain something that is so technical, so difficult to understand, that only the educated mind of the egotistical mortal can understand. Jesus is God and therefore is the perfection that mankind, that I strive for every day in my prayers and meditations.

I search for wisdom; but Wisdom eludes me. I suffer for the lack of understanding the Wisdom taught by Jesus. I can only see logic; I am limited by the teachings of the mortal mind. When I taught the prescribed curriculum in the college that employed me, I tried to raise the consciousness of my students to what God was saying through the written word of mankind. It was not enough; for I did not see the perfection, only what was exposed to me in my mortal life even though my meditations were aimed at trying to attain Wisdom.

God is the only cause and creator; and we are blessed to be a part of this Wisdom for we strive to His perfection.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I read many inspirational posts every morning both before and after I meditate on my life and what I have done and will do according to God’s overall plan as I understand it. This morning as I was reading a post by Richard Rohr, I was immediately intrigued by his opening comments on gratitude and generosity. He writes, “Each and every morning offers us a chance to start anew, fresh, and to begin again. Each morning when we wake—should we choose to listen—is a message from the Creator to remember the privilege we were given of waking up.”

Although I attend a fairly liberal Episcopal Church (I do so because of the liberal policy of aid to the less fortunate members of society), I consider myself a Christian Scientist first, and then a person who follows and practices Buddhism. I have lived with pain most of my life, but when I awaken each morning, I do immediately thank God for another day with my wife and family and thank him that my only material concern is the pain I feel from activities in my younger years. I have no other mortal afflictions (except maybe terminal, mortal stupidity).

Every day I wonder why I am chosen to comfort my fellow man. I am not educated in the fundamentals of being a religious leader; I am neither priest or pastor. Yet I find that I am very comfortable bringing The Word of God to those in need. My clergy friends remind me that God often chose the uneducated and humble to lead His flock to justice and freedom. And to me, justice and freedom means to realize that it is our spiritual selves that matter when we speak of eternal live and salvation.

Won’t you join me with gratitude and generosity toward others and thanking God for all we have!

©Russell Kendall Carter