Meditating to Heal

These two simple words bring up two images in my mind. One is delightfully intriguing; the other is a poor example of man’s lack of caring for his brothers and sisters.

I don’t want to dwell on the negative side, only to remind myself of the ungodly treatment of our Black brothers and sisters. The other is the wonderful dance of the 1920’s, also performed mostly by our Black brothers and sisters. I have seen this dance, not danced it, I’m not that talented. It makes no sense to me. Although growing up in the 1950’s, I was more accustomed to the stroll and the lively twist along with Chubby Checker.

I am bringing this up from a recent trip my wife and I made to Pennsylvania to watch our grandson play lacrosse. I have to say the weather was terrible, rain, rain, and a little more rain. We went through the mountains of West Virginia through clouds that seemed to touch the top of our car. The bottoms of the clouds, our new skylight was pitch black, as the bottom of thunderclouds are.

Now, you might say that this was disheartening, but it was far from it. It was beautiful. I am overjoyed when I sit and admire the sunny days with birds and squirrels bickering over the feeders around our patio. These simple pleasures are God’s thank you(s) for feeding his flock. But when I sit under black-bottomed clouds, I am intrigued by the passions they bring out. I look at the billowing white, mountainous crowns and the pitch-black bottoms and am in awe of the variety and mixture of nature’s beauty.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a pessimist who belabors negative thoughts. I find it comforting to take my family, huddle in a house that will protect us (I pray). And awaiting the coming storm with torrential rain and winds that could be hurricane or tornado strength. But I also know that rain will nurture the soils for new plantings, and the rains and winds will cleanse our worlds. And we will be renewed in the following sunlight.

The black bottom of song and weather nourishes our lives.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I find it difficult to explain this theory to my friends who are limited in their understanding of God and Man. As is made clear in our belief and in our understanding of Scripture, “…according to the best scholars, there are clear evidences of two distinct documents in the early part of the book of Genesis (523:14-17).” Man, with a capital “M,” is the perfect creation by God; man is the mortal misconception created by the early writers of the Old Testament. God creates noting that is imperfect. Therefore, Man is eternal.

One of the terms that I cannot accept in this week’s lesson is “science.” Another is the word, “knowledge.” These are words created by men to try to understand the words and gifts of God. They are refuted by those who do not follow the meaning of God.  I must admit that I never could learn science in either high school or college. Believe me when I say that this is embarrassing to admit. However, while in college, I attained a great deal of knowledge from my undergraduate programs to my doctorate in contemporary literature; and I will admit that as a teacher a college professor, I share a great deal of this knowledge with my students.

What I did not and could not share with them was Wisdom; this only comes from God. I explained this to them. What I did do was share with them how I attain Wisdom, through meditation and prayer. That was as far as I felt I could go. I had Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and many other religious students sitting before  me every day. What I shared was that I attained Wisdom through prayer and meditation. I admitted that I was a novice at this, even though I had been practicing this for over 30 years. I stressed that this is normal, since I have been programmed to be man, not Man.

Now, back to our lesson. When I join Bible study groups, I try to explain, in mortal words, how I accept the two tales of creation. My fellow seekers say that this is when God put skin on Adam and Eve, and they became mortal with a finite life span. Continuing on that God was very angry and therefore was punishing them for their disobedience. Impossible!!

As Mrs. Eddy says, and as we believe, the first definition of God is Love. And if we truly believe that, we cannot accept God’s anger. I have two children, and I have been blessed that neither of them has turned against God. Saying this, I have to admit that I am sometimes confused about their life choices. My son joined the Army and went to Iraq. I know that in combat, he probably killed some Iraqis; this was war. On the other hand, my daughter is powerful in business and had amassed what I refer to as a fortune, owning an historic home and one on the beach in North Carolina. They do not flaunt their wealth, but they do not hide it. Both are heavy contributors to charities.

Although I do question their choices at times, I do love them unconditionally and cannot punish them; I can only show them how simply I live in God’s Creation. I practice the same love that God has for us. the early scribes describe God’s anger for man; impossible! God is Love and loves us unconditionally and does not create discord.

©Russell Kendall Carter

 

I walk seeking shelter from the storm

and enter a tunnel of darkness,

filled with artificial light but feel no brilliance.

I enter broken, seeking healing;

my frailty waltzes through my life…

offering sorrow and punishment,

not promise.

But pain does not compose my symphony;

I no longer hide behind my mortal scars

for this is not God.

No longer diminished by my fears,

I walk in vigilance,

no longer obsessed by man’s mortal fear

of sickness and death.

I know and feel the love God gives.

My spirit is strong,

and no longer will I walk in the tunnel of darkness.

God’s Light is my guide.

©Russell Kendall Carter

When I read of all of the problems and wars in the world today, I feel as if I am reading another chapter of the Dark Night of the Soul. Everywhere there are problems and unrest. I feel like running off to the desert to live the life of the Christian outcasts of the second and third centuries. Living a secluded life of prayer and tending to the earth looks very inviting some days. But God beckons, “Follow me. You will see greater things than these.”

God opens my heart to a vision greater than anyone can imagine. Hope is what I view; hope is what I feel. God’s promise of life and freedom is for the asking. The lighted path of Jesus is ready for our tentative baby steps. We must tread cautiously at first until we find our way, for we are His children and as the Bible promises, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).”

I am too proud of a man; this is the cross I bear. I cannot cry when confronted by the sins of society. I cry when a family member dies. I know why, but I believe that he or she is entering a much better world than we experience now. By passing from this life into the next, we enter a kingdom closer to God and we flourish. But I cannot cry at the results of our covetous society. I see a child denied healthcare because his family lacks insurance and are too poor to pay the exorbitant price of healing. (Hint: Jesus did not charge to heal). I also see the family on the corner of a busy intersect begging for a few pennies to buy food for the children. Chances are the family is black or immigrants; and our society is too enamored with the accumulation of wealth to pay a livable wage. No one can survive on only $11.00 per hour (the minimum wage). I cannot cry when I see these left-behind children of God. I get angry! I condemn our political leaders because they give all to big business, not the citizenry. DV. Millar reminds us: “When we see our neighbors cold, hungry, and suffering, we are taught not to turn a blind eye to that suffering, but to make a difference.”

No matter where we hear Jesus; no matter where we meet God, God’s promise of life and liberty is for all God’s children. Our conversations must reflect His promise of Love and eternal Life. Jesus brought God’s light for all mankind, not just a select few in Israel. He continues to teach and bring us God’s ever-healing light. Love of God always lead to love for our all humanity, not just our political and business leaders.

Individually we lack the power to change  the minds of people who think that this is acceptable for our society. However, together we can try to convince those in power that suppression of the poor is not the answer, is not the answer to God’s wishes for mankind. It is not in concert with the lessons taught to us by Jesus.

Knowing this, I open my heart to God who leads me to how I can work to help those who are suppressed by those who covet more material profits and to bring this message to others through my everyday activities and contacts.

God shows me how I can be a better vision of what I think I am, showing me that the plans I have made for myself can change. This led me into the world of teaching at age 51.

We know that it is God’s plan for His creation that is important, and this leads me from being negative about what I do and how I treat others.

©Russell Kendall Carter

“. . . behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21).”

There are some things we will never understand, and perhaps we are meant to be kept in the dark.

So, I sat in the chapel; celebrating the life of someone who was not a close friend, but he was a member of the same Marine Corps League as I. He was our Centennial Marine, a gentleman who will be missed by all. The minister reminded us that the dead are now the center of our thoughts because this dear person had died. I felt no sorrow.

This old Marine will forever live as a bright light in my heart, because I love him. I feel no sorrow because he is now in the place we will all be when this life ends; we will be in that place that we see with our hearts, the place of such awe that we can never explain it in our limited vocabularies.

As our Bible says, this is the place where peace is all round, the place where the lion lies next to the lamb. This is the place where physical and psychological pain ceases to exist because God’s Love consumes us all.

This place, this vision of awe, this vision of Love, is a gift of a good life; this gift is a vision of God’s eternity. And I will follow the advice of my dear departed friend: “to live a good life, life a plain life.” I remember Luke’s words and feel the kingdom which is in me.

©Russell Kendall Carter

 

When I reflect on the weekly lesson, I like to take one thought from the Bible or Mrs. Eddy and expand on it. This week I cannot do this. I read and re-read the Responsive Reading selections several times this morning. Every single passage brings memories and joys to my life. You see, three times in my life, I have been on the threshold of something greater. I was at a doorway seeing a world so magnificent that mortal words cannot describe it. What I can say is that I shared a feeling of calm that I never felt before or after standing there; but a voice told me to not enter this world. So, I turned around and rejoined my mortal life.

Over 50 years ago, I left Christian Science (much to the disappointment of my father) after my experiences in the Marine Corps in the 1960s. God saved me from facing combat by using my natural superior clumsiness. I fell into a ravine and damaged my back so severely that I had and still have great difficulty walking.  Although I felt that Christian Science was not for me, I served my fellow man in other churches, bringing them the healing power of prayer and Gode’s love for us.

After my third time at the holy threshold, I realized what God was trying to tell me all along; I must return to the study of Christian Science. The  responsive reading this week struck home. Every word reassured me that the feeling that I feel inside of me is God inviting me to bring His prayer to all I meet. This presence within me must be visible to others because in the three service organizations that I volunteer for, I have been selected by my peers to be their lay chaplain, caring for the sick and dying. I sit by bedsides bringing the comfort of God’s love with me.

In several of my meditations, I mention that I have been in pain for over 40 years. I post these on the Christian Science Facebook page, receiving criticisms for not truly understand and believing in Christian Science. I have also been blessed with a few great conversations on faith and God’s desires for us, His creation. What is very difficult to understand and accept, even by enlightened Scientists is that I have grown so much in my acceptance and understanding of God within me, that I do not care about the nature of my physical body. It is not important. Spiritually I am a perfect son of God. God has returned me to our mortal world imperfect in ways that people can see, but also perfect in the ways that truly count. God has not given me the power to heal as Jesus did, but He has given me the power to bring His words, through prayer, into the lives of those suffering, as we all do.

The Golden Text this week is beautiful, “. . . behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21).”

©Russell Kendall Carter

We were driving home from Virginia Beach on Easter Saturday; we entered the tunnel to leave the peninsula when I looked up and saw the artificial lighting within the tunnel with the promise of the daylight’s lighting at the end of the tunnel. When we entered the tunnel, we experienced gale force winds and rain. I would love to say that when we emerged from the tunnel we experienced perfect sunlight, no rain, and no gale force winds; but alas, we did not. It still rained and the wind tried to blow us into the next lane which seemed forever.

This is so much like life; we expect more than we get. Or so it seems! Forrest Gump always says, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get!” Until you bite into it and find out. We never know what life has in store for us, because we expect so much, but never receive all that we expect. That is because we are taught from birth to reach for the stars. And that is exactly what I have done, and many times been disappointed. Until. . .

I awoke one day to reality. Reality is nothing manmade; true reality comes from God. We cannot go looking for it; it is something that God puts inside of us to connect to all that is holy, all that is True, all that is filled with the Light of God, the Light of Love.

Years ago, I became like the Samaritan leper who turned around and thanked Jesus for healing him. As many of my readers know, I have been blessed by a full life, a fruitful life, a sharing life. But, it has also been a life filled with physical pain – 24/7 pain for the past 48 years. However, like the Samaritan, I thank God every morning and every night for the wonderful life I have lived, being blessed by the companionship of a very loving wife for the past 56 years, two loving children, and three raucous grandchildren.

After serving my parents for 25 years in the family retail business, God led me into teaching where I taught in a high school for 15 years and then in college for another 10. This was a confusing life; for the first 25 years I was very unhappy, but when after years of disappointment, God told me that I was serving my parents in their later life. When they passed, God led me into teaching; I was so happy and comfortable, that I say that for the years I taught, I never worked; it was a time of love, a time of sharing the knowledge God gave me.

Now that I am no longer employed in my physical world, I meditate, I pray, and I write. I rise each morning and thank God for another day with my loving wife, knowing that the rest of my extended family are safe. Then, when I retire for the day, I thank God for the blessing He has given me.

This is a simple thing; being the Samaritan that turns around and thanks Jesus is something we rarely do. So, now, as I drive through the tunnel, lit by manmade light, I see at the end of the tunnel a light so bright it can be blinding to us mere mortals, nevertheless, it is a beautiful and blessing light.

©Russell Kendall Carter

Love and Spirit

When does God call on us? I hear a great deal of talk and see much effort in building what are called beloved communities. They are billeted to be for the benefit of all people in the name of Jesus Christ. I beg and pray for peace, but mankind will not allow it. God calls on us to build just communities, but we will not because we know better, or so we think and say. We know better; we are smarter than God.

We are strong; we are wealthy; nobody can tell us what to do. We have built communities of love according to our wishes and our needs. We know what is needed. Jobs for the poor, so that we can get rich. Bigger prisons for those who disagree. With money, we have power, we write the laws.

But they are not God’s laws. Our cities lack sunlight; there isn’t even the glow of the moon to lighten our way. We are lacking the glory and light of God; the sacrificial lamb is no more. We forget that Jesus spent all of His time with the poor, the needy, the sick, and the dying. To really know Jesus is to know the poor, and the poor have no place in our cities. Let them be homeless. They are not strong like us.

 We are dying as a culture; we love guns more than we love children. We do not love each other.  But we must. What is man but the creation of God; we are all, male and female, His creation, His children. Rich or poor, God does not care; He did not make rich and poor; we did. We lack the faith in God’s leadership. We are so concerned with our own we no longer recognize that God is within all of us.

Think of this for a moment, or an hour: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done (Matthew 21:21).” We have destroyed the fig tree and demolished the mountain.

To paraphrase Paul in his letter to the Galatians, “there is no long Christian, Jew, or Muslim, there is no Black or White, there is no longer male or female, there is no longer rich or poor; we are all children of God. We have created a world destined to die. But it need not be this way.

What is mankind, all mankind, but the children of God.

If we could truly experience what those who are outcasts have experienced, if we could truly experience what Jesus experienced in, we would change our direction and love each other, care for each other, and provide for each other. God did not separate us; we did! Hate is only in our world, not God’s, Not Jesus’s. when we truly love God, we open ourselves to Love and the beauty and strength of God’s creation. We are stronger with God; with Him we are weak. If we recognize that the Holy Spirit is with us, are strong. We are Love. We are strong. We are at peace.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I pray to our Creator several times a day. Very few of these prayers are formal; most are quick thoughts, such as seeing a family begging for money on the road intersection. I remind myself when seeing such images that God is touched by these poor also. After all, He sent Jesus to us a long time ago to comfort the poor.

God is the Principle of all that is Good, all that is real. God is Love; God is Life. God does not bring evil upon His children. God does not challenge us with hardships throughout our lives; we create our own obstacles; God is with us to help us get through them. I believe God is present with us all through our lives, in good times and in bad.

Evil occurrences are not created by God; they are created by ourselves, our societies. There is neither Love or Truth in evil occurrences. Therefore, they are not part of God. They only show up when we think that God is not present, that God has abandoned us. The anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing writes that we must balance our knowing with our habit of or desire to not know. We must believe that God is always within us, always in our world. This is our secret.

On the other hand, with faith nothing can frighten us because nothing can harm us. We are God’s possession. God bring us Love. God is with us in Spirit. God gives us Truth, Life, and Love. Our faith is the reality of things hoped for. Faith is the Truth of things not seen, things that are only felt within us. Faith brings all things hoped for.

©Russell Kendall Carter

 

John writes to his good friend, Gaius:

“dear friend do not imitate evil but what is good (3 John 1:11).”

John is writing to me; I am Gaius! When we abandon our dreams that society demands, the search for fame and money, we find ourselves open to all types of additional evil quests, unless we open ourselves to God’s will and do what John offers. Our vulnerability to that evil, materialistic society is protected by God. We undertake a personal inquisition that hopefully will lead to God’s domain. We accept the personal relationship we have with God.

We are taught that doing evil is against the law, but more importantly it is against God. When I finally discovered that I am asked to do what is good, my life changed to be so much better than it was. I stepped on to that lighted path that God has reserved for me. Although I know that I am far from perfect, I now use the rest of my life to cleanse my soul of evil. The education I received to become a college professor is now dedicated to what is in Proverbs, “An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge 18:15). Knowledge, being God.

I seek sharing God’s unconditional love. I accept a life of deep solitude, knowing that Love, the Love that God offers, is a lonely quest in our materialistic world. But I am comfortable being a loving vine in God’s world. I am committed to being a central force working against the domination of society and its quest for ungodly riches. I am enriched following what the author of Isaiah writes, “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you. . . (49:8).” We all know that there are secrets that only God knows, and it is up to us to discover their presence within us.

My question of will is not to strive for the material evils of money and personal stature, but to be on the path of Good, to mirror God in every way. I pray that I can be one of the prophets of His message that will last us through eternity.

 ©Russell Kendall Carter