Meditating to Heal

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is interrogated by Pontius Pilate who demands to know if Jesus is the King of the Jews. He later had the sign INRI nailed above him on the cross. The reverend William Coffin (Riverside Church) called this powerless love vs. loveless power. I like to meditate on this interesting comment.

Jesus refers to mankind believing in earthly things and not heavenly things. As a man of faith, I strongly believe in heavenly things, but as we all, I must live in a society governed by earthly things. Our government does not care about God’s wishes for mankind. Some individual leaders do, but when governing God’s plans are laid aside. It is almost impossible to live and believe in heavenly things when our society is bombarding us every day with material wants, demands, and just about everything alien to God’s plans for us.

God gives us light, a light to live and a light to love by, and yet, more of us covet the darkness of anger, greed, and jealousy. We recognize the gifts from God; we know that His gifts do not include these three vices. When we are skeptics to the healings of Jesus; we are also skeptical of our gift of love. Before Jesus left His disciples, He asks, “Do you love Me;” and follows with “Feed My sheep.”

There is noting more intimate than prayer, prayer for mankind, and there is nothing more intimate than sharing prayer. Prayer and sharing are partners in our lives, partners worthy of God’s full attention. We can practice powerless love (bringing God back to the table) and feed His sheep or to practice loveless power feeding our ill-fated egos.

©Russell Kendall Carter

The Stronghold of all PeopleI am both old and young. I was born into the flesh in 1943, so, you might say I am old. But I say I am young also, because I believe that my spiritual being is eternal and being eternal, it cannot be aged. My spiritual side is my soul and that belongs to God; it is, therefore, eternal. This belief is snuggled into my zeal in the knowledge that God is my light, as He is for all. God is both judge and refuge for all people for all time before we are born to the flesh and forever after our flesh dies.

Although I am a Christian, I have studied many world religions. There are people around our small planet who are very devout and pray to God daily. There is only one god, but there are just as many names for God that there are religions on Earth. I understand that many people will not agree with me on this. I also believe in Jesus as the mortal manifestation of God on Earth. And I believe that reading in other religions, there are many manifestations of God on Earth. Could these other manifestations also be Jesus in other names according to the different traditions? Only Go knows; we cannot for we lack the Wisdom of God. If we believe in one all-mighty God, then we cannot denounce other religions just because different names are used. God’s doors are open to everyone. Jesus said, in my Father’s house there are many rooms; let us not forget that. The glory of God is manifold; we are all safe and secure in His loving arms. We listen for His voice within us and magnify His daily presence.

Let us join with others recognizing our shared glory in His eternal presence within.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Religion is about relationships, not about requirements. The first relationship is with God, of course. The second relationship is with your fellow congregants, which includes the minister; the minister, he or she, is merely a fellow congregant helping guide us to a stronger faith, allowing us to serve each other, serve others, and in doing so, serve God. God does not want us to serve Him, He wants us to serve others, and in doing so, we are in fact serving God here on earth.

Here is what my relationships have done for me.

My name is spoken, either by a fellow parishioner, even by God, and I am ready to face the day. I know that I am loved. I listen for others’ voices, knowing that their words are spoken either in love or in need; I respond to both with passion, and I know that others, as I do, speak in love or speak in need; both merit loving responses. I cannot allow ignorance of their needs to be bypassed, for we live in harmony with each other, and harmony cannot exist in a void.

I believe in miracles; I also believe in angels. I have experienced both. I also believe that we are angels to each other. We are shaped by our relationships because each person we meet and remember becomes a mentor, who bring us closer to God. We each have a vision; my vision is different than your vision. My vision is shared by God, as is yours.

Unfortunately, being flawed humans, our plans sometimes fall apart. It is during these times when God’s angel step forward to help us, help us to get back on the right track, help us to attain our vision. God’s angel is Love, and this Love may come from the relationship you have with others in your relationships. . . with God and with Grace.

I attend church; my church is not so much about the rules other men have set for the religion. Man’s rules may not necessarily be God’s rules. My religion is the people I share my love and my relationships with. My religion is agape love. My religion is God.

 

© Russell Kendall Carter

We need community! None of us are loners; we depend on others for simple things. . . such as life. All people are considered to be community. We find a way to relate to others, finding kindness, finding sanctity. It is in our DNA. We believe in one another for that is God’s wish. It is the innate kindness within us.

When we follow the teachings that Jesus taught, and we understand how we are to live. I imagine a world of peace and understanding. The risk in this is the disapproval of those seeking power only. When we celebrate the eucharist, we share the bread and wine blessed by God; some do not understand that when we share a regular meal with others, our food is also blessed by God for He knows us when we do this simple thing.

Part of our community is the land we live on. This also must be loved and respected by us to truly feel the blessings of God. I see the birds flying high overhead and the four-legged creatures in the woods around my home. These are our earthly family; these we must also love and honor. God placed them their for our benefits; we need not waste.

I read and study the Gospels of Christ; I believe in them; I trust them. To all who follow God’s lead, blessings are received, and salvation is given. First the Jew, then the Christian, and our brothers, the Muslims, finally all the remaining people on Earth. All are blessed children of God. All are welcome at my table.

My prayer today is that we all recognize the truth as written in our Bible and the bibles of all religions. All are welcome at our tables.

© Russell Kendall Carter

One of man’s greatest desires is to live at peace, at peace with others yes, but at peace with self, which is probably more difficult than being at peace with others. Experts say that to actively have a good relationship with others we should determine the value of the relationship, talk, and be honest. This is not so easy when the problem is self. Living at peace with self can be much more difficult because our values and desires for self are problematic. We want more than we have, and I am not referring to money or wealth.

For years I struggled with dissatisfaction about what I was and what I should have been. Most of this changed when I became a teacher, but some doubts and dissatisfactions persist. I want to be better than I am. But then I remember. . .

I am whom God made! My will and faith is my hope for the world; this translates that my faith is also for the comfort in my own future. Therefore, I know I will live with internal peace. Jesus promises that I will have a divine comforter in my travels; call this God or call this the Holy Spirit. I have this eternal protector saving me from all evil. I shout for joy and sing God’s praises.

Jesus also goes on to say that He will come back because He loves me; as I love God, I am loved by God; as I love God, I love others and others love me. This is my blessing. This is my comfort. This is my sustenance, for the bread from heaven is God and gives me eternal life. I know this because each time I go out at night, I am awed by the appearance of the eternal in the night sky. I am at peace with the world. I am at peace with myself. I share this peace with others.

© Russell Kendall Carter

We are made in the image of God, but we cannot imagine how God looks. But we need no imagination to feel God within us. God is now; the Spirit is now, and the Goodness of God is all around us and within us. In God there is perfect freedom, where our souls take to soaring above the mundane problems of this world.

We need not imagine how affective our vision is for the world; see the good we have done for others. What we do for the world we do with the blessings and wishes of God. The image of God is within us, bringing us to be in a state of spiritual imagination, imagining what our deeds will do to bring society back to God. Community profits when servants (us) reach out and disregard any and all differences to help one another.

There is room at God’s Table for all; God awaits in silence for our capitulation to this one true fact. People of color, women, and other oppressed individuals throughout history have been disregarded and forgotten, only to be creators of great inventions for mankind. And yet, we ignore them and oppress them. This is not the way of God. As a white male, I take the risk of derision each day as I recognize the importance of all individuals, not just those who look the same as me.

In my servitude for others, I laugh, I sing, I dream that God’s peace surrounds us. This is my way of feeling God’s presence within us. This present moment is like none other and has no competition. We are truly blessed by God’s presence; this is image, not imagination.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I pray continually; no matter what I do, I am thinking and living a life of prayer. Sometimes, I am in my quiet space, but most times I am busy throughout the day. But every moment I live, I am in prayer of thanksgiving. One of my prayers, my desire is to see the face of God in others’ faces; I pray also that they see God in mine. God graces me not for my benefit, but for me to love and serve all men and women.

Disappointment comes no more; as a symbol of lost hope, it crosses my path no more, for my faith has no boundaries. I am lifted by love, which allows me to laugh a lot in my quiet life. I look outside myself to look at myself and often see the mysticism in my life; my heart is gladdened by the presence of God. He makes my spirit a strong wind that allows me to do the works of God as I travel through my long days.

I leave my spiritual blindness behind me as I greet my fellow man on the street; I recognize him as a part of our one disparate family of man, children of God. I pray that God’s angels watch over us all throughout the tempestuous times. May God encircle us all in our group hug as our storms come and go. May we leave our lives of denial accepting God who has no deadlines or requirements. We know the future of our lives is with God. We are small, but our witness to others of God’s blessings fan the globe with Love and brotherhood.

We lay offer our burdens to God for our future is only within Him. Our spirit is within God, and we find Him within during our quiet times. Heavenly Father, You have no time deadlines for you are infinite; accept us into Your mercy as we offer compassion to all our fellow creatures that You created. Help us tear down the walls created by society so that all walk in peace and the light of Christ.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Ask most people where they are going and they will say to work or the store, not understanding the question. When I ask again, I will get anything from a scowl to a “why ask again” and finally to an “Oh!”

All of us are on a journey, not a journey with a defined end, but a journey just the same. It is the experience of the journey, the spirituality, which is important, not the end; we all know what the end will be. Our journey begins in our personal desert, void of spirituality; we have none, or little. We have mountains to climb and rivers to cross. And we never stop to notice what they are.

I believe the mountains are the experiences which bring us closer to God and the rivers are the prayers of hopes that God answers every day. On my journey, I ask if I truly want to get where I am going. I know that when I face trouble, God is with me to show me how to overcome obstacles. This is the spirit life at work that God gives me. Justice prevails on my journey.

My dreams are important; they lead me through the doorway that is my life to the future that is my destiny. They are the gifts of my spiritual life that have travelled with me since my own childhood.

I study scripture; the presence of Jesus in my consciousness reminds me of the compassion God has for me and for all. God’s Wisdom as my companion, charms the bright fires of my spirit that weave in and out of my life.

Each day I rise! I face the world, usually grumbling; after my morning coffee, I vow to walk with kindness greeting everyone I meet with love.

I regret I cannot sing like a bird, so I have to use mere words to say hello each day. I laugh with all whom I meet, allowing them to know that we are never alone; we have each other; we have the Holy Spirit, always with us, sharing kindness, sharing love. I will not try to be false in my greeting for I know that to share God’s Love, I must be true to myself, true to those I meet, and true to God.

Do I want to get there? (Where?) yes! And I want you to be there also. Let us share the goodness of God and travel in the same love the pets we share offer us. Wherever we end up, we will be in God’s Love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

There is one exercise that all should practice before beginning their day, whether this is leaving the house to work or merely being productive by sitting in front of their computer. This is meditation. You do not need to be a William Shakespeare or a Stephen King to be on the road to success.

When meditating, my life becomes one of deep passion. I am presently writing about meditation and prayer. Saying this, I begin each day with a twenty-minute period of meditation without planning any thoughts. My meditations become a streaming river, calming me, relaxing my mind, opening it new ideas. At this time, many ideas pass by the row boat that carries me along my daily path. At times, this feels like an old-fashioned mule-drawn barge along the Erie Canal; at other times, my little craft is in a roaring torrent down the Snake river.

No matter which feeling I experience, my meditation and closeness to God covers my presence with a feeling of safety and courage.

One of my most beneficial forms of meditation is a modified version of Lectio Divina. Being away from physical contact with my church brothers and sisters, my Lectio becomes a solid conversation and meditation between me and God. Try it! It works! I do my daily Bible reading, ask questions to the authors, and meditate on how they would respond.

Recently, the idea of writing poetry based on scripture came to me during one of these quiet times. My immediate thought was how can I improve on the poetry of the Bible. God immediately reminded me that the words were His, not theirs. And, if I followed His lead, my poetry would be just as meaningful.

 

Psalm 23:

As I travel on my journey,

You are my Shepherd;

You are my holy God.

You bless me as I live

in Your wonderful Edens;

You bless me as I drink from the fruits of Your vines;

Your comfortable blessings save me from the trials of life;

Your strength usurps my fears.

My faith is restored with Your grace;

I am filled with Your blessings.

Love surrounds me,

as I live in Your light forever.

 

This may not be as powerful as what David penned, but it comes from my heart and expresses my modern thinking. But God reminds me that the thought and the purpose remains the same. I am safe in God’s arms.

Meditation and spirituality go a long way in sustaining our inner calm and inner strength; do not overlook the power of meditation to enhance your spirituality. Find your personal niche and proceed.

©Russell Kendall Carter

 

 

Many times, we are confused about who God truly is when we read the Bible. The God in the Old Testament seems to be a vengeful God, punishing and reward, punishing and rewarding. Whenever mankind strayed from God, painful penalties were applied, from sending grasshoppers to destroy the

fields to God granting Isaac wells wherever he dwelt. It can be confusing.

Jesus, however, brough forth a new benevolent God, a god of peace. A god who forgave transgressions and sins, such as the prostitute whom Jesus saved from the crowds. And yet, in John, Jesus proclaims a list of transgressions and the penalties forthcoming. All was not peace; there remained this hidden threat that if mankind strays, God will be vengeful. . . very similar to the God of the Old Testament.

One thing I accept is that this is one of the many examples that ties the New and Old Testament together, showing us that Jew or Christian, we all are safe in God’s loving arms. (And I apologize for humanizing God for God is infinite, not human.

Humanity continually searches for God’s eternity. We can only find eternity through our faith and communication with God. We grow ourselves internally and spiritually to have a true relationship with one so powerful, so forgiving and gracious as God.

Are we ready to grow, to hear, to listen, and to understand? If we are not, then we can never know or understand God.

My brothers and sisters, we must first learn to love our true selves. Then, we can turn to love our neighbor as ourselves, just as Jesus asks us to do. When we can truthfully do each of these, we are then able to love God, not the vengeful god of the Old Testament, but the gracious and forgiving God brought to us by Jesus, our pathway to God.

© Russell Kendall Carter