Meditating to Heal

_{Listen! There is a knock on the door. Please don’t ignore this. I spent many years avoiding this, this invitation to listen. When I finally opened the door, my life changed so drastically that I could not believe that God blessed me as He did. I changed my path and never looked back.}

_{From the upper room, I read the following and share with you: “When the path is simple, peace. When the way is complicated, peace. May Christ not only show you the way but also be the way you travel the way of blessing, way of peace.”}

_{God sent us Jesus to show us the way. Too often, we ignore this, even when we attend church every week.}

_{This is why I turned to meditation. I have been able to open my mind and heart to listen to the words of God’s messenger for eternal life. In these moments, I expand the room in my life for God to dwell. I am able to live to my strongest calling. I also know that for me to allow the messenger to enter, I must be still. I must create the space within me allowing me to grow spiritually and share this with all whom I meet.}

_{I have no qualms about meeting knew people, inviting them to be my friend, and talking with them about their lives. This is my mission as invited by the messenger. Answer the knock on the door.}

_{It may be the Messenger bringing a new life, or at least a new direction for you to investigate.}

_{© Russell Kendall Carter}

When I was a child, like all children, I could not wait for Christmas. When I was ten years old, I wanted a new bicycle with a basket on the front and two on the back. I was a paperboy with a growing number of people who wanted the newspaper. I did not get it. I was greatly disappointed. We just could not afford the cost. But each year I wanted the same thing.

As a father, my wife and I wanted to give all we could for our children, and we did. We bought dolls; we bought games; we bought star wars stuff. In spite of our overindulgence, our two children turned out to be normal, productive, and generous people with families of their own. Yes, we still exchange gifts, and we still overindulge when sending gifts to our two under ten grandsons in New Mexico. In our western Christian world, we do try to outdo each other in our emulation of the three wisemen of biblical lore.

In my life of meditation and prayer, I often read the Beatitudes in Matthew, then turn to His teaching the way to pray in Mattew 6. This praise to God brings a warmness in my heart every time I read it. When I repeat it either verbally or silently, I always read the words. Each word is a gem I do not want to miss. And yes, when I was young and in Sunday school, I had to memorize it, and even at seventy-eight, I remember it, but I cherish the words and read as I recite.

This is referred to as the Greatest Prayer.

This is the greatest Christmas gift. This prayer then leads us to pray for others; this leads us to live a life of prayer. Truly, the Greatest Christmas Gift is Prayer.

 

© Russell Kendall Carter

When I think back to my youth, I remember that my very old father spent a great amount a time reading his Bible and his Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy. I know he believed in an afterlife. I also know that every time I think of him, he is with me. I know what he believed theologically. He knew that he would be with God when his physical body died. When he became very sick, I did not prolong his life because I knew he longed for this meeting.

I am now a few years younger than when he died. I do not know what God has in store for me, but I do know that as my father did, I expect to be in God’s true world after my body perishes. I trust Jesus when he says that all things are possible for those who truly believe. I am not anxious about the future for I trust God. God supplies every spiritual and eternal need that I celebrate in the rebirth of Jesus in our lives this Advent.

I trust God in everything I do; everything I need is within my by the will of God. Every thought that arises comes from the richness and glory of God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

 

We spend too much time waiting for something good to happen; this includes our desire awaiting God to come to us. We sometimes refuse to recognize that the Holy Spirit resides within us. I love Paul’s letter to the Hebrews: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13: 7). God dwelled within them; God also dwells within us.

When we finally let God in, then we are able to ask others to let us come into their lives, learn their stories, find out how they feel, and then invite them to ask us for help. Then we are sharing the love that Jesus taught. When our hearts touch other hearts, then God’s Love lives within us and thrives in our heart spaces. Together we emulate Jesus as our model for what it means to live in and from our hearts. We begin to live the ethics that Jesus taught; as it is written, true joy can survive the harshest of circumstances for it depends on God’s promises for our infinite future.

As we share our stories and our love, we are then champions for God’s Goodness on earth, bringing peace and heaven on earth. Let us follow the ethical teachings of Jesus; let us recognize and share God’s Truth.

© Russell Kendall Carter

The only place we find sanctuary is with God. We are temples of God; God’s Good inhabits our very souls; God walks with us; we are His children. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (3:16). Our bodies are tabernacles for the Holy Spirit and with this presence we rise to God’s experience His altar on high. We are chosen to be his voice on earth; in a word we are all His priests calling others to join us in our quest to rise from the darkness of our decadent society and walk in the marvelous light of Truth and Love. Praise to God.

I am empowered by the Holy Spirit; I walk in God’s light; I praise God; I allow my mind to empty for God’s words. When I pray, I do not ask anything of God; I merely want to dwell in His uplifting Grace. The Apostle John reminds us, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (7:37)” I invite all whom I meet to find this sanctuary of God.

As I examine my life, I accept that I find my sanctuary waiting for me in my meditations and prayers. First, I pray as Jesus taught me: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.”

This prayer of praise, supplication, and intercession is a call for all humanity to walk as Jesus walked. When God calls us, we open our hearts to His Love and Truth. We find ourselves

 safe in our sanctuary, protected by His Grace.

© Russell Kendall Carter

My relationship with God is based on my desire to be on an eternal relationship with Him. God is the one entity that can fulfill my deepest longing, which is a life of true love for all humanity and all of creation. God is always in my life restoring what our cruel anti-God society tries to influence in me. I return to one basic theme; my prayers do not ask for anything; my prayers are open to listen to the words of God that lead me on His way lighted path.

My trust in God brings me to my dedication of service for others. With God’s assistance, I am bolder on this quest. Although I sometimes question whether my actions are good, I feel the Holy Spirit within me, guiding me, keeping me on the true path. During this time of Advent, the spiritual rebirth of Jesus within me helps me to project a life of God’s love and of God’s peace that dawns with each new day. God is my fortress; God is everyone’s fortress.

I recall John the Baptizer’s exhortation to all in response to their questions of what shall we do to please God; his response basically was the old axiom do unto others. . . etc.  Whenever the people of Israel strayed from YHWH, they were exiled. But then they were rescued when they returned to the lighted path. As finite creatures we are not perfect, and we cannot truly see God. But we can feel and see His great Love. We can rejoice as being His children. When our world experiences senseless violence, we turn to God we look for the antidote, the serum to reverse the poisonous path of destruction we are on.

Simply, we must seek only one thing, the Love of God, and the path of grace in our lives.

© Russell Kendall Carter

God is not an angry despot sitting on a throne demanding our praise. He is an open presence of fullness that fills all things with Love and Compassion. For those who see God as the presence of salvation, there is unwavering trust, unfailing strength, and a complete absence of fear and want. In our prayers, we sing the praise we feel to God; we seek His eternal presence. When I share my trust and love with others, we both feel complete without loneliness. The community we build brings a better, more patient life.

It does not matter where we live; we can live a solitary live on a mountain or in a desert, or we can live in a crowded city. When we share God’s Love, we are awake to the true holiness of all of His creation.

In this troubled world, we are in position of accepting the immigrants escaping oppression and tyranny. I welcome these brothers and sisters as children of God, as I am. I see their fear; I see their uncertainty. I help them as I can; I assure them they are welcome for this is God’s will. I offer them a place of safety and comfort. Together, we celebrate God’s compassion and love.

I live a finite mortal life; sometime in the future, my physical body will cease to exist, but my spiritual soul will continue through eternity. In my future spiritual life, I will meet the spiritual lives of those I assisted while we both walked on earth. Together we will go forth in an eternal life of compassion and love.

© Russell Kendall Carter

We live in a very upsetting world of today. Those doing violence or condoning violence do not seem to care about people, society, or even humanity. What has gone wrong? These people wand to be outrageous and are supported by like-minded people and even certain media outlets. Suddenly it is all right to molestation; suddenly it is all right to murder. There are no consequences anymore.

It seems that Satan is in control. Temporary rewards are sacrosanct. Pain is pleasure and deception is truth.  I was taught that as I walk through life, the lighted path of God is best, the past that leads to service and aid to others. This gives me a full life; this gives me a strong life. This is the life that God gives me. I learn through my Bible reading that the commandments of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. Giving joy to my heart. I am human and finite and cannot survive in false expectation or in continual anticipation of things to come, even Advent. My spiritual awareness is too strong to rely on these false promises. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are within me; I need no anticipation or expectation. My anxieties wane in the presence of this Trinity. I awaken each morning to a new life God-give awareness.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

 

In our modern world, unless we enter a monastery, it is difficult to go into the desert for a lifetime. At least physically! I truly believe that when I enter my periods of meditation, I am spiritually entering the desert to pray, meditate, and enrich my life with the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding me. Although I live with my wife, we are in a crowded community of elderly people, all loving and kind people.

Even though we are surrounded by others, I am in solitude when in the presence of God. My thoughts may be crowded, but I do clear my mind for prayer. Spiritual separation is not possible until I can experience internal separation. Internal separation is only possible when giving myself solely to God in prayer. There is no other way. . . at least for me.

I was born in a big city in New Jersey in the 1940s. I lived the first twelve years of my life in the hustle and bustle of city life. My family then moved to suburban Summit, New Jersey. In this suburban town, I was immersed in the societal drive to financial success. It did not happen. I am not un-happy about this fact. After chasing the brass ring, I turned to a life of teaching and did this for the last twenty-four years of my work life. This was a blessing from God, and it was what my life was supposed to be.

As a teacher, my life did not slow down; I devoted my life to my students, whether I taught in high school or college. My prayer time was limited to Sunday mornings and blessings before meals. . . or so I thought! When I did finally settle down to prayer and meditation, wrapping myself in the Love of God, I realized that my life of teaching was indeed a life of prayer. God led me into teaching and blessed me with the patience to nurture each as an individual.

Amma Syncletica, desert amma (mother) from the third century allows those of us not living in the seclusion of the desert to be authentic solitaries. God has blessed me to be a solitary because my life of meditation brings me into a closer relationship with God and the Love I am invited to share.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

During Advent, we are bombarded by adds for gift giving. Let us stop shopping for trinkets and baubles that end up in drawers or closets, only to be forgotten well before the next Christmas season. We are radiant; we are His Glory; we are His splendor.

It is the time to emulate those kings bringing gifts to the newborn king. We have gifts of our own to bring. We leave instant gratification behind and bring the glory of our love of God as a gift. And that gift? It is ourselves.

We are His frankincense; His symbol of deity; we are so because we are filled with God’s presence within us. We are also His myrrh; we apply ourselves to His very being to protect Him from harm and preparing Him for His resurrection in five months. Finally, we are His gold. Our love for each other gives Him kingship in our lives. There is nothing we are not when it comes to the rebirth of Jesus in our souls.

 

© Russell Kendall Carter